Brown Girl

The Nights.

"How was your first day at school?" Alisha's father, Nikhil Roy, asked as they sat on the dinner table. He was a tall and built man with black hair and dull brown eyes. His hair was greying and his signs of ageing showed clearly on his face due to the wrinkles around his spectacle rimmed eyes.

"It was...pleasant." Alisha nodded.

"Did you make any new friends?" Aisha inquired.

"Yeah." Alisha nodded.

"Were they nice?"

"Yeah."

"How is your business going, dad?" Alisha tried to change the topic.

"It is going good." Nikhil smiled.

Alisha was quiet for the remainder of dinner as her parents talked about their relatives back in India.

Alisha was close to her parents once upon a time but a couple of years ago, their relationship became strained. They drifted apart as both her parents got busy and she was left alone. Her dad in his business and her mom in her surgeries. They never got back to being the same old family. And even though here and there they had their moments, it was never the same again.

~

Alisha sighed and plonked on her bed. Oh, man, what a day, she thought.

She was about to let sleep engulf her when she heard the strumming of a guitar. She jumped forward. Gulping in fear, she scanned her room. Where is that coming from? Is it a...no, it can't be. It's definitely not a ghost. Right?

She got off her bed in an instant. "Who's there?" She called out in the dark but no reply was heeded. The strumming got louder and her heart started beating faster. She ran to switch on the light.

There was no one, she saw. She breathed a sigh of relief. Phew! Close save. But then where was that sound coming from?

She looked out her window, and heard it coming from above. Is God playing the instrument at midnight!? Holy f*****g s**t!

Shut the hell up, she told her mind.

She climbed out her window and pushed herself upon the roof. Balancing herself she turned slowly and saw a huge and really broad ledge connecting her and the neighbours' house and on that ledge was Alex Valdez with his black guitar.

Phew! It's just him.

Slowly, she walked on the ledge, not wanting to disturb him. He was good, she observed, as she sat down beside him. He hadn't noticed her yet. His eyes were closed and his focus solely on the tune he was playing.

She looked at him as he played and she felt her heart give a leap. He looked really, really, really hot playing the guitar. His black locks shadowed his forehead and his lips were parted, eyes shut and brows furrowed in concentration as if he was diffusing a bomb. The way his hands moved on the guitar and his fingers changed the chords, and...suddenly his eyes shot open as they tune came to an end, pulling Alisha out of her gawk-session.

Alisha didn't utter a word. He sighed and turned his head her way. His heart gave a jolt and and he screamed while lurching back from her.

"Jesus f*****g Christ! You f*****g scared me!" He screamed, putting a hand over his chest, trying to calm his heart rate.

Alisha burst out in laughter and he had to admit, even though it wasn't the most sophisticated one out there, it was like melody to his ears.

"It's not funny." He growled mockingly, shifting back to his old position, letting his legs dangle over the ledge and placing the guitar beside him.

"No, it's not. It is just outright hilarious!" She chuckled. "You scream like a little boy, you know?"

"Well, you would too." He defended.

"What? Scream like a boy? Please. I'm surprised you did not even hear me." She teased.

"I was too focused!"

"Yeah, okay." She rolled her eyes making him sigh.

They settled into a comfortable silence and she looked away from him to see ahead. Wow. The view from up there was absolutely breath taking. You could see the entire town's outline lit up in the dark of the night.

"You come here often?" She inquired.

"Yeah, I guess. I just like coming here to unravel, you know? For a bit of peace." He admitted.

"Yeah, I see what you mean. It really is peaceful here." She sighed, closing her eyes. He glanced at her and he felt warmth spread inside him. She was easily the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on.

"So, what brought you up here?" He cleared his throat.

"I heard you playing. You are really good." She looked at him.

"Thank you, but I'm more of a work in progress, brown girl." He slyly let out his nickname.

"Brown girl, huh? Isn't that a bit racist?" She smirked, not at all offended.

"Well, I think it suits you." He shrugged.

"Well, I like it." She winked.

"How come you're being civil to me, niña?" He mused.

"Niña?"

"It means little girl in Spanish."

She smacked him across his arm. "Little? Little girl? Really? I could take you in a minute."

He snorted. "Please. You wouldn't even be able to try."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay, tough guy. We will see."

"We will." He agreed.

"I am trying to make an effort, that is why I am being civil to you." She said after a moment.

"That's gotta be pretty hard for you, brown girl."

"You do not even know the half of it." She sighed dramatically making him chuckle richly.

They grew silent as they stared at the view ahead.

"It is beautiful up here." She voiced her thoughts.

"Yes. Yes, it is." He said, staring at her.

"I thought you were a ghost, you know?" She admitted.

"W-what?"

"Yeah. When I heard the guitar playing out of nowhere I thought there was a ghost in my room, trying to creep me out or it was God playing the guitar at midnight."

