The auditions for Sarthak Pawar's dance project were over and the response to it was overwhelming. Lakhs of dancers from various colleges had applied, and our chances of getting in seemed slim. Though, I was already aware of my result, I was still anxious for Akshay.

After a month of waiting, all of us were gathered in front of Jiya's laptop, and Ritvik Bhaiyya had opened the link for the official announcement of the results.

"Let's pray before it starts," Vibhan said.

We closed our eyes and prayed.

Please, Bhagwan Ji, let Akshay get in. Please, please, please. I don't want to go without my best friend.

The countdown to the live stream began, and our heart rate kept rising.

"Whatever the result will be, I am proud of you guys," Ritvik Bhaiyya said.

Akshay and I smiled, but I could sense Akshay getting tense. He kept cracking his knuckles and rubbing his thighs in impatience. I offered him my hand.

Akki didn't think twice and grabbed my hand in a tight grip. I bit my inner cheek as the force was too much. Still, I decided to bear with it since my chuddy buddy was hyperventilating.

Soon, the screen lit up with a light blue glow and a petite girl in a long yellow gown appeared on screen.

"That's Yamika Sharma! I watch her serial everyday!" Pratik yelled excitedly.

"Shut up!" everyone replied.

Shlok pouted but kept admiring one of his favourite actresses in low voice. The host of the live stream welcomed the viewers and started recalling the auditions that were held all over India.

A small video showing various short clips of the competitors played and after that the judges appeared on the screen. They started sharing their views and feedback.

"When will they announce the results? I am getting bored," Yasir said.

"Right? They stretch this shit too much. Just get on with the main stuff already," Rehman added.

"Patience is the key, kids," Ritvik Bhaiyya advised.

Painstakingly, we watched the host drag on the event for another hour before she clapped and began announcing the names of the selected contestants.

Fuck, if Akki grips my hand with more strength, my bones will break.

One by one, the names flew out of Yamika Sharma's mouth and our hearts kept doing tumbling every time she took names that started with 'A' and 'B'.

Our hopes started shrinking when none of our names were called even after passing the 37th position.

I was sure my name would get called any moment, but Akshay's paling face ate up all my excitement.

Just when I opened my mouth to encourage my friend, the host yelled "And our forty third dancer is.... Akshay Nandite! Congratulations!"

Akshay's eyes widened, and he blinked rapidly. "Did I get selected?"

"Of course, you did, asshole!" Shlok jumped in joy.

Akshay looked at me, and we both screamed. "Yes!"

All of us jumped on Akshay and hugged him.

"You did it, Akki. Yoohoo!" I exclaimed.

Akshay's voice cracked, and we all patted him. His eyes had reddened. I knew he was overcome with lots of emotions but he wasn't going to cry.

"Stop with the macho act, idiot," I teased.

Akshay shot a fake-glare at me but smiled when others kept poking him for making it to the trainee team.

Thank you, Ganpati Bappa. You made all of our wishes came true.

Ritvik Bhaiyya and Vibhan told us to focus on the results again - mine was still left.

"What will you do if I don't get selected?" I asked Akshay.

Akshay took a sharp breath. "I will beat you up, what else?"

I gave him a flat look. "Pray for me then."

Akshay shook his head, but he was serious about what he said. We moved our attention back to the live stream. The host had taken a small break, so we also relaxed a bit.

"Don't worry, Bhoomi. We will try harder next time if it isn't good news for you. No need to feel disheartened, okay?" Ritvik Bhaiyya patted my head.

"Okay.... Bhaiyya...." I stopped myself from smiling.

The small break was soon over, and the host got back into action. Only five more names were left to be announced.

When the 49th dancer was declared, everyone had lost all hope. Even I had become doubtful if Sarthak Pawar had pulled a prank on me.

If that happens, then I will be the biggest joke of the century!

My heart picked race when the host smiled brightly. "And... our last dancer to join the prestigious training program is....."

