The more the merrier.

"Yo, I am so bored sitting at home and doing nothing. So let's go out and have fun." A perky voice said to her friends in the group call.

"You know this is the fourth time that you want to go out in a week. Don't you get tired of mingling out in the crowd so much?" A quiet voice asked from the same group.

" Hehehe... Yeahhhhh. But it's fun being out with people. You won't understand you 'I need my me time to recharge'." The same perky voice teased the other.

" Yeah, yeah. How will you understand the heart of an introvert like me? But it's not like I will ever understand an extrovert like you as well." The same quiet voice said in a shrugging voice.

" Guys, guys. Why is it that when we all are in a group call, you two are the only bickering friends? Will you two ever agree to each other at least for once?" A friend with chubby and pinchable cheeks said while rolling her eyes.

" If both of you weren't girls, I would think you guys were flirting with each other. But waittttttt, there is nothing wrong with two girls flirting with each other. It's just that thinking you two being together creeps me out for some reason." The only boy in the group of four friends said with a disgusting face, who by-the-way, happens to be gay himself.

" You shut up. As if you weren't flirting with the hot guy from the cafe we went to yesterday and were failing so miserably." The perky voice teased the boy while poking her tongue out.

" Why am I even in this group of idiots?" The chubby girl said once again with an eye-roll.

" Motu, don't roll your eyes so much. One of these days, it may get stuck inside your head and never come back to its original place." The boy said to the chubby girl with her nickname. Motu means calling someone fat but in a teasing and playful way in the Nepalese language.

There was a collective laugh from everyone including, Motu herself as well.

" But, let's not divert from the topic, which was me getting bored and wanting to go out to have fun." The perky girl is named Ullu (Owl) as she is awake till 3 am. She is sending snaps to everyone, annoying the hell out of them.

" Okay, okay. Let's plan where to go this time." Umma ( mom in Korean), the nickname for the quiet girl, agreed to the request of Ullu. She is the mother of the group. She likes to nag, loves K-pop, reads boys love novels, and watch tons of dramas.

"Umma, why do you nag when you are the first one to agree to Ullu's request. You are weird. I know Ullu is secretly your favorite child. Humph..." BumBum nickname for the boy who possessed a thick and perky ass making the girls in the group envy him, humphed. This time it was his time to roll his eyes.

" I always knew that I was her favorite." Ullu blew a kiss through the screen. "Anyway, I will decide and send you a few names. So decide together and let me know. But I have to go now. Bye. Bye. And love you all." Ullu disconnected the call after hearing collective love yous from others.

...............................................................

Everyone decided to go bowling and then have dinner before going to a late-night movie.

" Man, how I wish that one of us was able to drive. Having to take public transport every single time while going out late in the night is a pain in the ass." Ullu groaned and complained.

" Bear with it, you drama queen. You were the one who wanted to go out in the first place." Our eye-rolling queen said once again with her signature eye-roll.

" Ohh god, I am leaving. So bye. If anyone asks, I don't know you guys at all." Bumbum muttered, and Ullu smacked him on the back of his head.

" It's never a boring moment with you three together. I am thrilled to moon and back. Now, let's go." Umma said and started walking, which made everyone follow her like baby chicks.

............................................................

" It was such a lovely night.' Umma said sarcastically. The remaining three give her a hesitant glance each. " It has been long since we last had our meeting with each other. I won't accept any no. Tomorrow at 6, at my place. If one of you don't come, then you can count me out of this friend group." Umma exclaimed and rode the bus that arrived and left.

" I guess this conversation was long overdue anyway. So see you guys tomorrow." Bumbum said and left for his bus station as well.

Everyone went their way but the bus station where everyone was five minutes ago still got that lingering sorrowful air.

......................................................................

" So, who is going first?" Umma asked while putting four cups of coffee and four slices of passionfruit cheesecake on the coffee table.

