American Bollywood — Episode 9

0:08 It's quiet. In the way rooms are quiet before the house wakes up. Gray light filters through the curtains. Everything is still. Izzy sits at her desk in her pajamas, a notebook open in front of her, a pen in her hand. She's been sitting here long enough that the tea beside her has gone cold. At the top of a fresh page, in the careful handwriting she uses when something matters, she has written Reasons Miles Should Stay.

0:42 The rest of the page is empty. She looks at it for a long time. Then she writes one word underneath. Me. I've read hundreds of books. I know how every love story works. I know the beats, the turning points, the moments where everything changes. I've annotated them, I've taken notes. I could probably pass a test on fictional relationships.

1:14 She stares at the word. Turns out, knowing how a story goes and being brave enough to be in one are two completely different things. There was no exam for that part. I checked. She crosses the word out, looks at the page, writes it again. So, new plan. She closes the notebook. The bedroom. Izzy sits cross-legged on her bed with her laptop open, the notebook closed on the desk behind her, like a thing she has made a decision about.

1:52 On the screen, a video call is loading. Selina appears first, her hair slightly chaotic, from what appears to be a sofa. Mason appears beside her approximately one second later, closer than necessary, with the settled comfort of someone who has decided where he lives now. Gloria pops in last from the studio, reading glasses on, a cup of tea in hand, looking like someone who joined a meeting she wasn't sure she needed to attend, but came anyway out of loyalty.

2:26 Why the emergency call? Mason and I were in the middle of something.

2:30 Kissing. For what felt like 30 glorious seconds.

2:35 And I was sick twice.

2:38 Not because she hated it.

2:40 Correct. I was sick because I hated every single moment of it.

2:44 Love is a beautiful and slightly toxic experience, mostly toxic if I'm being accurate.

2:50 Yet you keep him around, like Estray you've decided to feed.

2:55 I am fully house-trained. Emotionally, is a different conversation.

3:01 Why are we here, Izzy? What's the emergency?

3:04 I need a plan. A real one. To make Miles see that I am worth staying in Chicago for before he gets on that plane. Because if he leaves without knowing how much I care for him, I don't think we survive that. And I am not ready to find out what surviving that feels like.

3:22 Have you two said I love you yet?

3:25 No. Are you close? I think so. Maybe. Probably.

3:32 How close is I think so, maybe probably. Like sharing fries close or sharing stringing passwords close, because those are very different levels of commitment.

3:43 I don't know. Somewhere in between. The point is, if I get a few things sorted first, then maybe we can get there before Sunday.

3:53 Honey, I love you. I love you more than anyone I have ever loved. And I say this with my whole heart and both hands.

4:01 She's gonna say something useful. She makes that face before something useful.

4:06 Trying to force your boyfriend into admitting he likes you enough to stay is not a plan. It's a wish with a to-do list attached to it, and those are not the same thing.

4:15 Give him time and space. If it's meant to be, it will be. You cannot push Eriva.

4:22 Well, they're both right. But also doing nothing is genuinely stressful. I once did nothing for a week and develop severe anxiety about whether I was snacking wrong. It was a dark time.

4:35 Thank you, Mason. So the plan? Easy. We're doing the plan. Everyone hush. Gloria sips her tea with the expression of a woman who has lived long enough to know that she is being ignored and has made peace with it. Plan one, I get my driver's license. Why? Because it means I can drive miles to the airport and back.

5:00 It's a practical demonstration of capability and commitment. A symbol that says I will always come and get you no matter where you go.

5:09 Or it says I know where you are at all times, and I have a vehicle, which is either romantic or alarming, depending on the framing.

5:19 My love, you are more capable than you realize. And commitment is something that works in both directions. You are already there. Let him show you that he is too, rather than performing it for him.

5:34 I'm doing it my way. Plan two. Go on. This is already a lot, but continue.

5:42 Plan two is getting a job. To prove that I am not a girl waiting to be chosen, I am a person, actively building something worth choosing. Real income, real independence, a real future that exists, whether or not he decides to be in it.

5:57 Okay, that one is genuinely impressive. I feel underqualified just listening to you. I still ask my mom to book my dentist appointments.

