Nikhil’s pulse was racing. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest and his temple bursting with anger. He had just quarreled with his parents.

‘Parents’, he thought would never understand him. Every time, trying to force their decisions on him.

This time they were forcing him to join them on their trip to Pune to their relative’s palace. But he had already made his plans. His friends were going to be in Mumbai and it was his duty to act as an anchor for them and after an hour long battle with them, he had earned his right to be the anchor.

He just hoped that the fight with his parents and his decision to not to accompany them might prove worthy enough.

His parents left the following morning. He was not going to be joined by his friends until the evening. He went over the curriculum which he had planned.

Tomorrow morning, he had planned a trip to essel world and water kingdom. The next morning they would go to Siddhivinayak Temple, take a boat trip at Gateway of India and then they would go to ‘Khao Galli’ and finally they would spend their evening at Juhu Beach.

However, he knew things never went according to plan. There was only one thing he was sure of that the next 48 hours were going to be completely thrilling and exciting, which he was going to remember for his entire life.

Morning turned into afternoon, afternoon into evening and he was standing at Dadar for his friends to arrive. It was 7:30 pm. The bus halted and he saw his friends. He shook hands with all of them. Rahul, Niraj, Alok and Akash.

Rahul, Niraj, Alok and Nikhil were studying engineering with him. He was meeting Akash for the first time. He was Rahul’s cousin.

It was 8:30 pm when Nikhil reached home with his friends and after having some dinner they all went to sleep.

Everyone woke up early and soon enough they all were on the ferry which took them to essel world.

They enjoyed all the rides. Everything from the smallest to the biggest. At first, Niraj was afraid to go for the bigger rides but he soon joined them.

In the afternoon, they all went to the snacks bar when Rahul announced that the lunch was on him. After that no one hesitated to order what they wanted. Without even looking at the price tag, they ordered Chicken 65, Chicken Lollypop, Chicken Garlic Tikka Masala, and Chicken Handi. Soon they realized that they had ordered more than they could take. So much so, that they had left two dishes untouched.

When the bill was handed to them, everyone turned to Rahul and hoped that he was not lying. The bill was something around 4500 Rs. It was then Rahul said that he had to call his Uncle to settle the bill. Nikhil cursed Rahul under his breath. He thought that he might have to use the card which his father had given him for emergency.

But Rahul managed to pull a few strings and soon his Uncle arrived and made the payment. Rahul shared some private talks with his Uncle and he left.

It was now time for them to head for water kingdom.

There, they splashed as much water as they could. They splashed, they danced, they laughed until every hair on their body stood at its end and every body part demanding for mercy.

The sun had already settled down. Shivering and clattering their teeth, they departed from there. Now there was the question of where to have dinner. It was then when Rahul said that he had asked his Uncle to make arrangements for their dinner.

Everyone shouted cheers for him and praised his Uncle. They boarded a bus for Andheri Sahar International Airport where, as Rahul said, his Uncle had called him. The bus was crowded and everyone in the bus were giving them nasty looks as they looking ugly, they were wet and looking so tired as if they had ran a marathon.

Ignoring the looks of people, they got down at the Airport. There, Rahul’s uncle called him and asked him to come to Hyatt Regency (a 5 star hotel). Everyone started to murmur that this trip was going to be big and expensive for someone.

After walking and searching the streets for 30 minutes, they arrived at Regency Hotel. Rahul called his Uncle who asked them to come in. Nikhil couldn’t stop wondering what was waiting for them inside.

Everyone pushed Nikhil forward saying that he is the one in the group who knows how to talk.

As they were about to enter the hotel, the security guard came whistling at them and blocked their way.

He asked them about where they were heading to. No one uttered a word. Everyone was terrified. Nikhil someone managed to tell the guard that they have got someone waiting for them inside. When the guard asked them who was waiting for them, it was then when the first blow came. Rahul said that he doesn’t know his uncle’s name.

Nikhil wished he could kick Rahul but doing that wouldn’t help them. The guard held Rahul by the scurf and tried to drag him away. It was then Rahul bluffed that his uncle’s name was Mittal. But the guard didn’t budge. Rahul got rid of the guard and started using abusive language against the guard and warned him that he was going to loose his job and began calling his uncle. He explained the situation to his uncle and handed the phone to the guard. The guard was now looking nervous. He refused to accept the phone and allowed them to enter the hotel.

The moment they stepped into the hotel, they wished they had never come there. The air conditioned temperature plus their wet and numb body were already making their teeth clatter and the crowd inside the hotel made them look like rags.

Nikhil and Rahul went to the reception desk, but what to ask for? The receptionist, who was a beautiful lady, gave them a suspicious look and asked if she could help them. Nikhil expected Rahul to say something but he didn’t. He stepped back so gracefully as if he didn’t know Nikhil. Nikhil stood at the reception desk, looking at the beautiful lady, searching for one word in his entire vocabulary to say.

It was then when he heard Akash’s voice, who was still standing with the other two, at the entrance. He was pointing at the lobby. Nikhil turned his head and to his utter delight he saw Rahul’s uncle. It was then when Nikhil uttered his first word and asked the receptionist to wait for a few seconds and both of them rushed towards his uncle.

