Texas
The flight was fucking long, I couldn't stretch my legs. Eiffel and I fell asleep on the flight, we both woke up when the voice announced that we get the fuck out. It was after we got all our bagagges that I saw Courtney's text where she said she wouldn't be able to pick us up because she was caught up with something. I called her then she told me a Dallas was picking us up. Now the hassle was to find this Dallas, she didn't fucking send a picture. I grabbed Eiffel's suitcase while she carried her pack, we approached the entrance of the airport. I looked around, maybe gut could tell me something that was until I felt a tap on my shoulder. I was startled because nobody knew me here apart from family of course.
A very hot guy, beautiful might I add came into view. What the actual fuck? Beautiful people still existed, what got me was his eyes. The colours were different, I've heard of heterochromia but I've never seen it in person and his looked so fucking beautiful. One was grey, almost silver or should I say white because I could see myself in it and the other was blue. I scrunched up my face at my blatant stare.
He apologized for startling me, after establishing facts that I was Court's cousin and he was Dallas, we moved to his car. He had to be rich because he was rolling with a Chevy Camaro, that car is dead dead fire, one I wish I had instead of my Giulia back home but I love my Giulia as well. He looks like a rich kid, from his curly hair to his slide claded feet, it screamed money and it also shows that he was trying to be a normal kid despite the affluence.
"So where are y'all coming from?", He asked, starting a conversation.
"What, Courtney didn't tell you?", I thought Courtney would tell everybody everything about me, she's always loose-mouthed so I'm wondering what changed.
"She actually kept a lot of things mum about you, something about how private you are and you don't want anybody all up in business and sh..stuff", he was going to cuss but I saw him flash a glance at Eiffel.
"Touché. Where do you think the accent is from?", I teased.
"I'm not very good at accent recognition but I'm guessing London?", he spared me a glance before turning back to the road.
"No. It's a Mancunian accent, I lived in Manchester" I replied him while shooting a text to Mum, Aunt Lilo and Kris that we had landed.
"Manchester. I heard it's a dope place"
"Uhmmm yeahhh, it's quite dope", I smiled while thinking of the streets at night.
"Why did you move to New York then?"
"Errr....my mum got a promotion and she's leaving on a job for a while. So here we are making family adjustments, my dad lives here in New York so it's his turn to have us".
"What do you major in and what year are you starting?", he asked genuinely interested.
"I'm starting my sophomore year as an Arts major"
"So you paint?"
"Yeah you know the whole shebang with artists. Paint, draw, sketch and all of that".
"You don't look like you can paint", he teased.
"So what do I look like?", I turned to look at him.
"Like a dancer of some sort".
"I can dance but not extremely well", I laughed. "What's your major?", I asked him.
"I'm a Architecture major and also the captain of the soccer team", he smiled proudly.
"You couldn't wait to get that out of your mouth, yeah?" I said with a teasing smile.
He smiled sheepishly and reasoned, "I'm sorry if I sounded proud though. I'm on the soccer team, how is that for rectification?"
"Cool cool".
"You know what? I'm inviting you to all of our matches, you have to be there".
"We'll see, huh??"
"Let's see if I can capture your attention on the field"
I laughed, "We'll see".
Few minutes later, the car stopped and I realized we were home, well at least home for now. "We're here", he said when he pulled up at the obviously locked gate. I looked at him then he said, "You gon' get someone to get the gate?"
"Oh yeah, talk to the intercom and say we are here. We as in Texas and Eiffel". He did as he was told and the gate opened. He parked close to the porch and he ran over to get my door, "You didn't have to do that", I teased.
"What other way to show you how gentlemanly I am?", he shrugged and opened Eiffel's door.
The front door opened followed by a voice I've not heard in years, "Oh my God, look at you guys".
"Gretaa!!!!", I exclaimed with glee as I ran into her open arms, she squeezed me tight. Greta is Dad's housekeeper, she looks after Eiffel and I during the holidays or time we get to be with Dad. She is basically family because she has been with Dad for a while now and we treat her like our second mother whenever we comes visiting.
"Look at my little pumpkin!", she squealed and grabbed Eiffel into a hug, rocking her side to side. She looked up at Dallas who had just dropped the last bit of our suitcases, "Thank you for bringing them home, you can stay dinner. If it's not too much of a problem", she smiled.
