Beyond the Beats

Chapter 82. Something different

"Dad, I want to talk to you about something important," I said and crossed my fingers.

My father lowered the TV's volume and kept the remote on the stool beside his chair.

"I think you want to talk about 'someone' important?" he asked.

I nodded, feeling shier after Dad told me to go ahead and muted the TV. Mom already knew about my feelings for Tejas, so she told me to give no explanation; she had no doubts about Tejas. But for my father, I had to tell him everything because he was unaware of a lot of stuff.

"Dad, I know you already know, but I want to tell you that I like Tejas. He had already proposed to me, but I had refused that time. I confessed to him yesterday, and his parents are already aware about me, so I want to know your thoughts," I said.

Dad took a deep breath. "I have already learnt my lesson after what happened with Dhara. Still, I am a father, and it is my duty to protect my daughters. You are still young, and I want you to focus on your studies and dance training. Those should be your top priorities. But, I have already met Tejas, and he is a really good boy. The way he helped us has already made be indebted to him for life, but keeping that aside, I have seen how much he cares for you. Don't worry, I don't have any issues with you being with him, but don't get married too soon, okay? I am not ready for that yet."

"Really?" I asked in disbelief.

He nodded, and I hugged him. He solved all of my concerns in a snap.

"Thank you, Dad. I promise I won't disregard my studies or give you any reason to complain. I will work really hard and make you proud," I said happily.

He patted my back. "I am always proud of you, beta."

I was really glad that my parents accepted my relationship with Tejas, and as I had promised Tejas, I took a very much needed long leave. I couldn't be absent from college for that long, so I attended lectures in between, and as for the dance training, Sarthak told me to rest at home till I felt better.

Thus, I rested for a whole one month after quitting all of my jobs, and Tejas always came to meet me and my family even in his busy schedule. Thanks to his support and my friends taking care of me, I was back in full health and ready to start a new routine.

It was my first day at Sarthak's studio after the long leave, and everyone was gathered in the biggest dance room. Akshay always gave me a daily update of what was happening at the dance studio, so I knew that the next section of the training had started a few days back.

I joined the crowd, trying to find my friends; all of them were nowhere to be seen. I went to Yukta and asked her where others were. She told me that no one knew exactly what was going on and everyone was told to gather here after Sarthak's announcement.

After some time, our mentors arrived and switched on the projector. The screen lit up, and everyone's eyes widened slowly as we read the stuff about our next evaluation. It wasn't any normal challenge like other times.

The next slide of the presentation had the photos of Tejas, Suhana, Kshitij, Akshay, Danny, and another top performer named Reetu displayed side by side.

"Everyone, for the next mega team evaluations, these will be your team leaders," Suhas Sir announced. "Each one of you can choose your own leader after going through each leader's strengths and track records. But there's a surprise after that. The leaders have already selected a few of you as their team members, so when you guys are done, there will be an interesting game. Are you guys ready for it?"

As much as everyone was thrilled about the announcement, there were some dancers panicking about not getting chosen at all. And even if they picked the team leaders by themselves, they would still be at a disadvantage due to their poor rankings.