Sia- Titanium
Ashanti woke up with a start at the sound of the school sirene. She glanced to her side but Heather wasn't there. Faye grumpily got out of bed and her eyes looked as if she'd cried all night long. Ashanti wondered why she wasn't as wrecked as the others. Well yes she was sad about what happened but she hadn't a single somber nerve in her.
Well maybe it was because she was different from all of them. At most, each one of them had their parents or siblings constantly thinking about them. Her mother couldn't care less. As she brushed her teeth, Ashanti begun to contemplate if she'd probably grown cold over the years. Possibly, she lived alone, continuously had monotonous conversations with herself, watched movies with her stuffed animals and literally lived life on edge; diving to incredible depths to see how long she could last without oxygen, speed racing the cars her father got her and generally being her own personal idiot.
She wished at least one person took her seriously in this world, not as Ashanti Goodman the outstanding student and know-it-all, she wanted someone who would see her as the overgrown seven year old she was because deep down, she still felt like the seven year old dumped in a boarding school very very far from home.
These were the thoughts that run through her head as she did her chores at the chapel. Shockingly Heather had already done her part of the job and there was no sign of her.
She had thought Heather was the first person to see her for who she really was, she thought Heather knew her by now but with how the way she was pulling away Ashanti felt like she had done something to offend her. She kept thinking about it and wondered what she could have possibly done wrong and suddenly she felt utterly disappointed in herself.
I mean this is what I do, when people get closer then I somehow manage to push them away, I don't even know how I have possibly done that to everyone I've been so close to. She thought to herself as she washed the rags at the taps outside the chapel.
She sighed and sat on the concrete next to the tap absentmindedly
" Thought I'd find you here." A very familiar voice says, " The water is running out of a different channel."
Zaron turned off the running tap that she had forgetfully left running.
" I guess you expected to find me in tears or something." She looked up at him and said.
" Not really, we're kinda like that." He states sitting next to her.
" We?" She wondered and he nodded sitting next to her.
" W..wh.. when we got to the scene, I was petr... petrified so I kind of c..co.. cowardly stood back at the car."
" That's ok Zaron, you're not a fighter anyway." Ashanti assures him and he sighed.
" It wasn't about s..sstr..strength, it was about reacting like a normal p.. person. "
" I don't think that should be a problem. I mean you did do something."
He took in a deep breath, " I kept wondering, what if I was the only one who saw it, would I have been able to do what Kobby did? Makes me feel an.. anxious."
" Maybe we are different." Ashanti agreed, " Now Heather hates me for reasons I don't know. I don't know how I keep managing to screw things up."
" She doesn't hate you, sh...she'll c..c..c..ome around."
" I hope so. See you in class I need to go take a shower and change."
" Alright." Zaron nods and walked her back to the walkway before leaving.
Assembly was pretty spiritual that day because Praise had insisted on dedicating ten minutes to prayers. She wanted everyone to say their own silent prayer. Ashanti found that to be quite inconsiderate considering agnostics like herself. If God was really all-powerful why would he watch Ciarra get hurt so badly, no normal father on earth would even want to watch their children suffer when they had the power to stop it so what was all this prayer for anyway? Ashanti wondered.
The school didn't know about what had happened but they still prayed.
She looked over at Heather who was already staring her way. She quickly bowed her head when she saw Ashanti looking.
The entire student body was admonished to walk in pairs and to avoid secluded places especially the girls in the school. They begun to sense danger after that statement. More prayers followed.
Heather sort of felt bad for Ashanti in situations like these. She hadn't spent her life with enough people to know how to behave around people but she kept trying and that was what Heather loved about her. She wondered how Ashanti felt about this since she was agnostic, the first Heather had ever met in her life. Ashanti believed she could be a good person without someone having to tell her to and she was. Her sisters said not to be too close to her but that didn't mean she should totally avoid her so after assembly was dismissed she quickly walked over to her and touched her.
" Hey... thanks for last night." Heather says shifting from foot to foot.
Ashanti looked on in surprise as Heather turned to leave.
" Heather wait, what is going on?" Ashanti held her back and asked.
" Nothing, see you in class." She says and pulled her hand away before walking away.
" You're not the only one she's not talking to you know." Faye says with her arms folded next to Ashanti, " But honestly it surprised me. Not talking to me is quite normal because I get clearly repulsive sometimes but Heather not talking to you is something else."
Kobby was sitting on one of the benches around watching everyone walk by when Fede came into his line of vision.
He looked as distressed as Kobby and he sighed taking a seat next to him.
" I guess you've heard."
Fede nodded
The compound was as rowdy as usual as everyone conversed about their holiday.
" How is that possible, I mean I have personally met the guy and he seemed so cool and composed, what happened?"
" I never trusted him from the start, if you've observed him longer you'd also get the same feeling."
" You know he broke out of jail last night right?" Fede asked.
