“ Enjoy where you are while you are waiting to get to where you want to be! ”
****
Meanwhile,
Essy and Stacy, who had been watching the duo’s interactions, couldn't help but sigh.
   “ Do you think Cecile is the right one for Joel? ” Stacy asked her sister.
Essy stared at the duo as they ate their lunch before she replied. “ Well, It's super obvious isn't it? ”
“ Um... Yeah. ” Stacy nodded. “ Though I don't think, Cecile is the type of girl that deals with guys like Joel. I guess she prefers the classy ones. ”
“ Well, sis. We all get to change our preferences as we grow older and oftentimes we get to realize that our previous preferences weren't that amazing as we once thought it to be. Just like we change our choices, our preferences change too. ”
Essy couldn't help but think about how she once thought she wouldn't be able to stay a day without crying her heart out due to the awful treatment she was being given at her Uncle and Aunt's house. But she was wrong. Situations changed and she also had to adjust. Nowadays she practically had no reason to be sad or to cry. 
Only when she gets reminded of her deceased best friend does she feel sad.
So that's how it is.
Situations change and so do our preferences. 
“ I really wish Jemmy was still with us. ” Stacy said subconsciously, reminiscing about their time together. 
Those moments which looked almost insignificant, are so priceless and well treasure now. It reminded her of the saying, “ We almost never know the worth of a moment until it becomes a memory. ”
Jemmy hadn't only been an amazing friend to her, but also a wonderful sister and confidant and she missed her everyday. 
   “ I believe she's watching us from up there. ” Essy smiled as she consoled her sister. “ We'll be fine. ” She paused before proceeding. “ Now that I think of it. Jemmy can be likened to an angelic being who impacted our lives, in a great deal of ways despite the short time she'd spent with us. ”
“ Indeed. Out of the many things she had taught me, faith and love had stood out greatly for me. ” 
“ One thing that makes me wonder is how she still had this strong belief in the creator despite her condition. She was trusting even in her pain. Never for once did she lose hope and trust in him. ”
“ It's funny how she inspires others with her strong belief. ”
“ If she were here then I know that she would have made jokes that would have lightened the atmosphere. ”
“ She was the sweetest thing I've ever known. ” 
“ Yeah. She got that from her Mom. ” 
“ Indeed. Come to think of it, Aunt Lucy is the only mother figure in our life and she'd never made us feel like it. ” 
“ Yeah. She's one in a million. It's no wonder Jemmy was like that too. ”
“ Jemmy had always wanted to be an actress, hadn’t she? ” 
“ Yep. ” Essy stared at the space ahead, melancholy lacing her words, “ But she didn't live long to achieve that. ” 
“ Um. ” She brought her gaze to face her sister and what she saw there was something she wasn't expecting, never in a million years would she have imagined that. “ Don't Tell me. ”
“ I want to become an actress. ” Her voice was firm, leaving no chance to be refuted. 
“ You can't — ” 
“ Why? ”
“ You are — ” She swallowed her words, when she watched Stacy burst into tears all of a sudden.
“ What — ” Her words were interrupted when the latter pointed accusing fingers at her, eyes filled with so much pain and hurt. 
“ You are not a good friend, Essy. You are very bad. ” Essy stared at her in shock, not knowing how to react. She'd never known the latter to be this emotional despite once being an only child of a successful businessman. 
“ Please calm down, Babe. I'm sorry, stop crying, Kay? ” Her comfort didn't do any good as the latter kept sobbing. Helpless, she'd pulled her into her arms only to be hit on the chest. 
“ I'm very sorry for what I said. Forgive me, Kay? ”
“ Really? ” Stacy stared up at her with teary eyes. 
“ Yup. So don't cry, sis. ” Essy said, wiping out her tears. 
“ I'm fine, Kay? ” Essy was caught off guard by the bright smile that suddenly appeared on Stacy's face. 
“ What in the world was that? ”
“ It's called acting, Babe. ” Stacy grinned, jumping off the swing in delight. 
    “ You — ”
“ You’d doubted my acting skills, so all I did was show you exactly what I can do. I did great, right? ” 
“ I.... You were amazing, Sis. ” Essy recovered at last from her dazed state. 
“ Really? ” 
“ Yup! Good job! ”
“ Well... Thanks. ” Stacy replied, placing a tendril of her hair behind her ear. 
“ You can't blame me for doubting your skills, since you've never acted in front of me. ” 
“ Yeah. Sorry about that. ”
“ It's okay. ” Essy went silent for a moment before speaking up again. “ But is acting really your dream? Or do you want to live out Jemmy's dream? ”
“ There are lots of things I want to do including acting but I have never been set on any. But now I know, I want to go into acting. ”
“ If that's what you want to do. Then you've got my full support. ”
“ I know, right? ” She said and they both chuckled.
“ I have no doubts now that you'll be a great actress. ”
“ Thanks. In the same way I also have no doubts that you will become a great physicist! ”
“ Awn...Merci. ”
“ My pleasure. ”
“ It's already time for the next period. Let's go ahead to remind our love birds so we can head to class together. ”
“ That's great. Let's go. ” Stacy said, helping Essy get off the swing. 
“ Thank you, Babe. ” Essy smiled, leaving a small peck on Stacy's cheeks.
“ The pleasure is all mine. ” Stacy grinned.
Despite the fact that the duo weren’t blood related. Yet the love and understanding that existed between them was more than those who were. 
All this proves one thing, Sometimes people who are related by heart can have a relationship which is stronger and more solid than blood relations and vice versa!
****
A/N : I have a book prepared for Essy and Stacy.
 It's titled, the ' ES ' sisters.
  From here on, I will be writing solely about Joel and Cecile. 
Happy reading!