"Get out of here!"
A short dark junior shrivels out of the girl's washroom at the sound of Margot's roar.
"I'm sorry" she whimpers when she gets to the door, looking back at Margot who stood about a metre or two away from her, hands on hips.
She cocks her head, pursing her lips and sashaying back to the gossip girls in front of the washroom mirror.
"Don't worry ladies" she clicks her tongue, "Nobody is going in or out"
But that little girl just wanted to join the gossip.
"Yasss", a nasal voice replies.
"Hey where's Elaine?—" Ava, a heavenly ginger asks, concerned.
"More importantly", Margot cuts in slapping her blonde hair backwards, "Why aren't we addressing the stolen money issue?"
Ava gives a questionable look
"Because it is not important at this point" Julia shrugs, "Elaine is missing", she shrugs again with her hands.
"She was never really part of us Julia", Margot gives a reply that muted Julia who didn't really want to stick her nose in Elaine's business. It just felt a bit off that she wasn't present.
Margot scoffs, throwing both arms downwards. She cocks her head.
"This is because of Henry isn't it?" Margot spits fire.
Ava rests a hand on Julia's shoulder, looking back at Margot.
"Look, Margot you don't have to talk like that. I mean we all get that you're—"
"No Ava, let me" Julia lowers Ava's hand off her shoulder, walking toward Margot slowly "I just don't get you Margot", her voice becomes soft with a heavy weight of murderous intent, "Are you bipolar or something?!"
Margot is taken aback. She gasps, covering her mouth.
"I try, I really try to find a reason for you", her voice becomes louder more aggressive as she stares into her soul, "For your behaviour but I'm done! I'm done trying to figure out what on earth and heaven is wrong with you!", her palm slaps the white sink, revealing her pink nails.
She ignores Margot, calmly looking through the mirror, redoing her blonde ponytail.
Margot is frozen. Was that really what Julia thought of her?
"Oh-Em-Gee! From one blonde to another, your ponytail is always tilted to the left" she scoffs, "But…" she claps thrice " You're such a drama Queen, attention seeker, I'd give you that but look", she places her hand from behind, on Julia's shoulder.
Julia pauses the hair redo. Her hair flows out of tightness and drapes onto her shoulders when she lets go. They both look in the mirror.
"I know that… you know, from one blonde to another… you snapped because you don't want Henry to be pestered about the money" she whispers into Julia's ear, shifting her loose hair away.
Julia is silent.
She rubs Julia's shoulder, "He owes us… and nobody messes with us and that is why we", she looks back at all the girls, about seven smiling, "we have to show him what we're made of"
"Flesh and bones?" Julia asks softly, smiling
"Sticks and stones honey"
Margot's head sits on Julia's right shoulder. They smile.
Ava looks down, pondering about something. Looking back at Margot who now faced them. The girls stood in a semi circle-like structure with its arms away from the mirror.
"What's Ms. Hogan?"
Margot questions upon seeing the upset look on her face.
"I told you don't call me by my surname Ms. Winters." Ava lightly chuckles.
"Oh please"
She purses her blood red lips, giving a cheeky smile.
"Okay we get it Madam Beyoncé", Ava gets serious, "But we need to let it go"
"Babe what are you talking about?", one girl asks.
"The money Henry has stolen" she sighs,
"We need to forget about it"
Margot walks up to Ava, running her hands through her ginger hair and patting down on it. Cupping her cute plump face she says, "Honey, don't let this little chaos with Julia make you feel like you're entitled to, to, umm…—"
"No it's not that", she gently holds Margot as though they were in a prayer.
"Something about what we're doing doesn't feel right", she sighs, "If anyone wants their money back, just come to me"
"No we can't do that", "We're a family", "Yeah, I'd rather we let it go"
Whispers of such comments echoed in the washroom.
Margot swallows, on nothing really, but she smiles. A hint of discomfort draws across her face.
"Fine" she says, outstretched, "Ugh you guys can make me so emotional sometimes, it's infuriating"
She falls a hug on Ava and the other girls join in. Julia stands in front of the mirror, watching.
"Wait, I can't smell Julia" Margot looks at the mirror to see her, "Come on girl"
Julia joins the hug but asks herself whether she snapped because she might have a thing for Henry. She closes her eyes as the warmth of the hug tames her chaotic thoughts.
"Magnus!", Ms. Felicia, his class teacher calls out to him. They were outside class, noisy and chaotic, teens pacing up and down but Ms. Felicia stood out beautifully like a rose amidst weeds. Her dark, tall figure with the pair of golden framed glasses she wore gave her an extra whiff of attraction.
"Hey!" Magnus gets to her panting, hands on knees. "What's up"
"Well a lot is up", she pushes the glasses up her nose, "Let's walk"
"Is everything okay?" Magnus rubs his neck softly, "Because the last time something like this happened, you gave me a whole day's lecture on my roots which I know more of and understand now, thanks to you"
She continues walking, eyes up ahead.
"I suppose you know the Pais in your name is an evolved version of Old French for country" she looks at him, "You're a whole generation bud"
"Damn I feel enlightened" he chuckles.
There's some silence, only the sound of her heels and the school chaos are heard between them.
"Well, Magnus…" her pink lips stretch into an unhappy smile. She looks at him again, slightly.
"Uh oh, that's not good", Magnus scratches his short afro.
