Arshi FF: Tune Into Me-chapter:26 Updated Page 101 - Page 57

Superb update. .

I like khushi coversation with her father... She doesn't want to have western food but his father is right.. Online cookery websites are free source so why trouble your father... 😉

Loved Arnav and khushi's little bickering... And above all loved her concern for him... Their relationshiop is changing which they are trying not to think about... Awww. . Khushi offered to cook for him... That was so cute... And the last part was heart warming and brought a huge smile on my face.. Loved them..

A beautiful story. comes after a lot of waiting. But each chapter is worth the waiting.

Hey! This is a wonderful story! I really really really enjoyed reading it. The freshness of the entire concept is refreshing! I loved it. Please pm when you post next!

Dee... Pls update soon.. Hav been anxiously waiting for it... Cant wait anymore... Update soon... Pretty please...

Apologies for the delay Again. I truly feel shameful to even apologise now! But Life sometimes really does demand attention. I really appreciate all of you all for keeping up with me and the only way I can let you know that I'm truly grateful is by giving faster updates.I'm trying and I'll get there.!

This one dedicated to all those who come to this thread timely, drop in reminder comments again, to check on me. You know who you are and I love you all! Just a couple of chapters and the story will come to its crucial part. It will then make more sense.And then there is long long way to go. Very Long!

And one honest thing. Being with this story, writing it and living along with it in my daily life, planing sequences when I'm not finding time to write... is the best time I'm giving myself.

Tune Into Me

23: A Bridesmaid, A Loner:

If one looked at the Edinburgh city, in a track-in-shot view, all that's recorded visually, audibly, is music. And just music.

The whole of Scotland with Edinburgh as its centre is getting ready for the Fringe festival. The auditions were still going on, at a racing pace now that the attention has shifted from international category to street category. The organizers more or less travelled, with small booths on famous streets, and many music enthusiasts eagerly presented their skills. The city was beaming with the traditional red colour and the streets were adorned with dancers, musicians, singers, struggling actors, stand-up comedians, theatre dramas; the streets in the city have completely reformed into a stage that showcased a talent as divergent as the whole world.

One of these days as Arnav, took his trip to the city from Belhaven, to shop for electronic instruments, he was literally shoved into the streets of celebrations. Gobsmacked . The celebration was such, as he walked the lanes of the now familiar city that he couldn't help but be drawn into the enthusiasm. The white and red traditional highland dresses, the sound of those typical bagpipes, the aura of delicious street food from every corner and the sudden warmth settled within everyone around. Edinburgh has turned magnificent.

As the sun was setting down in the far west, and evening setting in, Arnav walked from one store to another, along the footpath, amidst the festivity, smiling and observing everything around with keen interest. A brand new guitar, in its brand new bag was hanging across his one hand and shoulder, while an electronic keyboard, in its rectangular box being held in his another hand. With the white of the day around slowly turning into black, small little drizzles slipped away from the sky above. Soon, it began to rain, dark and straight lines of the pouring, shown across the big lavish Scotland buildings. Needless to mention, the celebrations were interrupted as people from the streets ran across to find a shelter. So did Arnav, as he found himself slipping away into a small pub.

He dusted the water droplets off his leather jacket, while walking towards the counter, to order for his bear.

"You look like you need some help, there"

He heard a kind of familiar voice, forcing him to turn around. Camron.

Arnav didn't really manage to pull up a pleased or surprised look on his face. He tried though. And he didn't know the reason for his frown either. Not that his frown was in anyway evident, but he knew he felt a frown on his own face.

"Camron..." he smiled. This was a better attempt.

"Arnav" He hated the accent with which he took his name. But his smile soon turned into that of a genuine gratitude, as Camron took the Keyboard box from his hand, offering help.

"Thanks. Uh, One Beer please?" He turned to order at the counter. For some odd reason, he did feel like a foreigner. He just realized, he was one.

"Which one?" The broad middle-aged man, with almost pink face and bright red-hair, countered him from behind the counter; his thick Scottish accent falling hard over Arnav's ears. Arnav looked at the menu, engraved on the large wall behind the counter. There was a huge list of foreign Beers, he never tasted. All with weird names.

