Maya

Guess what? I am the happiest person alive on the earth right now.

My heart thumped loudly in my chest as I looked at his heartwarming smile. This night is getting better already. Making friends with Sarah and Ishaan and being a member of one of the biggest party of the industry is not something I thought to be possible.

After some time, Sarah took me with her to take a peek at the delicious dishes set up for the night, leaving Ajay and Ishaan behind.

" Oh, wow. Gulab Jamun. Why did I start my diet plan? What do you think? Should I drop my diet and just get this into my tummy?" Sarah asked me with expectant eyes for me to tell her the answer she wants to hear.

" Wouldn't it be a problem if you are breaking your diet plan midway?" I asked with a light chuckle.

Her eyes turned sad while she got absorbed in thoughts. After a while of thinking hard, she finally took it and gulped it down. " Ah... this is what is called pleasure. Screw diet. "

I couldn't help but laugh at her delighted face. "Looks like you really love Gulab Jamun, " I said while watching her gulp down two of them simultaneously.

" I love everything that I am not supposed to eat," she replied without a change in her face-," But hey, why are you not having anything? Just finish up before anyone gets. Food is the best part of a party. You agree, right?"

It's surprising how she manages to spill her inner thoughts. I am sure I think about this every time I am at a party but I doubt I have ever revealed it.

A while later, I heard a few people calling Sarah over their group. Sure she is pretty sociable and gets along well. I felt much at ease with her and somehow my nervousness vaporized into the thin air. " Make yourself comfortable. I will come soon." As she left, I took a Gulabjamun and slowly gulped it down. This is too good. Wow.

" Maya?" I turned to see the assistant director standing in front of me. What was his name again? Dummy me! How did I forget his name?

I forced a smile to not show what is going on in my mind and that I don't remember his name. I gave him a 'hi' and silence fell between us. After an awkward moment of silence, he breaks the tension. "Raghav here."

I gawked. It was as if he read through my mind. Soon after, he breaks into a laugh. Without knowing anything, I laugh along with him.

" You should have seen your face. You could have asked my name directly." My laugh ceased as we continued chit-chatting after solving the name guessing puzzle.

We slowly started talking over movies. Even though I haven't watched many movies recently, I knew about them, thanks to my job as an entertainment reporter.

" Maya, How about you try acting? You have got some real nice expressions. You should definitely give it a try."

When he said that all of a sudden, my mind went blank for a second or two. Acting? No way. That was my dreadful past. I cannot get into acting again no matter how much I regret it.

I let out a chuckle, hoping to hear that he was joking.

" Why would you laugh? I am serious." His sincere gaze fell upon my face. I knew he wasn't kidding but how could I get into acting again? Most importantly, why would he offer me this advice all of a sudden?

" You will do great once you step into this world. Then again, I am not forcing you. This is my card,"- he handed me a card-," I will be working as the assistant director of the upcoming film, '30 days'. They haven't decided on the cast yet. If you are interested in the auditions, you can call me anytime, now that we are friends. "

My face became pale. This is going in a very wrong way. I shouldn't get into acting. I had promised myself to let go of my past because of my family. Then how can I...?

" I... I will think about it," I said, looking at the business card.

" Sure. Think about it." His eyes were gleaming in excitement. I stared at the card in my hands. " We should head in now, I guess," he said, interrupting my thoughts.

I turned to see almost everyone entering the bungalow. Not long before we reached in front of the bungalow, Sarah and Ajay joined us. We all made our way inside.

The hall room was lavishly decorated with flowers and scented candles. I twisted the ends of my dress around my fingers, taking baby steps to observe the huge hall. Everything was organised just like in movies. A mansion and a royal party.

I found Ishaan in the crowd, attending to a few guests. It was then when I realized the gap between us. He is born with a golden spoon stuffed in his mouth. My small gift must mean nothing to him.

The thought itself made me sad. At that moment, our eyes met for a second before I averted my gaze. That was so sudden.

" Maya, Come with me." Sarah pulled me with her and we both took a seat across a round table. I searched around at the same place where Ishaan was a few seconds earlier to find it empty.

