"Who knows, I could make you something one day." I smiled, and she grabbed hold of my hand, looking at me with hopeful eyes.
“I would love that!” She responded in excitement.
We took a seat outside the café. it was serene, beautiful and just like in all the movies. Everyone around me looked so casual, like them sitting in a café in Paris drinking fancy coffee was nothing special. To me, this was heaven on earth. It was a dream come true. It was everything I'd always wanted. When the waiter came up to us, I fell back into my old ways and ordered avocado on toast. Keomi ordered an English breakfast.
Halfway through our conversation about a little bit of everything, two of the most attractive-looking people approached us, making themselves comfortable and taking a seat beside Keomi and me. The girl had the richest dark skin I'd ever seen. It was nice to have another black girl other than myself around. Her hair was thick, curly and tied up in a bun. Her eyes were dark brown and held this charisma to them I couldn't quite explain.
"Bonjour!" The girl greeted, kissing both of Keomi's cheeks affectionately. "Is this the roommate?"
"Hey, and yes, the one and only!" Keomi confirmed, taking a bite of her food.
"I'm Merilla. It's nice to meet you." The girl waved looking in my direction.
"Hi, Merilla, I’m Armani, the person not the brand," I said jokingly, realizing my sense of humour was quite broken, introducing myself.
"She's got middle-aged father humour, I like her," Merilla said, winking at me before stealing a slice of toast from Keomi's plate and eating it.
"I happen to like the new girl too." Smiled at the artsy-looking boy on my right, he wasn't tall, but his confidence radiated off of him and made him feel tall. He reached for my hand and placed a kiss on the back of it, taking me by surprise. "I'm Fabian Lyon, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, mademoiselle."
"Believe me, the pleasure is all mine," I said, letting out a slight laugh.
"Excuse Fabian, he tends to be very hands-on when he likes something." Merilla joked, and Fabian gave her the English middle finger.
"So, what's your artistic passion?" Fabian asked with his head resting on his hand, his hazel eyes looking up at me through his curly brown lochs.
"Surrealism, I'm more of a painter," I told them.
"Ahh, a dreamer." Merilla recollects. "Just like the 'missing one'." She recalled in air quotes, and Keomi rolled her eyes at her in distaste.
"Where is Mr. no show anyways?" Fabian asked curiously, "We haven't spoken this week since coming back."
"How would I know?" Keomi sighed pitifully, stirring her tea, "You never know with him anymore."
"Yeah, well, he hasn't been the same since–" Merilla begun, but Keomi kicked her foot under the table.
"Don't start, Mer," Keomi warned and for the first time since I've met her, her eyes were serious.
There's a beat of silence before Fabian talks.
"D'accord, hey new girl, you want me to give you a much-needed tour of the academy grounds?"
I had never been more grateful towards someone for intervening because this conversation was starting to get a tad bit awkward.
"Sure, that would be great," I accepted leaving the money for my share of the bill on the table. "Catch up with you girls later?"
"Of course, see you then, Armani," Keomi assured me.
As Fabian and I made our way down 8th street and back to St Kathrine’s pearly sterling silver gates, perhaps this would make me sound crazy but the energy in the air seemed to shift when we walked onto campus, almost as if we’d just entered an entirely different world. I finally mustered up the courage to ask,
"What was that all about?"
"Some things are just better left unsaid, Armani dear." He replied, not making eye contact with me.
"Oh, come on." I scoffed, “You’re talking like this is an episode of CSI New York.”
"Would you believe it if I said that if I told you I'd have to kill you?" He chuckled, but there was nothing playful about his tone.
There’s something strange going on at this school, and it's freaking me the fuck out.
