"Bhoomi Devarkar, Kshitij Dogra, Rita Marwadi, Devendra Jayanthan, Kapil Kumar.... all of you will be under Fatima Ma'am's mentorship, while Akshay Nandite, Suhana Pirthani, Tejas Jaiswal, Usha Patil... you guys will work with Rohit Sir."

After announcing the five teams of ten members each, the staff member left.

I felt sad that I was not in the same team as Akshay, but I felt sadder that my luck again ran out on me.

Tejas wasn't on my team!

"Can I go in another team?" I mumbled.

"You not happy working with me?" Kshitij looked at me with sad eyes.

He instantly smiled when I shook my head.

"It's not like that," I said.

"Then why do you look so grim. If you are worried about Fatima ma'am, then chill. She is a really cool lady," KD said.

I listened to him half-heartedly as I wondered when I would get to be with my idol. I wanted to tell him so many things, show him my dance covers, take his input and advice, learn from him; I doubted if that time would ever come.

Throwing my dull mood out of the window, I joined my teammates. Our mentors also arrived, and as soon as they stepped inside the practice room, the air changed.

Fatima ma'am and Rohit sir both exuded strong competitive auras. Fatima ma'am called for her team and her introduction was short and straight to the point.

"No arguments, no gossiping, and most importantly, no slacking."

KD was made the team leader, while one of our team members, Chaitali, was given the task of keeping a track of our schedules. Since it was the start, Fatima ma'am was going to work on each of us individually. After that, the songs for group choreography were shortlisted.

She took us to another practice room; we had room number 5, while Akshay was in room number 8.

Even though KD was there with his jolly and lively personality, I still wondered how Akshay felt to be with both Tejas and Suhana.

My curiosity took the best of me, so I lied about going to the washroom. After getting excused, I walked like a snail as I went past the room where my 'lucky' friend was mingling with Tejas and others.

I glanced here and there and watched from outside of the glass window. My eyes twitched in jealousy as Tejas and Akshay were having a happy time together. Both of them looked comfortable with each other.

I kept admiring TJ, but whenever my gaze landed on Akki, I wanted to throw him out and take his place.

As expected, Akki noticed me staring at him like a ghost, and he came towards me. He knocked on the window, but I rolled my eyes.

Why was this idiot on TJ's team?

Seeing that I wasn't responding to him, Akshay unlocked the door and stood beside me.

"Oye, Boom Boom Boomer, what's with the attitude?" Akki asked.

I gave him a stinky side-eye. He kept calling me names, but when I didn't respond at all, he grabbed my head in a headlock.

"Don't you have a mouth?" Akki slapped my lips. "Don't know how to speak? Wait, I know very well how to make you talk in seconds."

My eyes widened as Akshay grabbed my waist with one hand and lifted me up. I was going to see the stars but Tejas appeared from behind Akshay.

"What's keeping you busy here?" Tejas asked Akshay as he kept his hand on my friend's shoulder.

Akshay let me down but pushed me as he was annoyed by my lack of response. I instantly looked in the glass window and brushed my hair.

I checked my clothes and beamed at TJ. "Hello, Tejas."

I sensed Akki shooting death glares at me but I was immune to his stares.

There's no way Tejas would not be able to acknowledge me now.

My lips streched up as Tejas finally gave me his attention for more than a second, and this time, he had some expression on his face.

"Hi," TJ said.

Before he could run away again, I decided to fire up the conversation.

"TJ, I saw you dance just now. It was awesome! Can I join your team?" I asked hopefully.

Tejas' eyes narrowed a bit. "Do you think that's possible?"

I glanced at Akshay but he gave me the same treatment I had given him.

"Maybe?" I replied hesitantly. "I really want to be on your team."

"Is that so?" TJ asked as his voice grew deeper. "I am happy with my current members though."

I blinked rapidly. I noticed Akki pressing his lips tightly as he avoided laughing out loud.

It was clear rejection, and I saw my hopes crashing like Jenga.

No, Bhoomi, don't back down so easily. Be persistent.

I cleared my throat and made my voice more polite. 80% percent of my energy was already used up by just exchanging a few words; I had to hold my ground.