"Kinda. It's just that you're not your happy confined self"
"Confined!?" he scoffs, "Ms. Felicia Ashanti Appiah, I Magnus Kwabena Pais, take deep offense to that"
"Seriously Magnus, what's up. I'm not even seeing your diary anymore" she smiles, looking down at Magnus. She was just slightly taller than him.
"Talk to me big guy"
Magnus remains, silent, just walking with his head down and hands in his pocket. He opens his mouth but no words come.
"Besides where's your newly found girlfriend?"
That's when it hits her. Their walk comes to a halt as Magnus' deafening silence explains it all.
"Hey…", she rubs his shoulder, "I'm sorry about that." She walks away with a long face.
Magnus is trying to forget about the breakup but the merged desks of Anthemon and Sabine stop him.
At a secluded corner, Ms. Felicia sneakily makes a phone call. She takes off her glasses.
"Hi Mrs. Sylvia! This is Ms. Ashanti, Felicia?"
"Anthemon's class teacher?"
"Yes Madam"
"Wait, you don't have a class with her now?"
"You mean after break? Yes"
"Oh I see… Is there any problem?"
Ms. Felicia sighs, tightening her lower lip. Should she tell her or not?
"Well, I can't help but notice an odd relationship between your daughter and Sabine Wult"
"Oh. Well that girl, Sabine? She came by the house last weekend"
"Please be careful… she is bad news"
"Really. I just knew something was off"
"Yes. She is a disturbed child. Magnus knows this and your daughter must be safe"
"Oh-oh-okay I'll be alert. Thank you so much"
"Okay bye!"
A head peeps out of the end of the wall joining the other to form the corner. It wasn't that far from the corner itself.
Ms. Felicia immediately regrets not wearing her lens.
In class, Anthemon rushes in, panting. Sabine and a handful of classmates are seated. She sits next to Sabine, dropping a bottle of water on both tables.
"Your hair is getting kinda messy…"
Anthemon raises an eyebrow at this.
"Just kinda", Sabine replies.
Anthemon scoffs. "How can you stand that chignon of yours?! It's perfect all the time"
Sabine smiles, eyes down slightly, making her chignon pop out from a side viewer.
She takes her water and sips it.
"Oh and they said they were out of cold water", Anthemon says.
"Oh no, it's cool"
"Well, it's a bit warm for me but I can manage"
Sabine side-eyes Anthemon. That pun was intended.
"Oh, you weren't talking about the water, were you?" Anthemon sarcastically asks
Sabine sucks in her light brown lips, shaking her head and smiling slightly through. She was one of the few people who didn't cover their face with a whole ensemble of makeup like Margot.
Sabine soon leaves to ease herself. However, she passed by the cafeteria and found out that cold water never finishes.
"You're late Miss", Ms. Felicia says to Sabine after she comes back to class. She came in soon after Sabine had left to ease herself. Sabine apologizes.
"Why did you lie to me?", she whispers to Anthemon because Ms. Felicia wanted her class as silent as a dead heart.
"I'm so sorry, I can explain, just—"
"Quiet down!", Ms. Felicia commands.
Magnus looks at the annoying duo and rolls his eyes.
Anthemon's heart begins to race as she attempts to swallow an unswallowable lump on her throat. Fear grips her and the risk of losing another friend lingers in.
Sylvia Tane, Anthemon's mum, at her workplace, has her head buried in her palms as her red shoe taps the ground.
"Hey", she holds her phone up to her ear.
"Hey babe? I'm not at work, what's wrong hun?"
She sighs
"Ms. Ashanti? Ms. Felicia Appiah? Do you remember her?"
"Babe I'm not cheating on you"
"No no, can you even?", she scoffs, giggling slightly, "Yeah so, she's Anthemon's class teacher"
"Alright, is Anthemon okay?"
"Yeah but Felicia called me, advising against Sabine"
"I knew it. I knew Magnus' absence meant a lot of harm"
"Me too", she sighs, "She said Sabine is a disturbed kid"
"Oh dear, what does that mean?"
"Mentally unstable? I guess"
"That's wild"
"Jonny I need you to promise me something"
"Anything for you, anything"
She pauses, taking in a deep breath.
"Promise nothing bad would happen to our daughter"
"Oh baby, nothing bad will happen, I promise"
She smiles, "Okay bye hun"
"Bye, mi amor"
She smiles inwardly.
"I feel like that girl was right after all. She sounded a bit crazy and I thought she was sick" an old woman, crowned with end-curling beautiful silver hair says with quite the raspy voice. Her hands fall on her hips.
"Yeah, we need to find her and ask her more about this man that passed away" an old man, her husband, replies. Rather wobbly in his steps, he walks to look outside the window, into the front of the cute cabin. Their huge wooden statue was not there.
"Yeah it's gone. I realized immediately we stepped in"
"So why didn't you side with the girl when she came?"
"Menopause…"
They laugh.
"Don't worry, we'll be fine", he goes to sit next to her, arms behind her neck.
Her head falls on his shoulder as his fair fingers run through her hair.
"I know where she lives though," she says.
"You are so full of surprises"
"It's a thing in African women"
He chuckles at this.
"You know what this reminds me of?"
"What?", he looks at her resting peacefully on his shoulder.
"Our marriage", she replies as his sunken eyes light up with unspoken joy.
"Everybody was against it but now…"
"Look at us"
"Here we are"
"I tell you, we are one of the few happily married hair-gray old-age couples around the globe" she says, smiling a smile that reflected her past struggles and how far they'd come.
"Sweetie? Globe? We're talking universe, multiverse, whatever whatever" he replies with his country accent as they laugh.