~The Great Escapade~

"No. No. No. No. No." I shake my head and walk away from the window.

"What? Why?" Navya asks.

"What do you mean 'why'? This is ridiculous!"

"Ridiculous is what that person is." She points towards Manik's house. "I have a simple plan, we'll go and get it done and sneak out. No one will ever know." Navya gives me a convincing smile but no. I am not convinced.

"No." I make a straight face, straight enough to tell her I mean it.

She throws her hands in the air helplessly, "Oh, c'mon Nandini! Can't you just be on my side this one time? I really need to study for this test, it is very important!" She stretches on 'very'.

"Navya, this is stupid."

I watch Navya's face turn all angry as she points her finger at me and says, "You owe this to me."

I pinch my brows together. "Why do I owe you anything?" I ask.

"I saved you today from those mofo's." She crosses her arms across her chest, "You owe me this little help for saving your ass."

My mouth falls open, "You did not! You and I, we both know that I would have easily whooped their ass without your help." How can she say that? I am way much capable of handling such fucking retards.

"Oh, really? And did you see your face when you saw that piece of junk?! Eh? No. But I did. You might have even stopped breathing if he hadn't looked the other way!" Navya shouts at my face.

I would have.

"I wouldn't have!" But I have to keep the ego up. Heh.

"Tell that to yourself Nandini because I know enough already." Navya scoffs. "And what is the problem in even going there? Don't you have to talk to him? Don't you have questions to ask because I remember you saying you have to. And I know you will one day so why not while you can?"

Navya's right. I really didn't think about that.

I actually have the chance to just ask him all that I wanted to. I just have to go next door and ask him why did he look away today? Why he never tried to contact me? Why he just forgot about our friendship so easily?

But the question is, do I want to?

Of course you do! That's exactly what you've been waiting for since years!

I have been.. but I'm afraid I don't want to go through the same disappointment and pain that I went through earlier. I don't want to be ignored again.

"Nandini?" Navya clicks her fingers in front of my face.

I zoned out.

"Yeah, sorry.. you were saying?"

"Are you in? And you can't say no."

"What if I do?" I smirk.

"I'll make sure whatever time I stay here for, it'll be equivalent to hell." She smiles sarcastically.

"Is it any less than that now?" I scoff.

"Oh yeah, it is for a fact." She grins. "It will just get worse."

"This is blackmailing."

"Call it what you may." She shrugs.

I stare at her, irked, as she leaves me no choice. "Fine. What is the plan?"

A big grin takes over her face and she nods in a very devilish way. "That's more like it. Okay, so we'll get in there, I'll go around and search the house to find where they operate the sounds from and cut off the wires and bam! Party's over baby!" She jumps and claps her hand.

"That's your smart idea?" I lift a brow up and watch her excitement fade.

"Yeah, why?" She asks.

"We can get caught." I remind her.

"Ugh." She waves her hand, "Pfft. They all will be totally drunk, Nandini, doing God knows what sick stuff with each other." She shudders and scrunches her nose.

I squint my eyes, "How do you know? You've never been there you said."

"People talk. I have ears." She says.

I scrunch my nose. "Does that really even happen? I thought it only happens in the movies."

"It does." She replies. "Okay enough of talking, we have to get to work now." Navya takes a deep breath in and joins her palms together and rubs them. A glint of mischief shines in her eyes as she does that and I can tell she's going to enjoy this.

"Get dressed Nandini." She orders.

"Why?" I ask skeptically.

"Because you're the bait dumb head." She rolls her eyes.

The what?

"Go get dressed in something not so hideous." She commands

"Are you nuts? The plan was to cut the wires and come back, why do you want me to wear half clothes for that?"

"Because my dear poor little innocent, Nandini, as I do all the sneaky work.. you will distract anybody who comes near." She explains as if she's talking to a five year old.

"Didn't you say they'll all be too busy to notice?" I question.

"Yeah but.. you know, just in case."

This girl is impossible.

"Navya you're not even sure of things and yet you're planning to jump into the lions den."

"He's not a lion. He's fuCking rodent." She grits. "I don't know Nandini, this plan has to work and you have to help me make it work. I want to ruin something as petty as his party which is much lesser than that compared to what he ruined."

"What did he ruin?" I ask, cautiously.

"My life!" She shouts.

What even happened between these two? I feel like I'm a Martian here! I know nothing and Navya doesn't even tell me!

"Anyway," she breathes, "we don't have the entire night Nandini, go get dressed into something really distracting and eye catchy and... just go dress up sexy."

