I missed Sarthak Pawar's mega dance session. Because of my poor health, I was not allowed to enter the dance studio and was forced to stay away for two days.

Thanks to Tejas, my fast-food restaurant's manager also debarred me from coming to my part-time job for a few days, so I couldn't go there forcefully.

As for my call center job, the timings were manageable, so I was able to take rest and go to my workplace also.

After getting considerable amount of rest for two days, I went to college to catch up on my lectures. The memory of Tejas helping me that day was always stuck in the front of my eyes, and no matter how much I distracted myself, I always ended up overreacting whenever something related to Tejas was mentioned.

To avoid embarrassing myself, I carefully entered my college and glanced around to see if Tejas was anywhere near or not.

Fortunately, I didn't see him during the first half of the day. As I was lagging behind in my studies, I went with Arushi to copy her notes. We sat at our regular seats in the library, and I started writing down the notes after borrowing Arushi's notebooks.

In my peripheral vision, I noticed Akshay arrive with Suhana. Suhana and I greeted each other, and she even asked me about my health, but my best friend just spared me one glance.

Akshay sat beside Arushi and ignored me. I knew he was angry about what had happened at Shlok's house, but I was annoyed by how adamant he was on his condition of resuming talks with me. To test the waters, I decided to initiate the conversation with him.

"Akki, why didn't you greet me?" I asked him.

He glanced at me. "Don't disturb me," he said and pointed at Arushi, "I am talking with my best friend."

I raised an eyebrow. "I am also your best friend."

"I also thought so, but I was wrong," Akki replied in a clipped tone.

"Do you really have to drag that matter?" I complained.

Akshay shrugged his shoulders and ignored my taunts. Suhana patted my hand when I kept glaring at her boyfriend.

"Don't increase your blood pressure because of him. I am sure this isn't the first time you guys have fought like this," Suhana said to me.

"This time it is different, Suhana," Akshay commented. "I am serious about what I have told Bhoomi."

I rolled my eyes and told Suhana that I was okay. I also decided to not bother Akki as he was hellbent on extracting information from me. He was my best friend, but I couldn't tell him everything; some things had to be kept a secret no matter what. I didn't want to get my friends in trouble for my own personal problems.

To avoid getting in more arguments with Akki, I continued doing my assignments. Suddenly, someone crashed into my chair from the back, and I was totally not surprised when KD smiled goofily at all of us.

There were a lot of colorful books in his hands, and he was struggling to manage them. Hriaan was with him, and he took a bunch of those books from KD and placed them near my stationery.

Tejas is not with Hriaan? He didn't come to college today? He hardly misses classes.

Bhoomi, aren't you trying to avoid him?

Oh yes, I am. Why do I keep thinking about him? It is all his fault.

"What are you doing, Bhoomi?" KD asked in a disappointed tone.

"What did I do now?" I questioned in confusion.

Kshitij shook his head at my notes. "Why don't you work on improving your handwriting? It still sucks."

"KD!" Suhana scolded. "It isn't that bad."

KD told her to have a look, and Suhana started reading one of my notes. Hriaan and Kshitij snickered when Suhana squinted her eyes and misread a lot of paragraphs.

"Wow, it is really difficult to understand this.." Suhana commented.

I punched Kshitij on the thigh when he teased me. He piled up more than a dozen of kids' handwriting and drawing books in front of me.

"All of these are for you," KD said.

I blinked rapidly. "You can't be serious."

I opened one of the books and glared at him. "I know cursive writing, KD. I don't need these."

He grinned and held Arushi's notebook like a trophy. "Look at this," he said and then pointed at my notes, "and look at this. See the difference? We can hardly differentiate between your 'a' and 'o', and just look at your 'r' and 's'. You are losing a lot of marks just because of your pathetic writing skills, Bhoomi."

I sighed and glanced at Arushi. She already had a light blush on her cheeks, so I decided to increase it.

I looked at KD. "I also wish my handwriting was as beautiful as Arushi's. Do you think it will be?"

KD tried to hide his smile but ended up glowing like a bulb. He shot a quick glance in Arushi's direction and nodded proudly.

"If you use these books, you can surely achieve that. But you have to be really diligent also - just like... Arushi," KD said.

Arushi coughed, and I did a secret high-five with KD. He told me to try out one of the handwriting books, and I opened the first page.

To avoid him breathing down my neck like a strict teacher, I started tracing the alphabets. Unfortunately, because of my habit, I always ended up writing down in my usual style.

"Shorty, you can't even trace properly?" Hriaan laughed.