I will die if she doesn't take my name.

"Someone you all should not underestimate," the host winked, "Congratulations, Bhoomi Devarkar from Maharashtra!"

"Phew." I sighed.

"Congo, Boomer, you made it!" Rehman yelled.

"Please don't call me that, Rehman, if you don't want to die so young." I gave him a death glare with a smile.

"Girl, you did it!" Jiya hugged me.

Everyone congratulated me, but Vibhan narrowed his eyes at me.

"Why aren't you excited though?" he questioned.

"Huh? I am," I defended.

"No, you are calm like Buddha."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I am happy."

Soon, others also started getting suspicious.

"Why is there a huge contrast between your reaction and Akshay's?" Jiya asked.

"I am shy, that's why." I grinned.

Akshay's eyes twitched. "You better be honest with me, Bhoomi. Before my name was announced, you looked like you were on deathbed, but when your turn came, you were hardly affected. Care to explain?"

I took a few steps back as everyone stared at me as if I had committed a crime. "Chill, Akki. Let's party, what say?"

I decided to bolt out of there, but Vibhan caught me.

"Bhoomi, what's going on?" Ritvik Bhaiyya asked.

Akshay took a step towards me. "What did you and Sarthak Pawar talk backstage that day?"

"Nothing." I averted my eyes.

"Bhoomi...." Akki warned.

Sensing that I wouldn't have made it out alive, I looked down and decided to tell my friends the truth. I knew I only had to wait till the official announcement but telling my friends that I hid the news from them for so long scared me.

"Please don't be mad at me," I said.

"Tell me what happened," Akki said.

"Actually, Sarthak announced that I was on the team out of the blue. I thought he was going to scold me but that didn't happen."

"What?!" Everyone exclaimed.

"So, you are saying that..." Shlok's voice grew darker, "you are saying that you were making a fool of us all this time?"

My eyes widened. "No, that's not what I was doing."

"So what then?" Pratik demanded. "You know how much pressure we were feeling even when we weren't the ones who participated? We didn't even get the chance, Bhoomi!"

This is what I feared happening.

One by one, my crew-mates expressed their disappointment, and I saw Akshay sporting a look of betrayal.

"Is that why you were acting so strange? Why didn't you tell us?" Akshay asked.

My lower lip trembled. "I am sorry. I wanted to but I was warned not to tell anyone. I feared that if I even accidentally said anything related to my selection, I will get disqualified."

"You couldn't even tell me?" Akshay looked at me with hurt-filled eyes.

"Sorry, Akki. It wasn't just that," I replied in a low voice. "I thought you and others might find it unfair. I got no feedback and received no positive reaction from Sarthak, but still he selected me. So... I thought that situation seemed unbelievable. Anyone would think so... I am sorry I lied to you. Sorry, everyone."

No one said anything. I didn't dare to look up. Even Ritvik Bhaiyya had nothing to say.

I felt my eyes sting as tears sprung up. I didn't want to keep my friends in shadow, but I had no choice. It wasn't like I didn't trust my friends, but what if someone had eavesdropped and spread the rumour?

The auditions could have lost their credibility altogether, and I still wasn't sure why Sarthak Pawar had selected me on the whim without commenting on my performance.

I kept thinking about stuff to make my friends understand my situation when I felt a tall figure loom over me as a pair of arms engulfed me.

"You are so stupid, Bhoomi. Why did you think that I, or any of us here would have found you being chosen directly unfair?" Akshay asked and patted my back.

I could no longer stop my tears. "Sorry..."

"You think you are not worthy of something happening like that? Why do you underestimate yourself?"

Akshay pulled back from the hug and wiped my cheeks. "Can't even scold you."

Slowly, everyone started coming closer to me as their anger dissipated.

"She cries so easily, man," Pratik teased.

I wiped my nose and eyes. "You guys aren't mad at me anymore?"

