1. That must be him

It’s funny how sometimes you’re strangely convinced to do things you thought you’d never do in life. The moon was like a phantom-silver disc, gleaming up in the lonely sky as I lay there on my bed in my favourite PJ’s, ready to perform my daily ritual i.e. manifesting to meet the person who had once promised to stay by my side forever.

I almost drifted off to sleep after tearing up those wandering annoying thoughts when someone barged into my room.

“Nicholas James Hayes! What’s wrong with you? I’m trying to sleep here!” I ranted, rolling my eyes at my little brother.

“But it’s urgent, Aiv!”

“I don’t ca-”

“Uncle Brice has invited us over for dinner, we need to go! Hurry up and get ready before mom comes in and drags you there in your Pyjamas.”

“What?! Why would they invite us out of the blue? And by the way, didn’t we just meet them like 3 days ago?”

“True that, but it seems like they miss us and can’t live without seeing us once a week.” he shrugged.

“For once, I completely agree with you on this one, Nicky boy.” I exclaimed.

“Hey, stop calling me that will you, Aivy Daivy?” he retorted and I instinctively smacked him at the back of his head and he scowled.

“Now off you go. Your sister needs to get ready. She’s already in a bad mood to begin with.”

He simply shrugged and left the room.

Silence. I felt peaceful and lonely at the same time. Is it normal to feel this way?

Every time I’m forced to meet someone, I get anxious and break down into cold sweats. I feel like people wouldn’t want to talk with me and they always ignore me for some reasons. Firstly, why do I have to go somewhere I don’t want to go? Would they even want me there?  I suck at speaking and opening up is the last thing I’d prefer to do. But I feel like if I don’t go, I’ll be disrespecting and hurting them. God! Why am I like this?

“Because you’re different, my child.” Nana spoke from behind me. I was so into my thoughts that I hadn’t realized she had gotten into my room and was now leaning forward to give me a hug. I gave her a warm smile.

Nana, my lovely granny, she always knows the right thing to say. She somehow always knows what I’m thinking and understands me so well. And I really love her for that!

“I know you don’t want to but you can’t ignore the fact that you live in a society, can you? You need people in life so you can enjoy and actually live your life. You don’t need to fear them, they’re humans too, just like us.”

I shivered. Something in me ignited and I felt like I was ready to go there. This was what my granny did to me. Her words always worked like magic.

“Hi Nana! How’re you?” We snapped our head on time to see my best friend sneaking her head inside my room and twirling her way to us. The third person to enter my room without announcing tonight. Not even surprised anymore.

“Oh hello there, Jen! I’m doing great! Come have a seat.” Nana replied happily. For some reason, my granny really liked Jen. And why wouldn’t she? She’s goofy, bubbly, and a really care-free person, but she can be really emotional and a fool sometimes. But nevertheless, she’s that one girl in school with perfect hourglass who boys swoon over for.

We chatted for a bit and Nana left the room a few moments later. Just as my Nana disappeared downstairs, Jen jumped up from the couch and hurried over my closet.

“What’re you doing here this late, Jen? Is everything alright?”

“Everything’s fine, Aiv. You don’t need to worry about me, instead worry about yourself, will you? Had I not received your mom’s call, I wouldn’t have known you’re going over to Uncle Brice’s!” she groaned.

“What? Mom called you? This late? But why?” I asked, surprised.

“Cause you’re going over to Uncle Brice’s, you dumbo. Need I remind you that over and over again? For your kind information, he happens to be one of the richest and most famous businessman in our nation!”

"Of course, I know that. He’s my Dad’s friend, remember?" I stated sarcastically.

“Whatever! But there’s no denying the fact that you have the worst fashion sense, Aivs. Oh, what would you do without me?” Jen sang.

Ugh! She can be so annoying sometimes.

It was soon time to leave and we were still stuck on choosing the right shoes for my beautiful dress. I was wearing a gorgeous royal green off the shoulder dress, laced with two ribbons tugging at my waist perfectly.

“Now, let’s do something about your face and hair, shall we?” Jen beamed and winked at me.

My best friend was a fashionista and I had to admit that. I wouldn’t tell her that, of course.

My brown hair was all messily wavy so she quickly tied it up into a updo bun. She then put on some cakey foundation, blush, highlighter and bronzer that made my face glitter. She went on to add mascara, eyeliner, and some silvery green eye shadow on my eyelids and of course some pink lipstick.

I really didn’t look like myself, did I?

“Aiv? What about this one? It’d go really well with your dress!” Jen announced giddily holding a pair of black silhouettes in her hands.

“No! I’m so not wearing those! I will barely be able to take a step forward if I wear them.”

“Stop whining and put those on before your mom loses her patience.” snapped Jen and did a little victory danced when I followed her order.

This has to be torture. Plain torture. Argh! So frustrating!

We arrived the mansion at around 9 P.M. A lot of people had arrived before us in their deluxe suits and expensive gowns, sporting their luxurious Lamborghini’s and Mercedes, sharing loud laughter’s and clinking wines every now and then.

Mom and dad, being the social butterfly that they are, excused themselves to chat with their friends and random strangers. I looked back at my brother to see what he was up to, but he seemed too occupied playing games on his phone. I instantly wished Nana and Jen were here with me.

Nana’s been feeling quite under the weather lately so she couldn’t join us due to her health reasons. So I just stood there sulking and wishing to go back home.

I quickly greeted Uncle Brice and Aunt Lia and excused myself to look around their new built mansion. Everything was decorated in gold and silver and dainty fairy lights added beautiful colours across the room.

A delicious aroma lured me into the dining room where snacks were placed neatly on separate plates for the guests. I weaved my way into the room to one of the stalls and served myself some snacks, considering I was starving since we left home. Yumm…The Pepperoni Pizza dip tasted amazing!

I stood there idle for a while, listening to the music and enjoying my own company, glad I didn’t have to interact with anyone. But, not for long. A guy, who looked around my age, approached me and introduced himself, but then again I couldn’t hear him since the music was way too loud, and at this point everyone had their eyes on us. So, yes, I was visually panicking.

“Get a hold of yourself, Aiv!” I mentally scolded myself. Something I do quite often.

He grinned and offered his hand towards me. I hesitated but soon realised the situation I was in and backed away. Strange enough, Nana’s voice kept on replaying on my mind, constantly reminding me the importance of socializing in order to survive in today’s world. And I stood there frozen.I can do this! I have to do this! Stop distancing yourself from people, Aiv! They’re humans too. They may have their fears but they still take up the courage to face them. So, why can’t I? I pushed my shoulders back, smiled confidently, and placed my hands on top of his hands. He was taken aback at my response but soon reciprocated and led me towards the dance floor. My feet glided with his moves but I still felt uneasy dancing with someone I just met, though he looked like a nice person. I didn’t even get to hear his name properly. Bad manners, Aiv!

As we swirled around in circles pacing awkwardly, I spotted a dark familiar figure standing at the top of the stairs from the corner of my eyes and my heart stopped for a second. It must be him.