Beyond the Beats

Chapter 47. Powerless

I would have given Vibhan's bonfire dinner five stars if Ayzere wasn't staring holes into my soul.

After Arushi and I got back from the washroom, our friends had begun dancing. I was hungry, so I first took my medicines and then asked Vibhan if I could have dinner early. He had no problem, so I left with Arushi and KD to eat. Soon, Hriaan also joined us.

The four of us were eating at the small food joint Vibhan had given the catering order to, when Ayzere arrived and glanced around.

Hriaan called her to sit with us, and she hesitated for a minute before she agreed. As Hriaan was sitting beside me, taking up a lot of space, Ayzere sat beside Arushi and Kshitij. She was sitting diagonally across from me, and KD and Hriaan were keeping her busy in the talks, but it seemed like her eyes were stuck on me.

I was feeling very weird, so I avoided looking at her and just smiled whenever I accidentally glanced in her direction.

When we were done, our other friends also arrived and occupied the whole food stall. As my group was done eating, we got up and decided to play around the beach till others had their dinner.

Arushi and KD again decided to take up on a boring activity of strolling while discussing stuff that I knew I would never understand. Therefore, I was left with just two persons. Hriaan was totally in the mood to play pakdam pakdai (run and catch), and I also liked his choice, but Ayzere was not willing.

After seeing her act very reserved, Hriaan gave up convincing her, and we both decided to play by ourselves.

Unfortunately, I kept getting caught, and it was very hard to chase Hriaan. He kept pushing me into the sand whenever it was his turn to catch me, and I was slowly turning into Sandman.

While we were playing, Ayzere was just following around slowly, shivering in her thin dress. She kept looking at the ocean sadly, her gaze turning harder whenever it landed on me.

I again ignored her, and taking advantage of my distraction, Hriaan threw me into the waters. He laughed like a donkey when the tidal waves kept washing me back and forth whenever I tried to get up.

"Help me, idiot!" I yelled at him.

Hriaan's eyes teared up as he fell down on the ground clutching his stomach.

"You look like a small tortoise struggling to come out of its shell." Hriaan laughed. "I will die of laughing at this rate."

I picked up handfuls of sand in both of my fists, and when Hriaan was having a laughing fit, I reached him and dropped some of that sand in his mouth.

"You didn't have dessert, right?" I chuckled.

Hriaan spit out the sand and grabbed my right arm before I could escape. He pulled me up effortlessly and yelled a way cry like a caveman.

"I will sacrifice you to the ocean!" he announced.

He started running, dragging me like I weighed nothing, but before he could again throw me into the dark ocean, I was pulled back by my left arm so strongly that I ended up losing my footing. My face was just an inch away from planting itself into the silky sand.

I placed my right palm on the ground and supported myself. I turned my head and looked up. Tejas's fingers were wrapped around my left wrist, and he pulled me on my feet swiftly.

"Bro, why do you have to be such a spoil-sport?" Hriaan grumbled.

Tejas looked at his best friend angrily. "Can't you play games safely then? What will our juniors learn if they see you being so careless right now?"