It Has Always Been You

Chapter – 8

Chapter – 8

A day to come

They were at the cafeteria catching up on the things that they had missed of each other in their time away. It was a ritual for them; they knew all about each other all their life; they had to stay close; every crush, first kiss, secrets, good things, and bad, everything, anything, huge or unimportantly insignificant. They knew it all, all their lives.

They were to be twins, as their parents always joked about when sitting together at the dinner table. They looked pretty similar, even as newborns. Big cute eyes, plump lips, big cheeks. Their birth certificate has ‘large baby’ written on it. They were bigger and taller than normal kids. They had long sleek fingers, tall bodies, and feet. Only if Elena too had those pairs of adorable, deep dimples and those gummy teeth like Emmi that illuminated his face more when he smiles. They both would have been more similar, maybe even identical. Gannon must be a screw nut not to find them so similar-looking and even thinking that they could be dating.

There was a reason for their facial remarks to have such similarity. And no, neither of their mothers cheated on their spouse. Their fathers were identical twins, and they both looked similar to their fathers. They were even born close to each other. Elena was five days older than Emmi, born on September 30th.

They liked the same food, baby food even, same movies and vacation spots, toys. Their favorite color was black and red, they liked hard rock and hip-hop and dancing to crazy songs together. They liked the rain. So much they shared. Just the interest in sports didn’t match up for them. Emiliano was a sports freak. He played every sport they pushed him in, basketball, soccer, baseball, and any computer games, and was good at most of them. While Eli was too good at it, her interest slowly evaporated at doing sports every time she got bullied to be too heavy to play. As a growing kid, she became conscious of those comments and shelled herself in books and TV to protect her already weak self-esteem. It was her way to escape from reality. And after some time, she stopped completely until they forced her to for her grades.

After the snack-n-chat session at the cafeteria, where they ate paste salad, they were at the parking area, parting ways for a while. Eli was done for the day. She didn’t have many classes since it was her first day, while Emmi had it completely slipped off his mind that he had basketball practice.

“Where are you staying? Dorms?” Emmi asked, dropping her at her car.

“No, actually I’ve rented a studio apartment nearby, it’s mom’s friend’s, so it’s practically rent-free. But I still have to pay other bills. You know I can’t stay with others in dorms. It’s cramped but better than shared dorm rooms.”

“Ya, you are compulsive for dirty sheets and bed. Don’t worry, I'm not dirty, I'll hang around at your place so you won’t get bored alone if you don’t already have guys hanging around you.” He smeared a freaky grin across his face.

God, this shithead. “I have many guys hanging around and so you are not welcome.”

“I know you are joking.”

“How thoughtful of you, Mr. Emiliano Stephen,” I said sarcastically, shooting him a menacing grin.

“Get ready at seven p.m. sharp. I’ll come n’ pick you up.” He said, walking away from his back at the girl.

“Why? I am not free."

“No excuses…” he shouted.

“At least tell me where you are taking me. I will not do any club s**t tonight, I'm exhausted.”

“It’s not club s**t, FYI. Your favorite band is in town if you haven’t heard.”

“Black Panther?”

“Yes. And I am going there with my friends. You can choose not to come and stay at your apartment, alone… if you like.” He stopped and said, looking back. "You'll love it if you come. It’s better than your apartment, anyway.”

“Do you have an extra pass for me?”

“I have a few extras. You can use one.”

“I’ll text you my address then. You waste a lot of money; you know that?”

“I won it in a bet.”

“By the way….” he shouted again.

“Hmm…?” She gave him a loud, audible-from-far hum.

“You look pretty. I'm happy now that you are happy, and I'm glad you choose to keep our promise.”

She smiled upfront as he turned his back and walked slowly away and out of sight.  

“Thanks…” she uttered softly in herself while her stomach churned up and down before she moved on for the day. It still felt new when someone compliments her. Sometimes the compliments made her uncomfortable, but sometimes it gave her butterflies.