Motu was sitting on the floor Indian style. Ullu was sprawled with her feet on top of BumBum's lap, squeezing him to one corner of the couch.

" You guys, what's going on? I know it might not be easy to voice out all of your feelings. But it is also not wise to hide everything from others. We are already coping up with the high pressure that comes with being international students. Every day is like a new feat to achieve. So let's not top the cake with cherry with we being so mentally unstable as well." Umma commented, sounding like a sixty years old grandma instead of twenty-three years old.

" I have a question. How were you so sure that something was wrong with us?" Ullu asked, tilting her head to make eye contact with Umma.

" Ullu, with your competitive and sneaky ass, you being so well-behaved and so absent-minded. Motu, with you loving to gobble down food, trying so hard to control what you eat. BumBum, with you, always talking our ears off while watching a movie being so unusually quiet. Do I need to keep on saying a list of all other things from the past three months?" It was enough for everyone to reach to conclusion of laying all bothersome thoughts.

" Okay, I will start first then. You all know that I came to terms with my sexuality not long ago. I am not so sacred to finally give dating a try. But I guess I am still not strong and confident enough to be not scared anymore. Every day I am watching my back and wishing there is no Nepalese around me when I am on a date." BumBum said, trying hard not to cry. Nobody interrupted him and let him continue.

"Whenever I see single Nepalese, it reminds me of my family back in Nepal. It gnaws at my heart with thoughts of what my family will say when I am ready to come out to them. Will they ever accept me with how conservative they are? Will they say that they love me and miss me just like when I call them now? Will I even have a family left after I come out?" At last, tears escaped from his eyes anyway. Every word he said came with a trembling voice.

" Oh, you poor thing." Everyone gave him a big hug for a long time. There was a long silence till BumBum was able to calm down.

" I will go second then. My whole life, I have been chubby. So every time, I am called Motu by everyone that I meet. So I feel like it is my second name. I am so used to that name. I don't even bat an eye if a stranger calls me that. The thing that matters is the malicious looks that others give me. In my face, they are,' You look pretty as you are.' But behind the back, they make fun. The funny thing is they think I don't know but, the not-so-funny thing is I know what they are talking about and about whom. I have been insecure my whole life regarding my weight. I know I am overweight. I know I should be mindful of what I eat. But what can I do when I love food so much." Motu said, snickering at her last sentence.

" Strangers are strangers. What they say is not that equivalent to what someone I know says about me. It's always someone that I know says that cuts through my shield. I don't know what to do anymore? I know I am strong. But some days are hard to get through." Motu said with a big sigh.

It was now Motu's turn to get a group hug that lasted as long as the previous one which was like forever.

" I guess it's my turn then. I am from a family that has had financial issues for as long as I can remember. I understand where my mom and dad are coming from, but sometimes it's hard. I am tired of fighting with the situation that we are in most of the time. I try hard. Somehow it seems to be not enough. There is always one thing after another. I seem to run out of friends to ask for help sometimes. I don't want to be imposing on them too much." It was a tired sigh.

" As an extrovert, running away from problems and going out, drowning myself in noise seems an easy solution. My mind goes blank and numb, making it harder to deal with the things happening around me. And while running away, you guys are being dragged by me. I feel like I am super-imposing on you all." With the last sentence from Ullu, everyone's worries were finally out in the open.

They have a rule while having the 'meeting'. Everyone's problem is bared open first before giving opinions. It's easy that way, where everyone can say what they want to say when they are in the state to share personal stuff without hesitation and resistance.

" BumBum, the fear you have is rational. But what is irrational is you concluding what your family might do. Don't put your words in your family's mouth. You don't know what will be the reaction, so sometimes it's okay to be more optimistic rather than pessimistic. It's useless thinking about things that haven't happened yet. It will be easy for me to say don't think about it. But you are the one who is deciding about what matters the most, your present or unpredictable future?" Umma gave her opinion.

