Nandini's POV
"Ladies and gentlemen, guys and girls, GIVE IT UP FOR THE FAB 5!"
As the music starts, the crowd cheers even louder. However, the moment Manik's voice rings in through the speakers, silence falls.
Tum logon ki, iss duniya mein
Har kadam pe, insaan galat
Main sahi samajh ke jo bhi karoon
Tum kehte ho galat
It is sheer magic! His voice is so soulful and intense that for a split second, I forget where I am sitting or what is happening around me. All I can see is Manik, looking beyond perfect with his eyes closed, casting a powerful, overwhelming spell with his gorgeous voice. It feels like being inside a whirlpool, surrounded on all sides and going higher and higher with each strum of his guitar, every syllable, every breath he takes and also the ones he holds back, gushing into me and igniting me with a passion that's drowning everything else out.
Main galat hoon toh phir kaun sahi
Marzi se jeene ki bhi main
Kya tum sabko arzi doon
I had no idea that the students in my freak college were capable of being this quiet, specially when everyone is assembled in one place. The silence of the audience is getting beautifully drowned by Manik, the ethereal combination of his voice and music flowing into every corner of the Audi. Heck, people seem to have forgotten how to even breathe, it's that still!
Eventually, with the rhythm going up, whispers break out around me as the audience finally comes to terms with the fact that Manik Malhotra is incredible.
SADDA HAQ, AITHE RAKH!
As the song reaches its pinnacle and Manik's strong voice goes up to the highest note, there is a deafening roar of cheering and clapping from the audience which pulls me out of my trance. It just felt like crackers shooting up through the air and bursting in a hot, colourful mess, lighting everything up.
Na na, na na na, na na.....
All around me, people are up on their feet, cheering and clapping like crazy, matching every beat of the song. He plays a particularly hard and fast rock piece, and the audience went even wilder.
Oo eco- friendly, nature ke rakshak
Main bhi hoon nature
Even through the crowd, I could clearly see Manik's face. His expressions are contorted and changing rapidly because of the immense energy he is putting into the song. As I watch his long, slender fingers weaving absolute magic with the guitar, a smile appears on my face. He looks absolutely mesmerizing.
If looks could kill, there would have been a mass murder here today.
Kyun sach ka sabak sikhae
Jab sach sun bhi na paye
Sach koi bole toh tu
Niyam kanoon batae
Tera darr..
Tera pyaar..
Teri waah!
Tu hi rakh, rakh saala
A pained, frustrated expression is masking his face. His eyes are open and the brooding intensity in them hypnotizes me completely.
Sadda haq, aithe rakh
Sadda haq, aithe rakh
Sadda haq, aithe rakh
SADDA HAQ, AITHE AITHE RAKH!
The performance comes to an end and if the crowd was going crazy earlier, it was nothing compared to now. Every single pair of eyes is transfixed on the band...Fab 5, as they occupy centre stage. I can't help but feel proud as I take in all the awestruck faces around me, looking up at the band in wonder and respect.
The clapping and cheering is getting louder every second. Cabir is standing on Manik's right, looking absolutely ecstatic! He has the biggest grin and a totally dazed expression as he looks around the Audi. Alia, Mukti and Dhruv have identical expressions.
"Oh my god! That was mind blowing! Manik is a stunner!" Navya squeals loudly.
"That he totally is!" Abhimanyu screams back, clapping like crazy. "WOOHOO!"
I open my mouth to cheer as well and that's when the searing pain comes crushing back to my throat. I totally forgot about it! Now that the performance is over, I realise the pain is getting worse with time. I clutch my throat and fall back into my chair. Navya places a hand on my shoulder with a sympathetic look. There is another wave of cheers from the crowd which makes me look up. Manik is literally storming down the stage in my direction with an angry glare, his nose flared and eyes fixed on me. Just when he is about to reach me, somebody from the crowd blocks his way. Manik looks down at the person and actually screams at him to move away. But the man grabs his arm and pulls him out of the audi. As they turn around, I realise its Raghav sir. The others quickly get down from the stage and follow them out.
The crowd continues to cheer madly, chanting 'once more', 'Fab 5' and 'Manik'.
"What was that about?" Navya asks.
I get up and gesture at them to follow. My voice is still gone. We push through the crowd and make our way to the adjacent lecture hall. Although the door is closed, I can hear everything clearly because they are shouting.
