The entrance to the new bar looked nothing like the ones on the main street. There were no LED signage, nor bouncers checking every single person entering the bar. There was no disco music blaring at full volume, and the crowd of people entering the cafe seemed to be the same age as Aadi and his friends.
"Aadi, are you sure we came to the right place?"
"Let me check once again..."
At that moment, one of the staff members who was assigning seats at the entrance called out to them.
"Heeeeeey there!!!"
Aadi looked around and then pointed to him and his friends.
"Yes, you guys. Do you want a seat?"
"Ah... sure? Is this the Sun Kiss Bar and Restaurant?"
"Yeeees."
Everyone gave the staff a look and then looked at the supposed "Bar". The entrance had a very modest atmosphere, with mostly plants decorating the entrance, and bamboo furnishings used for everything from the outer gates to the tables and chairs inside the restaurant. The entrance also had intricate carvings of old folk tales, almost giving it a traditional family restaurant feel.
Looking at the group's reaction, the staff said:
"Don't worry, we are trying out a new concept to integrate the traditional restaurant business with Clubbing Bars."
"Ohhh, ok"
"So you guys have the unlimited drinks offer?"
Aadi looked at Navneet with suspicion written all over his face, and looked back at the staff with the same level of curiosity.
"Let me check..."
The staff opened an app on his phone and then gave them a bright smile.
"Congratulations!!! Your group will be the last few customers to get the 'First 100' limited-time offer. If you would like to add any other additional services, please let us know and we will be happy to upgrade your service to a higher tier."
"What are th-"
"Thank you, can we have a table for 12 people?"
"Do you have more customers coming along?"
"We are not sure... "
"Unfortunately, the offer can only be given to 5 people, which fits your current group size. If any additional members are added, then they will get the standard service."
Looking at his watch, Aadi saw that there were only 15 minutes left till 8 pm.
"Hey, Aadi. Come to the side for a second."
Another friend of Aadi's whispered to him and brought him away from the staff such that no one could hear their conversation.
"Yeah, Rishi, bol." (1)
"If we have to leave early, sober up in the crisp and cool air of the night, and reach home before their parents notice, then we have no other choice but to go here. Any other bar will take more time, and with the crowd we saw at the metro station, I am pretty sure any other bar or restaurant will be packed full."
"What about Kiran's group?"
"Just got a text from them, they said they will be late. Let them order for themselves when they reach here."
"But the offer..."
"Just don't mention it to them. We can settle the bill and then only show them their bill."
Aadi raised an eyebrow and thought for a while...
"They are already very obnoxious to us, but since we got a similar rank, they just want to join our party to keep their face."
"How would you know that?"
"Sometimes I wish you would also know."
"What do I not know???"
Rishi shook his head and turned to the other guys to tell them about the plan. Soon, they were sitting on very comfortable chairs while looking at the menu. Navneet was busy ordering drinks on behalf of everybody. At the same time, Rishi and Aadi just looked at the spectacle of his character change when talking to the waiters to appear adult-like.
"Two full buckets of beer, one margarita, hmmm, any other drink you guys want to try?"
Aadi and Rishi shrugged their shoulder, not knowing what the names of the drinks written on the menu meant.
"What about Bee's Knees? It has honey in it, so you guys can easily have it."
"Sure..."
"Ok, two Bee's Knees cocktail... I think that's it for the drinks. You guys can order the food as you like."
Aadi and the rest of his friends ordered some vegetarian and non-vegetarian starters and decided to discuss the main course once Kiran and his group joined them. Looking at the waiters, none of them seemed older than 25, that is including the manager who oversees the whole restaurant behind the reception desk. The weirdest part about the place was how the waiter did not mind asking for his age or legal ID. It seemed as if everyone could order anything they wanted, no questions asked.
After waiting for a few minutes, someone asked Aadi:
"By the way, do they have any DJs or dance floors we can go to enjoy, or mingle with others... if you know what I mean..."
"I don't know, ask the staff if you are so hungry for attention."
"Tsk, fine."
