"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.

He bobbed his head and told me that we could try a few variations after he reviewed our progress. I returned with the proudest and hugest smile I ever had in my entire life.

Yukta pulled my cheek. "Stop acting smug."

I took out my tongue. "You are jealous."

She slapped behind my head, and we started laughing. After goofing around for a bit, we began our practice, and I winced as my teammates fell down on the floor while doing the stunts. Tejas signalled for a redo, and my eyes kept moving towards Falguni, Yukta, and Gaurav. Their bruises were becoming more evident day by day.

After somehow finishing the practice, I thought of again asking Tejas to change some stunts. Fortunately, he himself announced that we were going to follow one of the variations I had made.

"Let's try this choreo and see how it goes," TJ said.

I looked at my team hopefully, and Tejas told me to give a demonstration. One by one, I showed each member how to do their parts, and after they were well versed, we did a demo.

I noticed TJ scrutinizing everyone as we progressed even though he himself was also performing. After we were done, TJ called me to discuss with him.

"Yukta, my dream is coming true..." I said.

"You really have silly dreams!" Yukta scolded.

"Dreams are dreams."

"Why don't you just confess? Isn't that your biggest dream?"

I hit her in the stomach. "Stop talking nonsense."

"She is right though," Falguni added and smirked.

I glared at her and Yukta. "Stop making fun of me. I only respect Tejas. That's all."

Both of them rolled their eyes and reminded me that TJ had called me. I widened my eyes and hopped towards my leader. I glanced back and saw the girls snickering.

"TJ, what did you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Let's practice evey variation today only. We don't have much time left, so let's choose the best option as soon as possible," Tejas said.

"Okay!"

Tejas asked our team to stay a bit late, and everyone agreed with his decision. I also called my mom and told her about the delay. Seeing my team practice till late, Akshay's and other teams also stayed back.

Throughout the practices, my ears kept getting blessed by Tejas's voice.

"Bhoomi, show how it is done.", "Bhoomi, help Manoj with this pose.", "Don't strain yourself that much, Bhoomi.", "Good job, Bhoomi.", "Bhoomi, come here.", "Bhoomi, go there."...

I was skipping from one place to another, my energy increasing instead of depleting. It felt like TJ was my energy replenishment.

Yukta commented that I was glowing like a bulb and Tejas was paying me a lot of attention, but I knew she was teasing me. She also said that I had impressed TJ, and now he was chanting my name like a mantra.

I acted like that wasn't the case, but deep inside, I was dancing in joy.

"Bhoomi, is there anything else you want to add?" Tejas asked after our last practice.

The clock was showing 9:46 p.m., and I actually had a few additions in mind, but knowing that we wouldn't be able to survive if we had one more demo, I decided to call it a day. I thanked my team for accepting my request.

After them, I looked at Tejas and gave him my best smile. "Thank you so much for considering my request, TJ."

In return, Tejas nodded, and as he moved past me, he patted my right shoulder in acknowledgement.

I slowly moved my head towards my shoulder and pursed my lips tightly to avoid squealing loudly.

Ganpati Bappa, did TJ pat my shoulder just now?! I can't believe that everything I have imagined and day-dreamed about is morphing into reality so soon! I think that's why it is said to keep believing in your dreams. You never know when they will come true.

"Oye, Boom Boom Boomer!"

I was shaken out of my thoughts, and at first I wanted to punch whoever had dared to disrupt my day-dreaming, but when I saw my best friend waving his hand infront of my face and pulling my hair, I launched myself at him.

"Akki!"

I hugged Akshay tightly, and he pulled my ear when I increased my hold.

"What the hell got into you? Did you lose your memory or something? Why are you acting like we are meeting after hundred years? And what's with this stupid smile on your face?" Akshay asked.

I looked up at Akki and beamed. "I am really really really happy today! I think I can die in peace now."

"I don't think I will be happy if you die now since I always thought that you will die from my hands because of your stupidity, but I am glad you are in a good mood. Care to tell what happened?"

I opened my mouth to tell him but was interrupted by Suhana's arrival. She asked Akshay about tomorrow's schedule, and both of them conversed for a bit. During their conversation, I kept glancing between Akshay and Suhana.

While Akshay, like his usual shy self, kept nodding and looking here and there, Suhana on the other hand had complete focus on my best friend. She didn't even recognise my presence.

