Akshay dragged me behind him with full force, but my legs had become jelly. As a result of pulling an all-nighter at Arushi's place, we got late for college and in-turn missed our regular train to reach Sarthak Pawar's studio.

It was unfair that Akshay had long legs, while I was struggling due to my short ones. Akshay entered the studio, and I was on the verge of collapsing, but instead of kissing the floor, I ended up colliding with a guy. I couldn't see who it was as my vision was blurred due to exhaustion.

"You okay, Bhoomi?"

It took me a few minutes to adjust my focus; Akshay helped me to stand properly, and once I was stable, I noticed Kshitij looking at me worriedly while picking up his books.

"Sorry, KD," I said.

"I am not the one you should be worried about." Kshitij laughed.

He picked up all of his books, and my eyes zeroed on a familiar novel in his hands. I asked him to show it to me, and he reacted the same way Arushi had reacted.

"Don't touch with your bare hands, dude. You just came from outside. Get washed first," KD said.

"Why do you have that book, KD? Do you also do book reviews?" I asked.

KD looked at me in confusion. "No, Bhoomi, I don't do reviews, but I love reading them. Why do you ask though?"

The book in his hands was the same book that Arushi was reviewing a few days ago. She had said that the owner was really stingy, so I wondered how KD was able to get the book.

"Actually, my best friend is a book reviewer," I told KD.

His eyes sparked up. "Really? That's great. What's her/his Instagram account? I will check it out."

"Sure."

I showed him Arushi's book review page, and his eyes kept getting bigger.

"I already follow this account, man," KD announced. "I am a huge fan. I didn't know your friend managed this."

I and Akshay glanced at each other, feeling proud for our friend. KD read the latest review by Arushi about the book 'Gone, but not forgotten', and he was highly impressed.

"See, isn't my friend so professional?" I boasted. "But the owner of this book is really stingy."

KD raised an eyebrow at my comment. "Stingy? Why would you say that?"

"Why are you getting angry?" I complained. "Anyways, Arushi said that she had requested several times to borrow that novel for atleast two weeks because she really admired the author, but the owner only gave her three days. How was she supposed to read it and drop a review in such a short time? But still she did. My friend suffered unnecessarily. I haven't met the book's owner, but I think I don't like him/her."

KD didn't say anything as he kept staring at me blankly. Akshay waved his hand in front of Kshitij's face, and he came back to life.

"I wasn't aware you judge people you don't know," KD said to me.

"Excuse me?" I looked at him in confusion.

Kshitij placed the novel in front of him and looked at me plainly. "I am the owner of this novel."

Akshay and I burst out laughing. Seeing KD's face, I realised that he was serious. While Akshay was still laughing, I stopped and asked KD if he was telling the truth.

He nodded, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Why did you take back the book so early?" I accused.

KD sighed. "This novel is my grandmother's. She left this to me to look after it, and I was worried about it's safety. I didn't know that one of my favourite book reviewers had asked for it."

"Okay. So now that you know, can you lend it to me? I will give it to Arushi."

KD shook his head. "No way. Instead, it will be better if I meet your friend personally. I will myself give her the book."

"You just want to meet her, don't you?" I teased. "My friend is really popular, you know. You may need to take an appointment."

KD narrowed his eyes. "You taking revenge now?"

I laughed and told him that I would introduce Arushi to him in the college. He was delighted, and before we could gossip more, Akshay tapped my shoulder and pointed his thumb behind him.

I followed where he was pointing at and widened my eyes when I saw Tejas trudging towards us - he didn't look in a good mood.

He shook hands with Akshay and scolded KD for wasting time. To avoid hearing more lecture from Tejas, KD and Akshay pushed me towards him and ran off to their own practice room.

I stopped myself from crashing into my team leader and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry for being late, TJ- I mean, Tejas," I said.

Tejas rolled his eyes. "Why are you still standing here then?"

I moved my feet and dashed towards my training room, hearing Tejas's footsteps behind me.

Luckily, I didn't receive any scolding as Yukta had also gotten late. We began practice, and I could feel Yukta trying to catch her breath every time she was done with her part. When she was in the background, she kept checking her ankle and pressing her stomach.

I knew she was pushing herself too hard. As expected, during our rehearsal for the main part, Gaurav lost his footing. I instantly moved forward and caught Yukta's torso, but she was a bit heavy for me. She was about to crash into the floor, but Tejas caught her in time.

