Chapter 2 - He came, She saw, and They conquered

PAYAL SPEAKS

I couldn't make out much of him in the first meeting. He seemed to be just another guy lost in his own world, maybe something up his sleeve, but an introvert all the same, not bothered by what people around him felt or behaved. But this opinion was soon to change a couple of days later when we came to check out our practices a couple of days later.

This time he had come all by himself, no sign of the duck-footed Arun around him. We were just having a small break between practices and he had a chat with Nitin and Ayesha, the two main 2nd year coordinators of the dance while all the first years were sitting on the ground. After a few minutes, he turned towards us and stated that he wanted to see one practice. All of us got up and stood in our formations as the music began playing. While everyone was prancing around, he moved inside the formation to take a closer look at everybody's dance moves. I felt my pulse racing as he came close to me and quietly observed my moves and those of my partner's. A small smile flickered on his face which I guessed meant that we were doing fine. After the music stopped, he made all the sweaty and panting 12 dancers sit down in a circle and he kneeled right in the middle of it.
"First let me tell you that your lot has been the best that I have seen in the last three years at MNNIT." he said. "All of you seem to be very good dancers, so I don't need to comment on your dancing abilities. But I felt that something was missing. When I see the dance from a distance, everybody is dancing good and in synchronization with one another, but that energy which makes the audience jiggle along with you wasn't there. Dancing on stage just doesn't mean that you do your steps. You have to bring in that grace, that vigor, which will make the audience feel that you are having fun out there and make them dance with you. And the best way to do that is ? Obviously, just enjoy yourself while you are dancing. There's no need to be afraid of anything or anybody when you are there. We, as seniors are not here to rag you or punish you. We are here just to guide you through the way to setting the stage on fire. And if average dancers like us have done it in the past years, then it would be a cakewalk for the amazing dancers that I see around me right now."
Throughout as he spoke, his face had a single expression, no sign of emotions anywhere. Just that determined look, the look which made you want to achieve something. His husky voice had a hidden energy that would get transferred to the others when he spoke. Soon after that talk, he received a phone call and left the hall.
A few minutes later, we were right in the middle of another practice when Arun entered the hall. Inspite of the playing music, there was an eerie silence filled inside the hall. We stopped dancing and greeted him, as was customary for juniors to do so. Arun turned around to the coordinators.
"So this is the shit you'll have been teaching them to do eh ?" he gave a small pause. "Is this dance even worth showing to the sweepers or the construction workers? Everybody thinks that this is a joke."
Everyone had their heads bowed down. Heart rates had gone up, and I could hear mine clearly in that silence.
"You!!" he pointed right at me. "Come right here."
Head still down, I slowly walked towards him.
"What the hell do you think you are doing here, jumping around like that. This is dance, not gymnastics, do you understand ? Next time I see you dancing like that, you may pack your bags and go back to your hostel. We are making a dance team here, not a circus troupe."
I was on the verge of tears. Quietly I went back to where I was standing earlier. This man seemed to be perpetually disturbed, and it felt that he was venting out some other frustrations on us. Still, there was a way of speaking, and nobody had a right to talk that way with anybody however big or small they may be.
What a starking contrast it was, on one hand a man who though silent most of the time could fill the team with a dose of energy, and on the other, who could compete equally from the other side and suck out whatever enthusiasm was left. After this experience, everybody was rather disturbed and the 2nd years seemed to have lost their usual knack for organising the dance. Arun left after several minutes and the second years then tried consoling us, desperately looking out for positive aspects in his outburst. The spirits were down, enthusiasm drained and it was decided to call it a day.
But was the day really over ?? Well, at least not for me. For me, that day just began when I exited the hall with my bag slung over my bag, and what a day it was to be..................

