1 : Hello, 2? Listen, our rendezvous got changed and am texting you the new location.

2 : Well, well…

1 : Oh, for God’s sake! What now!?

2 : Don’t I get to vote our new location!?

1 : No, of course you don’t! You’re getting a free meal!

*In the roadside dhaba*

3 : Been such a long, long time. So, how’s everyone?

4 : Yes, but why don’t I see 5?

1(nonchalant and broodingly) : Who’s 5?

*5 saunters into the restaurant, quite oblivious of the participants*

*Suddenly he sees the group and his eyes stop spinning*

5(jaws open in astonishment) : *inaudible* Oh my God!

1 (sarcastic) : *in a low tone* Oh, sure. Hello, 5!

5 : What a small world!

1 : *in a low tone* Yet I never manage to run into Johnny Depp!

6 : What’s up, 5?

4 : Come on, bro. Join us at our table.

5(while walking towards the coterie) : I don’t remember being in Hogwarts in the near past. Perhaps
that’s why the owls didn’t deliver an invitation?

7 : But you’re here now. The rest doesn’t matter anyway, does it?

8(in a bid to change the topic) : I have heard the chicken roast here is exceptional.

3(outraged) : Yes, so is your inner strength to douse(/subdue) your moral compass and consume
another animal.

8 : Yeah, it’s called proteins.

6 : Hey, look how cute that dog is in that nearby car? I wish I could be an animal activist and protect the
voiceless, someday.
4 : Just look how that fat chicken is scuttling over there.

6 : I also wish I could have that roasted now.

2(clearing his throat) : Who wants to order some starters? (looks inquiringly towards 1)

1 : Yeah, I’m glad we’re taking a rehearsal dinner. I hardly get to practice my meals before I eat!

5 : So, 7 , what do you do now?

7 : I’m currently at an MNC.

5 : Umm, ok, but that’s your work life. What do you DO?

7(smiling slightly) : Oh, I still carry my hobby of paintings.

6(disconcerted) : So, are we ordering something or not?

5 : What’s your genre?

7 : I like to portray the philosophy of life, the subtle change…

5(hurriedly cutting short) : Ok, let’s do order something.

3 : Do you remember how our dreams have changed since childhood?

2 : I’d give anything to even get a glimpse of them.

8 : How I wished to be in Narnia or the Middle Earth or especially Hogwarts, then! I wished to have…

4 : Hermione, yes. We all did.

8(unperturbed) : …a magic wand to…

2 : Even Charlie Sheen would like that.

8(continuing) : …talk to the elves, the dwarves, the dragons…

6 : You still can. It’s called subtitles.

7 : How I wished to be a politician!

1 : But, that, you still can!

7 : It’s not so easy.

1 : What? Getting into Indian politics? Huh!

2 : Yeah, basically all the parties will call and ask you two questions : “Do you want to join our party? “,
followed by “REALLY!!?”

4 : Any Amish Tripathi fans here, by the way?

8 : Na, man. I don’t like his distortion of mythology. For me, Chetan Bhagat is the ultimate.

7 : I’m more of a Dan Brown fan, myself.

3 : Yet, I feel nobody portrays life better than Hosseini and Rushdie.

1 : Imagine in a parallel world, how we might be leading the lives of our favourite characters.

6 : I’d rather imagine myself dating Megan Fox, if it comes to that.

1 : Oh, can’t I have just one stupid thing I want?

5 : Hey, I’m always available.

8 : I wonder, in our quest to imitate a fantasy realm and mould ourselves to other’s stories, how we
might fail to create our very own story.

6 : I agree. We sacrifice self-satisfaction in our venture for self-glorification.

4 : True. We try to enjoy frolicking in the rain, when our actions might unconsciously be dictated by what
we see in films.

5 : C’mon? Who doesn’t like walking in the rain?

3 : Not Bollywood, apparently.

1 : Yet, had we not seen the intimate bonds shared in a get-together in films, would we have been
driven this much to gather here tonight, 5 years after school?

3 : Are you serious?

7 : True, this unanimous discord in our lives is the harmony that binds us together.

2 : The funny thing is, in everybody’s quest to be unique, we find ourselves again, amongst the mundane
crowd.

6 : True, but we will always have each other and at least, whenever we become bored, we can raise a
ticket in Ultimatix.

8 : Let’s give a toast to that.