"You okay?" Tejas asked Yukta.

Yukta shot him a huge smile in return and told Gaurav to relax after he started apologizing for messing up.

Tejas moved towards me, and I thought he would be happy to know that I helped Yukta, but he towered over me like a pissed-off parent.

"Bhoomi, just focus on your part, okay?" Tejas said sternly.

"I was only helping-"

"I am not asking for your opinion. I am the team leader, and I will be responsible for everything. Instead of worrying about others, worry about your own part."

I nodded, and Tejas announced a small break. I went to the washroom with Yukta. While I was done with my business, Yukta was taking far longer to come out of the toilet cabin. I asked her if she was okay, and she told me to go ahead.

I knew she was trying to hide her pain and didn't want to make us worry. I could hear her groaning in low voice.

"Yukta, I know you are not okay," I said.

"Bhoomi, I am just having a mild stomachache. I had noodles in the morning, and I think I didn't digest them well. It will take me more time, so you can return," Yukta said from inside.

"Are you sure it is just indigestion?"

"Yeah, and please don't mention about it to TJ."

"Why not? He is our team leader. He should know if we are facing any problems."

"Come on, Bhoomi. It is embarrassing. Why don't you get it?"

"Are you blushing right now?" I teased.

"Bhoomi!"

I left after teasing her more, and while returning back, I noticed other teams practicing hard. I waved my hand at Akshay, but since he was busy, I couldn't disturb him.

I continued on my way, but a dancer from some other team stopped me. She knew that I was proficient in classical, so she asked for my help. For a minute, I couldn't believe that she was actually asking me that. My performance in my own team didn't seem that good.

On her request, I followed her as I still had some break time left. The other team welcomed me and asked me for some inputs. They were doing classical, and some of the dancers had doubts regarding their parts.

"A lot of us are doing it for the first time, and we are afraid of troubling our mentor again and again. She is really strict. Can you please help us?" one of the guys asked.

"Sure," I nodded.

I was glad that I was being of some help to them. Fortunately, I didn't disappoint them, and they even accepted some changes here and there suggested by me. I was really engrossed in checking their choreography that I didn't notice my own team leader arriving there.

"TJ is here!" someone announced excitedly.

Soon, everyone gathered around Tejas, and he greeted all of them. Everyone expressed their desire to be on the same team as him, and he consoled them.

While he was handling his enthusiastic fans, I noticed Falguni motioning at me to leave the room. I began sneaking out, but like a sniper, Tejas targeted his stare at me.

"Bhoomi," Tejas said slowly.

I stopped, and he told me to come closer. I followed his instructions, and he knocked me on the head.

"You really have a lot of time on your hands, don't you?" he asked. "I would prefer if you showed the same enthusiasm for your own team."

I bobbled my head vigorously, and the other team laughed when Tejas lectured me about discipline as if I was a kindergartener. We came back to our training room, and my team looked at me in disappointment.

"At least, stop getting caught while fooling around," Manoj adviced me.

"Seriously, Bhoomi, how are you able to survive after receiving so much scoldings from TJ? It feels like he can only see you making mistakes." Omkar laughed.

"I was going to say the same thing, man. I mean we also mess up, but I guess Bhoomi is the one who has managed to press all the wrong buttons of TJ," Falguni added.

Others started laughing, and I spared their lives because we had our final performance the day after tomorrow. Just as we started discussing our positions, I realised that Yukta hadn't returned.

Is she still in the washroom?

I was about to go and check on her, but she arrived soon. She smiled at all of us, but I could see she was faking it. She took her position and told us to get ready. Others nodded, but I didn't agree with her.

Yukta is really pushing beyond her limits. She is not from hip-hop background, and yet she wants to continue doing the hard stunts. If she keeps lying like this, she will hurt herself really badly. I know she won't say it herself, so I will do it.

I looked at my team leader, and he was reviewing our earlier demos. I went to him and asked him to spare me some minutes.

He looked up from the laptop and told me to continue.

"Tejas, Yukta won't tell it herself, but I know she is struggling with her part. She is doing this kind of choreography for the first time, and I think the level of stunts is really hard for her," I said.

Tejas raised an eyebrow. "Please elaborate."

