"Registration rates are low and two of our judges haven't sent in a confirmation." Karan, our second-year postholder reported. 

We were in the final days before our event and almost everything was prepared and ready to go. I sat in our department room with all the postholders. We were combing through the details and looking for anything that might cause hiccups. 

"That's okay. I talked to the judges and they will be sending in their confirmation by tonight via email. The low registration rate is what we should be worried about." Shweta, our president, said.

"On a positive note, all our participation slots are filled. So even if we don't have a big audience we will have a good competition." I offered to try to be helpful. 

Mihir rolled his eyes next to me and said,

"Nobody wants to come and see boring slam poetry and debate competitions. It's a snooze fest." 

"That's not true." Smriti protested. 

"It kind of is," Shweta agreed with Mihir reluctantly, "Besides, we need more footfall. Especially for the hard-earned sponsors Nirav has managed to get us."

Nirav smiled in acknowledgement. 

"Let's just have Meera ask her rockstar friends to perform for us," Mihir said nudging me. 

I looked at him startled.

"Yeah, the least you can do for your department," Karan said snootily. 

"Yes, the very least because I have done nothing else. Sure," I said sarcastically and he glared at me. 

"Stop it both of you," Mihir chastised. Then he turned to me and said, "Meera, try to get them on board. If Red Wagon is performing then we know the whole college will show up and more."

"I know that Mihir but they aren't at my beck and call. I can't force them to perform for our department." I said and then exhaled deeply before adding, "And the lead singer still isn't in Delhi. So it's no use."

"Can't they perform without him? What's that second dude's name? The one that sang with you for Melisma? He could do it."

"I don't know," I said.

"Well, give it a try. Request, beg or ask for a favour. This could be a game-changer for us. We wouldn't ask if we didn't think it was important." Shweta said. 

"Okay, I will ask them," I sighed.

***

I made my way to the stage after the meeting where I knew I had a better chance of finding them all. 

From a distance, I spotted only Siddharth sitting on the farthest corner of the steps. We hadn't talked after our goodbyes at the airport on Thursday and the last conversation we had had was the one on the hotel deck. 

I considered walking away lest it got awkward with just the two of us but then thought better of it and walked up to him and sat down next to him. 

He was scribbling in the same journal and seemed startled when I placed my bag down. He looked up saw me and gave me a faint smile. 

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," I replied. 

He capped his pen and shut the journal. 

"I have always meant to ask you. What do you write in there?" 

Siddharth paused and seemed to deliberate for a second. 

"It's a lot of things. Lyrics, thoughts, melodies, gibberish."

"Nobody gets to read Siddharth Kashyap's thoughts in his diary then?" I said playfully. 

"It is not a Diary." he narrowed his eyes. 

"What you described is a diary," I teased him. 

He gave me a chagrined smile and turned to me. 

"So. How are you?" he asked. 

"Me? I am great." I said cheerfully. 

"You sure?" he asked, "In case you forgot I kind of am in the same spot as you right now. Heartbroken buddies."

It was my turn to give him a chagrined smile. He grinned at me.

"I am just teasing."

Another second of silence passed between us before I recalled the purpose of my visit. 

"Oh, where is everybody else? I needed to ask you guys something." 

"They are in class. They'll be here any minute. What is it?" he asked.

"So I have been recruited to beg you guys to perform for us at our department event. My seniors are after me to get you guys on board. How willing would you be to do a couple of songs at the end of the competition?" 

"I guess we could do that. Depends on the others." Siddharth shrugged.

"Have you ever performed without him?" I asked.

I didn't need to take his name. Siddharth's expression darkened a little and he shook his head.

"Not really. I am sure you know that was the reason for most fights between Angad and me." 

I hummed and looked away. I did not want to engage him in a conversation about Angad and the cause of their differences for several obvious reasons. 

We sat in companionable silence till the others came and joined us. I proposed the idea to them and Yug and Shreyas were instantly onboard. 

"Thank you so much, guys. You have no idea how much you have helped us. I will ask Smriti to put your names on the poster." I said gratefully and called Smriti up to inform her of this development. 

When I hung up they were already discussing what songs they'd be playing. Siddharth was a no brainer as Angad's replacement since he had an amazing voice. 

I stuck around for a few minutes and then excused myself. 

I had only walked a few feet ahead when Deepani caught up with me. 

"Hey, Meera. How upset are you on a scale of one to ten?" she asked steering me towards the canteen. 

I deliberated her question till we were seated inside the canteen. 

"Eight?" I said unsure of my own answer. 

"Eight?" she asked in confirmation.

