Brown Girl

Move Along.

"Hi..." The boy trailed off awkwardly, as soon as she opened the door, his voice coated in thick Spanish accent.

She just stared back, wide-eyed.

"I'm Alex." He cleared his throat, a bit uncomfortable due to her staring. He had thick black hair, swooping across his forehead with deep green-blue eyes and a strong and defined jaw line. Probably around 6 feet, Alisha guessed. He was holding a plastic box which looked like they contained of brownies.

"You are...?" He waited for her response. Then it clicked. "Wait, are you like speech impaired? Oh, s**t, I'm so sorry!" He exclaimed out of nowhere and started gesturing absurdly, which Alisha was sure wasn't sign language. What was he trying to say? She had no idea.

"I-I'm not speech impaired." She stuttered, cutting off his alienated sign language.

"Oh." He murmured. "Well, then, you're just plain stupid to not say anything."

What? "Excuse me?" She asked.

"Oh great, she's deaf too." He rolled his eyes, clicking his tongue. "Indians."

"Excuse me!?" She exclaimed a bit louder. Before he could respond, a voice called out behind her.

"Oye, Alisha! Kaun hain?" A female voice called out behind her in Hindi. A short, thin and beautiful lady around her forties, came to the door. "Oh, who is this boy?"

"I'm Alex Valdez, ma'am. Your neighbour." He smiled charmingly, his demeanour changing completely. Alisha narrowed her eyes at him. Jerk.

"Oh, why are you standing out? Come on in." They moved aside to let him in. "Seriously, Alisha, when will you learn your manners?"

Alisha face palmed internally, looking at the strange boy who had an amused look on his face.

"Your name is...Alisha?" He asked. It sounded exotic in his accent.

She nodded. "Alisha Roy."

"I am Alisha's mother, Aisha Roy." Her mother smiled warmly. She was a pretty woman. With long black hair and a slim but petite figure, she wore a blue kurta (long top) with jeans. "Please have a seat."

"Oh, no. I'm just here to drop off these brownies my mother made for you folks. As a 'welcome to the neighbourhood' gesture." He smiled, handing Aisha the box.

"Oh, that is so kind of her." She seemed a bit taken aback as she accepted the box. "Isn't that sweet of them, Alisha?"

"It really is, Ma." Alisha agreed half-heartedly. Alex shot her a smirk. He was wearing denims with a loose white tank top and a black shirt over it.

"Do you need a hand with all the moving in, ma'am?" He offered sweetly.

Kiss ass, Alisha thought.

"Oh, no, dear. We have the agency helping us." She waved it off. "Anyway, convey my thank you to your mother and tell her I will try to stop by sometime later." Aisha smiled.

"I sure will, ma'am"

"Oh, do not call me 'ma'am', call me Aisha." She chuckled.

"Okay...Aisha." He said sheepishly. "I'll take your leave then."

"Sure. Alisha, show the young man out." Her mother smiled.

"Okay." Alisha walked with Alex by her side.

"It was nice to meet you, neighbour." He winked.

"Whatever." She grumbled, stopping at the threshold.

"Aren't you a ray of sunshine?"

She just glared at him.

"Well, I'll see you around." He smirked and left, leaving Alisha to bang the door shut.

Interesting..., he thought.

Jerk, she thought.

"Call me Aisha!? What is wrong with you, ma!?" Alisha screamed as she went back in.

"Oh, shut up. Khasmano khani, har baat mein chilane ki zaroorat nahi hain. (Oh Lord, you don't need to scream for everything)." Aisha scolded.

"Can I call you Aisha then?" Alisha smirked sickly sweetly.

"Chaped khayegi (do you want me to slap you?)." Aisha said mockingly in Punjabi. Alisha's mom was Punjabi while dad was a Bengali. It was considered the most odd pair in Indian culture because Punjabis are loud, fun-loving and wild people while Bengalis are the smart, modern and sophisticated ones. Two opposite poles. How her parents got married, was beyond Alisha's understanding. ~

The rest of the moving day, Alisha's mother rambled on about their lovely neighbours with Alisha nodding along half-heartedly. She already missed India, but she had to accept reality now. This was her home.

She liked her new house, though. Her parents had made a soundproof dance studio for her as a 'sorry we had to rip you off your home, friends and life' compensation. And her new room was a thousand times better than her old one. Plus, there was a home theatre too on her floor. Also, she got an entire floor to herself while her parents remained on the ground floor. Perks of being an only child.

She entered her studio with a huge grin on her face while balancing a carton of her equipment. She was wearing ripped jeans with a tank top tied at her belly button and her hair in a messy bun.

She loved dancing. It was a passion for her ever since she was a little girl. She set up her equipment, her stereo and all, while humming along a tune. What she didn't notice was that she had an audience of one.

Through the huge French windows in her studio, you could see into the one of their neighbour's rooms. More specifically, Alex Valdez's room.

As she turned, her eyes made contact with his. He smirked and raised a hand in acknowledgement. She just nodded back and got the hell out of there. Awkwardddd, was the thought that came into her head. She hated making new friends.

Sighing, she went into her empty room. The bed hadn't been put together yet so she laid down on the floor beside the stray pieces of her bed, mentally preparing herself for her first day at school tomorrow. Hopefully, she'll survive and not run away, leaving her parents here. They would probably send the full police force to look for her if she pulled off a stunt like that. She chuckled internally at how crazy her family gets sometimes. Ah, indian families.

Alex was thinking about Alisha. She was really, really, really pretty. There was something about her that made him want to know more about her. His mother had told him a little about Alisha's family. They moved here to Ortown from India due to her father's business transfer and that Alisha was going to join his school, Orshore High (he hated that name)....sure, that's not much...okay, it's literally nothing, but he sure was going to change that pretty soon.

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