"Thanks for the offer ma'am but I have things to get back to. I'll take you up on the offer next time"
She smiled at him and grabbed Eiffel's hand and she asked as they walked inside, "Tell me about your flight, little one".
I turned to look back at Dallas, "Hey uhmm, thanks for getting my sister and I. I'm sure you had things to do but thank you nevertheless", I smiled up at him because he was tall. Fucking tall, I've never been shy in the presence of any guy but I dunno why I found myself smiling shyly to him. Maybe because he was dead fine and attractive, he looks like a Abercrombie and Fitch model.
"Oh, it's not a problem. Anything for Courtney's family", he smiled.
Damn, few minutes here and I already had a label, Courtney's cousin or Courtney's family. I hated it when I was attached to somebody or something, especially back at Manchester when people refer to me as "Hey isn't that Chloe's daughter?", when they could have easily said, "Hey isn't that Texas, Chloe's daughter?". I hated being labelled with something other than my name but since Courtney was the only reason he came to pick us up, I'll let it slide this time.
"Yeah. Okay. Have a nice day and thank you again", I said quietly and he nodded. He didn't make any move to get back into his car as he continued looking at me, his eyes were fleeting through my face making it look like he was committing my features to memory. It felt like time froze and it was me and him right there, trapped in each other's eyes until Eiffel broke the connection.
"Texxie, Greta has cupcakes!!!, she shrieked.
Our eye contact broke when I turned to look at Eiffel, "Uhmmm I'm just gonna go, say Hi to your sister for me". He smiled and got into his car, he honked twice as he drove off.
I went back inside only to find Eiffel's face covered in cake icing. "You are such a messy eater", I grimaced.
"Well at least I wasn't staring at a boy with hearts in my eyes, that was you, while I was busy devouring Greta's divine cupcakes, which you'd know how good they taste if you weren't out there----"
"Okay okay. I get it, totally get it. I can see the sugar is begining to kick in", I said then picked up one cupcake. "Hmmm, this is good, dead good", I moaned out and Eiffel only looked at me with a twinkle in her eyes to tell me she felt the same way.
"Okay kids, clean up after yourselves and go up to get some rest. Shane will be around for dinner, he just called", Greta said after coming down the stairs probably from dropping our bags in our rooms. She looked at Eiffel and her eyes grew wide, "Eiffel, how many cupcakes have you had?"
"Uhm...", she looked at the wrappers on the table, "I dunno, maybe 6 or 7", she slurred.
Okay, one thing you should know about Eiffel is she gets high on sugar whenever she pigs out on it. She gets talkative, energetic, wouldn't sleep and nobody in the house would be able to keep up. So we just leave her to her devices then she'd be carried to her room after passing out. Greta and I looked at each other, so I decided to make a run for it. "Uhm Greta, I think I'll take a nap", I said as I made a dash towards the stairs. When I entered my room, I locked it behind me and faced my room.
A queen sized bed was in the middle of the room, the room was painted in blue and they reminded me of Dallas's eyes. There was a walk in closet, an en suite that was as big as a person's apartment, walk-in shower, a tub to the side, basin and counter and all other things. I flopped down on the bed and groaned at the softness, I grabbed my phone and texted Kris. Either she was rehearsing or she's busy with Sean. My head on this dead soft pillow, I fell asleep immediately. I woke up to my phone going off beside me, "Hello?"
"Hey friend!!", It was Kris.
"Hey. I texted you over and over but no reply, what the fuck?"
"I'm sorry, we were rehearsing for the upcoming competition. I was dead busy, I literally just walked inside"
"How was rehearsal?", I sat up.
"Hmph, the usual. Juanita being a bitch as usual, bossing everyone around like it's not already sure that we'll win this thing".
I can tell she was rolling her eyes, "I always tell you to take over, you are better than her a thousand times and I'm sure your group members feel the same. You are a better choreographer than she is, I mean have you seen how many likes your videos have? Close to a million Kris, that's how many. I bet if you choreograph your competition, y'all are getting that trophy. It's long time overdue."