"I am glad you think so, but what if there is one more member...?" I drummed my index fingers together. "I really want to learn from you."

As if Tejas was already prepared with the rejection speech, he didn't waste a single minute to shoot my request down.

"Sounds like you whining about your mentor," TJ gave a short reply.

"No, I am not whini-"

"Bhoomi!"

I snapped my head to the left and saw KD approaching me like a predator. I hid behind Akshay, but he pushed me towards the danger.

"How dare you betray my trust?" KD accused. "I thought you were going to the washroom, but you were conspiring with our rivals?"

Before I could answer, KD grabbed the hood of my jacket and started dragging me behind him.

He waved goodbye to Akshay and Tejas, and I hid my face with my palms. It was so embarrassing. KD kept lecturing me for lying to him, while Akshay was laughing at me.

No, this isn't what I had in my mind!

Once I was back in my practice room, Kshitij kept a close eye on me. He told our mentor's assistant to monitor my washroom breaks as I kept inventing ways to go to the other team's room.

I wish I can swap places with Akshay...

When the day ended, my mood was miserable. I wondered if my life was going to end like that. I was seeing no progress with Tejas. The lamp of my hopes was dimming.

Why did TJ showed no interest in me? Couldn't he see how much I admired him? As his fan, he could atleast entertain my rubbish a little bit.

Just like my first try, he made my ship sink every time I tried to talk to him. It felt like I was invisible to him.

Does he even acknowledge my existence?

As I kept worrying that TJ would never pay me much attention even if I showed him the inside of my mind, Akshay was busy teasing me about my goofy acts.

To get some advice on my current situation, I went to Arushi's house after college. She began uploading her recent book review on her Instagram page as soon as we entered her room. I took the laptop from her and placed my face in front of hers.

"Bhoomi, I need to upload it," Arushi said.

I refused and moved closer to her. She took a deep breath and pushed me back with her forefinger.

"Too close for comfort, girl," she said.

I laid down beside her on her bed, and placed a book on my face.

"Arushi, help me.... What should I do? Why is that idiot Akki in Tejas' team? What sin did I commit?" I whined.

"Do you think I am a love guru?" Arushi pulled her book off of my face.

I nodded, making my curly haired friend make a disgusted face at me.

"I think you are too obsessive with Tejas. There are so many other dancers, you know," Arushi said.

"But... Tejas is different...."

"How exactly?"

"Well... He is.... you know, different as in his dance form, style, execution.... are you getting what I am saying?"

Arushi twisted her lips. "Just accept you like him. No need to make excuses."

As if to confirm her point, Akshay made his unwanted entry and gave me a 'Colgate smile'. I buried my face in one of the pillows.

Akki yanked that same pillow and hit me on the head.

"I knew you would be here," Akki said. "Showing attitude these days, aren't you? After acting as if you don't even know me, you are here troubling Arushi with all that garbage in your head?"

"Leave if you can't understand me!" I yelled.

Akshay stopped hitting me abruptly and exchanged glances with Arushi. I crossed my arms across my chest and sniffled.

"Are you crying?!" Akki asked in surprise. "I didn't hit you that hard!"

Arushi slapped his shoulder. "Idiot, she is not crying because of that."

She gave me a side hug. "It is okay. Everyone has troubles in their love lives. I will give you some books on unrequited love; make sure to read it."

I wiped my nose with my sleeve. "I am not in love with him... I.... I just like him a bit too much."

"So you also accept that your liking is too much," Akki said.

I dropped my shoulders in defeat. "Do you guys think I am offputting?"

"Not offputting, but you sure are turning into a stalker."

Arushi slapped her forehead on Akshay's reply. I buried myself deeper into the pillows. Arushi scolded Akshay, but what he had said wasn't completely wrong.

As both of my friends argued with each other, I remembered all the silly stuff I did to get Tejas' attention.

I checked his SNS sites countless times in a day, kept a check on his arrival and departure time in both college and dance studio, knew the brands he used, his likes and dislikes, the way his facial muscles contorted whenever he was focused, how his eyes changed shades whenever he was excited...

