"Oh, look who is here!"

"Bhoomi, where were you? You won't believe how much I missed you!"

"I will ask Eknath Bhau (brother) to increase your daily wage, so can you come regularly?"

"Now, now, let's not waste any more time. If we slack off like this and someone overhears us complaining, we may lose our jobs."

"Who will dare to fire us?"

"What are you waiting for, Bhoomi? Get on with the work."

I picked up the bundles of light wires and nodded at the light technician uncles. Unlike me, they had very big grins on their faces, and as soon as they saw me, they dumped the heavy work on me.

I grabbed the stairs and aligned them with one of the multiple trees standing proudly in the vicinity of the function hall.

I put a light bundle around my neck and began climbing the stairs. If my mother hadn't fallen ill due to changing weather, I wouldn't have been here. As I reached the top of the stairs, I took a deep breath. The air was chillier as the rainy season had begun its onset.

As I started wrapping the lights around the tree's wide bark, my mind was also getting twisted by a number of doubts.

My mother seemed to be falling ill a lot nowadays, my father was doing more double shifts than usual, and my niece Srishti wasn't doing well in school either.

Akshay's younger brother, Rahul, went to the same school as Srishti, and it was him who had told me that Srishti was getting bullied in school. I couldn't believe him at all.

Srishti was just a four and a half year old kid, and imagining small children her age bullying her was unbelievable. And even for her small age, she was really strong-headed. She wasn't the girl to sit back in case someone troubled her. Instead, she often got scolded by Dhara Di for picking up fights with kids older than her.

She was a smart kid too, but according to Rahul, he found Srishti zoning out a lot of times.

What can such a small kid be worrying about? I need to talk to her. I will take her to an amusement park once I get free.

I was almost done wrapping the lights when my stairs shook wildly. Due to my earlier experience, I didn't get much scared and hugged the tree with my full strength. I knew someone must have crashed into the stairs, so I looked down.

I was going to tell that person to leave because I wasn't in the mood to exchange even a word, but when I saw Hriaan flashing his sparkly teeth at me, I felt like he did it on purpose.

"Am I on your hit list, Hriaan?" I asked as I climbed down the stairs.

Surprisingly, Hriaan held the stairs and even gave me his hand to hold for support.

"It wasn't me this time, Shorty," Hriaan said.

He pointed his thumb to his left, and I noticed his pet dog, Roxie, wreaking havoc over the place. Along with Roxie, there were some smaller dogs, following him around like a gang.

"Roxie gets too much excited sometimes." Hriaan smiled with pride.

I pursed my lips. "Is it another party for him?"

"No. Mom is holding a celebration for the inauguration of the animal hospital she is sponsoring."

"Wow, that's really great."

Hriaan scratched his head. "I know, right?"

I nodded and continued with my work. I thought that Hriaan would remember what I had told him about my employer's rules and would leave, but he accompanied me to the next tree. He carried the stairs and helped me to stabilize them in line with the tree.

"Hriaan, you should leave," I told him.

"I don't want to. I am getting bored supervising, so I will help you. Roxie is also busy with his gang," he replied.

Seeing that he wasn't going to budge, I let him help me. I was really thankful as no one wanted to do that. He even offered to climb the stairs in my place, but I refused. If he had gotten hurt, Eknath Uncle would have chewed my head off.

"Come on, Shorty, girls shouldn't be doing the heavy work like this," Hriaan said.

"Beggars can't be choosers." I shrugged.

Hriaan looked at me curiously. "Why do you work, Bhoomi? You in a financial pinch?"

"Yup."

"Need any help?"

"Nope."

"Do let me know if things get tough."

"I thought you didn't like me." I gave him a stinky eye.

Hriaan raised his eyebrows. "You hurt me, Shorty."

I laughed at his dramatic actions, but my happy moment was blown as soon as Eknath Uncle's pterodactyl scream pierced my eardrums.

"Miss Bhoomi Devarkar! How dare you waste time chit-chatting?!" Eknath Uncle boomed.

He stomped in my direction, his eyes shooting invisible fire balls at me. I waited in anticipation, and Eknath Uncle opened his mouth to scold me but stopped when he noticed Hriaan looking at him in amusement.

Within a split-second, Eknath Uncle's attitude changed, and he plastered his professional smile on his small face.

"Hriaan Sir, may I have the pleasure to know what you are doing here?" Eknath Uncle asked, his eyes twitching at the bundles of lights hanging from Hriaan's neck.

Uncle glanced at me and didn't wait for Hriaan's reply. "Did you forget about the rules, Miss Devarkar?"

