Chapter 24

Chapter 21(C)

          

           The event was a success. Only two dances down and the crowd was all pumped up, demanding more. The trustees and other VIPs also appeared impressed with the dances so far. Backstage Swayam, Sharon and Aashi, now dressed and ready, were warming up. It was their turn to perform next and they were just waiting for their cue from the stage crew. Sharon was anxious, though she tried her best to rein those feelings in and not let anything show. But if she thought nobody would notice, she probably still had loads to learn about Swayam Shekhawat.

 

                              Though he kept denying that he harbored any feelings for her and was bent on proving it to himself and others that she didn't matter, that he was over her, he couldn't help himself from not noticing the most miniscule changes in her. His senses were always fine-tuned when it came to Sharon. So when he saw her getting fidgety and apprehensive, his anger took a backseat and he made his way over to her.

                    "Hmmm...Kabhi socha nahin tha ke aisa bhi din dekhne milega", he said tauntingly. He knew the only way to calm Sharon down was to rile her up. Ironic wasn't it? Reverse psychology Swayam thought and he was a master at it.

On hearing him address her, Sharon was at first shocked, then his question registered in her mind. "What do you mean?", she asked.

"Yahi, ke Sharon Rai Prakash, jiski life ka sole maksad tha apne dance se sabko captivate karna. jo attention ke liye jiya karti thi, aaj wohi Sharon stage par jaane se dar rahi hai."

"Oh please! Kuch bhi nonsense bolte rehte ho tum! Tumse kisne kaha ki main dar rahi hoon?"

He stepped closer to her and took her hand in his. For a moment, it was as if time didn't exist at all. All the surroundings became a blur and they became acutely aware of how close they were standing to each other. Somebody shoved Swayam by mistake and they both came crashing out of their little bubble. Swayam cleared his throat and pointed towards her hand currently engulfed in his. Her hand was stone cold.

"Main tumhe apne haath rub karte huye kab se dekh raha hoon. You are obviously worried and tensed. But reason meri samajh nahin aaya. Sab set hai. Hamari choreography ready hai, thanks to Aashi and you. What's the problem?"

She stood silent and Swayam knew it would be useless trying to get her to admit she had a problem, let alone convince her to share it with him. As he began to walk away from her, he heard her call out his name.

"Swayam!" He turned around whooping mentally on accomplishing his mission.

                                                                                                                                  *********

Sharon made a spur-of-the-moment decision in confiding Swayam when she saw him walking away. It was not about her and no matter how much the world thought otherwise, Sharon wasn't selfish. She cared about others too. And this dance was important for St. Louis.

"I am...you know...umm..." she struggled. Before Swayam could interject, she quickly asked, "mujhe phir se attack aagaya toh?" Swayam understood her concern and worry immediately. She never had to worry about jeopardizing a performance before. She was an exceptional dancer, never forgot her steps and had the knack of improvising in case anything went awry. But her asthma was something that rendered her helpless and incapable. She was afraid of making a mockery of herself again.

He returned back to her, and led her close to the stage. He pointed to two helpers standing on either side of the stage and then at the technician handling the spotlights. "In donon ke paas tumhare inhalers already hain. In case tumhe attack aata bhi hai, rush to anyone who is closest to you. Spotlight dada, tumse spotlight hata denge. There is a cape on either side of the stage. Woh helpers tumhe de denge. Apna dose lekar cape ke saath wapas aajana and join the dance again when you find an opening."

 

Saying this he walked off leaving Sharon open-mouthed and flabbergasted. The amount of thought and preparation Swayam had done just went to show how much he truly loved her. He was mad at her. She had broken his trust. And yet here he was, putting her worries above all others and making sure she was comfortable. She wondered what good she had done in her past life to have found Swayam in her present one.

 

                                                                      *******

"Hello everybody! Itna hi kaafi hai ya do you all want more?" The crowd yelled to be offered more.

"So tayyar hojayiye! For the first ever Trio Dance to be performed at St. Louis. Makes some noise for the three gems of our Dance Team Swayam, Sharon and Aashi! Take it away guys!" Rini said and made her way backstage. She was beginning to have fun. Looking past the nervousness now, she felt she could carry the event on her own. If she managed to introduce the next act properly, this event would mean a 100% success to her.

 

The lights dimmed and Swayam, Sharon and Aashi took their positions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s80GFNkAWWs (you all know what to do! Please watch it)

The applause that the trio received a soon as their performance was so loud and thunderous that one might think it may have reached the skies. Everybody felt the energy and chemistry of the dance and so engrossed were they all in the magical web woven by those three, that it took a while for everyone to realize that the dance was over. And as soon as that realization set in, so did the demand that the dance be repeated again. But since there were all running a tad bit late, Swayam, Sharon and Aashi took a bow and returned back stage.

The scenario backstage was no different. Nobody had seen their dance before tonight and to say they were shocked would be the biggest understatement of the century. The boys had to perform next, but nobody seemed to be bothering to get ready. Bharat and Amar had to still pull their hands through their coats. Vicky held one shoe that he was supposed to wear at least ten minutes ago in his hand and Nil hadn't even changed out of his quickstep costume. The girls were no different. Simmi and Rini were sure Sharon and Aashi would pull each other's hairs out before working out a routine together, let alone performing it. Neha and Kria looked equally surprised.

          The only people who weren't the least bit surprised at the outcome were Rey and Niyati. The moment they got off stage, Rey rushed to hug his best friends and Aashi, congratulating them all the while. Niyati stood at a distance, observing the scene in front of her while surreptitiously taking pictures of the gang's reactions. She had promised to give Taani a scene by scene replay.

Sharon was relieved. There was no other expression for what she felt when they ended the dance. She had managed to pull through without any mishaps. She hadn't let anyone down. But the happiness was soon eclipsed by her realization that nobody was ready. "What the hell guys!" She screamed! "Tum logon ki performance next hai aur tum sab tayyar nahin ho! You all have five minutes. Agar itne time mein tum sab tayyar hokar wapas nahin aaye, toh mujhse bura koi nahin hoga. Get it?" Everybody scattered before she could even bat an eyelid. Boys she muttered.

                                                                      **********

"Hello people!! We meet again! Aur in case aap sab soch rahe ho ke main akeli hi stage par kyun hoon, toh main aapko bata doon, na hi mera apne co-host se koi jhagda hua hai aur na hi woh Backstage kahin kho gaya hai. Balki, all the boys of Team D3 have something very special in store for you all. Toh der kis baat ki? Presenting the Boys of Team D3!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm3fcOmbzWI ( you have to watch this! Its insane!!)

 

Precap- Team D3 performance

[NOCOPY]

[MEMBERSONLY]

anu142016-02-12 11:19:17