Hey, not me!

Chapter Twenty-nine: Girl talk.

To my utter dismay, I was forbidden from causing any chaos. I swear I love my mom but she sure knew how to spoil my fun. I was not allowed even half a prank, just half a prank. I was exasperated and even moreso when she wouldn't stop laughing at my disheveled state when I showed up at our house. She thought Aunt Emelda was absolutely devious to have made me do all the dirty chores before allowing for a truce. If I didn't know any better I would have thought my mom hated me.

"The reason your aunt and yourself dislike each other is because you are too alike." My mom commented idly. She wasn't in the least fazed by the unimpressed glare I sent her way. "Go clean up and take Gina for a stroll. The sights around here are beautiful this time of the year." She directed.

I needed to get myself washed soon or I would never get the soot off my skin. I couldn't imagine walking around with my uneven and unnatural skin colouration for much longer. A long visit to the bathroom righted both my complexion and my mood. I had to wash my hair which ended up a tangled mess of curls but I didn't mind. My leave-in treatment would be just the thing to untangle it and I would just pull it up into a messy bun.

As soon as I stepped into my temporary bedroom, I began rummaging through my clothes. I didn't feel like catching a cold and the weather outside showed no promise of sunshine. I didn't take long to decide on a hoodie and a pair leggings. I donned my black sneakers seeing as I would be going out for a walk shortly with Gina. After brushing my hair and drying it off I was ready to go.

"You look like you're going somewhere nice," Gina teased as I walked into the living room.

"I am literally wearing a hoodie and leggings, the most uninteresting outfit in the world." I replied with an eye roll.

"Not the way you wear it," she chipped in playfully. "You look like you could model." She complimented.

"Really?" I asked in curiosity.

"Yeah, you look really nice." She affirmed.

"Thanks." I accepted, shyly. I was never good at receiving compliments but I knew Gina meant what she said. "Are you ready to head out?"

"Sure, let's." She said as she got to her feet.

My mom was sitting just outside with some of her cousins. They were deeply engrossed in conversation as they caught up after several years of not seeing each other. Laughter and smiles were everywhere and I wished I had friends among my relatives too. I didn't let that thought linger for too long as I bade my mom goodbye. I was getting away from family drama for a while and that was something worth celebrating.

Gina turned out to be the nature enthusiast and would stop to photograph every pretty thing she saw. These consisted wild flowers, rare insects, weird looking bushes and just about anything you would normally find in a rural area. I laughed sometimes at the childlike wonder in her eyes. It was almost like she had never been this close to nature. Growing up in the city, the only nature she saw was in the parks and even those were mostly man made.

We had walked quite a long way when we encountered a couple of good looking guys. I didn't pay them much attention but Gina did not shy away from staring. She was bold like that. As soon as the guys walked past, she nudged me on my arm. I completely ignored her since I was too busy laughing at a meme on my phone which had been sent to my work group. This caused Gina to tug harder which in return forced me to whirl around towards her.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"You saw that, right?" She asked with a gleeful expression.

"Saw what?" I asked ignorantly. She gave me a look. "Oh, you mean those guys?" I wondered.

"Yes, that really hot one was totally checking you out." She elaborated.

"He was? I didn't notice," I pointed out.

"Of course you didn't. You were too busy on your phone. For a moment there he almost stopped to talk to you and must have shied away since you were too busy ignoring him," she rumbled.

"I am glad he did not stop. That would have been so awkward," I sighed gratefully.

"How can you say that? Aren't you the least bit curious of whether you could have liked him?" She looked confused by my line of thought.

"No, I am not. And he would have probably tried to hit on me and that would just make things worse. Plus, it was more likely that he wouldn't like me." I stated simply.

"You never mentioned that you are seeing someone," she said.

"I am not," I replied in confusion.

"Then why wouldn't you want to be hit on by a rather attractive guy? I should think that would be very flattering for every young woman. Damn, I miss being hit on. Being happily married can be so boring sometimes," she whined.

"I don't like being stared at. Or being hit on. I don't understand those emotions and so every time someone expresses them towards me, I find myself at a loss of what to say. Having to turn down guy after guy gets old pretty fast," I explained.

"You don't understand love? How is that possible?" She looked at me in surprise.

"I understand love. I love my mom, my dad, my siblings and Sheila. I know that I like your brother and you and some few people at work who are nice to me. Beyond that, I do not understand anything else about love. I don't think I have ever felt it in the way people usually describe it," I illustrated. Sheila looked at me with an intensity I had never seen on her face before.

"Wow. It must be hard, being left out of one of the best things in life. Do you ever get lonely?" She asked sympathetically.

"I have never felt that type of passion so I do not feel left out. However, I do get lonely sometimes for company but not so much now that I have Sheila in my life. It is nice having a friend around," I replied.

"And now you have me. I can't imagine one friend would be enough for anyone," she offered. I had to smile at that.

"Honestly, I have always been satisfied with just one friend but I wouldn't mind having a couple." I agreed. And it was her turn to smile. She then linked her arm through mine and we walked on in a companionable silence. I felt lucky. I had just added another person to my very short list of friends and family and she was amazing.