7. Not a gentleman, nor a lady
So we had to clean up the mess before the next activity. Well, I had to clean it up. Because of course, Xavier being Xavier didn't even bother helping and just stood leaning against the wall.
With a sigh, I bent down to gather the props– ribbons, scarves and the hoops and thats when I noticed one of the kids had left their scarf near the tree. As I bent down to grab it, but then, I heard his voice-
"Hey, watch—"
Before he could finish, I lost my footing, thanks to one of the hoops I hadn't noticed on the floor. My heart leaped into my throat as I stumbled backward, preparing myself for an awkward fall.
I tried to gain my balance, but of course I couldn't, despite being a ballerina. Great. I fell flat on my back, staring up at the ceiling fan. I scoffed and turned to him, "Just so you know, you could have pretended to at least help me."
"I did warn you." He taunted, pushing himself off the wall, walking towards me.
Oh finally god put some sense into his brain. He is probably coming to give me a hand– but then of course he looked down at me.
"You done?" he asked dryly.
"Well be a gentleman and help this lady down here." I say, my voice laced with sarcasm.
"I am no gentleman, and neither are you a lady." he said, "So get your ass up and help yourself."
Did this man just say that with a straight face?
Excuse me, sir, I may not be a "lady" in your dictionary.And what gave me away? The fact that I didn't faint gracefully into your arms? The sweatpants?
"Wow. Scary." he said as I threw a scarf at him and of course he caught it.
"I hope it wraps around your leg and trips you next." I muttered under my breath as I pushed myself off the floor.
He stepped back, completely unbothered, watching me, "You good now, or should I get you a walker?"
But then we heard Ms. Whitaker's voice. "Xavi! Amara! Hurry up. Pizza's getting cold."
I squeaked at the mention of pizza, but then of course he had to ruin it. As always, "Try not to slip again."
"She said pizza," I whispered, completely ignoring what he said.
"You act like you haven't eaten in days." He said, giving me a weirded out look.
"Can you stop talking?" I said as we entered the dining area, where the kids were already gathered and eating their pizza.
"Come on now, dig in." Ms. Whitaker said with a smile as we didn't just had a war a few minutes ago.
"I was bullied today," I mumbled as I grabbed a slice, "but at least I get pepperoni."
Xavier sat down across from me, biting into his slice. "Still not a gentleman," I muttered.
"Still not a lady." He said, not even bother looking up.
Can he stop- ugh. Not worth your time, Amara
"Xavi, this is the best pizza I had all day!" Noah said, with pizza crumbs all over his mouth. Hearing Noah's voice he looked up and gave a small nod to him, along with a small smile which I definitely didn't miss.
"So, Xavier, Do you usually come here or is it just today?" I ask, leaning back against my chair. "Of course I do come here," He said, giving me a quick glance. "My mom runs this place, after all."
"Right." I say, before taking a bite off my pizza. "Also, did you really think handing out iPads to 8 and 9 year olds is a good idea? They should be learning how to spell and run! Not scribble on their iPads."
Xavier leaned back slightly, his expression unreadable as always, and took another bite of his pizza before answering. "They are learning," he said flatly. "The iPads are locked. They can't download anything, and they only have educational apps."
I nodded, letting him speak.
"Math games. Spelling. Drawing apps that teach. They get timed limits. And I monitor everything." He said with a nod.
I stared at him for a second, pizza halfway to my mouth. "Okay, that's actually kinda genius."
"Did you think I just threw iPads at them and walked away?" He said, wiping his hands with a tissue.
"Well," I said slowly, "based on your overall personality and how you refused to help me up five minutes ago, yes. Yes, I did. Also, I got up without your gentleman-ness."
"That's because I didn't offer any gentleman-ness" he said, getting up, "Also ,I prioritize security. Not manners."
"Fine," I said, giving up for now, "but next time, can you at least make them read books? Or, I don't know, draw something?"
"Books?" He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I'll make sure they get a library too. After all, they need to get their princess stories somewhere."
Then an idea hit me-
"Oh my god! I have an idea!" I said, excitement laced in my voice as the words rushed out of me. "Why don't we work together? Like a team! We could hold workshops every week for the kids!"
I didn't even wait for his response before continuing, eyes wide with enthusiasm. "You could teach them how to box! I could handle ballet or maybe even sprinkle in a bit of theater or artsy stuff. And apparently manners too, since clearly you're not going to help with that."
