"Do me a favour and don't tell Vahni about this," I said to Sarah as soon as Siddharth left. 

"Why not? And what was that all about? The hot guy wants to make it up to you for something?" Sarah asked.

"This was the rude guy I met on my first day here. I told you about him I think," I said finally sitting down and taking a sip of my iced tea. 

"The music guy?" 

"Yes," I took a bite of pizza. 

"And why can't I tell Vahni about this?" 

"Because she'll want to go," I said and held up a slice for her to eat. 

"Wait, wait, wait, You're planning on not going when the hottest guy I have ever seen personally invites you after apologizing I assume?" she said and swatted my hand away incredulously. 

"Sarah, he might have been hot but his Jupiter sized ego is not attractive." I put down the slice.

"Okay, a person with a 'Jupiter sized ego' would not seek you out to apologize and try and make it up to you. And I am not saying you have to marry the guy, just go to the damned party. It sounds so much fun. Aren't you trying to do just that? Have fun and live life or whatever." 

I hated to admit it but she was right. Siddharth had apologized and in the worst-case scenario, I could just leave if it gets too bad. Also, I couldn't deny Vahni a chance to get up close and personal with the Red Wagon douches she seemed to adore. 

"Fine, you're staying though," I said.

"You know I can't do that. 7 am class and I already missed the practical. We'll party at my house when my parents go on that trip. Promise." she said. 

I pouted but there was no way around it. All of it was true I was grateful she had missed her practical to be here for my performance at least.

"That reminds me, they'll be announcing results soon. Let's get back to the auditorium."

Vahni and Smriti were already seated when we reached the auditorium. The dance competition was just wrapping up and the results were to be declared next.

"We were just about to call you," Vahni said and scooted over so we could get into the row.

Both of them were now in gorgeous dresses and towering high heels.

"You guys look stunning!" I gushed.

Before they could thank me the emcee grabbed our attention by calling the judges up to the stage and asking them to read out the results. 

To our absolute delight, Vahni's name was called out as the first runner up for the fashion show. We cheered loudly as she rushed up to the stage and received the trophy. They asked the winners to pose for photographs and she stood to a side with the other fashion show winners. 

They then had the Indian Idol finalist judge read out the names of the winners for the singing competition. I held my breath as my name wasn't called out for a second or first runner up. He took a pause before saying,

"And now... the winner of this competition is... Meera Sehgal!" 

Sarah screamed so loudly next to my ear that I thought my eardrum would burst. I recovered from the shock and ran up to the stage and received my trophy. 

"Congratulations, you sang really well." the judge said as we posed for a photograph together holding the trophy. 

I thanked him and went to stand next to the other winners. Vahni squealed and hugged me. 

"Congratulations! I knew you would win!" she said.

"Congratulations yourself!" I laughed hugging her back.

"We're fucking amazing!" she yelled and pretty much everybody turned our way to look because the mic near us caught the sound. Maybe not the most embarrassing moment of my life but it did make the top ten list. We had one last picture clicked together and descended the stage. 

Honestly, I wanted us all to leave the auditorium and celebrate together, but nobody wanted to leave because Red Wagon was set to perform next. Vahni's interest was predictable but apparently, Smriti was pretty fascinated too. Sarah obviously wanted to see the band she had heard so much about perform and Siddharth in action. So not to be the curmudgeon I didn't protest too much when they sat back down. Vahni dug around in her purse for something and produced a bottle of soft drink.

"Here, let's drink to celebrate our wins," she said uncapping the bottle and handing it to me. 

I laughed and took a cautious little sip. She had managed to sneak in alcohol after all. As the dark liquid hit my tongue I grimaced and swallowed it quickly before coughing a little.

"It's bitter!" I said sticking my tongue out.

"Of course it's bitter," she said and took the bottle from my hand and passed it to Sarah.

Sarah and Smriti had identical reactions, the small sip, the grimace plus the coughing fit. Vahni took the bottle and took a big swig and shook her head slightly.

"This is the best! Now just wait for it to kick in," she said and passed the bottle around again. 

I was yet to tell Vahni and Smriti about the invitation because I hadn't gotten a chance to but mostly because I was still on the fence. On one hand, I didn't want to hang around those people and their fans and I didn't love the idea of talking to Siddharth again. On the other hand, this was exactly what I needed to further my 'New Meera' plan, a fun, happening, exclusive party. I looked over at my three friends singing along to the song they were playing on stage. They were having so much fun. I couldn't deprive them of this chance. It was final then.

We were going.

***

Vahni was still vibrating at a frequency that seemed unnatural, that's how excited she was. Maybe it was the vodka, maybe it was the nerves and maybe it was the combination of everything.

We stood outside the auditorium doors listening to the muffled music inside. A couple of people passed us and opened the doors and walked in. We caught a glimpse of the party inside. Music thumped as people danced on the stage which functioned as a dance floor, others stood about around the seating area holding cups in their hands.

