Free Predator by Kartik Iyengar Page A

It was fifteen minutes to 9 p.m. and they intended to be on time, fearing the wrath of Salmonella if they didn’t.
    ‘Let’s go, dudes, I don’t want to be late,’ said Derek rapping on Hound’s door. Hound emerged in a really sharp suit, holding a bouquet of yellow roses. ‘These are for my little sister. She loves roses. I went out in the afternoon and bought them myself.’
    As they admired the roses, Goose stepped out of the room, handsome as ever and announced, ‘Are we going to be standing around like pansy butterflies, sniffing roses, or are we going to go rock the party?’
    They could hear music thrumming somewhere, and followed the sound to the venue. The music was loud, and it was obvious that Prince and his crew had arrived.
    ‘Sure seems like a grand ball to me, that asshole has splurged to make it happen. I never knew he cared so much for our college days,’ said Derek, admiring the setting. The tastefully done lights in the clearing made the surrounding vineyard seem surreal. Twinkling fairy lights decorated the surrounding trees, and big, yellow globe lights were hung in the cosy corners to create an ambience for tête-à-têtes. The little pool near the DJ’s stand shimmered with the floating scented candles.
    The sweet aroma of ripe grapes hung in the air, although the tuberose flower arrangements were competing feistily with their fragrance in the party space.
    ‘It’s not for the college, you dork! Chris is crazy about Grace so he’s gone out of the way to impress her. I’m sure she’ll now fall for him hook, line and sinker!’ sniggered Hound, and Goose and Chief burst out laughing.
    The buffet spread and the bar was at the centre of the cleared space. The makeshift stage had multi-coloured strobe lights that scanned the venue like beacons. Richard Marx blared from the stereo to underscore the retro theme of the college reunion.
    ‘Damn! The guy’s done a great job! It sure makes me feel nostalgic,’ exclaimed Chief. ‘Wow! Look! There’s champagne as well! And black olives. Man, this guy is loaded!’
    Banners and posters with the college emblem had been put up on all sides with copies of their college scrapbooks stacked tidily on conveniently placed tables. The clincher was a graffiti wall covered with old pictures from Chris’s album.
    Chris had gone overboard to impress his batch. The buffet spread at the west end corner beside the wine section had a wide variety of food from all around the world – caviar, Peking duck, seafood tagine, barbecue chicken, spinach lasagna and zucchine ripiene. The other side was the quieter end, and had another table stacked with six local delicacies. There was a third table near the entrance that was the salad counter.
    Lost in the urban legend, Goose was searching for a pattern everywhere. Three tables with heaps of food, six exotic dishes on each one of them, all in the name of a buffet spread. He wouldn’t dare tell the others lest they beat him to a pulp and yank his poor old, dead grandma out of him.
    ‘This kind of food can feed a small third-world country for a month!’ said Derek greedily eyeing the spread of exotic food heaped on the tables. The sight of all the free food (after all those momos) was making him delirious. His warped conspiracy theories seemed to make him see the number six in just about everything.
    ‘True that!’ exclaimed Chief.
    ‘Oh look! There’s Meher, Rita and Whatshisname! C’mon, let’s go say hello,’ said Derek, leading the way to a group standing around by the stage. Goose was already greedily stacking as much food on his plate as possible. The ghastly memories of momos and noodles needed to be eradicated post-haste.
    ‘You guys go ahead, I’m going to look for Grace. Tell her I’m by the candlelit pond if you happen to see her before I do,’ said Hound. ‘And tell Salmonella too. I can’t wait to see her!’
    ‘Chill! Your sister’s probably balling someone before the party. She’s an adult