"Light or high?" Camron walked to stand next to him at the counter, mirroring Arnav's posture of looking at the wall-menu.

"Uh, high" Arnav answered, sceptically.

"Flavoured or boiled?"

"They boil Beer?"

"Uh..huh"

"Okay, if I'm invading, why not both?"

"Lemon, bitter or sweet?"

Arnav now thought for a good few seconds. They still were looking just at the wall-menu and not each other. "Lemon" he stated what looked like instinctively.

"Okay, citr..."

"Can you just...just order the real good one please? Or something regular that you order?"

"Sure?" Cam enquired.

"Positive"

"Alrighty, give us two medium. 40% Radical Road, 40% Raj IPA and 20% Goldeneye;In those proportions"

Once the Beers have been paid and the order was received, they walked to the nearby bar-stool with their respective jugs, setting up the musical instruments aside and jugs on the long linear high table.

"What's with the weird names?" Arnav asked trying to get into a comfortable space with Camron. Arnav tried to imagine, if he would walk up to and help his best friend's not-so-friendly-egoistic-Casanova-enemy, if he was Cam. His imagination was blank. And so, he could try and make a good conversation, at least, to mentally make up for his lack of manners.

Cam then gestured with his eyes, down at the table and as Arnav followed his vision, he saw the long description of varied beers with their names, in printed format over the table. Arnav tried to recall the names which Cam ordered for them and soon he spotted them. Next few minutes, he was filled in about the make of the beer, which he was so diligently savouring at the very moment.

{{{

Radical Road

Three different hops are added to the kettle at five different stages during the boil. This makes for the highest hopped beer in the Stewart Brewing repertoire and of course some very hoppy beer!

Goldeneye IPA

Full body and rich gold colour comes from a blend of wheat, pale ale and crystal malts. Its floral and lime citrus nose is created by the extensive use of carefully selected New World aroma hops.

Raj IPA

This IPA is hopped with three popular British hops to produce a deep lingering taste, complementing the underlying malts for a memorable pint.

}}}

"There are a lot of Beaveries around town and this is their sole business. These people mend, boil and mix beers, in proper traditional way and hence there are so many combinations."

"Interesting. And very captivating too. The taste. Thanks actually"

"No problem"

That was about it. A normal casual conversation about beers, between two guys, who didn't really have any reason to communicate beyond that. Just silent company that they offered each other. Arnav resumed his people-watching in the pub, and Camron, did pretty much the same too. It had been a hectic day. Busy, for the two of them. And a beer is just what they needed. A silent company added to it, wouldn't harm as much, anyway.

A lone locale, sharing his lonely evening with a foreigner who at the moment looked nothing different from a loner himself---- A lonely musician; someone who didn't know the mundane aspects of living as such"like the bear is made out of beavering and boiling; An alone traveller. Well almost.

At the moment though, that's how he came across to Camron. As for Arnav, he was just living in the moment. He wasn't trying to asses Camron, like he thought he would a few minutes earlier. He could see himself not wanting to be fond of the Scottish man, but for that he would need to find reasons first. For now, there weren't any. Not as yet.

Arnav, was alone yes. But not lonely. Contrast to the him, back in Mumbai where he was never alone, but had always been lonely.

"I, uh, could use a drive back home, if you...don't mind? The bus gets really hectic with these..." Arnav asked just as they emptied their glasses, referring to his instruments.

"Sure, but I'll have to pick up my sister and her fiance, from the store nearby. Wedding shopping"

"Oh, no problem. And thanks again"

Just as the pouring in the exterior, paused, the two men jogged out of the pub and quickly escaped into Cam's car, in order to protect the instruments from the slight drizzling that's still on. Down the road, after a couple of minutes of drive, Clare and Steve rushed into the vehicle, as the pouring started to increase again. Amidst the evening busy city, traffic, owing to rain and the festival that was wrapping up for the day and chaos because of the very reason, the four people in the car, could take a deep breath, relaxed and relieved only when the car finally hit the highway that lead to Belhaven.