" Umma is right. One day you will be crossing the road of confronting your family when the time arrives. But till then, focus on the walk that is needed to walk now." Motu said with Ullu agreeing to what others have to say.

" Okay. Motuuuuuuu, our lovely, cute, and kind Motu. Your insecurity is something I will never understand as I haven't been through it. But that doesn't mean it is invalid. You have fought with yourself for a long to love your body. So because someone said something doesn't mean you have to let all that self-love vanish. The world will always have something to say. The world is not that fair. It's not an easy process but, we have to learn not to let the negativity get to us." This time Ullu took the initiative to say her opinion.

" Anyway, they might be jealous of your boobs and ass. So you have nothing to hide. Just an extra bit of tummy roll won't make you unattractive. Honey, you are our Nepali Kardashian. So be proud and loud. " As expected from our BumBum. Everyone can't help but laugh at his comment.

" Ullu, sometimes you live up to your name (Ullu is also another way to say fool in Nepali). If we felt like you were imposing on us, you thought we would have stayed silent? We are the type of friends who will fart on your face without any second thought. So you think we won't voice our thoughts? We all know our boundaries so, don't feel like you are imposing on us at all." Umma said with two other bouching their head up and down.

" Since I haven't asked you to pay for my ubereats means that I am not broke enough to not order my cravings and kinda don't need my money back. Okay? Unless you are not running away with our money, I can always ask you to order ubereats for my cravings. Heheheeheh." Motu flashed her perfect white teeth.

" The problem looks so gigantic when it's in our head. Now that I have said all the bothering thoughts, it doesn't feel that daunting and huge." BumBum said with a small smile.

" Right, I feel so light. What would we do if Umma wasn't with us?" Motu remarked with a smile on her face as well.

" Now that all of our problems are out, why are you the only one with problems hidden inside you? Don't think that we don't see your struggle as well." Ullu mentioned looking at Umma with an expectant look.

" I am a homebody. Most of the time, I am at home. I barely go out as I prefer being inside rather than outside. But sometimes, I feel like it is super boring for my boyfriend. He is the exact opposite of me. He loves being out in nature, venturing into new places and cafes. I feel like I am holding him back from doing what he loves to do. It's just that we have been together for four years and, I keep on wondering what is keeping him with me?" Umma said with an awkward smile.

" Hahahahahaha. I have never seen that guy looking at others even once other than you. He has that lovesick eyes even after four years. And here you are complaining about why he is with you. Girl, this is a rare time that you are acting like twenty-three years old." Ullu said with a loud laugh.

"Maybe you should talk with your boyfriend regarding your thoughts. If you voice your thoughts to him, you will be able to get to know what he thinks. You won't know all of his thoughts unless you can read his mind. But anyway go on a nice date, have some mind-boggling sex and yah know talk about shits bothering you. God knows you will feel way lighter after that." Ullu winked at Umma with a teasing smirk on her face.

" Umma, you don't have to worry at all. You also need to learn not to question why everyone loves you. There are no specific reasons why we all love you. It's just that we love you, for you." BumBum said with a reassuring smile of his.

..................................................................................

" Hi, baby. Hi guys." Umma's boyfriend said to the group of friends huddled on the floor with a fluffy blanket and two huge bowls of popcorn watching a movie. He is a tall, handsome and dreamy guy. Their relationship is like a match made in heaven.

There was collective 'Hi' from everyone. Umma's boyfriend was back from his work so, he disappeared and came back looking fresh and in night pajamas. " Was is that time for your group meeting?" Umma's boyfriend commented and sat down near his girlfriend. He knows us all enough to know what's going on in our life.

" Yeah," Umma said while pecking his lips.

" Ewww guys, not in front of us singles, "BumBum exclaimed with a disgusting face making everyone laugh.

With chatters from everyone, there was a lively vibe. Slowly the background faded with waves of laughter from everyone blending into the city lights, waiting for a new day to arrive.