The Wrong Number

58

"Uuuggghhhhh."
"Alankrita, get out of there!"
"No, I think I'm gonna be - BLAAARF."

Alankrita doubled over above the toilet bowl as she hurled what little she'd eaten into it. Anu banged on the cubicle door. "Ally, let me in!" Alankrita wiped her mouth and pushed her hair away from her sweaty forehead. "Give me a minute, Anu, please," she pleaded, and something in her tone made Anu go quiet for a while. After a few moments she said, "Okay, I'll be outside if you need me."

Alankrita heard Anu's heels click clack away and the sound of the washroom door swing shut. Then she let out the sob she'd been holding onto. This had been a huge mistake. She never should have come to the dinner.

~~~~~

"You are not bringing that near my face."

Alankrita leaned as far away from Anu as she could in her dresser chair. Anu just held the peel-able face mask in both hands and walked towards her.

"Come on, Ally," Anu said, holding the mask up to Alankrita's face, "The bags under your eyes are big enough to carry groceries in. I'm not letting you come to the dinner looking like an extra from the walking dead." Alankrita frowned and held her hands up in Anu's direction. "At least let me put it on myself." Anu gave her a sceptical look but handed it to her. "Fine. Just do it quickly so I can start working on your hair. And we need to sort out your playlist for tonight. None of that cryptic alternative stuff, ugh," she said, making a face.

"What's wrong with my music?" Alankrita squeaked, offended. Anu sighed and said, "Nothing, it's just that you don't have many songs that appeal to your target audience of tonight- the entire student population."

"Oh," Alankrita said, thinking, 'that doesn't make me feel any better but yeah, I guess'. Anu smiled and rubbed her hands together. "You're going to look so hot by the end of this."

A very painful hour and half later, Alankrita was standing in front of her full length mirror, fingering the lace bodice of her dress, admiring her reflection. Her dress was simple, yet elegant, with a cream bodice and a black handkerchief skirt that stopped just below her knee. She had wrapped a thin black shrug around her shoulders, more to hide her un-Veeted arms than to provide warmth. Her dark circles had been masked up, her hair painstakingly curled, and her nails coated with a matte black coat. However, her painted lips were frowning, and her made up eyes were distant. She didn't want to go to the dance. Not one bit. She didn't want to see Ruhan after what she'd done to him. And most of all, she didn't want to hurt him by pretending that it was all alright. She sighed softly, eyeing her made up face in the mirror.

"I'm a miracle worker, I know."
Alankrita looked to the left and saw Anu walking towards her, smiling like a proud mother. Unlike Alankrita, Anu's dress was extremely elaborate, with rhinestones and a plunging neckline deep enough to annoy the chaperone staff, and the pastel green fabric made her crimson lips look even redder. She picked up her bedazzled clutch and popped in a little pen drive, onto which they (meaning just Anu) had loaded some, as Anu had put it, "Sick beats."

She caught Alankrita's nervous look and said, "You look great, Ally. And I'm going to make sure you have a good time. I mean, let's face it- you kind of need one."

Alankrita forced a smile and nodded, and the two set off down the stairs.

~~~~~

When they walked through the doors of the auditorium, Alankrita was momentarily stunned by how beautiful the room looked. When it came to events, no one went all out like Columbia Public School did, and they seemed to have pulled all the stops on this. Giant streamers crisscrossed the ceiling, the place was lit by hundreds of white and blue fairy lights, bathing the entire room in an icy glow. Then she saw the students- dancing, helping themselves to food in the buffet stalls, and having a good time- and her heart sank, knowing that Ruhan was there somewhere. Anu, who'd been holding Alankrita's hand all this while, suddenly left it and ran forward. "Faizal!" she squealed, and gave her boyfriend a hug. Alankrita tilted her head as the two of them exchanged words she couldn't hear. Anu beckoned for Alankrita to come towards them.