Chapter 127 THE SMILE

Chapter 127 THE SMILE
Godiva's POV

“See you tomorrow, girls!” Hilda waved, quickening her steps.

“Oh no, wait up. I need to say hi to my new friend's father,” Dina blurted, increasing her pace behind her.

I almost burst out laughing at Dina's desperateness, seeing her run that way just to see Mr. Mike.

In his usual polite manner, he rolled down the window to exchange pleasantries.

“Hello, sir,” Dina and I chorused, smiling at him.

“Hello, how are you girls doing today?” Mr. Mike asked warmly.

I could see the anxiety written all over Dina's face as she patiently waited for him to smile.

“We're good, sir,” we chorused, smiling even harder, hoping it would get contagious.

“I see you girls made a new friend today,” Hilda's father teased with a broad smile, pointing at Dina.

“No sir, she's my friend from Mavick,” I clarified with a smile.

“So, what's your name, new friend?” Mr. Mike asked, still smiling.

“Sir?” Dina blinked, snapping back to reality.

“Your name,” I muttered sarcastically, stepping on her foot to get her attention.

“Ow! Di... Dina, sir,” Dina stuttered, laughing awkwardly.

“Nice meeting you, little one,” Mr. Mike smiled as he started his engine.

“Same here, Mr. Mike,” Dina responded absentmindedly.

“Oh, I guess she's told you my name,” he chuckled, pointing at me.

“Yes, she did, sir,” Dina nodded. “Take care, Hilda,” she added, waving.

“Bye, girls!” Hilda's voice echoed as they zoomed off.

“Who is this man?” Dina asked, agazed after they disappeared from sight.

“Girl, fix your face. Looking puzzled in front of them? Come on, girl!” I scolded.

“Girl, you really don't know who that man smiles like?” Dina pressed, still looking bewildered.

“No, I don't,” I admitted, looking confused.

“Girl, that man smiles just like you,” Dina announced. “What did you say your father's name was?” she asked, sounding more serious.

Everywhere went silent for a moment, so silent I could hear the ticking of my wristwatch.

“Diva,” Dina called, tapping me violently.

“What is it?” I snapped furiously.

“Chill, girl. It's probably just our speculation. We can always confirm from Mama,” Dina soothed, patting me gently.

“Girl, I felt a bond since we met. I was probably in denial, that's why I didn't notice the smile was exactly like mine,” I admitted solemnly.

“Don't beat yourself up too much. We'll get to the root of this,” Dina assured me.

“What do I even care if he's my father? I'm just irritated that Hakeem may be my brother,” I laughed, pretending to puke.

“But on the brighter side, Hilda is also your younger sister,” Dina teased, laughing.

“Get lost, girl. I don't need no sibling,” I scoffed, attempting to slap her as we forged ahead.

Our remaining journey home was quiet. I didn't smile, nor did Dina. I kept thinking about the possibility of Mr. Mike being my father, and seeing how much he adored his daughter only made me more upset because there was me, whom he probably didn't even know existed.

“Hey babies, you're home!” Godmother welcomed us with a smile the second we stepped into the house.

“Hello, Godmother,” I greeted dully.

“Hello, Ma,” Dina echoed just as dully.

“Why do we look moody?” Godmother asked, dropping the document she was working on.

“Nothing, Mother. School was just hectic,” I replied.

“You sure?” Godmother pressed, looking worried.

“Yep,” we chorused, forcing a smile before walking away.

Immediately we entered the room, I laid on the bed staring at the ceiling until I fell asleep.

I was woken up by Dina a few minutes before six.

“Girl, enough of the sorrow. It's skate o'clock!” Dina cheered.

“I almost forgot. Is Alex back?” I asked, smiling.

“Yep. You're the one we've been waiting for,” Dina informed me with a grin.

“I'll be with you shortly,” I promised, getting up from the bed.

Our walk to the skatepark was very fun. Alex's friends, Trevor and Tyler, went with us and made the journey even more entertaining.

Just like Alex, Trevor could not skate. They were going as spectators, but Trevor's twin brother, Tyler, was very good at skating.

The second we got to the skatepark, I threw down my skateboard, jumped onto it excitedly, and started skating with Dina and Tyler following behind.

“Why is she so happy skating?” Alex asked, staring at me in disbelief.

“Because it's therapy!” Dina screamed, skating behind me.

I felt ecstatic skating since I hadn't skated in almost three weeks. It felt refreshing to skate in a new place because all my life, I had only skated at the skatepark in the quarters.

Tyler put us through the hardest stunts we might have to pull during the competition and showed us our way around the complicated yet beautiful skatepark.

After over an hour of skating and taking breaks in between, we finally called it a day and left the skatepark.

“Wow, I didn't realize it was this late already,” Dina exclaimed, checking the time as we walked through a dark alley leading out of the park.

“That's because the park is packed with streetlights, unlike ours in Mavick City where we can't skate once the place gets dark,” I mocked, laughing hysterically.

“But girl, we need to explore more skateparks when we return,” Dina suggested, laughing as we walked home.

We walked back home conversing and laughing like drunkards, earning cold stares from people around us.

The next day, Alex prepared dumplings, which we took to the closing party.

The party was about to start, but Hilda wasn't in sight, and neither was Godmother.

“How about we rush home to check what's delaying Godmother?” Alex suggested.

We were about to run out of the school when Dina suddenly held me back.

“What is it?” I asked, looking at the clothes she was holding firmly.

“Look through the window,” Dina whispered, pointing toward the window beside us.

“What!” I gasped. “Am I seeing things?”

“No girl, you're not,” Dina laughed. “Truly, Hakeem is Hilda's brother,” she continued, before suddenly frowning.

“Why are you frowning now?” I asked. “Not like we didn't know they were siblings.”

“We knew ever since that Hakeem was your brother. We just ignored it,” Dina replied, nodding from left to right.