6:08 Honey, you have already chosen him. What he needs is not more proof that you are capable. What he needs is a gentle nudge in the right direction so he can go all out and return the favor. You don't win someone by outworking them.

6:25 Izzy's phone buzzes on the bed beside her. She glances at it. Something in her face softens immediately. She looks back at the screen.

6:36 You're not building a future. You're building a panic response and decorating it to look like a future.

6:42 Izzy looks up from her phone.

6:45 Sorry, what was that? I feel like I'm talking to a very motivated lamp. It has the shape of a person, but the content isn't quite there. Plan three.

6:58 I'm actually excited for plane three. The first two were strong.

7:04 An apartment. I find a place that is just ours. A clean beginning with no parents and no complications. So when Miles pictures staying in Chicago, he has something to picture. A home. A real one. A silence.

7:21 That escalated very quickly. I cannot even commit to a recurring grocery order. I changed my mind about oat milk on a weekly basis.

7:33 Izzy, listen to me. Please actually listen to me with your whole brain engaged, and not the part that's thinking about whatever Miles just sent you. I'm listening. You cannot do any of these three things before he tells you how he feels. If you get the license and the job and the apartment and he still gets on that plane on Sunday, you will be standing in an apartment you got for a person who isn't in it, surrounded by broken pieces of a future he didn't sign up for.

8:09 Tomorrow night, after prom, I'm going to tell Miles that I love him. So he can say it back and we can stop doing this thing where we both know what this is and neither of us is saying it. She looks at her phone again. She smiles the smile of someone who has completely left the conversation.

8:28 She's gone again, isn't she?

8:31 She was briefly here for plan four, and then she departed.

8:35 What did he send her?

8:37 Presumably something that has temporarily removed her ability to process external information.

8:42 He sent me a picture of himself in his prom suit.

8:46 He looks so he's so annoyingly handsome people ruin everything. It's a documented phenomenon. I've read about it.

8:57 Can I say one thing before I go? Everyone looks at Gloria. Move plan four to plan one. Tell him how you feel first. Everything else becomes either unnecessary or joyful, depending on his answer. Right now, you are building a house before you know if anyone is going to live in it. She looks at Izzy, who is still looking at her phone.

9:23 You are a deeply frustrating young woman, and I mean that with great affection. She ends the call.

9:31 Her little title disappears from the screen. Mason and I have to go.

9:43 What did Gloria say just now? I missed it.

9:46 She said something wise, and you weren't listening, and it was the most useful thing anyone has said in this call.

9:54 Think about what we said, hun. Please. All of it. Yeah, for sure.

9:59 What was it again? Mason turns to Selena very slowly.

10:09 This is gonna hurt, isn't it?

10:12 Selena looks at Izzy on the screen, at the phone in her hand, at the smile that has not left her face since the picture arrived. She shakes her head.

10:23 For the record, we tried.

10:28 Selina hangs up. The screen goes dark. Izzy sits alone on her bed with her phone and her notebook, and her four plans and the picture of Miles and his prom suit. She looks at it for a long time. They tried to tell me something. I get to tell by their faces. It looked important. I'll ask Selena about it tomorrow.

10:53 She looks at the picture.

10:57 After prom.

11:08 A dull official building. The kind that was designed by someone who wanted you to feel like passing was unlikely before you even started. Izzy stands beside the test car in her nicest jacket, trying to project the energy of a capable adult. She is not projecting the energy of a capable adult. She is projecting the energy of someone who has revised for the wrong exam.

11:32 Derek, 53, clipboard, neutral expression, arrives and looks at her with the unharried assessment of a man who has been doing this long enough to know what kind of morning this is going to be. Izzy adjusts her seat, checks her mirrors, breathes carefully. Derek settles in the passenger seat. Clipboard ready, expression unchanged.

12:09 Whenever you're ready.

12:12 Before we start, quick question. Derek's pen moves to the clipboard. Not a fail thing. I haven't done anything yet. Are you a fan of love stories at all? Romance, that kind of thing? Derek looks at her slowly. I only ask because I'm doing this to show someone I'm capable. Committed, like a serious person who builds a serious life.

12:40 What guy? She turns and sees Jake standing on the pavement with a camera pointed directly at them. Jake, go away. I I have no idea why he's here.

12:52 How does the romance stuff transfer to a driving test?

