Chapter-6

Flashback: One month ago continues

Navya followed Sonia and Rahul into a discotheque. The room was spacious, lit with colorful lights. Crowded visitors crowded the available chairs. A Disc Jockey (DJ) was seen in action on stage. Many visitors were engrossed in prancing and dancing around the stage.

Rahul led them to a table in the corner of the room. A white boy was sitting behind the desk, waving from a far.

"Hey, what's up!" Rahul said in a loud voice to match the frenetic music.

"What's up, dude!" the white guy replied. He immediately stood up, smiling at Sonia.

Sonia giggled, embracing the boy intimately. "Hi, Suraj!" Sonia said to Suraj in a delight way.

The white guy called Suraj winked at Sonia, then turned towards Navya.

"By the way, this is my friend, Navya," Sonia introduced Navya to Suraj.

With a bit of confusion, Navya shook hands with Suraj. They sat around the table. Sonia kept clinging to Rahul, so Navya couldn't help but to sit down next to Suraj.

"Nice! Now we all have partners," Rahul commented, greeted with laughter by the others, except Navya. Then Sonia and Rahul started chatting.

"Navya... What a unique name" Suraj suddenly spoke up. He smiled at Navya.  Unlike Rahul who looks scary, Suraj's appearance was much better seen. His brown hair was neatly combed. He wore a black short-sleeved shirt that contrasts with his white skin, and his face is also handsome.

"This name was given by my grandmother " said Navya.

"Oh, I see. What a beautiful name! You go to college, Navya?" Suraj asked to Navya. His bright blue eyes continued to stare at her.

"Yeah, I'm in the same class as Sonia." Navya said to Suraj.

"This is your first time here?" Suraj asked Navya. Navya nodded politely.

"Where do you come from?" Suraj again asked Navya a question.

"Jabalpur" Navya answered Suraj.

"Oh... But why you chose to study in Delhi. I mean there is also some good college in Jabalpur" Suraj asked Navya.

"It's a good place to study" Navya reasoned to Suraj.

"I agree. Delhi is really calm and comfortable for study. I also feel like home in Delhi" Suraj supported Navya's decision.

"Where are you from, Suraj?" Navya questioned for the first time.

"My father is from Australia, my mother is an Indian-American woman. We live in India. That's why I can say that I am an Indian, because I was born and raised in

India." Suraj said to Navya with laughter.

"No wonder your English is also fluent," Navya said to Suraj.

Suraj laughed again. "Many people are surprised when they hear me speak English. They wouldn't expect me to be able to speak this fluently. Actually, I'm doing research on Delhi culture to create YouTube content," Suraj continued to Navya.

"Oh, you're a YouTuber?" Navya asked surprisingly.

"Yes, one of my hobbies, apart from managing resorts in Australia" Suraj said to Navya.

Without being asked, Suraj continued to tell the story about him to Navya. Navya finds out that Suraj's parents own a resort in Australia. He is also a successful YouTuber. He came to Delhi to make a kind of documentary about Delhi.

"Come on, everybody! Let's dance!" suddenly Rahul cried out in a loud voice. He immediately stood up, took Sonia's hand to the center of the room, where it was already bustling with young children swaying.

"You wanna dance, Navya?" Suraj offered his hand to Navya.

"Mmm...." Navya hesitated a bit. To be honest she's not used to going to discotheques, let alone dancing with a new guy. But the way Suraj looked at her and the friendliness of Suraj made her lulled.

"Okay." Finally Navya accepted Suraj's hand.

Hand in hand, the two of them joined into the center of the room. Suraj started to sway, Navya still timidly following him. Next to her, she saw Sonia dancing so passionately with Rahul, their bodies pressed against each other.

"Let go of all your worries, Navya. There's nothing to worry about here. Anyway, we're free!" Suraj shouted loudly over the thumping music.

Navya untied her hair, letting her long, beautiful hair down. She began to adjust her wobble to Suraj's proficient one. 'That's right" Suraj said to Navya. Once she was immersed in the fun of dancing, her mind felt more free, her body also seemed to be addicted, not wanting to stop.

Throughout the night, Navya continued to dance with Suraj. She didn't even mind anymore when Suraj hugged her tightly. This euphoria was like ecstasy to her, taking away all her sorrows, though she didn't know for how long.

They only left around ten o'clock at night when their bodies were tired. Sonia asked Navya to go home with Suraj.

"Suraj brought his own car. Coincidentally, his house is also on the way of your house," Sonia reasoned to Navya.

"You're not coming home with me?" Navya asked in surprise to Sonia.

"No... I still want to continue with Rahul" Sonia answered in a half-whispered voice, blinking one eye.

Navya doesn't understand what Sonia means, but she doesn't want to ask more far. Especially seeing Rahul's continuous hug to Sonia's waist intimately. Eventually she accepted Sruaj's offer to drive her home.

"Where is your house, Navya?" Suraj asked when they were both in his BMW.

"At Shantiniketan, ten kilometres from here." Navya said to Suraj.

"Wow, what a coincidence! I live not far from there," Suraj responded enthusiastically.

The guy drove his car leaving the discotheque. Half an hour later, they arrived in front of Navya's house. Suraj was amazed to see the house.

"Wow...! Your house is really antique, Navya! It must be hundreds of years old," Suraj said while looking at the house.

"This is my grandparents' house, but they're dead now" Navya said in a low voice.

Suddenly her cell phone vibrated. Navya glanced at her phone, the name 'Papa' was written on it. "Oh, God! Why did Papa have to call me now?" Navya grumbled in her mind, then hastily turned off her cell phone.

"Why didn't you pick it up?" Suraj asked her. He seemed to be curious about the call.

"I'm tired. I'm just lazy to talk to my Papa," Navya said to him.

Suraj didn't said anything, he just smiled at Navya. Navya must admit, this Australian guy is indeed interesting. His face is handsome, his body is dashing, not to mention his stunning blue eyes.

"You had fun tonight?" Suraj suddenly asked her.

"Yes, I just found out, the discotheque is fun too." Navya replied him with a smile.

"I can show you more fun places in Delhi. How about I pick you up tomorrow?" Suraj asked Navya looking into her eyes.

Navya nodded steadily. "Okay, Suraj!" She said to him.

Since that day, Suraj often came to Navya's house. Many times they went alone, sometimes with Sonia and Rahul too. Their favorite destination was definitely a cafe or discotheque, where they can dance and have fun.

(After someday in college)

"How's your relationship with Suraj?" Sonia suddenly asked Navya while eating lunch together in the campus cafeteria one afternoon.

"What do you mean?" Navya pretended not to understand anything.

"Oh, it's you asking me this! Don't you know that Suraj has a big crush on you? What do you think why he's asking you to go on, if he doesn't mean anything?" Sonia asked Navya looking into her eyes deeply for an answer.

Navya was silent. Of course she knew what Suraj wanted, but her heart was still too sore to start a new relationship. She had never told Sonia or Suraj about Ronit. "If Suraj knew that I am only using him for run away and have fun, would Suraj still want to asked me out?" Navya asked herself in her heart.

"Suraj has everything Navya. He's rich, handsome, successful, very nice. In Australia, his house is really big, it's like a hotel!" Sonia grumbled at Navya. She was convincing her to date Suraj.

"I don't want to date anyone now" Navya responded her briefly.

"Uh... why? Don't tell me you've never been in a relationship." Sonia asked Navya.

"I want to focus on college first," Navya gave a perfect reason to Sonia.

Sonia looked at Navya's face in surprise, as if Navya said something very strange. But Navya still didn't want to tell Sonia the truth about her past. She want to keep her past only to herself.