"Oh lord! Finally..." Clare sighed, pushing herself back to lean on the seat, behind Cam, as if she had been helping Cam in his job behind the wheel. "Arnav" she said after a brief pause.

He did all he could to not react to the thick foreign pronunciation of his name. "Hi..." He smiled, arching his head to the side.

"I never got a chance to properly thank you for the performance at my party. It was mesmerizing!"

"Thank you."

Steve and Cam exchanged a look in the rear mirror. "I'm sorry I couldn't catch up with you back then, let's start again, what say?"

"Sounds like a plan. Congratulations on your engagement" Arnav now turned to his side, in order to be able to greet the both of them. "Thanks bud.." Steve, took his hand and shook it firmly.

"Thank you" Clare smiled, a cheerful one, taking his hand next , while exchanging a gleaming look with her fiance.

"So you're a musician, huh" Clare continued the small talk.

"Yeah, so they say" there was a group laughter. "Humility ey?" Steve teased. The questions continued.

"So, what brings the famous musician of India here?"

"The Fringe festival"

"Wow! You are taking part in it? Which category?"

"Light Music..."

"Does that mean you will be creating proper complete songs and perform?" Cam spoke this time, falling into the conversation.

"Wow, you know about music...?" Arnav was surprised.

"Well, not really. It's the Fringe Festival that I know in and out of. I worked there as intern; the year after college"

"So you've given your audition?" Clare continued with her questions.

"Yes, I was one of the last ones to give. I got through though"

"But the auditions are still going on all over!?, aren't they?" Steve suggested.

"Steve.." Cam offered to explain, just when he opened his mouth. Arnav nodded.

"There are different areas internally too. It's a huge festival. The audition that Arnav gave is exclusively for already-in-fame musicians from across the world. Whatever is going on now, on the streets is for the locals. The ones who might not be able afford great instruments and equipment and everything. The competition would be different for everyone. It's the same with dance, drama etc.,"

"It's surely is a learning experience, I hear. But what brings you here Arnav? Really?" It was Steve who asked this time.

Money.Fame. Condition of employment for something but not music. A deal. A quest to not fail anymore in something in which he had been failing. These were all the possible answers that he could give. And more.

"Just to invade" He spoke, nonchalantly.

"Invade the country?"

"No silly! The music within him" Cam came to his rescue yet again. "It's an artist thing Cul! You wouldn't understand, what's the distantly close art form you've ever known in your whole life??" he teased his sister and earned himself a slap on the back.

"Creative people would require to keep themselves inspired, all the time. Right Arnav?" Steve added to that. By this time Arnav slowly started to turn away. Soon, the conversation thankfully shifted to the wedding preparations and he remained nonchalant to all of that. His eyes found the moving objects exterior to the moving car window, and within moments he was lost. Somewhere, he didn't know. There was some sudden heaviness inside his chest. Maybe it was guilt. He really didn't know.

**

The next event or voice or name that had managed to get him back to his senses was only when the car took the long turn, right at Gupta Villa, and took a diversion towards the back yard.

"Khushi you arrogant asshole!"

It was Clare, yelling right into his ears from behind. It was the first time he heard her foreign friends call her Khushi and not K. The name sounded foreign too, in Clare's accent. He should really get over this accent obsession. He was being very inhuman. Asshole.

His eyes found Khushi, sitting on a wooden plank on the shore, outside her home, talking her usual way with Coco. She looked up too, just in time and to his surprise, she instantly pulled her face into an astonished expression.

"No, No, no..." He could see her say. And then, she began to run away from the car, out onto the shore in that thick sand.

Coco started barking. Sameer uncle just giggled. And there was another car coming from the opposite side, with the same speed.

"Stop right there!" Clare screamed again and the next thing he knew, she jumped even before the car came to a halt and ran vigorously, over the shore, chasing right behind Khushi. Opposite to her, he saw Aileen, jump out of her own car and chase Khushi, both the women a little behind Khushi. A vigorously running Khushi.

"What the hell is going on?" Arnav asked, hopping out of the car.