"We tried to talk to you! But they wouldn't let us inside the Audi!" Dhruv yells.
"Yeah, we didn't have another option! We needed a lead singer. Isn't it one of your rules that every band should have five members?" Alia is next to scream.
"It is also one of the rules that a band has to perform only with its registered members!" Raghav's angry voice bellowed. "You cannot just change the members of your band as you wish."
"Nandini was not in the condition to perform!" Mukti shouts.
"Why are we just standing here!" Navya muttered incredulously and grabbed my arm. "Let's go inside and.." I cut her off by shaking my head. Just the mere action caused immense pain to shoot through my jaw.
"But you.." I shook my head again. I know I should be going inside but I also know that I am not in the condition to explain anything right now. And I don't see how my presence would make any difference right now. Raghav sounds mighty pissed and the people who are in the best position to explain are all inside.
The band is inside the hall. Fab 5 is in there, together.
And I am out here.
Another shot of pain courses through me and this time, it has nothing to do with my throat. I text Navya that its better if we wait here and let them sort it out.
"I am afraid you guys are going to be disqualified." Raghav deadpanned.
"Because of a stupid rule?" Cabir yells furiously.
"You can't disqualify us! This is so unfair. Manik, say something!" Alia says hoarsely. "Manik?"
There is silence on the other side for a moment, and then Manik's angry voice fills the air.
"I don't fucking care about this competition! There's a girl out there who is in pain and needs me! Do whatever the fuck you want. I am out of here. LEAVE MY HAND PROFESSOR!" He sounds so dangerous that I can feel the hair at the back of my neck stand up. But at the same time, my heart does a backflip at his words. A second later, the door flies open and Manik storms out. His eyes lock with mine and some of the fury on his face dissolves. He comes forward and clutches my hand.
"Let's go." He says without looking at me and pulls me out through the corridors, Navya following in silence. We get into my car and he starts driving.
"Where are we going?" Navya asks cautiously from the backseat.
"City hospital." Manik says looking straight ahead. I see Navya type into her phone in the mirror. She catches my eye and smiles assuringly.
I try to speak but all that comes out is a wheezing sound followed by pain. Manik looks at me when I flinch and cough.
"Just relax, okay?" His voice is much softer as he grabs my hand and presses it gently. I nod at him.
...................
"So, what is the matter?" Manik asks the doctor, who is going through my endoscopy report. Cabir, Navya and the others are huddled in a corner of the cabin. They joined us in the hospital shortly afterwards.
"It is a case of laryngitis. You were given a drug which initiated a bacterial infection. Your vocal cords as well as the cartilage of your voice box are swollen." The doctor says to me.
"What now? She is in pain and her voice is gone!" Manik says impatiently.
"It is nothing serious." The doctor says kindly, looking at Manik and then turns to me. "I am prescribing pain killers for the pain and an antibiotic to stop the infection. Fortunately, the inflammation is not very severe. You were given a small dose of the drug, just enough to inflame your voice box and make your voice go away. But there will be no permanent damage. Chances are your voice will be fine by tomorrow. Just make sure you take these meds and don't have anything acidic or spicy. I suggest you be on liquid diet for a day or two. And do not try to whisper or strain your throat."
Ten minutes later, we are all gathered in the parking lot of the hospital. Everyone except Manik is looking at me sadly. I take my phone out and text them all in the group that I am fine and they do not need to look like someone's died. Cabir smiles and gives me a side hug.
"I am glad you are okay." He gives me a peck on the side of my head and I smile. I text again, asking about the competition.
"We are probably disqualified." Cabir sighs. The sadness in his voice breaks my heart.
"Its okay. At least we got to perform." Alia smiles at me.
"I wonder how you got that damn drug inside your system. That too just before the audition. Fishy, isn't it?" Mukti asks with a scowl.
I send them all one word.
*Rose*
I have known it right from the moment the pain hit me. That stupid drug must have been in the water bottle she gave me. I watch as seven pairs of eyes widen and look at me in shock. I send another text explaining how she cornered me outside the washroom and literally forced me to drink the water she had.
"I thought something was fishy about that whole water thing." Alia says with a glare. "That bitch." Mukti and Navya nodded their heads.
"Nandu, are you sure? Why would Rose do this?" Cabir asks uncertainty.
