"Last year?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "I've been around here for two years now."
"Oh. I don't remember seeing you around."
"You don't remember me?"
"Yeah."
"I'm hurt. Like really really hurt." She sulked and looked down. I stood still for a moment not knowing if i should hug her or not.
"Sorry, but i don't." I sat down and put my socks and shoes on.
"Didn't you like try to hit on me last semester?"
"I've never hit on anyone."
"You lying."
"I'm not."
She looked into my eyes and i felt uncomfortable. "You don't remember approaching me during our woodwork lab session?"
I thought about it and the only thing i remebered was that girl but j didn't see her face."No, but the only memorable thing i remember is a girl who refused my help though she was holding a saw blade all wrong."
"I wasn't holding it wrong," she defended herself with a crooked smile. "The board i was cutting was just huge."
Oh that was you. But shouldn't i have known when i first met her is she was my mate?
"That's just an excuse, to be honest I'm surprised you didn't get hurt."
"Oh i know how to use my tool."
"Really, i dont think so."
She stood in front of me and asked, "what makes you say that? I did cut that piece without getting hurt."
I took her soft right hand and showed her the scar on her thumb. The exact place where my groip mate said she cut her finger after we left the lab.
"This scar isn't from a saw. Besides its one small scar." Our eyes met and she bit her lip.
"It's not, just a small scar, its a scar from you working with blades, if i were to give you a saw, you'd cut yourself more than you've cut wood."
"No i will not."
"Your board you were cutting didnt fit the clamps the the saw you were using was small and did you see the table saw two benches away from you?" I kept my eyes on her and she pouted her lips and inflated her cheeks like a kid.
"You didn't see it, did you?"
"I saw it. But i did finish the task unlike you who broke everything."
"Okay it fell."
She continued teasing me about me breaking the project we were working on but i did repair it. After taking the study materials, we left and geaded to the study location.
"How come you didn't know it was me?" She asked midway to the classrooms.
"Face?" I said without thinking.
"What's with my face?" She asked stepping in front of me, forcing me to stop.
What the heck have a just done?
"I can't see faces clearly." I admited and kept my eyes on her to see her reaction.
She blinked a couple of times and looked into my eyes. "You're joking."
"No, I'm not."
"Then how did you know it was me?"
"I can't see the entire face, i can only see pieces of it at a time. I call it selective prosopagnosia cause it's not documented ever." I chuckled nervously and turned her.
She frowned and bent her head a little. Ibsaw her neck and... it looked enticing. Like i could just lay my lips on it and... i looked away from herand continued watching.
"So how do you tell people apart and see emotions?" She asked running up beside me.
"Eyes."
"Like what? See the soul?"
Hmm. Exactly? "Yeah. See the soul." I stepped in front of her and walked backwards. "But honestly when a person shows emotions, theres always movement around the eyes and the mouth. Put them together, i get a face and an emotion."
"How about the nose?"
"Makes my eyes hurt, so i always avoid it."
"So you can see the face, but not the nose?"
"No."
"So what face do i have?"
"Suppressed smile, amusement or emotions along that line."
"You didnt look."
"I didnt have to. You've been smiling all this time."
"But i had a murderous face on."
I stopped and turned to her. "You?"
"Yeah, what? I can't have a murderous face on?"
"No, but I'd love to see it one day."
"You'd regret it."
"Nah." I bent my jaw and stuck my toungue out as i said so and turned to face forward.
"How long have you had it?"
Hhmm. "I dont know. Maybe i was born with it."
"You dont know?" Her voice went a few notes down and i took a quick look at her. Everyone could tell she was displaying pity."So you've never seen your parents' face completely?"
"I have just not the way people see it." I can see souls and hear thoughts, why should i be sad because i cant see a face? I see things people dont see.
"No its... is that why you stared at my face the whole movie?"
I smiled.
"Yep, i wanted to memorise a few of your faces."
"Do you?"
"What?"
"Memorise people's faces and..."
"No, i don't have that time. You it's... another reason."
"What?"
I looked away and changed the topic."so what class are we going to?"
"114/003-004. What was the reason?"
