Officially Blake's

CHAPTER 66

CHAPTER 66

NICOLLE'S POV

"Every first Saturday of the month, Oaks Village holds a kind of feast in the place's central plaza. Everyone cooks their own food and bring them out for the whole village. All the kids, the oldies, men and women, everyone comes out and gathers in here to socialize and celebrate even the smallest of things, celebrate... Life."

Czarina Greene sighed through the microphone then murmured, “Do I really need to do this speech every time?”

People roared in laughter, probably asking the same question. I was told that Cza—as everyone calls her—was the one assigned to say a short speech then propose a toast (probably because her British accent was a music to everyone’s ears).

And after three years of doing so, all and sundry got fed up. Maybe the speech was so scratched that after repeating it the third time, people had memorized every word she was going to say. Memorize… I hope I could do it too.

I shook my head, in the process, shaking away the drama, too.

Cza  then directed her eyes at Matthew, grinning. "But the feast today is extra special because of two things. First, Matthew Hawkings, our neighbor, our great friend, the great man who could afford to buy a helicopter but decided otherwise…” she paused then smiled. “I was kidding, this guy’s got two helicopters. Let’s rob him,  come on!”

Again, everyone laughed. I didn’t. I was shocked to hear that Matthew Hawkings owned two helicopters. He wasn’t even thirty. God, this rich guy!

“Anyway, he’s back… and he’s going to pay for my rent.” She made a face, telling us she was joking. A second after, she settled for a straight face, telling us she was serious.

I looked at Matthew. He was shaking his head but smiling, nonetheless. He had the best best friend.

I smiled because Czarina Greene was really entertaining. She had this aura that makes you feel comfortable and a little less awkward. She was a people person. I admire her.

“Okay, so what I’m really trying to say here is…Welcome back, Matty." She winked then raised her wine glass.

Everyone applauded and howled in joy. With all the smiles and the claps, it seemed to me that Matthew was well-loved here. I looked at him and patted his back. He only grimaced; shy because of all the eyes focusing on him... All the attention given to him.

"I'm proud of you," I said. And I meant it. I was proud of my friend.

He only looked at me, smiling a broad smile.

“Another thing, hey!” Cza shouted through the microphone making us all wince and complain because of the noise.

She didn’t mind.

She didn’t give a crap.

“Okay, so the other thing is... it was not only my best friend who we are going to welcome today. There’s another one and, well, she’s quite special. She arrived here almost a week ago. She is our visitor.”

She beamed at me as we made eye contact.

“But I can safely say, mates, that this gal… is one of us now. Everyone, Nicolle Lee! Our new neighbor, our new friend!”

The spotlight was then set to me. I forced a smile to everyone who applauded at my direction, silently thanking them for the warm welcome.

A few seconds later, I was not forcing the smile anymore. It was real and sincere. I could not believe how easily this people would welcome a stranger… especially a weird stranger like me who had limited knowledge about herself.