*She was spying on us while we practiced. I don't know why she did it, but I know it was her* I hit the send button and look up at Manik, who is staring at me blankly. I do have an idea why Rose could have done this.
She has some kind of obsession with Manik.
"Why would she take the trouble to get Nandu a bottle of water?" Navya glares at Cabir. "What do you think, Manik?"
"I really don't know!" Manik mutters irritably and runs his hand through his hair. "Can I just take you home?" He looks straight into my eyes with a pleading look. "You need to rest. We'll deal with everything else later." I nod and get into the car. Cabir and the others try to accompany us but I refuse. All I need right now is some peace and quiet.
We reach home and I go straight up to my room, while Manik explains everything to Jenny. She really comes up with the most comforting words ever! After about an hour of fussing over me, she leaves to let me rest. When Manik doesn't follow her out, I raise an eyebrow at him. He shrugs and settles down on my bed.
"I am not leaving. No matter what you say." He states stubbornly. "Or text."
Sighing, I sit down next to him and close my eyes, leaning my head on the bedrest. Before I know, tears start flowing down my eyes.
I missed Musicana!
The one thing which I have wanted real bad.
Manik gently pulls me into a hug and I cry harder.
"Its okay, Nandini." He whispers. "This is not the end of the world. You can take part next year."
What he doesn't realise, is that by next year, my degree will be finished and college will be over. Even Cabir forgot about this little detail earlier. So this was my last chance. I decide not to mention this to him and just hug him back tighter.
We stay locked in a tight embrace for the longest time. Once I feel considerably better, we pull away and I text him.
*You seemed really pissed earlier*
"I was pissed!" He says instantly. "First you emotionally blackmailed me to take your place in the band! And then after the performance, everyone was going on and on about the stupid rules and that audition thing while you just stood there in pain."
I lean my head on his shoulder and gently squeeze his hand.
"You almost gave me a heart attack Nandini." He chuckles darkly. I lean up and give him a kiss on the cheek, making him sigh and wrap his arm around my shoulders.
*You were great today on the stage:)*
Yes, he was absolutely incredible. But the thoughts of the performance make me feel miserable now. Yes, it was my idea that they go ahead and perform, but I can't help feeling resentful.
I feel terrible about the fact that Fab 5 performed and I didn't. And I hate it.
But I can't help it. Damn!
"You don't need to do this Nandini." Manik says sternly. "I know you are hurting inside. Just don't think about it, okay?"
He really does understand and is not judging me!
I nod and lean onto him again. After about an hour or so, I finally convince him to leave so that I can rest.
"If you need me, just text, okay?" He asks and I nod.
"I really don't want to leave!" He whines for the umpteenth time. I give him a stern look which finally makes him move out.
Lying down, I close my eyes and try my best not to think about the nightmare that was today.
.........................
Navya's POV
"Navya!" Mom's voice echoed up the stairs. "Your friends are here."
Friends?
Having no idea who all it could be, I quickly got up and went downstairs. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was surely not this.
Seated in the living room with mom, are Mukti and Alia. They are chatting happily and look as though they've known mom for ages.
That's my mother for you! She could practically make a tree talk to her.
"What are you girls doing here?" I ask.
"Well hi to you too!" Mukti says curtly.
"Sorry!" I glance at mom who is glaring at me and apologise quickly.
"I'll get snacks for everyone!" Mom says sweety as she gets up.
"No, aunty its fine. We are headed out anyway." Alia says quickly.
"We are?" I raise an eyebrow at them.
"Yes, we are." Mukti holds my arm and smiles at mom.
"Er..okay." I look up at mom to find her looking as confused as I feel. "I'll be back in few."
Mukti and Alia practically drag me out of my house and into their car.
"What's going on?" I screech as soon as they start driving.
"Its time." Mukti says with a mad gleam in her eyes.
"Time for what?" I scowl.
"Revenge." Alia replies with an evil smile, her voice crackling.
"I don't understand." I frown at the two of them. But they continue to drive, giggling like crazy. After about 10 minutes, we pull up in front of a small, dilapidated cottage on an empty street.
"What is this place and what are we doing here?" I glare at them.
"This good old place has not been used in a long time." Mukti slings her arm around my shoulder.
"And we are about to put it to great use." Alia says wickedly, rubbing her hands together.
