Beyond the Beats

Chapter 6. Traitor

The preparations for the dance event organised by Sarthak Pawar were on full swing, and our friends were helping me and Akshay to clear the auditions.

Our crewmates expressed their disappointment as they couldn't participate because some of them were dropouts while others' colleges were not shortlisted for the auditions. Akshay and I felt bad as they didn't get the same opportunity as us, but instead of sulking, our friends were happy for us.

Therefore, the moment we got back from college, we went to our dance station and announced the big news. Arushi accompanied me and was busy giving us inputs as audience, while Jiya was remixing some latest songs for the dancers.

Our dance mentor, Ritvik Bhaiyaa, was also there and was glad to see our enthusiasm. I was already done showing him the latest choreographies I had learnt, so I practiced some classical dancing. Meanwhile, my best buddy Akshay was getting scolded by Pratik for not doing the contemporary dance seriously.

"Akki, show some emotions, man! Are you a robot or what?" Pratik complained.

"He will learn. Chill," Vibhan told Pratik.

"When? We haven't even been through the first half of the song. And look at this fucker's face. How can you not feel any emotions when you hear Arijit Singh's voice?" Pratik exploded.

Yasir switched off the speakers and exchanged a glance with Shlok and Rehman. All of them shook their heads when Pratik got in an argument with Vibhan and Akshay.

"I am trying, no? You know I am not good at contemporary. Cut me some slack, bro," Akki said.

Pratik narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me? You aren't good? Quit whining, Akki. We all know how much you hate romantic songs and movies. Why can't you keep that hate aside and understand that theses types of emotional songs are the top choices for contemporary and lyricals?"

"I don't hate romantic songs. I just... I don't like that kind of stuff..." Akki said in a low voice.

"But you can't say that to the judges, right?" Vibhan asked.

Akshay pursed his lips and told Yasir to play the song again. A slow version of 'Tujhe Kitna Chahne Lage Hum' played from the speakers, and Akshay gulped nervously.

Pratik kept a close eye on Akshay as Akshay danced, making mistakes and stumbling on his feet frequently.

"Not that bad, but please focus on the expressions, yeah?" Pratik pleaded. "You look like a mannequin."

Akshay pouted, and Vibhan patted Akshay's back in assurance. I shook my head when Akshay looked at me. That guy really hated anything related to the romantic stuff between human beings and always drifted away from the topic of love.

"Ritvik Bhaiyaa, what will he do when he is made to do contemporary?" I voiced my worry.

Ritvik Bhaiyaa thought for a moment. "I will talk to him later. Right now, focus on your routine."

I nodded, and under my mentor's guidance, I polished some moves. Ritvik Bhaiyaa was happy with my progress, and Arushi also gave me a thumbs up. We took a small break, and while our mentor was out for some personal work, Jiya gathered us together and told everyone the story about Boomer she had narrated to Tejas and his friends.

"Okay, I have already told Bhoomi and Akshay, but you guys better fit this in your heads too. No slip-ups, okay?" Jiya asked.

When everyone nodded, Jiya continued. "Boomer is a childhood friend of ours, whose parents moved back to their hometown Manipur four years ago to take care of Boomer's ailing grandparents and to handle the farming and other family business.