"And what will you wear?"

"Just something that hides my entire being until I ruin that party." She says.

I lift a brow up and stare at her. How can she even tell me to dress up all fancy and just save herself from doing the same?

Okay, I know being a girl I should love dressing up and caking my face with make-up but I refrain from doing that. I am not one of those girls who like that. I am super lazy, I can't be any happier in any other clothes than I am in my PJ's. They're comfy.

"You can't tell me to dress up while you save yourself from the misery." I say to her.

"But you're going to be the distraction Nandini."

"You can too!" I point out. "You don't even know that place like I do and trust me, I know it just like I know mine. I can do much better at all that sneaky work than you can." I state.

Navya closes her eyes in annoyance and huffs, "Look, Nandini, I can't be seen there okay? If I'm seen there, things won't be good for me. I just want to do this real quick so that we're out of there as soon as the music goes off. Then you can go talk to that rodent."

I cross my arms across my chest, "We either do it my way or you can say goodbye to your test tomorrow." And place my last word.

I am the one helping her here. It has to be my rules.

"Nandini, don't be ridiculous." She grunts.

"It's either that or nothing."

"Fine." Navya grits and I smile.

-----

We are both standing just outside the big gates of Manik's house. Navya is wearing a white tube dress which stops a few good inches above her knees and she paired it with gorgeous white stilettos. She did whatever less make up she could have done in those ten minutes she gave me to get ready.

And I had to get out of my pj's. So now I am wearing a baby pink crop-top with my deep blue skinny jeans. I tied my wavy long hair into a high ponytail. Something that looks very ordinary because I don't want to attaract even the tinest bit of attention. And here we are.

"Next time if I go to any party, those will be my shoes." I tell her.

"In your dreams, loser." She spats, making me laugh. "What's the time?"

I look at my phone, "Its 11."

"Just one hour Nandini. I really need to mug up loads of shit and if I flunk this one, my Economics professor will throw all of my grades down the drain. I have to pull an all nighter today."

"Okay." I nod. "Let's do this!"

As we make our way in, Navya suddenly pulls me back and hides behind the gates.

"What?!" I frown.

She points a finger at the open door of Manik's house. "There's Sharon." She says.

It takes me second to remember where I heard that name and then it hits me that she's the same girl who was in Manik's group. From what I saw today, I too am developing an unlikely dislike towards these people because of Navya.

"What now?" I ask.

"Well, let's wait for sometime. She'll go inside and then we'll go forward." She says.

But even after five minutes of waiting we don't see her move even an inch away from the door. She is just leaning against the open door while people keep moving in and out of the house.

"She's not moving!" I say getting restless.

"I know, right? What is her problem? It's like she stuck her butt to that door." Navya narrows her eyes at Sharon.

"We should drop this maybe." I suggest.

I am surprised at how hell bent I was upon talking to Manik until about a few hours ago but now I am not as rigid. I don't know. I feel like this can wait another day. He anyway won't be sober to answer my questions and I don't know how to handle a drunk Manik.

"No! There has to be another way in!" Navya stomps her feet in irritation. "You should know! You said you know that place in and out." She looks at me with pleading eyes.

"Navya, there isn't any other way in besides window up there," I point to Manik's window, "And that's closed from inside."

Navya's disappointment is clearly all over her face and I agreed to help her too but there's nothing we can do right now. If only Sharon moves but she's still stuck to that door.

"No. There has to be a way." Navya shuts her eyes tight and opens them suddenly. "YES." Her frowns vanish and she smiles wide, looking at me with sparkling eyes.

And I already am shaking my head in a no because something tells me I won't like what she has to offer.

She nods and walks towards me while I step away. I turn around and walk back to my house.

"Nandini, wait!" She calls from behind me.

"No, Navya!"

"You haven't even heard what I have to offer!" She shouts.

"And I don't even want to because I know already that I'm going to regret it." I walk faster and reach the front door of my house but before I can open it, Navya stops me in time and stands between the door and me.

"At least listen me out." She pleads.

"No."

"You can't say no before knowing what I am going to say." She frowns.

"Yes, I can." A mock a smile. "Move."

"Nandini, just listen to me once!" She pleads.

Oh, God. Please don't make me regret this.

I take a deep breath in and look at her, "Speak."

She smiles wide. "You said you know that house completely..." I nod. "Yes, so we clearly can't go inside but you can."

Err.. what?

