"Yes," answered Ciria, "It is the fifth Sunday afterall," she muttered as she and Renita made their way awkwardly through the chatty people in the halls to the large room designated for the lesson. Chairs were already set up and they sat as close to a door as possible so that they could be the first ones out. Though the two of them had been in the city for nearly 7 months they weren't exactly social people and really only knew the handful of band people that lived nearby and attended church with them.
They both sat together, hunched down as if they wanted nothing less than to shrink and disappear from the loud mass of young adults that was quickly filling the room. Looking up, Renita noticed the Burke twins, Sorrell and Daniel, walk through the door- wide eyed and chatty as usual. She made eye contact with Sorrell and he smiled at her, sitting a couple seats away. She also noticed Myron, the silent percussionist, sitting alone as usual, but not for long as the Burke twins sat on either side of him. Renita was definitely not a people-person for it reminded her of her previous life and all of the lavish parties her parents threw. She couldn't help but feel like everyone in the room was judging her and she entertained thoughts in her mind of running out the door to the quiet confines of her house.
Finally the lesson started and a tall and handsome man began to give the announcements. Neither paid attention however and all they caught was that the teacher's name was something Gibson. The only reason this even caught their attention was because there was a guy in Renita's section whose last name was Gibson and who also, as she had quickly discovered once school started, lived about a block away and attended church with them. The two of them looked up and noticed a guy that they had really never noticed before but who they had seen on occasion. For some reason, as he spoke, Ciria couldn't help but take notice of him.
He was about 6 feet tall, maybe a bit less, and had the build of someone who worked out just enough to put on some bulk. He was a bit thick but had the frame of a matured adult. His hair was a very light brown-blond color and he had a round face with soft blue eyes and a soft smile. He was wearing a suit, of course, and had on a red paisley tie. As he spoke, his voice was gentle and confident. The more he spoke, the more Ciria stared at him and the more she stared at him the more she wanted to know who this guy was. Why hadn't she ever noticed him before? Who was he? The longer she looked the more she realized he looked just like Cardo, the guy that had the same last name as him. She then realized that they must be brothers, though she had been wrong upon assumption enough times before not to take that for fact. However, towards the end of his lesson, he mentioned Cardo ("Richard would know… It's okay to say that, he's my brother!") which just made Ciria stare more.
The whole rest of the day, and the whole rest of the week, Ciria could not stop thinking about him. If he was the brother of Cardo then that means he lives just down the street. She was too afraid to look him up on the internet and wondered why on earth he had left such an impression on her. Was it his looks? His voice? His knowledge? Finally by the middle of the week she couldn't take it anymore and confided in Renita her feelings of the Gibson guy.
"If you think I know who he is, I don't," Renita said, amused, after hearing Ciria go on for a good 10 minutes about this mysterious Gibson. "I barely know Cardo. All I know is that he lives with his brother down here....... and that he has 12 brothers and one sister," she added, in a monotone sort of voice, for she was busy reading a book.
"WHAT? He comes from a family of 14 kids??" Ciria exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah. I guess you do learn stuff like that when you sit next to each other. His mom had triplets and twins or something like that. I do know that that guy you're talking about is one of his brothers. They look alike. I just have no idea what his name is or anything like that." As she said this she went back to reading her book. About a minute of silence later she added, "If you want to find out who he is you should go ask him yourself when we see him again."
The next Sunday did roll around and Ciria was surprisingly early in getting ready. She was normally the slowest of the two to get ready but today she was ready before Renita had even chosen what to wear.
"Man, you really like this guy!" Renita said, teasing her aunt. Thought they were technically aunt and niece, they were only 8 years apart and since Ciria was completely starting over with a new major they made things easier and just told people they were either best friends or cousins.
"Hush you!" Ciria whispered loudly as she combed her short blond hair to get it to flip the way she wanted. "I'll talk to him when I'm ready."
"Hah, you mean you wanted me to find out who he was from Cardo! Too bad we have no school!"
They arrived at church on time for probably the first time in the seven months they had lived there. All they had to do was take a very short drive but they still managed to be late, both secretly wanting to be late so they could sit in the back. As they took their usual seats, much earlier than usual, they watched people come in. Ciria was especially vigilant in looking for the boy on her mind and when she finally saw him walk in her heart fell to her knees and skipped a few beats. He was the same smiling, handsome man that he was the week before and she valiantly tried to avoid eye contact with him.
All throughout church she thought about him and when church was over she deliberately stalled so that she could get another look at him. Renita, seeing everything with her observing eyes, knew that something had to be done so she took a giant leap of courage and decided to speak to him, something she found to be much easier when done for someone else. She saw him coming down the hall with a few other guys and waited patiently for him to round the corner while Ciria sort of paced around nonchalantly, deliberately trying not to act like she was waiting for him. Once he was in view she made her move, wasting no time.
"Hi! My cousin over yary wants to know what your name is. She's been *dying* to meet you! She loved your lesson last week!" Renita said, a huge grin on her face knowing she was making Ciria blush. She caught Ciria's eyes, full of surprise and panic, and winked at her, neither knowing how this Gibson guy would react. To their surprise and relief, he was just as kind as he was in his lesson.
"Oh, really? I'm honored! Where is she?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.
"She's over there," Renita said, pointing at Ciria who was trying not to blush and to act natural.
"H-Hi," Ciria said, extending a shaky hand, "I'm Ciria. What is your name?"
The guy chuckled. "The name's Wiley! Wiley Gibson... It's a cross between Wyatt and Sorley. My parents couldn't decide on a name so they decided to see what happened when they smashed it together and when they realized it too was a legitimate name they decided to give it to me. You're Ciria? Is that right?"
"Yes, that's right," Ciria said, and just like that, all of her nervousness was gone.
After his jolly introduction of himself, they began to talk. And talk. And talk some more! They talked so much that they sat down and eventually Renita got tired of waiting so she left without her. Hours passed and finally, just after 10, Ciria walked through the door.
"Ai-Sa-Biil! Where have you been?!" Renita asked, amused.
"Well, first we talked. Then we sat down and talked some more. Then he took me back to his house and we talked some more and I met his other brother Jeremiah who lives with him and his friend Corwin and of course Cardo was there. Then I had dinner with them and then we talked some more! Renita, you asking his name was probably the best thing to happen to me!" She said all of this rather breathlessly.
"Oh? And why is that?" Renita asked coyly.
"Because I'm going on a date with him next Wednesday!" Ciria exploded, unable to contain her joy. "He's a perfect catch! See ya later- I have to add him on Facebook!"
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