We were in class 9, meaning we had to organize the farewell party for the outgoing seniors. I always hated going on the stage for any other purpose except hosting.
This time, I was also working on some other things. So I planned to be backstage for the whole event even while announcing.
We thought of inviting each one of seniors onto the stage by singing songs…like songs with lyrics modified to include their names.
There was a guy I worked with for selecting the songs and changing the lyrics. We both used to go to his apartment cellar and sing loudly while experimenting with the lyrics. We did this for about a week before we finalized the songs.
This guy was a good singer, so he had to sing them on the day of the event, backstage, of course. But I had to sing along on a few of them to avoid any monotony in the vocals.
So, everything was set. I was backstage holding a mic and occasionally adjusting the volume on an old Ahuja amplifier.
“ What is the first programme..??”, I heard someone asking me from behind.
I turned back to see her. She was standing there with a pen and paper in her hand.
I gave her the details, and she left.
The event started. That guy who had to sing reached with his book, which had the songs. It was a Diary. We both started singing the songs and inviting our seniors on stage.
We did an excellent job with lyrics and the songs as there were cheers every time we sang..!! But the response was mostly due to this guy singing them. He was a celebrity in our school.
“ Did you work on these songs..??”, she asked, appearing out of nowhere.
I replied “ Yes. We both worked on this “, pointing to this guy.
“ Nice..!! you sing well too !!”
It was the first, and the last time anyone said that to me. I am a terrible singer.
But I was a little surprised as she was a good singer. She was a regular in the prayer choir. So, I thought she was sarcastic.
“Thank You.!!”, I replied after thinking for a few seconds.
“I’ve been assigned to coordinating the programmes. So I’ll be running around here for the whole event”, she said.
“Oh..!! Okay!!” I said.
This guy left, and I was still there announcing the next programme.
She was still standing there looking at me. I felt a bit uneasy. Then she came towards me and said
“ I’ll stay here. So it will be easy for both of us. I can tell you the status of the next programme, and you can announce them.”
And she stood beside me.
I turned to look at her only to find my image in her eyes.
This point was the starting of my alternate timeline in which I am living right now.
