06

"Layla, what's wrong?" Aria asked worriedly.

Layla sat lazily on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. Her eyes were wet and red, even a blind man could tell she had cried.

It would be the first time she sat down without taking care of the customers, leaving only Aria to do it but Aria didn't care, she only worried about Layla ignoring her and everyone else, if that was left to Layla, she wouldn't. I wouldn't have come to the cafe today, she would have stayed home and cried, but she had come here reluctantly, knowing that Philia wouldn't take it lightly.

Aria quickly went to take the customers' order, she served them and came back to Layla who was still on the floor, not staring at anything in particular.

Aria sighed… yesterday and a day before, Layla's good mood was unbeatable and now seeing how sad she looked made Aria worried.

She doesn't even look so sad when Philia scolds her.

Aria was unable to focus on herself as the customers kept coming and she had to take care of them.

She would go to Layla's after serving customers, then quickly return to the counter whenever another customer came in.

It was almost time to pick up her child and Layla didn't seem ready to get up.

She looked lost and so sad.

What's wrong?... Aria wondered worriedly.

Should she draw Philia's attention to this?

Aria returned to the counter after serving the last customer who entered.

She took her phone and called her husband.

"Hi Dave"

“Ariana, how are you? Her husband's voice was heard.

"I'm fine, you're back from work, aren't you?" »

"Yeah, I clean the garden"

"Could you help me pick up Jane, I'm going to work late today"

"Oh ok, I'll go now"

"I love you"

"Kisses"

She dropped her phone and sighed as she walked back to Layla.

She crouched down in front of her and stroked her hair.

It didn't even make Layla look up, the horrible words kept repeating in her mind - Dylan told everyone your lips looked like a dead log of wood that wouldn't even light up not if she was kindled by a wide burning fire - the words made her dumb and weak.

Her hopes were shattered, Dylan didn't have any feelings for her, he had been nice to her maybe because he just wanted to be her friend.

He doesn't even see her as a potential lover.

Maybe she's the last person he would consider dating.

Okay... okay that he doesn't have feelings for her, she also knows that feelings can't be forced.

But how dare he call her lips a dead log, how dare he embarrass her so much.

She was starting to earn people's respect only for him to break it again.

She burst into fresh sobs, remembering how everyone had laughed at her.

Dylan didn't even look sorry.

"Come on Layla, whatever it is, tell me, please," Aria said.

"Are my lips so dead that not even a burning fire can light them?" Layla asked distractedly.

She was talking to herself, not Aria.

She wondered aloud, tears falling like a waterfall.

Aria was about to answer her when she saw Philia approaching.

"Get up, get up, Philia is coming" Aria told her but she didn't get up, she didn't even act like she heard what Aria said.

"She's going to scold you!" Get up Layla” Aria said trying to pick her up but Philia has already caught up to them.

"What is happening here?" Philia asked, giving them both a questioning look.

"Well..." Aria stammered, glancing at Layla whose head was still down.

“I…well…Layla was sitting here crying and she refused to tell me what was wrong,” Aria said.

"Oh" Phil sighed, thinking that Layla had finally let out her emotions, the news she had received was enough to make her cry. She wondered why Layla had been so strong about the news, it's something even an adult can't stop crying.

Poor girl, she had tried to keep everything but she couldn't.

"Let her cry Aria, it's worth it," Phil said.

"Do you know what's wrong with her?" Aria asked.

" Yeah I know that. You're ready to go, aren't you? Phil asked.

"No, I'm going to take over for Layla. I've already called my husband to pick up Jane," Aria said.

It was then that Layla looked at her, she thanked Aria with her eyes and Aria nodded with a smile.

She had wondered how she was going to cope, serving customers when she felt so weak to the bone.

"That's so nice of you Aria" Philia smiled.

Aria rushed over to attend to another group of customers.

"Come with me to my office, come sit on the chair" Philia said to Layla who ignored her.

"I bet your ass is going to hurt the moment you finally get off the floor, come with me" Philia persuaded softly and Layla shook her head.

Philia is nice to her again for a reason and it hurt her.

"Okay, come with me and try to talk to Aunt Esther or whatever her name is." Philia rolled her eyes and Layla's face lit up.

She got up and really, her buttocks hurt.

"I can't believe your black aunt got you up" Philia groaned and Layla followed her to her office.

Aunt Esther will definitely brighten her mood and so will David.

Layla sat in the chair of the small, tidy desk while Philia dialed Aunt Esther's number.

She handed the phone to Layla, frowning after Esther picked it up.

Layla happily placed the phone to her ear.

“Moremi Ajansoro” Aunt Esther happily called into the phone and Layla felt better instantly.

