Right leg forward, torso rotated back, hands come to the front faster and then smack back to the sides making a small X. Then swing slightly on heels, neck in opposite direction to the hip swing...

"I think I have got it," I said.

"Of course, you do," Arushi said in a disinterested tone.

I pulled a few strands of her hair, and she snarled at me. We were walking towards our classroom, and my friend had her head buried in a brick-sized book.

"Hi, Arushi," one of the guys from our accounts class greeted my friend.

"Hi," Arushi replied and continued walking.

I noticed the guy trying to converse with Arushi, but she avoided him and acted like she was really busy. Poor guy left, and I stared at Arushi with an accusing stare.

"Are you going to ignore the guys who are interested in you the whole life?" I asked.

She feigned ignorance. "He isn't interested in me. "Who will ever be?"

"You are the one who always keeps denying it."

Arushi shot me a knowing look, her eyes darting all over my face. "You think anyone would ever, like really, like me when I look like this?"

Her lips trembled a bit before she recomposed herself. Her rich brown skin glowed in the sunlight as the thick curly locks framed her round face. Her dark brown orbs behind her specs glimmered, and the only thing I could see was a girl who never needed to be insecure of the skin she was born in.

"Arushi, you are beautiful. And, you know it too, but you don't wanna accept it," I said.

"You say it only because you are my friend." She sighed.

We both knew where the conversation was heading, so we shook our heads and decided to get back to reality. Still, I wanted my friend to never have any insecurities about her physique.

Arushi was a few inches taller than me, but she had a curvy figure that I would die to have.

She was a bookworm; sometimes her obsession with books annoyed me because she wouldn't be paying me any attention, but her being a scholar worked in my favour.

Ninety percent of my notes were ditto of hers, with only ten percent being the contribution of my useless brain which worked only while dancing. I asked Arushi which novel she was reviewing for that week, and she told me to check out her bookstagram page once her review was up.

Unlike her shy persona, Arushi was really active on social media. She had thousands of followers on Instagram, while I had only around seventy. Most of them were my cousins and friends only.

If I have time to sulk, then I really need to work on my time management.

"Bhoomi, Arushi, wait up!"

Arushi and I stopped when we heard Akshay's voice. He joined us, his six foot tall figure looming over us. Before I asked him, he himself started narrating the yesterday night's events. I knew all the details already since he had arrived at my home before the sun rose and showed me our crew's dance sequences which Jiya had shot in the dance battle.

"Guys, you know who we will compete with if we got to the finals?" Akshay asked excitedly.

"Razor shots maybe?" I answered doubtfully.

I was well aware of the dance teams from my area, but the underground battle Akshay was taking part in was some high-level thing. A lot of known and unknown dancers had participated in it, and as I was busy since last month doing housekeeping, I couldn't keep up with their battle progress apart from helping them here and there in choreographies.

Akshay smirked at me, and I raised one of my eyebrows at him.

"We will be battling against TJ's crew!" Akki announced, making my eyes grow wide.

"What?!" I asked in disbelief. "You are just pulling my leg, aren't you?"

"No, you idiot. Tejas has been in this dance-off since the beginning, but I think he didn't want to publicise it."

"Wow."

"Great for you, Akshay," Arushi said.

Akshay nodded, and we rushed to our classroom when the bell rang. We took our spots in the back and waited for our lecturer to arrive. Till then, I copied some assignment from Arushi, and Akshay copied from mine.

"Hey, TJ! You rocked yesterday's livestream, man!"

I snapped my head as soon as I heard TJ's name from someone in our class. A few guys and girls went to meet TJ, who was sauntering outside our classroom with his friends.

Even though TJ had a huge fan following and was a social butterfly, in college he had a small friend circle, most of his friends being dancers themselves.

I stared at Tejas, a happy feeling bubbling inside me as I saw him laugh and accept other students' compliments humbly. Suddenly, he snapped his head in my direction, and out of habit, I quickly averted my gaze and ducked my head.

No matter how much I admired him and would gaze at him non-stop whenever he came onscreen, I would never be able to talk to him in person. I haven't had since last year.

Yes, my role model Tejas Jaiswal was my batchmate. I was aware it was going to take every ounce of courage I had to even say a 'Hi' to him.

Arushi nudged me, but I didn't look up.

"Someone was giving me lecture about being confident," Arushi taunted.

I slapped her arm, and that's when I noticed that TJ wasn't actually looking at me; he was looking at Akshay, who was also staring back at him with a grin.

Both guys nodded at each other briefly, and once Tejas left, I turned towards Akshay.

"When did you become acquainted with TJ?" I asked.

Akshay wrapped his left arm around my shoulders. "In the underground dance battle. And I am not lying, Bhoomi, he is fucking awesome! I can't wait to see him again tonight."

"I wish I could also come and watch him," I said with a heavy heart.

"Then why don't you?"

We turned our heads to the left on hearing Jiya's voice.

"My mother would not allow me to stay out that late," I said.

"Well, you can lie and say that you are having a sleepover at my place," Jiya suggested. "After you are done with your job, I will pick you up from the Hirabai Chawk. But you will have to arrive before 7 p.m."

"Hmmm... I guess I will have to postpone doing my assignments then. I can't go mia on my mother's employers."