Two of his friends called out to one of the waiters and asked them about the other services they could offer.
"Ohhh, if you want, you can shift your table to the inner club located underground."
"Underground?"
"Yes, we have separated the club area from the restaurant area and also soundproofed it."
"What if we want to directly want to go to the club?"
"We do have a separate passage, but it is currently under renovation. I think it will open after 3-4 months."
"Ok, take us to the underground club."
Soon, they had their table shifted to the underground area. Aadi and his friends were escorted to a narrow staircase that led to the basement area. Even with the soundproofing, they could feel the vibrations from the stairs. Once they entered the basement, they saw a completely different scene. The traditional family restaurant atmosphere was replaced with loud music, laser lights, and a bunch of people dancing in the center.
"Please come this way."
They absentmindedly followed the staff to the seating area. There seemed to be a sort of hierarchy of seats, the lower seats being fitted with opulent furniture and a bunch of people lying on each other, or bringing others from the dance floor towards them.
The higher seats had more drunk and dazed people, some passing around a hookah among themselves, and some ordering more drinks even though the table was filled with beer bottles and empty glasses.
Aadi's group was escorted to an empty table at the corner of the dance floor. Their order was already on the table with the drinks covered with a disk cover. Navneet noticed a few closed doors on the wall and asked the waiter about them.
"Those are the private rooms provided as a part of our premium service."
"What does the premium service entail?"
"We provide a personal butler who will be willing to take any kind of orders. You can have private karaoke sessions, betting sessions, or you can bring in local entertainers who can..."
"Ok, thank you. We will call you if we need anything else."
"Alright!"
Aadi immediately cut the waiter off, sensing that they would hear something they were not supposed to. Navneet gave him a disappointed look, but then continued to start eating the starters and downing a freshly opened beer bottle.
"Hey, we are going to the dance floor, anyone wanna join?"
"No thanks, I don't feel like it."
Aadi refused their invitation and brought Rishi and Navneet closer to discuss the odd feeling he has been getting since he entered the restaurant.
"Don't you guys think there is something fishy going on here?"
"How?"
"They didn't ask for our IDs while ordering alcohol, most of the customers seem to be very young, and god knows what they are doing in those private rooms."
"Aadiiiii, chill. Everyone is just having fun, and we came here to do exactly that. And it was you who brought us here."
"I guess... When are Kiran and his group coming?"
"I just got a text, they said that they found another bar where one of their uncle works as a manager. It seemed that they got caught by their uncle there and are now just having non-alcoholic drinks, but still enjoying the music. See, we are in a better place than them and its all thanks to you!!!"
"Ok! okayyyy!!!"
"I heard that you met Esha and her family at the temple before you came here. How did it go?"
"It was just fine, I guess. Esha didn't seem to be on good terms with her family..."
"Oh yeah, I heard she chose engineering instead of being a doctor? I guess being from a family of doctors also has its downsides."
"But I think you are more interested in going to the same college as her, right?"
Navneet started poking Aadi from the side using his elbows while having a stupid grin on his face.
'Here we go again.'
"How many times do I have to tell you guys that nothing is going on between Esha and me. We rarely talk to each other. She is always busy with studying, and I am.... You know how I am."
"Yeah, yeah, we know how you are!!! You have been harboring this stupid crush on her ever since she helped you with some problems. That too, on the probing of your parents to get your marks up."
"No, it's not like that!!!!!"
"Then what is it like, even we want to know."
"I can't with you guys. I am going to the washroom. Till then, order the main course will you. I am starving."
Aadi rushed away from the pair of hyenas who claimed to be his best friends.
'So much for friendship. Where were they when I wanted to plan something for Esha?'
He tried to find the washroom, but only saw a line of doors to the private rooms. He went left and then right, but couldn't find the washroom.
'How is it that I always get lost in new places? Even this small corridor of rooms and tables feels like a maze. Did they make this so that we spend more money here?'
On his way, he heard a pained voice coming from one of the private rooms. The door seemed to be unlocked, and he could see a few vague silhouettes in the room.