Because we were such close friends and I didn’t want to be separated from them, I begged my dad to go to high school in Antwerp, Belgium. He was against the idea because he didn’t want me to give up my training, but I had a trump card.
My incredible mother.
Mamasomehow convinced him to let me go to Belgium and to finish high school there, under one condition. I had to stay with some of his associates so I wouldn’t lose sight of what’s important, becoming a killer, and stay on track for physical and psychological training. Of course, I took it.
And so I went to Belgium so I could be closer to my friends. While I knew I wasn’t like other kids, or people in general for that matter, I needed some semblance of normalcy in my childhood.
I went to the same high school as Alina and Armin, her older brother, and I witnessed firsthand how cruel some kids could be. And one of them made a crucial mistake: a boy tried to bully Alina into dating him.
I saw fucking red, and that’s where my intense hatred for awful men began.
Armin and I told the guy to leave her alone, and he promised he would, but he didn’t get the memo. One day, the guy cornered Alina in the school hallway between classes, and they were alone, or hethoughtthey were alone. Considering that I was being trained in psychological cues, I knew that the guy wasn’t right.
To make this sweet story short, I stopped the guy, followed him home, and corneredhimon the street when no one was watching. I beat the shit out of him and told him that his parents were next if he didn’t leave Alina alone. The day I told Alina andmy other friends what I did was the day they learned where I came from and what I was destined to become.
They didn’t judge me and told me that they cared for me. It was also the day I saw Irfan watching Alina like a hawk, and I fucking knew that he was a goner for her. From that day on, I started rooting for them.
Alina also asked me to teach her self-defense, and I did.
That’s why I’m so close to my friends, and Alina in particular, because she was the first woman I protected and succeeded in doing so.
“You’re good,sestro1. I’m actually calling for something else as well.” I huff, and Alina picks up on that.
“M, you are scaring me. What is it?”
“I’m going on a date tonight.” For a couple of seconds, there is silence, and then Alina suddenly FaceTimes me. I accept it.
“You are going on a date?” I nod. Alina’s face lights up like I told her that I was getting married. Which will happen eventually with Lana, but I digress.
“Oh my God, wait! Irfan, get over here, M is going on a date!” I fucking knew that she would call reinforcements. Irfan appears, sporting a smug look.
“M—” He stops himself because he almost used myrealname. “M is going on a date. I never thought I would see this day come. Maybe we should get Elma on this call as well.” Maybe I shouldn’t be this close to these people. Elma is Alina’s sister-in-law, but they are more likerealsisters.
“Don’t do that, Irfan. Elma would listen to him, but she would also tell him to shave his balls or something like that.” That sounds like Elma. Loyal to a fault, with the mouth of a sailor.
“Fine, I won’t. I’m serious, though, you are actually going on a date?” I scrunch my eyebrows.
“Am I not pretty enough for a woman to agree to a date with me?” Not that Lana agreed per se, but that’s beside the point. Alina swats Irfan’s arm playfully.
“What Irfan means is that we know that we have never seen you this nervous over a woman.”
“That’s true. Fucking hell, this woman is not leaving my mind.”
“Is it Lana?” My friends know about Lana and that she is it for me. I nod.
“Good, she is absolutely gorgeous. Tell me, why are you nervous?”
“Because I have never been on a date and I need to know how to behave.” Alina coos as if the situation is adorable.
“Ali, please. I need genuine advice,” I tell her seriously, and she stops herself.
“M, during a date, you need to show that you are interested in her.”
“I am.”
“I know that, but that’s not what I mean. You need to get to know her as a person. Likes, dislikes, where did she go to school, favorite TV shows, food, and all that jazz.”
“But I know what she likes, I watch her from the cameras I installed in her apartment,” I say matter-of-factly, and sometimes I forget that this isn’t all that normal to my friends. Alina’s eyes widen, but she recovers quickly.
