Raina sighed dreamily and looked at the papers she was holding in her hand. It had been 3 days since the event. A lot of her friends had contacted her wanting to know if it was truly her. She had replied as modestly as she could. Yes, it was her. No, she was not dating the actor. Maybe that was for the best. The actor in question had not even contacted her. She had been shy to ask Leroy how his friend was doing even though she knew he will be aware of most of his movements.
Not all, she reminded herself. For Leroy was still not aware of what happened 3 years ago. She had taken the phone several times but she was unable to send a message. Her ego was a little hurt by the indifference. Or, he was avoiding her? Could that be the reason? However, looking back on their last outing, Raina could see no reason why Darryl would try to avoid her.
An advertisement for an audition for Miss Malaika caught her eye. It was a beauty pageant that was held yearly in the country. The show had been going on for over 15 years now. Raina read the audition requirements and realized she fit the profile. She was tall enough and articulate as well. It was true she was just out of senior high school but the younger the better, right?
She stood up and walked to the window to look outside. Leroy was driving into the compound. She looked at her watch and realized it was almost 4pm. She had been lying in bed all day, thinking about Darryl. Rita had wanted to come over but Raina was afraid her friend will discover her crush for Darryl. She had decided to doodle in her sketchbook instead. Her stomach growled loudly reminding her that she had not eaten anything for lunch. She changed from her sleep wear to house clothes and headed downstairs.
As she headed downstairs, she kept on thinking about the pageant. Her birthday was in a month's time. She will be turning 19 then. This way, she could design her own outfits and showcase them. Her main aim for joining this program will be for exposure not to win the pageant. Of course, on the show she wouldn't say that. She will look for a more inspirational thing to say. Raina laughed at her own thoughts.
'What is so amusing?'
Her mother joined her on the sofa and looked at the papers she was holding.
'I was thinking about auditioning for the Miss Malaika pageant this year. I feel it will give me good exposure. I can showcase my own designs maybe even create them myself. What do you think?'
'I thought you wanted to focus more on polishing up your fashion skills. Are you still going to university this year or do you want to shelve that too?'
'See here.' Raina showed the newspaper ad to her mother, 'The auditions are not for another month. I am a quick learner. If I start my understudy lessons right away, I should be good to go. I will start university this year. The earlier, the better.'
'What are you ladies busily discussing? Fill me in.' Raina had forgotten her dad was at home. He had taken some days off work.
Raina pushed the papers over to her dad. 'We were just talking about the Miss Malaika pageant. I was thinking about participating, mainly for the exposure though.'
'Hmm, I see. You can go on and audition. You have got nothing to lose. Though I am sure they will have no trouble choosing you once they meet you.'
Her parents' confidence in her abilities boosted her self-esteem and she hugged them both.
'I guess this means the next few months are going to be crazy. I will talk to Helen so you can start understudying her from next week.'
'Thank you, mum and dad. I am going upstairs then. I want to work on a few sketches.'
'I think you should start categorising your sketches or you can put them under various themes and give them an authentic Ghanaian name. I realized by looking at a few of them that most of don't follow any theme. What do you think?'
'Yeah, you are right. I think I will do that then.'
'Make sure you do designs for we the old ones too. Don't do only young girl designs.'
'Yes please.'
'You are still a young girl for me.' Francis affectionately told his wife and pecked her on the cheeks.
'I am going to start work on it then. Will show you a few when I am done. Let me grab a snack and get to work.'
Raina went up to her room, took her sketch book and closed her eyes. She felt the pictures and colours swirling in her mind's eye. She thought about what her mother said. About grouping them into themes. She realized she could group the designs according to fabrics too. She had not yet decided what she was going to call her fashion line. She hoped she found a classic name when the time came.
Raina connected her earpiece in her ear, started playing music and got to work.
The time quickly went by. She found peace in what she was doing. She drew for different shapes and sizes. Most Ghanaian women were curvy so she made sure the designs were those that will accentuate the curves.
She was interrupted by a knock on the door. Her mum poked her head in.
'Dear, it is time for supper. Thought you were asleep. I did not know you have been sketching all this while.'
'I hit the creativity goldmine; I could not stop. I have to go shopping for fabrics soon so I can start sewing.'
'Sure, we can go some other time but right now you need to eat. Leroy says Darryl is coming on over.'
'Really? Okay, I didn't know he was coming over.'
'Should he have informed you first, perhaps?'
Raina looked up at her mother in surprise. Her mum had a knowing smile on her face.
'Of course not. I will be downstairs soon.'
Raina hurriedly went to her dresser to change her clothes. She re-styled her braids and wore a flowery printed dress. She then left her room to head downstairs. She literally skipped a step. She was looking forward to meeting Darryl. Since their last encounter, she had not been able to work up the nerve to text or call him. Leroy had informed her a few days ago that Darryl was working on a new movie and that is why they had not seen him in a while.
The plates had already been set when she got down. All she had to do was put the food on the table. Leroy and Darryl had still not arrived by the time she was done. They waited for 15 minutes more by which time her stomach was rumbling loudly. She was about to ash her mum if she could start eating when they heard the gate opening and cars driving into the compound.
'Finally. If I had to wait anymore, I would have started chewing the spoon.'
Her parents laughed at her words. Leroy and Darryl quickly joined them and dinner began. Darryl sat opposite her and she felt her eyes stray to his every once in a while. He only smiled at her and continued eating. The talk around the table revolved mostly around work. Raina was not interested in the workings of the company and hardly ever paid attention to these conversations.
'Raina, I hear you are starting your fashion understudy next week.'
Raina looked up in surprise. It was Darryl who had asked her the question.
'Yes, on Monday. I will go shopping for some fabrics this weekend.'
'That's good to hear.'
'Our little girl wants to join the Miss Malaika pageant this year.'
Darryl frowned and looked at Raina in surprise. A pageant of all things! He did not care for them in the least. He met Raina's eyes and saw she was looking at him expectantly. That's when he realized he had not said anything in response to Mrs. Arthur's words.
'I am sure she will be amazing in it. I hope she wins. I will be your number one fan all the way through.'
Raina blushed at his words. Initially, he had seemed unhappy on hearing the news. She was afraid he would be against her decision. If he had said he was not in support, she would have rescinded her decision.
'Thank you so much. That means a lot to me.' They held each other gazes for a moment and then Darryl looked away. He didn't want to be caught staring.
Theresa missed nothing though. She had seen the way the two had been looking at each other all evening. All those shy awkward glances. It appeared there was something there after all. That was interesting. Teenage crushes did not last this long. At least in the beginning it had been one-sided but judging by Darryl's attentiveness towards Raina, it appeared he had a crush too. Or maybe something more. Theresa smiled to herself. For now, she would keep this to herself. No point in sharing this information now.