Magical Tea

Masquerade Ball

Days went by so fast. Maya had been busy with planning the fund raising event for February fourteenth. They had decided, with the approval of the finance committee and higher management office, to hold a Masquerade Ball with all the attendees in cocktail attire. Maya had to see that all the committees involved in the preparation for the event were doing their job and she was being updated on their activities on a weekly basis.

Lunch at Mina's and Min Ki's became a daily thing for Maya. Min Ki fetched her from work either on his bike when the weather allowed it or on a tricycle if it was raining. Rain pelted down the first two weeks of January but they enjoyed very fine weather the rest of the month.

Min Ki seemed subdued the entire time after their showdown on New Year's Eve. He knew Maya had been focused on her job and cannot afford to slip especially when the event drew nearer. 

When the invitation was finished by the second week of January the committee in charged of sending them to the invited guests were at once mobilized to give time for any recipient to either accept or reject the invitation and thus give them also time to find another guest to invite in case the invitation was rejected since the event could only be held with a certain number of attendees in compliance of the protocol.

The event would be held at the rooftop of the company building where the guests and everyone else attending the event would be able to enjoy the breeze and fresh air. In case, it would rain, the building had a mechanism that would cover the entire rooftop with transparent glass on metal framings.

Maya brought her invitation for Mina and Min Ki to see. Some of the special numbers in the Masquerade Ball, the dance and songs, were suggested by Mina who happened to be a fan of movies themed with masquerade balls like Fifty Shades Darker, The Phantom of the Opera and The Man in the Iron Mask.

The compilation of music they had collected to be performed by the employees were also suggested by Mina. Maya would be dancing the more latest and modern song as finale, Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding from the movie Fifty Shades of Grey.

Mina was so excited to see the list of songs the performers would dance to and was even more excited to learn Maya would be dancing the finale. Min Ki also perked up and asked who would be her partner for the dance.

Maya chose to dance with a male friend whom at a glance you would never think was gay because he was very ripped and manly looking. Maya and only a few friends knew he actually swung for the same team. They would practice an hour after work each day since the day they had chosen the song to dance to. A week of having to look for a more convenient place to practice their piece, Maya finally asked Mina if they could practice in her garden to which her best friend was just happy to acquiesce to.

Min Ki was at first hostile to Ariel but when he noticed how attentive Ariel was with him more than with Maya, he began to loosen up and sometimes flirt openly with the older man. Maya and Mina would just raise their brows when Min Ki would tease Ariel making the older man blush and mumble words incoherently.

When Maya and Ariel began to create their steps for the song, Mina would also add her thoughts and suggestions for the choreo. Min Ki followed the choreography closely and would at times take Ariel's place. He had memorized the dance steps in no time at all and would at times correct the two dancers when there were times they missed the cue.

On the night of the Masquerade Ball, the turnout of guests was a perfect hundred. The bosses were grinning widely as they welcome the guests to the well made up ballroom at the rooftop. Waltz play softly at the background while the program proper was not yet started. The committee for decorations outdid themselves in transforming the rooftop into a grand ballroom conducive for waltz dancing, complete with strategic lightings adding mystery and romance in the air.

"Maya, you did a great job of choosing the selected guests for tonight's Masquerade Ball. These are the people who just had what you call the bottomless pockets and secret coffers of riches to their names. I also saw some of the well-placed government officials among them. Hmm, it seems you very well know we will need them to smoothen out the way for our project once it is launched," Maya's boss could not contain the excitement in his voice as they began to weave their way towards the tables set along the sides of the rooftop where food would be served shortly by waiters and waitresses of the catering service they hired for the night.

"Of course, sir! We got to do our best for the company's endeavor and to give due recognition to your all-out support for your staff," Maya played to pamper her immediate supervisor's ego. Despite his absence in most of the meetings they held for the preparations of the event, he did give her access to the company's credit card for the meals and snacks for each long-winded meeting. He also gave his all-out support for the budget of this ball to be passed by the board without any further questions. It did not really matter that once the board saw Maya's signature on the proposal, it would have passed scrutiny anyway.

At exactly nine o'clock in the evening, the program started with an opening and welcome remarks from the president of the company. A short introduction about the theme of tonight's event was given by Maya before the program proper began with a perfect opening number, the Masquerade Waltz by the Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian.

As the night wore on and the finale drew nearer, Ariel began to fidget. He looked for a drink, grabbed one from a passing waiter and tipped the entire drink down his throat at one go for courage. Maya had to stifle a laugh when he gagged at the taste of the drink, not really a keen fan of brandy which was the drink he happened to grab.

When their number was called, Maya and Ariel was already posted behind a closed screen. Maya made the sign of the cross asking for courage and guidance that she might be able to execute the dance flawlessly. This might be the finale music for the program but this was just the cue for the second and most important part of the night's event, the time to acknowledge the donations the invited guests made as the dancers and singers perform on the floor. Only once they had attained the proposed amount for the community service project could Maya finally say that the Masquerade Ball was a great success.