Beyond the Beats

Chapter 38. Conflicted

It was payday!

As fast as Dad's salary came, the faster it went away. Within six hours, all of twenty five thousand rupees with some three thousand bonus vanished from his account, and still our family was in shortage of money.

After paying Srishti's accumulated late fees, rent of last four months, clearing Dhara Di's medical bill, buying her and Mom's medicines, repairing our TV, buying craft items for my niece, and many such small stuff, we needed a few thousand more to buy ration for the month.

Dad was unconcerned as he was unaware of Mom lending her friend our savings. She hadn't yet received the money back. Since Mom said that her friend was also poor, I understood why we couldn't expect our money to return soon.

For now, most of our problems were taken care of, so I didn't worry much. As for groceries and ration, our regular vendors were really kind to not demand clearing the bills instantly. But, there was a huge personal issue.

I depended on Jiya for Hriaan's party, but I couldn't always borrow her clothes and makeup. Yukta's surprise party was just around the corner, and I also needed to buy activewear for myself. All these things would have cost me around five thousand rupees, and I really wanted to drag down the expenses as much as I could.

I didn't want to pressurize my parents as they were already doing enough. My mother wasn't able to go to work for a few days due to her health, and for that, she kept working at home non-stop. I knew she had a habit of overworking; taking rest was a sin for her.

Even in the morning, when I offered to go to work in her place, she got angry and ran off before I could stop her. I really had time and urgent need to get some savings, so I decided to find work myself.

If I had mentioned about buying pretty dresses to Mom, she would have choke-slammed me.

As for my rehearsals, I was confident in the choreography I had come up with. Thanks to Hriaan, I had made a lot of changes and practiced the new routine before I showed it to my mentor. There were still nine days left, so I was not much worried.

And as for my assignments, I just had to go to Arushi's house in the night. With everything planned in my head, I trudged towards Urmila Aunty's house.

Like always, she was busy rushing in and out of her kitchen as uncountable men kept occupying her hall in multiple shifts. She ran a tiffin business, and along with it, she also had single living men and bachelor boys come over to her house for breakfast and dinner.

When Urmila Aunty saw me, I gave her a huge smile. "Do you have any work for me?"

Her eyes shone as her shoulders dropped down a bit. "Bhoomi, what a right timing. I really need a helping hand right now."

"I will be more than happy to help." I pumped my fist in the air.

Urmila Aunty had a motor mouth and was very detail-oriented when it came to pleasing her customers. Due to this, she was at times a bit strict with the way we worked, but if you wanted to earn some pocket money any time, you could always count on her.

I didn't need any instructions as I was a regular at her place. After tying the apron around me, I pulled up my hair in a tight bun and pulled my sleeves up.

"Okay, let's begin," I said.

Like I was possessed by Ninja Hattori, I worked at an amazing speed; Mom would have been really impressed if she had seen me. With the way I was working non-stop, I could feel the effect of those energy boosters Tejas had given me.

When I had checked their price, I almost had a mini heart attack, but I realised why they were so expensive. And Tejas hadn't given me just one packet but a whole box of it. I felt that I also needed to give something to him in return, and for that, I needed money, and for money, I needed to work.