Destined To Be

Chapter 43

Ankita's P.O.V.

I woke up in the morning with a headache from my anger last night. Everyone really annoyed me a lot with their stupid prank. And no matter what, I wasn't going to talk to any of them. That was my determination. I looked at Preeti's empty bed confused. Preeti woke up earlier than me! That's not only strange but seemed impossible. But anyways, she was involved with them last night so I wasn't going to talk to her either. I thought that this birthday was going to be different from all other years. I thought that I would smile the entire day but they spoilt it for me. I got out of bed and went to my cupboard. Taking out my diary, I looked at the picture I had with Maa and said with tears in my eyes, "Every morning on my birthday, you would come and wake me up with my favourite breakfast. I still miss this tradition and you." I kissed the picture and went to the bathroom to take a bath. I came out and wore some special clothes. Combing my hair in front the mirror with a frown, I heard a knock on my door and went to see. Opening the door, someone stood outside with a bouquet of flowers, covering his entire face. I dropped my shoulders and immediately thought it was Ayaan but seeing the shoes, I knew who it was and smiled. "Vicky," I said. He removed the bouquet, revealing his face and smiled at me exclaiming, "Happy birthday!" I took the flowers and said, "Thank you." He followed me inside the room and said, "Do you know how hard it was to find these flowers in Manali? I searched the entire town!" "But, where did you get a shop opened at this time?" I asked. "I bought it yesterday. It was Preeti and my plan to surprise you but I don't know where she is," he said sitting on my bed. "Leave her, thank you for the flowers. There are really beautiful," I said. "Welcome," he said. After a short pause, he asked, "So, what's the plan for the day? How are you going to celebrate?" "I don't want anything grand. I will just spend some time alone," I said frowning. "Good," he said under his breath taking me by surprise. "I mean, it's nice that you want to spend some time alone. After all, being around some many people twenty-four seven, it will be draining on your energy. You should remain at the camp and take some rest," he said.

I nodded looking at the flowers. Frowning, I asked, "By the way, where is Preeti?" He frowned and said looking at his phone, "Umm...I don't know exactly. But I know that she wanted to go hiking on the mountains. She must have gone there." "This early?" I asked. "I heard that...there umm...there is always crowd...so...so...she went early," he stammered. I narrowed my eyes at him. "But why are you asking about her? Aren't you angry with her?" he asked and bit his lip. "How do you know?" I asked. Widening my eyes, I said, "Were you with them as well?" He sat up on the bed saying, "Of course not! Umm...Preeti...Preeti told me last night." I frowned at him. Something was cooking between them. "Let's go outside. Breakfast must have been served by now," I said. He nodded and we went to the table. Ayaan was missing. Both of them were missing. What's the matter? However, I shook off this confusion and invited back anger in my mind as I sat to have breakfast. It was going too well either. Everything seemed too quiet. I slowly ate my food and forced a smile on my face to look normal in front of Vicky. Just after breakfast, Princy gathered everyone and announced, "In five days from now, we will be having our finals. There will be a special judge coming all the way from Mumbai to judge this final and winner determining performance. Everyone of you already know him, he is quite famous all over India but that will remain a surprise until Christmas night for the finals. Singers, you have four days to practice for your biggest performance. But that doesn't mean that you will completely push yourself. We will be having some special activities in between. Some including hiking, a scavenger hunt and more campfire nights. So, I hope that you all enjoy your last few days here. Altogether, you have a total of six days remaining in this beautiful Manali. Enjoy it to the fullest!" Everyone dispersed to their activities since it was our day off. "Ankita," Princy said to me, "Come to my office." I followed him and he made me take a seat. "Ankita, listen. I know that at the beginning of the competition, I asked you to be manager. And then, I had to appoint Pihu. But, looking at how well you fulfilled your role, I am thinking about promoting you before the competition ends. You will work equally with Pihu until the competition finishes," he said.