I'm Not Daria
Assessments

"My picture is ugly too, right? You don't like drawing? Aren't you a talent in art?"

He shook his head. "I'm terrible at this"

"No problem. You just have to enjoy it. We always keep growing"

"No, I don't really enjoy this. It feels like a task"

I nodded and took out a paper from the back pocket containing a list of things we would do today. I doodle origami and painting and gardening because it's a strong contender for his hobby.

The next thing on the list is the cooking that we have done but will do again because it is almost lunch time and we want to make

Cuisine for everyone today.

We started working in the kitchen and after two hours, we were done. Only my father and mother would be judges for our cooking. I wish Mario was here to sample our dishes because the comments from the experts would be invaluable.

I know Devan loves to cook so I put him on the list.

We all sat down for lunch and my parents praised our cooking. It's not the best as Mario's cooking or even a new cook, they admit, but they're still impressed.

"So what about the cooking?" I whispered to Devan who was sitting next to me.

"Yes, I like it. It could be my hobby,"

I'm nodding. "I know that."

After lunch, we washed the dishes with her rubbing them clean and I washed them.

After that, I led her to my room, we sat on the bed comfortably.

"So the next thing we're going to do is read. Because if you want to be a writer, you have to be a reader first."

"Oh yeah, I used to read so many books when I was young." Devan said, with a smile on his lips and his eyes staring into the distance as if reminiscing about his memories.

"You can still enjoy reading but you have to make time for it. You always concern yourself with work.You do not work for life but live for work. That's not healthy. You should have other things in your life that you like".

"I know, so what are we going to read today?"

I bit my lip, hesitated a little before grabbing my bookshelf and picking up a new book called Thursday's Child by Sandra Brown.

He saw the book in my hand.

"I'm not sure. I have never read a book in this genre. Everything's romantic,."

"No. You have no choice here. We'll read this book."

The reason I insist on reading this book is because it is similar to what is happening in my life right now,

The female lead in the book pretends to be her twin sister. Devan read and told me what he thought of the book. I would ask subtly what he would do if he liked a girl pretending to be someone else. I know it's a little risky but I have to know and have to have a little bit of an idea of how he reacts to telling the truth.

"Why can't we read another book?" He whines.

"I want to read this one"

"Well then you read this one, I read another one." He said, I've been looking at other books

"No, we're both going to read the same book and it's this book."

He groans.

"You said you'd never read a book in this genre. Start with this one. You'll probably like it"

"OK, whatever." Said.

He took the book from me and patted the chair next to him where I was sitting. He opened the book and flipped through the first chapter and then we started reading.

All the time, he had no reaction to what was happening inside the book, even as the main character began to pretend to be his twin. I was anxious to ask about it, but I held myself back for two hours. We had read almost a hundred pages by then, after which I pushed the book back and turned to face it

"So, what do you think so far?"

"Lumayan. Goody. I mean, I like the romance part. That's sweet"

"And what do you think of the girl pretending to be someone else?"

"That's a story. There's gotta be some kind of drama".

"Yes, but like if you're in Spencer's position and you know the truth, how do you react"?.

"It seems I'd be very surprised. I'd be a little angry but know that Allison's feelings are sincere, so I think that's all that matters"

"That's right! As long as the feeling is sincere, it should be okay."

I must have looked a little too excited as he raised an eyebrow at my apparent happiness in his words.

"Why are you asking?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just wondering if you like that book."

"Oh"

I'm sure after telling the truth, he'll understand as well. He might be a little angry with me, but I'm sure in the end he'll forgive me and see that even though I live under someone else's name, my personality and my feelings for him are very real.

After an hour, we ended up closing the book and pasting the book divider on the page we were reading

"We'll finish reading this together sometime." I said as I kept the book.

"I like to read." He said after I got back.

I know that, that's why I put it on my list. To become a writer, you must first become an avid reader.

I got out of bed, my ass was numb from hours of sitting, I stretched and heard my neck and back crackling.

"Ready to play?" I asked

He stopped and looked at me confused.

I dragged him onto the badminton court whining that he didn't want to play.

"Seriously Daria, I'm not good at this. Plus, do not do any physical activity so that I will get tired quickly. The only form of exercise I do is at the gym that I visit several times each month and that also delays and shortens the time. I already know this isn't something I enjoy." He tried to negotiate with me while thrusting out a racket that he reluctantly held

"Hey, you should at least try it. Even though you suck at playing it. It's gonna be okay."

With great effort, I managed to get him to stand at the end of the field without him trying to escape

"Okay, I'll start!" I shouted while getting ready to hit the shuttlecock

"okay!" He said while holding his racket

Half an hour later we were both drenched in sweat. In keeping with my words, we both really enjoyed this game, he was more than me. After he failed to return kok to me for the umpteenth time, he removed the racket from his grasp and fell to the ground.

"I don't want to do this!" He shouted across the field.

I let out a breath. "Come on, it's not that bad."

"No, no, no, I don't like any kind of sport, so scribble it off the list"

I ran to his side and lay down beside him, staring up at the sky while trying to catch my breath

"Okay, that's not my favorite either. We don't need to torture ourselves any further?"

"Thank you"

I turned to look at him, but he closed his eyes. I smiled and followed his steps. We lay there under the open sky for some time. It feels so good, I don't want to wake up again.

But we had to do it because it was almost time for dinner and our date was about to end.

We finally woke up and realized that we both really wanted to take another shower and that's what we did

Once we were clean and fresh, we didn't have the energy to cook or do anything so we enjoyed a quiet and wonderful dinner with dad and mom

After dinner and about an hour of aimless news and movies with the rest of the family, my father and mother finally returned to their room and finally only the two of us were left

"So it was our third date. "I concluded, with a bitter feeling.

"And now I have to judge you."

I'm nodding. "I wish I had an A"

He chuckled as he searched for a blank piece of paper on the coffee table and found a pen that would stop working at any moment as the ink was almost used up.

Devan drew three columns and named them first date, second date, and third date. I rolled my eyes and laughed at hearing it

"Let's go to the room. I'll give you a sign on the street."

"okay"

We stood up and started climbing the stairs together while he fiddled with the paper.

When we got to our front room. I turned to her and peered down at the paper to find that it was still empty

"Do you need more time?" I asked

He did not immediately reply, although he was just about to say that he was just about to tell her the next day, he suddenly looked up to look me in the eye.

"You know," he began, squeezing the paper in his hand and throwing it, "I feel like this is pointless."

"What do you mean?"

"I went through all of those dates and could see how much thought you devoted to it. How do you really want me to have fun and want to protect me. And after all that, I wrote on a piece of paper to determine our fate? No, it looks ridiculous. We're more special than that."

"Then what now?" I asked, still not entirely sure what he meant

He stepped towards me and stood glued to my place.

His large, warm hands cupped my cheeks and we looked at each other until we could see the desire swimming in each other's eyes. He closed his eyes and leaned over before starting the kiss.