I twisted my face at him, and Suhana also advised me to write slowly. I did that and felt embarrassed that I was making a lot of mistakes even for such a simple thing; surprisingly, my wrist was not rotating the way I wanted it to.

I decided to give it a last try before I began studying. I had just started writing down the first alphabet when KD grabbed my hand.

"I will teach you," he said.

I refused, but he shot me a signal, and I nodded when I understood that he wanted to impress Arushi. After he arrived, her mood had turned very bright and she was blushing continuously; I knew how hard she was trying to keep her eyes off KD.

I am sure their date must have been really good.

KD placed his hand on mine and taught me like I was a toddler. I was going to tease him about his silly idea later.

When he was done teaching me the first few letters, I acted like he had done a very big favour on me and glanced at Arushi.

"KD will make a really nice teacher, right, Aru?" I asked her and wiggled my eyebrows.

I was waiting for her to shy away or give some exciting reaction, but her face was blank - just like that day when I was leaving with KD from Shlok's house.

"Aru, you also think that KD will make a nice teacher, right?" I repeated.

She glanced between me and KD and adjusted her specs.

"Yeah," she replied disinterestedly.

I looked at KD, and he also glanced at me in confusion.

"You both went on a date, right?" I whispered to him.

He nodded. "I don't know why she is suddenly in a bad mood right now."

As we were discussing about Arushi's mood swing, she announced that she was leaving as there were no more lectures to attend.

I told her to wait for a few more minutes as I was still studying and our friends were also there, but she excused herself and told me to return her notes later. She didn't wait even when Akki told her to.

I told Kshitij to go and check on Arushi, but he said that he had his lecture to attend. He said that he would text Arushi and find out about what was bothering her.

Like KD, Suhana and Hriaan also had lectures to attend, so they also left after some time. Akshay and I were left by ourselves. He kept studying, and I also didn't want to fight with him, so I studied some chapters and decided to leave for home.

After exiting the library, my feet were moving towards the college gates, but my head was rotating in every direction possible as my eyes tried to locate the guy I was avoiding at all costs.

Did he really not come to college? He is okay, right?

Bhoomi, why are you mentioning him again?

Well, I... I just want to... thank him. That's it.

How many times will you thank him? Don't you think it is so mannerless to just say thank you for all the times he has helped you?

You are right. I should buy something for him. But what? I am short on money. I can't buy anything expensive, and I am afraid Tejas would like anything cheap.

Why don't you get him something to eat then? Food is always the best solution.

But he is not here.

Why don't you check once?

Following my inner voice's advice, I roamed around the hallways of the second year classes. I knew I was going to run away the moment I saw Tejas, but my heart was telling me to just get a glimpse of him. I kept reminding myself that it was only because I wanted to thank him.

Oh fuck, that's Tejas! I should run! But wait, is he sleeping? In the class?

I stared at him from the window. Tejas had rested his head on the desk, his eyes closed. He looked so peaceful. I didn't want to disturb him.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead as the memory of that incident flashed in front of my eyes.

He had picked me up only to help me. Why does my stupid heart keeps romanticizing everything? I don't have time for it.

"Yo, Shorty, why are you acting suspicious?"

I jumped in fright when Hriaan's voice exploded in my ears like a missile.

I quickly cleared my throat. "I was just leaving."

Hriaan narrowed his eyes. "Gates are in the opposite direction. You suffering from memory loss?"

Before I could come up with an excuse, Hriaan glanced inside the classroom and smirked.

"I knew my best friend had a lot of secret admirers, but I didn't know you were one of them," he commented.

What the fuck?!

I forced a smile on my face. "But you already know I am his fan, right?"

Hriaan darted his eyes on my face, his smirk only increasing. "There are various kinds of fans, Shorty. Which category do you fall under? A normal one or a stalker one?"

I widened my eyes. "Stalker?!"

"Never heard of that word before? Well, I know having fans is a really nice thing, but observing someone sleeping for more than necessary can mean a lot of things, no? Either, you like the person, or you are unhealthily obsessed with them, or you want to harm them. I know you, so the last possibility is out of the window, but which one of the first two possibilities is it?"

My voice was stuck inside my throat. I felt like my brain had rusted after Hriaan caught me outside his class, looking at his best friend.

"Hriaan, I think you have misunderstood me. I am neither stalking Tejas, nor am I unhealthily obsessed with him," I explained.

"You like him then?" he questioned without missing a beat.

I do... No, I don't like him. Huh? I don't? Yes, I used to like him, but not now. I hate him then? No, I don't hate him. I neither like him nor hate him. Is there a need to have a confirmed answer to everything? I can just lie.