Aunt Esther and David call her by her original name 'Moremi' and she loves to hear it so much.

His parents also call him from time to time.

She had fallen in love with the name after her father told her the story behind it.

Queen Moremi of the Kingdom of Ile Ife, Nigeria. Was a brave woman and said to have contributed to the liberation of the Yoruba tribe from oppression, she voluntarily surrendered to the invaders, married the enemy king and seized the opportunity to discover the secrets of military strategy from the group, she revealed this secret to people on the island of Ife after she managed to escape.

She then helped devise a plan that led to Ile Ife's victory over the invaders.

"Moremi was a brave woman" her father told her.

"She practically sacrificed herself for the liberation of her people, she achieved something that most men could not even attempt. I found her admirable and promised myself to name my first daughter Moremi, in our culture, it is believed that the name of his child has an impact in the life of the child, I also want you to be the best of yourself "Her father smiled and kissed her and she laughed in his arms.

"Moremi, are you there?" Aunt Esther's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Aunt Esther, I've missed you" Layla moaned into the phone like a baby and she laughed when she saw the look Philia gave her.

“Where is this guy? Felia asked as she walked into the Keyes' living room.

"Felia" Anne hugged her.

"Anne, how are you?" asked Felia.

"It's ok, you just came back from school" Anne said seeing Felia still dressed in her school clothes and her backpack.

"Yap, I miss this guy so much" She moaned and Anne laughed.

Felia is this pretty strong girl who acts like a bitch but she's actually so sweet and kind on the inside.

At first glance you might think that she is an irresponsible child, only those close to her know what she is and she doesn't even try to change other people's view of her, she doesn't care how anyone see her, she just wants to do her thing and move on.

"He's not here right now," Anne said as she sat down on the couch.

"Oh, that thief with chicken legs" She groaned and Anne laughed again.

"Where the hell did he go?" she asked, dropping her backpack.

"He went to apologize to a girl..."

"For?" asked Felia.

"He accidentally spilled hot coffee on his leg as he rushed to bring me my inhaler"

"Oh..wow, he really needs to apologize" Felia said.

"Yeah, I hope he sees her today, he hasn't seen her for days" said Anne.

"Maybe she doesn't work there anymore," Felia said.

"Or maybe she's still healing from the burn" Anne said sadly, it was because of her.

She really hopes the girl is okay, the pain could have been unbearable, she knows what it feels like when a drop of hot liquid touches her skin let alone a whole cup of hot coffee.

"Come on Anne, it's not your fault. It was meant to happen," Felia said.

"I caused it," insisted Anne.

"You know what? It was an accident, no one would have liked that to happen. If Dan gets to see her today and apologizes to her, maybe you should too to make you feel better"

Anne nodded.

"Mr and Mrs Keyes haven't come home from work yet, have they?" Felia asked as she put on her shoes and socks and walked barefoot to the kitchen.

"Yeah" said Anne and she went back to watching her animation while Felia was looking for what to eat in the kitchen.

~

Have you seen her?" Anne asked hopefully as Dan walked into the living room.

He shook his head and she sighed.

"Are you sure she works there? Maybe she's just a client," Anne said.

"I'm sure she works there, although I couldn't see her face clearly that day, but she was on the store apron," Dan said, looking exhausted and Anne knew. that he was hungry.

"If she really works there, how come you haven't seen her since you worked hard there"

"I don't know either, I'll keep going," Dan said.

"But you couldn't see the girl's face clearly, how would you recognize her when you saw her, you might have seen her not knowing it was her," Anne said.

"No I would recognize her by her hair, she has long golden brown hair because I remember it almost flipped my face when I accidentally spilled the coffee on her feet"

"Oh and so far you haven't seen anyone with that hair?" Anne said.

"No" sighed Dan.

"Maybe you should ask the other worker, the lady you said you see at the counter every time you go"

"Of course I will, after we get home from school tomorrow," Dan said.

"Felia is here, she's in the kitchen," Anne said.

"Really," smiled Dan.

He stood up just as Felia came back into the living room.

"Bitch" He laughed as she jumped onto his back.

" How are you ? asked Felia.

"I'm fine except your weight is almost killing me" sighed Dan.

"End it, I'll be here for a while" Felia said and Dan groaned.

Ann laughs.

"Have you seen the girl?" Feli asked.

"Oh, Anne told you. I didn't see her, I'll be back tomorrow after school," Dan said.

“You should ask other workers there about him,” Felia suggested.

“I will do that tomorrow. Whore ! Fel let me go on my back! Dan said.

"I'll do it, I know you're lazy," she said, banging his head on the way down.

Dan sighed and shook his head, knowing that Fel was a problem bag.

