ᴀ ᴛᴡɪsᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴀʟᴇ

8 || Time Well Spent

Raghav entered the audition hall followed by a very nervous Shravan. He still wasn't sure how he was going to manage his college, his job and his dancing every day. But Raghav's confidence was contagious and if his friend was ready to do anything, so was he. Inside the hall, Ms. Annalisa was sitting in her chair, looking through her papers. Raghav decided to take the lead.

"Ms. Annalisa, can I talk to you a bit?"

She looked up from her papers to find Raghav and another boy she didn't know.

"Raghav, of course you can"

"Ma'am, this is my friend Shravan. He's extremely good at dancing and I was hoping you would-"

"You know that the auditions are over?"

"Yes ma'am but he was very nervous to come here. Please, give him one chance"

"Shravan, is it?"

Shravan nervously nodded his head. He knew she wouldn't let him participate. He wasn't one of the royalty after all. He was just another middle class student with no connections.

"If Raghav can vouch that this won't be a waste of time, then I'm ready to give you a chance"

"Of course ma'am, I guarantee you won't be disappointed"

"Just so you know, if I'm not impressed, I'll cancel your participation too"

Shravan stared at her in shock. There was no way he would ever sabotage Raghav's chances at this. But before he could speak, his friend did.

"I accept"

Shravan turned sharply towards him but Raghav had a confident look on his face, no fear of losing his chance at this was evident on his face.

"Well, Shravan, go on then. His fate lies on your shoulders too"

Shravan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm ready"

--------------after an amazing dance performance---------------

Shravan stopped dancing and dared to look at the judge who held no expressions on her face. Expecting the worse, he closed his eyes. And then she clapped. He opened his eyes to see her standing up and applauding for him.

"And I thought no one can impress me as much as Raghav here. You're certainly an exceptional dancer! You remind me of Swayam Shekhawat. He was an outstanding dancer from a humble background too. He made his mark here and I'm sure so would you"

Shravan couldn't control his happiness and tears fell from his eyes. Raghav came on the stage and hugged his friend.

"Well done buddy!"

"I'll see you both tomorrow, at the announcement of the results"

They both nodded and left the hall.

Maybe, just maybe, his dreams weren't entirely impossible to achieve.

--------------------------------------------

It had been an hour or so since Aditya had left but Niyati still felt uneasy.

What is he doing? Who is he with? Are they having fun?

All these thoughts were swarming her mind. She couldn't understand why she cared so much. She didn't want to but she couldn't stop thinking about him.

"Come on Niyati! You just befriended him! Stop being weird!"

"Why are you talking to yourself?"

She turned to see her sister poking her head through the barely open door.