Juanita was the Spanish bitch (I hate the b-word but you see me call someone by that word, shows how much I hate the person) who leads Kris' dance team. She bosses them around all rehearsal, like telling them their sneakers are not the correct color for the day, "Hey Serena, your crop top is hiding your belly", "Hey Kris can you roll down your joggers, we are not in the streets", like fuckkk, it's just a rehearsal bitch, get over it. She says stupid shit and chews chuddy all day long but nobody has the nerves to call her on it, her dance routines are so whack that they literally put me to sleep. Most times I follow Kris to their rehearsals, all I do is sleep. I have better dance routines than she does and I'm not even a dancer.
"All you've said is true but am I really ready for that responsibility? Enough about my rehearsal, how's your first day at the NYC?!!", she exclaimed.
"Let's FaceTime", I said and hung up. Her call came through and I picked up, this time I was sitting up properly with my back against the headrest. "Look at you! It's just a day and I feel like it's a year".
"I know righttt. Come on tell me everything", she said while stuffing her face with pasta.
I told her how Eiffel and I slept on our flight, Greta's cake, "It's my first day and all I've done so far is sleep. On the plane and here now".
"Awwww, don't worry. You just take it one day at a time and you'll see, you'd meet new people and they'll make everything worthwhile", she smiled at me.
Suddenly, I remembered Dallas, "Uhmmm.. speaking of meeting new people".
Her eyes widened like saucers, "Oh my God, tell me tell me. Everything."
"Uhmmm...he picked us up from the airport and brought us to Dad's house".
"Don't you dare do that to me, tell me everything. Everythingggg!!"
"Okay, geesh, calm down", I laughed. "His name is Dallas---"
She cut me off with her laughter, "Fuck, I'm shipping you both already. Your names, damn. Looks like you found your man".
I looked at her dumbly, "Whatever it is you are talking about now?"
She looked at me like I was stupid, "Are you serious right now Tex? You are Texas and this guy you met is Dallas, rings a bell?"
"Uhmmm....I still don't get it".
"Fuckkk...you can be smart and dumb at the same time. I swear it's a talent you have", I gave her a smothering look. "Okay. Texas is a state and that's you, Dallas is a city in---"
"In Texas", I cut her off as my eyes widened at the ridiculous revelation. "Now I know why he laughed when I told him my name"
"See, he's smarter than you and that's a first. Hmm I like him already. Description!! Description!!".
"He has a curly brown hair, mismatched eyes, he's tall, he has a somewhat tan skin, I think he's Latino, he has all these attractive black dots on his face and neck, he has a tattoo on his knuckles and one inside his wrist, probably has in other places, he's a soccer player, Architecture major and he should be 21 since he's starting his junior year. Uhmmm.....I think that's all, yeah and he has a ear piercing."
"OMG!! Mismatched eyes, that's hot. Architecture major? Momma Greene is gonna love him. Dinner is never gonna be awkward. Tattoos, oh my God. Earrings, dayummm I'm drooling. I'm sure he has other piercings. Tall and soccer, I can picture him already and my imagination says he's hot".
"Calm your tits Kris, I don't even know him. This is the first conversation I've had with someone other than you and I laughed and smiled. It's just surreal but it's probably nothing", I shrugged.
"Oh shut up, you think the universe threw a Dallas and a Texas together and it's probably nothing? Nahhh boo, don't kid yourself" she said the last part in Aunt Lilo's tone.
"Okay I heard you. How's Karen and Josh?"
"They are good, always mushy mushy. A love like theirs is hard to see around here but I'm sure Dexas will put them to shame."
"Pleaseee stoppp", I laughed.
"Dad is back and it's time for ermmm....dinner, that's what they call it here", Eiffel said and opening my door.
"Eiffel knockkk", I threw her a glare, she just stuck he tongue out and ran away. "Hey, I gotta go, it's errr dinner time".
"Bye lovey. I'll talk to you later", she blew me a kiss and hung up.
I walked downstairs to see Dad rolling his white shirt up his elbows and chatting animatedly with Eiffel, "Dad!"
He turned and hugged me tight, "Hey there, Princess". He looked at me from my hair to my face, "Fuck I've missed you", he whispered probably because of Eiffel.
"Likewise myself", I laughed. "And what's with the buzz cut?"
"Long hair is actually hard to maintain, I've come to realize", he said as he pulled a chair out for me.
We ate while talking about the previous times we've visited and how this time it's going to be longer and better. In record time we were done with our Pasta and meatballs dinner which was delicious as usual, I mean it's Greta's divine recipe.
