Page 15 of One Indian Girl
Everyone laughed and cheered at the suggestion.
‘No way,’ I said.
‘Yes way. Here take this. Bottoms up.’ Saloni gave me a half-filled champagne glass. I gulped it in one go. My head felt light.
‘Go!’ Aditi didi clapped her hands.
I walked up to the bar.
‘Hi there,’ I said to the man. He wore a white vest and jeans. He had two rings on his right hand and a dragon tattoo on his right shoulder.
‘Hi there, young lady,’ he said. His accent sounded Australian. I had to confirm it.
‘Are you an Australian cricketer?’
He laughed. ‘No, mate, I am Australian but I am no cricket player. Like watching it, though.’
‘Aren’t you Philip Lee?’ I made up a name on the spot.
‘Is he even a player?’ he said and sipped his beer.
‘You aren’t Philip?’
‘No,’ he said. ‘Can I buy you a drink, young lady?’
‘Well, who are you then?’
‘I’m Mark. What drink would you like?’
‘A tequila shot.’
Mark ordered a pair of shots. I had accomplished two out of the three tasks.
‘Cheers,’ he said as we took the shot.
I put the glass on the table.
‘You here on holiday?’ Mark said.
‘Actually, I am here to get married.’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah. I have to go. Bye, Mark.’
Before he could react I kissed his head.
‘Thanks for the drink,’ I said and scooted out of there.
The girls gave me a standing ovation. Everyone had a shot as a mark of respect for my courage.
‘Okay, no more,’ I said as Mark winked at me from the bar.
The girls were hysterical. We finished four champagne bottles. We ordered four more. I don’t really know when we started to dance. The DJ played tracks like ‘Subah hone na de’ and ‘Baby doll’. Some men in the club tried to flirt with my little cousins. Aditi didi shooed most of them off. We had selfie binges as the fifteen of us took photos in every possible permutation and combination. An hour later, another group of boys arrived at the club. It took us girls a minute to realize the situation.
‘Oh my God. It’s Brijesh jiju and his gang!’ Saloni said.
Brijesh came up to me on the dance floor.