She pressed and i evaded her question with other questions and even ran from her until we entered the class which was already occupied by her friends.
Her friends, Sara, Tlotlo and Thabo, they weren't like her. At least not much.
Although Tiyane had cute freckles on her square shaped face and a bit of cute dimples, and she generally was just open her friends were not inviting.
But the girls were a bit amused to see me or had an inner joke or something, the guy, Thabo wasnt in the very least glad to see me.
"Hi." I greeted them with my usual voice. Almost a soft whisper. Tiyabe greeted them with a casual "hey." Just they way i like it, except i was feeling nervous.
"Guys, this is James," she introduced me and there was that murderous look she mentioned earlier. She gave it to them and continued, "James, these are my friends Sara," she ppinted at Sara, the girl with short hair and a small scar just beside her lower lip.
I nodded as a thought crossed my mind, probably died in her last life by her mouth being torn off? I frowned a bit. That cant be right. Maybe her mouth was burnt off. But that was all if the scar wasnt a birthmark.
"This is Tlotlo."
She pointed at the yellow bone. I mean the girl with a lighter skin tone than all of us. She smiled casually and dimples showed on her bit slender face. And she had a mole probably a millimeter in size in her forehead.
"And this is Thabo."
"He is an angry looking dude isnt he?" I asked trying to sound a bit friendly but it felt awkward.
"Nah, he hasnt been feeling well lately." Tiyane said as she pulled a chair for me.
"Okay."
"Hey." Was all he said and i saw his crooked teeth.
"Nice to meet you." The girl said before turning to open their math books.
"Nice to meet y'all too." I responded.
"Oh, uhn," Tiyane tapped my hand and pointed at Sara, Tlotlo and Thabo in that order as she added. "Scarface, married Indian and Drakool. Scarface will kill you."
"Yah!" The girls shouted at her while Thabo just glanced at her with a murderous look with eyes glaced with sparkles.
"Why am i Indian?" Tlotlo asked, almost shouted in her high pitched voice.
"You didn't need to tell him that!" Sara complained but Tiyane sank behind her textbook and wasn't looking up.
"Okay." I agreed as I bit my lips to hide my smile. "Im sorry, she's trying to be accomodative to me."
I tried to apologize but she retorted back with, "why are you apologizing, we call you scarface, and you've always been Indian, namaste!"
"Yah! you crazy wench! Want us to beat you in front of your bf?" Sara asked as she picked her mathematical instrument and pointed it at Tiyane.
"No! I just think you all are..." she got up and i pulled her hand, looked at me and trailed off. "I'm sorry." She whispered and sat down.
"And this is the crazy bitch." Sara added as she dropped the mathematical instrument.
"See?" Tiyane smiled as she pointed at Sara, "Scarface, she'll kill you."
"Yah!"
"Sorry." She waved Sara off and turned to me. "Now back to you, what was rhe reason?"
I blinked a couple of times and trried to evade her, but she wasn't budging. She pinned her puppy eyes on me.
"Can we talk about it later?" I asked.
"Oh you better answer her, she never puts off anything for later." Tlotlo advised and opened her books.
"Fill us in too." Sara added leaning in. "Answer."
"You're pullying me into a corner you know that?" I whispered. She nodded. "I was trying to see face in its entirety. But i didn't."
"Okay." She said and turned to her books and asked"What are we doing today?"
"What were you talking about?" Tlotlo asked.
"It's a secret." Tiyane rwsponded without any reservation. I looked at her for a moment wondering how her head worked.
"Seriously?" Sara asked dropping her books. Thabo's eyes were dark. But remained glued on Tiyane.
"What? Its a secret."
"You wench! You came in here and turned into a bitch, talk about something and make our ears itch and its a secret? Really?"
"Its a secret, what can i say about it?"
"I told her i can't see face and she was trying to tell me how to tell you apart." I ecplained and they looked at me funny.
"You didn't have to tell them."
"You can't see faces? At all?" Tlotlo asked leaning in. I thought that was just fictional."
"So can you see her face?" Sara pointed at Tiyane.
What the heck have i got myself into?