12:56 If I pass, it proves I'm an adult. Someone worth staying for. Derek studies her for a moment. Something shifts very slightly.

13:12 She just looks surprised and blonde for six months.

13:17 That's a cautionary tale.

13:19 That's a Tuesday. Listen, the test is not about miles or staying or proving anything to anyone. It's about whether you can make good decisions in this seat when it matters. If someone cares about you, they don't they won't need a demonstration.

13:37 That lands somewhere uncomfortable. I'm not panicking. I just like a plan.

13:45 Plans are good, not when they make you forget what you're doing right now, though. A beat.

13:51 Right. Great. Born ready. Not specifically for this, but generally speaking, yes. Derek makes a note. That look like a judgment note?

14:01 Listening note. Drive.

14:30 Just tell him you like him. Don't keep the chaos to yourself. Share this episode with friends, family, or anyone who loves messy romance, impossible crushes, big romantic gestures, and characters who would rather choreograph an entire dance routine than have one honest conversation. Make sure you follow that love podcast wherever you're listening so you never miss what happens next.

14:58 And if you're enjoying American Bollywood, leave us a five-star review. It helps more romance fans discover the show and supports independent audio storytelling. And while you're here, there are plenty more love stories waiting for you from that love podcast. Listen to Back to December, our six-part audio rom-com packed with sharp banter, beautiful chaos, unexpected feelings, and two people discovering that friendship can become something much more complicated.

15:29 Then dive into The Love Doctor, starring the irresistibly charming Emerson Peary, a darkly funny, emotionally messy story about heartbreak, bad decisions, second chances, and discovering that giving advice about love is much easier than surviving it yourself. More romance, more chaos, more characters making questionable decisions in the name of love.

15:54 Follow, share, and keep listening.

16:03 The car pulls out. Clean, controlled. First junction, flawless. Second junction, flawless. Roundabout, textbook. Derek glances up from his clipboard with the expression of someone revising their expectations upward. Izzy exhales. She is actually doing this. Her phone lights up on the dash. Her eyes flick to it.

16:36 Just for a second. She picks it up, reads it, smiles. Derek sees.

16:43 We'll head back to the test center.

16:47 I was stopped at a red light.

16:50 Engine on, in control the vehicle, automatic fail.

16:55 Silence. The light turns green. Cars hunk behind them. Izzy sets the phone down and drives. Perfectly. Which somehow makes it considerably worse. I failed my driving test because Miles texted me good luck. There is a lesson in that about the nature of what I'm doing, and I'm choosing not to look at it directly.

17:25 The car pulls back in. Engine off.

17:30 Aside from the phone, you're actually a good driver. I'd like to give you another chance. Three o'clock today. It's the only slot I have for a month.

17:39 I should technically be in school, but yes. Thank you, Derek.

17:45 No phone in the car. Leave it at home.

17:49 He gets out. Izzy sits alone in the car. Then Jake appears outside the window with his camera pointed in her face. Jake, leave me alone. Do I need to call the police? Just doing my job. Izzy looks at Miles's message, still on the screen. You can do so much better than him, I'm just saying. She turns the phone face down on the seat.

18:15 I know.

18:17 Everyone keeps telling me that.

18:35 Raphael, 30s, runs the floor with the calm efficiency of someone who has seen everything and remained unbothered by most of it. He spots Izzy at the door and smiles the smile of a man doing his cousin a favor and hoping it doesn't cost him.

18:51 Selina says that you're smart, reliable, and occasionally intense. We'll see. Why do you want to work here?

19:04 I like structure, I like people, I like doing things well, and I want to build something real. Raphael nods. So far, so good. Izzy takes a table, smooth, takes an order, clear and confident, checks back without hovering. She is genuinely good at this. And Raphael, watching from the pass, looks like a man who might actually be able to help his cousin guilt-free.

19:32 Then the door opens. Of course they are. Izzy approaches the table with a professional smile that is only slightly load-bearing. Hi, welcome in. Miles.

19:50 Hey, I didn't know you worked here.

19:53 I don't yet. Can I get you started with drinks?

19:57 This isn't what it looks like.

19:59 I'm at work. We'll talk later.

20:03 And Dinah just wanted to tell me something. That's all this is.

20:07 All good, but I'm working.

