Azure

“Mum, Dad I'm off to school. Parents are to arrive by noon okay” My legs take me down the stairs from my room, to the kitchen “Sure sweetie”, mum replies as I head out of the kitchen I rush out the front door, a cold mango in hand. I have no time to wait at home for breakfast, all graduates are expected to be in school before eight for hair, makeup and a change of clothes. Boy am I glad to be out of that hell hole, I definitely would not miss being there nor would I miss a single soul. I am more than excited to put them all at the back of my mind. I think back to my time spent in Malory High, the drama, laughter, tears, the plastic tasting cafeteria food, prom, parties, sleepovers etc . As much as my experience was not all bad, I am looking forward to exploring more out of life. I unlock my car and slip into the driver's seat. My bag is thrown into the backseat before I set the ignition on. I put the car in reverse to drive out of the driveway, using the rear view mirror to ensure I do not crash on my way out. Dad would kill me if I do and I would have to pick between heading to college and fixing a damaged vehicle, yeah no can do The drive to school is silent, the car radio off, bluetooth switched off, windows up, A.C blasting, listening to the sound of passing vehicles and car honks. I stop by a fast food joint to grab a pizza, macaroni salad and a bottle of water I definitely am not eating from the schools cafeteria on my last day, I at least deserve a treat for lasting so long I notice that the parking lot has lots of extra space as I arrive at school, which makes a lot of sense seeing as it's just the graduating students and a few staff members plus parents would not arrive till much later. I kill the engine and walk into the school and straight to my homeroom, there I am greeted by others, all on their seats waiting for our homeroom teacher to arrive and start dishing out instructions. We all sit around and engage in meaningless conversations. Our homeroom teacher Mr Danisole comes in half an hour later, shoes polished shining under the fluorescent lights, suit crisply ironed, clean, gators on the pants, he's got a new haircut on and a perfume, nice. “Settle down guys, your outfits, gowns and caps would be given to you. Once your name is called, come up to get it, return to your seats, there would be an announcement of when and where to change and get your makeup done”, Mr Danisole says One after the other our names are called, we were given the link to the online site where we could send a picture of the outfit we would love to make for us for graduation with our names. A privilege given to my graduating class only, one that comes with being a part of the set of students who brought more fame and investments than the school has ever seen in its lifetime On the inbuilt speakers, a voice rings out calling out instructions. Males and Females are separated to the two auditoriums, where we would dress up and find makeup artists, stylists and tailors waiting on our hands and feet. We have to leave the class in a straight line, dispersing at the end of the hallway, my heart thrums in excitement. I shared my pizza earlier with a girl who asked, never met her, maybe I just never noticed At the auditorium, chairs are arranged to accommodate, detachable tables with vanity mirrors, sewing machines, I count ten magic mirror photo booths, and wide screen on wheels to provide an iota of privacy while changing Myself and three others walk behind one of the screens, the navy green coloured one with our backpacks to change. After which I walk out and straight at the woman waving me over She sits me down on a stool “How would you like your hair?”, she asks “Fat loose bridal braid please, with flowers in them”, I smile at her She goes to work, brushing, straightening, knotting and styling my hair. I watch her from the vanity mirror placed in front of me. I twist and turn my head per her instructions, the final look erupting a gasp from the depths of my soul She beams once finished and I thank her “Do you mind me taking pictures and videos?”, she asks “No”, I reply She hands me a hand fan to cover my face, respecting my privacy whilst doing her job. She nudges me over to the woman three feet away from where her booth is placed I smile and thank her once again as I walk-run over to the makeup booth before anyone beats me to it “Hi”, I smile “How are you?”, she asks smiling back “I am great, excited but okay”, I reply “Any specification?”, she asks already grabbing a face wipe to clean my face with “No makeup, makeup look please”, I tell her with a smile I love that the doors and windows are closed in the auditorium, it allows the room to cool instead of wasting the conditioned air and the booths having medium fans adds extra an cooling effect that prevents our glam from ruining before the main event Some girls are already finished, standing by the mirror photo booth posing for pictures while admiring themselves Since the woman got to work on my face, I have had to hold a gazillion sneezes in the past three minutes. She asks me to open my eyes to announce the moment she is finished and I make my way over to the nearest photo booth to admire myself My jaw drops as I stare at my own reflection, I stare at the detailing on my #0e1805 deep forest green and #0f1460 blue ombre medieval fairytale style dress. My decision to not wear any form of jewellery elevates my look, back then I thought to myself, “there is no fanciful jewellery in fairytales and wistful worlds yet they look magnificent”. I smile at my reflection now, praising my smart choice. I tap on the mirror photo booth screen to choose my background, and set the camera to a quality that would make me look ethereal. As practiced before this day, I pose in over thirty different positions all ranging my look from doe eyed innocence to a powerful fairy I print out the images and send some to my phone for keepsake. After I have had my fill, I head out of the school building to my car to drop my backpack and grab my mini matching handbag from