” He pointed to a highly polished cherry wood stand that was surrounded by four plush looking bar stools. Behind the counter was a very well stocke... looking bar with a myriad of glistening bottles of every shape and color. Pot lights added strategic spots of restricted radiance here and there, adding a strange aura to the unusually furnished place. All the walls were painted black and in fact even the bar stool seats were black. The only colors in the room were the whiskey bottles, various. Mom then cleared her throat and offered tea and goodiesto our guests, and the rest of the visit went by without too many digsat poor little Sandy, who after all was only trying to give everyonehis best at the recital. Well, maybe there was more to it than that ...*****The spring dance was held in late May. Julia and I agreed that wewouldn't go as a couple like we did in ninth grade, because Kath haddecided to go as well this year. I think Julia was a little miffed, butI tried to smooth things. She was as bold as all Bengali women. She was fair and tall, had a round face with long hair tied to her back in a neat pony tail. She usually wore a skirt and a top in the house. All in all, she looked elegant, bold, and beautiful almost always. Despite my strong crush on Shreya, I had never done anything wrong with her and neither thought about doing something of sorts. But one fine day things took an odd turn.It was just another ordinary day and I woke up at 10 o’ clock. Mom was already. We'll do an X-ray just to check it's nothing else, but I'm pretty sure. You'll certainly be happier once I've whipped that out for you. Won't take long, and then you'll be right as rain."I had VIP treatment that night; the surgeon knew Alastair well, and as he could vouch for my honesty, I didn't have to wait overnight until I'd definitely had no food for eight hours. I was wheeled into X-ray, where there was no sign of any other obstruction, and then on to a ward.I did however have to suffer.