The day flew by and the afternoon slowly turns into evening.

I'm late again because I had to work until 7 o'clock. Then I hurried home to shower and change and now I'm sitting on the train again.

My mother was also at home, but she was asleep, really asleep this time, so she didn't notice me.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," I greet Jamie in a quick hug, who is already waiting at our agreed meeting point.

"No problem. You're here now," he replies, smiling at me.

"Where are we actually going?", I then ask curiously.

"I've booked a table at a restaurant. Shall we go?" he asks me and I nod.

We walk a little through the city and I watch the people.

I always find it very fascinating to see people from all over the world, with different cultures in one city.

"Tell me something about yourself," Jamie suddenly breaks the silence.

"Um...", I think for a moment.

What can I tell him about myself? Maybe that I spent two years in prison for illegal business, that my mother is a drug addict and that my brother is a footballer?

No, I don't think I should start with that on the first date.

"I don't think there's anything exciting to know about me," I answer instead and look away from him.

"Okay, if you say so," he replies, still friendly.

"And what about you?", I ask him with interest.

"As you know, I work in a restaurant, but it's just a part-time job at weekends and in the evenings. I'm studying medicine and want to become a radiologist. My whole family is made up of doctors. My parents, my two brothers...but I don't want to sound conceited," he says and laughs.

Wow. What should I say now? I don't even have a high school diploma and he's going to be a doctor.

"What do your parents do? Or do you have siblings too?" he then asks after I didn't answer him.

Shit.

"My parents live apart. My dad works in Detroit at a law firm and my mum, um, helps people with problems," I begin.

Everything is not a lie. My father really does work at a law firm in Detroit, but only as a caretaker, and my mother is not the one who helps, but the one who gets help.

"Yeah, I have a brother who plays football," I add and finish my sentence.

"I'm sorry about your parents. But that sounds quite good. Where do you live here in London?" he asks.

Great, so it can't get much worse, can it?

"Well, I still live with my parents and siblings in Kensington," he answers his own question.

I should have guessed that's where people with a lot of money live.

"I live in Chelsea with my mother," I lie.

"That's also a very nice area," he says again.

"Where are we?", I ask quickly, before he asks me any more questions, to which I have to answer with a lie.

"There we are," he says and points to the entrance of a restaurant.

I've never seen it before, but it looks very expensive.

Three hours pass and Jamie talks about himself and his family for most of the evening.

When we finally finish and leave the restaurant, he puts his arm around my shoulder.

"I'll take you home," he says and smiles.

"No," I answer a little too quickly, a little too loudly.

"No, I mean I'm going to a friend's house. She lives near Kensington, so I'll just come with you," I say.

I could have just said that this "friend" lives on the other side of town, but then he would probably have insisted on taking me there.

"This is a nice house," I say, admiring the huge mansion in front of me.

"Do you still want to come inside?" he asks a little hopefully.

"No thanks, as I said, I really still have to see my friend. Maybe some other time," I say and smile.

I hope there won't be another time.

"It was a really nice evening with you. I really hope we can do it again soon," he says one last time and hugs me goodbye.

I say goodbye to him once more and then finally disappear.

Once home, I lock the door again as often as I can and sit down at the table again.

I put my head in my hands and take a deep breath.

That really was the worst, most awkward and embarrassing date I have ever had and will ever have.

"Why are you home so late?" my mother suddenly says from behind me.

"Um...", I'm afraid to give her an answer because I don't know what she's like right now.

"Hello, answer me," she says in a commanding tone.

"I was out," I finally give in and look at her face, a little scared.

My heart starts beating faster and faster and I get more and more nervous because I can't see the emotions in my mother's face.

"As long as you live here in this flat, I want you to pay me money," she says instead.

"And change your clothes. You look like a whore," she adds.

Ouch.

Hearing something like that from his mother hurts. More than from anyone else.

She disappears again, switches off the light and I sit alone in the darkness.

A month will be a long time.

I get up and go to my room.

Then I lie down in my bed and scroll through my old pictures.

But there are hardly any left.

I deleted almost all the pictures of my family when I was sent to America. I was very angry.

At that time I also had an account on Instagram where I never actually uploaded anything.

But I deleted that too. I don't remember the reason.

But somehow I would like to make an account again.

And 5 minutes later I'm lying in bed and scrolling through Instagram.

Reiss even followed me back immediately and reposted my first post in his Story.

liked by reissnelson and 267 others
@aayananelson: 🍝

reissnelson 👀
    aayananelson @reissnelson 👀

reissnelson Since when do you look like that?
    aayananelson @reissnelson I don't know either🤷🏽‍♀️

user37 your so pretty 🤩
    aayananelson @user37 💞

paula_425 didn't know Reiss has a sister😒

I put my mobile phone away, go into the bathroom to change and then finally go to sleep.