Yeah, I noticed the littlest of details about him. I wasn't sure if I was in love with him or not, but I only wanted to get closer to him as a fellow dancer. Maybe get his recognition too.

Noticing me drifting off into my dreamland, Akshay and Arushi dragged me back to reality.

"I am sorry I am bothering you guys. I will deal with my stupid feelings myself. I don't know if I am obsessed with Tejas, but I really want him to see my dance and give me his feedback."

I sighed and began getting up to leave in a slow pace. I kept mumbling under my breath as I accepted that my dream would never come true. Even my friends made fun of me and my admiration for TJ.

As I slowly got down the bed, I felt two hands hold me back. I turned my head around and gave a small smile.

"I won't trouble you anymore," I said.

Arushi and Akshay looked at me sadly. They exchanged glances and said 'Sorry' simultaneously. I nodded and continued moving towards the door.

"We are sorry, Bhoomi. We will try to help you," both said.

As soon as the words 'try to help you' left their mouths, I planted myself back in my previous spot.

"So, how are you going to help me?" I beamed.

My friends beat me up for blackmailing them with my pitiful act, but they agreed to give me some tips and advice.

As expected, Arushi gave me the talks about being original and not losing my cool whenever I saw Tejas. That was kind of hard to do but I promised to do as she said.

As for Akshay, he only kept reminding me to keep my eyes on the dance floor.

"Akki, yaar, keep your mouth shut if you don't have anything useful to say," I scolded.

Akshay rolled his eyes. "Don't forget I am in constant contact with your so called 'idol'. While you are crying all day, I am busy polishing myself."

As if a tubelight lit inside my head, I sprang up in excitement.

"Akki, why don't you put some good words for me in front of Tejas?" I asked hopefully. "Please? Tell him that I am a good dancer and brag a little bit, no?"

"My mother has taught me not to lie," Akshay said proudly.

"Are you saying I am not good at dancing?" I glared at him.

He shrugged. "You should know it yourself."

I jumped on him and pulled his hair. He pinched my arms when I didn't let go. Meanwhile, Arushi looked at us disappointingly and left the room. Even when she returned, Akshay and I were still busy scratching each other.

She placed some pastries in front of us and opened her laptop. On smelling the sweet smell of our favourite cakes, Akshay and I let each other live. We dived into the food and demanded for more snacks.

"You guys are just like cats," Arushi commented.

Akshay and I grinned. After filling our stomachs, we laid down beside our friend. While Akki fell asleep, I grabbed a book about manifestation from the book shelf.

The moment I opened the first page, the first line hit me hard.

"Don't try to chase something. Let it come to you. If your grip is too tight, you might end up hurting yourself. So, let go of your doubts and focus on your karma."

Karma, karma, karma.

The whole book was about that only. It focused on just doing your job and not worrying about the results.

I reread the paragraphs again and again as a few topics were a bit difficult for my understanding. Soon, my eyes started feeling heavy, and I placed the book on my face as I fell asleep.

In my dreams, I saw myself getting distracted by a voice and falling on my face just the moment before I could reach my goal. And when I got up, everything was dark around me. I could hear the voices of my friends, but I couldn't see anything.

The dream felt really realistic, and even after getting up and going back home, I couldn't stop thinking about that dream.

Was it some kind of sign from universe? Is my focus on something else than my original goal? Do I easily get distracted?

To try myself out, I observed myself in college and dance studio. In just a few days, I realised that most of my time was wasted on worrying about my impression on Tejas instead of my dance practice.

Keeping a stone on my heart, I reduced the amount of time I spent on sneaking out and observing Rohit sir's team. I stopped mulling and put that effort into my own team's performance.

And to prove what that book on manifestation had mentioned, our first evaluation round went smoothly and the teams were shuffled.

I kept my heart rate in check as the new teams were announced. My ears perked up when I heard my name in the same team as Tejas.

Akshay gave me a small thumbs-up. He was also in my team. I could feel my heart thumping loudly as we gathered together and TJ stood just two spots away from me.

So, is this how universe works?