The Life of Eniola (rewriting story)

Chapter 24

I awoke, went through my usual morning routine, and then came down the stairs to the kitchen to get breakfast. I take a ready-made fruit salad from the refrigerator. I also put four slices of bread in the toaster and started the kettle to make ginger tea. I start eating the fruit salad while I wait for it. When I notice some movement in the living room, I stop what I'm doing and go inside to see what's going on.

Olufunke, my aunty, is dressed in blue leggings and a fitted tank top. She's lifting her hips toward the ceiling, sliding her hands back a little, and straightening her front leg as much as she can. Following that, she presses her back heel toward the floor, allowing her toes to angle out slightly to keep her legs as straight as possible, with hips reaching up toward the ceiling and her upper torso resting down over her front leg. Then she takes a deep breath in and out, switches sides, and repeats the posture.

"Wow! Aunty, you did an excellent job."

"Oh, thank you very much ooo."

She smiles as she looks at me.

"When did you begin learning yoga, particularly at this time?" I chuckle.

"According to my WhatsApp groupchat friends, doing yoga is good for your face because it keeps it fresh." I looked at her in disbelief and then burst out laughing.

"Aunty!"

"Wetin?"

"Yoga improves flexibility and strength, but it does not keep your face fresh."

"Hmm, if you say so."

I check my watch and, since I have a few minutes before leaving for work, I go to Alessia's bedroom and, after knocking, she lets me in.

"Goodmorning, Lissy."

I give her a delicate shoulder shake. She stirs in her sleep, her eyes open and half awake. I inform her I'm leaving to go to work. She nods in agreement.

"Could you assure me you'll be a good girl?"

She nods again, and I cuddle her closely and kiss her forehead before departing the room.

I gently close the door behind me and notice Aunt Aaliyah yawning as she emerges from her room.

"Oh, you're already leaving?" She inquires.

"Yeah, I just need to bring my car keys with me and then I'll be on my way."

"Va bene. Ti auguro una buona giornata!" She states.

"Anche tu!"

I go downstairs, open and close the front door. I get into my car and drive away.

I get to work around eight o'clock, precisely 07:50 a.m. I enter the building, say hello to the people who greet me, and proceed to the department, where I meet Kianna, who appears to be beaming coyly while texting.

I approach her from behind and squeeze her shoulders.

She panics and smiles as she looks at me.

"Oh my goodness, it's you!" She explains.

"Did you think it was Mr Ashton?"

"Of course, you're aware of how he feels about phones and texting at work."

"Speaking of texting, who made you blush and smile like that?" She averts her gaze and looks away, as if she's pretending to do something.

"It's Sylvaine . The person I was texting."

"Really?"

"Have you gone on a date with her?"

"No, not yet."

"So why-"

"I'd like to ask her, but I'm too nervous. What if she doesn't like me?" She lowers her gaze and rests her hands on her face.

"Awww, Kiana, it's normal to feel that way; my best advice is to try it; then again, you never know what might happen; besides, I've known Sylvaine for a while now and I'm confident she won't say no."

"Thank you very much, Elena!"

"No worries." I take a seat in my chair. More people arrive, and Alexander reminds us of the magazine task before departing. I switch on the computer and begin working.

                                                     *****

Alexander's POV

Alexander has had a crush on Elena since he was a child, and he's always wanted to tell her, but because he is similar to his father in terms of character, including being cold and struggling to express his feelings, and because his father forced him to move to another town with him, he did not get the chance to tell her the truth about how he felt.

As a result, today will be the day he makes the decision to speak the truth, make an apology to Elena, and confess his love for her, which he intends to do after work. Alexander notices Elena leaving the building and attempts to call her name, but she doesn't seem to hear him because she is wearing earphones and listening to up-beat music because she is excited to go on a date with Sebastián.

 Elena removes her earphones and sees Sebastián, they hug briefly and he guides her inside the car, but she hears somebody calling her name. She turns and finds Alexander, who appears to have run to catch up to her. He is out of breath. Elena and Sebastián wait for him to talk as he gathers himself.

He says her name once again 

"Elena."

"Yes, Mr Ashton?"

"Who is this guy?"

"He's a.... friend of mine."

Alexander looks down at Elena and Sebastián's intertwined hands, then up at them.

"I came to inform you that you still have work left for you to do." Elena appears perplexed.

Meanwhile, Sebastián is staring at him, and Alexander's entire demeanour is expressionless and sweaty, most likely from nerves. She takes her hand off Sebastián's and gets out her planner from her work bag, looking at her checklist for the day, which shows that everything has been completed, and then she looks at her watch.

"Mr Ashton, I have completed everything on this list, and I see no reason why there's any more work for me to do, and it is also past working hours."

Alexander remains silent, cursing quietly, wishing he had come up with an alternative reason to keep her.

"I'll leave if you don't require anything else. Mr Ashton, have a good rest of your day."

Elena enters Sebastián's vehicle, and he shuts the door and wanders over to the driver's seat.

He looks at Alexander, sighs, shakes his head, and mutters, "Qué tonto!" just when he's about to enter.

He drives away.

Alexander clenches his fist and vents his rage by kicking a soda can on the ground near him. A passer-by and Kianna both notice him performing this act.

"Please accept my apologies." He says but the passer-by walks away quickly, scared.

"Are you okay, Mr Ashton?" He nods and walks quickly away towards the car park. Kianna shrugs pulls her phone from her pocket and dials Sylvaine's number.

"Hey, how are you?" Sylvaine expresses gratitude for her phone call.

"I am okay, just some thinking."

"About?"

"You."

In response, she giggles.

"Can you tell me what you're thinking?"

"You'd be speechless if I told you."

"What exactly is it, Kia?"

"No, I'll save it away for later."

"All right, fine."

"So, uh, do you want to go on a date with me?" Kianna asks, nervously

"Oui bien sûr, I would love that!"

We laugh, sometime after that she ends the call and I call one more person: Elena,to tell her the exciting news.