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©️ Emrys Noah 2021

BETILLA

He was staring right back at me. The colourful orbs of his eyes from the distance looked so vivid and serene. I hadn't seen them in a while. The world around us freezes as we hold gazes. The air was filled with tension and became difficult to breathe.  He seemed unmoving and then his accented voice filled the air. "You're staring at me." He pointed out, tilting his head at me like a cat studying a ball of yarn. "I..." I trailed not knowing what to say exactly.

Wait, backtrack a whole bunch!

I moped around for the first few weeks after he left school. The sun's light felt like tiny daggers on my skin so that complimented my dressing which consisted of sweatpants and huge hoodies, ensuring my body was covered and unexposed to the wrath of the sun. I had a wild imagination. I drowned in depression to the extent that all my teachers sent emails to my parents about the recent change in my behaviour and they added, "She wasn't like this when her brother died." That just pushed the final nail on the cross. 

I started to come out of my shell and re-enact my former self as I glanced back at the words of my brother. He was the first male I ever loved dearly and he was dead but he had a wish and that, I wanted to fulfil. Benedict said to go on with life without him. That was his dying wish. He wouldn't have wanted me to be moping around because some random dude with really intriguing eyes broke my heart indirectly. Such a sad love story. Mae stayed by my side through the entire rehabilitation process and she was one of the people who helped me get back on my feet. Alongside my parents, who were a shocking factor. 

***

It was a Friday, I was in senior year. The last year in High School and I would be off to College. I couldn't wait and I was so excited to see what life had in place for me. Coincidentally, it was officially 5 months, 3 weeks and 3 days that Archer left me. Yes, I counted. School was over and I walked to my car with Mae by my side when we got called back. We walked to the homeroom to see two familiar faces alongside the principal. She clapped her hands when she saw us. She was quite the playful type. "Mae, Betilla, Kayden, Anne." She said pointing to us as she called our names. "Great! You're all complete." I shared a look with Mae, talking to her telepathically.

What the butt is going on??- My facial expression read.

The principal seemed to notice our little exchange. She quickly added, "You're not in trouble." That reduced the level of apprehension in my belly. "I called all four of you because this school is taking part in a student exchange program with another school with senior year students. And you all have been picked. Also there's a competitioncoming up there too." It was so silent, I could hear a pin drop. The principal's level of enthusiasm had clearly reduced when she was met by our silence. I broke it. "What school are we exchanging with?" She checked her phone and when she said the name of the school and location, I felt an overwhelming desire to be dead. 

I hoped secretly that my parents wouldn't allow me to go. They were more than happy to sign my release form. My mother was surprisingly ecstatic to the point that she told me all about her adventures in the U.K. and the people there. Yeah, you read right. I was going to the U.K, now you know why I didn't want to go. I didn't want to risk crossing paths with him seeing as I was going to be an exchange student in his school, in his grade. How thoughtful of fate to do so...

We were supposed to arrive in the U.K the following week and if my maths is right, it would be approximately 6moths since I last set my eyes on Archer. A tiny part of me that I had suppressed started to break free and I didn't want that I couldn't go back to that vulnerable state so I manned up and stood my ground. As planned, the four of us arrived in the U.K. As my Nike Air Force 1's touched the cold concrete of the floor, I felt an instant feeling of dread. I was not comfortable, at all. I looked at my peers including Mae who seemed excited to be there. I wore a fake smile and joined in the excitement. 

The climate in the U.K was different. The sun set early. We were already lodged in our dormitories sponsored by the school. It was nice of them. Obviously, I was roommates with Mae. Anne stayed next door with Kayden. We were to start school up with them the next Monday seeing as we arrived on a Saturday. Mae and I decided to go out shopping. We also invited Kayden and Anne. We had to get back before the curfew though which was 10 PM. It seemed fair enough. We headed out early on Sunday morning. We saw a Starbuck's coffee shop and got something to drink. We chilled around for a while before we walked to the bus going to the town centre. "Do you think they're prissy in the school?" Anne suddenly asked. We all shrugged and that made me ask myself. Was he prissy? "I guess we will find out tomorrow," I said and we slid into another conversation about teenage things.