Vibhan crushed me in his arms. "Nope. Congratulations on getting your favourite choreographer's attention."

"Yeah, sorry for not understanding where you were coming from and bursting all out on you," Jiya joined the hug, "Forgive us, okay?"

I nodded. Ritvik Bhaiyya clicked a group photo of us, and after having a small party at our studio, we left for our homes.

My family was thrilled, and instantly, Mom started calculating the budget for my shopping. She warned me to do my best as such opportunity didn't come that often.

I agreed to every word of hers, and when it was to time to prepare dinner, Dad kicked me out of the kitchen. He and Mom were preparing some surprise recipe for me. I and Dhara Didi gossiped while my niece did her homework.

"Bhoomi, do not slack off and remember everything that Ritvik has taught you," Dhara Didi warned.

"Yes, Di, don't worry."

"Remember, it is not only about your reputation, but Ritvik's also."

I narrowed my eyes. "You aren't worried about me, are you?"

Dhara Di blinked rapidly. "Why you say so?"

"You have taken Ritvik Bhaiyya's name about fifteen times since we started talking."

My sister opened her mouth like a fish. I grinned when her eyes slowly dilated and a light pink blush settled on her cheeks.

As if her brain was trying to start again, she slowly closed her mouth and averted her eyes before pushing me down the chair.

"Don't you think before you speak?" Didi growled.

I got back on the chair and shot her an innocent look. "Come on, Di. What exactly did I say?"

She played with her fingers, mumbling under her breath. She kept glancing at her four year old daughter, and I understood what she was thinking about.

I decided to change the topic before she started overthinking about her married life.

We had dinner and a good night of sleep. To thank my mother for preparing a delicious meal for me, I decided to accompany her to her housekeeping job.

Since two weeks were still left for us to begin the trainee program, I worked extra hard to earn as much as I could since I would be getting no time due to practice.

As much as I was excited to begin the new journey, the fear of failure was equally present. Akshay and I spent our days imagining various stuff we would do after joining other dancers, and what kind of new things we would get to learn.

For me, my main goal was to get on good terms with Tejas and prove a worthy member on the team.

Just like that, the remaining days went away like a blur. Akshay and I took deep breaths as we prepared ourselves for the D-Day. Our families and friends gave us their blessings, and we felt like we were going on a war.

"Akki, we will miss the train if we won't hurry," I said.

Akshay zipped up his newly bought jacket and let out a huge breath.

"Run, Boom Boom Boomer!"

Akshay and I bolted like speed racers as we had to catch the local train and one more after that to reach our destination.

Sarthak Pawar's dance studio was in a posh Mumbai Urban area, so we had to travel for about two hours to reach there. Akki even had to leave his part time job, but since the opportunity in front of us was nothing but a pot of gold for us, we were ready to make some sacrifices.

Two hours later, me and my bestie reached the luxurious dance studio after taking a sharing autorickshaw. We were sweating profusely, the midday sun grilling us like barbeque.

Akshay and I took our time to admire the huge four-storey building, the bold text 'Sarthak Pawar' with tagline 'So you think you can dance?' glowing with LED lights.

"Akki, we are here," I said.

"Yup." Akshay nodded.

We both glanced at each other and winked. "Let's go."

I grabbed my friend's wrist, and as we entered the studio, a sweet aroma hit our senses. The receptionist took our details and guided us to wait in one of the practice rooms.

I squealed in my mind when we entered the massive practice room. I had always imagined myself dancing in such rooms whenever I saw dance videos on YouTube.

A few dancers were already present there, and since Akshay and I both had trouble initiating conversations, we decided to be by ourselves. Both of us sat down in a corner and kept expressing our awe.

Soon, the remaining dancers also arrived, and I grinned in happiness when I saw Tejas enter the room, followed by Kshitij Dogra and Suhana Pirthani.

He glanced at us after meeting some dancers he was familiar with; he gave an acknowledging nod to Akshay, and I thought I would receive the same treatment, but he diverted his attention to KD and Suhana. I noticed him looking at me for a split second though.

