Last updated on October 13th, 2025 at 01:59 pm
The coaches sit in the front row amongst the event attendees. Each of them, six in total, has a lapel attached to the front of their outfit. I bury my head even though I haven’t seen Joe yet, my heart wildly beating in my chest. As soon as I raise my head, I see him take a seat opposite our section. A beautiful attendee sits to his right, and the seat to his left, which was empty, quickly gets occupied by another beautiful lady. He’s dressed in a soft pink sweatshirt, fitted jeans and sneakers. I start to sweat even though the room is cold.
The sound coming from the TVs at the centre of the circle catches my attention. It’s a short clip on the progression of photography over the years. There are four TVs mounted on a pole in the middle of the seating, and every section has a good view of the TV. The hall falls quiet as the video plays.
“Welcome to PhotoFit 2.0, renewed and reloaded!” The anchor booms. His energy enraptures the audience and everyone claps. I look at Zabby to my left and she’s also clapping and hooting. I clap a bit and fold my hands. Don’t look. Don’t look. Zabby whips out her camera and starts recording. She definitely has enough to show her forty-something thousand subscribers on YouTube.
—
The general training has been on for thirty minutes, with the anchor still talking and his presentation slides being displayed on the screens. I have successfully avoided looking at Joe this entire time. I mentally scold myself. I can’t explain the reason behind my reaction. It’s been about six years since we almost dated. There was no animosity. There shouldn’t be any reason for me to be this disturbed. Even as I scold myself, I find myself stilling my neck away from him. Quitting the torture, I allow myself to look at him properly. Boy, is he delectable!
I allow myself to swoon as I take him in fully. He always looked good. Back then, I thought that he was handsome in a rough way, compared to Tochi who was pretty. I’m inclined to call my old self silly for ever thinking such. Maybe he just grew up nicely, or it’s him being in pink but he looks handsome and pretty, prettily handsome. His facial features are slight, relatively small and distinct, giving him a soft look; his beard, strong jaw and sharp bone structure, on the other hand, make him look tough. This combination of soft and hard uniquely defines him.
I hear the audience clapping around me, bringing me out of my thoughts. Before I look away from Joe he looks toward my side, and I quickly duck, calling Zabby’s attention.
“What’s wrong?” She asks.
“Nothing,” I say. She looks at me for a moment before turning her face to the middle of the gathering, where another host, a young woman, is now addressing us. I briefly look at Joe’s direction before sitting up again.
After about an hour, we take a tea break. After the tea break, only those who have paid will be allowed to return to the hall. At this point, I’m very excited that I refused to pay for the training. What would have happened if Joe saw me? Zabby and I go out of the hall, struggling with the heavy foot traffic. We find a confectionery and sit on the barstools before making our orders. The event is located in a recreational centre, so there’s a mall and a cinema within. I can busy myself with the different entertainment spots.
“How are you enjoying yourself?” Zabby ask as she bites into her doughnut.
“Honestly, it’s not bad,” I answer, taking a sip of my drink.
“You should be fine once I go back into the hall, right?”
“Sure sure. I will walk around and come around to check up on you once in a while. You can call me during your breaks too.”
“Deal.” She says. We both sit quietly, watching people and the activities around. I don’t know why I never came here on my own. It’s a decent spot and I’m sure it’s serene during the weekdays.
Soon, Zabby gets up to head back to the training. She pecks my cheek and waves at me. “Bye, my love.” I smile and air kiss her. As she leaves, others are also going back into the hall. After a while, it’s just a few others left outside and me. It’s quite a shock that about ninety percent of the people around are here for the event and they paid. I get a feel of serenity now that we’re very few outside. Then I decided to video call my parents.
“Eliam, see mummy.” My mum answers and Eliam rushes to the screen, filling up the whole screen. He smiles and waves, “Angela.” Contrary to my parents’ suggestion, he has refused to call me ‘mummy’ and rather says, ‘Angela.’ I can’t fault him; everyone around him calls me ‘Angela,’ ‘Angel’, or ‘Angie.’ I’m not bothered by his choice. I’m simply content that he is a happy boy who is lucky to have such good grandparents.
“How are you, my boy?”
“I’m fine.” He answers and launches into a tale of his hurting finger. I listen with rapt attention, interjecting where necessary and my mum is cracking up behind him. When he’s done, I tell him to put his finger on the screen and kiss it. This seems to do the trick as he smiles and bounces away.
“Mummy, well done with Eliam. He is a handful.”
“I’m telling you. Full of life, that boy.” My mum and I spend a few more minutes on the phone. She tells me that my dad had to quickly go to his office to handle a client’s order. After the call, I’m feeling more settled.
