Two Women Discuss Things Ep. 13
[Morning. Animisha walks in after the night shift, looking exhausted. Sumi is having breakfast. She watches as Animisha slowly becomes one with the couch.]
S: J.K. Rowling revealed more Harry Potter trivia on her Twitter today.
A: [grunts in acknowledgement.]
S: Caitlyn Jenner is designing clothes now.
A: [mumbles approvingly.]
S: My cousin sister came out of the closet last week.
A: [still collapsed on the couch.] Whoa!
S: And flip-flops are officially in this season.
A: [sits up straight.] What is happening in this blessed world?!
S: We're going for brunch.
S: Tanya preponed her birthday dinner to a birthday brunch. We leave in an hour.
S: I read three days worth of BuzzFeed and Cosmopolitan to get you enough trash trivia to wake you up! Please, don't let that sacrifice of intellect go to waste! Just, get dressed?
A: Oh… Yeah… [rolls of the couch] Are you sure she wants me there?
A: You remember the wedding we went to last year where the 'phere' were at 3 am?
S: The Lucid Animisha Massacre, yeah. You psycho-analyzed everyone based on how they posed for 'candid photos'.
A: [Holds Sumi by the shoulders] We were escorted out of the venue. And I was lucid because of sleep deprivation, and ample starchy foods.
S: Oh god. That's exactly what today will be like.
A: I say things which make sense in my head, but out loud they're vile truth-poisons.
S: [pats Animisha on the head] I'll take the chance of being escorted out again.
[Animisha smiles and goes to her room to change.]
A: [from inside her room] Why would she want a birthday brunch, anyway?!
S: She wants to wear flip-flops without feeling out of place.
[Animisha and Sumi are waiting for the elevator.]
A: … and the coffee guy said 'Come back in fifteen minutes.' and that's when I knew what it felt like to be a jalapeno popper.
S: [looks at Animisha and waits patiently.]
A: You cover rage with enough sleep-deprived lethargy, then there will be no outburst. Similar to a…
S: Spicy jalapeno covered with cheese. Yes. They're delicious.
A: You know what else is delicious?
[Just then elevator doors open. The hot upstairs neighbor is inside. He looks at the girls. They burst out laughing, signalling him to go on without them. He closes the door and checks the mirror to see what they were laughing at.]
[They are standing by the road. Sumi is trying to hail a rickshaw.]
S: We can walk it, but let's auto for your sake.
A: [leaning against a wall, texting]
S: [looks around to see Animisha not helping.] What?! Are you… Are you texting a boy?! [snatches her phone away]
A: He said he'll text me back!
S: Ugh. This guy stood you up six months ago. He's not going to text. Just give up on getting closure here, okay?
S: [checks her phone] It's okay. You just sent 'Nickelback sux and so do you.' so it's not that bad.
A: He said he was going to play Ultimate Frisbee and he just never came back…
S: [to herself] Today will be harder than I imagined.
[They arrive at the restaurant. They see that the table is only half full and that they indeed made it in time. They high five, fix each other's hair and walk over to the table.]
S: Tanya! Hey! Happy Birthday!
A: Happy Birthday, those flip-flops are so in right now.
T: Thanks, my gay cousin gave them to me!
S: Ooh, my gay cousin just came out of the closet last week.
A: I am the gay cousin in my family. [Tania stops smiling.]
T: I… I thought you were straight.
A: It's the Kinsey scale.
S: It rates people's sexuality on a scale of 1 to 6 rather than gay or straight. Sexuality is actually a spectrum.
A: I am a 5. Which is also how many orgasms my ex-girlfriend had on an average. [She walks to the other end of the table and takes a seat.]
S: [to Tania] I'm not the ex-girlfriend.
[Animisha sits down next to two guys who are having a conversation.]
Guy1: … and then she says to me, Mr. Menon, if you cannot complete the project at hand, at least sign off on it, so someone else can take over.
Guy2: Whoa. She wanted someone else to finish?
Animisha: Yeah, but everyone does weird shit in bed. Just get used to it.
[Sumi takes a seat closer to Tania. The guy next to her is ogling at Sumi.]
Guy: Hello. Sumi, isn't it?
G: I overheard you telling Tania that you were not a lesbian. [creepy smile]
S: I'm not a sapiosexual either.
G: Haha! That's okay, I'm not that smart.
[Animisha is in an engrossed conversation with the two guys.]
A: …But, Tinder isn't just a dating app. It simply provides consent to start a conversation. The action of swiping right makes the girls more trusting of the guy.
A: [continues] Now, there are two things you can do with the consent. The first, and most obvious choice, is to start the conversation. Most people would do so to date, and that is how the app is marketed. I, on the other hand, use it to start any conversation which may not be appropriate otherwise.
A: I ask people if they have weed.
G2: You found a dealer through Tinder?
A: A lot more people are willing to admit to owning and selling illegal substances once they have consented to starting a conversation.
A: But the second thing you can do with having consent is to learn how to say no.
A: If a guy swipes right, and I swipe left, I am basically saying no to starting a conversation. If I were doing that in real life, I would always be afraid of him telling me I am being a bitch for rejecting him, or worse. I will always have that fear, and that would stop me from saying no. But with the Tinder swipe, the guy can't possibly find me and say those things. Which teaches me how to say no fearlessly. And that empowerment extends to real life.
A: Tinder is the greatest feminist invention of our times.
[Sumi looks over to Animisha. Animisha is clearly discussing her breasts and the other two guys are staring at them with confused expressions.]
S: [to creepy guy] Hey, hi!
S: Would you do me a favor?
G: Anything if it means a pretty girl like you would talk to me.
S: Could you go sit there? [pointing to Animisha] I need to talk to my friend. Thanks.
[Tania's cake is brought to the table. Everyone is singing Happy Birthday. Animisha is sleeping on her chair. Sumi takes her sunglasses and puts them on Animisha's eyes.]
[Everyone is leaving. They're hugging Tania and saying goodbye.]
S: Thank you for a lovely time. Sorry about Animisha, she pulled an all-nighter. She's just, too lucid.
T: Oh, don't be silly. Where is she, though?
[Animisha walks over to them.]
A: What's the point of a bathroom if it doesn't have a dedicated selfie mirror?
T: Animisha! Thanks for coming. [Hugs her, and says into her ear] 5 was her average, you said?
A: Yeah. Come over one day. I'll give you an actual birthday present.
T: [smiles and hugs her tighter.]
[Sumi and Animisha are walking back home.]
S: At least we didn't get escorted out.
A: True. I think I'm beginning to enjoy this lucidity. I only wish you were on my level.
S: Me, too! I just need a joint or two.
[Animisha opens her Tinder app. And they discuss which guys look like they may have weed, and swipe right on them.]