I shrug, "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that if I go in there, there are 99% chances that one of them will see me. Sharon's right at the door and her ass seems to be stuck over it, so I can't walk in through there. You said the window is closed from inside so that leaves us with no other way. But what I am saying is that if you go in there and just turn the entire party down-"

"Wait, what?" I interrupt. She's being such an idiot right now. "Won't I get caught? Considering Sharon is right at the door." I state the obvious to her which she seems to have forgotten.

"She won't recognize you!"

"She saw me today. And so did the other people of their group." I remind her.

"Nandini, they wouldn't remember you, believe me. They couldn't even have a proper look at you."

"What about Manik? He sure will recognize me." I say feeling uncertain about it myself.

"Did he? Today? In the morning? It's been five years Nandini, he needs to be told who you were. He's not what you have had him pictured in your head for the past five years so please just do this! Please." I can't figure what motive she has behind this because I can't believe its just for some stupid test. She seems so desperate to have this done and she's ready to sacrifice me for that!

Well, that was a bit exaggerated. Heh. But anyway, she's all weird about this. Too vengeful.

"Okay." I agree.

"Thank you so much, Nandini! You have no idea what you have done for me." She hugs me tight and now I finally believe this is not just for a test.

I need to find out the history behind this.

"Just shut the main off."

"But, that wasn't the plan."

"Yes but, once the lights are down, everyone will start to leave. They won't even wait to see what went wrong and that's how a 'Manik Malhotra' party will be ruined for the first time ever." She grins wide devilishly.

"Navya, that's just stupid. It's just a party.. who cares anyway?" I shrug.

"He does, Nandini! You don't know. I'll explain later. Drop our earlier plan, this one seems better to me." She says and I just roll my eyes because Whatever.

The sooner I get this done, the better. I am not ready to face Manik right now, especially after the hard-core ignorance that I faced today.

Maybe tomorrow I will but not just yet.

"Okay, fine. I'm game."

Navya squeals, "Go now! All the best!" Giving me a thumbs up, she pushes me back from where I came.

-----

The scene inside the house was not much different than what Navya warned me about.

The smell of alcohol hits my nose the moment I step in and it is disgusting. I can't even breathe without wanting to empty the contents of my stomach.

Navya was right. Getting past Sharon was a piece of cake, she didn't even look at me let alone recognize me.

But breathing in this house is actually quite a task for me right now. I hate the smell of it. Makes me want to puke.

I move inside, squeezing my way through the sweat laden bodies moving to the tunes of the song. The house is dimly lit in some areas and bright in some. I can't really recognize this house this way. I have never seen it like this before. I feel like a Martian coming here for the first time.

I keep my eyes roaming around, searching for Manik so that I can avoid any chance of bumping into him and remain ahead in this plan.

I know where the main electrical connection is at and that's in a room behind the stairs on the left. The same stairs that will lead you to Manik's room but I don't have to go up.

I walk past the drunk sweaty crowd cautiously, and reach the stairs. I can also see the door behind the stairs.

Bingo! All I have to do is just get in, turn off the lights and just hide somewhere safe until these people disperse and then just fucking leave. Easy peezy.

But, just as I reach the door and begin it open it-

"Manik, listen to me!" I hear a voice. I move from behind the stairs and look up the stairs only to find Manik walking down in a hurry and some girl in a little black dress running behind him.

I quickly hide myself behind the stairs.

The next voice that I hear is of the same person who ignored my presence today.

"Rhea, I told you I won't do it more than once, okay?" Manik says. I can tell he is already annoyed at her.

Do what?

"But.. Manik, please! Give me another chance! Please!" The girl-Rhea cries.

For a few seconds I hear nothing from Manik. I only hear Rhea's sobs.

And for a second I think I should just mind my business but then I can't seem to move away from my spot.

I know it's a real bitchy thing to listen to someone else's conversation but I want to know what they're talking about. What did Manik do with this one now?

"I had told you before you got yourself into this that it's going to be just once and then never again."

"Manik, I thought... we were... good friends." Rhea sobs.

"We are not friends, Rhea. Go home." He says casually.

I wait at my spot to hear more of their conversation but no one says a word. I move away from behind the stairs and look up but there's no one.

Looks like Rhea did go home.

But what did Manik do?

Did he.. did he use her?

Is Navya right? Has Manik changed for real?

It's like I know nothing anymore! It just frustrates me because I considered him an important part of my life until now but he never bothered to even consider my presence today. I just want to go to him and ask him things but at the same time I don't want to talk to him.

The vibration of my cell phone inside my pocket, brings me back to the party.

