One Indian Girl by Chetan Bhagat

‘Okay,’ Aditi didi announced. ‘Let’s play “challenge the bride”. Everyone will give the bride
a dare. And Radhika has to do it.’
I looked around. Our table was in one corner of the restaurant. In the middle, several people
sat on bar stools. Half the customers were Indians who had come to Goa for the Christmas holidays.
Others were mostly European and American tourists.
Jyoti gave me the first task.
‘See that bald white guy over there.’ She pointed at a forty-something man sitting at the bar.
‘Find out his name and the country he comes from.’
‘That’s too easy,’ didi said.
‘Get his name, country and slap, no wait, kiss his forehead,’ said Shruti.
Everyone laughed and cheered at the suggestion.
‘No way,’ I said.
‘Yes way. Here take this. Bottoms up.’ Saloni gave me a half-filled champagne glass. I gulped
it in one go. My head felt light.
‘Go!’ Aditi didi clapped her hands.
I walked up to the bar.
‘Hi there,’ I said to the man. He wore a white vest and jeans. He had two rings on his right
hand and a dragon tattoo on his right shoulder.
‘Hi there, young lady,’ he said. His accent sounded Australian. I had to confirm it.
‘Are you an Australian cricketer?’
He laughed. ‘No, mate, I am Australian but I am no cricket player. Like watching it, though.’
‘Aren’t you Philip Lee?’ I made up a name on the spot.
‘Is he even a player?’ he said and sipped his beer.
‘You aren’t Philip?’
‘No,’ he said. ‘Can I buy you a drink, young lady?’
‘Well, who are you then?’
‘I’m Mark. What drink would you like?’
‘A tequila shot.’
Mark ordered a pair of shots. I had accomplished two out of the three tasks.
‘Cheers,’ he said as we took the shot.
I put the glass on the table.
‘You here on holiday?’ Mark said.
‘Actually, I am here to get married.’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah. I have to go. Bye, Mark.’
Before he could react I kissed his head.
‘Thanks for the drink,’ I said and scooted out of there.
The girls gave me a standing ovation. Everyone had a shot as a mark of respect for my
courage.
‘Okay, no more,’ I said as Mark winked at me from the bar.
The girls were hysterical. We finished four champagne bottles. We ordered four more. I don’t
really know when we started to dance. The DJ played tracks like ‘Subah hone na de’ and ‘Baby doll’.
Some men in the club tried to flirt with my little cousins. Aditi didi shooed most of them off. We had
selfie binges as the fifteen of us took photos in every possible permutation and combination. An hour
later, another group of boys arrived at the club. It took us girls a minute to realize the situation.