221 Day 1 Contd...(1)

Mriga nodded her head and followed Vandit, as he kept up the chatter. The tents had an openable flap, like a window, on the back side through which they could see the proceedings of the arena.

By the time Mriga reached inside the tent, there was already a clamour as the girls jostled to get a better view of the outside.

Suddenly a hand snaked out and pulled her in, forcibly making the girls make space for her.

Yash grinned as the rest of the girls muttered curses under their breaths.

"I think it is very important that you should see what you are up against," he murmured in her ear before straightening up and focusing outward.

Mriga's eyes were taking in the hordes of people and the frenzy which seemed to be all pervasive.

"Oh my god! What is she planning to do?" one of the girls suddenly exclaimed.

"Huh! She is one of the definite last four contenders for the throne. Did you think that she will sit and create music from water filled bowls to show as her specialty?" another girl jeered.

The entire room quietened down, so did the crowd as they saw Vindhya stand still and have a black thick napkin getting tied around her eyes from a teammate after getting the opaqueness of the cloth checked by one of the judges. The judges who had been sitting in front of the arena were being shifted sideways as few other of Vindhya's team members were putting up three stands with a small circle on them.

"Vindhya's strength is not archery but sword fighting. What is she intending to do with these target boards?" Mriga thought to herself.

As if to answer her question, someone came and handed Vindhya a small bow and a quiver holding a set of arrows.

"Thank the stars that I didn't decide to bring my bow to this competition," Mriga thought blackly.

"It seems that she has expanded her skillsets," Yash murmured in her ear, worriedly.

He hadn't seen this competence of hers when she stayed at his house in Southern zilla. Mriga shrugged her shoulder as if to say that it couldn't be helped.

One of Vindhya's team members brought out a small bell and shook it hard, post which she went and stood behind the target board, immediately. Vindhya, who had been ready with the bow and arrow, let the shot loose at the sound.

Voila!

It hit perfectly at the center of the target board. She and her other team members followed this up twice more before she removed the cloth from her eyes and took a bow. The crowd started cheering and clapping hard on her amazing performance. Vindhya had a small smile on her lips as she helped her teammates collect the equipment before moving out of the performance area.

"We might as well pack our bags and go home," said the girl who had exclaimed earlier.

Mriga and Yash slipped away from there quietly and stepped out of tent. Abhirath was walking towards them with a slightly grim expression on his face.

"You are the last contestant of the day," he said as he came upon them.

"Oh!" Chiranjeev who had been standing on the side till now, emitted that sound.

Even though there were clearly defined criteria, the competition was eventually going to be judged by humans. After a long day of seeing one good thing after another, it was a tough task to dazzle them with the final performance of the day.

Abhirath took Mriga by the shoulders and said, "Listen to me. There is bound to be comparison. If you had gone first, she would be the disadvantaged one. There is no need to get discouraged. We only need to beat 45 contestants and not 90 by the end of this two-stage round and I genuinely think that your skill is more than enough for it. So, don't worry unnecessarily."

Mriga thought of something quickly and told Abhirath, "I want you to inform the judges about a change. I will be displaying the skill and then talking for a bit. I won't exceed the time limit."

The boys looked at each other and then at her.

"Mriga, I understand your intention. It is a brilliant idea to change the goal post. But half a minute is too little for you to do either thing properly. In this process, what if your performance is impacted because you are worried about the ticking clock?" Chiranjeev was the first to speak up.

Yash and Nirbhay nodded their heads in agreement while Abhirath seemed to weighing the pros and cons of her proposal.

But it was Vandit who spoke up decisively, "I agree with the first half of Chirajeev's statements. It is a bloody brilliant idea. Even though only one tenth of the contestants have gone up till now, I can nearly guarantee that no one would be doing what you intend to. Let's start practicing what you are going to say on the stage."

Mriga gave a grateful smile to him. Even though they had been behaving normal for the past week, but ever since that outburst in the foodhall, there had been a slight awkwardness between these two. After Vandit's impassioned words, both the stooges were back to their previous camaraderie.

"I think these overly cautious boys will try to hold you back. Should we make an escape from here?" Vandit whispered in her ear cheekily.

She matched his smile with her impish one and took hold of his hand.

"Since her turn is the last, it gives us enough time to go and grab a bite. Mriga is also about to faint from hunger. We will see you in a little while," Vandit said and started walking even before the others uttered a single retort.