Jivika~

Jumping at the sound, I glared at Lavanya. There she stood, grinning shamelessly after bursting the balloon which she had picked up from the ground, making sure that the attention of the entire crowd gathered was on us. Eyeing the fancy decorations skeptically, I observed the hoarding announcing the event, Euphoria 2019.

Or simply said, the biggest annual college fest in Asia. A technology fest in the morning, and a cultural fest once the sun sets. The reason why our school was shut for four days since our playground was taken up by the campus for setting up exhibition tents.

And every year we used to sneak inside the campus, laughing at the faces of people who stood waiting outside, just for entering. While we the ones, having friends from inside the campus who could bring us in anytime they wanted to. But that's the only help even they could do. Cause once you set your foot inside the campus, from there on even we had to stand in the long lines to get through.

At the moment I was tired of standing in the sun, that too in another long queue, waiting for the gates of lazer tag to open. Bored out of her wits, Lavanya couldn't be kept still. Frustrated, she shouted.

"Koi hamme ghusao naaa!"
["Someone push us in please!"]

The crowd around us mainly consisted of college students from all over the country. No matter from where no one could stop laughing at that statement of hers, a thought put behind all kinds of meanings it could create.

Can this day be any more embarrassing?

*

Walking on the road staring at trees lined up and labeled with their names, I poked Kiara since I had nothing else to do. She the one who was walking with me, screamed out a 'No Jivika!', before grinning like a Cheshire cat. Wriggling her fingers, that simple action sent me to fits of laughter. I was ticklish to the extent that doing such things when you are miles away from me, could make me go insane.

I looked up, trying to spot the others. Lavanya, Maahi, and Rhea walking together, with Lavanya in between them, sharing her pearls of wisdom like always. Kiara and I were behind them, not far enough cause we could make out what she was saying. Amaya and Laysa on the other side of the road, talking among themselves. This was normal, this was our normal.

Kiara and I crossed the road to join them since the road was unusually crowded cause of the fest. "Oh, look there!" shrieked Laysa, pointing at the herd of cows heading over. At the sight of that army, Maahi and Rhea joined us. But Lavanya did not.

There has to be that one person who would love to take photos every moment. Let it be of the cow or the cow dung. And Lavanya was one such person.

Zooming her phone close to the calf's nose, she freaked out when the young one gave a sudden jump, calling out to its mother. Stuck between the herd, she was close to crying, feeling helpless. Gaining her senses, Kiara walked over, pulling her out with the help of another guy passing by.

Trying to calm down the panicked Lavanya, we entered the cafe nearby and settled down to celebrate with a feast. Eight cheese pizzas stacked up on our table within minutes. Its aroma spreading happiness all over. Having a straight view of the park, I spotted a few figures looming around, playing Badminton.

"Is that Pranav?" asked Rhea.

Ah! Little Birdie got eyes on someone, I see.

"Is that Amaan, Shreyansh, Yug, and other guys from class?"

And that's how the tale of roasting started. By the time all of us were involved, we were having fits about it. Talk about attention. Taking note of the boisterous laughs we saw them craning their necks to have a look. Palming their faces at our sight, we could see the regret on their faces.

Joining them in the park, I let out a snort. The guys, all of them, wearing shorts below their knees. Clearly, they had met up for practice only. Passing Chandel, I let out a snort, again.

"Chicken legs, nice!"

Unbeknownst to us, a silent snap was heard, to capture the moment. Maahi couldn't help but point it out to Amaya. This Roy and her phone, both are trouble! Memories were important. And for once, I agree, this was something I would like to remember forever. After lots of arguments and disagreements, the whole group, both the boys and we, walked towards the open lawn games arcade together. Many others from our class joined us on the way, and soon enough, all the small groups turned into a big one. Almost our whole class was there.

Entering the arcade, the roar of racing bikes reached my ears first. And in less than a minute, half of the people who were with us disappeared, just like that. Rhea, Amaya, and Laysa rushed towards the Donuts stall, diving into it.

Standing in the queue for the Giant Bubble Sumo game, Kiara and I paired up for it. In the game, we are half-encased inside an inflated bubble and made to stand at the opposite corners of the ring. On the count of three, both the opponents had to rush towards each other and push with all the strength they had.

"Come on Jivika! You are a Punjabi kuddi! You have to win this!"

Yes, I had to win this. Entering into the ring with Kiara, I struggled straightaway with the bubble. Somehow I had managed to get stuck inside it and the assistant who was in charge of this event helped me with it. I playfully glared at Kiara who was laughing her ass off, watching me struggle. Explaining the rules to us and saying that we had three chances, the assistant stood by the side, starting the count. I peeked at Amaya and Maahi who were busy recording with their phones.

"Chance one! Three, two, one, go!"