the front seat, my phone cord, powerbank and rechargeable fan neatly tucked inside I turn back to head into the school building, halting in my tracks as a muffled voice travels with the wind over to where I am now paused. I grip my handbag tighter, my mind conflicting on whether or not to ignore the sounds, when the shadow of a man comes to view. Heat flashes through my entire body, and that alone is enough to force my legs to run to the safety of the school doors I hunch over as the doors swing close behind me, I would pretend I never heard a thing, pretend? nah I never heard, neither did I see any suspicious activity. It would not be today that I would be used as a scapegoat or put into witness protection I reach into my bag to bring out my mini fan and raise it to my face as the voice booms through the speaker once again asking all graduating students and staff to make their way through the back doors to the back of the school where the ceremony would be held An outdoor occasion, expertly decorated, flowers and metal signifying the females and males. Parents at one end, students at the other. An aisle where we would all walk through to get to our seats and again to get our diplomas at the center I wave at my parents as I walk down the aisle to my seat, the guilt burning in my chest volatilises when a headcount is done and everyone is said to be present. Now I can keep my peace We all have our caps on our heads, and our gowns either hanging off our arms or draped over our outfits. The ceremony commences as names of students are called up on stage, I walk up to the stage about three times to receive my academic awards, then twice to receive behavioral awards. As I settle back down, a guy seated next to me whispers “So this is the reason you refused to couple up with any of us throughout high-school”, he teases “You wish”, I reply They all have to be delusional to think I decided to stay single just so I could focus on my studies. Being in a relationship with someone would not deter my academics… ever. I stare at the ones who are coupled up scattered around the venue, they look childish. Now not saying I have anything against relationships, I love love but not the cliché boring kind of love people try out in high-school. I want one that would get my heart racing, a guy I would not get bored of, someone who would get me as me, for me and vice versa, a relationship that would make me feel alive, get my emotions dominant I hope to find that in college, I mean asides furthering my studies, that also is the reason I applied. At this point we are all called one after the other alphabetically to get our diplomas, after which we are all arranged on stage in front of our parents for a photograph. I am called on stage to give a speech and I stick to the one I had written, my eyes moving from the crisp white paper to the faces in the audience. Then the class president and vice give theirs afterward. Parents of outstanding students are called on stage to take photographs with the students and staff members, my parents with their joy-filled faces gladly walk up the stage, as we are led down I hand my parents my awards to free myself of the burden of carrying it about Parents are called on stage to take pictures with the staff, they are given badges with the year of our graduation and the schools emblem on it, each badge also has the parent and child's name engraved Food, snacks, juice and a bottle of water are shared in paper bags to the students, the parents get theirs but in bigger portions, a bottle of wine instead of juice, a bigger portion of food and snacks, a congratulatory card and printed copies of the pictures taken so far, each bag containing the parents name The event comes to a conclusion as we are called up, those of us who have presentations to perform. My dress flows and under the lightening my aura increases as I sing my heart out, flowing with the wind, my steps graceful It is nighttime when the event is over. I head into my parents car, they drive me to where I parked mine, I thank them and get into it, waiting for a few minutes to warm the engine then, I make a reverse and drive out my parents following closely behind as we make our way home At home, we drive through the electronic gates, into our property. We head straight for the garage and with the help of the remote we get the garage door open and close it once we have driven inside My parents and I release sighs of relief as we step out of our vehicles, I walk over to theirs to help carry some things, stuffing the majority into my backpack, my handbag included. My mum says a short prayer thanking God for the success of the day, journey mercies and for the gift of having the opportunity to have come this far We all walk through the door in the garage that leads into the house, my brother stands from the couch as we walk into the living room making our presence known. He collects my trophies and together with our dad walks to the room where they are all displayed, mine and his. I can smell my dad's joy as he stares at the new prides to the added to the collection, ranting about how he is so lucky to have bore two intellectuals Mum and I head to our separate rooms to change, I put my clothes in the laundry and everything else where they are meant to be then, I head into the connecting bathroom of my room, to the sink to brush while staring at my reflection in the mirror. Then I take a few steps to the shower enclosure to take a hot bath, lathering local African black soap on the skin to effectively wash off dirt and oils. Once finished I tie a towel and make my way back to my room to moisturize with sheabutter, replenishing my skin from the moisture lost in the bathroom. I wear my silk shirt,a pair of cotton underwear and silk short pajamas and spritz on my Victoria Secret love spell la creme body mist all over before heading back down to sit with the family We all agree to not cook dinner tonight instead we share the party food, sit on the couch in the living room talking and enjoying each others presence with the tv on