"You know she lives for the thrill. You know she loves for the kill" - Camila Cabello
St Xavier's girls are back with more fun, more trouble and more drama.
Between her seperated parents, her two pole opposite best friends and a very dramatic last...
"You see that brown one in the front..that's Olivia..three times champion. The white one with mixed brown..that's Dash..and the grey one, that's Platinum.."
Mrs Kashyap was pointing out the various horses to me and mom. Mom was chatting excitedly and seemed in no mood to stop talking. I tried to catch her eye and give her the "We need to leave as soon as we can", look but it wouldn't happen.
"What about that black one?", mom asked. I turned around and saw a majestic black horse standing right at the end with a long mane of shiny hair.
"Oh that is Midnight", said Mrs Kashyap as though she had only just remembered, but I was sure she had been waiting for us to ask.
"He was a hero a few years back but he had an injury and hasn't competed in three years. He's the topic of the town this year. So many bets on him...some say, a champ will always be a champ...some say he won't be the same after the injury. But anyway, talking about bets...fancy a flutter Shaheen?"
"Come on Shaheen..in the gamble of life, you have to draw the card of enjoyment", Mrs Kashyap coaxed.
"Er..no thanks. I'm good", Mom said.
"Well, alright. What about you my dear?" Mrs Kashyap asked looking at me hopefully, "Do you want to...?"
"Oh yeah", I said before I could stop myself "Err...five thousand for Midnight to win?"
"Zoya!", Mom flared up, at once, looking shocked "You're too young to be gambling!".
"Now, now Shaheen", Mrs Kashyap said patting mom on the shoulder "Don't be a spoilsport. Your daughter is not a child. I guess she's going to be eighteen soon, isn't she?"
"This Saturday", I said promptly.
"There!" Mrs Kashyap said jubilantly "She's old enough to know what she's doing. So five thousand for Midnight to win did you say, beta? So you've picked the controversial competitor too! That's a gutsy girl right there. Alright. You're on!"
"Have you lost your mind?", Mom hissed at me as Mrs Kashyap bounced over to a group of young men near undoubtedly hoping for more bets.
"It's my own pocket money, mom!", I protested, though I was now half wishing I hadn't done it.
"Own pocket money indeed! Did you earn that money by going to work? I don't understand. Do you want to become like your Saira aunty?"
"What's wrong with Saira aunty?", I asked indifferently "She's a nice lady".
Mom glared at me in a very Mishti-ish way but didn't say anything.
Saira was my mom's younger sister and our only relative in Mumbai but we rarely visited her.
Unlike my mom who took up a real job like teaching, Saira aunty was a dancer who gave lessons to youngsters in Mumbai. I had learnt contemporary dance from her when I was younger but she taught other styles too.
My mom highly disapproved of her job especially when Saira aunty wore two inch shorts and posted tutorials on YouTube.
I looked around. The group of guys seemed to have given satisfactory bets to Mrs Kashyap for she was moving away from them, gloating.
One of the guys with a mass of curly hair and pale skin saw me watching them. He grinned and winked at me. There was something very likeable about his easy smile. I grinned back at him hesitantly. This was nothing uncommon but I could feel mom's eyes at the back of my head and quickly turned away. You couldn't even check out people around here anymore, man!
The race began. The horses shot off. People cheered like their lives depended on it. My eyes were on Midnight. The guy riding it looked fierce and sharp just like the beast. There was hardly any gap between the horses. They all seemed to spectacular. I realised my stupidity in pledging half of my savings. Any of these horses could win.
Yet I needn't have worried. Midnight gained on the horses slowly. One..two...three..four...five...It was a final shot between Platinum and Midnight. And Midnight crossed the finish line first by a millisecond. The arena was drowned in screaming and cheering.
I couldn't believe it. I turned around and ran over to Mrs Kashyap with my hands outstretched. Horse races are cool, man.
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