Phase I: II
1475 Words
Phase I; II
I bumped into an object and as result, my books fell to the food and I was next to it.
I looked up to see who I bumped into.
I was surprised to see Miss Kerlem, looking down at me.
"I'm sorry," she apologized with a small smile and bent over to pick my books up.
I snapped out of my daze and picked my fallen papers.
"It's okay, I wasn't looking at where I was going" I shrugged shyly.
I have always been shy of my gender.
Some people may it's weird or just strange but that's who I have always been.
I am shy and reserved when I'm with girls and I feel a lever lower whenever I interact with them.
Not that they say anything bad about me, it's just my insecurities that pinch me up when I try to make a decent conversation.
So talking to someone as confident as Miss Kerlem makes me lower my head out of shame.
Even though I haven't known her for long, it wasn't hard to tell she was confident about her personality and her body.
I can't even remember the last time I was confident.
Or whether I ever have.
"What a nice locket you have there" she commented with a smile.
"Thank you, it was for my mother" I held the locket in my hands.
The one thing that has been constant in my life.
"I know"
"Excuse me?"
"Umm...I mean, it looks old and very ancestral. So I figured out it was passed down for generations" she handed me my books and stood straight.
"Yeah," I replied.
"See you around, Andronika," she said and sashayed down the hall as her high heels announced her presence.
Wait, how does she know my name?
I don't remember telling her during class.
I frowned as I walked down to my next class.
The day passed by normally and before I knew it, I was already at home.
"Bye, D!" I waved as Dylan roared his 2019 Audi A4 down the streets.
Perks of having a rich friend.
Free rides every day.
I took out my keys and opened the door to the place I called home for the last two years.
It was a simple one-story building with a small porch and a tiny garden at the side. It was painted white and blue and the creaks on the wall have become familiar to me which makes me scared.
Familiar means getting attached and when I get attached, I always get hurt.
I don't want that anymore.
It was the perfect house for a small family.
A caring dad, a loving mom, and a beautiful child.
Unfortunately, I never had that.
My dad passed away from pancreas cancer when I was just five and my mom was involved in a horrid accident when I was ten years old and she died on the spot.
I was raised by my father's younger sister, Aunt Sentiana.
She took care of me as a mother and I was blessed to have her in my life.
She was always my greatest support and if not for her, life would have been dark and ugly.
After getting divorced and losing her inky child to her husband, she took me into her home and heart willingly and that is a debt I can never pay.
A rush of delicious aroma tickled my nostrils as I closed the door behind me.
It brought out a huge smile into my face.
"Aunt, I'm home" I called and took off my shoes.
I rushed to the kitchen to see her by the oven as she took out her freshly baked cake.
"Sweetie, welcome home. How was your
day?" She said with a smile on her face.
At the age of thirty-seven, she had the model of a twenty-year-old. Her blonde hair was always tied in a bun and her blue eyes were kind to anyone she met.
Working at home as a full-time writer, she has perfected the household chores that I don't even need to lift a hand some days.
"It was fine. How did your virtual meeting go?" I sat on the counter and took a glass of water.
"As usual, but we had a connection problem so we had to post one till three pm" she took the cake out of the pan.
"That's awful, I'm going to have to go to the mall myself"
"What? Why?"
"You know I need new sneakers because the ones I wear are too old now" I took my hair out of the ponytail.
"Why don't you just go tomorrow with me?"
"I have extra-curricular activities tomorrow and the next and on weekends, I have to go to work. Today is the only day I can go" I persuaded.
"I'm not sure about that" she sighed.
My aunt has always been overprotective of me since I was a child. She never let me go anywhere by myself, not even to friends' birthday parties.
She said it was for my safety but I never understood how a cake and a night of fun with friends could be dangerous.
I am seventeen with my eighteenth birthday coming right down the corner but I still can't go shopping by myself not can I go to the grocery store to get foodstuffs.
I must be accompanied by my aunt or else I won't be able to go.
Sometimes, she gets so suffocating that I just lock myself up in my room and don't talk to her for days.
She always said I would understand at the right time and I don't know what that means.
"But aunt, the shop is just right down the street, it won't even take their minutes before I'm back" I pressed my luck.
She was silent for a few minutes, trying to weigh out the situation.
"Be back by three-thirty sharp, a minute late and I will come to find you. Do you understand?" She said sternly.
"You're so dramatic" I huffed.
"Nika" she warned.
"Okay, I'll be back before then, don't worry," I got down from the counter.
"Do you have enough money?" She asked as I stepped out of the kitchen.
"Yap"
"Still take some in case it's not enough" she handed me a few bucks.
"Thanks, dearest aunt" I kissed her cheeks.
"A minute late and I'm coming" she reminded me before I stepped out of the house.
I ruffled my blonde locks as walked down the streets.
My hair was very exceptional. I was born with a blond and brown shade of hair.
My roots are blonde but my ends are brown. It's very odd and people often think I dyed my hair when I didn't.
The doctors said they had no idea how and why my hair turned out that way but it wasn't detrimental to my health so I learned to live with it.
I reached the mall and pushed the door open to enter the building.
I walked down to the sneakers section and a variety of shoes came into my view.
I took my time to choose the most convenient and cheap sneakers I could get.
It was simple blue and white sneakers and I paid with a huge smile on my face.
I looked at the time and saw I took just fifteen minutes to get it.
I was really proud of myself.
I headed to the bathroom which was on the other side of the building.
When I got in, I saw a familiar face once again.
"Andronika, nice to see you here," Miss Kerlem smiled.
"Uh…" I struggled to get words out of my mouth.
What should I say?
Nice to see you too or why are you doing here?
What else would she be doing here, it's a freaking mall!!
I didn't realize I was staring at her.
"Uh… I just came to get some sneakers" I finally let out.
"Oh really? How wonderful" she applied more red lipstick to her lips.
"Yeah,"
I would do anything to get out of here.
"By the way, how do you know my name? I don't remember telling you" I asked.
"Oh, I know you more than you even know yourself"
"I'm sorry, what?" I frowned at the strange answer.
"You're special and somebody needs to tell you that, I'm going to show you" she walked towards me.
"Umm… you're saying really strange things" I fretted and began to walk back.
Please don't be a psycho murderer.
Please don't be a psycho killer.
I chanted as my palms began to sweat.
"Oh, darling. Strange things are about to happen" she smirked and leaned forward.
Before I could grasp what was happening, she planted her lips on mine and I was left, gaping at her.
- Writer