For a second, just a second, I thought he was actually considering it. His expression shifted—barely, but it did. So I asked, "Do we have a–"
"Why would I want to do something like that with you?" He cut me off, giving me a flat look.
Pop. There went my little happy bubble. Deflated. Shattered. Crushed.
"You know what?" I muttered looking around, making sure no one was nearby, "You can go fuck yourself."
"Funny you thought I'd ask you." he stated as a matter of fact.
This man. The audacity. Ridiculous.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I must have been mistaken. Here I was thinking I could ever be the one you'd ask. My fault." I scoffed my voice laced with sarcasm.
──────????°? ? ?°?? ??──────
After we finished eating, I stood up, clapping my hands to grab everyones attention.
"Alright, everyone, time for a little fun!" I said, my voice bright with excitement. I pulled out the paper crowns I had made, each one colorful and decorated with little doodles and stars. "I made these for all of you! They're your crowns for today."
The kids eyes lit up as I handed them out, each one beaming as they took their crowns and put them on. Some of them made a show of adjusting them, looking extra royal as they did. Noah gave a dramatic bow, tipping his crown and grinning.
"Now, every king and queen needs a royal dance!" I said, laughing. "Let's show off our best moves, everyone!"
The kids giggled, spinning and twirling with their crowns on, their little faces glowing with pure joy. Even Xavier seemed to relax a bit, watching the kids playfully dance around. It was pure chaos—but the good kind, the kind that made my cheeks ache from smiling.
"Amara and Xavier! Why aren't you both dancing?" Lily said narrowing her eyes, with her crown slightly crooked.
I blinked. "Uh... I'm supervising," I said quickly, gesturing to the props like I was obviously doing Very Important Work.
Xavier didn't even bother to come up with an excuse. "I don't dance," he said flatly, arms crossed, expression as bored as ever.
"But why not? Amara dances all the time!" Lily questioned, squinting her eyes at him.
"Yeah, well, she does a lot of things I don't." His voice was dry, almost amused.
"Trust me Lily, if he danced the way he talks we'd all fall asleep." I tried my best not to cuss, so I just rolled my eyes at him.
"And if you danced as much as you talk, we'd need more floorspace." He taunted, uncrossing his arms.
"Wow. You sound jealous. Do you want me to teach you how to twirl too, Xavier?" I questioned, raising my eyebrows and a mock sweet smile.
"I'd rather fall down than do ballet."
After all the twirling, jumping and dancing, the kids finally decided to take a break from their chaos and scattered around. Avery, Mia and Nick were still running here and there, Noah and Lily were flopped on the couch. The rest were mostly in the backyard.
I glanced at him, sitting there on the bench with his long legs stretched out. He was scrolling through his phone, completely zoned out. How very Xavier of him. Acting all mysterious, like he was too cool for sunlight or smiling.
Go annoy him.
Because if he could ruin my Sunday peace by existing in the same gym and being hot and rude, then I could absolutely return the favor. Well its a Tuesday today. But who cares?
"Hey, Ring Lord," I said, plopping down on the bench beside him. "Scrolling through fan comments or just admiring your own selfies?"
He didn't even glance at me. "Neither."
Rude.
I leaned a little closer, trying to peek at his screen. "Ooh, is it angry tweets? Or gym memes? Wait? Is that Candy Crush?" I peeked at his screen, "Oooh Instagram?"
"You're very nosy."
"Aw, thank you! I try my best," I said with a sweet smile. "It's a gift, really. Some people knit. I annoy men with punching issues."
"Well wow," I taunted, "Didn't know The Ring Lord scrolls through reels like the rest of us mortals."
He looked up at me slowly, expression blank. Cold grey eyes, zero amusement. "I wasn't scrolling."
I peeked at the screen. "That is Reels!"
"I said I wasn't scrolling."
Ah, the sass was strong with this one.
"Oh, okay," I nodded, pretending to take him seriously. "So you study TikToks. Got it. For... strategic footwork and punching motivation, right?"
──────????°? ? ?°?? ??──────
I looked around. Glitter. Scarves. Half-eaten cookies. Crayons that definitely hadn't been there before. And next to me? Of course. Xavier. Him and I alone, again. Cleaning.
I sighed and bent down to pick up a hoop that had rolled under a bench. "It's like Deja vu." I mutter, glancing at Xavier who was collecting the ribbons with that same bored expression like he'd rather be anywhere but here.
For a change, he was helping though.