“Why are you still in your school? " He asked him.

"I came here straight from school because I needed an asshole" She got carried away.

"I miss you even more baby bush" teased Dan.

"Fuck you" She gave him a look and he laughed.

"Anne, come eat, I made pasta," Fel said, deliberately leaving Dan out.

"What the hell are you doing...didn't you do mine?" Dan asked, his stomach rumbling from the pasta Fel had just mentioned.

Fel's pasta is second to none.

"You weren't home when I started doing it, so I didn't include yours," Fel teased.

"You're kidding, aren't you?" Dan asked, he looked so serious that Fel burst out laughing.

“Are you so hungry? She asked.

"I am and I also know you're teasing me for not doing mine." I go to the kitchen to serve mine. He stuck his tongue out at Fel who shook his head.

"I really wish I hadn't done hers," she scoffed and Anne chuckled.

"Let's serve ours too, or I wouldn't be surprised if there's nothing left in the pot," Fel said and they both laughed as they rushed to the kitchen.

"Thank you so much Aria and I'm sorry for making you work late" Layla said as she got out of the cafe.

They were over for the day and she had felt better after talking to Aunt Esther and her nephew.

She really missed them, talking to them again after a long time made her happy, they made her forget her worries during the time she was on the phone with them.

"It's okay, I'm glad you're feeling better now," Aria said.

Layla nodded, the sadness in her eyes was still evident but at least she felt better.

"Looks like Philia knows what's wrong with you," Aria insisted.

"It's not, she's thinking about something else," Layla said.

"Oh. I hope by tomorrow you can tell me what was wrong," Aria said.

"Certainly" said Layla.

"Anyway, don't let it weigh you down, okay?"

Layla smiles "Thank you Aria"

" Yeah ! Good to see your beautiful smile” Aria clapped and Layla laughed.

God...she felt so much better.

"I hope you both know I'm here" Philia shouted.

"Goodbye Aria, say hello to Jane for me" Layla waved.

"Okay Bye" Aria waved and they parted ways.

"Good to see you finally let your emotions out, I knew you couldn't keep it long. Poor girl" Philia said pitifully to Layla as they walked home.

Layla wanted to tell her that wasn't the reason she was down, but she decided to let it go.

"So you want me to keep being nice to you?" Phil asked blowing a pink bubble.

"You can clearly see how much I pampered you today, if you want it to continue just say so but beware...it's because of your pathetic situation..." Phil was saying.

"If you don't want to be nice to me for no reason, then keep your niceness to yourself" Layla cut her short.

"You are so amazing for someone in this pathetic situation," Phil growled.

"And you're so amazing for an aunt who knows her niece's pathetic condition but doesn't even feel an iota of pity for her," Layla said as she quickly walked away.

She doesn't want Philia to see her cry.

She wants to continue to be strong but nobody helps her.

She hasn't healed from Dylan's bad words yet and now this!

"Does your black aunt know?" Philia yelled at her but Layla was done discussing her predicament.

"Damn don't tell me you won't be making dinner tonight, I swear I'll kick you out of my house!" Philia screamed and passers-by turned to look at her.

She rolled her eyes and huffed before running after Layla.

Layla arrived at school late the next day and if the teachers hadn't had a meeting, class would have started.

She had walked as she normally did but this time she hadn't been in a hurry, she had walked so slowly as she had done all day.

She didn't have the strength to hurry like she normally does.

She had felt grumpy when she woke up this morning.

As she entered the classroom she was prepared for the mockery but she was of course surprised to see the attention of the students on something else, they hadn't even noticed that she had entered.

She wondered what could catch their attention as she slowly made her way to her seat.

She glanced at Dylan's seat and she could see he wasn't there.

Even with what he had said about her, her feelings for him hadn't waned.

She would forgive him if he asked her. No, she has already forgiven him.

Everyone makes mistakes and nothing and no one should make her sad like Aria said.

She approached her seat and saw that it was a new student, he was supporting her, going through the timetable stuck on the wall.

She wondered why a new student was attracting so much attention from everyone when something was also attracting her attention.

She had noticed that her hair looked familiar at first, but many people had brown hair, but then she saw the scar on her neck.

She looked closer to see that she hadn't been mistaken.

Shit

"Hot coffee!" She screamed and everyone turned to her except for the guy whose attention was still fixed on the wall.

"I can't believe she's starting to hit on the new guy," Miranda said irritably.

"I'm sure he'll embarrass her more than Dylan did," Chloe laughed.

They all thought the "hot coffee" she called him meant a sweet name until Layla lunged at him, biting his back.

"Helpppp" cried Daniel in pain and everyone rushed towards them.