Moving Forward

Chapter Two

"No! No no no no no!" What day was it? My mind buzzed, searching for answers as my feet lay cemented to the ground. I couldn't move. Not like this... Not with this...

Beeeeep!

"Ah!"

"Get out d' darn road!" A guy shouted from his car.

I ran to the pavement, clutching my chest from the ache bleeding from my heart. It thrummed so hard, it felt as if it would fall out. Shit, no shit! Tomorrow was a holiday. Ugh! How could I be so daft? How could I forget something so important like that? Sweat beaded my forehead, trickling down my temple as my mind raced to gain composure.

A long holiday over the weekend meant eager locals would travel across the sea from Trinidad for a mini vacation. Others from Tobago would take the day off just to have fun with friends or family. This was chaos. Complete chaos. I couldn't stay here... not like this.

Heading towards the security booth, I found a cool spot to anchor my nerves. Lord... Going down to the beach alone was definitely a risk. Crowded spaces and scores of people spelled disaster. There's no way I could have made it down there without passing out. I had to go home--I needed to go home. "Why Lord, why today?" It seemed like he was punishing me for no reason.

The bus wouldn't be returning until an hour from now, which gave me exactly an hour to pass out on the hot concrete. I slid to the floor hoping to ease the tension building behind my neck. God, it was hot... To make matters worse, new beachgoers were entering and cars passed by for parking. Some stared as they walked past me and others asked if I was okay. I didn't answer because of the mere fact that people were around, freaked me out. I just wanted to get out of here.

Then, I heard a squeaky female voice, "Maliah?"

A girl from high school stood a few feet from where I sat, ogling me. Surely she got confused by seeing my disheveled appearance. I'd ran my fingers through my hair multiple times since I arrived at the facility so it must have looked crazy.

"No way! Oh my gosh. Look how long I haven't seen you."

She was right, but she should have kept on walking--ignore me as if I wasn't there. A lot of persons hadn't seen me for some time because I secluded myself at home--where it was safe. My routine was work, home, beach, and then home. It was doable. It was secure, and it certainly didn't involve me being around people and crowds other than Anya, my boss, and my Landlord.

When I didn't answer, she cleared her throat, "Eh-hem. So... Um... You look the same."

Why couldn't she just go away? I didn't want to talk to her or anyone. I was starting to feel as if I was in highschool again.

In the third form, two years after Malik's incident, mom and dad removed me from public schooling and hired a private tutor until I turned seventeen. In high school, I had problems focusing around other students; they would speak casually about Malik as if I wasn't there, which drove me insane. They hadn't the slightest idea how I felt about him--about his death. It became so bad that one time I had to lock myself in the toilet to drown out all the death whispers around me. Some even said that I was the evil twin that shoved him under the water and killed him. I wanted to die at that moment.

"Maliah?" she pressed again.

Couldn't she take a hint? Slowly, I stood meeting her eye level. What was her name again? Tasha... Tanya... something. A few more students from school halted behind her, looking just as shocked as she was. When the girl spoke, she had a clear American accent, and even her appearance seemed different from the rest. Brown Brazilian hair cascaded down her shoulders with streaks of red on the side. Her blue crop top wrote, Just Visiting and her short pants were a bit too short. Short enough for the inside pockets to hang outside.