"Princess, come on", Dad gestured for me to come with him. We entered what looked like his office, he pointed to his armchair. He brought out a file and he passed it to me, "Open it".
I flipped it open and I was met with pictures of apartments. They were so fucking fine, I didn't even know which to pick. "Please tell me you picked already", I whined.
He laughed, "I always knew you don't do options so I took it upon myself to choose one. Check out the Crowder's part of the file".
The apartment was huge, has 2 bedrooms with en-suites, a kitchen, a living room, already furnished with TV, furniture, bed frames, plates, cutleries, dishwasher, washing machine, refrigerator and all. "Fuck Dad, this is too much. Too muchhhh"
"Nothing is too much for my Princess. I'd like to make you comfortable throughout your stay here. Be it here or at school, I'm after your comfort. Your mum told me about your painting thing".
"What? So you both talk? About me nonetheless?", I snarked a little.
"We care about you and your sister, regardless of any situation", he calmly replied.
"Then why didn't you both stay together?" Honestly, I don't know where that came from because ever since their divorce, I've been pretty chilled about it. I never made a fuss nor did I throw a strop but with the statement that came out of my mouth I knew I still had a little bit of resentment inside.
He rubbed his palm over his face, "You thought we never fought, we never had arguments, you thought we never exchanged words , but we did, pointless fights and arguments to be precise. We tried as much as possible to keep all of that away from you but all that did was drain our energies. When it looked like it'll start to get to you and we couldn't keep up the front, we decided to let each other go". He picked a cigarette from his pack and lit it, he inhaled the smoke, held it and let it out slowly, that only proved that the subject was draining him, "Baby, your mum and I loved each other and we still do but at a point, the love shifted from that of lovers, husband and wife to that of friends. Trust me, I'd die for Chloe and she'd do the same but I think we've used up our time. So, please don't ever think that we don't care about you and your sister because we are not together".
"Maybe you both belong to each other more than you think", I smiled at him and he just shook his head with a sad smile. "I'm sorry that that came out of nowhere"
"No baby, don't apologise. I was always worried that you said nothing all these years, I'm glad and relieved you said something now".
I went to hug him, "I love you Papi and nothing can change that"
He gave me a peck, "Pick a car in the garage tomorrow".
"What?"
"I don't need to buy you another car when I have a lot of useless ones", he shrugged.
"Thanks Dad. I'll check out the apartment and the car tomorrow. I'm tired".
"I am too, so I'll see you in the morning".
I left to go to my room. I got out of my jeans and shirt in exchange for my loose short and tank top. Within seconds, I was out like a light.
************************
The week moved by slowly. I checked out the apartment and moved in with Courtney's help. It didn't take long because I didn't pack much, I had the plans to buy more clothes and shoes in New York. Presently I was saying my goodbye to Eiffel who clung to me in tears like I was disappearing off the face of Earth.
"Hey monkey, I'm not leaving forever you know? I'll come visit on weekends, even you can come visit too."
At that, she raised her head, "For real for real?"
"Yes lovey, for real. I am only 30 minutes away. If you want to chill with big sis anytime, I could come scoop you right up and we'll go have some fun. How's that?"
She sniffled and smiled tearfully, "That's fantastic"
"Cool. You wanna come with? I'll drop you off at school on Monday so we spend the rest of today and tomorrow which is Sunday and also our sleep in day together", I suggested.
"Okay okay. I'm gonna go get my bag", she ran upstairs to get her jacket and her uniform. She got enrolled to a private school few minutes from NYU.
I grabbed my keys and went to wait outside for her. Few minutes after, she showed up with a duffel bag. We got into my car, "Seat belt boo", I murmured at her. As she complied, I drove off.
Exactly 30 minutes after, I pulled up at our underground garage. We entered my so called apartment, I fell in love with the condo the first time I set my eyes on it. From the furniture to the littlest things as the curtains and the coffee table. "Go drop your bag in the room and let's order pizza"
"Okayy", she said and ran off.
I picked up the phone to dial the pizzeria when I heard the door buzz. I went to open the door with the phone in my ear.
"Heyyy. I brought housewarming pizza", Courtney said while grinning, her brown hair was in a bun meaning she just got back from rehearsal.
"Thank goodness, I was about to call them. You are a godsend. Come on in", I opened the door wider.
