The corridor, which had been aglow with flashing lights and resonated with the beat of moving bodies, came to an abrupt halt in an eerie silence. The concealed mic had succeeded every sentence spoken between Darsh and Divya had tumbled into the air, louder than the music, slicing through the beats that moments before swept everyone along.

The headphones fell off one by one. The friends, elders, and cousins turned towards the curtain from which the words had been uttered. It was as if time had been frozen.