Before I could even register what was happening, two of his lackeys walked in right behind him and pinned my arms to the desk. Gautam snatched my phone from my hand in one motion, and a gag was stuffed in my mouth mid-scream.  

I looked around the room absolutely bewildered, His lackeys were in the process of tying my hands down to the desk so I wouldn't be able to move. I struggled as hard as I could, but they were both much stronger than me. I kicked my legs about but they were too trapped to be able to accomplish anything. In the flailing about I accidentally rammed my shin in the desk and a sudden burst of sharp pain spiked my already accelerated heart rate. 

My screams and yells were muffled and other than kicking my legs about there was little else I could do. I tried to kick Gautam with my uninjured leg but he stepped away and instructed his men to tie my legs up after they were done with my arms. 

The more I tried to talk through the gag in my mouth the more it travelled towards my throat and threatened to choke me. 

When they were finally done, they stepped back awaiting further instructions from the slime ball grinning at me from a distance. He checked to see if I was completely immobile and then asked them to go and stand guard outside. 

The ache in my leg dulled a little, probably due to the adrenaline in my bloodstream. 

My mind ran through the possibilities of me making it out of this situation unscathed and they were low. 

The only other people on this floor were Smriti and Vahni who had both probably already left. Even if they hadn't, there was only a slim chance they would come this way. My eyes swivelled about the room in desperation. The windows looked over into the abandoned lot behind our college so nobody would ever come that way. 

My friends would definitely look for me but who knew how long before they noticed I was missing. They would all probably think I am with the other group. My phone was currently in his hands and I was completely tied down. There was no way I was making it out this time. 

Gautam seemed to relish every second my eyes looked for a way out of this room. He gave me all the time I needed to realize that I was completely at his mercy. When I finally met his eyes he smiled at me. The kind of smile that sends shivers down your spine. 

He continued staring at me tauntingly while I glared at him with as much might I could muster while I remained tied up and at his disposal. Then he leaned against the blackboard behind him and started talking, 

"Oh, how rude of me," he began, "It is so nice to see you again, Meena."

I narrowed my eyes.

"I am sorry it had to be this way but you have to understand that you wouldn't have cooperated with us any other way."

My phone started buzzing in his hand. I was getting a call, I perked up trying to get a look at who it was,

"Don't trouble yourself, let me," he said and showed me the screen flashing Angad's name. So he was calling me back. There was a tiny prick of joy in my heart at this fact. 

Then Gautam declined the call. A muffled sound of protest escaped my throat which was barely audible. 

"This is the boy in the parking lot that day, right?" he asked gleefully as I started to struggle in my restraints again. 

The phone buzzed again and he declined the call, again. I huffed. 

"Why is he calling Meena? What does he want?" Gautam wondered out loud, "Does he want another 'favour' from you?" he asked suggestively.

I furrowed my brows. 

"I saw those photos of yours, you know. Quite famous you are now," he said walking closer to my desk now. 

Then he leaned close to my face and I tilted my head as far back as I could to put some distance between us. He laughed as he stepped back. His eyes raked up and down my body.

"What?" he asked, "Is all this only for your precious band?" 

I swear if my hands weren't tied to this damned chair I would have punched him in the face and kneed him the groin. I would probably have broken a knuckle doing it but it would be so worth it. 

Since I could do neither I continued glaring at him. 

He slowly paced around me in what I am sure he thought was a cool villainous manner but he just looked like his own creepy perverted self. 

"I am sure," he began and placed his hand on my shoulder. I recoiled hard from his touch. He laughed and took a step back again. I exhaled in relief. 

"Don't worry, I am not here to touch you or harm you in any way. Our objective today is to keep you tied up here so you do not go up to perform,"

He chuckled to himself about something and added, "We are respectable young men. We don't touch a lady without permission," 

I wanted to point out the obvious here. I had very much been touched without my permission while they had physically restrained me and tied me down. I didn't know how much of what he was saying he meant but it was somewhat a relief. But then it brought me to the most important question, why were these morons holding me hostage? 

