You just washed your hair, so it’s especially vulnerable to absorbing other scents. Why must your mother always cook right after you get out of the shower?! Its not fair. You aren’t a smelly person. You shower regularly, wear perfume, use mouthwash, but you’ve never been able to beat the overbearing stench of…“Indian.” You’re in trouble. But not today. You brace yourself, dousing your outfit in the strongest Bath and Body works spray on your dresser. And then you open your bedroom door.

It’s worse than you thought. The entire upstairs stinks like that one brown girl in your English class. You run to your car as fast as you can but can’t avoid running through the massive stink cloud in the kitchen. Your mom stops you to taste what she’s making. She shoves a spoonful of daal into your mouth, but you don’t let this stop you. You’ve got a purse full of mints and a full pack of gum in your glove compartment. You can do this.