The scene did not fill me with anxiety or dread. I found myself excited at the prospect of going in and partying, nervous sure but mostly excited. Vahni took the last swig from the now empty bottle of soft drink and threw it aside. 

When I had told them about the invitation that Siddharth had extended to me, Vahni had lost her mind. She had jumped about with joy while Smriti and Sarah laughed. They were both ecstatic at this opportunity of meeting the band and talking to them. I tried to give them a reality check, I told them going to the party didn't guarantee an interaction because there would be other people around but they were too blissful to heed.

Sarah, unfortunately, had to leave after the last performance of the day. Not before we had spent the last quarter of an hour dancing crazily to the music playing in the ground though, so that was fun. We were really sweaty by the end of the dance session so Vahni insisted we go to her PG to touch up before we went to the after-party. Smriti held her back this time because she had to leave in an hour and this time would be subtracted. Vahni had compromised with a touch up in the first-floor washroom.

"Alright, you guys ready?" I asked when neither of them made a move to enter. 

"Maybe, I should leave," Smriti said anxiously glancing at her watch. She was having second thoughts. 

"Smriti, you cannot do this. You promised us one hour." Vahni said sternly before grabbing her hand and pulling her in. I held the door open and let them pass through. 

The music filled the room and a boy standing near the entrance addressed us,

"Hi guys come on in, drinks are by the speakers, help yourself. There are three rules: Don't leave the door of the Audi open, don't throw up in here and keep this a secret," he said and waved us in. 

We nodded in understanding and started walking away,

"Wait, aren't you the girl who won the singing competition?" the boy said making me stop in my tracks. 

"Uh, yes?" I said, unsure of where this was going. Was he going to kick us out because he had realised we were freshers?

"Oh, hey you were brilliant. I was so mesmerized by your performance. I am Rakshit, by the way. What's your name?" he said walking up to me. 

"Oh..." I thought as I realized he was hitting on me. I was flattered. Wow, this senior boy was 'mesmerized' by my performance. He wasn't particularly bad looking either and I was feeling adventurous so I put on a gracious smile before saying,

"Thank you Rakshit. I'm Meera, these are my friends Vahni and Smriti."

He said customary hi's to them and then asked,

"Can I get you a drink? I'd love to get to know you better." 

But before I could give him an answer another voice interrupted,

"Thank you Rakshit but I'll take it from here." 

I didn't even have to turn around to see who it was. I groaned internally.

"Meera, I'm glad you decided to come. These are your friends I presume?" Siddharth said looking at Vahni and Smriti who seemed tongue-tied. Rakshit was clearly very discouraged since he retreated a few feet back.

"Yes," I said plastering on a smile and faced him, "these are my friends Vahni and Smriti." 

"Hello," he smiled at them. I did a double-take, this was the first time I had seen him smile. He almost seemed... pleasant, as opposed to his brooding rebel look. Vahni and Smriti were still a little starstruck. 

"Where's your other friend?" he asked taking me by surprise. I didn't think he'd be able to tell my friends apart. 

"She had to leave," I said not bothering to elaborate further. 

"Can I get you a drink? Something to eat? I'd like to introduce you to a few people too so," he paused and called out to Rakshit who was clearly eavesdropping on our conversation.

"Rakshit will take care of your friends if you would accompany me," he said.

It would have been rude to turn him down now and I did want a drink so I nodded and turned to my friends,

"I'll be right back if that's okay?" 

Vahni smiled suggestively and Smriti gave a subtle thumbs up so I started walking ahead. Siddharth walked beside me and inquired,

"So, how was your fresher's party?"

"It was great. I had a lot of fun," I said.

"Congratulations on winning, by the way, you deserved it obviously. I know I've said this before but you sing really well. I loved your song choice too. It's one of my favourites," he said sincerely and then placed his hand on the small of my back to gently steer me in the right direction. 

The contact wasn't too out of line but it surprised me. For someone who had parkoured his way out of meeting a few juniors, he sure seemed friendly today. I realized that I didn't dislike him as much as I had thought initially, he seemed nice, actually. But I still decided to tease him a little, I couldn't just let him off the hook. 

"Wow, you seem way nicer today. Do you have an evil twin or something?" I said cheekily as we stopped near a table full of bottles, glasses and snacks. 

He winced slightly and smiled sheepishly before getting a bottle out and pouring something into a cup. 

"No, really. You seemed repelled by my very presence that day." I leaned against the table and looked at his very embarrassed face. 

He smiled and handed me the cup. 

"My sincerest apologies to you ma'am. How can I make it up to you?" 

"Well, you could begin by telling me what is in this cup." 

"This is light beer. Oh, I didn't even ask you what you wanted. Is this okay?" he said apologetically.

"No, beer's perfect," I assured him. 

"That's great," he said and held up an identical cup, "cheers to your victory." 

I 'clinked' my cup against his and drank.