"What do you think we are?" Raven asked, smiling inwardly.
"I don't know. But i don't think we are strangers now, though we used to be. Are we friends?" Aida asked innocently.
Raven saw the innocence, laced in the eyes of the pretty little girl beside him and made a personal vow to do anything to keep that innocence for as long as he could.
"Friends?" Raven asked pretending to be in deep thought. "Do you have friends?"
"No, i don't" Aida replied honestly.
"Why?" Raven asked unable to hide his curiosity.
"Because nobody likes me" Aida kept her answer short.
"What do you mean by 'nobody likes me'?" Raven asked, as he leaned on the bedstead.
"Well, it's a long story" Aida replied lowering her eyes.
"I'm all ears" Raven said almost passively.
"I am, I... I don't know where to start from" Aida said.
"Start from the beginning" Raven said wearing a kind smile.
Aida hesitated for a while before she began to narrate her side of the story.
"Alberta was my friend. We were so close, that people thought we were fraternal twins. We got along well until she found herself a boyfriend, Jason. They dated for a while. Even though, they agreed to keep it a secret from everyone, Alberta still told me about him. Well, everything remained the same until Alberta introduced Jason to me. The guy and I began to vibe like we had know each other for years. Well, Alberta didn't mind neither did I. Suddenly, he kept calling me out of the blues, paying me unnecessary visits, sending unwanted and thoughtless gifts. I approached him at the lab after our science class, and demanded answers because i never liked someone forcing himself into my space. Well, he confessed he had feelings for me and he thought I felt the same way about him. I humbly refused his proposal and even went ahead to threaten him i was going to inform Alberta if he pushed slightly further. Little did we know, that only a shelf separated Alberta from us. She broke up with him and we kept our friendship moving" Aida paused.
"Go on" Raven urged her to continue.
"Well, it turned out every guy who dated Alberta ended up liking me. She felt i was a jinx whose only intention was to sabotage her relationships. She soon became an enemy and teamed up with people who hated me as much. Afterwards, everyone who became my friend ended up being ridiculed. Eventually, I gave up on trying to keep any friend. That's why I don't have any friend" Aida completed with a tinge of sadness laced in her voice.
"Interesting" Raven said nodding.
"Yeah" Aida agreed.
"Aida, you're only fourteen right?" Raven asked
"How did you know my age?" Aida asked looking suspiciously at him.
"I used to be your mother's friend" Raven said, not necessarily answering her question.
"I see. What about my age?" Aida asked
"I wonder why my peers and I were thinking about how to lace our shoes when we were about the same age, when your peers are already dating" Raven said sarcastically.
"Really!"Aida exclaimed in pure amusement. "I guess the world is fast changing"
"I couldn't agree more" Raven said nodding. "Anyway, Aida we can be friends if you want us to, despite all odds"
"Are you sure about that?" Aida asked.
"Unless you want something else or than friendship" Raven replied passively.
Unable to hide her displeasure which aroused from his sudden passive attitude, she bit her lower lip. Raven bolted at a frightening speed from the bed and soon found himself in front of the window.
"Are you alright?" Aida asked unable to fathom what just happened.
"I'll see you later, pal" Raven replied without turning to look at her, and left.
"Did I do something wrong?" Aida asked herself looking innocently at where he stood a second ago.