After some time, I looked around to find that annoying person with whom I had entered the party when I saw him in a far corner. He was chatting with a few people whom I couldn't recognize from my place. I could only see him smiling and nodding from time to time.

" Finding someone?" I snapped out of my thoughts at Sarah's voice.

" No just...I was wondering where Ishaan is." As I was not completely lying, it didn't sound wrong. I looked at her face which had a sly and mysterious smile.

" Hmm... a love is brewing right here. Huh?" She elbowed me in a way of teasing- " I had always wanted to play Cupid between two lovers. If you want to know anything about that stupid guy, I am the girl you should ask."

" It's not like that."

★★★

Ajay

This is much more boring than I anticipated.

My co-star in my previous project, Nakul, in front of me, was talking non-stop and giving me a headache but there's no way I can get out of it. Not that I hated him or something, it's just that talking too much has never been my thing. My cheeks and neck started paining with the forced smile and continuous nodding.

I turned to the table where Maya and Sarah were laughing and giggling when my eyes met Sarah's. She was giving me a look, I didn't completely understand. She had a mysterious kind of smile.

" ... So after that, you know how it went..."

I turned towards Nakul at his sudden remark and slightly nodded without even listening. My mind went blank after seeing her smile like that. She surely has something evil going on in her mind.

Soon loud music filled the room and almost everyone present at the party started shaking their legs on the music. I caught a glimpse of Maya who seemingly was enjoying the party to its full.

" Hey what's up? Not dancing? " I turned to see Ishaan standing in his suit as usual in his friendly way, greeting the guests.

" No, it's comfortable here."

As he kept persuading me and Nakul, the music stopped and all turned silent. We could only hear footsteps coming down the stairs. The dark room once again filled with lights. I turned to see a woman in a sea-green saree, standing out in the crowd.

The announcer stepped back as soon as her gaze fell on him. Everyone fell silent the moment she took the mic in her hands. No wonder she is the legendary actress, director and producer, Alisha Kapoor, Ishaan's mother.

" Sorry for the interruption but as you all know every year I try to come here and meet all of you wonderful people. Welcome everyone, actors, directors, producers, crew members and all the others who contributed to our industry. You are the new generation legacy of Indian movies ahead. So like every year I would like to meet you and see more of you in the following years..."

Amidst the speech, I turned to find Ishaan pretending to be uninterested as always. He got busy with his phone, not listening to anything. I felt a nudge at my side to see Sarah mouthing to move.

As I stepped aside, I accidentally bumped into Maya, stamping her shoes. Before she could react, it was me who was about to shout when she pressed my lips with her hands, muttering something under her breath and rubbing her feet.

" You fool, stay silent." She turned towards Alisha ma'am to listen to her speech. I never knew she would get interested in such long speeches. Right at that moment, my gaze fell on her fingers covering my lips.

"... That is all. I must take your leave now. Good wishes to you all." The speech came to an end and the room was back to normal; in the sense, everyone started talking again.

" You know there is a thing called sorry or did you forget all your good manners after becoming a star? Cat caught your tongue?" Maya looked at me with her furious look. I could only roll my eyes and point out how her fingers prevented me from speaking.

Her eyes went wide in realization as she took her hands away. She dropped her face in embarrassment and kept biting her lips.

" Didn't you have enough food? Now you want to eat up your lips too?" From the corner of my eyes, I could see her fuming with her face all red.

" Well, continue your dance. Enjoy the party," I said, trying to change the topic quickly. She still kept fuming with rage with narrowed eyes.

Even if it is fun to make her pissed, it doesn't mean you can mess with her. She was looking at me as if she was about to cut off my head and body into pieces.

Okay, Ajay, calm down. You can deal with this monke- no, girl.

" You-" She uttered when we heard the shattering sound of a glass. We both looked in the direction of the sound to find Ishaan and his mother looking directly at each other's eyes. Sarah was staring at both of them with fear evident in her eyes.

Now, about us, the only thing we could do was look at the broken glass on the floor with the wine flowing down and gaze at each other.

~•~

Hope you all are doing well.

A film offer right in front of her. Will she accept it?

What is the story behind Ishaan and his mother?

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