||ASAHD||

"Asahd," mom's voice calls from the door.

Seven in the morning is too early for her to be knocking on my door unless whatever brought her here is serious. I toss on the bed and usher her in. She slowly pushes the door open and graces my morning with her radiant face and bright eyes. She never grows old at all if she's still this beautiful and I don't want her to.

"Good morning, mom," I mumble sitting up and raking my hands through my loose locks.

"It's would be a good morning if I didn't have to address the matter at hand," she says with a hint of disappointment that leaves me wondering what I did this time round.

"I don't understand, mom," I say watching her expectantly.

"Could you explain to me why Vanessa wants me to speak to you?" she asks pointing a finger at me as if to accentuate her question.

"Vanessa," I huff hating the damn ambitious lady.

If she wasn't ambitious, I would be forced to think that she is obsessed with me. Unless her ambition has grown into obsession, which is a doubt.

"What is going on?" mom determinedly asks as she takes a seat at the edge of my bed.

"I don't know, mom," I lie despite knowing that's it's futile. I'm sure she already knows what's going on but she wants to hear it from the horse's mouth.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" she calmly and patiently asks studying me. Quite the change in mood and tone. "From what I know, you and Vanessa have been together, isn't it?"

"Well, we were not dating," I confess.

"So you were together but not dating?" she silently asks and I nod tightening my lips.

Blue made it clear that whatever I had with Vanessa was a skeleton of what one could call casual dating. She also insisted that sex dating was a much better title as all we did was have sex, sex again, and more sex.

"There was nothing solid to make it worth being called a relationship," I expound on my previous response.

"Asahd, I know you don't have the best history in relationships, but it is a high time you woke up from your slumber," she starts. I expected her to start lecturing me about it but it seems like I'll be getting a piece of advice. "I'm sure you don't want this to be your story for the rest of your life, right?" I nod at her question.

She is strongly perceptive and nothing concerning her children easily escapes her.

"Good. From now on, train yourself to get into a relationship with a purpose. A solid purpose that satisfies you while in that relationship. Don't just get into one because you want to scratch an itch. Believe me, there is so much satisfaction in a relationship once you get into the right one and if lucky, with the right person," she explains with an assuring soft semile.

"Do you think there is a right person for me out there?" I decide to ask just to confirm dad's words.

"As long as you don't overlook, there is a right person for you. I'll say like they always say, if you find them, you'll know you have," she affirms dad's words.

"I don't know if I can hope for something like what you and dad have. It's not easy to find a relationship like yours," I confess letting out a heavy sigh.

"We all get our share that's perfect in its own way. We just have to treasure it otherwise it will slip away from us. That's why I said, do not overlook," she emphasizes.

I've grown up watching mom and dad have a wonderful relationship. Uncle Hussein and aunt Salima too. It's rare and admirable if not enviable. It's the kind that never fades. The one everyone wishes for--including me--but only the chosen few get it. Blue thought she had one when she fell in love with Skye. However, it ended when Skye abruptly left without much of a goodbye or accounting for his absence.

He went dark after he left. No one could get ahold of him. His aunt Lilian Rosa never said anything. She didn't bother to explain his departure or try to justify it. All she said was that he had an emergency that he had to take care of. It's been almost four years. He never reaches out to any of us unless it is work-related. By that, I mean participating in projects at Boabab. He is still one of the main choreographers.

Blue says she moved on from him but deep down, I know that she still hasn't. She still hopes that one day they will be a thing again. It's because of her that I'm convinced that first or true love, not sure which one applies for her, never ends. She has been in two other relationships and she quit both because none of the guys was Skye. None matched up to him. It is crazy when I think of it but maybe their love could be like that of our parents. She would be so darn lucky but only if the most important variable was present; Skye Adebiyi.

"Got it, don't overlook," I repeat and she nods in agreement.

"Meanwhile, work on explaining things to Vanessa before she goes crazily obsessed with you. It's not hard to with your charming personality. If you don't want to be in a relationship with her, make or help her understand," she urges getting up from her position and leaning in to give me a forehead kiss.

"Mom, I'm twenty-three years old man and not a three-year-old boy," I grumble.

"I don't care," she flips me off with a smile and walks out.

A smile crawls on my lips as I step out of bed. It's a bright morning that hopefully will make a good day. Silently, I thank mom for giving me something that I can use in the future in case I ever get lucky. In the meantime, I'll just keep it in mind. Vanessa. I can't deal with her today. She will have to wait until I'm done with other things that are much important such as EAMS dance rehearsals progress. In the past week, we finished up on hip-hop. We are now on contemporary and they are doing great on it. The festivals are just around the corner and just to be exact, we have exactly two weeks.