Did he forget me already?

While I was busy sulking, the others were busy acquainting with each other. Soon, Akshay and I also got wrapped up into talks with some dancers from Kerala and Orissa.

All of us were from different backgrounds, but the hunger for being the best out of the best was visible in everyone's attitude.

And to add fire to that hunger, Sarthak Pawar arrived with a bunch of famous choreographers.

I couldn't believe that I was seeing so many well known faces at the same time. I wanted to take selfies with each one of them. Though a lot of tall figures obstructed my view, I managed to get a good look by standing on my toes.

One of the staff members explained the whole trainee program and the contracts we had to sign. Since the program was free of cost for us, any type of breach from our part would result in heavy penalty. Any kind of absence from evaluation rounds could disqualify us altogether even if we got selected in the final team.

I could feel the pressure rising in the room as Sarthak gave a strict warning to match his expectations.

After the lecture was over, we all received handouts of our schedule, the soft copy of the same being sent to us on our mail.

Sarthak Pawar wished us all the best, and started leaving. Everyone relaxed just as he was about to get out of the room, but suddenly, he turned back and scanned the room as if he was reading subtitles of some foreign movie.

"Do you need anything, Sir?" a staff member asked.

Sarthak Sir nodded. "Yeah, I do. Is Bhoomi Devarkar here?"

Huh? Was he asking for me? Why?

Before I could confirm if it was true, Akshay raised my left hand and stretched me up.

"She is here, Sir!" Akshay yelled.

The people in front of me moved away a bit. I felt my social anxiety rising as the curious multicolored eyes tracked my each moment.

"Is that you, Bhoomi?" Sarthak asked.

"Yes," I squeaked.

"Did you like the studio?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Cool."

He waved his right hand at me and left. Even though he was out of sight, everyone kept staring at me. So, I did what I did best. I used my six foot best friend as shield.

"You know him already?" one of the guys we were talking to asked.

"No, I don't," I replied.

I noticed some more people approaching me and asking questions like "Did you meet him earlier?", "Are you guys related?", "If you aren't famous, then how did he notice you?", etc.

Apart from such queries, I also overhead some trainees whispering to each other about why I was getting the special treatment from the main mentor.

If I had known myself, I would have answered them.

Am I really getting special treatment from Sarthak Sir? But it hasn't been even one day... He could be just normally talking to me. Unlike for 'someone', I might have been able to leave some good impression on him.

I glanced at that 'someone' and pouted when I remembered that he didn't even bother to acknowledge me.

"Someone is popular on the first day itself~" Akki teased.

I punched his arm. "Don't fuss about it."

I stared at Tejas for a few minutes, thinking that he might at least exchange some words with me like KD and Suhana did, but he showed no signs of doing so. He was only showing interest in Akshay, his face stoic as a stone whenever he 'accidentally' glanced at me.

I felt a bit of anger rise in me. Or, it could have been jealousy too.

"Akki, why doesn't TJ talk to me like he does with you?" I asked.

Akshay quirked his eyebrow. "Isn't that good though? What if you get too excited and blow your own cover? I think it is better that he is ignoring you."

Ohhhh.... I never thought about that. It was highly possible that I could have mentioned that 'Boomer' incident with TJ. I seemed to enter in another dimension whenever I saw Tejas. Still, I hoped I could take that secret to my grave.

Even though I wasn't the one who wanted to compete in the underground battle with TJ, I was the one who had to be the most careful; my crew-mates had no problem interacting with 'The Emperors'.

Why, God, why me?

I gulped down my hopes and prepared to leave with Akshay. The day one was over, and I roamed my eyes over everyone as they also began to exit the studio.

These people were not only going to be my colleagues but my competition too. I had to be prepared for everything unexpected.

Okay, Bhoomi, remember these faces. You don't know which one might prove to be your biggest challenge.