Dancing For Me

Jessie I

My feet hurt from dancing for so long. Taping them did not help as much as I thought it would. Navratri is my most favorite festival but also the most tiring. It is currently the third night of dressing up in heavy lehengas and jewelry. But it only comes once a year and missing two years during COVID makes this year the most exciting. We all plan to do garba as much as possible the whole night and take as many pictures as we can.

We all take a break to take some pictures, and by some I mean like 500. The event organizers had the entrance of the hall decorated more beautifully than normal because of the long COVID pause and went all out. We take group photos, and individual ones too because everyone is dressed so perfectly.

Many people this year also brought their other Indian and brown friends to Navratri. Barely anyone is wearing masks so we all secretly look at the guys and rate them. There are a couple of really good looking ones and of course Priya knows them or someone who is friends with them so we have details already. And all the black kurthas... damn, they never get old. Guys can never go wrong with black.

"Oh my God, Jessie, that guy behind the table keeps looking at you." Maya has been talking about this guy for like an hour. Yes, he is staring but just no. He is kind of good looking but Priya said that even though she doesn't know him, most of the friends that he is with tonight are idiots.

"Scream that louder, maybe they didn't hear you the first twenty times." Raha says. She is even more embarrassed than me by Maya right now. It would be funny if I wasn't kind of annoyed too. I do not want more of his attention or for him to think I'm interested.

We watch Ranchi mingle with another group of boys that she knows from university. God knows what kind of drama that girl has gotten herself into. I am still waiting for her to properly tell us.

"Uhhhh, can we leave and take pictures somewhere else?" Priya says, looking somewhere else.

"Why?"

"There's this guy I was talking to on snap but I ghosted him 'cause he was being a douche. I think I saw him and I do not want to be around him right now." No one is surprised.