He greeted both of them and Niraj, Alok and Akash came rushing towards them. Rahul’s uncle said that he was an employee of Rahul’s grandfather and that he had made arrangements for their stay at the hotel.

Nikhil couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Did he just say that they were gonna spend a night at a 5 star hotel. He accompanied them to the reception where he talked with the receptionist and she nodded in approval and gave a warm smile to him. Nikhil thought that he could have killed all his friends for that smile. Rahul’s so called uncle turned towards them and informed them that he could arrange only for a single room on such short notice. Sarcasm, Nikhil thought.

However, this time Rahul didn’t fail to ask his name. Prakash Jha, he replied and greeted them to enjoy themselves and left.

`        Another charming lady came to them and asked them to follow her. Even she was looking suspiciously at them. When they stepped out of the elevator, she asked them whether they were some company’s guest. Yet again no one replied and Nikhil knew that it was his job to be the spokesperson and explained to her that they were just friends trying to enjoy their vacation.

She gave them a tour of the room, handed them the keys, gave Nikhil a warm smile and left. The moment the door was shut, all of them looked at each other and started laughing loudly, cheering Rahul and his uncle.

After changing their clothes and getting dressed like civilized people, they went down to have their dinner. They were told that they can have food from the buffet.

When they got down and sat at the table, which was full of different types of spoons and tissues, they waited for someone to explain them what they have to do. Few minutes passed but no one came. Everyone was afraid that whatever they ask might be charged. After few long moments, a waiter came and told them that they can have their food now and lead them into another hall where Nikhil couldn’t find a single Indian. Everyone present there was a foreigner.

Rahul and Niraj again pushed Nikhil forward and said to him that they will eat whatever he will eat and also requested him to not to eat something which we wasn’t aware of. Nikhil would have laughed at this on any other day, but not today, for he knew that places like these demand sophistication.

Slowly, he took a look around of what were the dishes made, with his friends trudging behind him and after some 10 minutes, he realized that rotis and chapattis were not to be found anywhere and that they would have to settle with rice. Everyone picked up plates and started following Nikhil taking exactly the same thing what he was taking and also in the same quantity.

After having settled at the table, they began eating carefully and slowly making no noise whatsoever and trying their best to show some table manners. It was then a waiter approached them and asked them whether they would like to have some chapattis or rotis. Everyone looked at Nikhil, without thinking he ordered 6 nans.

Alok mocked him and asked him whether he was gonna pay the bill. He didn’t reply. The waiter placed the nans on their table and left.

Everyone was finding the nans hard to swallow. After having finished their dinner, they ran for their room and luckily no one stopped them. After arriving at the room, all of them burst out laughing.

Nikhil went into the other room, opened the fridge and couldn’t believe what he saw there. There were dozens of bottles of nearly every soft drink, few bottles of kingfisher and a couple of bottles of vodka and gin and nearly two dozens of different types of chocolates. Yet he didn’t dare to touch them.

It was 3 am when Nikhil suddenly felt a thud and realized that he had slept on the bath tub. He had adjusted the heater to get lukewarm water. His entire body had gone numb. He got out, wore his clothes. His friends were already fast asleep with wrappers of chocolates and few cans of pepsi lying on the floor. He cursed them but he was too tired to think about anything and so he slept.

The next morning, all of them were filled with the apprehension that they might have to pay for their stay. But Rahul was too sure that his Grandfather was gonna make all the payments. Still everyone was unsure.

After he had convinced everyone, he asked Nikhil to order for some breakfast. Nikhil, still unsure, ordered for 5 orange juices, 6 parathas and a couple of coffee.

Everyone was dressed up and ready to leave when the waiter came with their order. He took out a book and passed it towards Nikhil. Nikhil looked at Rahul who had already left the room and then he turned at Akash who was watching TV.

Nikhil opened the book; in there was a cash receipt which said 7000Rs. Nikhil hands had gone cold. He again looked at Akash who was now changing the channels furiously.

Nikhil uttered that they can’t pay the bill. But he knew that the waiter hadn’t heard him. He again said that he can’t pay the bill. The waiter’s gentle expression turned into a frown. In order to make sure that matters didn’t get worse, he asked the waiter to include this in their final payment.

The waiter nodded and without saying anything left the room. This was not a good sign, Nikhil thought.

After having the breakfast which was gonna cost them 7000 Rs and they didn’t even find it worth that much. They left the room, Nikhil and Rahul arrived at the reception desk. The receptionist had changed. He took their keys and checked his PC. He looked at them and then at his PC. He asked them whether they had ordered breakfast. Nikhil nodded. He then called someone but he didn’t utter a word on the phone. He just nodded his head and kept the phone.

He smiled at them and told them that they can leave. Nikhil wanted to ask him, how much the bill was but decided not to, for it might make matters slip out. So without saying anything, he and Rahul quickly made their way for the exit. They signaled the others that it was time to leave and in the next few seconds they were out in the streets.

The moment they were out of the vicinity of the hotel, they all shouted like mad dogs and started giggling and laughing.

It was an experience he would never forget, thought Nikhil.

His friends left the next day and the day after, his parents came back. For the next few days, he couldn’t stop himself from narrating the entire incident to his family or any friend he came in contact with.

He thought about Michael whom he had asked to join them on this trip. He just wanted to see his face when he would tell him about his extravagant experience.

By the way, who’s Michael????