Sunshine

4| abnormal girl

Max. Max.

"You're right, bro." Mr. Arrogant, Max, said, agreeing with his friend. He looked at her, all pretty and trim with her black and white uniform reaching just above her knees. He admitted to himself her fair skin looked great in white and black. Already, he was desperately battling the images of her hugging him tightly, scared, hysterical, not willing to let go out of his mind. Her nice thighs. Her soft, vanilla scent. The feel of her body against him.

Jeez Max, don't be a lunatic.

Her temper flared another notch. "Well, Max," she balled her hands into fists. "I thought I was rude last night, and I came here to apologise to you, not knowing you and your friends here would find it so sweet and entertaining to embarrass me. I thought I was sorry, but now I don't think I am any more." She turned away and took a few steps before the same boy who started the whole scene called after her.

"Oh, but we were trying to let you do the right thing jorr..."
She turned, and they winced as she scalded each one of them with her gaze. She mouthed the words.

"Fuck you."

***

Maxwell Fiifi Banks watched her go, walking as if there were eggs under her feet_ so graceful. She was beautiful, and he reacted to her more than he'd reacted to any other girl.
Then he watched her break into a trot. He exhaled loudly.

Feisty.

"The girl is like a cat," Bernard was saying. "She's so cute yet wild."

"Which cat are you talking about? The wild cat in the jungle or the one you keep as a pet in your house?" Fred asked."Because," he continued "the first is wild but not cute and the second is cute but not wild. I think your expression is wrong, Ben."

"Asshole. The cute cat is also wild." Ben retorted.

"She's beautiful." Kwesi Owusu, who had embarrassed her so much, said. "I was merely joking. I expected her to laugh it off_and you know, we can begin to mingle from there and all that."

Max sighed inwardly.

What kind of girl was she at all? He wondered. Yes, she should have laughed it off, that was what every normal girl would have done. Does this mean she's abnormal? He had reasons to be curious.

"Anyway, what happened last night that made her come here to apologise?" Nortey asked slyly. They would tease him forever, he knew. He could tell them, but for some reason he didn't do it. He didn't want to.

"Nothing much. She shouted at me when I tried to start a conversation with her. That's all." Great. So he'd lied to his friends for her. Well, it wasn't a lie, really.

Before they could pounce he quickly added, "can you guys take the lead to the hall? I need to check up with something." He said it carefully, casually, so they wouldn't suspect anything.

"What do you need to check up with?" Kojo Cue asked. Well, looked like his friends couldn't be fooled after all.

"Oh leave me alone." He groaned. "Look, you can have my drink, only if you'll shut up and ask me no more questions."

"Deal."

So Max gave the soft drink he bought just now to Kojo Cue, and they left him in peace.

Sighing, he trotted away in the direction he'd seen her take. From afar, he saw her enter the assembly hall, and he dashed after her. When he entered, she'd already taken a seat. The hall was totally empty_an oddity, considering all the people streaming outside. At the same time, it explained why there were so many people outside.

Her elbows were on the desk in front of her, her face buried in her hands. Four chairs away from her, and he could hear the sound of her quiet sobbing.

All the blood drained out of his head. She was crying. She is crying. She is crying. His mind kept shouting.

The guilt was so unwelcome. She is crying, does he give a shit? The answer was supposed to be a clear and big no, but it was the vice-versa. It was his fault, he could have silenced his friend.

Instead, he'd joined in.

So engrossed was she that she didn't notice him come to stand in front of her. But when she did, she quickly wiped her tears away, trying to compose herself, as if nothing had happened, as if she hadn't been crying eight seconds ago. And he was amazed how perfectly it worked. She looked so absolutely normal that it startled him, shocked him. She pressed her hanky against her eyes, then looked at him.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was damn cool. Too cool. So composed. Something was going on in this girl's life, for her to be able to switch emotions like this, he thought.

"I'm here to_"

"Hold it." She snapped. Her voice was icy. "I don't want your apology."

"My friend didn't intend to embarrass you." He pressed. "It was his way of making friends with you."

"Oh, is that so?" She pretended to sound very impressed. She stood up, cocked her head to one side and crossed her arms in front of her.

"Well, that is not my way of making friends."

Something about the way she said friends...

"He expected you to laugh it off, like any normal girl would." He regretted saying the words as soon as he'd said them. He glimpsed how her eyes darkened and her face contort with_ was it pain or doubt? Then back to its coolness again. "I'm so sorry for saying that. I didn't mean to insult you."

"It's okay." She shrugged. They were right though. She could have laughed it off. But she didn't. She was an abnormal girl. "I guess you're right. I shouldn't have overreacted. I'm sorry, too. For last night, for this afternoon."

He shrugged this time. "It's okay."
He was leaving, but turned to face her again. "I didn't get your name." He said. "I'm Maxwell Banks."

"Nana Yaa Afrakoma Frimpomaa."

Rich Ghanaian name, he liked it. They shook hands briefly, but he still felt her energy vibrating on to him. He groaned inwardly. Oh this girl.

"I guess we can all be friends now." He said softly, with a smile.

Her throat closed tightly. "I_I don't think so. I don't take friends, Maxwell. I have no friends."

***Hey guys, you all good?
Did you enjoy this? What do you think of Max?

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