Perspective

Rama called Bhanu. "Hi, how was the movie yesterday?"

"The movie was good," drawled Bhanu, sounding unhappy.

"Then why are you not sounding happy?"

There was a pause. "This is the last time I am going with Sheryl anywhere! She is so embarrassing! She laughs loudly, she is an attention seeker! She is loud! I can't stand it!"

Rama smiled to herself. "Okay," she said soothingly. "She is excitable, I know."

"Excitable! That's a mild word. She is hysterical!"

Rama controlled her laugh and after murmuring soothingly, cut the call.

Her phone rang almost immediately. "What's wrong with Bhanu?" Sheryl barked in the phone. "She is bossy all the time!"

Uh-oh, thought Rama. "What happened?" she asked, as if she couldn't guess.

"Don't laugh, don't stare, don't do this, don't do this... She should have become a teacher!"

Rama said soothingly, "She is soft-spoken and doesn't like attention."

"What do you mean? That I am seeking attention?" Sheryl asked threateningly.

"No, no! But you are gregarious and she is not..."

"She is a neurotic, that's what she is," declared Sheryl. "And this is the last time I am going out with her anywhere."

The line went blank.

Rama sighed in relief. Good she wasn't with them, trying to calm the two extremes. But she wondered how she was going to balance being friends with both.