GIFT WRAPPING PAPERS!

BRIA

I wanted the earth to just part and swallow me whole. I couldn't believe my stupidity. How could I think that Nora found out about my periods without me telling her about it and got me help in the middle of the night, and left them at my door without telling me anything?

Shit! Shit! Shit! Bria!

How could you be such a big fool?!

And to top it off, the person who got the help for me was none other than... the devil!

More than the cramps in my lower belly, the slaps on my ego hurt me.

"Bia, look what my fwend gave me" Adam showed me a pencil with cartoon designs on it.

I broke out of my train of thought and directed my attention to him.

"Aww... wow Adam! It is pretty! You never mentioned this friend of yours to me." I said observing the pencil.

"um- she is not my fwend. We are in the same class. It was her b'day. I don't have fwends!"

My face fell hearing his sad voice. The poor kid was so unfortunate that he didn't only get the attention from his father but also had no friends other than Nora and now me.

And no! I don't consider Cameron a 'friend-material'!

"oh.. ok. Did you said thank you to her?" I asked him to change his mood.

"No", he shook his head and looked at me with his twinkling eyes.

"Adam, champ, you should have said thank you to her."

"why?" He asked, raising his small brows at me in curiosity.

"Because we say thank you when people help us or give us gifts or do something special for us. It's a way to show that you are grateful for their efforts, and you appreciate it. It also makes that person happy that they have taken efforts for you." I smiled at him.

That was what Benji had taught me when I was his age.

"But we don't talk in school." He argued with a cute pout.

"It's ok Adam! It doesn't matter if she is your friend or not. Or you talk regularly or not. Don't ever feel shy to say thank you and sorry to anyone whether you like that person or not. Ok?!"

'Oh wow Bria! Now you are feeding the boy the shit that you don't practice in your own life?!'

I pushed that voice in my head in the background in annoyance. It always had to show me my mistakes, making me feel worse as if I was the only wrong person in the world, and if I didn't work on them, then the whole earth would be conquered by evil.

I hate Banji for rooting those stupid ideas in my mind during my childhood!

"Bia, if I say thank you and sowy to daddy, will he be happy too?"

Adam's next question caught me off-guard, and a pang of pain rose in my chest.

'Oh poor baby!'

I pulled him close to me and blinked back the tears. My emotions were all over the place, thanks to mother nature, who blessed me with my monthly reward of being a woman!

"Champ, of course these two words can make anyone happy!"

Who was I fooling?

Adam or me?

"But daddy doesn't smile at me," he said with moistened eyes.

"Your daddy is just like his boss! These people don't like to smile but that doesn't mean they are not happy or they don't love you."

Oh, you are going in the wrong... wrong way, Bria!

"Cammy uncle smiles. I know he loves me. He give me chocolates and the rides on his back. And King loves me too, Bia!"

I nearly choked on my own spit hearing his last words. Oh, God! What should I tell this naive child now?

"Bia, I am se...selious?" he frowned when he noticed the corners of my lips twitched to burst into laughter.

"Selious! You mean serious, right? Come on Adam. You are a smart boy. How can you say something impossible like that? The devil CAN"T love anyone else than himself." I sniggered.

But the boy was not ready to give up just yet.

"No Bia... he loves me. He even loves you too!"

Those words made me choke for the second time in a day. My eyes grew in size. "Adam! You shouldn't say such a thing!" I chastised him.

"I know he loves you." He repeated stubbornly.

My face hardened. "Enough Adam! How can you say something like that? You-"

"Like me, he doesn't punish you when you bwek his phone. Like me, he doesn't shout at you. Like me, he gives you chocolates. Like me, he gives you gifts like dwesses. Like me, he listens to everything you say. It means he loves me and he loves you too!" He concluded that he was proving Pythagoras' theorem.

Holy cow!

If only Adam knew what the devil had done to me and how much he had hurt me in a short time then he wouldn't have said anything like that!

Besides, providing me with my favourite choco chip ice cream doesn't imply his affection towards me. Now, does it?

I heard the sound of the door opening, followed by loud footsteps and three figures came into my view, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I hurriedly turned away from them when my eyes met Cameron's and busied myself with colouring the dragon in Adam's book. That man was too curious to know what had transpired between me and his dear boss.

He was suspicious since the morning and I avoided him then.

But what if the devil has told him everything?

All three men made a beeline straight to the devil's office on the third floor without glancing at us.

If they were going to the office on the third floor, then it would take hours for them to finish their work. It's now or never Bria! I was not sure if I could do this another time before I lost all of my confidence.....

"Hey!" The two jokers seized walking first and turned to look at me, but the devil kept walking with his long legs.

" Hey! you, yeti! Stop." I called, and he came to an abrupt halt.

So he agrees that he was huge like a yeti! Good for him!

But my confidence shook like the drenched kitten on a rainy night when he turned around to face me with the straight vein on his forehead popping out.

It meant, I chose the wrong time! He was already in a sour mood, and if I didn't hold my tongue, I was as good as dead!

I gulped down nervously and mustered up all the courage. "I - I need to talk."

"We don't have time, butterfly. You can ask about your family some other time." Gabriel said, looking at his watch impatiently.

"No. I don't want to talk about my family. I... want to talk about something else. It's important! It will take only two minutes. Please!"

I could feel my skin getting warmer every second as the devil kept staring at me.

He finally nodded his head to indicate that I could talk.

"Um. Can we talk in private?" I looked around uncomfortably. Cameron raised his brow, watching me with curiosity. Sometimes I really wished to stab his blue eyes with a knife!

One day!, I promised myself.

"You can say whatever that you want to say here and now, Miss Maxwell." The devil said in his commanding voice that left no room for any further argument.

"But- I don't want-"

He turned to leave. "Ok ok. Fine! Um- I - I wanted to say that- um."

Come on, Bria...

"iwantedtosaythankyouforthelastnightitwasverythoughtfulofyoutogivemethosegiftwrappingpapersandsorryfortheinconveniance"

Hush! I did It!

I gave him even an uneasy smile, to show him that I was genuinely thankful to him, though it sounded weird to my own ears.

But it was the truth!

Every pair of eyes gawked at me dumbfoundedly, and I felt suffocated in that room.

"Whatever the hell you said, I only caught that King gave you 'gift wrapping papers'?" Cameron asked incredulously, looking first at the devil and then at me.

Oh, my faulty stars!

I shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another, waiting for the devil to say something.... anything!

A part of me expected him to elaborate on the whole thing however the other part hoped he would at least nod his head in response and not tell anything about it to others.

But just like every other time, he proved me wrong by standing there silently, staring back at me.

I couldn't see his eyes because of his ugly yet expensive shades, which were a big mystery to me. But I could feel the burning on my skin that only he was capable of creating!

Yes, it is as weird as it sounds!

"Uncle King....." That small innocent voice, made me blink in realisation.

"I also want a gift wa-wapp- paper!"

Crap! I forgot about this little munchkin's presence in the room.

Someone, please kill me already!

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