Out of the Blue

 

by Suhaani Vivek Gubbi (22077) Grade 9

Morning rays made their way through the slightly open curtains into the...

small, cozy room to greet and awaken Anya, who was still sleeping peacefully with her blanket covered up to her long and pointed nose. Anya was a 14-year-old girl who was always very bubbly and cheerful. She led a normal, middle-class life but was content with whatever she had. The smallest of things could make her happy and, due to her ever-jovial nature, people all around her would also cheer up.

 

Apart from all other things, there was one thing which she always looked forward to: her favourite boy band that comprised seven extremely attractive Korean members who won the hearts of their fans, not only through their looks, but also through their meaningful songs. Their songs dealt with common issues faced by today’s youth and taught all those who listened to them to accept the way they are and love themselves.

Anya was an ardent fan ever since she was nine and always worked hard to be kept updated with their latest news. She had numerous posters of them in her room and decorated almost everything she had with the band’s logo. The band was very popular, not only in Korea but throughout the whole world and had millions of fans. It was Anya’s everlasting dream to attend one of their fan-meets and interact with each of them personally, even it be only for a minute. She had collected very little merchandise due to its unaffordable prices, but she never lost hope that she'd stand a chance to meet them amongst the millions of other people who were equally willing to do the same. 

“Ughhh it's already morning,” whined Anya with a small pout on her pretty, pink lips as she stretched out of bed. She ran to her mum, who was watering the plants, greeted her and rushed to freshen up for her online classes.

“Okay children, today we’ll be continuing our Geography lesson on natural vegetation and wildlife. I hope you all remember what we had covered last class.” Anya’s class teacher, who had the first hour with her, spoke in a high-pitched and irritated voice. Online classes seemed a trouble for her as no one ever responded and interacted with her.

“Miss Anya, can you give a gist of what we did in the previous class?” she asked, which startled Anya as she panicked and frantically flipped through the pages of her notebook to see what they had done in the last class. She never found Geography interesting and online classes made it easier for her to zone out during her class teacher’s period. 

“MISS ANYA, I AM GOING TO HAVE TO REMOVE YOU FROM THE MEETING IF YOU DON'T RESPOND!” screamed her teacher in her screechiest voice ever. 

“Um, yes ma’am, I'm here. Sorry, I couldn't respond earlier… had internet issues.” lied Anya. 

“Okay, okay, all you kids have the same excuse. Now, without wasting a single second, tell me what you remember from last class.” replied her agitated teacher. 

Anya, who had already used this time to find the right page of her notebook, quickly gave the summary of what they had done in the last class which made her teacher calm down considerably. 

“Good, you remember. I hope you all recollect these points too.” she spoke addressing the whole class and received pin-drop silence from them instead of an answer. “Okay then children, let me continue from the next topic that is wildlife. So basically, wildlife refers to the naturally present…” she continued as Anya’s phone pinged and she immediately lost focus at what her teacher was saying. 

There was an advertisement to notify all fans of the band that the  session to buy albums would start soon, and that everyone should hurry up to their nearest album stores and buy as many albums as they could by the next day. The lucky 100 winners from all over the world would get the golden opportunity to attend the fan-meeting of the band to be held in South Korea and get to interact with all the 7 members for 10 whole minutes! 

“OH MY GODDDD! 10 WHOLE MINUTES! HAHAHA, MY DREAM! I MUST GO AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO BUY AN ALBUM! MUMMA, LOOK HERE!” she exclaimed joyfully, jumping up and down on her bed. Anya had been saving her birthday money up for the last four years to buy an album and to finally get a chance to meet her idols. She was never put off by the fact that she only got enough to buy one album, that too by waiting and collecting money for it for 4 years while other fans would buy hundreds and thus stand more of a chance to be chosen for the fan-meeting. She had been convincing her dad to sponsor her travel expenses to South Korea IF she ever got chosen for the fan-meeting and he had agreed after a considerable amount of persuasion.

Nothing could go wrong now could it? She would definitely get chosen as one of the 100 lucky winners amongst the millions of people trying right? Well, that's what she thought. So, with the same thought still with her, she calmed herself down and with great difficulty, sat back at her desk to listen to her teacher drone on about the different kinds of animals found in different parts of India. It wasn't long before she drifted away thinking about what she would say to her favourite member when she would meet him at the fan meeting. 

Soon, all her classes were over and she urged her mum to finish her work fast and take her to the album store that wasn't far away from her house so that she could buy from what was remaining, hoping that it would help her win the chance of meeting the band in South Korea.

“Mumma, I will get chosen right?” she asked her mum excitedly in the car on the way to the store.

“Yes Sweetie, you will.” her mum replied with a smile, even though she knew deep down how unlikely it was for her daughter to get selected with just one album. 