"What is going on? I am asking for the last time." I snap.
"Go on, have a look." Mukti gently pushes me towards the door.
Tentatively, I walk up to the door and push it open. The room is small and square, very brightly lit, the paint peeling off the walls. And, what I see in the centre of the room makes my jaw drop to the floor and my eyes pop out of their sockets.
There is a big armchair and tied to it with thick, multiple ropes, is Rose. A piece of cloth is stuffed into her mouth and she is furiously pulling at the ropes, her hair flying in every direction.
Holy freaking shit!
"What the hell!" I scream at the two of them. "Tell me you haven't just kidnapped Rose and made me a part of all this." These two have totally lost their minds.
"Relax, Navya!" Mukti scoffs.
"How and why did you do this?" I yell at them, beginning to hyperventilate.
"We went to her house with chloroform, made her unconscious and brought her here in the car." Alia says proudly, looking extremely pleased with herself. "Quiet a job it was. She isn't exactly size zero."
"As for the why, don't you think this bitch deserves it?" Mukti asks seriously, her nose flaring. "For what she did to Nandini? For ruining Musicana for us?"
I gape at the two of them, speechless.
"You took all this trouble for Nandini?" I ask incredulously.
"Well.." Mukti stalls. "I wanted to teach her a lesson real bad! For messing with our band and also for messing with Nandini. She is a good person. So yeah..."
"Snap out of it Navya. Its not that big of a deal." Alia says when I continue to stare at them silently. "It was real good of Nandini to let us perform without her. We were disqualified, but we still performed. And it was the best thing ever!" Alia says with a faraway look.
"We didn't want to involve you in this." Mukti says blankly. "We weren't sure if you had the nerve for something like this."
"Then why did you?"
"Because Alia here is not brave enough for Stage 2. I needed someone's help." Mukti says matter-of-factly.
"So are you going to help us or not?" Alia asks with finality.
I take a minute to think about everything. The first thing that comes to my mind is Nandu's tear streaked face. Its like she can't ever be happy completely. Just when something good happens and she finally starts living, something terrible has to happen too. She is such a wonderful girl! My girl, my best friend and every time I see her cry, my heart breaks into pieces.
"I'll show you just how much nerve I have." I say firmly and give them one of my own wicked smiles. They both squeal and hi five me.
"Okay, so lets start." Mukti laughs.
"What exactly are we going to do? And what is stage 2?" I ask.
"Well, we tried talking to her and asking why she did all this. But she is just denying everything. Saying she doesn't know what we are talking about." Mukti huffs. "So we proceed to stage 2."
"And what is stage 2?" I ask again.
"This!" Mukti beckons me to the boot of the car and opens it. I move forward and Alia shuffles as far away as she can from the car. Inside the boot, there is a huge transparent box containing countless cockroaches. There is another smaller box there and a blue bottle.
"How do you know she is scared of cockroaches?" I ask in disbelief. They have really done this very sincerely.
"We don't. We are just guessing she is." Mukti says casually. "You know, every typical bimbo is."
"Are you calling me a bimbo?" Alia snaps.
"Not again." Mukti rolls her eyes and picks up the box. "Navya, I need your help setting these angles loose on her. I know its going to be torture for these innocent cockroaches, but we need them." She finishes dramatically.
Mukti puts the box in a plastic bag and the three of us march inside. Alia roughly removes the cloth from Rose's mouth and instantly, a loud, angry shriek fills the room.
"You fucktards! I will go to the police. Let me go!" She bellows at us.
"Not so soon." Mukti smirks at her and taking the cockroach box out of the packet, dangles it in Rose's face.
Instead of the fearful scream I was expecting, Rose shocks us by smirking back. Mukti and Alia glance at each other uneasily.
"Cockroaches, really!" She laughs humuorlessly. "Is that the best you got? Well go ahead. Try me." She challenges.
Mukti uncertainly opens the box and lets a few cockroaches fall on Rose's head.
All she does is smile sweetly at us.
"You are not scared of cockroaches?" Alia's eyes are wide and disbelieving. "Wow! You are a monster. Mukti, she is a MONSTER!"
Mukti just rolls her eyes and puts the cockroaches back in the box. Rose continues to smirk at us. "Are you all done?"
