SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER.

||BLUE BELL||

Skye Adebiyi, the man every girl in my dance class at Boabab Conservatoire wants. Including me. He's a highly trained dancer and instructor. He is our instructor. He has the looks, the moves and everything else a man should have to make him perfect. Every girl wants to hang by his sleeves. Though I like him very much, I don't act desperate like some of them and go crawling my way at his feet. That would be absurd. I'm the girl who admires him from afar. Somewhere he'll never notice.

Every night I clasp my pillow to watch his iconic dance videos. He's also a powerful inspiration. He challenges you to keep on moving until you can reach his level. Getting there myself will take me all the effort I can gather perhaps even from the neighbours. In the dance class, there are six rows. He grouped us according to potential. If you improve, he shifts you to the next group. I'm in the fifth row. You can see why I need even the neighbours' efforts. The front row is for the veterans. His girlfriend Priscilla is there. She is sick when it comes to dancing and I envy her if I am honest.

Sometimes when my jealousy gets the best of me, I find myself praying that things go my way so that he can start noticing me. But it never works. Cause if it worked, he would have noticed me by now. I hate it. I also hate the fact that I still look like a little girl. It makes it worse. It makes me look like a child compared to the girl he is dating and also his female friends. They all look mature. And him being a mature young adult, he's likely to go for mature young ladies. Therefore, it's hopeless romantic for me. He can never notice a baby.

My twin brother Asahd is in the third row. He managed to bypass the last three in four days. I'm sure by the end of next week he'll be in the second row. The ladies won't stop swooning over him. Particularly because he too has the moves, the looks and the body of a twenty-year-old. Except perfectly sculpted. The rewards of following dad to the gym. Most of the ladies are older than him. Some even with over five years. He's just but seventeen but his body gives him the credit of going out with them without being noticed. He says he is thankful for it cause it helps him to gain the experience he needs. He's lucky he can easily get his way around women. But that's with utmost care. He has to remain under the radar.

Dad cannot know. If he does, he'll be angry and he will be grounded. None of us likes dad's punishments. They are the worst but still helpful if you're clever enough to see the bigger picture. He cannot know about Skye too. He still thinks I'm his little girl and I am not supposed to have a boyfriend until I am eighteen. It's not even up for debate. Asahd too shouldn't have a girlfriend till he is eighteen. Dad says he would hate it if he started corrupting the minds of little teenagers. He'd surprised if not shocked once he hears about Asahd's adventures with older ladies.

It's a lazy Saturday and everyone else is at the house. By that, I mean mom and dad as we are the ones that remain at home mostly. No work for them today which means Asahd and I don't have the freedom we usually have on weekdays after classes. It's not a bother though. We always love having our beloved parents around. They are a blessing that I never take for granted.

I swipe the phone to move on to the next video. It takes a while to load. Just as I am watching, the door clicks open. It's the sneaky brat again. He walks in slowly. I quickly try to hide my phone under the pillow but he's already caught me.

"Of course you're still watching his videos," he grumbles.

He may be my twin but he insists that he is my big brother just because he's older by a minute. A damn minute that he claims gives him the crown and the right to be protective of his little sister when it comes to men.

"What do you see in him, Blue?" he asks the question in such a way that you can't evade answering. It forces the answers out of you. But good thing is that you can lie. Something I am about to do.

To be honest, what I see in Skye is a mature kind of thing. If we ever dated, it would be a mature relationship. One that I have been yearning for. I believe he can give me the kind of experience a fellow seventeen or eighteen years old can't give me. But I can't dare say that to Asahd. He'll freak out and probably snitch it to dad because it is very serious.

"Nothing. He's just a perfect dancer. Anyway, what are you doing here?" I ask stepping off the bed. "Didn't mom say you shouldn't sneak in a girl's room without knocking?"

"Please. Nothing I haven't seen," he says rolling his eyes.

"You're a pervert. How many girls have you seen out there?" I ask as I spread the bed. He helps me with one side.

"Just two," he responds as if it's no big deal. Good for him.

"Vivianne?" I ask.

He has a crush on her. She is our next-door neighbour's daughter. She is sixteen of age. She on the other hand is 'madly in love' with him. Mostly when we hang out, she'll ask me about Asahd even if it is indirectly.

"Nope. She's too innocent like you," he responds with a smirk on his face.

I scowl at him. He doesn't waver. I shoot him one of my wild glares and he shrugs to insist I'm innocent. He's so stubborn.