☆☆☆☆

The EAMS drama patron, Mr. Kelvin, called a crisis meeting that even we the directors had to attend. The room is almost full with all the participating students. Oddly, I find myself looking for the mysterious Serah. She hasn't been around much at the dance studio that past week. It is like she has been keeping a distance. Probably for her own good. On Thursday, she came by to see Sue but immediately left when she saw Julia comfortably sitting beside me and having a chat. In her eyes, I saw pain and jealousy at the same time. I'm familiar with the feelings to notice them from afar.

It was then that I figured that she is crushing on me. She too has entered the list of the many girls crushing on me. I'm bragging or being cocky for having a load of them. I'm just stating facts. Although for some reason, she reminds me of Blue. She used to crush on Skye from afar and never did anything save for hope that he would one day notice her. It hurt her most of the time when it seemed hopeless but eventually, he noticed her. I don't know if Serah expects the same. Well, she better not because she might just end up getting hurt. When I miss her in the crowd, which shouldn't be hard, I resume my focus on whatever the patron is saying.

"...festival dates have been pushed forward to next weekend. That's starting from Friday. So we have very limited time. In short, one week. I urge you guys to work as hard and smart as you can because we have to bring those trophies back home. There is no room for negotiations about that. It doesn't matter whether we will have to work both day and night. The victory must be ours."

The students whistle and cheer in agreement. I also agree that bringing victory home is as sweet as honey and very exciting. I can easily relate to that.

"I can see that we agree on that. From today, we have to sacrifice ourselves because we are at that point where we have to. However, we have to hear if the directors are willing to put in the extra effort and you guys as well. Michael, what do you think?" he asks Michael the drama-play director.

"I'm ready if the students are ready," he responds without hesitation.

"Great, let's hear from the rest as well," he says pointing at us.

We all agree to it as long as the students are ready. He proceeds to ask the students if they are ready. They all agree and accept to work with the new schedule that came in with the changes. I know there are still some who may not be able to adjust to it though. It happens especially if you're in the group just for fun and not work. Unless one has other valid reasons and not excuses.

"Majority is ready to get to work. So let's not fail each other. If you feel like you're not ready to adjust to the new schedule you'll be doing justice to both yourself and us by communicating it as soon as possible so that the right measures can be taken. Are we in agreement with that?" the students nod or mumble their agreement responses. "Good. That was all I wanted to communicate. Thank you for listening. You're all free to resume your rehearsals."

There is some commotion as the students go back to their respective rehearsal rooms. As the directors, we are left behind to talk about the new changes for a few minutes. Once we are done, I walk back to the dance studio. As expected, my dancers have already gone back to practice. This group is one in a million.

"Okay guys, let's settle some things first," I prompt and Joseph stops the music. "You've all heard what your patron said. I want to know those of you who will not be in for the new schedule so that we can work on changes. I hate it when people scramble last minute that they want to quit. So if you know you're not sure of yourself, then it's a good time to think about it and communicate. Otherwise, for those who are comfortable and ready to adjust, I'm willing to work with you full-time. We have to be the best and not just for the trophy but ourselves as well. Cool with that?"

"Yes, sir," that comes from Steve making me smile. The rest mumble their agreements as well.

"Alright, let's continue with the rehearsals. I'll be back in a minute," I say walking out of the studio.

It's already dark as it's around seven-thirty. I've been meaning to make an important call but I have been postponing it since morning. Before I forget once again, I remove my phone and dial the number. As the phone rings, I walk towards the end of the hallway for a little privacy. Before, the phone is answered, soft whims register into my ears. I look around the dimly lit area and notice they are coming from the stairs across the hallway extension. The phone goes without being responded to. Probably the guy got tired of waiting for me to call.

Regardless, I'll try later on after assessing the situation at hand. I make my way towards the extension and notice a figure curled up in a sitting position. Studying the figure, it seems to be a girl so I just walk up to her and decide to check up on her. Her face is not clearly visible but it's recognizable. Serah. Ah, of course, it had to be the creepy watcher. Okay, it is not a good time to call her names. I wonder if she has been sitting here the whole time we were in the meeting. Probably that's the case. She looks up at me in surprise as she tries to compose herself a little.

"Hey, are you okay?" I ask studying her with the minimal light reaching us.

"Uh, yes," she mumbles warily. Her dark gaze watches me from head to toe for a while before she finally locks it with mine.

"Serah, you--" before I can continue speaking, she interrupts me.

"You know my name?" she asks in shock. She obviously didn't expect me to notice her let alone know her name.

"You're constantly staring at me. I had to know the name of the girl who is always staring at me. It's a little creepy," I half-lie blowing up her cover.