Kobby looked up at him panicked,
" Yes son, he's out there. That's the reason for the stern warning at the assembly this morning."
" Oh my goodness, what if he gets to her at the hospital."
" I spoke to Rufidat this morning, just wanted to confirm the news I got from my mom and she told me about the new development. Don't worry, Dr Asher is hot on his tail. As at 4am today, major roads were blocked on the highways and security is tight around the mountainous region especially around the school."
" This is so messed up." Kobby sighs.
" I know, relax, if anything comes up I'll update you, ok?" Fede says patting him on the back before taking his place.
Recess was pretty messed up for the girls since Ciarra wasn't around and Heather was still acting weird. Sarah arrived that morning to a gloomy group and she wondered were Ciarra was.
Healenore suggested they have lunch at the Morning Café since rumours were spreading that a Manhattan girl was the cause of all the hushed whispers in school. Anyone on the way to the school who had caught sight of the caution tapes and police barriers could tell something had gone wrong either in the school or around the school. When they did arrive on campus, rumours greeted them, all versions of it but the Manhattan girls had managed to keep it hush at their part of the school and that made other houses suspicious of them.
That was why the rumours were circulating, because when Manhattan house didn't want to disclose something, it could stay concealed until eternity and that was the definition of loyalty to them.
" Okay, someone tell me something interesting, after three versions of the Blue Lagoon on the bus ride here, I think I need something to neutralize my thoughts." Sarah complains as they settled into their usual booth at the cafe.
" That movie sums up how I was made." Kweiba groans into the distance and her friends glared at her.
" What? My mom and Dad were practically next door neighbors who's parents left them behind way too much. They did everything together even showered together, knew practically everything about each other and one thing led to another and I was made . Tadaaa, six years on they realize they aren't so compatible and begin to fight and I have to be shipped off to Accra as a result of their fight." Kweiba narrates her life story in a rant.
Fred saw them and walked over.
" I hope you're not at the wrong place because Calvin is off duty."
" Come on, it's not as if we come here only for him, that's Vee's thing. We actually come here for food." Kweiba adds getting everyone to chuckle,
" Now scurry off and go get me some coffee."
Fred rolls his eyes and sashayed off,
" Damn." Kweiba called at him and he cringed internally at Kweiba watching his butt,
" You know I'm older than you right?" He called at her.
" So is Calvin but Vee married him. You've got a generous ass you know, you should be grateful, now why don't you get a move on with my coffee."
Had they not been the only ones in the cafe, Sarah would have slapped her upside the head for such stupid comments.
Fred ignored her and walked over to the coffee machine.
" Where's the rest of the crew aside of Vee?" He called back.
" Not in school yet!" Efua called back, " Sarah, you have a plot of land to weed for arriving a day after the day for resuming."
Fred dropped his voice to a whisper.
" They should have been here yesterday I hear a felon is on the lose in the woods." He informed them as he brought Kweiba 's coffee.
They all looked at each other in confusion, " I'm guessing you guys haven't heard of it. He escaped from jail last night after being locked up for attacking a student. Well the school is keeping it on the low to preserve your mental state. Now what can I get you beautiful ladies?"
They all opted for coffee.
" I think we will be needing the help of the Sisters at this point. If he's on the lose, we need to know if Ciarra is ok in the hospital." Ashanti says.
" You're right, I think we should check with them right away." Efua agreed.
There were only six of them this time around which drew everyone's attention as they walked into the quad. Whispers encompassed the entire place as they walked in. They ignored the buzz noticing a couple of tables empty, Kobby's, the jocks and the Editorial board.
For the first time, they found an entire table of dorm 1 cortess Manhattan girls.
Their seniors spotted them right from the gates.
" Took you guys long enough." Lartifa says with a scoffs when they drew closer.
" Guys, don't you ever do that again. Why'd you not show up at your table today. Everyone knew something was off when one of the most vibrant tables in the quad suddenly went empty." Anita states in an undertone.
" Why would anyone care if we're here or not." Kweiba asked.
" Rumours are flying. They think a Manhattan scandal has happened again and if you guys don't pull yourself together, they're going to easily find out what is going on, so if you care about your friend, please stick together. Where are Heather and Faye?" Vera ask.
" No idea." Ashanti answered honestly.
" Why do you guys care so much about what people think of us, you don't even care anyway." Efua pointedly said.
" Watch your tone young lady." Kelinam cautioned.
" That is partly true, we do care what people say because if you've had the chance to live a scandal in that house you wouldn't be talking like this and trust me, we've lived through many of those and we're trying to protect you guys from such awful experiences." Zak goes on to explain sternly .
" And if you thought we didn't care then why are you all suddenly here?" Jade asked.
" We...we wanted to know how to reach Ciarra now that there are restrictions all over. We heard he escaped." Ashanti whispered.