Even though he asked with a smile, I knew what expression he was suppressing. This is what I was afraid of. Eknath Uncle never let the other person explain and kept accusing allegations.

"Eknath Uncle, you need to take a chill pill," Hriaan said.

"Did she ask you to work, Sir?" Uncle asked. "And even if she did, why are you doing this?"

Hriaan rolled his eyes. "Because I want to. It is my choice."

Eknath Uncle shook his head vigorously. "No. I won't allow this. Please let us handle the arrangements, Hriaan Sir. If Viraaje Madam sees this, she will think that we are making you labour with us. There will be a lot of misunderstandings, and I can't afford that."

"First of all, you can't deny me the right to work, and second, I will be answerable for my own safety. So, please calm your blood pressure and carry on with your work," Hriaan explained.

Eknath Uncle huffed as Hriaan was adamant on staying. Before leaving, he threw me a murderous glare, and I knew I was going to receive a lecture later no matter what explanation I gave.

Though I also felt that Hriaan didn't need to be here, I was thankful for his presence. Because of his rubbish talks, I was able to keep my mind grounded in one place.

After the arrangements were done, I was given my regular task of serving the guests. Other workers kept asking me about Mom and how they missed her. She was one of the efficient workers on the team, and because of her expertise, she received a lot of offers. On one hand, I was happy about that, but on the flip side, I knew how hard my mother worked for our family.

When will I get rich, Ganapati Bappa? I hope Eknath Uncle raises the daily wages soon.

The event was given a green signal when Viraaje Madam cut a three-tier cake and fed Roxie the first piece. Hriaan got the second piece, and as soon as he was done meeting the guests from the hospital, he jumped beside me.

He snatched the tray full of drinks from my hands and began serving the guests. I scolded him to stop, but he was in a very different mood altogether. He wasn't listening to anyone.

"Why are you creating troubles for me?" I complained and followed him, trying to take my tray from him.

"I am just doing my duties as a good son," Hriaan replied plainly.

"What do you mean?"

Hriaan motioned towards his mother, and I noticed Viraaje Aunty looking at her son happily.

I was confused. "Why would your mother want you to work as a waiter?"

Hriaan grinned. "She is testing me, what else? And don't worry about me. I also want to keep busy as I won't need to keep those old boring businessmen company."

Wow. We all really have one or another problem to deal with even if our lives are so different.

I reminded Hriaan to work properly, or I would get his share of scoldings. Hriaan promised me, but I was always nearby incase he goofed up.

I got a call from the head chef to attend to the VIPs. After getting the instructions, I carefully picked up the huge tray of delicacies; it wasn't much heavy, but if I had dropped even one plate accidentally, I could have lost a week worth of my wages.

I slowly walked out of the pantry, and some idiot almost bumped into me, making me wobble. Fortunately, Hriaan caught the tray in time.

"Give this to me," he said.

"No, you have already done enough," I argued.

Hriaan pulled the tray out of my hands without much effort. "I am serious, Shorty."

After hearing the head chef to hurry up, I told Hriaan to come with me. While he held the tray, I served the VIP guests.

I was busy making sure that the plating wouldn't be disturbed, so I didn't notice every guest. I was done serving one half of a table and moved on to another when I heard a familiar soft voice - that voice was very sweet, but I didn't like whom it belonged to.

"Hriaan beta, what do you think you are doing?"

I snapped my eyes at the woman decked up in an expensive pastel pink saree and pearl necklace. Like I had seen before, Jaiswal aunty had her hair tied up in a neat bun, not even a single strand falling loose.

"I am working, aunty," Hriaan replied in a low voice.

Jaiswal aunty scrunched her nose a bit. She motioned for me to put the plate down, and I did. Her gaze flitted between Hriaan and me a few times, and the look in her eyes was anything but pleasant.

"Hriaan?" she called.

"Yes, aunty?" Hriaan replied.

"I am really not happy seeing you like this. It is your function, so I can't dictate you, but don't forget that you are Viraaje family's heir. Please think about your family's image at least."

Hriaan sighed. "I know, aunty, but I don't think there is anything bad in serving my own guests."

Jaiswal aunty gave him a tight-lipped smile. "I agree, but you can entertain us in some other way. As for all this catering and stuff, we have other people," she glanced at me, "like her designated for that. No one is making them work for free, you know. If you take on their jobs also, how will they earn?"

I knew what she felt about the worker class. And after observing her, I also confirmed that she was none other than Jyoti Jaiswal - Tejas's mother.