I think Gautam saw the confusion on my face because he finally revealed his motives. 

"You see this is all political," he went back to leaning against the blackboard, "We cannot let you perform for Maurya and let KGV have another win. They have already won two years in a row and now with this huge event that they have managed to organize we cannot let them win it." 

It took me a second to process what he had said and then when I realized it was all for some stupid college-level politics I did not know whether to laugh hysterically at the ridiculousness of it all or cry at their stupidity. 

It was the same bullshit at every level. If these politicians used half the time they spend playing politics doing something productive, it would not only help the people but also themselves. 

Here these thugs were, long past their college days, still stuck in this petty war over who gets to throw the next fresher's party and who doesn't. And I know college-level politics has a bigger impact than that, this was like the audition before you enter the big leagues but I still think that holding a girl hostage in her own college so she doesn't sing at an event and win a prize so that the political party organizing the event does not succeed in achieving an accolade, was overkill and frankly very risky. 

If someone discovered me here all tied down, I don't even know what kind of trouble they would get in. I didn't know if they'd done their due diligence to successfully conceal this kidnapping but they were professional thugs, I presumed. 

How had they even gotten in? I guess they had bought passes to the event or maybe it was one of the YLF members who had snuck them in. Someone like Nirav. I wouldn't put it past him. 

But I didn't think Nirav would willingly get involved in something like this. 

Over the past few weeks, he had become more and more tolerable to be around, or even, dare I say... pleasant? 

But people continue to surprise you each day. 

I mean maybe he wasn't part of this scheme but he chose to associate with people who would stoop this low. And I know this was misplaced anger but I would give anything to be able to distract myself from Gautam's obnoxious face right now. 

The seconds ticked and Gautam went on making one-sided conversation with me while I pictured ways to bash his face in. The time for my performance was coming up and I was getting antsier and antsier. 

I looked for any way I could get out of this spot but there was none. Even if I did manage to untie myself, how would I get past three people? My only hope was my friends looking for me once they realized I was missing, but that could take a while and maybe I would actually miss my chance and won't get to perform. 

One of his lackeys peeped his head inside the room and said,

"Sir, Bhaiya is calling."

Gautam seemed unwilling to take a call and mulled over his decision for a second, then stepped out of the room. The second he was out of view I frantically searched for a stray nail, a pencil, a sharp corner, anything I could use to get out of my restraints. 

But there was nothing that could help me. The friction only burned my skin and it wasn't long before they came back in. 

"Unfortunately, I have to step out for some time, but I will be back. We can talk then." he said to me and then as he was at the door he added, "it is no use trying to get out of the ropes. I have checked everything. I suggest you sit back and relax. Take a nap or something." 

He placed my phone on the teacher's desk and gave me one last malicious grin of victory and left. 

I could hear whispered conversations outside and then retreating footsteps. The two men stood like sentries outside, occasionally conversing but otherwise silent. 

I glanced through the small glass opening on the door and saw that they were preoccupied with their phones. Perfect. 

My brilliant plan, my only plan, was to slowly inch towards where my phone was kept so I could get to it and call... anybody!

I could hear the solo performances ending one after the other and if I didn't get out of this soon I would actually end up missing my chance. 

As slowly and carefully as I could I placed my feet on the ground and lifted the bench and moved forward slightly. It was heavier than I had expected but not unbearably so. Inch by inch I tried to move it forward and the desk just seemed within my reach. 

And then the legs scraped against the floor noisily. The loud squeak caught the attention of the two minions outside and they rushed in,

"What are you trying to do?" the taller guy demanded. 

He noticed my phone on the desk and snatched it up.

"Aha!" he held it in front of my face. "You think you can get away?" 

The phone started to buzz again. It was Siddharth this time. My performance was close and they were all probably looking for me. 

That was it then. I probably would stay here till the event ended and then they would untie me triumphantly. I imagined the moment my hands and legs would be free from these ropes and I could ram the sharpest part of my shoe's heel in their smug faces. 