"I don't like him," I answered without fumbling.

"Why are you here then?" Hriaan asked, his stare getting intense.

"I just wanted to thank him for helping me, but he is asleep, so I don't want to disturb him," I replied.

Hriaan gave a very short nod. "See you later then, Shorty. Take care."

"See you later too."

Hriaan went inside his class and sat down beside Tejas. He waved me bye, and I left after failing in my plan.

Why did I fall in Hriaan's trap? I know he likes twisting words and never leaves me without teasing me. Why did I let him confuse me? It is all my fault. I shouldn't have searched for Tejas in the first place. But... I can't keep avoiding him. Today, I managed, but tomorrow, I will have to face him. What if we again end up in the same team?

That will happen only if you don't get eliminated, Bhoomi.

Don't remind me. I am already exhausted after running away from Tejas; I don't want to torture myself by thinking about the dance evaluation results.

I rushed off to my home and forced myself to sleep because my mind was not letting me live in peace. As it is, I needed rest because I was going to start my part-time jobs two days later.

The next day, it was Doom's Day. I was prepared to vanish from Sarthak's studio the moment the results were going to be announced. I still didn't know what I was going to do if I got eliminated.

Well, I had a big responsibility to take care of, but I didn't want to lose my position among the trainees.

Eventually, the anticipated moment arrived, and I had hid myself among my fellow dancers when one of our mentors, Suhas Sir started announcing the eliminations.

I had noticed Akshay glancing at me when I had arrived in the auditorium, and I knew that even if he wasn't talking to me, he would have surely kept his promise of murdering me for getting eliminated.

Suhas Sir took all the time in the world and very slowly listed out the names of the dancers who had progressed to the next phase of the training. Even after ten minutes, I still didn't hear my name.

As expected, KD, Akshay, Suhana, and Tejas had made it as the top performers, and as usual, Tejas was leading the scoreboards along with Danny.

I clutched my bag tightly as I readied myself to sprint off, but just like it had happened during the auditions, my name was announced at the last moment. I was safe - it was both a good news and a bad news.

And to celebrate my pathetic win, I was summoned in Sarthak Pawar's cabin. I had already prepared some cotton to stuff in my ears because I knew they were going to bleed soon.

I knew I wasn't going to get spared, so I didn't try to run away. I gulped nervously as I knocked Sarthak's cabin's door.

He allowed me to enter, and the moment I stepped inside his office, my forehead was bombed with a soft ball.

I didn't react and picked up the fallen ball. I placed it on Sarthak's desk and stood with my head low.

"Don't pull that innocent act now," Sarthak warned.

"I am sorry, Sir," I said.

"That's all you say every time!"

I flinched at his loud voice but didn't raise my head.

"Bhoomi, look at me. I want to see if you are really serious about your results or not," Sarthak said.

I slowly looked at him, and he sighed and rubbed his temples.

"What's the problem with you?" he asked in exasperstion. "You have survived just by a sliver. Do you realise what that means? Do you really not want to be a part of my team? You want to quit?"

I shook my head vigorously. "No, Sir. I am serious about the training. I don't want to leave."

"Then why aren't you doing anything to improve yourself? Where is the Bhoomi that I had seen during the auditions? Are there any issues with the training methods? You don't like the mentors or their teaching styles? The timings are difficult for you to manage? Are you having trouble keeping up with the sessions?"

"Everything is good, Sir. The mentors and everyone else are excellent."

"What is the actual problem then? Are you having some personal issues? Is your family not allowing you to continue? Or are you suffering from heartbreak? I know I am your mentor, Bhoomi, but you can share your problems with me. I will help you in every way possible. I don't want to see you lagging behind so poorly when I know you can do much better," Sarthak said.

I am really happy to see his concern, but I can't tell him the actual reason.

"There is no personal problem, Sir. I am sorry for disappointing you. I promise I won't make any more mistakes," I said.

"You don't have a choice because if you don't pull up your socks this time, I will myself throw you out, got it?" Sarthak warned.

I nodded. "Yes, Sir."

He started lecturing me about my dance performance during the last months when there was a sudden knock on the door.

After getting Sarthak's permission, his cabin's door opened, and in came the person I totally didn't want to be with in the same place.

Tejas entered the office, and I cursed my luck. I kept my focus on other stuff, and Tejas placed some papers on Sarthak's desk.

"Jatin Sir told me to give you these," Tejas told Sarthak.

Sarthak eyed those papers happily. "Let's see how we can make this training more fun."

Sarthak told Tejas to take a seat, and Tejas sat down on the sofa. I thought I was finally going to be released from the dungeon, but Sarthak made me stand on my spot and grilled me in front of Tejas - as if I wasn't already embarrassed.