Akshay and I would have gone together, but as a participant, he had to arrive at the arena by 6 p.m. sharp. Arushi encouraged me to go with Jiya and take a break for one day.

"You coming then?" Jiya asked and blew her bubblegum.

After a few minutes of thinking, I nodded. If there was any other reason, I wouldn't have agreed to Jiya's suggestion. The only motivation I had was to see Tejas in action. Ayushi said that if my parents called her, she would say that she was also having a sleepover at Jiya's place.

Following the plan I and my friends had made, I left no stone unturned to complete all of my chores within the time limit. I reached home after school hours and instantly went to my first workplace. My mother had allowed me to go to Jiya's house, so I had to rush.

You might be thinking that if Tejas studied in my college, I must be seeing him everyday and would have seen him dance in real life too, so what was so special about this dance battle?

Well, first of all, Tejas was someone I had only seen from afar. Yes, he had performed a few times during our college festivals, but the distance between him and me was huge. I knew he wasn't a person to judge someone based on their financial background, but I was still shy to approach him directly.

Somehow, he seemed unreachable. His lifestyle, personality, and attitude were completely opposite of mine, but I still liked him a lot.

'Liked' as in respect. Yes, nothing else.

I worked diligently, and by 3 p.m., I was done with my share of work. I went back home to change and was combing my shoulder length hair when my mother arrived from Akshay's home.

"Where are you going?" Mom asked.

"To Jiya's house for a sleepover. I already told you," I said.

My mother sighed as she had forgotten about it. I sensed that she was struggling to ask me something, but I was getting late. When she didn't say anything, I began to exit, but she stopped me.

"Bhoomi..." she said in a low voice. "Can you please help me today? We are lacking some workers. I asked Akshay's mother, and she has agreed to help me, but I still need one more person."

For a moment, I felt anger rise to my head. Mom knew I wasn't joking on spending time with Jiya, and that's why I even finished my job before time also.

"Maa, I really want to go. Didn't you say I wouldn't have to work today? Still I worked at Urmila Aunty's place. Now I have to work again?" I whined.

"I am sorry, beta. I promise it is the last time," Mom pleaded.

Stupid, Bhoomi. How dare you make your mother beg to you? You should be ashamed.

I took a deep breath and quickly changed back into my old clothes. My sister scolded our mother for making me work when I should be studying and hanging out with friends, but I stopped her before she hyperventialted.

Mom and I left the house and went to her housekeeping supervisor's home. From there, we boarded a mini van and were taken to the venue where we had to work at an engagement function. The pay was good, so I stopped sulking.

When the clock struck 5:30 p.m., I called Jiya and told her that I wouldn't be able to come. She was not happy but understood my situation. She gave me the address of the dance arena and hoped that I would be able to make it in time for the finals.

I thanked her and wiped the dirty table counters with a cloth. The engagement ceremony was over forty minutes ago, and we had to clean up the whole place. I felt my eyes stinging with tears as I picked up the used plastic cups and paper plates.

Why am I being such an emotional fool right now? So what if I missed the chance to see TJ? I should be happy to help my mother and earn some money.

By the time all the workers were done, the sky had turned dark. There was no way I would have been able to attend the finale of the dance battle. With a sunken feeling, I accepted my payment from the supervisor and joined my mother in the van.

"You must be really angry on me, no?" Mom said.

I sighed. "Making money is also important, Maa."

Mom pouted, and I patted her hand in assurance. Some of the women commented that my mother was lucky that I always helped her and came to work whenever she asked me. It felt good to hear that, but I didn't want my mother to do housekeeping anymore. She had been doing that since last thirty years.

Keeping my sadness aside, I chatted with the women. Around 8 o'clock, we reached our Chawl, and the only thing I wanted to do was to rest. We didn't need to prepare dinner as our supervisor had given us the food, so I freshened up and decided to watch some cartoons with my niece.

Srishti giggled when one of the animated characters was chased by its enemy.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

I picked up the call on seeing Akshay's caller ID.

"Hello, Akki, aren't you busy-"

"Bhoomi, Rehman will be at your place within a few minutes. Just don't ask him any questions and come with him, okay? It is an emergency," Akshay said.

"What?! Did you get hurt, asshole? Are you in the hospital?" I yelled.

"No, I am not. Now chill down, and do as I have told you. I will tell you everything after you arrive here."

Sensing the seriousness in Akki's voice, I nodded. As soon as I hung up, Rehman arrived at my doorstep, and Mom asked her if his mother had sent him.

"Aunty, I need Bhoomi's help and would have to take her with me. Don't worry, it is nothing serious. I will drop her back within an hour or two," Rehman explained in one breath.

My father raised his eyebrows, and I saw Rehman's face go pale. He started to explain again, but Dad stopped him.

"Relax, kid. We are all family. If you need Bhoomi right now, then she will go with you," Dad said.

I didn't know why Rehman was acting like a robber and asking for my parents' permission like that. We had been living together in this Chawl since we learnt to speak, so my parents knew I was safe with the guys in our neighborhood.

Rehman smiled in relief and took me with him. Within seconds, we were riding on his bike at full speed. I asked him where we were going, and he told me to let him focus on the road.

What the hell is going on? Wasn't Rehman supposed to be at the underground dance arena? And why did Akshay call me so frantically but said that it wasn't anything too serious. If none of the guys were injured, then what exactly happened?