Beyond the Beats

Chapter 3. Rivals

I was consumed with uncountable bad thoughts and got a breath of relief only when I spotted Akshay and the rest of our crewmates near the backside parking lot where Rehman parked his bike.

"You guys are okay!" I shouted excitedly.

"Keep your voice low, Bhoomi," Vibhan said.

I looked at him in confusion and soon realised that the guys had gathered in a dimly lit area with no one around. I could only see some vehicles in the parking lot and the back of a building.

"Akki, what's going on? Why have you called me here? Aren't you guys supposed to be at the finale?" I asked.

Akshay rubbed his palm over his neck and exchanged a glance with Vibhan and Rehman. The other three guys: Yasir, Shlok, and Pratik stood in silence, their faces contorted into a weird expression as if they were sharing the same thought.

"Is anyone going to tell me what the matter is?" I asked again.

"You tell her, Akki," Vibhan said.

"What the fuck? You are the captain; you do it," Akshay argued.

"Guys, please do it quickly. We don't have enough time left," Rehman said. "Anyone can come here any time."

As the guys kept shifting the responsibility of telling me 'something', I was growing impatient. I was already fucking tired, and Akki had called me so far from my home only so that I could see these jerks argue with each other.

"If you idiots only wanted to waste my time, you could have done it tomorrow," I cursed.

I started moving away from them, but Vibhan caught my wrist. He told me that they hadn't called me as a prank, and they were actually in a tight spot.

"Bhoomi, we need your help. If we don't do anything soon, we would lose the competition," Vibhan explained.

"How can I help you in that? You guys shouldn't be out here, right? What exactly is going on?" I asked as my suspicion grew.

"Look, all of the dance crews are allowed to bring a substitute or an extra dancer. The first half of the finale is already done, but our battle was halted mid-way due to some... um... 'technical reasons'... The teams received a small break due to that. Basically, we are asking you to be our extra dancer," Rehman blurted out.

"Excuse me?" I raised my eyebrows. "You want me to join the finale as your extra dancer when it is totally against the rules? How can I participate in a boys' dance-off? Just look at me. I am a girl!"

My friends stared at me, but their expressions didn't change.

Did none of the guys saw me as a girl?

I tried a different reason. "I am in my PJs. You want me to go on the stage, flop my messy hair at the judges, and seduce them to give me the trophy?"

None of the guys said anything. Akshay rubbed his temples and told Vibhan that it was a bad idea to call me after all. Yasir and Pratik also held their heads as Shlok reminded them that only ten minutes were left for them to return to the arena.

By now, I had realised that I was actually behind the building where the underground battle was going on. As my mind's gears shifted, I remembered what Akshay had told me and Arushi in the college. If our crew, Unix, had managed to reach the finals, then the team they were participating against was... Oh fuck!

"You guys are battling against the 'Emperors'? against TJ's crew?!" I asked in disbelief.

Everyone nodded.