" We already worked on that. Myra knows a nurse in the general hospital, she's under great care. Also her Dad put a twentyfour hour guard there after the jailbreak, so rest assured. " Ivy whispered back to them as Myra stealthily picked out a photo out of her wallet and handed it to Efua.
It was Ciarra on an hospital bed with an oxygen mask on and other tubes up her arm. There were Get-Well-Soon cards, including the one they had signed that morning and balloons stuck to her bed and she looked just peaceful.
" Oh my goodness how did you get this?!" Mae panics.
" I'm not sure that is what you came here to find out. Now ran along." Zak says and they awkwardly walked away from their table.
" Guys, I don't know but I think under all that bossy and reluctant charade, they actually do care." Ashanti sighs.
" Right, then there's only one thing to do." Kweiba says grabbing hold of Sarah and Efua and walking them back to the table.
" Hey guys, thank you." Kweiba says to the sisters.
" It's kind of our responsibility, remember, so when it's our turn we want you to be there for us. That is how Manhattan works girls." Anita reminds them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Faye sat on the bleachers in her full soccer regalia and stared out at the open field. What had happened to Ciarra was just sad and that had gotten her thinking, how many times had people thought to do something like that to she herself and how had she innocently escaped? Because she was at more risk, having attended so many boarding schools and having met so many strangers along the way.
Her mother's situation also comes into focus. When she was leaving home, her mom hadn't been doing so good so her Dad had one of his cadets drive her to campus with Julie accompanying her. He was a good man because he did things for her mother that she herself couldn't do and she wondered if that kind of love was real. Were men like her father still existent? Because Ciarra's experience proves otherwise.
" Hey." The voice snapped her out of her thoughts and her heart skipped a beat, " It's ok, it's just me."
She held a hand to her chest.
" Dude don't sneak up on me like that."
" I'm sorry, so sorry. Just saw you here all quiet and I wondered if everything was ok." He says taking a seat next to her.
" Everything is... not." She chokes back a tear.
He just kept silent and listened. That must be the most endearing quality she had observed about him. He just knew when to listen.
" You saw my mom right. Look me in the eye and tell me she's going to survive." She says, a film of tears in her eyes as she looked up at him.
He observed her briefly and looked away, a tear slipping from his eyes as well as he recalled his own mother on the last days on her sickbed, Faye's mom didn't look any better.
" I'm so scared now." She cried as the tears freely gushed out. He slowly drew her in for a side hug, " I know Dad is trying to be strong but it's all just a butterfly effect. I'm going to be so lost without her. I'm going to be all alone."
" No you're not. Don't ever think you're going to be alone. Maybe you can call in tonight and check in on her." He suggests.
" I'm such a coward Ladi, I just can't do it. I feel like if I do, then I'd be agreeing to the fact that she'll be leaving soon. I don't want to." She agonizes.
" I'm so scared, I can't sleep at night because I keep thinking about her and Ciarra and what they are both going through and I'm so scared to be alone in this world."
" You're not going to be alone Faye, you have your Dad, Julie,if not the entire Manhattan house, Dorm 1 Cortess girls love you and if you think you need some more affirmation just know that I love you too Faye."
Faye looked up at him after those last words had rolled of his tongue in a genuine manner.
" You don't have to say anything in return. I just wanted you to know. Faye you're never going to be alone, whatever happens we've got you. You just need to let us in on what you're going through."
The loud whistle from across the pitch snapped her out of it as she wiped her tears with her hand. He handed her his handkerchief from his front pocket.
" I've gotta go." She says hopping of the seat and walking off.
He also got up to leave. She stopped midway and called back at him. He stopped and she ran straight into his arms.
" Thank you." He hugged her back before letting go.
The other team members had begun pouring unto the picth.
Though everything was quiet, the school still had a curriculum and programs to follow on. That included the long awaited InterClasses competition for the freshman class and per tradition, a spin wheel of activities was placed in the school's assembly hall and the Entertainment prefect had to spin it for the activity to be embarked on by the freshmen. During Naana's own freshmen days, theirs fell on Folklore and each class had to do a production from selected folklores around the globe. The second year's had had theirs falling on Comedy and all the classes had performed various comedies as well.
This time unfortunately for the freshman class, it fell on musicals. A raffle followed after the wheel falls on a specific activity. This raffle was to evenly distribute specific performances for each class under the one they pick.
The first raffle goes on with folded up sheets of papers in a bowl, each class president of each freshman class came up to pick up a folded piece randomly for their musical production. Everyone wanted an easy musical in order not to spend so much time on rehearsal so when the president of the business class called out Greatest Showman after she picked, her entire class groan loudly in disappointment.
Powers who represented the science class grabbed his and called out loud, " Julie and the phantoms!" The science students wanted to groan as well but compared their frustration with the business students, one word- insignificant.