"I don't know Deepani. It could definitely be worse than this but I am upset and frustrated. This is all just so stupid. There are so many things I would like to change if I could go back in time but I don't know... If he would just listen to me, to Yug, to any of us this could all be over in a minute. If he hadn't run away from Goa this would not be happening. Why did he have to run off to London of all places? It just makes me so angry. But then again do I even have the right to be angry? I did mess up so many times..."

I paused after that to take a breath. 

Deepani wasn't expecting this influx of information so she didn't have a reply. Instead, she just looked at me tenderly.

"Okay, maybe it's a Nine," I said and laughed.

Deepani smiled sympathetically and we sat back for a few minutes. 

"You want to drown your sorrows in Samosa and Chai?" she asked. 

"Always," I grinned.

And for the next hour, we did just that.

***

The day of our Department event arrived soon after. 

My mother helped me drape a white saree before she left for work. I took a cab to college because I knew it would be awkward travelling in the metro wearing a saree especially since I wasn't used to it.

I arrived with plenty of time to spare before the event. 

I saw Smriti running about the place trying to set everything up in time. I tried to help her to the best of my abilities but the saree really limited my mobility. 

"Do I really have to wear this? I can sing just as well in the jeans I have brought to change into." I grumbled. 

"You know the mood to be set is austere," Mihir said hauling the banners from the top of the cupboard in our department room. 

"Is that why you had Red Wagon perform? They are austere?" I said narrowing my eyes. 

"Touché," he said and all the banners fell on top of him with a shower of dust. 

I jumped away from him to save my white saree as he stood there with a deadpan expression trying not to cough. 

"Perfect." he shook his head. I bit my lip to keep from laughing. He started gathering up the banners up.

"I don't know what you're grumbling about. You look pretty and it's only for a few hours. Take it off once Red Wagon starts performing." 

"Thank you for the compliment but I am supposed to keep this on till they come on stage?" I asked.

Mihir paused with an armful of banners and gave me a pointed look. 

"Yes," he said and left. 

I groaned and sat back down. 

Soon I was ushered to the auditorium for my performance. It was a breeze. I had sung this song a thousand times in school so I didn't even need to learn the lyrics or practice. 

There was polite applause after I ended the song and walked backstage. 

Karan instructed me to place marksheets on all the judges' desks before the events commenced. I did just that despite knowing it was not my job. Anything to avoid a conflict with him though.

I only had the chance to grab a quick snack during the whole event. Poor Smriti didn't even have that. I tried my best to slip her something to eat. 

Vahni made an appearance during a few competitions but we didn't get a chance to talk. 

It was finally four in the afternoon when things were winding down. The results were being announced and a new surge of people seemed to fill the space up. I was puzzled for a second before I remembered that they must be filing in to get good seats for Red Wagon's performance. 

I wondered if they knew that the lead singer would be MIA. 

I hadn't attended their last few practice sessions because I was busy with the event. I wondered what songs they'd be performing this time. 

Once the judges were done announcing results and the chief guests were honoured we got the green signal from the teachers to bring in the grand finale performance. 

Shweta and Mihir took to the stage to thank everyone for the success of the event. Then they announced that Red Wagon would be performing next. 

The cheer that went through the crowd made me giggle. They really adored Red Wagon. Who could blame them though? They were very good after all. 

I shook my head and saw Yug come up to the stage and set up his drums, Shreyas came in with his Guitar and Siddharth was the last to walk in. There was an individual cheer for every member. The audience seemed to wait for the last member to walk in but he didn't. 

Siddharth greeted everybody enthusiastically and that seemed to breathe back life into the audience. 

I smiled at him fondly. He had a great stage presence. The starting notes of Nirvana echoed from the speakers. Soon the audience was singing along to their rendition of 'Smell Like Teen Spirit'. 

Each time I watched them perform I was struck by how talented they were. The adoration seemed to be absolutely justified. Smriti came and stood next to me and we smiled at each other. 

No words were necessary. We both knew what we were thinking. We were happy with the success of the event, we were tired and Smriti knew watching Red Wagon perform made me miss Angad even more. 

The song was coming to an end and I turned to Smriti.

"Hey, I am going to go and change out of this saree. I'll be right back." I said and walked out into the corridor. 

I had just taken a few steps around the corner when there was a huge cheer from the audience. I looked back startled. And then a familiar voice sounded from the speakers. 

I froze. 

My heart sped up as I turned around and ran back towards the stage. Was I hallucinating? Was this the consequence of how much I had thought about him all day? 

It had to be. 

Because Angad Mehra stood on the stage next to Siddharth. 

A/N

Surprise! Another update. 

The reason for these quick updates is that we are at the end of Meera and Angad's story. 

The next chapter will be up soon and it will be the last one. I will do an epilogue though. Stay tuned!