That was when I heard the commotion in the corridor. 

"Meera!"

With a jolt, I realized it was Angad's voice. I recognized it in an instant. My heart sped up. He had found me! He was here!

His footsteps got closer and closer. I leapt up in my chair and tried to let him know I was right here but all that actually came out was a muffled "Mmmhmmm!" 

The taller guy's head snapped up and he pushed the other guy out of the room.

"Handle that," he instructed and shut the door then he grabbed the back of my bench and dragged me out of the view and just as Angad reached the door he went up to the door listening quietly. 

I was still squirming in the restraints and trying to get Angad's attention. I could hear the sounds of a conversation taking place. What if he didn't realize I was in here? I kicked as hard I could but ended up hurting the same leg that I could swear was starting to bruise up. 

But it worked, I think because Angad called my name out and banged the on the door. Yes, he knew I was here. Hope surged in my heart. He was here and I would get out of here in time. 

But then the tall guy opened the door, walked out and closed it behind him. I saw a flash of his face and in desperation, I tried to reach for it but he was pushed back. 

And that was the moment I realized how much trouble this could be for him. The odds weren't in his favour here. Firstly, it was two against one and these guys were fairly stocky. I did not know if Angad could stand his ground against two guys. 

Then the noises of a scuffle caught my attention. I was completely out of the view of the glass so I couldn't really see much. From what I could hear Angad did not seem to be faring well in this fight. 

Amidst the fear I felt for his safety, I could also feel anger rising in the pit of my stomach. How could he even think this was a good idea? Coming here all alone and then getting into a fight. 

I was using all my strength to use my limited mobility to get a look outside. He stood right in front of the glass and our eyes locked for a millisecond before a swift punch landed on his jaw and he fell. 

My scream was trapped inside my gagged mouth. 

If something happened to him I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I was the reason he even was in this position. Tears were flowing freely as I tried to wrench myself free. I realized I was trying to call out Angad's name. 

The door flew open and I expected to see a triumphant look on the tall guy's face but my heart surged. 

It was Yug. 

In a moment he untied my arms and legs and I was running outside. Tears blurred my vision but I saw Siddharth kicking the tall guy's gut. I looked around and saw that the other guy was writhing on the floor and Angad sat against the wall groaning in pain. 

I knelt down next to him. 

"Are you okay?" he asked me faintly. 

I blinked. He was asking me if I was okay. This man lying on the floor after getting knocked about by two thugs was asking me that?

"Yes," I said a little breathlessly, "I am okay. How injured are you?" 

"Just a bit," he winced as he tried to sit up. 

The tall guy rammed into the wall next to us and we all flinched. Siddharth stood over him almost as if they were in a movie, not even a hair out of place. I was seriously impressed by the way Siddharth had handled two guys at once. I had known Siddharth was a karate black belt but this was seriously badass. 

The tall guy realized how out of their depth this situation was so he grabbed his friend's collar and dragged him out of there. Siddharth could have easily caught up with them but he turned his attention to us instead.

"Meera, are you okay? Did they do anything?" he asked frantically running his eyes over me to make sure no bodily harm had befallen me. 

"I am fine," I assured him. Which was mostly true. Other than my throbbing shin there wasn't much else wrong with physically. 

Yug was kneeling on the other side next to Angad examining his face. Angad had taken a few hits to his face. His lip was bleeding and a bruise for forming at his right temple. That was all I could see but I knew there was more. 

Siddharth suggested we should get him inside the classroom where he'd be more comfortable. He knelt down and placed Angad's arm around his neck and Yug did the same on the left. Together they helped Angad stand up. Slowly they placed him on the lone chair and Siddharth examined his face. 

"How could you be this reckless? Why didn't you wait for me? What difference could three minutes have made?" Siddharth berated him and checked his pupil dilation. 

I stood back looking at him worriedly. I was hoping, no praying, that he would be fine. 

"It made all the difference to me," he huffed. 

