Edge Of Seventeen

29. Trophy And More

"Forty eight..forty nine... fifty...right!", Loukya mam finished counting the number of students in the bus as the last few people hurriedly got in.

Suhrit sir looked cheerful and was handing around polo mints to everyone much to Loukya mam's disapproval.

"I thought I was going to be left behind", Riya who was bringing up the rear said, "Oh move your fat asses you two", she said sliding inbetween me and Mishti.

"Thank God that Aaliyah isn't here", Riya added.

"You remember when we went to Coorg in seventh grade she puked on the bus?", Mishti said.

It was a good feeling to sit there on the bus with the music in the background, on the way to an interschool festival and recalling our arch rival's most embarassing moment.

I couldn't believe, this same time, last week I had been worrying over being dumped. I couldn't see what I had been so upset about. Right now, Rahul felt like a useless pretty boy with a lot of dumb girls around him.

Earlier in the day, me and my fellow dancers - all six of us, had worn our costumes and tried out a final rehearsal in the school. Riya had actually got tears in her eyes on seeing the performance and gushed and declared that we finally looked like a dance group.

I don't know what she'd thought we had looked like till yesterday, but apparently not a dance group.

I hadn't had time to ask her because right then, Loukya mam had stormed in and started yelling at us to get inside the bus.

As our bus made our way through the busy Mumbai roads, people chatted excitedly. Some were discussing the competition, some were singing along with Neha Kakkar's voice in the background and some were having snacks. But mostly everyone was talking about Harinder Kapoor.

After almost an hour, Loukya mam stood up from her seat in the front row.

"Now listen all of you", she clapping her hands together to get our attention, the sound of chatter inside the bus faded out.

"We'll be there in less than ten minutes", Loukya mam said shouting over Neha Kakkar, "You know your instructions. Stick to the St Xavier's crowd. Don't wander off anywhere. Anything you want, come to me or Suhrit sir...", she puffed herself up importantly and added, "Don't do anything too smart. And there will be.."

"No need to talk to students from other schools", Riya, Mishti and I said together under our breath.

"There he is! Oh my God! Aaaaaah!", Riya squealed as Harry walked upto the stage looking like a dream in his black tuxedo. His hair was longer than I had seen it in his last film, his cheekbones were high and sallow - but all this suited him very much. He looked impossibly handsome.

I couldn't believe I was seeing him flesh and blood, right infront of me. All the students in the hall seemed to feel the same way and a girl standing behind us actually fainted and the security carried her out.

There were camera flashes everywhere and people were going crazy all over the place. Everybody seemed to have been waiting for this precise moment.

Harry's expression was inscrutable. The same half amused, half benevolent grin that I had seen in every interview and award show was plastered on his face as he genially waved at everyone who waved back eyeing him like their lives depended on it. It was hard to tell if he was faking it or not. Maybe I could ask him? If St Xavier's won the championship, we would go onstage and I would be near enough to say something to him.

"He always hugs his fans. Do you think we can manage it?", Riya was asking from behind me.

Several people had already pulled out papers and pens to get his autograph.

The formalities began. Someone was speaking on the podium but people were barely paying attention. They were too busy staring at Harry. I tried to imagine what it would be like to have a thousand pairs of eyes on you and nobody looking anywhere else for even a nanosecond.

When Harry spoke on the podium, everyone got busy dissecting his voice and why he sounded a bit hoarse than in the award shows.

Finally it was time, for announcing the winner of the overall championship trophy.

Harry stood up looking relieved. He had probably got weary of all the hundreds of teenagers in the hall gawking at him, nonstop. The attendant arrived with an envelope holding the winning school's name and handed it to Harry, who pulled out the card inside it and read lazily "St Xavier's".

The hall exploded. I was barely aware that people all around me were howling and waving rosettes emblazoned with St Xavier's emblem in the air as we ran up the stage whooping.

All of us dashed over to Harry who graciously shook hands with all of us. I didn't know what to be happier about. Standing next to a movie star onstage or winning the championship.

Every single person in St Xavier's uniform was shouting and screaming and hugging each other. Mishti was jumping up and down like a maniac, all dignity forgotten. Suhrit sir was beaming. Loukya ma'am was crying harder than even Riya as she wiped her eyes on her saree.

Riya automatically got pushed and found myself next to Harry as more and more people flooded the stage trying to get a close glimpse of the movie star.

I was overcome with a sudden reckless impulse as a sobbing Riya passed over the gleaming trophy to me which I lifted into the air to tumultuous applause from the audience.

And before I knew it, I had leaned forward and kissed Harry's cheek.