Beyond the Beats

Chapter 19. Treat

"Bhoomi, why are you glued to your mobile for the last two hours?"

I moved my mobile screen towards Yukta, and she scrunched her face.

"I don't think TJ would agree with that," she said.

"How are you so sure?" I complained. "Look, if we include this setup and change our positions, we can keep the simple stunts and also show our dynamic formation without the unnecessary jumping."

Just like Yukta, my other teammates also had low confidence in all the choreography variations I had drawn. I knew my team was very talented, but their suffering was really evident.

I was also very well aware that Tejas had the best choreo in his mind for us, but we needed to be in our best shape to execute it. Most importantly, a lot of the dancers were struggling to keep up with the level Tejas had presented.

Thus, being fully aware of my- I mean, our leader's kind nature, I decided to discuss some changes in choreographies with him.

Therefore, ignoring my team's doubts, I prepared myself and waited for TJ to return from the meeting with our mentors. Though I was a bit nervous as I was going to invest a lot of energy just in keeping myself from not staring like an idiot at TJ, I was also excited to have a little professional meeting with him.

The moment Tejas returned, I got ready and approached him. He was about to ask Gaurav and Manoj about their progress but stopped when I called his name.

I forced my lips from curling up beyond my eyebrows and scolded my mind to stop playing random songs.

"TJ, can I discuss something with you?" I asked.

My breathing stopped for a second when TJ moved his gaze on me, his face's glow increasing by hundred-folds as he smiled, looking like a sunflower.

"Of course, Bhoomi."

I love hearing my name when he says it. Unlike my mom calling me like she wants to behead me every time, and my friends always murdering my name, Tejas's sweet voice made me feel grateful on hearing my own name.

I showed him the diagrams of the variations of the choreography, and he eyed the papers curiously.

"You made all these?" TJ asked.

I nodded like a kid. "Yes. What do you think?"

I waited in anticipation as my leader knitted his eyebrows in concentration and mumbled under his breath. While he was busy studying the diagrams and reading the small notes in my dirty handwriting, I stole glances at him.

He is such a big celebrity, but look at him. I still can't believe I am standing at just a one-hand distance from him, and he is talking to me. Currently, we are discussing about dance, but can I hope that there will come a day when I will be able to tell him my feelings?

I want to tell him how much I respect him; how much he has inspired me; how much strength he has given me unknowingly; how much I want to gift him everything in this world to show my gratitude; and how big of a part he has played in my love for the dance.

Maybe one day... one day, I will be-

"Bhoomi, all these drawings are cool, but do you have any practical reference? And also, I want to know why exactly you came up with these variations?" Tejas asked.

I blinked rapidly and mentally slapped myself for zoning out.

"Yes, I have the video references!" I yelled accidentally in a shrill voice.

Tejas raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I like the enthusiasm."

I pursed my lips in embarrassment, my teammates laughing at me. I ducked my head and quickly bought the laptop to him. I connected my phone and showed the video references to Tejas.