"I swear to god that these hoops keep multiplying when no ones looking." I huffed, picking them up and tossing them in the basket. I glanced at Xavier and caught him lifting the giant speaker like it weighed nothing. Okay, show-off. We get it. Muscles.
"Bet you're more used to punching faces than picking up glitter scarves." I said, tossing a ribbon into the basket without looking at him.
"You're right." he said simply, not even bothering to deny it.
"Wow. Insightful. Should I write that down?" I snorted
"Do you ever stop talking?" He shot back as he carried the speaker to the corner.
"Only when I'm unconscious." I teased, continuing to pick up and toss the ribbons.
After cleaning and arranging back for almost an hour. I decided to sit and rest, Xavier already went inside. Probably talking with the kids, or maybe with Ms. Whitaker or worse.. actually cleaning and arranging everything inside.
As I walked back inside, I could hear Ms. Whitaker's voice, light and warm, as she was talking to Xavier. The way she spoke to him, so familiar and gentle, made it clear how much she cared about him. It was like a mother-son bond that you could feel just by the tone of her voice.
I took a step closer, and that's when I noticed it. Xavier's eyes. His steel-grey eyes, the ones that always seemed so unreadable, so cold... now they looked so familiar. I blinked, and my gaze drifted to Ms. Whitaker. Her eyes. The same shade. The same piercing grey.
So that's where he got them from.
Ms. Whitaker noticed me and smiled warmly.
"Amara, I just wanted to thank you again for helping today.
The kids had such a great time. It was so nice having you here.
" She then turned to Xavier, teasing a little.
"I can't say the same about my son, though.
He might have helped, but he definitely didn't enjoy it as much as the kids did. "
" I am glad they enjoyed, thank you so much for having me." I said, brushing off my hands and offering Ms. Whitaker a warm smile. "Anyways, I should get going,"
"Xavier, why don't you drop Amara back home?" she turned to Xavier.
I opened my mouth almost immediately, a polite laugh slipping out. "Oh. That's sweet, but no need. I brought my car, so I can head back myself." I waved my car keys slightly for emphasis. "Really, I'm good."
Xavier didn't say anything. He just stood there with his arms crossed, like the suggestion personally offended him. Classic.
"Are you sure? It's getting dark." she asked, her voice was nothing but full of concern.
"I'll be fine, promise," I said, smiling again. "Plus, I survived a whole day of coordinating kids, dancing and working with him.I think I'll be okay driving a few blocks." That earned me the slightest twitch from Xavier's jaw.
"Well," Ms. Whitaker said, giving me a quick hug, "you're welcome here anytime."
"Thanks again," I say with a nod, then glanced briefly at Xavier, giving him a small wave. "Bye, dear friend."
He didn't reply and just rolled his eyes.
Driving back home, I sank into the soft comfort of the driver's seat and let out a long sigh.
──────
Dear Diary,
16th July, 2024
Today sure was a lot. I got up on time, got ready, did everything according to plan.
But for some reason right before leaving, a thought gnawed at me.
I mean, I love kids, obviously. But planning a full day of dance and crafts and snacks?
I had doubts. And not just the "will-I-have-enough-scarves or ribbons" kind.
The kind that whispers what if this doesn't go well?
what if they don't have fun? what if you fail? What if the kids didn't like it?
But Of course, Clara motivated me. Honestly, I am glad I texted her because today sure was fun.
Except Xavier Hayes. He makes no sense at all.
Like the day I bumped into him randomly and he was like "You should watch where you are going" or maybe the day where I threw my chocolate pastry on him or maybe the encounter in the gym.
Apparently he is also Ms. Whitaker's son. Wow. Who would have guessed? Not me.
Oh and I even tripped over a hoop in front of him.
Did he help? No.
Did he laugh? Also no, which somehow made it worse. Just stood there with that blank, judgmental face like, get your ass up. When I threw sarcasm at him "be a gentleman!" he threw it back harder by saying, "I am no gentleman, and neither are you a lady."
We could've been a team. I had the best idea. That is, weekly workshops. Ballet, boxing, snacks. Cute, right? But of course he had to ruin it. by saying "why would I want to do something like that with you?"
Ridiculous.
Ms. Whitaker was sweet. And warm. And she and Xavier... they share the same grey eyes. I saw it for the first time today. Her are softer, but still.
That's all for now. My feet hurt, I smell like sweat and ribbon glue, and I still think Xavier Hayes is the most infuriating man I've ever met.
Today was unexpected.
- Amara 3