Now it was his turn to burst out in laughter. He clutched his stomach as he leaned back.

"It is not funny." She smacked his arm. She seemed to be liking that.

"No, no, it isn't." He cleared his throat, getting himself in control. "It's outright hilarious."

Then the laughter started again.

~

"f*****g s**t!" Alisha growled and kicked her car but instantly recoiled and clutched her foot in pain. "Ow!"

She heard a rich chuckle behind her. She turned to face her neighbour, Alex Valdez, sitting on his black bike, looking incredibly tempting in that leather jacket of his.

"Having some trouble, brown girl?" He called out from his bike. A very, very classy Harley Davidson.

She took a moment to admire his bike and then huffed. "Go away."

"Why don't you ask your folks for a lift?" He inquired.

"Well, I would but seeing as they are already out for the day, I think it would pose a problem." She said sarcastically.

He smiled. "Well, I could give you a lift if you don't prefer walking over me."

She slouched. "I do prefer walking but I do not know the way to the school."

"Then, c'mon! Hop on." He tilted his head.

Debating over it for a moment, she reluctantly gave in. Walking up to him, she hopped on behind, placing her hands on his shoulders. With a smirk, he removed her hands off his shoulders and slid them across his torso, making her roll her eyes even though her heart hammered like a drum.

"Hold on tight, chica." He roared the engine and sped off and all through out the ride, Alisha was pretty sure he was slamming down on the brakes on purpose. Jerk.

~

It was lunch and Alisha was late. She had stayed back after class to clear some doubts for Chemistry from her teacher, Ms.Hadley and now regretted it since her stomach was growling for food.

As she literally ran to the cafeteria, she passed the boys washroom where she heard laughter and then someone screaming. Deciding to look into it, she opened the door and saw that Ben's group standing and laughing at something in one of the stalls.

"Hey!" She called out, drawing their attention. She saw that douche bag, Brian something, pop out of the stall while holding a lanky and skinny boy with specs, by his collar whose face was dripping wet. She figured out what they were up to. f*****g bastards.

"Look what we got here!" Ben smirked devilishly, as he stalked towards her, rubbing his hands together.

"Did you forget about yesterday, punk?" She rolled her eyes as he flushed with embarrassment.

"I'll take my revenge." He threatened.

"We will get to it when it will happen...which is never. Now, beat it!" She glared and watched them all stomp out in annoyance.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked as the boy came out of the stall. She recognised him. He was with her in Chemistry. His name was Colin.

"Yeah, thanks." He said sheepishly.

"You are Colin, right?" She smiled as he took a tissue to wipe his face off.

He glowed like a bulb, shocked that someone knew or bothered to even remember his name. "Yeah! You're Alisha, right?"

"Yeah." She chuckled. "So...do they irritate you often?"

He nodded. "When they feel like it. I'm small, right? It's easier to pick on me so that they prove their apparent 'manliness'."

"Bullshit! If you stand up to them, they would not even touch you."

They walked out of the bathroom and towards the cafeteria.

"It's not easy to stand up to four beefed up, body builders like them." He admitted.

"Then why don't you talk to the Principal?"

"I did. But the school won't do s**t to them. Brian and Ben's dads are trustees. So, they literally own the school." He shrugged.

She understood where he was coming from. "That is so not fair!" She huffed as they entered the cafeteria.

"Can't do much about it." He shrugged.

"I understand." She nodded. "Anyway, would you like to sit with me today?"

"No, it's okay. You go ahead, I wouldn't want to impose." He declined as he saw her friends waiting for her.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, positive." He nodded.

"Okay, then. I'll see you around." She smiled and headed off to her group. He sighed woefully as he watched her go and sit with her group. Not even a day here and she already had friends. He was here his whole life and not a single person cared about his existence. Whatever, he shrugged it off, his mind drifting to how beautiful Alisha was.

"Where were you?" Mira asked as she sat down.

"Just talking to a new friend." Alisha smiled.

"You seem to be getting popular, brown girl." Colt smirked.

"Really? You too?" She huffed at him as he chuckled. They all had started calling her that once they heard Alex say it today morning and it was getting a bit annoying.

Just then, Alex entered the cafeteria and headed towards them.

"Niña." He acknowledged as he sat beside her.

"Chutiya." She acknowledged him in her mother tongue.

"What does 'chutiya' mean?" Joey asked.

"It is....um, it is kind of a, you know..." She trailed off.

"No, I don't know." Joey shook his head.

"It means, like a little boy, you know?" She lied, shrugging.

"Ohhh!" He nodded.

"Well, let me inform you, chica, my boy down there is not so little." Alex winked making all of them laugh on the table.

"Pervert." She smacked him on his head and grimaced. As lunch passed, Alex and her got into a name-calling argument, calling each other every slang in their native language, amusing everyone at the table. She was totally oblivious to the piercing eyes on her back which were filled with jealousy as they looked upon Alex and her.

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