Trance

Chapter Nine: Bars and Phone Calls

I slam my head on the wooden table, causing some heads to turn my way. With a sheepish smile, I blush a violent shade of red. "You look exhausted," someone comments. I spin on my spinning chair, stopping to look at Amrita. Her clothes still represent her police uniform, causing some drunkards to move out of her way.

"I am," I sigh and I chew on my lip gently. I disliked bars, not that I went to them on a daily basis. Amrita convinced me to meet her at her uncle's bar instead of some neat and tidy place. For some reason, she convinced me to come to a place filled with a bunch of people screaming, swearing and spilled drinks. I'm sure I heard some murders happen as well - the crowd is packed today.

"How is Tina?" Amrita asks about her girlfriend. As quickly as she says the words, her hazel eyes light up and a small smile brightens her lips. It's strange how Amrita and Tina managed to love each other so much despite having such different backgrounds. While Tina hates conflicts, Amrita's job is to be there at the conflict.

"She's great and probably will get happier after she sees you're back from India," I smile a tight lipped smile at her. The truth is, my mind hasn't been wandering off Matsya and every time I try to laugh, I get reminded until I feel guilt gnawing at me again. Amrita nods, her short brown curls bouncing in her ponytail.

"Why did you meet me first anyways?" I ask her, my curiosity outwining manners. Amrita and I have known each other for three years and met through Tina. There's nothing that binds us together but Tina. We may be friends but I know that she'll prefer Tina's company over mine. So why is she here instead of meeting her lover?

Why at such an odd spot as well? This is Tina's least likely spot to be as well - the amount of drunks crying is enough to glum her perky mood for the rest of the month. "It's Tina's birthday party coming up soon," she comments, letting her eyes fall to the ground. "I want to propose to her but I'm not sure she'll accept."

Her words start to make sense, reminding me that she's planning the event. "Don't do it then. Do it at a simple lunch or something, when you're by yourself. You know Tina doesn't like making small things big," I advice her. "Her birthday should just be her birthday."

Strangely, despite not likely to make small things big, Tina has a large group of friends. Every year, the number grows and we always have to book a larger hall for all her friends. Most of the people there are strangers to me and it's always uncomfortable meeting all of these new people.

"I think that'll work," she says, her eyes searching the windows for something. I roll mine, guessing she thinks that Tina would walk past and catch us in here. "I'm so sorry for making you meet in public but Tina would have probably guessed I was up to something if I invited you to home," she apologizes, grabbing her handbag.

"You're already leaving?" I ask, slightly shocked. I've barely gotten time to sip my water while she talked and the glass lies half empty on the wooden bench. She nods, smiling apologetically. I watch her wave goodbye and move through the mob of people. The short meeting which lasted a few minutes and already petrified me with the amount of people yelling over the badly chosen music.

My hands hover over the glass of water, moving up to a woman I didn't notice before. Her brown hair brushes past her shoulders as she leans forward and stares at the person beside her. Matsya's face holds pure anger with the way her arms cross over each other and her glare she shoots at him. If I thought Matsya was scary, this was a whole new level.

I stand up and her brown eyes bump into mine. The anger in them vanishes, replaced with a tinge of worry. As quickly as the moment comes, I turn around and move into the crowd with my glass in my hand. A few shoves later, I manage to push the glass on the counter and move out of the hot room.