Here & Now

Chapter Eight

Looking over to Aya, her gentle gaze was on me as she mouthed Oh my god. A deafening roar filled my eardrums, and I nearly fell off my chair. Squinting into the crowd, I could see the outlines of people giving a standing ovation.

Aya was walking towards me now, the reality of the situation was starting to settle in. Holy crap. I just played in front of the whole school! Aya stood before me holding her hand out.

Upon taking her hand she said to me, 'You were amazing!'

Regardless of my darker skin tone, I could feel myself going red.
'Thanks,' I said shyly. 'But you were incredi..'

I stopped talking when I realised that Aya had pulled me from my seat to the front of the stage. She curtsied and prompted me to bow, but then it hit me.

Aya's performance had taken me to another place. A safe reality where only her music and myself existed. Standing in front of the crowd brought the reality of what I had just done crashing down on me and landed right in the pit of my stomach. All the feelings of nervousness, of fear and anxiety had caught up with me. Holding my stomach I ran off stage looking for anything that resembled a bucket. Seeing an old mop and bucket in the corner, I dove for it. After violently emptying the contents of my stomach into the bucket, I laid on my back on the cold wooden floor.

Oh my god. What the hell Aiden! I was annoyed at myself, but at the same time it made sense. All the feelings I was holding onto, all the reservation, all the fear and anxiety, this was how it culminated. Laying on the cold floor looking up into the ceiling I couldn't help but smiled. I did it! I played in front of people—but not only that, I accompanied a beautiful girl!

Sitting up, I saw Aya making her way backstage.

'Are you okay?' she asked kindly passing me a bottle of water. 'The first time is always the hardest. But it is still always hard.' Warmth filled my body as she smiled at me.

After gargling the water and spitting into my vomit bucket I got to my feet and fished around in my pocket for some gum. This was the first time I had gotten a chance to look at Aya without being distracted. It seemed every time I noticed how beautiful she was, her beauty intensified. Her eyes were larger and a deeper oak brown than I remembered, seeming to see past all my secrets. Moving my gaze to her face I was sure she wasn't wearing make-up and her skin was just naturally flawless, The only thing that may have made me think otherwise were some golden specks on her upper cheeks. Her white dress held her figure tight, the gold trims accentuating her body in all the right places.

'My eyes are up here, honey,' Aya said with a grin.

This time I knew I went red. 'Oh my god. I am so sorry.' Damn it Aiden! Have some tact! I didn't dare make eye contact with her after that.

She laughed, 'It's okay. Just try and be a bit subtler next time.'

To this all I could muster was a mix between a laugh and cough.

'Aya Jan,' a booming voice came from behind. I turned to see an incredibly well-groomed older man. He wore a fitted white shirt with blue suit pants and brown leather shoes. His well-trimmed beard along with the rest of his attire gave him a very professional look.

'Hey, Dad,' she replied, giving her father a warm embrace. 'What did you think of the performance?'

'I loved it,' he said, cupping her face and looking deep into her eyes. 'Your mother would be so proud.' The emotion in his voice was clear.

Suddenly I felt I was intruding, so I began to move towards the exit.

'Oh, Dad, this is Aiden,' I heard Aya say.