AMIT SPEAKS

After her initial phone call, Vidya seemed to have disappeared into oblivion. She hadn't come to the classes for a couple of days and her phone was switched off. I was beginning to get worried when suddenly that day she called me again, this time she wanted to meet in the college cafe, more popularly known as Nesci. I went down to the cafe to find her sitting at the corner table, her favorite.
"Coffee ?" I asked her. She nodded back and I got two cups for the both of us.
"So where the hell have you been for the past two days ?"
"I wasn't feeling well. Just some mild fever." she replied.
"Did your phone also have fever ? Why was it switched off ?"
"The batteries discharged, dumbo."
"Now listen to me." I told her. "I know you are hiding something from me. If you think these excuses of yours are convincing enough for me, then I am sorry to disappoint you. So let's get straight to the point. What has been bothering you?"
"I don't know. I don't know whether it is really worth bothering about. Instead of bothered, I'd rather say I am confused, confused as hell. Let's look at it this way. Consider two amazing chocolates, say one Hersheys and one Toblerone. What you personally like is the Toblerone, but to get it you have to walk a particular distance and it can require time. Now Hersheys has come right up to you and you can have it then and there. What would you do ? Would you take the Hersheys ? Or will you walk that extra mile for Toblerone ? The fact is that Hersheys is as good as Toblerone in many aspects, but you like Toblerone, and by the time you reach it, there is no guarantee that any Toblerone would be left for you. What would you choose Amit ?"
"All this chocolate talk has activated my sweet tooth. Just wait for a second, I am buying a KitKat. Would you also like one ?"
"Sure."
I went to the counter and bought two small KitKats. Didn't really have the cash with me for the bigger ones. I returned with the chocolates back to the table.
"Here is you KitKat. So where were we ?" I asked.
"Hersheys or Toblerone ?" she replied.
"Hmm. That's a tough choice really. Let me guess. Right now for you, these two brands stand for two entities, correct ?"
She nodded back.
"I get it. Now I am not sure about what or WHO Toblerone actually represents, but I think I'm pretty sure who Hersheys is."
There was a pragmatic pause before I spoke again.
"It's Ravi, isn't it ?" I asked.
She looked down and there was a nod. Ravi was another close friend of ours who had been having feelings for Vidya for over a year, but never spoke about it. It seemed like at last he had.
"So would you do the honors of telling me who Mr. Toblerone is ? Or do you want me to stretch my guessing ability to its limits?"
"I think it would be better if it remains a secret as of now. You can refer to him as Mr. Toblerone."
"What exactly do you expect me to say at this very moment?"
"I am just too confused Amit. Maybe I just want someone to tell me what to do for a change. I am not able to decide on this. Yes, I do like Mr. Toblerone a lot, but I can't find anything amiss in Ravi. Then why do I feel the need to say no to him. Toblerone may be my dream, but then, all Computer Engineers don't get placed in Microsoft and Google, do they?"
"No, they don't." I said. "But just to be fair on him, don't take a decision which you might regret. I know him, and he will definitely understand. Just tell him the reason properly if you are going to say no."
She smiled weakly at me. I understood that what she really wanted was someone to confirm what she felt she should do. I felt sorry for Ravi, the poor guy was just being honest to her. But then, one could not blame her. I wondered who that silly Mr. Toblerone was. He'd better be worth it, I thought, since Ravi was a really nice guy.
We sat there for a few more minutes and then she left for her hostel and I decided to check out on the dance practices. I wasn't that much worried about the dance part, the second years were capable enough of doing their job well. It was actually the case that I had an urge to see Payal again. And that I did manage.
While supervising the dance, I went through everybody's performance and couldn't help spending a few extra moments on Payal and her partner. The poor fellow was trying very hard to match her dance and it was quite funny the way he would glance every now and then at her to see if he was doing the correct step. On one occasion, he missed a beat and then almost fell down in his attempt to catch up. I couldn't control a smile from forming on my face.
She was as graceful as ever. Those determined eyes still burning with the fire that I had noticed earlier. I don't know what exactly was pulling me towards her, but I had to control myself from gazing continuously at that face, lest I be considered indecent.
I soon left the hall after giving one of the motivational talks. I had to be prepared to console Ravi after Vidya had talked to him. Maybe she wouldn't do it today in a haste, I thought. I went back to the hostel, thinking about Vidya and Payal alternately, about who Mr. Toblerone could be, about how I can start a casual conversation with Payal. Maybe I could approach her, talk about simple things about the dance, and then change the topic to more general one. Maybe that bloody Toblerone would surface up and show his face and Vidya would build the courage to tell him.
Now I was getting confused. Maybe it was too much thinking for one day and I should rather take it as it comes. But little did I know that life had quite some surprises in store for me, and all of them wouldn't be wasting any time in coming.................