The way her eyes were the same as my dance idol and her lips curved up into a smile, it all reminded me of Tejas. Though, there was a huge contrast between the personalities of mother and son. I couldn't believe that the woman sitting in front of me was the mother of a person who had no such thoughts regarding people of lower status than him.

To save Hriaan and myself from receiving more taunts, I took the tray from him and pushed him to move aside.

I noticed that Hriaan's mood was spoilt, but he was afraid to argue with his friend's mother. I signalled him to leave, and he followed my advice after giving me an apologetic look. As soon as he left, Jyoti aunty had a satisfied expression gracing her bright face.

I decided to ignore her; the more I looked at her, the more I felt like she was judging my existence. I continued my work, and after the guests left, I began picking up the chairs to stack them one on one.

Soon, a pair of hands appeared in my vision, and I shook my head.

"Hriaan, do you have short-term memory?" I asked.

"Just shut up and let me be," Hriaan grumbled.

"Why so mad, bro?"

Hriaan forcefully dumped one chair over another. "That idiot Garvare kept following me everywhere, trying to hook me up with his granddaughter. If he wasn't old, I might have punched him."

"His granddaughter not beautiful enough for you?" I teased.

"I don't care about how she looks," he pinched my cheek, "I am not getting married to some girl related to these businessmen."

"Yours is also a business family. Why are you judging them? If I was in your place, I would have said yes."

He rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure."

I poked him again and he told me that he didn't want to get set up in any kind of personal relationship with his business partners. He reminded me how the people took advantage of such relations to play the power politics.

"By the way, please don't pay much attention to what Jyoti aunty said earlier," Hriaan said.

"She is Tejas's mom, right?" I asked.

Hriaan nodded with a scared expression. "That she is."

We decided to stop talking about her as our moods were getting spoiled. When we were done removing chairs and tables from the lawn, Hriaan received a call from his mother, telling him that they were leaving.

"Okay, Shorty, time to take my leave," Hriaan said. "Do let me know if Eknath Uncle scolds you. I will have a talk with him."

I shrugged. "No need for that. I am used to it. Thanks for your help today."

Hriaan gave me a short smile. "Your rehearsals yet to start, right? Wanna come to my party tomorrow?"

My eyebrows shot up. "Another party? Don't you get tired?"

He grinned. "Never. So, you coming or not?"

I thought that Hriaan was giving me work, so I calculated in my mind and looked at him in determination.

"What's the pay?" I asked.

Hriaan hit me on the head. "I am not asking you to work, dumbo. I am inviting you. Akshay, Vibhan, and others will also come, so tag along. I promise you won't regret it."

"I will need to take permission, and most probably, I won't get it." I pouted. "I even have to submit first half of my choreography to the mentors."

"Come on, Shorty, don't reject me so soon. Think about it, and don't stay up too late."

I thanked him for the invitation, and he jogged out of the hall. When he vanished out of my sight, I wondered if I would be able to go to his party. I even had Yukta's surprise party coming up, and for both, I had nothing prepared.

While thinking about it, I finished my remaining work and took my day's salary from Eknath Uncle. Surprisingly, he didn't say anything to me regarding Hriaan.

I bid my goodbye to everyone and left the premises. If I had caught the fast train, I would have been able to reach home before the sun dropped below the horizon. I crossed the parking lot and was about to exit the huge gates when I jumped in fright on hearing a loud honk.

A white BMW stopped near me, and Jyoti aunty stepped down from it. She adjusted her saree, and soon, her driver, Tambe Uncle arrived beside her with an umbrella. He gave me a smile in acknowledgement, holding the umbrella over his madam's head.

Jyoti aunty took slow steps towards me, her pink heels clicking on the concrete floor. She stopped a meter away, her eyes gliding all over me.

"We have met before, haven't we?" she asked, her polite tone ringing alarms inside my brain.

I kept my composure. "Yes."

"You are a really hardworking girl. I like it," she said.

"Thank you...?"

I was confused. Even if it sounded like she was praising me, the way she was looking at me told me she wasn't being honest. To avoid blurting out anything stupid, I replied in only few sentences.

"What's your name?" Jyoti aunty asked.

"Bhoomi Devarkar," I replied.

"Bhoomi...." she repeated slowly. "I will remember that."

With that, she swirled around and got back in her car. I moved away as Tambe Uncle drove out, nodding at me while leaving. I returned the gesture and continued on my own way.

I don't feel good.

I agree with you this time, Bhoomi. That woman can't be Tejas's mother.

Every time I meet her, I feel so small. I don't like it.

How can Tejas be related to her? He is totally different.

I know, right? But who are we to judge? Our family is full of antique pieces too.

Damn true.