"Lunchtime," mom yells from downstairs.

I swear that woman's vibes never end. She's always vibrant and I always admire her. Dad says that while growing up, she had a hard time. Thus when we see her smiling, we should know that she deserves it. What's more, I admire their love. It's so rare. So real sometimes I think it's surreal. Every day, I pray to get such a love someday.

"Yes, Mom," I yell back. "Do you know that your relationship with Vivianne is no different from Aunt Salima's? She and Uncle Hussein used to sneak out in the middle of the night to spend time together," I tell him. He laughs lightly at my words.

"They did that?" he asks.

"That's what Aunt Salima told me and Salma," I respond. Salma is our cousin. She Aunt Salima and Uncle Hussein's daughter. "They do have an interesting story," I add on as we make our way downstairs. "You should ask them to narrate it to you," I suggest. He snickers. He won't do it. "However, keep fancying her. Soon, mom will notice," I tell him as a matter of factly.

Nothing bypasses our mom. I'm doubting she knows about their crush and mine too. It won't come as a surprise if at all I'm summoned about it.

"Notice what?" mom asks startling us.

"That she has a boyfriend," Asahd blurts. Damn him! He'll pay for it after lunch.

"Who has a boyfriend?" Dad asks as he comes in from his office. It will be bad if at all he believes it.

"Blue," Asahd responds heading to the dining area. I'll surely kick him in the nuts. I don't care if it will hurt for the next decade or not.

"Bell," dad calls in a warning tone.

"Daddy, I swear I've got no boyfriend. It's Asahd who has a girlfriend," I snitch.

Asahd looks at me with horrified eyes. It's his fault we are talking about girlfriends and boyfriends. And I want to get dad off my back. I don't like it when he's angry or disappointed in me.

"I have no girlfriend," he denies.

Mom looks at us with a puzzled look. She is not surprised by the talk but she is curious to know more. It makes me think that she already suspected us. She settles next to dad and joins the chat.

"Asahd," he calls in a warning tone as well.

"It's just a crush, dad," he admits making mom smile. Dad shakes his head trying hard not to smile.

"And you, is it just a crush?" Mom asks me.

"Yes," I respond.

"How old do you think your crush is?" Dad asks with interest. I do not like the direction this conversation is headed. Thanks to Asahd!

"Twenty-two," Asahd quickly responds.

He just can't let it go. Ugh. I was about to say I do not know before surprising dad.

"Twenty-two?!" Dad flips out. Mom chuckles. She likes seeing him get all protective. "You're but seventeen, Bell," he emphasizes more on my age.

"I will be eighteen in seven months," I retort. His face goes horrid.

"He'll be twenty-three by then, baby," he says needing me to understand.

"And I'll be all grown," I insist not wanting to understand m

"It's a no, Bell," he says firmly. I swallow wanting to pout. "Don't even think about it," he warns. He turns his attention to Asahd.

"Asahd, surprise me, now," Asahd looks at him with a horrid face. I laugh as he thought he had gotten dad off his back.

"It's Vivianne. She's sixteen," I respond on his behalf.

Dad flips out again as expected. Mom laughs making dad stares at her with a frown. She shrugs and laughs more.

"Did you get on each other's nerves today?" she asks us. Asahd and I look at each other.

"Probably," we respond in unison.

"Could history be more accurate in repeating itself?" Dad asks mom. She laughs.

"Told you," I snap at Asahd who rolls his eyes on me.

"So, here is what we are going to do," dad starts. "You two are going to get over those crushes and wait till you're eighteen. After that, you can love, get heartbroken, cry and move on until you find your better halves," he finishes.

"Just don't get pregnant and Asahd, don't get a girl pregnant. It's going to be ugly," Mom adds in a cautionary tone. We know when she is serious and bluffing. Right now she is dead serious.

"Yes, mom," we respond in unison. It's a learnt response when we are both being addressed.

"Don't forget to be careful and clever in that case. Are we in agreement?" Dad asks demanding an honest response.

"Yes, Dad," we both respond.

"Now, let's eat and forget that happened," Mom chimes in.

"Yes, please," I add on.

Even though I agree with dad's words, I doubt I'll be able to move on from Skye easily. He takes away all of my focus. Or maybe I let him do it. If I need to move on from him, then I need to work hard on it. As for Asahd, he can keep himself distracted with the girls at the Conservatoire. That way, he'll be able to stay away from Vivianne. Until we are of age. I dearly hope it will work out so we won't have to disappoint our dad.