Raelynn Lyla gulped and blinked her eyes while waiting for something embarrassing.
"Your hair smells like lousy mulberry," he started.
"It's too messy and dry." He finally concluded.
He breathed in again and said, "You are really an ugly girl. Look at your oversized skirt and shirt. Are you an old lady or are they hand downs?" Kiran Kareem inquired.
He then moved his head closer to her face. He then said, "I love the scent of your hair, but it is just too dry."
Loud, genuine laughter filled the classroom. Raelynn Lyla quickly breathed heavily, and pushed him away from her.
She quickly went to her seat at the back of the classroom,grabbed her pink backpack, looked away from his deep, enthralling gaze.
Raelynn Lyla had never felt hundred of thousands butterflies inside her stomach. She wanted to escape and free from his sight but he would always follow her.
"Huh, why is my heart pounding this hard?" She murmured softly to herself without knowing that Kiran Kareem had actually been standing behind her, listening to her.
"It seems that you are always talking to yourself like an old lady. But do not worry, an old lady also deserves her old man." He said and messed her hair like her elder brother.
And since that moment, Raelynn Lyla had met her guardian angel.
"Finally,my knight in shining armour has arrived on his white horse." Her mind mumbled and that made her smile.
•••••••••
Madam Jane Liu stood on the school veranda and watched the last students disappear down the road. She thought of that as the road swallowed the students. The day's climax, a question and answer session, came back to her and she heard her voice rise to fill the classroom.
"Good afternoon students."
"Good afternoon Miss Jane Liu!" The students sang in unison cheerfully with smiles occupying their faces.
"English representative, stand up!" The teacher then called out and immediately Nevaeh Nova stood up.
"Read out the last paragraph of the last chapter."
Nevaeh Nova stared at the teacher for sometime before she finally flipped through the book and located the page. She then cleared her throat and began reading, she read out the entire paragraph at a soft and steady tone.
When she was finished, she sat down leaving the others surprised by her fluent, American accent. She was like an adoptive daughter of an American family. All the students immediately clapped for her and praised her in low tones.
•••••••••
At that time, her class was gone and she was back on the periphery of their lives, and the school, with it's abandoned classrooms and silent playground, made her think of an empty shell.
Night was falling. On the left side of the school, the trees in the forest were slowly sinking into darkness. On the right side, the details on the hills were disappearing, the profiles hardening. She listened to the wind rustling the leaves of the mango and the bright red flowers of the flamboyant trees in the compound.
•••••••••
Raelynn Lyla walked home and when she reached at the doorstep, she stopped humming her favourite song and started searching for her keys in her backpack. The huge lock opened with a snap, like a gunshot. She then entered, removed her school shoes and put on her fuzzy, pink slippers and headed to her room. She took a bath, put on her pyjamas and went to the kitchen. It was her responsibility to take care of the house since her mother was busy at work.
She prepared some chicken flavoured noodles, steamed fish, meatballs and some congee. When the food was ready, she set the table and waited for her mother then both of them began eating together.
"You eat too." Her mother, Lily Wyatt told her as she picked up her chopsticks, and picked up a mouthful of noodles. She then placed them in Raelynn Lyla's bowl.
"Okay, mom." Raelynn Lyla told her mother as she picked up her chopsticks and started eating in small bits. After eating, Lily Wyatt took the dirty dishes to the sink in the kitchen and started cleaning them. Raelynn Lyla took the garbage out and afterwards all of them retired to their rooms. Raelynn Lyla spent half an hour finishing her homework then she finally went to bed.
•••••••••
Outside, the moon gleamed and the stars glittered in the inky sky. The night resounded with the songs of the crickets and the croaking of frogs. The fireflies flitted here and there giving themselves completely to the joys of their short lives.