I answer the call, knowing it is Navya. "Nandini! We don't have the entire night!" I think she says that because I can't hear her over the music.

"Yeah, yeah okay, I'm almost done." Saying that I cut the call and walk back behind the stairs.

I twist the door knob of the room and it opens.

I breathe a breath of relief.

Entering in, I close the door behind me and turn the lights on of that room. The light switches are still behind the door.

I remember as kids Manik and I would play hide and seek with his cousins. We would always hide in here and no one could ever catch us because no one knew there was a door behind the stairs. It's camouflaged with the wall. Only someone who knows about this room can tell it's there.

It used to be so exciting for us to always win the game. We never told anyone about this, it was our secret place.

It's an empty room, with no furniture and just a bulb glowing on top of my head. There's just the switches of the power supply of the house and the rest of the room is empty, just as it used to be. Always a safe hideout.

A smile finds its way on my face as memories flash past my brain.

No. Focus!

I've to focus. I don't have the time for these memories right now.

I drop a quick text to Navya.

You can rest in peace now.

And with that I just switch off the main power supply of the house.

An echo of 'boo' spreads around the house as the lights go off and the music stops.

My phone vibrates in my pocket.

I hear the sound of revenge! I can't thank you enough for this Nandini! I swear to never destroy your peace again. Navya replies.

You better not ;) I revert.

A lot of hustle bustle can be heard from outside the door. I hope people have started to go away now.

Are they going? I text Navya.

They're all walking out, blend in the crowd and get out fast! She sends back.

And yeah, I have to escape along with them.

I walk back to the door but just when I am about to open it, the door opens from outside.

My heart beat escalates and I am so scared I can die on the spot.

I quickly hide myself behind the door.

A bright light, followed by two people enter in.

Mother of the Universe! It's Manik!

My heart is preparing itself to just run out of it's place. I can't breathe anymore.

He approaches the power box, using the torch light of his phone.

Oh, crap. If he turns it on, he'll see me. I have to run.

Keeping a hand over my heart, I check if it's still in it's place. And it is. Very cautiously, I walk out of the door on my tiptoes. Manik and another guy with him have their back at me.

And just when I manage to sneak out, my foot meets the door so hard. It's like meeting your friend after ages. It just has to hug it so tight!

The collision of my foot and the door obviously results in an echoing sound in the utter silence.

Manik turns but within that nanosecond of aiming his flash light at me, and me getting caught red-handed, I run.

I just run through the now empty and dark hall and blend into the crowd of people that is at the entrance. Some people have their flash lights on but that doesn't put me in any trouble because I am already in the crowd that is trying to make its way out of the house.

Once out of the house, I run back to my house. The door's already open. Normally I would have burst upon Navya for keeping the door open but right now I can't thank her enough.

It was a near death experience for me! I seriously could have had a heart attack on spot and died! Then Manik would have definitely found out it was me.

I close the door behind me and make sure its double locked.

And now, I breathe.

I am panting so badly right now, half from the fear and half from the marathon of a few steps that I ran.

Thank goodness I wore my sneakers and not some heels. I would have tripped thrice in my escapade.

I walk up to my room where I find Navya still busy looking outside the window.

"What are you looking for?" I ask as I throw myself onto the bed.

"Your dead body! Asshole! At least you should have told me the moment you entered the house that you're back! I thought you got caught! I was worried sick!" She rants.

"Aw, you were worried?" I make a sad face, "Then why the fuck did you send me alone to die?!" I scream on her face.

"You're AMAZING! Oh, God.. I can't thank you enough for this." Navya ignores my angry face and hugs me.

I return her hug back this time.

"It was a near death experience for me, Navya. I thought I was going to collapse." I say separating myself from her.

"Tell me all about it!" She gets excited.

I raise a brow up, "Don't you have to study?"

"It can wait a few minutes. Tell me." She insists, so then I narrate the entire story to her, obviously skipping the 'Rhea' part.

"I was about to get caught! He had the light on my face, I just ran away in time." I place a hand on my heart which is still beating faster than its normal pace.

Navya, on the other hand, starts laughing. "Oh, my God. I should have been there. This sounds epic!"

"Stop laughing!" I throw a pillow at her but that doesn't stop her. Eventually I too end up laughing.

It has been one hell of a night.

I know I have to dig out a lot of questions from both Navya and Manik, but just for now, I want to let all of that aside and laugh at my escapade.

--------

Is this chapter a little weird? Because Idk.. I'm not so sure about this one. Let me know if you would like this any other way! I'm always open to your ideas (: