When Dimple Met Rishi

As dinner continues, the group discusses which set of partners might win the grand prize. One of them mentions that some teams move in together so they can work constantly, and Rishi says he wouldn’t mind moving in with Dimple. The question of dessert prompts Rishi to raise concerns about his budget with the waiter, who assures them the entire meal has already been paid for by an anonymous donor. Dimple is suspicious that Rishi is the donor.

After dinner, Rishi walks Dimple back to the dorm and Dimple asks if he was the donor. He dodges the question, and Dimple feels grateful her mother and father won’t have to pay the bill. She asks if Rishi meant what he said about the importance of his trip to Gujarat, and he responds that she asks a lot of questions. Dimple says she’s heard that before and that her mother is concerned she’ll never get a boy with “that mouth of hers.” Rishi responds, “I think your mouth is perfect the way it is” (112).

After a moment of tension, Rishi says his trip to India was important, as was learning about his ancestors and their traditions. Dimple counters that the rules feel stifling, and Rishi argues that he finds it comforting to feel connected to his ancestors. He appreciates a “blueprint,” whereas Dimple finds a blueprint boring. When she says she wants to focus on her career, Rishi wonders whether she might be lonely. This prompts her to think of her mother and causes her to almost miss home.

As their conversation continues, Rishi shares that he’s mostly a “go with the flow” type, except when it comes to important things. He tells Dimple about Ashish, and they take the elevator up to Dimple’s dorm room. Dimple remembers what it was like to be so close to him in the antique shop. Rishi invites her to his room to work on their app, and Dimple says she’ll meet him there after she showers.

In the shower, Dimple contemplates how to talk to Celia about her rude friends, whom Dimple now thinks of as the Aberzombies. As she gets dressed, she momentarily considers borrowing something more girly from Celia but opts in the end for a T-shirt and sweatpants. Her mom calls, and they say they miss each other. Dimple tells her mother Rishi is nice but that she needs time to be by herself and figure out what she wants. Her mother says she understands, but then ends the phone call by encouraging Dimple to wear makeup and apply cold cream before going to bed.

Rishi excitedly awaits Dimple’s arrival in his dorm room. He sets out bowls of sweet and sour khatta meetha and baadam. He’s nervous Dimple won’t show up, but she finally arrives, excited by the khatta meetha. They make plans to find an Indian grocer, and then they begin to work on their app. They want the app to be fun and game-like, “health care with a twist” (128). Rishi sketches a fox being chased by zombies as a potential concept for incentivizing users. Dimple is so excited by the idea and impressed by his drawings that she wants him to do the preliminary artwork for the company (her one suggestion is to replace the zombies with aliens). She asks to see his other work, but Rishi says he doesn’t have any around. Dimple discovers the flyer for Little Comic Con and asks Rishi to go with her, and he wonders if she’s asking him out on a date.

Dimple quickly clarifies that she wants to attend Little Comic Con as friends, and they continue working on the wireframe and storyboard. They’re both excited about the work. When Dimple leaves, Rishi says he’ll walk to class with her in the morning, and he smiles, even though he thinks he’s “setting [himself] up for heartbreak” (133).

Dimple returns to her room to find Celia, who wants to know what happened at dinner and why Rishi acted, in her words, “kind of rude.” Dimple tells Celia that while she was late, Celia’s friends were awful to Dimple, and that they deserved everything Rishi said to them. Dimple says she can’t be friends with the Aberzombies but she’d like to be friends with Celia, and Celia agrees she’d like to be friends with Dimple.

The weekend arrives, and Rishi is excited for his and Dimple’s outing to Little Comic Con. He loves working with her and seeing how excited she gets about the app. Preparing for Little Comic Con, Rishi puts his sketchbook in his bag and wonders if anyone there will be able to tell him about careers in comics.

Meanwhile, as Dimple dresses for Little Comic Con, she realizes that most people who attend arrive in elaborate costumes. She comes up with an idea for a costume, borrowing a green hoodie and a short black skirt from Celia.

Rishi instantly recognizes Dimple as Daria, an MTV cartoon character. Rishi is dressed as Aditya, the Sun God/superhero from his comic books. He is wearing a kurta and carrying a gada, a traditional Indian weapon. Rishi explains that Wanda’s husband helped him make the gada from recycled metal parts from Wanda’s store and that Kevin Keo let him borrow art supplies from the art department.

On the way to Little Comic Con, Dimple sneezes and Rishi says, “Gods bless you,” which he describes as his “version of microaggressing back on people” (142). He points out that Christianity is the US cultural default in many ways, even when it comes to expressions such as referring to something as “the bible” of a certain group. By saying “gods,” he gets to explain Hinduism to people. Dimple says she’s not sure whether Rishi is eccentric or passionate about his culture. Rishi says he feels the need to speak out and that, after being among his Indian relatives and hearing their stories, he wants to tell more people. Dimple says she felt out of place culturally when she visited India—more American than Indian. One of the girls called her firang, meaning foreigner. Rishi says he feels at home culturally both in America and in India but that socially he’s always felt like an outsider. He doesn’t have good friends from high school whom he’ll miss, and Dimple feels she can relate.

Rishi makes Dimple laugh, which in turn makes him smile. Rishi notices she doesn’t turn away from him like she normally does when this happens. Rishi points this out, and when Dimple blushes he says Dimple probably doesn’t want to talk about it. Surprising herself, Dimple feels slightly disappointed that he lets the topic drop.