A Place to Call Mine

CONNECTEDNESS AND ISOLATION 4

One month had passed since Nikolas’ arrival and he was settling in better than Riyah originally thought he would. He was even becoming friends with Isaiah. How? Why? And by the end of February, most of, if not all of, the students and staff already knew who he was, and were embracing him unconditionally.

It was so weird. Were they always capable of this kind of warmth she thought to herself. In addition, Nikolas had been to her house a few times to work on class assignments together, and had met Greg. He hated him just as much as her, and that made Riyah like him even more. Nikolas was so different to everyone in this town. He brough life, joy and beauty everywhere he went, and the longer he stayed in New Havens, the better the weather got. It was extraordinarily weird.

“Sup Rei” Nikolas said leaning against the locker beside hers.

“Hey Niko, what’s up” Riyah replied.

“Not much”.

“Cool...” Riyah said in a melancholic tone.

“What’s wrong” Nikolas asked inquisitively.

“Nothing...it’s just Greg...he is driving me crazy...I don’t know how or why my mum stays with him....even though..he’s..he’s...ugh!” Riyah explained, her voice growing angrier and louder.

“Woah, what’s up with you” Isaiah said smirking as he was walking past Riyah and Nikolas.

Riyah almost lunged at him but unfortunately Nikolas held her back.

“Don't let him get you down Rei, he is not worth it” Nikolas said as he held her shoulders.

“Anyways you wouldn't win even if you did fight him” he added.

“Yeah, but he’s so annoying and...wait did you just say I would lose if I fought Isaiah” Riyah replied, her fury now completely focused on Nikolas.

“Well, yeah. He's the rugby team captain, and you are a...nerd” Nikolas responded laughing, not sensing the shift in Riyah’s attention.

“A nerd huh” Riyah said in shock, slamming her locker door closed and turning to face Nikolas completely.

Sensing that he may have overstepped and may be in trouble, Nikolas began to back up slowly from Riyah, just in case.

“I meant it in an enduring way Rei, no offense intended” he replied nervously, gulping as Riyah’s eyes darkened.

Riyah slowly inched closer to him, like a lion stalking its prey, which caused Nikolas to turn around and bolt quickly.

“Come back here, or else when I catch you, I will seriously hurt you” she yelled as she ran after him.

“Good morning class. I hope everyone had a lovely weekend” Mr. Kenneth said cheerfully.

As Riyah and Nikolas walked into the class with the rest of the students, she noticed that Mrs. Hyde was standing next to Mr. Kenneth. Ugh, why was this old witch polluting her favourite class with her presence. And as she sat down, she could sense Mrs. Hyde's icy cold stare on her. Just like everyone else in this stupid twon. This red-eyed witch hated her for no reason at all, or at least not any reason that she could come up with.

“So everyone, you are probably wondering why Mrs. Hyde is here” Mr. Kenneth began. “She is here because we are combing our subjects for your next assignment” he continued, but before he could finish his sentence, Mrs. Hyde's croaky voice interrupted him.

“In your next assignment, you will write a creative piece about your family history”. She then turned her focus to Riyah; “And if you do not complete this assignment, you will automatically get a zero”. A sickening smile appeared on her wrinkled face, which pissed Riyah off.

The students were then instructed to begin working on their assignments. Suddenly, Mr. Kenneth's voice chimed in; “Also students, you will have to present your work in class in two weeks”.

Riyah, exhausted by all of this, placed her head on her table.

“Rei, what’s up” Nikolas asked, gently patting her head.

“I'm going to have to ask my mum about my dad” she replied with her head still on the table.

“And...that’s a bad thing, why?” he asked.

“One word, Greg” she said, lifting her head up with a sombre look on her face. She continued to raise her head higher until she saw Mrs. Hyde smirking proudly. Ugh, she placed her head back down on the table.

*Bell rings*

“Have a lovely day everyone, but make sure to keep working on your English-History assignment” Mr. Kenneth said as the students left the classroom.

“Hey Niko, I’ll catch up with you later. I've got a free period and I'm gonna use it to work on the assignment” Riyah said pensively.

“Okay, sure. I'll see you...” before Nikolas could finish his sentence, his phone rang. Riyah left him to his conversation and went to find a quiet place to write.

After about ten minutes of looking for somewhere quiet, Riyah found a space in the library. However, when she brought her notebook out to write, she couldn't.

“Write about my family history” she thought to herself, constantly clicking her pen. “What did that even mean”.

Riyah was about ten or eleven years old when her father passed away, and now it was just Alice and her...or at least it was. She didn't really remember the exact age she was when he died, and all she knew was that she missed him. She didn't remember the date that he died, or the people that were there. Everything she knew, she knew because of her mum; But she never talked about him anymore. Not since HIM. When her dad died, she was too young to remember the details of his death, but old enough to remember his big brown eyes, and loving smile. The antiseptic smell that lingered on his skin when he returned from the hospital. His deep husky singing voice that harmonisied effortlessly with her mum’s sweet angelic voice.

She was young enough when he died that now her memoires were fading as she aged. To keep them permanent, she would repeat what her mother had told her, over and over and over again, but now, the longer the time between his death and her growing up, she wasn't sure if the voice that she heard was truly his, or a fragment of her imagination. Her mum used to always tell her about how they met and how her dad swept her off her feet. How he would always dance around the kitchen whenever he was cooking, and how incredibly stubborn he was. That nothing could change his mind once it was set.

However, despite how homely all these memories were, they were just that, memories.

They always reminded Riyah that her dad wouldn't be there to witness some of her most special moments, like her first crush, her first boyfriend, or her wedding day. And sometimes, when she was alone, like right now, she wondered if her dad was alive, would he be proud of her...or?

“Hey Rei, you good” Nikolas asked gently shaking her out of her trance.

“Yeah, I'm fine Niko. You good?” she replied.

“Yep, it was just my mum checking up on me and letting me know she is coming to visit in two weeks”.

“Why is she visiting” Riyah asked.

“Seriously...you're joking right. Riyah, my 17th birthday, remember” Nikolas responded pouting.

“Oh yeah, sorry Niko, I forgot” she replied.

“Wow. Am I not important enough for you to remember my birthday, huh Riyah” Nikolas asked upset, turning away from Riyah.

“Of course you are, you're my best friend. I sincerely apologise, okay? How can I make it up to you” she asked smiling and batting her eyelashes playfully.

Nikolas turned halfway so that he was slightly facing Riyah “Okay, I will forgive you, if you let me read what you have written so far. Deal?”

“Deal, you big baby” Riyah said as she handed Nikolas her notebook and he began grinning brightly.