20:10 Can we talk after your shift?

20:12 I'll probably be tired and my dad is picking me up. Plus, it's palm tomorrow and I need to steam my dress. So you two actually dated?

20:24 No. I mean yes.

20:27 That registers. She delivers the drinks steadily, recommends the pasta without incident. Raphael across the room exhales. Then Dinah asks about dessert. Something in Izzy's face goes very still and very focused in a way that is not entirely normal. We have a teramasu layered with espresso soaked sponge and marscapone cream folded at exactly the right temperature so it holds but doesn't set too firm.

20:58 Focused with a cocoa dusting that She has not blinked. She is making direct and sustained eye contact with Miles. Nearby tables begin to notice. Or the chocolate torque, which is rich but balanced, not overwhelming, served with Raphael checks his watch. Or the lemon tart, if you prefer something lighter, sharper, more she stops.

21:24 Dina blinks. Miles looks mildly concerned for everyone involved. Raphael appears at Izzy's elbow with the gentle urgency of a man pulling someone from a burning building.

21:37 Oh, quick word.

21:48 Who is that man?

21:50 A friend from school.

21:53 And who's the other guy filming you?

21:56 Jake waves at her through the restaurant window with the enthusiasm. Of someone who does not read rooms. That's Jake. He runs the school YouTube channel. He's probably doing a piece on me.

22:11 Anyway, you described the dear Missou for 45 seconds. I timed it on my watch. It is not a 45-second dessert. It is a dessert you eat in science because it speaks for itself.

22:23 It's a complex dish.

22:27 You're doing everything right, and then you stop serving a table and started performing at one. His job is not about being impressive, it's about being consistent. Every table gets the same version of you. Not the trying too hard version, not the proving something version.

22:43 That lands somewhere familiar. Derek's voice, Selena's voice, Gloria's voice, all arriving at the same address. That's fair. Absolutely. Thank you, Raphael. I won't let you down. Raphael studies her with the expression of a man who wants to believe that and is doing his best.

23:23 We'll see.

23:24 Izzy heads back to the floor, takes a breath, straightens her apron. New plan. Be normal. Whatever that is. Figure it out on the way. She walks towards Miles's table, trying very hard to be exactly that. Miles and Dina are still at their table. Izzy approaches with the composed professionalism of someone who has just had a very firm word with herself in the staff bathroom mirror.

24:04 Ready for dessert? What do you recommend? This is exactly where it went wrong before. Izzy feels it, she holds it. The teramasu is great. Chocolate tort if you want something richer. Either one, honestly. We'll do one of each. Izzy writes it down neatly and reads it back, and it is completely normal and fine, and she is doing it.

24:31 That's everything? Oh, uh, could we get some water? Izzy turns back, looks at Dinah, looks at Miles. Something flickers and is contained. Of course. She returns with the jug, pours into Dinah's glass, perfect, pours into Miles's glass, perfect. Her hand completely steady, which is honestly remarkable given the circumstances and the amount of feelings currently requiring active suppression.

25:02 She sets the jug down carefully and deliberately. It tips. Not a flood, not a scene, just enough water on the tablecloth to make it a thing. A quiet, unhurried betrayal from an inanimate object. Sorry. A waiter appears with a cloth. Then another waiter. Now it's a whole situation. Across the room, Raphael stands completely still and closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose like a man performing emergency self-care.

25:47 It was minimal spillage.

25:50 It was an avoidable spillage.

25:53 The jug was unbalanced.

25:55 You were doing well, and then you started thinking about how you were doing. As always, when it goes.

26:02 One more chance. Please. I can do this.

26:07 Not right now. Come back tonight. Dinner service. Fresh start. No interviews, no proving anything, just the job as yourself.

26:17 Izzy nods. Her phone buzzes. She looks at it. Her face does something alarming. I have to go right now.

26:29 Another problem?

26:31 Same problem. Different location. Raphael almost smiles.

26:38 Tonight. Don't think, just do.

26:42 Tonight. She turns to leave, then stops. I am capable of this.

26:50 I know. That's not the issue.

26:53 That hits harder than anything else he's said. Izzy takes it, nods, and goes. She grabs her bag, passes through the dining room. Miles looks up and sees her leaving. A moment. Unsaid things sitting between them across a room full of people eating lunch. Izzy doesn't stop. She bursts out the door, already moving.

