74 The rehearsal

The next day, the gang again huddled together in Ryan's extravagant condo. Though Ryan departed to his room the moment he saw Zara ring the doorbell, through the window. He said he needed silence to work on something important but in reality he couldn't afford to entangle his eyes with Zara again. He didn't want a repeat of the previous day.

He had had trouble sleeping the previous night as Zara's words haunted him and he replayed the scene in his head. The way she had looked at him and made a fool of herself only to make him smile was proof that he had a long way to go.

Alice held a ruler in her hand and behaved like a strict teacher disciplining a student. "Walk with your head held high, keep your back erect and don't look around as if you are awed by the atmosphere. Look around as if you have been to much better places already."

Zara grumbled, "But there's no party atmosphere here."