SUMMER LOVE.

'No, stop it.' I screamed clutching my pillow tightly to my face, as my sister opened the window blinds letting the hot sun generously bless me with its radiant rays. I love the sun but I didn’t need its blessing at this time of the day. My sleep was put to an abrupt end, as I rose up to chase that mischievous little sister of mine out of my room. My leg came in quick contact with a chair which served the purpose of a roadblock, obviously a trap set by my sister.

'Ouch! You’d better not let me catch you, Vee' I shouted as I tried massaging my already throbbing feet.

'You didn’t have to tell me.' she replied with a tone of enthusiasm. This was getting too fun for her and I needed to stop it. ‘Tada! I have just the perfect solution.’ I murmured as I caught sight of her phone lying leisurely on the nearest couch. 

We had our breakfast of pancakes and milk after completing our chores. My plan was about to be unravelled but I wasn’t ready to see my sister unleash her rage. Trust me, it isn’t a good sight.

'Taby, unlock this door right now or I’m going to pull it down....' Sometimes, I wonder where I got this feisty little creature from. We possibly can’t share the same blood and definitely, not the same parents. But, biologically we did. Now, talking about parents, they're both medical doctors joining the team of other doctors to fight Corona virus. I hope they're safe. With a sigh, I drowned myself in the world of melodies.

I woke up with a start; did I just hear a sound? It was my sister, Vee sobbing. My ear pods had long fallen out of my ears. Oh God, how she knew her sobs were my weakness. I hurriedly found my way to the door and unlocked it. There, Vee sprung out sobbing, the sight tearing at my heart. I coaxed as the loving big sister I was and returned her most treasured possession- her phone. I knew she would get back at me and it could be one of her numerous tricks but I didn’t care at that moment. She is and would always be my baby sister. Just that, at that moment the baby in her disappeared as she grabbed her phone throwing me a triumphant smirk and went to do whatever kept her busy on her phone. No one would have believed she cried some minutes ago. One of these days, she really needed to pursue a career in drama as she really was a drama diva. 

Happy I could put a smile on her, I trotted to the balcony/veranda and guess what I saw, who I saw rather. It was Mike’s doppelganger with a face mask, my school mate and long term crush. The resemblance was way out of this world. I know he is the only son of his parents and obviously not a twin. So, could he have a distant cousin who looks just like him or was this just a figment of my imagination? But, wait a figment of my imagination couldn’t be waving at me, could it?

‘Mike!’ Vee greeted waving her hands and with slyness taking over her features. Then, it dawned on me-it was Mike in flesh and blood, right in front of me. She must have recognised him as he was a familiar face on my phone. But, he couldn’t be living in this estate. I should have known better.

Next thing I knew, we were downstairs at the little fence which demarcated our home from the beautifully tarred road of the estate. How we got there, I had no idea- all thanks to Vee.

‘Tabitha, good to see you again.’ Mike said adjusting his face mask which now hung loosely on his chin and practising social distance. Pardon me, but I just couldn’t help but notice that.

‘Same here’ 

‘I didn’t know you stay in this estate too. I’ve never seen you out here....’

‘Sure, she always refuses to come out, always stuck indoors.’ Vee snapped. I couldn’t help but mutter a curse under my breath, for that naughty creature of course.

‘Em...meet my little sister Victoria.’ 

‘Just call me Vee for short. Nice meeting you, Mike.’ She said plastering an overenthusiastic grin on her face. If I didn’t know her too well, I would have thought it was real. I couldn’t help but notice her calculative expression but I couldn’t place my hands on what she seemed to be calculating at that moment.

‘It’s a pleasure, Vee. I can’t help but wonder how you knew me this much. Have we met before?’ My eyes went wide as this, there was no way I could stop that big-mouthed sister of mine. I tried winking at her.

‘What’s wrong with your eyes, Taby? They’re blinking faster than normal.’ If only I could tighten my hands around her neck.

‘No, I’m fine. Something got into them.’

‘So Mike, I got to know you through Taby’s phone. She could own a gallery featuring just your pictures.’ Hearing this, I could feel my ears burning up. My cheeks flaming red, my eyes just moving around our suddenly interesting environment, anywhere but his face. In fact my whole head became messed up, I was embarrassed. Third time today, my sis won me, all thanks to isolation.

‘How interesting.’ Mike said with an air of someone who just won an Oscars award. I could feel his gaze all over me and instantly I felt self conscious. Due to the uncomfortable,hot summer period, I had just put on a pair of camisole and shorts.

‘Yeah’ shooting a deadly glare at my sister. ‘Now, get inside.’ She knew better than to object.

‘Sorry about Vee, she was just exaggerating, typical of her’

‘Sure, I like her though she is fun to be with.’

‘She could just be naughty at times. That reminds me what are you doing out here? You should be home. You know, self isolating.’

‘Yeah, I had to come out for a walk. Got tired of sitting at home all day.’ Our conversations drifted from the pandemic, to the weather, to academics, to other topics before we knew it we had talked for over two hours. We had to call it a day,

‘How come we didn’t get to talk more often at school, you are really cool’ Mike said

‘You’re cool too.’ I echoed aloud. I couldn't tell him I avoided him at school because I really like him and didn't want him to nice. It sounded absurd to my ears too.

'Can we get to talk more often, when I come out for a walk?'

'Err...yes, you can' Oh gosh, what was wrong with me?

'Okay then, see you tomorrow.' With that he 

The following days saw us texting, face timing and Mike dropping over to say ‘hi’ to Vee and I. Funny enough, I never got bored of our conversation considering the kind of person I was. In fact, I always looked forward to our conversations. A plus, was that Vee also took a great liking to him.

It was during one of his frequent that Vee dropped the bomb. I had gone inside to get cold drinks when I overheard her.

'Are you aware Taby likes you a lot?'

'Um...no?'

'Well, you know now. Do you like her too?'

'Yes. I've always liked her since I first saw her at school. But, she always disappeared before I could go say "hi" to her.' Hearing that, I stopped right on my tracks-considering I was in a standing position before. He had liked me before? We have mutual feelings? Vee's next words broke into my thoughts.

'Why don't you tell her about your feelings now?'

'I don't want to ruin our friendship.'

'You fail when you don't try something. Just talk to her and let's see where it goes. Don't worry I'm her for you, your special love guru.' That girl was way too smart for a twelve-year-old. I'm sure this has to do with her phone and the exposure it carries. I pretended to just having just left the kitchen, making my footsteps prominent, announcing my oncoming presence. 

'The weather feels extremely hot today.' Mike said after we took our drinks. I pretended I didn't see give him a thumbs up and stylishly walked inside.

'Yes, it is.' I replied.

'There is something I need to tell you, Tabitha.' The way he called my full name eased my nervousness.

'What's it?' The moment has finally come echoed loudly in my heard.

'I really like you a lot and would like us to be more than just friends.' 

'I like you too.'

That was the beginning of our summer love story and the quarantine period began to make more sense to me. I was glad to hear from my parents again. But, I couldn't wait for everything to get back to normal again.