27:26 Stop thinking. Just do. Simple. Easy. How hard can it be? She runs. Derek stands beside the car holding a stress ball and a thermos of tea. He has come prepared. Not professionally. Emotionally. Izzy sits behind the wheel. Quieter than before. Derek gets in, clips his seatbelt, sips his tea, and braces.

28:09 Like a man who has made peace with whatever is about to happen.

28:13 Whenever you're ready.

28:16 No speech. No questions. Izzy starts the car. The car pulls out smooth. First junction clean. Second junction clean. She passes the phone junction without looking at it, and Derek makes a note that for once appears to be positive. The roundabout is handled. The dual carriageway is steady. Derek squeezes the stress ball noticeably less than last time.

28:42 Pull up on left, parallel park, please.

28:46 Izzy checks her mirrors, signals, moves. Perfect. First attempt.

28:54 Good.

28:55 They both register that something good just happened, and neither of them draws attention to it. In case it stops. Final stretch. Quiet and focused. They pull up behind a bus. On the back of the bus, a large colorful advertisement reads Bollywood Dance Show. This weekend only. Chicago. Izzy stares at it.

29:20 Something pulls at her from the inside.

29:23 Light is green.

29:25 She doesn't move.

29:27 Miss Lopez, the light is green.

29:30 Sorry. Yes, sorry.

29:33 She goes.

29:43 The car pulls in. Engine off. Izzy looks at Derek. Derek looks at his sheet. Jake is once again standing nearby with his camera pointed at both of them.

29:54 You passed.

29:56 I passed.

29:58 By one mark, I gave you the hazard perception mark on the basis that you perceive the hazard of your own emotional state and continue driving. That is technically hazard perception.

30:10 Thank you, Derek.

30:13 Woo-hoo! Please don't make me do this again.

30:18 He gets out and squeezes the stress ball one final time with the energy of a man completing a spiritual journey he did not sign up for. Izzy steps outside and calls Selena.

30:30 You actually passed?

30:32 Three attempts, but yes. And Jake filmed the whole thing. Why is he here, Selena?

30:39 He's doing a little documentary for the people who love you. Is Miles one of those people? He said he had football practice. I have the best boyfriend. Derek is a literal saint. Someone should build a church.

30:53 Izzy glances back at Derek, still in the car, stress ball in hand, staring at nothing. He brought a stress ball for his own benefit. Both times. I think I broke something in him. She hangs up and calls Miles. You passed? Izzy, that's amazing. Seriously. She smiles, waits.

31:16 You'll be able to drive yourself to prom.

31:19 Something small and important falls quietly into the space where a different sentence should have been. Not we. Not I'll stay. Just you. Yeah. I guess I will. She hangs up, stands in the car park with the license in her hand, turns it over, looks at her own face on it. One down, two to go. She puts it in her pocket and walks to her car.

31:48 Her car, which she is now licensed to drive. Which is something. Which is real, which is hers, regardless of anything else. She drives away.

32:08 And that's a wrap on this episode of American Bollywood. Izzy officially has a plan. Is it a good plan? Absolutely debatable. But she has 56 days, one enormous crush, almost no dancing ability, and enough determination to make terrible decisions look strangely inspirational. If this episode made you laugh, blush, cringe, or desperately want Izzy to simply tell Miles how she feels, make sure you follow that love podcast wherever you're listening.

32:45 You won't want to miss the next lesson, disaster, confession, or unexpected step in this very complicated love story. And please, share American Bollywood with your friends, family, or that one person who would absolutely learn an entire dance routine instead of admitting they have a crush. Every share helps our independent podcast grow and brings more listeners into these stories.

33:11 Today's episode featured the voices of Alcy Carver, Emerson Peary, and Lisa Miller. American Bollywood was written, produced, and directed by Joe Alan Ceda. If you enjoyed today's episode, leave us a five-star review wherever you're listening. Reviews genuinely help more hopeless romantics discover that love podcast and allow us to keep creating original audio rom-coms, dramas, and love stories for you.

33:39 Until next time, stay kind, stay beautiful, and protect your heart. And remember, sometimes the most terrifying thing you can do for love is simply take the first step. You are deeply loved.