Kavya opened the door for room service. She had ordered samosas and sandwiches. My stomach told me that my previous thought that I was not hungry was incorrect. Together, we sat and ate, drinking our iced tea and speaking excitedly about the line-up. By the time we were dressed, I had taken over fifteen photos for later posts.

Entering the festival took my breath away. The massive stage was overshadowed only by the biggest Ferris wheel I had ever seen. Our VIP bands saw us being ushered quickly to a tent decorated with Burn Promotions paraphernalia, food and alcohol on tap. Kavya squealed, making her way to the gift table. A hand touched my lower back; I swung around and was met by Gaurav, smiling smugly.

‘Don’t touch me, Gaurav; you lost that privilege a long time ago.’

He took a step back, pretending my words had wounded him. ‘Look Jhanvi, we have two days here together. I just came over to say that I think we are both mature enough to get through this without any more drama.’

I rolled my eyes at him. ‘Fine,’ I said. ‘Where’s your hanger-on?’

‘She’s in the hotel room.’ He brushed a hand through his hair. ‘She’s angry; she says she can see I still have feelings for you.’

‘That’s ridiculous,’ I shot back. ‘You should try dating in your age group, though. Children do tend to have tantrums.’

He shook his head at me. ‘Always a smart answer. I do miss that.’ He took a step forward.

My heart dropped to my stomach. I put my hands up to stop him from moving any closer. ‘No, Gaurav,’ I said. ‘You hurt me, we’re over, and I am not going to be the reason that girl is devastated. I know all too well what it feels like to be cheated on. Or have you forgotten?’

I turned my back on him, eyeing the space for Kavya. She was talking to a guy near the gift table; she seemed to be enjoying herself. A woman walked past me with drinks on a tray. I grabbed two, downing the first without thinking. The cold sour liquor sent shivers down my back; the second drink seemed not to have any effect. I placed the glasses back on the tray. Kavya looked over to me and smiled. I smiled back, motioning that I was going to look around; I made my way to the bar.

‘Vodka,’ I said, ‘straight.’ Looking over my shoulder, I saw that Gaurav was still standing where I’d left him; his eyes were fixed on me. I turned to the bartender. ‘Make it a double.’

10

ASHRAY

Isn’t friendship strange? The notion that two or more people can find each other in the maddening crowd and exist together, to make each other happy, to offer comfort and support in ways that our blood relations never could. That a love could be forged between two people, a love that exists not to perpetuate the population of humankind, but rather to allow us to bond with another person who completes some part of us that we have lost along the way.