Goal: Hang with boys Conflict: Convince Saad he knows Bhangra Disaster: Asked to prove it
The bass thumped in the speaker next to his ear due to his unfortunate location. The Gunz were lined up against a prime back wall observing the hall party and Happy had the bum spot at the end of the line closest to the DJ booth. Amit ran up the DJ to request a new song and then ran back into the centre of the dance floor to pop right into the choreography he’d prepared with his dance troupe for the end-of-school-year bash. Meantime, all Happy had done was rehearse the limp in his step. He heard one girl ask who he was, and the person she asked couldn’t answer her. He didn’t dare turn his head to confirm who considered him a nonperson.
It was the middle of winter and the school’s punjabi association was throwing one of their jams at the local Italian Banquet Hall. It had been build for sweet 16s for girls like Angelita and Domenica but now played home to lohris for girls like Preety and Rajminder. The benefit of it being a semi-sanctioned event is that older kids like the Blitz could crash. The doorman was one of their acquaintances.
Inside were many unfamiliar faces. This mehla brought together brown kids from all over north Toronto and the ungodly suburbs of Brampton and Mississauga. Gaggles of boys eyed each other down from the different corners of the hall.
The centre of the dance floor was bumping. Amit and his bhangra boys were dancing folk to any song that allowed it. They had found the right technique to even make Bhangra work with hip-hop, something Happy hadn’t thought to be possible. Sweety, Dilmit and the girls were dancing in a circle. They were peeking over at Amit and the boys as they put on a show. I expected to see Saad out from dancing with Sweety, but he stood at the wall, too proud to enter the fray. This was what scared these guys when brawls didn’t.
Saad took a swig of the flask being passed around and came over to Happy.
“Yo Happy, how do you dance good bhangra?” Saad asked him. He’d seen him dancing at Gobind’s place and thought he was good. Happy thought they all thought he was good simply because he was a turbaned Sikh and any Bhangra moves looked good on him.
Happy was caught off guard but channeled all the Sunday evening cultural programming his mum made him watch growing up.
“It’s all in the shoulders,” Happy said.
Happy held up his hands and flat palms towards the ceiling, then he shrugged his shoulders up and down to the rhythm of the current song playing. He then moved his hands left to right with a cheeked grin. He wondered why Saad didn’t ask Amit for bhangra advice since he was more qualified.
Saad mimicked him, courageous from the drink and not worrying about his boy’s chuckling behind them.
“But what do you do with your feer?” Saad said
“Side to side,” Happy said.
“Alright let’s go dance,” Saad said.
“What, nah I’m good,” Happy said.
“Don’t be a pussy bro, your girl and my girl are both out there. We gotta show up,” Saad said.
Happy resolved to head out there, even though he would be dancing with the wrong girl. As they approached the dance floor, kids made way for Saad, Happy rode his draft to get in before the crowd closed in again. The girls made room for them in their circle, recognizing friends. Saad saw his chance and took it, heading over to Sweety.
He did his best to pop his shoulders up and down and keep up with her. The results was dorky but cute due to his confidence. Happy couldn’t help but smile. He curiously looked over at Amit, who was watching while still dancing with his boys.
In the corner, the Blitz and Gunz were making observations, getting rounds of shots and talking shit. Gobind was in the middle, holding court. The circle of girls, Happy and Saad were rotating around each other in a circle clapping the giddha. Dilmit shifted spots with her friends to be aligned with Happy’s gaze. He knew she’d kept a note of his location the entire time.