All Things End

1.

Jett groaned when Sofia walked into the classroom with a downcast expression.
The poor girl was waiting for her parents to come pick her just like the others and she was probably sad because her best friend Shaun just left a minute ago.
Jett stretched her hands out and Sofia ran into her arms in tears.
"It's ok, I'm sure your dad got you something for your troubles"
"I don't want anything, I just wanna go home" she hiccuped.
Jett stroked her hair "fine, when they come... We won't hesitate to tell them how sad we are."
Sofia giggled.
"Politely of course, we don't want you getting grounded" Jett added
Sofia chuckled and wiped her face with the back of her palm.
"Miss J, my mummy didn't come because she's at the hospital"
Jett gasped.
"Is she alright?"
Sofia nodded "she's pooing my little brother today"
Jett blinked a couple of times as she struggled to comprehend what she'd just heard.
Sofia kept talking "my uncle is coming to pick me today, he's gonna leave work early and come, then he'd take me to work and have me meet all his nice work people "
Sofia's mother was in labour, that was what the little girl meant. Sometimes Jett wondered how she really understood the four year olds in her class, they said the most bizarre things.
She dragged a seat closer to her and helped Sofia to sit on it.
"Well, you're in luck and you're about to be a big sister so let's celebrate"
Sofia-God bless her soul-was so puzzled, she didn't understand what being a big sister was.
"Do you love babies?" Jett asked.
"Not really... It's a love hate relationship, all they do is eat and cry and poop everywhere and it's annoying but at the same time they are cute and cuddly and they smell so good" she took a deep breath and added dryly "when they're not covered in poop"
Jett smiled at the little girl. They seemed to share the same sentiment only difference being that Jett could return them to their parents after a long day of watching them.
Well... You'll be stuck for as long as your mum wants to keep having kids, she wanted to say but instead she said : "but you'll love your little one like no other right?"
"Do I have a choice?"
Jett grinned and opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by the sound of the microphone speaker.
"Sofia Davies, come to the reception"
She locked eyes with Jett and hugged her before rushing to pick her bags.
Jett followed suit because a part of her wanted to see the uncle and stretch her feet while she waited for Abigail to pick her up.
She got to the reception and locked eyes with him.
She must have gasped a bit too loud because soon all eyes were on her and they seemed amused.
It was him, the resemblance had been there all this while but she didn't believe it.
Charles Endings, it was Charles Endings, the award winning Hollywood actor who stole the hearts of many including hers.
"Uncle C, that's my teacher" Sofia said.
Jett snapped out of her thoughts and cleared her throat.
"Hi" she blurted.
He walked towards her, with a smile on his perfect face.
He stretched his hand out for a handshake and she gripped it. She held back a smile as she felt his soft palms. It felt like a dream, he was a perfect definition of a god. His eyes were as blue as the ocean, his gaze was innocent but had a tinge of darkness, his nose was pointed and perfect for his face, it hid his small pink lips.
He squeezed her hand gently and grinned at her.
She was making a fool of herself but she didn't care(let's face it, it's not everyday you meet your idol at your work place) she would not see him again anyway. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if it was just a normal to her colleagues because they didn't make a big deal out of the fact that Charles was in their midst. Call her dramatic but she was having a good day.
"I'm so sorry for..." He was saying but she drowned in the cadence of his voice and didn't hear the rest of the sentence. She nodded anyway and shook his hand before letting go.
"Alright um... See you around" he waved and walked to the car with his niece.
What did he mean by see you around?
Abigail met him at the doorway and took pictures with him, then she walked up to Jett and shook her violently.
"Was that just...."
"Obviously"
"Girl did you get a picture?"
Jett scratched the itch on her head and made a mental note to replace her knotless braids on the weekend.
"How the hell do you expect me to get his picture?"
"You should have used your black woman charm" she said while they walked to the class.
she shut the door behind them and started packing her items.
