When Dimple Met Rishi(90)

"No kidding," Rishi said, looking around. His eyes sparkled in the lights. "It looks like a bunch of theater majors in here."

A boy dressed like a mime-his face white with makeup, lips done in rosy red-turned to them from the next chair. "Hey."

It took Dimple about ten full seconds to realize it was José. She laughed. "Hey! Nice costume."

He grinned, his teeth slightly yellow against the white paint on his face. "Thanks. This is nothing, though. Apparently some of our classmates got the hookup from some theater camp peeps. That's why some of the costumes are so amazing." He waved his hand over at a brown-haired girl, Lyric. She wore a long-sleeved leotard, with a big plume of peacock feathers fanning out from her butt area, studded with glittering blue and green sequins and trailing black-sequined feather boas from her wrists. She looked ethereal. 

Dimple looked around. Celia wasn't anywhere; none of the Aberzombies were. She wondered what was going on. Then she was distracted-some of the guys had whole cases of professional-looking makeup and actual rolls of makeup brushes. Dimple had her Covergirl stuff she'd had since ninth grade, when Mamma had forced her to buy some for the Diwali celebration. She looked in alarm at Rishi. "How do they even know how to use this stuff?"

He leaned toward her. "We don't need that," he said confidently. "We have sheer talent. They're obviously overcompensating."

One of the übercostumed guys passing by threw them a dirty look, and Dimple pursed her lips to keep from laughing. "Well, I guess I'd better get started." She sat on the stool nearest her, setting her bag on the table. Rishi took the stool next to hers.

They were already wearing most of their costumes. Luckily, Anushka Sharma and Shah Rukh Khan wore pretty simple outfits in the official "Dance Pe Chance" video-athletic clothes for her, pants and a jacket and shirt for him. It was just another reason Ashish's idea to use the song had been so genius. Now Dimple could focus on not blundering the steps and falling off the stage.

"Celia isn't here," Rishi said simply.

Dimple didn't answer the question he wasn't asking. "Nope." She concentrated on plugging in her hair straightener-which she'd borrowed from a girl down the hall who was going to be wearing a wig tonight anyway-and laid out her makeup. Powder foundation, eyeliner (not kaajal ; Mamma would be so disappointed), and lip gloss. She tried not to think about what was probably happening out there: The show didn't start for another forty-five minutes, but some of the early birds in the audience would be filtering in. Each segment was supposed to be no longer than five minutes, and Dimple and Rishi didn't come on till the middle, so they probably had close to two hours of waiting left. Urrrrgh.

"I heard the audience is supposed to be a mix of art and theater students attending summer camps," Louis, a quiet, blond boy said. He was sitting on Dimple's right, dressed in a suit with a red handkerchief poking out from his pocket. A black top hat, white gloves, and a bouquet of colorful plastic flowers sat on the counter at his elbow.

"Magic?" Dimple guessed, nodding toward his accoutrements.

He nodded. "I've been doing it since I was seven." He nodded toward his partner, who was sitting beside him, playing on his phone. "Connor's my assistant. I'll saw him in half at the end. I think we have a real shot at winning."

Dimple's spreadsheet said otherwise. Magic was a notoriously poor performer. "Cool."

"What about you guys?" he asked, glancing over at Rishi, who, totally unself-consciously, was practicing a few moves in front of the mirror.

"We're doing a dance to an Indian song," Dimple said, feeling a flurry of nerves in her belly.

Louis's eyes drifted to Rishi's gyrating form. "Oh," he said slowly. "Good luck."

• • •

Max stood between their stools and smiled at them. This was their second visit in ten minutes. Ashish had been in before Max, to assure them that he was armed and ready with the music. He kept saying, "Chill, dudes, you're going to be great." Dimple knew he was trying to be helpful, but at the end she'd wanted to bash him over the head with her stool. She'd been glad when he left. Honestly, with her nerves the way they were, the only person she could stand to be around right then was Rishi.



       
         
       
        

"You guys ready?" Max asked, looking from Rishi to Dimple. His smile, hidden snugly behind his beard and mustache, faded slightly as he took in her face. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he said, "You're going to be great. You're rehearsed. Just go out there and have fun."