"Angad you need to stop being so arrogant all the time. You knew Sid was better equipped to handle this situation. I told you to wait but you just couldn't," Yug joined in. 

"Meera was literally being held against her will. What did you think I would do?" he exclaimed. 

My heart somersaulted in my chest. 

I realized they had all turned their attention to me now.

"Who were those guys?" Siddharth asked me.

I related my end of the tale to them briefly. Of Gautam and his lackeys that he had beat up outside and their stupid petty reason to tie me up inside this room. 

"This is beyond crazy!" Yug raged. 

"What kind of psychopath does that? Seriously they held you here just so you wouldn't perform at Melisma?" Siddharth shook his head.

"Wait," Angad said suddenly, "Is your category over?"

I checked my watch. There was still time till my performance. 

"No, I was supposed to go up at the end so maybe not," I told him. 

"Then you have to rush," he said.

"What? I am not leaving you here in this state." I exclaimed incredulously.

"If you do not perform today you are giving them exactly what they wanted. You are playing right into their plan. But if you go up there today and perform with your heart and soul and win the title then that would be the true defeat." 

Angad finished his passionate speech. Now, his words made sense to me. They did want me to refrain from performing and if I did just that even after Angad had gotten hurt in the process of rescuing me then it would all be in vain. 

But on the other hand, I couldn't leave him now to go and sing. 

"I can't just leave you here. You are hurt!" I said. 

"She is right," Siddharth said, "you might have a concussion. We need to take you to the hospital right away. But Meera," he turned to look at me, "Angad is right too. If you don't go and perform now then he would have a concussed head for nothing."

I wanted to protest but I had no other argument. 

"We will take him to the hospital and you start running towards the stage right now," Yug instructed busying himself with helping Angad up. 

"Wait, Angad has to sing with me after this. Will you guys be able to make it back?" I asked. 

"Siddharth," Angad said, "You have seen us perform a hundred times. Take my place and win this damn competition."

Siddharth who was also on Angad's side helping him up was taken aback at his request, to say the least. 

"Can you do it?" he asked him.

Yug stared at his friend incredulously.

Siddharth hesitated for a second and then nodded, "I think so."

"Good. Yug can drive me to the hospital and you stay here with Meera. Make sure she is safe and then go and perform your hearts out. Once that is over we will deal with those assholes."

He started loosening his tie. Painfully he managed to take it off himself and handed it to Siddharth. I realized the tie matched my dress. He was giving it to Siddharth so we could have colour coordinated outfits. 

Yug started to steer him away but he called out my name. I rushed up to him and he placed his hand on my shoulder wincing a little. He stared into my eyes earnestly and said,

"Make sure you win." 

Then they were gone and Siddharth was dragging me towards the stage. 

I took off my pumps and ran across the building and then the courtyard to get to the backstage area. My shin hurt as I ran but I ignored it. Heena was herding the participants who were done to the green rooms presumably and when she saw me her shoulders visibly relaxed. 

"Meera!" she exclaimed and started pinning a badge with a number on my dress, "where have you been? We have been looking all over for you. Why weren't you answering your phone?" 

I noticed the beginnings of a bruise forming on my shin as I struggled to get back into my pumps and said,

"Long story, Siddharth can fill you in. When do I go up?" 

"You are after the next performer. And fill me in? What happened?" she asked but I couldn't concentrate on anything.

I smoothed my hair down and stepped away. I took calming breaths and tried to push Angad's face away from my thoughts. I was unsuccessful. Gautam's leering expression filled me with quiet rage and Angad's bruises filled me with sorrow. 

All of that for a mere performance. 

With a grim determination, I ascended the stairs to the stage. I was going to win this if that is the last thing I ever did. I would win it no matter what. Because if I didn't then I wouldn't be able to face him. 

With these thoughts swirling in my brain I strode towards the centre of the stage and stood in front of the microphone. My eyes focused on the jury members and everything suddenly became razor sharp. 

I gripped the mic and sang.