JOSH ANDREWS KAPOOR, WE ARE SORRY TO INFORM YOU THAT WE DO NOT HAVE ANY VACANT ROOMS FOR THE WEEKEND.
I stare at the text realising it is the fifth hotel I have been rejected from. I raise my arm again trying to hitchhike to any nearby motel. Yet again, this one skipped past me too. It is becoming really difficult to stand alone at a bus stop in nowhere with three huge bags. Not a single vehicle is helping. I think it was just foolish of me to stay here and wanting to explore India. No actually it's not even my fault. Dad should've informed me beforehand that he'll be out of India for the weekend so I wouldn't have travelled all the way here .
"Hey wanna ride man!" said a voice
I was so busy with my phone that I did not even notice that a car has just stopped in front of me.
"Hey, yes yes that would be of great help" I said.
"Come on in then" said one of the boys.
They immediately open the back of their car so that I can keep my bags in there. I noticed there were four boys around my age and a girl.
"I'm Josh by the way, Josh Andrews Kapoor, thank you for offering me ride" I introduced myself as I made my way into the car.
"Brother, what's with the formalities; just tell us where to drop you; I'm Krish by the way" said the boy in the driving seat.
Followed by Krish all of them introduced themselves as Akash, Raghav, Neil and Lara.
"So where you headed to?" said Neil
"I'm not sure actually; I've looked for a room in five hotels already but none of them have any vacancy" I answered.
"Well it's obvious, isn't it? It's the season of the year when tourists fill up the entire Manali" added Raghav oh wait or was it Akash, either of them.
"He could stay with us then, we are staying in a mansion, and I'm pretty sure we have at least one extra room for him." said Lara.
"Yeah, he definitely can and we have an extra room, Ajay cancelled last minute remember! Good suggestion Lara" said Neil.
"I know right, Lara is the smartest; always provides the right suggestions" added Akash instantly.
I was a bit taken aback by all of this. I mean I am a stranger to them after all. Offering me to stay with them after knowing me for what five minutes is a bit too much. But I guess we are all kids and that's what we do take haphazard decisions.
"That'd be great! I don't even know how to thank you guys. I'm just so touc.."
"Touched" I was interrupted by Krish "we know dude; and we could really use a new friend in our trip"
"What brought you Manali anyways?" asked Raghav
"Oh! I actually came here to visit my dad; but turns out he left for a meeting out of India without even informing me. So decided why leave, let's just explore Manali" I answered.
"That's great and quite brave of you. But now you do not have to explore the place alone, we can all do it together, right!" added Lara
"Thank you, Lara" I said.
"Oh god, my name sounds so good in your accent" she giggled.
"Dude stop with your cringe stuffs" said Krish and I laughed.
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"Here let me help you with that" said Neil while trying to pull out my bag from the back of their car.
"Welcome to our dream mansion" said Akash
"It belongs to one of our uncles" said Raghav
"Kiara" shouted Krish "here she is the pig sleeper of the group"
"Why is it always you who fails to wake me up Krish? Others do it quite easily you see" answered a firm and husky voice of a girl.
I turned around at once and saw a girl around my age with dark black hair tied into a messy bun wearing a shrug over her pyjamas making her way to us.
She was a bit taken aback when I turned around and became quiet.
"Yeah yeah anyways meet our new friend Josh, he's gonna stay with us and Josh this is Kiara, sorry forgot to inform you about her, she can be a real pain in the ass sometimes" said Krish.
"Oh! Oh! Hi, kaira!" I said
"OHOHO DUDE! You gonna be dead! She can't stand people mispronouncing her name" added Neil instantly.
"Shut up Neil! No honestly it's not a big deal. I understand it's difficult to pronounce in your accent" said Kiara.
"That's not fair dude. We had to practise like fifty times, it's KIARA not KAIRA. She'd beat us to death if we pronounced it wrong" said Krish.
"Shut up Krish" said Kiara.
"No no I'm sorry, names are an important thing, I wouldn't like it too if someone mispronounced my name. It's Kiara. I get it now."
She smiled at me awkwardly and said "Anyways I tried making some cocktail for us which we could have while chilling by the pool"
"Cool" said Raghav.
"No no no, it is definitely not cool. I'm not trying one of her tiktok recipes AGAIN" blurted out Neil "are you kidding me? I'm not having an upset stomach on the first day of our trip"
"Yeah me too" joined Krish.
"What in the world is wrong with you all? YOU LOVE MY TIKTOK RECIPES" argued Kiara.
"Honestly, I never did" answered Akash.
"Seriously you too now, come on that's not fair. Try it atleast" said Kiara
"Let's just give it a chance okay!" said Raghav
"No way" said Krish and Neil at the same time and all five of them got into a really loud argument, almost cursing each other while I stood there stunned, not knowing exactly what to do.
"ENOUGH" shouted Lara "that's enough guys, it's embarrassing. And seriously who cares, it's just a stupid cocktail. You people fighting like KIDS over such a small thing"
"Yeah right" said Kiara making her way out of the drawing room "and also don't ever call my recipes stupid Lara."
Soon everybody began to leave the room. It was just me alone. All of them were so angry that I did not even get the chance to ask them about my room. Nevertheless, I started walking in a random direction trying finding anyone of them.
"Hey! Kiara! Wait up" I called out as soon as I saw her.
"Hey. I just wanted to ask where my room is" I said awkwardly.
"Oh! Yeah right! Sorry, I completely forgot. It's just straight down the corridor. The last room, it's your room" she said.
"Okay thanks" I said as I made my way down the corridor.
I freshened up. I could see from my window Kiara setting up her cocktails by the pool. She was still in her pyjamas. She left and soon the boys arrived. I decided to join them.
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"Hey guys"
"Hey Josh, c'mon join us buddy" Neil invited.
"Can I try one of these cocktails" I asked.
"At your own risk" Krish added.
I was picking one of the cups when Kiara suddenly came out of nowhere and pushed Krish into the pool.
"Oh my god! Kiara. What is wrong with you?" shouted Lara immediately.
Kiara couldn't stop laughing. "I I'm sorry, it's jus-"
Before she could finish her sentence Krish pulled her by her leg and the next moment she was in water too. Now Krish couldn't stop laughing and then suddenly Neil pushed Raghav into the pool. While falling Raghav pulled Neil with him while Neil pulled Akash and Akash pulled Lara. Within seconds everyone was inside the pool soaking wet. I stood there stunned and then nobody was able to stop there laughter.
"Josh jump in too buddy" Raghav shouted.
I pulled out my t-shirt and joined them.
Suddenly someone splashed water and before we knew it everybody was splashing water at each other. We were just having fun splashing water at each other laughing, Kiara too splashed water at me laughing and her wet hair falling over her brown eyes. I was about to do the same but she was pulled away by Krish so I turned to Neil instead.