As she walked in, the whole room seemed to come to a standstill. Her hair was beautifully styled in a doughnut bun, and her dark curls cascaded down either side of her face. She wore a modest yet fashionable long-sleeved woollen bodycon dress, which accentuated her hourglass figure. She seemed unaware of the attention she was drawing from gawking boys and jealous girls, but I couldn't help but feel suspicious of her.
I asked Mark, my IT technician and the most intellectually gifted of us all, to dig up some information on her. I couldn't afford to trust her blindly, as she could have been an undercover cop waiting for a slip-up that could cost me and the mafia a lot.
Mark's digging gave me peace of mind and some knowledge on the new girl. There were twenty pages filled with all her information, from her name, parents, and country of origin to her relationship status, friends, and even her favourite colour.
As Destiny edged closer to our table, I saw her in a different light. She was perfect for my stepmom, the exact opposite of what she wanted. This was perfect for my plan. If I could get her to be my girlfriend, then my stepmom would always be boiling in anger while I got satisfaction from her misery.
Finally, Destiny got to our table, took off her backpack, and elegantly sat down. She looked at me as if she was contemplating whether to ask me something.
"How do you know my name?" she asked, clearly bothered.
"Hello to you too, amore mia," I smirked, noticing the confusion in her honey-brown eyes before they softened.
"Uhm, hello?" she replied, sounding more like a question.
"How has this beautiful day been treating you so far?" I asked playfully, which was so unusual of me.
"Not very good, considering I don't know you, but you know my name," Destiny retorted, rolling her eyes.
"Amore, do not roll your eyes at me," I warned, hating it when people rolled their eyes at me, followed closely by lying and betrayal.
"Sorry," she muttered, surprising me. I had expected a sassy remark.
"It's fine. Let's be friends, okay?" I smiled, noticing a blush spread across her brown cheeks, when I threw around the pet names.
"I don't know you," Destiny replied, furrowing her brows.
"Oh, is that the problem? Well, I'm Antonio, but you can call me Nio. Is that all you wanted to know?" I deliberately left out my infamous last name and flashed her a charming smile.
Just then, Samantha walked into the class, prancing around in her sky-high heels, greeting all the boys and girls without noticing us. I turned my head and smiled at Destiny from the corner of my eye as I watched her smile quickly fade away.
D.E.S.T.I.N.Y
Nio and I walked side by side, getting to know each other. He was proving my assumptions wrong and seemed like a great guy who could make a great friend.
"See you tomorrow?" he asked with a breathtaking smile, even though we were going to see each other anyway.
"Of course. Have a wonderful day," I said with a smile.
"Can I get a hug?" he asked, pushing the limits. We didn't know each other well.
"No."
"Pretty please." He pouted his lips and gave me puppy eyes, which made my resolve dissolve pretty quickly. Who could say no to that?
"...Okay," I sighed.
I was pulled into a warm hug and felt his electrifying arms around me. It was the best hug I had ever had in my life, and the butterflies in my stomach made it even more enchanting. I felt a strong pull towards him and even thought about kissing him.
However, hugging someone of the opposite gender who was not family, with evil thoughts, was discouraged in my belief, as 1 Corinthians 7:1-2 says:
1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
A small voice in my heart said, "Don't allow yourself to fall, my daughter," and that was enough for me to pull away from the hug and be filled with immense regret for the sin I had almost committed.
"Uhm... I will see you tomorrow," I mindlessly said and didn't wait for his reply as my legs moved on their own accord, looking for an escape from the dangerous situation. My thoughts were all over the place. What if we were together alone in a room? What would have happened?
"DESTINY!" I turned around at the sound of my name from my best friend who was jogging through the corridors over to me.
"I've been calling for a long time. Couldn't you hear me?" she panted.
"Sorry."
"Darling, are you fine?" I could hear the worry in her voice.
"N-not really." I felt like bursting into tears because of the disgraceful temptation I had almost fallen into.
"Let's go somewhere more secluded, okay?" she said, putting her hand on my lower back and guiding me toward the entryway of the lobby, which was usually quiet and isolated. I wordlessly nodded.
A few minutes later, we were sitting on green manicured lawns overlooking the boisterous city under a shady tree. Hedges shaped into different animals lined the "park," and only a handful of people and couples also sat there for some tranquillity.
"Spill it. What is bothering you?" Thato gave me her full attention.
"I... I did something really bad," I said, avoiding eye contact out of embarrassment.
"What is this thing that you of all people could have possibly done?"
I gave no response.
"Destiny," she said my name, and I knew she was serious and wanted nothing but the truth.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I hugged Nio, and eventually I had evil thoughts until the Holy Spirit convicted me."
"That's all? And who is Nio?" she furrowed her brows.
"Nio is my Business Management classmate," I said, wanting to add "and friend," but we weren't exactly friends.
"And you hugged him?" I could not hear judgment in her voice, just surprise.
"...Yeah, he was just so persistent when I said no."
"Okay, I get that you did something that was deemed bad as the Holy Spirit actually spoke to you, but what matters is that you didn't give in to temptation. You listened to the voice of the Lord, and I know that you must feel like you committed the biggest sin in your life, but," she smiled. "Surprisingly, last night I read a verse about forgiveness, First John chapter one, verse nine says, 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' I know that you are truly repentant, so God will forgive you. Not only that, but he will cleanse you and give you peace."
By the time she was finished speaking, tears were streaming down my face. I knew that God forgave all sins. He was a loving Father, but sometimes it felt great to be reminded of His loving and forgiving nature.
"Lord, please forgive me for the sin I committed today," I prayed.
Thato pulled me into a comforting hug and whispered, "Sometimes you have to stand your ground because people will take advantage of your kindness."
We pulled away, and I wiped away my tears as I felt peace engulf me like a blanket.
"When did you become so wise?" My voice came out hoarse.
"When I decided to give my life to God and read the Bible," she grinned, her eyes twinkling.
"Hey, remember the waiter from Mario's Pizzeria?" she changed the subject.
"Yeah?"
"He's in my Food Science class. I thought I would be alone, but we quickly became friends," she excitedly said, and just like that, my mind and heart departed from the situation in the corridor as we conversed until we had class.
****
"Father, God Almighty, I bow before Your throne as I ask for forgiveness for all the sins I have committed, knowingly and unknowingly. You know my thoughts and heart, and You know what I did today. Please forgive me and renew me, Lord. I need You, Jehovah Nissi, for I am only clay, which can be crushed at any moment. I need Your guidance, protection, and love. Thank You, Lord, thank You. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, I pray, amen."
I opened my eyes as a tear rolled down. I had been praising Him for hours, and now my throat felt painful, but my soul felt rejuvenated.
After switching off the light, I climbed into bed, and my thoughts were clearer as I realized that my prayers had been answered, and I now knew that my mysterious classmate was Antonio, and Sienna's granny was doing much better.
God really does want us to have peace.
With a smile on my face, I fell into a blissful slumber.
_______
Amore Mio- My love
Amore- Love