The car pulled towards the parking lot filled with hundreds of other cars which made Anya more nervous. “I hope there are at least some albums which I can choose from.” she mumbled to herself anxiously. She shook off the thought quickly and hopped out of the car. As she approached the store, she was able to see through the glass door: hundreds of people, all bustling about to pick albums that would decide their fate.

She saw a lady, close to her twenties, who was dressed in a shocking pink dress and was wearing multiple expensive-looking rings on all her fingers. She had brought her dog along too, who was creating a big fuss, barking at everyone it saw. She rudely cut the huge line in front of the billing counter saying, “VIP”, if Anya lip-read correctly. With her head held arrogantly high, she dumped what looked like at least 50-60 albums on the table and made a gesture for the worker to hurry up with her order and bill all her albums fast. 

“Woahhhh! so many albums! She must be really rich.” Anya exclaimed as she took a deep sigh and finally pushed the glass door to enter the shop.

It was more crowded than it looked from the outside. People were pushing each other, cursing angrily and snatching albums from others, desperate to get the ones they felt were lucky. 

Anya timidly made her way to the least crowded section, as she was sure she would not be able to get a single album if she stood fighting at the place where people were going crazy. She looked at the few albums kept on the rack and stood in front of them figuring out which one to pick. “Mumma, which one do you think I should pick? This one or this one?” Anya asked confusedly, holding two different albums in her outstretched hands. 

“Hmmm.. I have no idea, sweetie.. Just pick the one that you feel will get you there.” her mum replied encouragingly. 

“Then…. I will pick…” Anya trailed off into another series of thoughts. Her mum chuckled, looking at Anya’s puzzled face which made her look even cuter. “…this one!!” Anya finally decided and handed one of the albums to her mum. 

“Okay then, let’s get it billed.” said her mum, sighing at the huge queue. 

Even though Anya’s legs were sore from standing, she maintained her jovial nature and cracked some witty jokes to her mum while standing in the queue. Their turn finally came after 2 hours. Anya anxiously laid down her album on the table. The worker, who was exhausted from billing thousands of albums all day long, looked up at Anya in surprise. 

“Is that all?” he asked her, perplexed. 

“Y-yes?” she replied, unsure of how to react. He chuckled and quickly registered her purchase.

“The list of the 100 lucky winners will be posted on the official app in a week, thank you for buying.” he said while handing the bill to her, happy that at least one customer’s billing got over in just a few minutes. 

“Okay, thank you so much!” Anya replied excitedly and skipped out of the now less crowded store, swinging the bag in which the album was packed.

She ran to her car, got inside and sat on the seat with a satisfied smile on her face. She was proud that she had bought the album with her own money and was extremely eager to unbox it as soon as she got home. “Thank you, Mumma!” she squealed as she hugged her mum tightly in the car. 

“Not a problem, sweetie. I hope you get selected.” her mum replied cheerfully. She was happy to see her daughter so excited and happy.

Anya didn't waste a single second when she went home. As soon as she reached, she jumped onto her bed, got the bag with the album inside, and ripped open the cover. She squealed with delight as she saw the bright pink album with its magnificent cover. She lifted the flap slowly in order to create a dramatic effect and started giggling, seeing the contents of the box. There were about 10-20 photos of all the 7 members and some handwritten messages as well which she instantly clicked a picture of and put into the translator app as it was written in Korean.

When she was done reading those messages at least 5 times, she shifted her attention to the main attraction of the album: the 200-page thick photobook! She flipped through the photobook for a good 45 minutes and when she was finally done looking at all the contents, she felt elated, as if nothing in the world could ever make her sad. Soon, she dozed off as she was very tired from standing and dreamt about her getting chosen to attend the fan-meet. 

She spent the next few days like this, as cheerful as ever, waiting for the result to be announced. She used to wake up early, attend all her online classes and even try her best to answer all the questions her Geography teacher asked. After what felt like ages, the night before the announcement finally arrived.

However, this time Anya didn't feel happy or excited: she felt anxious. Yes, there was always some anxiety with her throughout, but especially on this night, it increased so much that it overpowered her excitement. She switched off the lights, laid down on her bed and pulled the fluffy white quilt up to her chin. She stared at the ceiling of her room which had small luminous stars that glowed in the night and imagined for the first time of what she would do if she didn't get chosen. Tears filled her big doe-like eyes at the thought of it and she pulled the quilt closer to her to get comforted. She closed her eyes and tried her best not to think about it but she just couldn't stop.

Her mum, who walked into her room to make sure that Anya had fallen asleep, was taken aback to see her still awake, with her cheeks glistening with tears. “Hey sweetie, is something wrong?” her mum asked worriedly, sitting beside Anya on the bed. 

“N…n…no Mumma, i…it’s nothing.” Anya replied, quickly wiping her tears. 