After she left, waving at me for just a second, I gave a once-over to Akki.

Is Suhana really interested in this idiot? What did she exactly see in him? I know he is tall and a tiny bit of good looking, but does Suhana know how much stupid he is? He is so clueless that I am sure he has no idea that Suhana keeps looking at him like he is the only person she can see.

Still, how did he manage to catch her attention? What did he do? Most importantly, how will he react if he gets to know that Suhana likes him. Should I tell him? Hm, I think I shouldn't. Let the situation unfold on its own. I like Suhana - she is a really nice girl.

But my best friend starts puking even at the thought of love. If his father hadn't betrayed his mother and abandoned his family, maybe Akshay would have also enjoyed the rom-coms with me and Arushi.

Akshay poked my forehead. "Are you planning on being stuck to me your whole life?"

I squinted my eyes and squeezed him before I detached myself from him. My teammates had already left, so I and my best friend also moved out of the dance studio and caught our train.

My happiness seemed to be increasing as I kept replaying the earlier moments with Tejas in my mind. After seeing me traveling into my imaginary land, Akshay decided to ignore me and slept till we reached our station.

Instead of going to our homes, I dragged Akshay to our garage studio. He protested at first as he just wanted to go home and sleep, but when I announced that I was going to give a treat to all of our friends, Akki's soul came back from the graveyard.

"When did you become so generous, Boom Boom Boomer?" Akki teased.

I smirked. "Take this chance while it lasts."

My friends, who were practicing for an upcoming competition, jumped in joy on hearing my announcement.

Rehman, as usual, started ordering at me like I was a waiter at some hotel. As expected, we ended up listing down mostly Chinese stuff. Yasir and Pratik offered to bring the food, and we played around till they returned.

When our food arrived, we jumped on it like starved hyenas. Rehman was eating with both hands as if he was starved for months. During our late dinner, I remembered about Jiya missing from our party and called her.

She promised to be there as soon as possible and scolded the guys not to finish everything by themselves. Unfortunately, Rehman and Shlok had other plans in mind. Just after five minutes of Jiya's call, all of the parcels were empty.

"Oye, waiter, go and get me some more Manchurian and Momos," Rehman told me.

I kicked him on the back. "Bhukkad kahin ka. Itna khaya phir bhi aatma shaant nahi hui hai teri (Glutton, even when you have eaten so much, your soul isn't satisfied)."

Rehman grinned. "I love you, Bhoomi."

"Sure, sure. I know how much and exactly when you love me."

Our friends started laughing when Rehman kept buttering me up. Pratik offered to bring the extra food, but I stopped him. I was happy to see my friends laughing and enjoying their time, so I decided to get the food myself.

Yasir informed me that the nearest shops were closed, so I could get the parcels from the shop eight minutes away. I took my wallet and left the studio. I danced on my way to the shop, humming a song to myself.

The order took about twenty minutes to be packed, and I continued on my way back.

I hope Rehman is happy with this amount. I don't know how he is able to fill this much food in his tiny stomach. He doesn't even gain weight!

While I was scolding Rehman in my mind, my phone rang up. I picked up the call.

"Jiya, girl, where are you?" I asked.

"Bhoomi, where are you right now?" Jiya asked.

"Oye, why are you repeating the same stuff?"

"Bhoomi, listen-"

"Come soon or else there won't be anything left for you."

I shook the parcel bag near the phone's speaker. "See, this is our second round. I can only afford this much."

I laughed as I remembered how Rehman gobbled down a whole bowl of Manchurian soup in one go.

"Bhoomi! Listen to me. If your are outside, then don't go back to the studio."

"But why?"

"Tej... clu... boom... fou... whe... don.... I am.... Akshay... guys..."

I checked my phone when Jiya's voice started cracking. I told her that I couldn't hear her properly, but I heard her continuously talking in broken words.

I was just a few metres away from my garage studio when my phone's battery died. I decided to call Jiya from Akshay's cellphone. I wanted to talk to her about my day as the guys were too busy stuffing their faces with food.

I increased my pace, but suddenly, my heart skipped a beat. The feeling was very weird. Along with it, I recalled Jiya's earlier words: "Don't go back to the studio."

Hmmm... Why would she say that? Oh, maybe she was on her way and wanted to go together. Hope she comes before the party ends. It isn't like you get a treat from me that often.