It wasn't anything new though. I was surprised that Tejas wasn't scolding me too like he always did.

After fifteen minutes, Sarthak was done lecturing and excused me after repeating his warning. I apologized and thanked him before leaving his office.

Once I was out of the cabin, I heaved a deep breath; that was intense. I checked my ears, and fortunately, they were not bleeding.

Thank you, Ganapati Bappa, for saving me from the eliminations. I know I need to work hard, but I am doing my best. I wish I was physically strong or had superpowers. I would have gotten rid of all of my problems in a go. It would have been so-

I froze when there was a light tap on my right shoulder.

I very slowly turned around as I knew who the person was.

Tejas forwarded me a pamphlet. "Sarthak told me to give this to you."

I took the pamphlet without looking at him and read the contents. It was about the free health checkup going to be held at the studio itself and what benefits trainees would receive. I was amazed at the amount of perks and advantages Sarthak was giving for free.

"This is really good," I mumbled.

I won't even need to buy those expensive health supplements because all of it is covered under this health checkup.

"I thought you said you were my fan," Tejas said.

I briefly looked up at him. "What?"

"Aren't fans supposed to like the person they are fan of?" Tejas asked, his voice sounding as if he was complaining.

I wondered why he was suddenly asking me that. I decided to just give a formal answer to end the conversation because I wasn't going to be able to stop myself from turning into a tomato if I had stayed with him for longer.

"Fans like their idols," I replied to him.

"Then why did you say you don't like me?" he questioned with a serious expression.

Hriaan... That guy! Why did he gossip about our conversation with Tejas? He can't keep his mouth shut, does he? He can only digest food, nothing else!

"Hriaan was misunderstanding the situation, that's why," I answered.

"You aren't even trying to deny it," Tejas grumbled.

What's wrong with him?

"Do you keep refusing my help because you don't like me?" Tejas asked.

"I think you are misunderstanding the context too," I said. "I am your fan, but what Hriaan had asked was in a completely different sense. And as for you helping me, I am always thankful."

Yes, this should do. I don't want any misunderstandings. As for Hriaan, I will punch him next time I see him.

Tejas flicked my chin strongly and looked at me as if I had stolen his candies.

"You are an idiot," Tejas said, and after giving me an intense death glare, he stomped off.

Wasn't he already satisfied with me receiving Sarthak's lecture that he had to sprinkle his annoyance in the end? Why is he so confusing? I can't tell if he is irritated with me or concerned for me. I think I should leave before I end up shape-shifting into a tomato plant.

Tejas had flicked me and called me an idiot, but did my heart focus on that? Of course, not. Instead of reflecting on my poor performance in the training program and worrying about finding more jobs, it was busy replaying what Tejas had asked me earlier.

Why did he look so mad while asking about me being his fan or not? Is he really that serious about losing fans? I didn't know he was that much dedicated to his fanclub. Was he really just talking about only that? He didn't mean anything else, right? Of course, he didn't. Even if his words are hard for me to decipher, I am sure it is nothing else. He just wanted an opportunity to scold me.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

I instantly picked up the call after I saw Eknath Uncle's caller ID.

"Bhoomi, I have got two jobs for you. Both are high-paying, but one of them would be on a contract basis. You wanna know more?" Eknath Uncle asked.

"Yes, Uncle," I replied happily.

"The first job is at a fishing dockyard, and you will have to reach there very early. If you do well, you can even get a permanent job there. The next job is at a high-profile event management company. As you know, all of such high-class events happen almost every day and during late nights, so you need to be prepared. I won't be able to assist you every time. Your employer will also be different."

"I don't have any reason to refuse, Uncle. I really need these jobs."

"I know, but will you be able to manage? You are already doing two part-time jobs, right?"

"If these new jobs are paying good, I can quit one of the part-time jobs. That way, I will be able to manage everything. I have to try."

"Okay then, I will confirm your answer with the employers. But don't push yourself too hard, okay? I will keep looking for more suitable jobs for you till then. Take care of yourself."

"Thank you, Uncle."

He told me to keep my health in check and hung up the call. I was glad to receive more job opportunities; I was aware that these new jobs were going to demand more of my time and energy, and for that, I needed a solid plan for my schedule.

I will discuss this with Mom. She will guide me on how to manage my time as she has a lot of experience doing such odd jobs while handling our household. Okay, I survived the eliminations, so let's buy some samosas and kachoris to celebrate. Even if we are having a hard time right now, I won't allow these happy moments to drown.