"Let's see if this ugly smirk will remain on your face after stage 3." Mukti glares at her and storms out of the room.
"What did you mix in Nandu's water?" I snarl at her.
"I didn't do anything!" She snarls back. "Now let me go."
The door opens with a snap and Mukti walks in holding the other box and the blue bottle.
They open the box and it contains some really strange stuff. There is a wig, shocking pink in colour with curly, noodle like extensions, a band like structure, big enough to be placed inside a mouth, with two large teeth like shapes in the front. Then there are two small pieces of black cloth with what hideously looks like long, dark black hair growing out of it.
I stand and stare as the two of them get to work. They neatly place the pink, ugly wig on her head and it contrasts horribly with Rose's dark skin. Then they insert the band like structure into her mouth and she looks like she has two, large front teeth coming out of her mouth, going all the way below her lower lip. Next, Mukti lifts her tied up hands above her head and Alia er...sticks the black cloth with the hair thing in her armpits so that it looks like she has long hair growing out of her armpits.
Yuck.
Alia fishes out kohl from her clutch and makes two dark, broad patches under both her eyes and a big, round, mole like thing in the middle of her nose.
She has to be the most disgusting sight my eyes have ever had the misfortune to see!
Alia and Mukti stand back for a minute, admiring their handiwork and then hi five each other. Mukti quickly takes her phone out and clicks a picture of the awful thing that is Rose. She turns the phone around and the moment Rose sees the pic, all the colour drains out of her face and her expressions contort, making her look even more horrible. Alia quickly takes another snap of her.
"Whoa! This one's even better!" She laughs and shows the second pic to Rose.
And that's it. Tears start rolling down her face. I don't feel sorry at all.
"We will upload this pic everywhere, with the caption, 'for skin and hair care tips, contact Rose." Mukti glares at her.
"Yes, we will make it absolutely viral." Alia grits her teeth.
"I really did not do anything!" Rose howls. "Please let me go. Don't do this."
"Looks like even this is not enough." Mukti says irritably and grabs the blue bottle, unscrewing the cap. "You know what this contains? A drink made by mixing chilly, salt, sugar, a lot of spices and many other disgusting things. It will surely give you a loose motion. Just the way you gave Nandini that throat infection. You know, tit for tat." Mukti yells and tries to force it down her throat. But Rose shakes her head so violently that Mukti takes a step back.
"Trust me, I didn't do anything! The only reason I showed up was because I thought just by looking at me, Nandini would get irritated and screw up, like she always does. I just wanted to spite her. But I did not mix anything in her water!" She sobs. She sounds so genuine and honest that for a moment, I want to believe her.
"Do you think she is faking it?" Alia whispers to Mukti.
"Er..doesn't look like it, does it?" Mukti whispers back uneasily.
"I think this is enough. We should let her go." I mutter. After a few seconds, they nod in unison and start untying the ropes. As soon as Rose is free, she madly lunges at Mukti and tries to punch her. But Mukti dodges just in time and slaps her right cheek.
"You bitch." She screams but Rose quickly gathers herself and runs out of the door.
After standing in silence for a couple of minutes, Mukti sighs and takes a sip from the blue bottle!
The freaking blue bottle!
"Relax." She grunts. "Its just coke. We didn't have time to actually prepare a nasty drink."
We make our way to the car and start driving.
"That whole thing was pointless!" Alia groans, clutching her head.
"Do you think she was telling the truth?" Mukti turns around and asks me.
"She looked like she was." I reply honestly, feeling miserable.
Silence again.
"On the plus side, we can always look at those pics and have a good laugh." Mukti chuckles lowly.
Alia just nods and takes her phone out. Next second, she squeals loudly and drops her phone. "OH MY GOSH!"
"What the fuck!" Mukti yells and pulls over. Alia hastily picks up her phone and shows it to Mukti. I lean over to see the screen.
It is an e-mail from the officials of Musicana.
This is to inform you that owing to the sudden and immense popularity of the band, Fab 5 and its performance today, we have decided not to disqualify the said band and allow it to officially represent St. Stephen at Musicana 2k16. However, any further breach of rules will not be tolerated.
We wish you all the best for the upcoming rounds.
Regards,
Team Musicana
The chorus of loud screams that follows certainly makes me deaf for a moment.
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Song for this chapter-
Sadda Haq- Rockstar
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