"I hear he likes them black"
Jett rolled her eyes " that his favourite coffee flavour besides it might be a lie"
Abigail sighed "I wish I was there, girl I'd have pushed you to him or something"
"Really?"
"Nope i ain't that stupid"
"I thought so too"
They walked to Abigail's car and entered.
"You got a change of clothes? 'cause you ain't gettin' into that bar looking like a failed law student, no offense"
"Yeah I get it, we'd drop by at mine and change"
"Better"she muttered and backed out of the school compound.
The drive was anything but silent because they sang along loudly and got disapproving stares from the other drivers.
It was her 23rd birthday and she was going to make the most of it, she'd have all the fun she wanted, she could deal with the consequences later.
When she got home, she took a shower and changed into her favourite cloth, a yellow spaghetti hand Caribbean pleats dress and a pair of red wedges. She put light make up on and took pictures before walking outside to meet Abigail.
Abigail stood by the car and did a double take before rushing to the passenger side to open the door for her.
"Girl you look ravishing"
She ducked her head shyly.
The drive to the bar was silent, a comfortable kind of silence. Her mind drifted back to the meeting she had with Charles, it was small but it was enough to make an impression, what if she looked so ugly and scattered, she did a lot jumping around that day and she was sweating, what if she was smelling? Shit! She had something in between her teeth when she smiled at him, he'd have thought she was a dirty person, perhaps he'd use his influence as a famous person to fire her or worse still take Sofia away from her class.
She knew overthinking was futile and damaging but she couldn't help it.
"You actually looked good, must have left a good first impression on him"
She swallowed and turned her attention to her.
"What?"
"Don't bullshit me, I could hear you overthinking, it doesn't suit you, you looked amazing and you're lucky, not everyone gets to see their celebrity crushes at work"
She scoffed and looked out the window.
"You're going to have a good time sugar, I'll make sure of that, today you get to unburden" Abigail drove into her garage and turned the ignition off.
Jett made to open her door but she was stopped.
"I'm gonna spoil you today "
"That's what you've been doing ever since we met"
Abigail shrugged and opened Jett's car door.
Jett climbed out of the car and waited while Abigail locked her car.
"You said you didn't want something big so um... We... You know what-"she gestured to the house "just go inside, your surprise is there"
Jett opened the door gently and waited for a group of people to yell surprise but she saw nothing.
A silhouette figure stepped out of the shadow and the lights were turned on.
It was her twin brother Seth.
She screamed at the top of her lungs and jumped to hug him.
The force which she jumped at him with almost rocked him backward but he held his stamina.
"God!! Seth oh my God"
She broke down in tears as everyone came out of their hiding.
She hugged him tight and melted against him.
Seth was in university at London and the distance had made it hard for them to meet each other.
"I've missed you so so much"
He took a sip of her drink "likewise"
He went on to tell her about his life and how much he'd grown in the last year.
"Aunty Gabe still sends me some of her food" he said
Jett grinned " that woman doesn't know when to stop and I love her for that"
"What's it like to be a teacher?" He asked after a few minutes of meeting and greeting old friends.
"It's a lot of things, it ranges from meeting new people that you'd never expect to meet and also having fun" she took a sip from her cup " on bad days, i feel like jumping from the fucking statue of liberty, that's how bad it is"
He nodded "I've never known you to like stress, that's why you stayed in the incubator and I didn't"
"Fuck you!!" She mock gasped.
He chuckled darkly.
"At least I've got more flesh than you"
"Are you sure about that" he cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Fuck you again"
He dropped his cup and rubbed his hands on his suit continuously, he seemed nervous and she picked up on it.
"What's the matter?"
He shook his head.
"Your eyes are looking at everywhere but me and you're wiping your hands that aren't even sweaty on your cloth"
"Let's go somewhere quiet"
She looked around and realized that everyone was occupied and wouldn't notice if they snuck out.
They went to the kitchen, where there was no one and closed the door.
"Is it about school?"
"No"
She reached for his hand and massaged it.
"Talk to me"
He sighed
"He's still alive"
"Who?"
"Dad"