Oh, What a Way to Kill a Great Day!

It was 29th December. With the New Year just a couple of days away, Sema was excited. She was going to party like wild this time. In all these years, Sema had partied on New Year's Eve only once. And that was the millennium celebration last year - 2001, when she had been working in Chennai. She had been independent, buoyant and in the partying mood. Incidentally, her college pals had driven to Chennai for the New Year and the crowd had got really large. They had all taken off to a beachside disco and had partied the night away, dancing, dining and making merry, with no restrictions and no inhibitions. It had been the best party ever. Her hostel warden had been very accommodative and had given her permission to stay out on 31st night. Besides, at that time money had not been an issue at all. She was getting a fat pay packet at that time and had saved up quite a sum to blow on this special occasion.

But now, things were different. She was still working, but for a lower pay, and not in good old Chennai, but in Bangalore. So, a beachside party was completely ruled out. Still, she would make the most of it, Sema told herself. Getting permission to stay out late was again an issue. She was now living with her conservative parents and she would have to really battle it out to get them to say yes to her plans. What made things worse was the fact that she had not received her pay in two months, since the company was in the red and she was now dead broke. But then, she strongly believed that where there's a will, there's bound to be a way. Well, you could term her the epitome of optimism, albeit a trifle sarcastically.

Came 30th and the phone kept ringing. Sema was flooded with offers from all her friends, to join them in their parties. There were going to be rooftop parties, booze parties, dance parties and DJ parties. She was very happy that she was so much in demand. Half the town seemed to be inviting her. She smiled in contentment as she retired to bed that night.

31st was a working day, and Sema was not happy about it. But when she went to the workplace she saw that the people were in a festive mood. Most of her colleagues were on vacation. The office looked empty and uninviting. With a great deal of effort, Sema managed to spend the whole day in front of the dreary monitor and at 5 sharp, she hopped out of her seat and rushed homewards, with thoughts of a nice night-long party. She'd first visit Sandeep's house party. That would be relatively quiet so she could excuse herself soon, and move over to Trishaa's place. There would be dancing and drinking at Trishaa's place. Oh, that would be fun! Then around 11:30, she could go to Nitin's house. Nitin was planning to drive up to Palace Grounds by 11:45, so it would be perfect. There would be a huge crowd, and there would be lots of guys… Oooooooo, how exciting! She was lost in thoughts as she neared home.

She had even chosen the dress she would wear and the accessories to go with it. She stopped at the fancy store on the way home to pick up a few cosmetics and last-minute trimmings. She still had to paint her nails and wash her hair. She would probably apply that new face pack too. Just to add a little glamour. She smiled happily at the thought of being able to make it to all the parties. She would have to convince Mom not to force her to eat too much. After all, there would be great food at Palace Grounds. Besides, Nitin would pay for it. She chuckled to herself at the thought of poor Nitin, nicknamed Nitwit. He invariably ended up paying for the food!

She was mentally evaluating whether to dance with Nitwit or to make some excuse. He was too fat for her. Well, it didn't really matter. By the time they would reach, most guys would be sloshed, so she might as well give poor Nitwit a chance! But then, there would be Abhi and Mithun. And of course, good old Prem. She smiled again. Boy, wasn't she really popular!

Suddenly, she remembered Daddy dearest. How was she going to convince him? She could probably approach him with a request to stay over at Priya's place… because Priya was going to be alone, and she needed company. No, that was too clichéd. And she had used it far too many times in the past. Maybe she could tell him that it was just a house party and spare him the details about the drive to Palace Grounds. Well, that might work, but it also depended on his mood. What if he happened to be in one of those grouchy moods?

She shook the pessimistic thoughts away as she walked into her house, to find her grandmother perched on the couch. She had just arrived from Vishakapatnam. She was the fussy type, and always insisted on the whole family spending time together and eating together. Sema was completely deflated on seeing her there.

"Sema dearest! Come on, come to grandma…" her grandma cried as soon as she saw Sema step in. Sema forced a smile and excused herself saying she wanted to change into home clothes.

At dinnertime, Sema asked her Dad sheepishly, "Can I join my friends at their house party?" knowing fully well what his answer would be. And spent New Year Eve at home, massaging her grandma's aching feet.