Her gaze drops from mine in embarrassment. Truth be told, if I hadn't heard Sue call her name, I wouldn't have bothered getting it. I would have just assumed her per the usual. A soft sniff escapes her and for some reason, I feel like a total douchebag. I just had to call her out on her creepy staring and cause her embarrassment when she obviously isn't doing okay. Yeap. I am a total douche. Again.

"I'm sincerely sorry about that," she softly apologizes, completely unable to maintain eye contact. "I didn't mean to creep you out or something," she goes on, this time sparing the slightest of eye contact before shifting it elsewhere.

"Why are you crying in the dark?" I ask stepping closer and bypassing her sincere apologies.

"It is nothing," she lies in a soft voice.

Without thinking, I step even closer and squat in front of her. It makes her a little self-conscious and wary. Her eyes watch me silently as I take my time to scrutinize her. She doesn't have her glasses on today and her naked eyes a beautiful. Calling as well. It's as if I can almost hear them calling my name in capitals. I guess the glasses do hide the beauty. Unless it's the dim light making me see my own things.

"Serah, you cannot lie when the evidence is right in front of one's eyes. What is wrong?" I softly ask again feeling concern threading itself within me.

"Well, I am so frustrated in myself. I broke my glasses," she says letting out a heavy sigh and wiping her wet eyes. Her glasses, she said. I thought it was something much worse.

"They're just glasses, Serah. They shouldn't get you so worked up," I state and she stares up at me with a weak smile.

"I wish they were just glasses, but they are not. Without them my eyes I can barely see clearly. At the presence of maximum or bright light, they will tear up and perhaps swell. The latter will just be for a while until they adjust. The former is constant as long as I don't have them. Though that's not the reason I'm frustrated with myself. It is because they cost my family so much money. It's not even been two months and they have barely recovered all the money they used on them and the treatment, " she explains as she works hard on keeping the tears that are threatening to cascade down her cheeks at bay. "I'm sorry I'm burdening you with my problems. I just keep nagging at you. Forgive me," she apologizes.

"No worries. At least now I understand why they're not just glasses," I say and she slowly nods. "Do the eyes hurt right now?" I ask and she shakes her head. I'm trying to take a look at the eyes but dim light is useless since I can't notice anything out of the ordinary. "What about your vision?" I add on.

"It's blurred. Mostly from the right eye," she responds.

"You said they'll hurt at the presence of bright light," I prompt. If that is the case, then it means they will be hurting once she goes to a brightly lit place. Is that the reason why she is sitting in the dark? Oh, man.

"It is just going to hurt for a while and then they will adjust," she assures me even if it feels as if she's trying to reassure herself. "It is not like they have an option until I get the lenses fixed. Anyway, thank you for your concern. I think I will head back to rehearsals," she says as she grabs her bag that's beside her. I stand from my squatting position the same time she does.

"You're sure they will be okay?" I ask as more concern etches within me.

"Asahd?" I hear Julia's voice call from behind. Perfect timing. "We're waiting for you. The guys want to end today's rehearsals within the next ten minutes," she informs me.

"Alright, I'll be there. Meanwhile, can you please get me my cap? It's placed on my bag at my seat," I instruct her.

"You need it right now?" she asks refraining from asking the obvious question.

"Yes, please," I respond looking at Serah instead.

She is busy staring at her nails and tugging at her fingers as tension stirs within the air. Julia mumbles something that I barely understand before she walks off.

"You haven't answered my question," I point out.

"I assure you that they will be okay after adjusting," she responds repeating the same response. I'm not convinced but I'll not push it.

"Alright," I say giving her a slight nod.

"Have a good night," she bids as she starts to leave.

"Hold on for a minute," I request. She stills and then turns to look at me.

Gratefully, Julia arrives just in time with the cap and hands it to me. She eyes Serah for a while before she walks away. Wow, she didn't even utter hello to her. Serah couldn't. I'm sure Julia is not a favorite especially after last Thursday. It comes naturally.

"Here," I say fixing my black cap on her braids. "I know that it is not going to be of much help but it should shield too much light from reflecting in your eyes," I add fitting it perfectly.

"Asahd," she calls softly making my heart stir with an unknown feeling. "You shouldn't have bothered."

"It's not a bother. You can give it back when your glasses are all fixed and ready to be worn again," I tell her with a smile.

"Thank you," she appreciates humbly.

"You're welcome and have a good night."

"You too, once again," she says making me smile at her response.

We both leave, walking in opposite directions. If that wasn't a weird way of finally meeting my creepy watcher then I don't know. She turns out to not only be simple but humble as well. I hope that she gets her glasses fixed soon even if it means that they will resume hiding the beauty of her naked eyes. Back in the studio, we do the last run of contemporary and then disperse. Tomorrow we shall finish it and polish it up. Then finally we'll move on to modern dance. That will take us probably two days and then after that, we can run the three genres for perfection.