Stars & Dreams

2) Delta Sagittari - Strong and independent

"Hey how much did they leave?"

Rumi counted the notes and showed it to her friend, "Around 5k."

"Whew! That is a lot."

"Well, I deserve it," Rumi retorted, handing two thousand to her friend and keeping the rest to herself. "For staying up till 3am."

She cleared the table, closed the counter and headed to the parking lot with her friend Parth.

"Rumi, weren't you scared when he wielded the gun like that? I was little shaken when he waved it at you."

"Nah, I have seen worse things. And they were just a bunch of losers; sloshed and groggy. They could not even stand on their feet. Do you think they had the guts to pull the trigger?"

"Be careful Rumi! They are spoilt brats with money and influence," Parth warned; his concern for Rumi obvious.

"Hmm, you are right. Thanks Parth, for helping me out." 

When the night had drawn late and most of the patrons had left, Rumi had waited in disquiet for the last batch of customers to leave but they had shown no signs of leaving. Getting a cab at that time would have been difficult so she had called Parth who was working in a studio close to the club. 

While sharing an apartment in a western suburb of Mumbai, Parth, Ritika and Rumi had grown closer over the months.

"But I don't understand one thing. Why did they scramble out like that all of a sudden? One minute they were brandishing the gun at you and the next minute, they rushed out like scared rabbits."

"They spotted you with your mobile and they thought you were some news reporter."

"Seriously?" They burst out laughing as they rode back home in Parth's scooter. The high-end club in the posh locality of Juhu catered only to niche clientele. The affluent members had to adhere to dress code and the club employed staff only on recommendation. Rumi was recommended by Ziva's assistant Ujjwal to the club manager. Except for a few commercials and a part in one episode of a sitcom, Rumi had not bagged any major role in a film or a television show. Hence, she had requested Ujjwal to get her a part-time job.

"So how is your boyfriend?"

"Oh he is fine, always at the beck and call of Ziva."

"One can't refuse Ziva. You know that better than anyone," Parth commented. But Parth was not aware that Rumi had refused Ziva. She had thrown an offer back on Ziva's face and now Ziva would not even answer her call.

Parth dropped her home on his way to his girlfriend's house. Rumi's house mate Ritika was fast asleep in her room and Rumi tip toed to her own room. Ritika used the largest room because she was the only one who had a regular job. She worked as a private secretary to the director of a real estate company. Parth was a choreographer in a dance company and he kept erratic hours. His income was irregular but when he snapped a project, he earned well and got opportunities to travel abroad. Rumi's income was the lowest. She did a couple of commercials for consumer products but the lack of acting offers frustrated her. Subsequent to the television show that she did for two years, there was no other offer that interested her. Only the one she was currently working on. It was just a single episode for which she had to be at the studio for at least ten days. Her small room was cramped with a single cot, dresser and wardrobe, all rented. Only the trophy that she had earned for her television show could be called as her own.

The whistle of a local train reminded her that another day had dawned and that she was still looking for a job.

Eight months ago, Rumi's contract had been terminated by the producers of the television show without any advance notice due to nasty games played by her co-stars. There was Adil too but she was not certain if he too conspired with them to get her out of the show. After working hard for two years, earning a strong fan base and bagging the best supporting actress award, the makers had ended her role unceremoniously in the show. The character she played was killed so her role had come to an end. Her exit had not helped the show's ratings. It had plummeted and the channel had been unhappy about its performance. Three months after she was dropped from the show, the channel had ended the show.

Her memory retraced the past year when she had met Ziva at an award function. Later, Ziva had pursued her relentlessly to urge her to join her grooming school. The beautiful and glamorous Ziva had taken Rumi Chowdhary under her wing and had taught her the finer points of show business. At the end of her training, Ziva had asked Rumi to do one thing that Rumi had sworn not to. She had left the academy and had made an enemy of Ziva.

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At the studio next morning, Rumi was surprised to see Adil. She wasn't aware that he was the new male lead who had replaced the earlier one in the show. Adil looked as handsome as he had always been. He gave her his trademark lopsided smile when he spotted her, "Hey where did you disappear after the show we did together?"

Rumi shrugged, "Nowhere! I have been here, in the city all the time." Two years ago, he had impressed her when she was cast with him as the second leading pair of the show. They had shared good chemistry on-screen and their fans had been overtly demanding for their scenes. New to the industry, she had been shy and awkward. Adil had helped her to gain confidence in her acting. Unlike other co-stars, Adil had never taunted or mocked her. And she had developed a crush on him. Of course, it had been one-sided because he had dated a model then. In hindsight, she realized that Adil had never supported her in public. She wondered if he was still going steady with the same girl.

"Never heard anything about you... Are you doing this episode?"

"Yup... I hear you are the new leading man."

"Right. So do we have scenes together here?"

Rumi checked her script papers, "Nope. My scenes are solo."

"Oh sad!" he drawled and she glanced at him in surprise. He had never flirted with her when they had worked together.

Rumi turned away but his smooth drawl caught her attention, "I have missed you Rumi."

She swung back and stared at him. His eyes holding hers did not look as deep as she had once thought. They were laced with self-absorption. "Have you?" she asked him with a nonchalant smile. If he had indeed missed her, he could have taken the efforts to call her or message her. No one from the television industry had made contact with her after she had been dismissed from the show. There had been planted stories about her unprofessionalism hence Rumi was disillusioned with the industry for believing the smear campaign that the new director had carried out.

During the next ten days, she spent at least five hours every day at the studio and in the evening, she headed to the club to serve the customers. She did not see Yohan and his bunch of friends after that disastrous evening when she had recognised him as soon as he had entered the club. Yohan Arya Thakral was a sought-after actor and he belonged to an illustrious family of the Hindi cinema. Tall and striking, he was often pictured with a string of beautiful women. At present, he was dating the current sweetheart of the nation, Nina Karthik. Immensely talented, Nina Karthik gave hit films one after the other and won almost all the awards for the best actress in the country.

On her last day of the shoot, someone from the accounts department handed Rumi the remuneration cheque and she packed her stuff to leave the studio. Adil appeared from nowhere, "Are you done with the episode?"

"Yes...how about you?"

"Oh I still have some more hours to finish, probably by ten." He paused and glanced at her hesitatingly, "I am free now. Shall we go out for a drink?"

Rumi was taken aback. She shot him a surprised look. He seemed awkward about asking her out. 

"Sorry Adil, I have to rush. Some other time perhaps..."

"Of course..."

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