"Did you see that?" Anne shrieked as soon as we exited the mall. We all wondered what she was talking about. "The cashier winked at me!" Mae and I squealed. Kayden exclaimed, "He did what?" The cashier that attended to us was a young attractive male that looked our age. Anne was obviously attracted to him. But she was also oblivious of Kayden's little crush on her. How cute! We just finished shopping, we took a break in a nearby McDonald's. Then we resumed and we had lots of fun. It was 8:50 and we were on the bus home. There was no doubt we were drained. We would probably be drowsy the next day. Speaking of that, Mae's head hit the window for the umpteenth time. She kept on dozing back and it was a funny sight to see. I looked at Anne and Kayden. 

He had his arm around her and she leaned on him as they watched the environment blur by. I almost teared up at the fact that I couldn't ever have what they had. He had made it clear enough that I was nothing to him. I tore my gaze away from them and went on my phone. I scrolled through the pictures we took that day and we clearly had so much fun. I closed my eyes and tried to calm the level of apprehension I had about the upcoming day. I dozed off.

It was eerily quiet as we walked from the bus stop to the dormitories. It was 9:47 PM already. I burst into laughter when I saw Mae walk into a wall. She was that sleepy. Anne and Kayden were in their bubble so they didn't really take notice of that activity. We made it to the dorms safely and crashed on the beds. I groaned when I saw that Mae didn't make an attempt to turn off the light. I stood up and turned it off and as a result, I stubbed my toe on the bed frame. It hurt like a bitch. Relentless, I made my way to my bed and logged off.

The next day, it was the worst day ever. A pimple had sprouted overnight on my face! It was situated on my forehead and it was evidently noticeable to anyone in range with me. I woke up and got into my outfit before Mae. "Bee, help me with my zipper." She came into the room and approached me. I turned to look at her and she screamed and pointed at my forehead. "In the name of all that is holy, what the heck happened to you?" I sighed and turned back to the dresser mirror on which I had displayed all the makeup I normally did not use. 

I laughed at the amount of concentration Mae had on her face. I had not seen that much engrossment in her face, even when she was taking the most important test, she always appeared sleepy or even better, burned-out. She was channelling all her years of doing makeup to mask away the presence of the monstrosity on my face. I'd say, she did a very pretty good job. By the time she was done, it was almost time to leave for school. Consequently, Anne and Kayden came knocking. It was a really confusing moment. In the heat of it, I realised I didn't even help Mae with her zipper. I grabbed my backpack which contained my Macbook with some notebooks and left the dorm. After we all got together, we walked to the school with Mae's zipper done, if you were wondering. 

Cars started to pile into the parking lot. The principal's office had a good view of it. We were situated in the office. He was enlightening us about the terms and conditions of our stay. We were staying for a week only. I felt a tinge of relief about that fact. The hairs on my neck stood still as I noticed a familiar car pool into the parking lot in my peripheral. I tore my gaze away from it and focused on the contents that were leaving the principal's mouth. Mae would relay it to me later on. We exited the office and stepped into a full hallway of British schoolers. Mae and Anne were sharing a locker and I was sharing with Kayden.

Kayden and I also had the first class together so we decided to go together. Kayden was a cool guy. He was also fun to talk to. We joked around as we made our way to the first class via the school map. Did I mention it was galactic? I entered the class before Kayden and I briefly scanned it for a familiar face. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw none. We went to the teacher's table and submitted our slips. The teacher welcomed us and stood up to address the class. "Good morning class. Welcome to History class for the senior year. Betilla and Kayden here will be joining us for the week. Do give them a good welcome." I felt really shy all of a sudden. They all looked nice and easygoing but I couldn't help but imagine his eyes doing the opposite, judging me... hating me.

I was so lucky to sit next to Kayden. Although, the girl beside me was also really nice to us. The class was also nice as well. I had my next class with Mae and Kayden had English next. We said bye and started to walk away from each other. He was already down the hallway when I realised he was with the map. I was not capable of getting myself to my Chemistry class. I started to call Mae when someone bumped into me, knocking me off balance and also sending my books flying. I cursed under my breath and started to apologise only to find the person down the hallway too. Great. I settled on ridding the floor of my detailed notes. I was probably late for my next class. I resumed trying to call Mae. I tapped my right foot and I listened to it go to voicemail. The hallways started to clear. I spotted one of my stray notes on the other side of where I stood. I trudged myself to pick it and I looked up only to meet those judging eyes.