Fate of Fireflies

Chapter 1

'DJ Arto'....'DJ Arto'...'DJ Arto'....'DJ Arto'...'DJ Arto'....'DJ Arto'...'DJ Arto'....'DJ Arto'....'DJ Arto'....'DJ Arto'...'DJ Arto'....'DJ Arto'...'DJ Arto'....'DJ Arto'...'DJ Arto'....'DJ Arto'

The crowd was going crazy with excitement. Mehek has to agree he was indeed talented. The disc was packed already and from where she stood, she could barely see the man for who they all cheered, but his music has made upto the lack of vision. She and her friends danced till they were breathless. Finally it was announced that it will be the last song for the night. Soon they all headed towards the bar.

Mehek was not the shy girl although coming from a middle class family. She was bold and daring at the same time keeping her boundaries intact. Others often made fun that she should have been born as a boy due to her courage and talent in boxing. Her family trusted her enough to give liberty to follow her dreams.Her friends always felt safe when they were in her company. Her feminine curves attracted many but her attitude chased away all unwanted attention.

Mehek was down her fourth drink while many of her friends were already tipsy after their second glass. The calm and ease with which she elegantly sat at the bar table finally allured someone towards her. "Can I buy you a drink, Beautiful?", she was irked by the same pick up like. "No thanks", she rejected even without sparing him another glance. "Then shall I have a dance with you?", he asked again. "not interested", she raised her glass to her lips but he stopped her. "Not fair, at least given me a look before turning me down", he appealed charmingly. To get rid of the annoyance, she was forced to turn her attention to him. Taken back for a moment as she was caught by the stunning smile on his handsome face. Yet she knew looks could be deceptive. Danger comes in many forms.

Mehek acted to look him from top to bottom and pretended to be unimpressed. "Still not interested", she told nonchalantly. He was taken back, clearly the lover boy was not used to rejection. "One dance. I am sure you will not regret it. I will make it worth your while", he tried to tempt her but made her edgy. His repeated attempts to convince her after her clear denial didn't sit well with her. "Come, just one song", he grabbed her wrist with intention to pull her to the dance floor. That was enough to lose her patience. Without warning, she punched him with full force. The unexpected blow landed him flat on ground. Many gasped in shocked while her friends gathered around her meanwhile while his gang helped him to get up.

"How dare you touch me without my consent, you bloody pervert?", Mehek sneered at him. Soon crowd gathered around them, while whispering their take on the scene. Many looked down upon on the man while few made fun of him. Clearly he was became talk of the hour for wrong reasons. "Mehek, calm down. Stop making a scene", her friend Sonal pacified her, "he is DJ Arto". It was indeed news to her but she soon yelled, "I don't care even if he son of a the ruling King". "Enough, Mehek", Sonal swiftly pulled her out of the scene and jumped in the first taxi they spotted.

Next day   "Today the new coach is joining to train us", the sport head informed Mehek and her follow teammates. They were all eager to train for nationals and win medals. The new coach was supposed to the youngest boxing champion from whom they all had expectations, especially Mehek. It was her last year to win competition and make her mark. Her future will be secure if scouts find her as a talent. "My dear students, please welcome Coach Atharv Rana". The eyes that waited eagerly for him suddenly widened in shock. 

DJ Arto was Coach Atharv. In reflex, Mehek cowered back to hide herself. However it was in vain. Soon she was introduced to him, "She is Mehek Sharma. One of our best boxers". She had to extend her hand else it will open a can of worms. He held her hand firmly, keeping his eyes on her. He spoke callously, "Best, you say? I will be the judge of it". It wasn't difficult to sense the anomosity in his words.

Mehek was afraid that Coach Atharv will take revenge on her and get her evicted. But he was worse that she anticipated. He increased her training time, restricted her diet and controlled every step in the ring. Even when she did her best, other than taunts he never appreciated her. Day by day, she became irritated and started to fail in trainings. Atharv always teamed her up with stronger oppponents, ending her being defeated every time. Finally her patience gave up one day and she charged to punch her opponent. Atharv was quick to intervene, stopping and locking her down on the floor. "Leave me", she sneered, "I know your game, you psycho". He gestured others to leave while still holding her down.

"You need to rein you anger, Mehek", Atharv advised her, "else you will be debarred from any championship". "Like you care", she scoffed as soon as he released her from his hold, "you just want to make my life hell because I punched you in the club". He sighed, "Ofcourse, I am pissed by your behaviour. But don't you dare question my coaching techniques. Here you are my student. Our personal differences doesn't matter". "Then why are you taking it out on me here?", she demanded him. "If I wanted to get even, don't you think I could have given back the moment you started the fight at the club", he asked her sternly.

Mehek was on verge of tears. Atharv again took a deep breath. Handling his female student proved to be way difficult than he had expected. "Sit", he gestured her to a near by seat ,"Mehek, you have potential  but you are not the best. Training with your peers in here won't help you win the championship. You need to learn to fight an opponent who is stronger than you else you will fail". Slowly he was able to knock sense into her brain.

"So are you okay to continue with my methods or do you want to train as before? The choice is yours", Atharv asked calmly but undercurrent of a challenge was thrown at Mehek. She nodded. "Words, Sharma", he sternly asked. "Yes Coach. I agree to whatever training that brings me closer to win the championship". He smiled and patted her shoulder with plan to meet next day.

 "This doesn't change anything", Mehek spoke after thought, "I am not sorry for my actions from that night". Arhto gave a frustrated groan, "Clearly you don't frequent pubs and discs and don't know the etiquettes in such places. I just wanted to dance with you but you over reacted". "It was wrong to touch me without my permission. A no means NO", once again she got angry that he still justified his actions.

Mehek grabbed her bag in anger and walk towards the exit. "Mehek", hearing his voice, she halted before reaching the door. "I apologise for my behaviour that night", Atharv seemed to have realised his mistake.