"Manoj, Gaurav, and Omkar have to catch Yukta after Michael pushes her in the air, and within a second, Yukta has to land down and start her part. If the timing isn't right, then the later parts get affected. That's what's causing the problem most of the time. Moreover, I am worried that she is lying about being okay. Actually, I wanted to make a suggestion."

Tejas told me to continue.

"Well, according to a variation I prepared before, it will be easier for the guys to save their strength if we swap some positions. Michael is bulkier than Gaurav, so he can help to catch Yukta easily. And if not that, then I can take Yukta's position. I am already well versed with everyone's part, so there won't be any problem.

"I am lighter than Yukta, so the strain on guys' hands will be lesser, and Yukta will also be able to perform the other parts without having to worry about the guys."

I was surprised that Tejas listened to me intently.

"What do you think about my suggestion?" I asked hopefully.

"Let's ask the team too," Tejas said.

Tejas told everyone to gather around. "Guys, like I have always said, all of you are free to share your concerns with me. Bhoomi just told me that you guys are having issues with some parts. Before I hear your opinions, let me just remind you that this is just the beginning.

"If you can't keep up with this level of choreography, then what will you do later? Things are only going to get tougher in the future. Remember, I am not doing this for myself alone. You can go ahead and check other teams' dance routines. If we need to beat them in the evaluation, we have to be the best."

Everyone looked at me before glancing at each other; they started discussing among themselves.

Tejas gave them some time and stopped the discussion.

"Also, I would like to ask Yukta something since Bhoomi seemed to be concerned about her the most," Tejas said.

"Yes, TJ, what is it?" Yukta asked worriedly.

"Well, Bhoomi told me that you were struggling with your part and suggested to swap your positions. I am confident in you, but please let me know if you think otherwise."

Opposite to my expectations, Yukta shook her head and thanked Tejas for showing faith in her. She told him that she would train harder and won't disappoint him. Others also agreed with her.

Tejas glanced at me. "Looks like others don't share the same views as you."

"Thank you for listening to me," I said sadly and joined my teammates.

While others were unbothered about what I had discussed with our team leader, Yukta seemed to be frowning whenever she looked at me.

When it was time to leave, Yukta packed her bag and began leaving without waiting for me and Falguni. I hurried and caught her before she left.

"Yukta, please wait!" I yelled.

She huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. "Are you jealous of me, Bhoomi?"

I blinked rapidly. "What?! Why would you think so?"

"Because you want to take my centre position. If you really wanted it so badly, then you could have just told me. Why did you go and make me look like an inefficient dancer in front of TJ?"

"No, Yukta, that wasn't my intention," I argued.

"Really?" Yukta retorted. "I know how much you like him, Bhoomi, but this is not the right way to treat your friends because of jealousy."

Jealousy?! Who? Me? And did she just say that I like Tejas?

"I don't like him, Yukta. Please don't misunderstand," I said.

She rolled her eyes. "Who are you lying to, yaar?"

"Am I that obvious?" I mumbled.

"Yes, you are, but that's not the main point here. You tried to take my position, man. How could you do that? I know I am not as much skilled in hip-hop as you, but TJ himself gave me the centre spot. Are you judging his decision?"

I told Yukta to calm down and looked at her earnestly.

"Listen, Yukta, I am being honest with you. You are my friend, and I am sorry if I hurt your feelings unintentionally. I know you are a really good dancer; I was just worried about you overworking yourself, so I thought of discussing with Tejas because you were not doing it yourself."

Yukta stared at me for some time, processing my words in her mind.

"Stop worrying about others, dumbo," she scolded. "Don't you realise how much scoldings you get yourself?"

I grinned. "It's okay since I get to learn a lot."

Yukta pinched my cheeks. "Again acting smug. By the way, what did you do to attract TJ's attention?"

I looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, whenever I look at him, he is watching over you like a hawk. Honestly, I can't exactly pinpoint what he is thinking at that moment."

"I know," I said.

"What?" she asked excitedly.

"He must be regretting having me on his team."

I pouted as Tejas's angry face flashed in front of my eyes. I remembered that I was still in the last position on the performance list.

Yukta giggled and gave me a side-hug. "Don't dampen your spirit, buddy. We still have the final performance left."

"Yup. Let's do our best."

I hope I don't disappoint my team - most importantly Tejas. Otherwise, he will refuse to be on the same team with me again. I can't quit my goal so soon. I have to upskill, and show my idol that I am worthy of the spot beside him.