Running towards Kiara, I bumped into her. I might have taken her lightly. The next thing I remembered was being on the floor, thrown away. Getting up, I brushed my pants and set into my stance again. Believe in yourself Jivika, believe.

"Chance two! Three, two, one, go!"

Again, I was on the floor. Kiara gave me her hand, laughing at the same time. The whole crowd had gone bonkers. This was a first-hand embarrassment. The assistant walked into the ring, giving me advice on how to win.

"Girl please, win this time at least! Chance three! Last one! Three, two, one, go!"

I was laughing. My glasses had flown away somewhere, literally. This time too, Kiara had successfully pinned me to the ground. She was laughing and so was I. Even the crowd. Imagine, falling three times, that too on my face. Cheeks burning with embarrassment, I dragged Kiara out of that place. While the others followed us, clutching their stomachs and laughing.

"SO WHO ALL WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER? YOU PRETTY GIRL OVER THERE, COME ON UP! AND YOU HANDSOME DUDE TOO! COME ON, DON'T BE SHY!"

The anchor who had spotted us waved and called me and Amaan on the stage. Prepping myself for more embarrassment, I worriedly glanced at the over-enthusiastic anchor.

"Now, you tell me your name first."

"Amaan."

"Nice name! And you, pretty girl?"

"Jivika."

"Chivika? Unique!"

"Uh, it's Jivi—"

"So we've Aman and Chivika with us today! Give them a round of applause! Now, we are gonna play a game. Both of you, go and stand by the two tables. We are gonna have a competition between the two of you. You see all the cups lying on the table? Arrange them into a pyramid. Easy right? But here is the catch. No hands. You have to use your mouths to lift the cups and hands behind your backs! Ready? Okay. In five, four, three, two, one, start!"

Trapping the rim of the paper cup with my lips, I set to work. Peeking a glance at my opponent, I knew that he was going to win this at any cost. He was already constructing the third row of his pyramid, while I was stuck making the first one. Shifting a bit towards his side, I blew over his hard work, making it topple in seconds. Sticking my tongue out, I proceeded to make mine as he whined about how unfair I was. The anchor whose hair flying with the wind patted his shoulders and said, "It's okay. Sometimes you have to let your girlfriend win!".

Grinning at that comment, none of us bothered to correct her as she lived in her own delusions. Walking away from the stage, Lavanya showed me her phone gallery which was now completely filled with Amaan and my photos. Snatching the device from my hands before I could delete them, all of us moved towards the park as we wanted to spend our afternoon there.

"Jivika paani hai? Saare bottles khaali hai."
["Jivika, do you have water? All bottles are empty."]

"No. Even I'm feeling thirsty."

Feeling my throat drier than ever, I glared at the stubborn sun. Kiara was fanning herself with her bag, and Maahi was lost in her thoughts. Snapping her fingers, the latter called Lavanya and pointed towards one of the balconies of the building right next to the park. Lots of whispering and mumbling happened between the duo of best friends, and finally, Lavanya set to action while Maahi moved away, hiding almost.

"Krish!"

"KRISH!"

"KREEEESH!"

"How did you know?" I asked Maahi as she mumbled something about family-friends and Lavanya's chemistry with Krish. Lavanya's yelling resulted in Krish's mother walking out to the balcony who smiled at her sight. Along with his mother, Maahi's mother also walked out, grinning as she spotted us. Oh yes, they were family friends, always visiting each other. After a few minutes, we saw him running into the park with bottles of chilled water in his hands. Moving a bit closer towards Maahi, I asked her to clear out my curiosity.

"Maahi, what was your mother asking you? I noticed that eye-conversation between you and aunty!"

"Oh, nothing. She knows somewhat a lot about Lavanya and Krish. And I was affirming her curiosity. She's pretty chill as long as it's not me who is in a relationship. Mother knows best!"

Laughing at the situation, I gladly accepted the bottle of water and gulped it down. Passing it over to Amaan, I sat watching the sun touch the lake. The campus was worth watching. Charming even. I watched Lavanya fighting with Krish over his DSLR camera, as they both strolled around the park, searching for a perfect place to click some pictures. Laysa, Rhea, and Kiara bitching about Shekhar uncle, our physics tuition teacher. Maahi and Amaya sneakingly fish out Kiara's phone and read out her chats with Pratik. Shreyansh and Parth enacted a lovey-dovey Kiara and Pratik with utmost perfection, which gained them cheers and hoots from their audience, that is the rest of our class.

With all this happening, how am I supposed to concentrate on my thumb-fight with Amaan?

And that's how he got my thumb trapped under his, giving out a cheer of victory. I was very competitive, always. Partly the reason why Pratik and I never got along. But this time, despite losing the thumb fight, I smiled. I don't know why. And I might never know why. Maybe it was the picturesque scenery or maybe the chaotic company inside the park. Whatever it was, I felt contented.

I looked.

He looked.

We looked away.

And we looked back again.

~