"Courtney!", Eiffel ran to her and hugged her legs.
"Hey there pumpkin", she ruffled Eiffel's hair and set down the pizza boxes on the coffee table.
She got rid of her sneakers and sat cross-legged on the couch. I went to the kitchen to grab plates, I served Eiffel hers and we all sat. "I'm gonna be right back", I said as I trudged to my room. My jeans were giving me zero comfort so I ditched them for yoga pants and a loose long sleeved crop top, I went back to join them. A movie was playing, "What's the title of the movie?", I said as I sat and grabbed a pizza.
"Venom, I heard it's good."
"Oh we've seen it. Remember when I couldn't sleep after watching and I had to come sleep in your bed with you?" Eiffel said excitedly.
"Oh I remember. It's a dope movie"
"Bummer, since you both watched it, we'd have to look for another movie"
I looked at Courtney just in time to see her disappointed pout, "We could see it. It's a cool movie which is worth seeing twice actually", I compromised. Eiffel widened her eyes at me probably because she didn't want to be scared but I just blinked at her.
"Oh really?!! Thank you", she smiled.
Like that, Eiffel and I suffered through the movie. Eiffel found a safe spot close to me where she clutched my shirt in her palms.
The movie ended and Courtney checked her watch, "Oh shoot, I've got to go. Are you ready to start school?" she asked with a smile.
"My schedule is a problem, I'm not much of a morning person and my classes are mostly in the morning", I said to her while she put on her sneakers.
"Don't worry, you'd get used to it. Bye now, I'll see you on Monday. Toodles Effie", she wiggled her fingers at Effie and that one waved back.
"Thanks for helping me settle in and for the pizza too", I smiled at her.
"Anything for you cuz", she pulled me into a hug and got into the elevator.
Courtney was like that person you could never hate, dead perfect, perfect child, perfect dancer (even though I haven't seen her dance), perfect student, perfect girlfriend probably, I dunno her boyfriend. She is bubbly, ambitious and again, perfect. One thing I've found I hate is, she's a hugger. She always finds a way to pull me into a hug. I walked back to find Eiffel asleep. I woke her up, "Hey big baby, let's get to bed". She grumbled groggily and walked to my room, I got rid of the yoga pants and wore loose shorts. I climbed into bed and Eiffel immediately gripped my shirt, I chuckled to myself "Scaredy cat".
The next day, we went to the art stores to get my supplies for school. We basically spent the day out with Courtney. We ended up in her house and had dinner there. Aunt Cassie always took us back to our Spanish roots with food, "I'll fatten you both up during your stay here, no kidding", her words not mine. Effie and I came back home with a full stomach, I had to pop a few of my buttons in order to sit down.
"Gosh I'm soo fulll right now", Eiffel moaned.
"I am too pumpkin. Come on let's watch Frozen", I grinned at her.
She grinned right back, "Let's do this."
We completely forgot that it was a school night because the last thing I heard was probably Elsa's voice and the next thing I heard was a buzz right above my head. I picked up my phone with my eyes closed, "'Lo?"
"What is this I hear about Eiffel not being in school? It's 8:45am for fucks sake".
I was hellla confused so I brought my screen to my face, realized it was Dad and also our first day of school, the next thing was strings of cuss words. "Fuck fucking hell, shit shit. Eiffel! Eiffel", I slapped her face and immediately she shot up.
"Oww! Texas, what the hell was that for?"
"I'm gonna ignore the fact that you said a bad word and tell you to get yo ass into the second bathroom right now. Today is your, no, our first day at a new school" I got out all in one breath and immediately her eyes widened. She got up and ran to God knows where. I ran to my room and checked my schedule, "Shit shit shit", my first class of the year was 8am and I was still home at 8:50am. I rushed to the bathroom and took the first and probably last rushed shower I'll ever have in my life. I got dressed in a black jean and white shirt with my ankle boots. I pulled my hair into a bun, how I still managed to not make it messy was a miracle.
"Eiffel! Eiffel!" I yelled out for her.
She came running out dressed in her white shirt and pinafore, white trouser socks and white Nikes. "I'm here, I'm here. Can you tie my hair please?"
I gave her a "Really?" look but she just pleaded with me with her eyes. So I grabbed her scrunchie and tied her hair in a high ponytail and spread it. "Let's go".