Next was Visual Arts who picked Lala Land, General Arts picked High School Musical, Home Economics picked Annie, and the Technical students picked Go Live Your Way.
The girls sulked as they walked into their houses from their various rehearsals.
" Geez that Annie kid had so much energy!" Sarah throws herself on her bed and says.
" Wait you're playing Annie?" Ashanti asked.
" No, I'm playing the role of Mr Stark's personal assistant and I have two sheet music here." Sarah complains.
" Well I have to learn Edge of Great by Monday so that I'll stop messing up my part, fortunately Kate was considerate enough to cut out a part of the song for me since I have to dance too, geez!" Ashanti complains.
" Good for you, Kweiba is learning all songs Sharpay, fortunately for me I got the role of Taylor so I basically only have lines and dance to occupy me." Efua says, " My scariest performance will be from A Night To Remember."
" Ooooh, who's Chad?" Healenore asked with a suggestive wink.
" None of your bizz."
" It's Kwaku Osei. I bet these two will find it hard coordinating with each other judging by the fact that he's a narcissist and Efua hates narcissists." Kweiba discloses.
" Oh boy." Efua facepalms.
" What are you guys working on,?" Mae asked Faye.
" I have to learn This Is Me by Monday, judge me guys, let me take the first verse. Greatest Showman has the most intense dance routine and I have to wear a fake beard, lord have mercy!!" Faye complains, " Here goes."
She picked up the sheet.
" Good news guys." Wathoni shows up and says just when Faye was about singing and they all turn to the doorway.
" Due to the jailbreak, Ciarra's Dad thought it best to transfer her to the school clinic where less strangers would have access to her. So feel free to go see her."
They all got off their beds.
" Come on." Ashanti called to them.
Heather looked up from her notebook which she was reading, she didn't know if she could go with them or not judging by the fact that she wasn't really talking to any of them.
She stayed back, it was better to go see Ciarra later.
Healenore looked back from the doorway at Heather and walked back into the room.
" Hey, you coming?" She asked Heather.
" Go ahead, I'll be right there."
" I don't know but did we...do something?" Healenore hesitates.
" Why do you ask?"
" Because after the break you suddenly feel so distant even though we're in the same dorm. Did something happen back home?" Healenore asked and Heather grew silent because she just couldn't lie to her, " I get it, but anytime you're ready you know you can share with us. If not all of them, at least I'm here."
" I'll remember that." Heather grins and Heleanore smiled before taking her leave.
They all showed up at the clinic which was empty in an eerie way. Being the first day after the break nobody was detained. They met the nurse and told her about their visit. She was glad Ciarra's friends had shown up because though she was safe, it would be better for her mental health to have some positive energy around when she wakes up.
The eight girls all walked into the private ward. At least this time she had no tubes connected to her but she was in what seemed to be a deep slumber.
" Awwwn, look at her. I don't think I've ever seen Ciarra asleep before. She's one of the last to sleep and one of the first to wake up." Efua states.
" You know it's funny how she can't really hear us now because trust me, Ciarra is the lightest sleeper I know." Ashanti chuckled.
" Right, I remember one time when I had that nightmare about the tiger, I opened my eyes from sleep and found her staring hard at me with those strange silver eyes in the dark room. God I was so scared that night." Healenore laughed.
They noticed a bandaid across her temple and fresh stitches on her left arm.
They grabbed seats from the waiting area and all sat down with grim expressions.
The door popped open.
" Goodness gracious, stop sulking all of you. If Ciarra wakes up she has to meet happy faces not sad teenagers so suck it up guys. Talk about... happy stuff because trust me she can really hear you." The nurse suddenly showed up and complained.
" We'll try." Sarah says.
" You better do, I'm taking some records to the administration, I'll be back soon if anything there's a telephone at my table, speed-dial 1 for me."
" Got it." Mae says.
" Great, see you soon." She says and exits.
" I've suddenly forgotten what we usually talk about that is interesting." Healenore complains.
" Oh come on, you guys usually pick on me and Faye, it's great entertainment for you." Kweiba begins.
" Really, I don't think so." Efua says.
" Oh come on, you do that all the time. You guys pick on Kweiba's dumb stupidity and you keep reminding me of how weird I am and surprisingly you are always right." Faye complains getting everyone to laugh.
" Like that one time you kissed your ex and tried to avoid telling Ladi and you ended up telling us, being a big baby the entire time." Sarah laughed.
" God I will never forget that look of sheer disappointment and embarrassment you guys gave me and the laugh Healenore and Kweiba had at my expense." Faye chuckled.
" Or the time Kweiba spent the night with Jeremiah in an Inn they had no idea how they got to, rented a room or whatever exactly happened with the taxi driver. I mean you guys clearly do the most stupid things amongst us." Sarah sighs happily.
" Hey." A different voice croaked and they all turned to Ciarra.
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