“Aww come on, you can't lie to me sweetie, I’ve known you for 14 years”, her mum said, caressing Anya’s forehead. 

“I’m w…worried that I m…might not get selected for the f…fan-meet.” Anya replied with many more tears flowing down her cheeks. 

“It’s okay, sweetie. Both me and you know how hard you worked to be a part of it. It all depends upon luck. I really wish too that you get selected.” her mum said comfortingly. 

“I will get chosen right, Mumma?” Anya asked sadly. 

“I certainly hope so, sweetie.” Anya’s mum replied as Anya hugged her and buried her face into her mum’s lap. Her mum wiped her tears, stroked Anya lovingly and wrapped her even more tightly with the fluffy quilt and in no time at all, Anya was asleep, snoring softly.

The much-awaited day finally arrived. Anya was the first one to wake up in her house, extremely anxious and excited at the same time. She went to the app where the results were to be posted and searched for the announcement. Thanks to her excellent internet, the page took a long time to load and every second felt like decades to her. After a few minutes, the announcement finally opened and the list of the 100 lucky winners appeared in front of her eyes. “Mumma! Come fast! The list is here!” Anya shouted and her mum entered hurriedly. Anya took a deep breath and started reading from the start. “Number 1… no, 2..no, 3...no, 27...nope, 49...nah, 78…no.” she read out loud, her confidence and eagerness, both decreasing with the increase in the number of names she read. “95...no, 96...nope, 97…n-no.” she continued as her voice became teary. “98…,” she paused, “No, it's not me, just a similar name.” she said to her mum disappointedly. ”99…no and 100.” her voice trailed off and her eyes filled with tears. Her cheeks became completely wet in just a few seconds and her heart broke into a million pieces. Her eyes, which were filled with hope even to the last minute, became blank and sorrowful. Her mum became very sad too, seeing her ever-cheerful daughter become so sad in just a few seconds. Anya hugged her mum tightly and started crying loudly. “M…m…mumma, I didn't get selected. I d…deserved to. I r…really wanted t…to.” she whispered desolately. 

“You at least made an attempt, sweetie. You will definitely get it next time.” her mum replied, not knowing what to say to comfort her low-spirited daughter.

“IT'S EASY FOR YOU TO SAY THAT THERE IS A NEXT TIME BUT, IN REALITY, THERE ISN’T! I HAVE LITERALLY BEEN SAVING ALL MY POCKET MONEY FOR 4 WHOLE YEARS FOR IT AND THIS HAPPENS. DO YOU THINK I CAN WAIT FOR 4 MORE YEARS?” Anya raged on her mum even though she didn't mean to. She didn't know how to handle the situation because she had never experienced so much sadness all at once. Her mum was taken aback and looked at her in shock as Anya had never before acted disrespectful in front of her mother, whom she loved so dearly. Anya realised what she had just done and hated herself for showing her frustration on her mum, who always supported her. “Im s…s…sorry Mumma, I d…did not mean t…to.” Anya cried apologetically and started wailing like a 5-year-old, whose dearest toy had been snatched away. 

“It’s okay, sweetie, I understand.” her mum replied slowly. 

“M…my classes are s…starting now.” Anya replied dejectedly and trudged to her table.

The next few days were the complete opposite of the days before the announcement. Anya became sad and lethargic and could not focus on her studies anymore. She couldn't even play the piano properly, which she was always so good at. Her mum made her favourite dishes to cheer her up, but in vain. The day before the fan-meeting arrived, and Anya could not help but feel jealous of the fans who actually got a chance to meet the members. She wondered about how happy she would have been had she been selected. 

With the same thought lingering in her mind, she joined her Geography class to hear her teacher say, “Okay children, I have sent you a video via email, please watch it carefully as it summarises the whole chapter very well. Remember, you’ll be asked questions after it, so pay attention.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” Anya replied gloomily and opened her inbox. She had not received the mail so she repeatedly clicked on the refresh button to make the page load faster. After a few seconds the mail that her teacher was talking about appeared.

“Finally.” Anya murmured and was about to click on it when suddenly, another mail popped up. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the sender’s address. “Could it be? Nah, how can it be possible?” she whispered anxiously, her eyes as wide as they could get.

She urgently clicked on the mail several times for it to open quickly and when it came at last, she saw a 5-6 lined paragraph written in Korean. “Can it actually be that?” she instantly wondered as she hurriedly copied the text and pasted it on her translator app. “Ugh, hurry up!!” Anya whined, impatiently tapping her fingers on the desk, getting more restless by the minute. After watching the “Please wait” sign on her screen for a few seconds, the translation appeared. 

