Beneath the Golden Chain (BtGC)

LIFE IS UNEXPECTED

'Dear students, now it's your turn. You can apply to the clubs you wish to join. If there's a huge rush in any club, auditions will be conducted. Music club, sports club and film club will have an audition irrespective of the count. Those who wish to take part in club activities later, please remember that only the members of the club will be given chances to perform later. So, please join any club asap.' Teacher read the notice. And that became a hot topic of discussion later. 'I wish to join the music club. But there's an audition,' Ashna said. 'So what? Just go through it. It might not be so hard,' I encouraged her. 'But I become so nervous when facing a crowd. And I have stage fear,' she said. 'Hey, what's there to be afraid of? Everyone else is also humans just like us. They are also facing this life for the first time. Just take the chance. And you are going to lose nothing,' I told her. 'Will you come along?' she asked. 'Huh? Me!? Have you heard my singing? I can't sing. If I come along with you, they might fire you too,' I said and we laughed.

I decided to join the film club. At first I wanted to join the arts club. But since Karthik was the head, I did not want to create more problems. Avoiding each other was nice as it brought less problems. If I joined that club, there were chances that we'll meet always, we'll chat and maybe he'll become distracted. Also, there's a good probability that his hopes will pop up again. So I thought it would be good to sacrifice the wish to join the arts club. Moreover, I loved acting. My instagram drafts were full of videos I acted, but never published. I had no guts to publish it. But I loved watching it. So I was happy to apply for the film club.

I heard from Lakshmi that she was applying for the sports club. She was the only girl from our class who opted for that one. Majority of the girls applied for the film club. And there were many who applied for the music club too. There were few people who couldn't choose as they were not interested in any of the clubs.

I accompanied Ashna for the audition. 'Oh my God. Look at the judges,' she said on standing in front. 'Who?' I asked. 'See for yourself,' she said. 'Oh...your...' she stuffed her hijab in my mouth before I complete. But he noticed her. 'Azhar is coming,' I gave her a warning. 'I am not blind. I can see,' she said. 'Are you both here for the audition?' he asked. 'Not me. Only her,' I replied. 'Are you here to see him, then?' he asked. 'See whom?' I asked back. 'Well...Reyansh,' he replied. 'Why would I come here to see him? I am here to accompany her,' I said. 'Oh. Sorry then. I can take care of her. You can leave if you are busy,' he said. 'What the hell? I am not busy. I won't leave her alone with you,' I replied. I saw a satisfying smile on her face. 'Why are you talking like I am gonna hurt her? Aren't we all friends?' he asked. 'Azhar, let's start,' Reyansh asked him to the seat. So I couldn't give an answer to him. But by that time, Reyansh noticed my presence. His expression said that he was happy to see me. 'Hey, don't tell me you are here to join the club,' he started. But I cleared the misunderstanding right away. 'Rad, I know you can't sing. But you can join if you are interested. I'll give you a special consideration,' he said. 'No, thanks,' I replied. 'Don't reject me like that. Please consider. We can have lots of fun in the future,' he said. 'Fun? With you? I'd rather die than have fun with you,' I replied. 'Oh. Get lost from my area then. Don't stand here as a bad luck,' he said on pushing me out.

'Rad, are you okay?' Karthik asked. 'What's this? Why do I keep on meeting bad luck?' I thought. 'Get your hands off her,' Reyansh told him. 'Don't act like a hero now. I saw clearly that you pushed her,' he said. 'Yes, that's right,' I agreed with him. 'What? Are you siding with him?' Reyansh asked. 'I am siding with the right, not evil,' I replied. 'Oh. Okay then,' he said angrily. I saw that Karthik was so happy. I did nothing. But he was smiling from ear to ear.

I waited for Ashna. She was so nervous. So I stood right in front of the door. Meanwhile, I clicked some pictures. Karthik stayed beside me. He was curious about many things. I couldn't avoid his questions as it was nothing personal. So we just had a healthy conversation. Reyansh was constantly staring at me. His eyes were fierce and I was afraid if he'd take that on Ashna.