Is this destiny?

~ Los Angeles, the Cliffside Villa ~

10:56 PM

The group of twelve returned to the Cliffside Villa.

Ade and Hande held hands and Ade escorted Hande to the door of her room. 

"Good night. I will see you in the morning for training." Ade said.

He let go of her hand reluctantly, but he has to do it because his room is in a different hallway.

Hande confirmed. "Yes, training in the morning. Good night..."

Hande got into her room and she smiled to the point of her cheeks hurting. The day was wonderful, Ade is amazing, they are a couple, and she has a teddy bear keychain which she will treat like a priceless treasure.

Michael, Oni, Ron, and Zula wished good night to everyone and went to their apartments.

In front of the building where kids are sleeping…

"What should we do with these?" Masika asked Nala while pointing at the backpacks which Zack was holding. They are filled with plush toys.

Masika, Zack, Nala, and Haru competed and ended up with four backpacks full of plushies.

"Let's keep them in the common room, on the large table. I will put a note so that everyone knows they can take one. I'm sure that by breakfast, they will be gone." Nala suggested.

Masika agreed. "Great idea."

"We will go first. I will arrange our plushies, and you can add yours when you come in." Nala said while tugging Haru. "Good night!"

Masika turned to Zack. "Thanks for today, I had fun."

"Same here." Zack responded and handed her the backpacks. He will not go inside. "I will see you on Monday?"

Masika confirmed. They spoke about knife-throwing practice. Zack said that he will show her some new moves. "I will come to basecamp after lunch. If you are in the mood after practice, we can work on picking your college courses."

Zack frowned slightly. "We will see about that."

Masika shook her head in disapproval. Why can't he give his education a higher priority?

Zack saw that Masika was about to start another 'education is important' speech, and he decided that it's time to leave. He waved. "Good night."

"Wait!" Masika called and put her hand into the side pocket of one backpack.

She got two keychains, one is Mickie Mouse, and the other is Minnie Mouse. One of the vendors gave them those as an extra reward when they cleared up all the targets.

"Take this…" Masika said while giving the Mickey Mouse keychain to Zack. "For memory."

Zack accepted her offering. "What about the other one?"

"I will keep that one. So, each of us will have something as a memory of today."

Zack smiled. He likes that she will have the matching one, like couples. Almost. "Good night, Masika."

"Good night, Zack."

Masika watched Zack walk away until he was out of sight, and then she went inside the building. She needs to arrange all these plushies on the table in the common room, and then she can get ready for sleep. It's not so late, but the day was exciting, and she is tired.

On the way to her room, Masika passed next to Imani and Jamari who were standing in front of Imani's room.

Masika wished them goodnight and disappeared in her room swiftly. She had a feeling that she interrupted something important.

Jamari was looking at Imani with a complex expression. He is confident that she knows that he is interested in her romantically, but he is not sure why she is not responding. For many months, he is trying to win her heart with small gestures, and even though she is not rejecting him, she didn't accept him either. It's almost as she has some internal struggle.

Jamari decided to clarify what is going on.

"Imani, how do you see me?"

Imani fidgeted. She really didn't want to talk about this, but Jamari is expecting an answer. "I see you as Jamari. My brother."

Jamari frowned. "Nothing more than a brother?"

"How can anything be more than a brother?"

"Imani…" Jamari said impatiently. "You know what I mean."

"How do you want me to see you?"

"As a man." Jamari said matter-of-factly.

"A man? You are twelve years old."

"And so are you."

Imani rolled her eyes. "I will be thirteen next month, but we are not discussing my age or my maturity."

"Are you saying that I'm immature?"

Imani was tired from the day, and now it felt that this talk with Jamari is sucking up last bits of her energy. "Jamari, what are you trying to do?"

Jamari took a deep breath and decided to be blunt, this evening will end in one way or another. "I am watching you, Imani. You are the most beautiful girl I ever saw. You are smart and dedicated and I am trying to get you to like me, as a man. Not as a brother. And I see that it's not working. I want you to tell me what I'm lacking so that I can fix it."

"Jamari… there is nothing for you to fix. You are fine. You are better than fine. There is nothing wrong with you."

"Then? Why are you not willing to acknowledge me as a man?"

Imani balled her hands into fists. She does not want to hurt Jamari. He is a wonderful friend and a caring brother any girl would wish for. But the truth is that she has no romantic feelings for him. She tried. She didn't want to reject him right away before considering the possibilities, but it's not working. The only way she sees him is as a brother. Imani was never in love, but she knows that love should feel… different.

"I talked to Zula and I asked her, how did she know that Ron is the one. She told me that when he gets close to her, there are butterflies in her stomach. I asked Oni, how did she know that Michael is the one… She said that when their eyes meet, the world disappears, and it feels like it's just the two of them on the planet. I talked to Nala and I asked her, how she knew that Haru is the one. She told me that every time they touch, her whole body is tingling, and her heart skips a beat. And for us… There are no butterflies, nothing disappears, and there is no tingling. Do you understand?"

Jamari's expression fell. "You are telling me that I don't have a chance with you because you have no feelings for me."

"I am sorry, Jamari. I see you as my brother, and I would do anything for you, as a sister. But love and dating… You can't force those things. If I accept your advances, I would be fooling you and myself."

Imani saw that Jamari lowered his head and she felt horrible. But she told him the truth, so that should be good, right?

"Do you want a hug?" Imani offered. Ever since they met in that basement in central Africa, when Jamari was afraid, Imani would hug him. Of course, at that time she thought that Jamari was a girl, but now that is not important.

Jamari stepped away from Imani.

"Uhm… Good night Imani." He said and walked away without lifting his head.

Jamari went to the training ground and started beating the training dummy. He had a lot of energy that needed venting, yet at the same time, he felt like screaming on the inside. Why is this so hard? Why can't Imani like him? He even learned dancing just to impress her, and she was happy to dance with him. But it seems that all those smiles were sibling-smiles. His heart ached.

In Imani's room…

Imani plopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She told herself that this is for the best. She is aware for a long time that Jamari is pursuing her romantically, and she felt silly to refuse him because he never made any clear moves. Everything he did was ambiguous, drifting between a friend and a brother with a hint of romance. For a long time, Imani was thinking of confronting Jamari and telling him to give up, but she didn't know how to.

Now she finally said it, and she should feel relieved that things are clarified, but she feels… dispirited. 

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