Beyond the Beats

Chapter 7. Love interest

The pressure of giving a good performance was building up immensely with each passing day. My biggest worry was not to fall sick or get into an accident. Thus, even though I was working really hard on my dance routines, I was vigilant to keep my health in check.

Unlike me, Akshay was in a beast mode all day. I had to drag him out of the garage during lunch breaks. If I hadn't been there, he would have been dead by now.

The official date for the auditions were announced, and we had only a week left till that anticipated day.

Just like our previous fifteen days, we practiced till 1 a.m yesterday and woke up around 6 a.m. to prepare for college. No matter how much I wanted to pursue dancing as my career, my mother never let me discard my studies altogether.

Since I was really busy with my crew and mentor, I didn't get a chance to check my favourite dancer's Instagram page at all. The only thing I did on coming back home was to sleep to get my energy back. Also, whenever Akshay spotted me doing some timepass, he would confiscate my mobile phone and scold me to focus on perfecting my dance skills.

My patience was tested, so today, I took out my phone and decided to binge watch all the videos posted by Tejas. Fortunately, TJ hadn't forgotten his audience and had posted a few short dance choreographies with his friends.

By the time I reached college, I was in a really happy mood. Watching Tejas dance always gave me a new kind of hope and inspiration. As usual, Akshay was shaking his head at me for ignoring him and asking Arushi about the assignments.

On our way to our first lecture, we spotted a little crowd in the main ground near the first years' building, and I was going to ignore it as we were getting late for our class. But, on hearing Tejas' name, my feet automatically moved in the crowd's direction, and I planted myself firmly on the spot beside my fellow students.

I smiled when I saw Tejas, Hriaan, and Kshitij give a group performance, while Mahreen Zaid, one of their friends, made a video for them. Meanwhile, Suhana Pirthani, who was also a dancer, scolded the guys to improvise.

She joined them in the second part of the song, and she was awesome. Seeing her perform was a treat to the eyes, and even though I was enjoying their dance, I wondered why TJ and his friends were putting a free show so early in the morning.

"They are filming a promotional video," Akshay said.

"Wow. They are not leaving any stone unturned for this promotion, so imagine what they will do at the auditions," I said.

Akshay nodded, and when Suhana's solo performance ended, we heard some guys swoon over her. Suhana wasn't just a great dancer, she was gorgeous and carried herself like a queen. She thanked her admirers, and Mahreen showed her the video she had recorded.

Tejas, Hriaan, and Kshitij also watched the video and nodded in approval.

"How about we try Kshitij's choreo?" Hriaan asked his friends.

"Let's go," Tejas replied.

"Hey, TJ, why are you guys participating when you were approached by Sarthak Pawar himself for his dream project?" one of the students asked.

TJ smiled in amusement. "Guys, don't believe in rumours, okay?"

"Come on, you can tell us the truth."

Tejas shook his head and glanced at his friends. He turned back to the crowd and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I won't lie that Sarthak didn't contact me directly, but guess what? I like to play fairly," he said. "I am also a participant just like other dancers."