"K doesn't want to be the bridesmaid" Steve, said hopping out alongside him, as Cam moved the wheels ahead parking the car in place.

"So?"

"Clare doesn't really have much of a choice. Plus, she wants both K and Aileen to be there"

"And the drama queen here, have to make a fuss about the whole dressing up" Sameer joined them and Arnav greeted him with a warm smile. "Unbelievable. Why didn't you give birth to a son instead uncle? Maybe then, we could have been friends..." Arnav joked with Sameer and they secretly shared a laugh. Steve and Cam started walking ahead of them towards the girls.

Arnav watched, as the three girls, chased each other, two aiming one, falling into the water at the waves, rolling and trying to stand, putting up one of those silly funny fight. Two guys walking towards them. The sounds of their laughs and fights echoed around. Sameer caught him intently looking on. Just looking on.

"How did your shopping go? Found right instruments?"

"I found the Keyboard with voice synthesizer. It's pretty good"

"Yeah?"

"But couldn't find the kind of Violin I was looking for" This time Arnav tilted his head, to look at Sameer. "You know the one with culture texture of the sound?"

"I get you. There is one Cello lying in that locked up room, if you would like to use it?"

"A Cello??" Arnav nearly screamed. "Seriously! What else is locked up in there?"

"Just a giant Piano and Cello. Those are the things that..."

"Yeah, I should have guessed. But locked up?" He released an exasperated sigh. "Unbelievable. Really. But, don't you think she would mind if I open the room?"

"Mind? She will get murderous. But we can talk" Sameer was trying to avoid the disappointment in his voice.

"You think?"

"We can always try"

He wouldn't have suggested it, if he wasn't hopeful this time around. Maybe he did see some change in his daughter lately. Maybe he was finding the traces of the Khushi he once knew in her again.

*

"Okay stop! Stop with this, you two!" they heard Khushi yell breaking away from the gang. In the little moment that they took their eyes away from the gang, Khushi managed to moisturize her attire with all the sand on the shore. Not just her, but almost everyone else.

"God I didn't know you getting married will cost me all this drama!" She continued with her fussing. Sameer caught the look in Arnav's eye again as they both looked at the scene ahead. He excused himself to go inside.

"K, either you are coming as my bridesmaid, or this is the end of us" Clare climaxed the argument. "I'm with her in this" Aileen agreed. "Come on K! It's just a day!" Steve pleaded.

"Come on K! For me?" Cam wrapped a hand around her. Arnav continued to look.

"Will you agree to be my date again?" Khushi pouted looking up at Cam.

Arnav looked on. Now glaring

"So you can wear whatever you want?! Those shitty Tees? No!" Clare declared again. "Let me rephrase my statement--- Either you're being my bridesmaid, wearing the dress I decide for you, or THIS IS THE END OF US" the last part, Aileen and Clare repeated it in unison.

Khushi huffed. Steve stood helpless. Cam's hand was still around Khushi's shoulder. A little more wrapped now, as if he was urging more. Arnav looked on. Pointedly.

"Please K! She's going to make the rest of my life hell, if you don't agree. Please! For me?"

Cam requested, now standing facing her. His both hands on her shoulders. They looked directly at each other. Arnav looked at them. Darkly.

"Okay FINE!" she announced. For Arnav, she agreed to Cam.

"Fine what?" they probed.

"I agree to be the bridesmaid"

Cam squealed and then hugged. Arnav, turned around swiftly and walked away. There was a group hug that followed. He didn't see. He heard laughs though. He didn't turn around. He heard giggles, but still he managed to hear just the giggles of two people among the group. He imagined them giggling together. He heard, until he was out of the vicinity. He then thought, he wouldn't hear them any longer.

He was wrong. The laughs lingered in his ears. He continued to hear them, for long.

Dedee, welcome back.🤗

thank u thank u thank u...

oh...so Arnav is jealous of Cam, is it ? thats good, jealousy is always good...and he being a casanove himself, shouldnt feel so...but anyways...

Arnav is jealous :) i think cam is in love with khushi. What about khushi?