The Zoya Factor by Anuja Chauhan

possible - 'the eye of the cupboard. Thank you.'
    What a cheerful little gang we were at breakfast the next day. The boys looked disgustingly triumphant about getting me to stay. It was Hairy's birthday and everybody was congratulating him on turning forty. Wes, Laakhi and Nikhil looked pretty upbeat at their end of the table too. 'Wait and see, Zoya,' Shivee chortled. 'We'll fix those Aussies good - you are our secret weapon!'
    'Isn't that totally insulting to all the talent on this team, Shivee,' I asked him, irritated. ' Matlab , according to you, if I eat breakfast with monkeys even they can go out and beat the best team in the world!'
    'Zoya, these fellows are also monkeys only!' Laakhi boomed down the table at me, his big shoulders shaking as he laughed.
    The 'monkeys', instead of being offended, looked mighty tickled. Hairy even went as far as to scratch his armpits. Really, what had got into them?
    'It's nerves,' Khoda said to me as I walked back to the buffet to pick up more papaya. He was there, shovelling all the watermelon the Sonargaon had to offer onto his plate. 'They'll be fine once we're on the field.'
    'Best of luck,' I said. And then felt pretty stupid. He'd probably think I was being oversmart or playful or something....
    But he didn't seem to mind. 'Thanks,' he said simply.
    Back at the table the boys were planning a little party afterwards for Hairy. (Obviously, Nikhil hadn't told them about seeing only thee eye of thee cupboard yet.) Navneet's Miss India-Universe had shown up to watch the semis with some hot southern actresses in tow and the boys wanted to let down their hair a bit. 'The three of you must come too, Zoyaji,' Zahid said enthusiastically. 'We'll do something cool.'
    'Okay,' I said, thinking how pathetically grateful Neelo and Vishaal would be. Hot southern actresses were really their thing. But only after my shoot with these two was over. I pointed at Shiv and Harry who appeared to have made miraculous recoveries, 'Groins feeling good, guys?'

They nodded solemnly. 'Yes, Dieter-sir is a miracle worker. He has massaged us personally all night.'
    Dieter looked up startled, but said nothing (he never did), and then Wes looked up and said they had to board their team bus now.
    'Give 'em hell, boys,' I said as they trooped out, feeling a bit like Bharat Mata Incarnate. And in spite of the casual matey way in which they treated me, I had an uncomfortable feeling that's how they perceived me. I mean, Zahid even asked me to give him my blessings! I felt so dumb - like I should have said ' Vijayee Bhava' the way Durga Khote does in the old movies. Instead, I just leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
    I didn't have the stomach to watch the match in the stands. Though my Standing-in-thee-Society had moved up a lot since the last match (VVIP enclosure passes lay on my dressing table now!) I didn't fancy seeing my Lucky Charm status being ground to dust live in the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium. Because 'Australia is by far the stronger side and their best boys are playing today' is what I'd overheard the commentators say when they'd got into the elevator.
    So, what I did was, I got into the Miss India-Universe's room (her name was Ritu Raina, and she was heart-stoppingly beautiful: glossy ironed hair, high cheekbones and all) and watched it there with her. She was nervous as hell too - 'I never see Nivi playing live,' she confided. 'It makes me nauseous.'
    I did kind of wonder why she'd risked her life and flown Biman Air to Dhaka then. But she said her hot actress friends were keen to see the cricketers close up. Besides, she liked being with him when the match was over. 'Because it's another whole trip when he comes back to me all sweaty and flushed with victory,' she said, her eyes shining. 'I feel like a prize then.'
    Okay, that was a pretty corny thing to say, but she was only nineteen, after all, and probably didn't know any better. So I forgave her. Also, I needed to borrow clothes from her for