I pulled up in front of her school exactly 15 minutes later. We rushed in and found the Principal's office, I knocked and we went in. A middle aged woman was sitting behind a table, her beach blonde hair was in a professional bun, "I'm so sorry ma'am, that I made her late. It was a little out of my control because---"
"You are not a morning person?", she raised a friendly brow amusedly.
"Uhm yeah", I nodded.
"Never mind. Mr Hall called me said it was not going to happen again so Eiffel Hall is free for today. It should never happen again because here at Crowns institutions, time is of utmost importance."
"Yes ma'am, it'll never happen again"
"Good. Eiffel come with me", she stood from her table and opened her door for us both.
"Bye", Eiffel mouthed and followed the Headmistress slash Principal whatever. I ran to my car and hightailed to the Uni, I sped with my BMW like my life depended on it. As I was maneuvering into an empty space in the lot, another car was aiming for the same space but I was faster. I pulled in fast, got out and locked my door.
The driver of the other car rolled down his glass, "What the fuck?"
I didn't get a good look at him but I threw him an half-assed apology, "I'm dead sorry, find another space!", I yelled and ran off in the direction that's supposed to be my class. I found the hall and opened the door, my mouth dropped open as I came in contact with approximately 50 pairs of eyes looking up at me.
"Young lady, are you supposed to be in this class?"
Okay, 51 pairs including that of the professor or whatever she is that was standing in front. I closed my mouth and walked closer to her, I handed her my transfer papers, "Here you go ma'am", I whispered.
She glanced through the papers, smiled at a point and then looked at me with that same resting bitch face, "You know you are late to this class?"
"Yes ma'am. I'm sorry, it'll not happen again"
"Introduce yourself to the class and take a seat.
What the fuck is this? High school? I locked eyes with a girl with black curly hair, she threw me a "Get on with it" look with a smirk. "Hi everyone. My name's Texas Hall and I just transferred from Manchester and err..... I think it'll be nice learning with you all", I finished lamely.
"Good. Now find an empty seat", the professor said.
I looked around, I saw a hand move in the corner of my eye so I looked over there. It was the same girl, she gestured at the seat beside her with her eyes. I moved towards the seat, immediately I sat, the professor continued.
"So as I was saying before I was interrupted. Abstract painting is the one that comes from your emotions, your experiences, inner turmoils, feelings generally. It might also require the placing of an object right in front of you but this time, you are not reproducing the object on your canvas. You are projecting the forces you think are acting on that object. For exampe, an apple----"
And that was how the lecture went for an hour more. "On that note, I'll be ending the class. A basket is being passed around, pick a paper. Whatever word you find in your paper, you make a painting that best describes it which you can support with a detailed explanation. It's going to be displayed same time, next week so prepare to tell me about how you turned your chosen word to a painting. Have a good day everybody", she finalized and left the class.
I opened my paper, the word written on it was "PAIN". I was packing up my bag when I heard a voice, it was a low and scratchy voice.
"Hey. You look like you need a coffee", it was the girl from earlier.
"Why do you think so?" I raised a brow.
"Because you don't look so awake", she laughed.
I chuckled, "I'm definitely not a morning person"
She grabbed her bag, "Come on". She grabbed my hand and led me to the cafe and handed me her bag. "Find a table. What do you want?"
"An espresso should do", she nodded and moved to join the queue. I chose a table close to the window, I sat at the other part of the table facing the crowd. I was busy tapping away on my phone when a cup of coffee dropped in front of me. "Uhmmm this is not an espresso", I said after looking at the latte in front of me.
"Espresso is bland, what is the benefit of taking an espresso?", she arched a brow.
"Keeps me awake faster".
"Meh. My name is Diane. What's yours?", she sipped her iced coffee.
"I said it to the whole class and you were part of the class if I remember correctly".
"I'm not the whole class, I'm just a person", she teased.
"My name is Texas and I just moved from Manchester. If you know Courtney, she's my cousin".
"You are Courtney's cousin? The ballerina?"
"Yeah, her", I nodded.
"Crazy", she muttered. "So when do you plan on starting the----"
"Oh so you were the broad that stole my parking space?"
I looked up to see a brown skinned, no not brown, light brown or lemme say tan brown. He looks black but then again he doesn't look entirely black . I furrowed my eyebrows then my eyes landed on someone behind him.
Dallas.