“Hello, and congratulations! You have been chosen for the fan-meeting held in South Korea scheduled for tomorrow. This is special - not only do you get to meet your idols for 10 whole minutes but also your whole trip, which includes flight tickets and your stay in a five-star hotel in Korea is sponsored by us! So, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and get packing!” Anya finished, still not able to process what was going on. “Huh?” she questioned and read the passage a couple more times before she actually believed what she had read before. “OH MY GOD! THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING!” she finally exclaimed after she had convinced herself that it was true. 

She screamed and jumped up and down all around her room. She was about to call her mum when she heard her teacher shout, “Ms.Anya, mute yourself! God! What are you doing?” 

“Oops, my bad.” Anya chuckled and quickly apologised to her teacher, muting herself. “Mumma! COME HERE FAST!” she shrieked. Her mum rushed in hurriedly and asked her why she was so excited. “LOOK AT THIS!” Anya cried, showing the mail to her mum. “I GOT SELECTED!” Anya screamed, euphorically. 

“What? Really? But I thought only 100 people could get selected.” said her mum, equally excited. 

“No, I mean yes, but this is a special ticket!” Anya exclaimed, not able to say what she wanted to as she was so excited. 

“Oh my God, I’m so happy for you.” replied her mum, hugging Anya tightly.  

“WHERE IS DAD? I HAVE TO TELL HIM ABOUT THIS!” she shouted at the top of her voice. Her mum pointed towards the living room and she ran to him quickly. “Dad! Guess what? I'M SELECTED FOR THE FAN-MEET! Come! Let’s go!” she urged. Her dad looked perplexedly at Anya, and her mum, who noticed this, quickly explained the whole incident to her dad. Her dad, who also became happy to finally see his daughter happy after a whole week, immediately agreed to go with her to South Korea.

Both of them quickly packed a few clothes and other essential items into their suitcases and rushed off to the airport to board the flight to Anya’s dream destination. They were able to check in smoothly due to the VIP tickets granted to them by the company and finally entered the flight. Anya just couldn't stop thinking about what she would do as soon as she got down from the 17 hour-long journey. 

She drew doodles related to the band on a tissue paper and cheerfully hummed her favourite song. The journey was very comfortable and thus felt short to both Anya and her dad. This was the moment she had been waiting for from a very long time: setting her foot in the South Korean airport! Anya squealed excitedly and looked all around the big and well-maintained airport. She saw posters of the band all around the airport and just couldn't take her eyes off them when her phone suddenly pinged.

She saw that it was another mail from the band’s company and quickly opened it, expecting another surprise. “Hello, we are extremely sorry to inform you that the fan-meeting that was supposed to be held in South Korea today has been cancelled due to a sudden leakage of poisonous fumes from a factory just within a few kilometres from the meeting place. Return tickets have been arranged to compensate for the abrupt change in plans. We hope that you are safe and ask for your kind understanding. Thank you.” Anya read out loud, her voice breaking towards the end. 

“What? Why? Why does this always happen to me? I got so excited and now they just tell you it’s cancelled? How can they do this? wailed Anya loudly, creating a scene at the airport. Her dad looked at the passersby apologetically and dragged Anya to a nearby bench and asked her to calm down. “No! I can’t calm down!” Anya cried, tears once again flowing down her cheeks. “I am going to wait here until they reschedule it.” she exclaimed childishly. Her dad sighed and with great difficulty, got Anya to board the flight back to India. The reason why Anya was so upset was because she knew that the band wouldn't have a fan-meeting for another year and she definitely wasn't willing to wait for so long when she had come that close to meeting them. She sulkily crouched in her seat while she continuously cried.

 

After a long time, she reached home tired and stomped into her room, angry and sad at the same time. Her mum was surprised to see both of them back so early and was shocked to see Anya annoyed like that. She looked at Anya’s dad, who explained the unfortunate turn of events to her and she immediately rushed to Anya’s room after hearing it. She knocked on Anya’s door multiple times but Anya wouldn't let her in. She crouched dejectedly at one corner of the room thinking why all these things only happen to her. She went up to her bed with tear-filled eyes and felt miserable. It was soon going to be midnight and she still was crying inconsolably. 

As soon as the hour and minute hand of the clock overlapped, her phone pinged. She unlocked her phone uninterestedly and saw that it was yet another mail from the company. “What else do you want now, huh? The album I bought?” she muttered under her breath agitatedly and opened the mail. 

The mail said, “Hello, and sorry for bothering you at this hour. Due to the unforeseen events that happened earlier, we ask for your forgiveness once again. To compensate for the inconvenience caused, we are happy to let you know that we are holding the fan-meeting once again, that too in the capital of your state, as you won the lucky ticket. You have not only won free tickets to the fan-meeting and concert but also merchandise worth hundreds of dollars! Congratulations and see you soon!” 

“Wait what? Seriously?” Anya exclaimed and chuckled uncontrollably as she recollected the number of times her mood had changed throughout the last two weeks. She was definitely ‘out of the blue’ now.

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