CHAPTER 1
2010-I was around sixteen when everything started. By then, my long, soft, brown tresses caressed my face as I strided, tackling head on the strong winds of the Caribbean. A petite visage that housed my full, burnt umber eyes, shaded by the length of my lashes- my nose was subtle, small, and gave away to the overpowering lips that struck back from my ancestrial blacks intertwined with my Korean influence.
The rays of sunlight escaped the sparsely populated sky as I practised volleyball- only when I played did I experience true completion and this fact alone was the driving factor for all my efforts. I was seen as one of the godesses on and off the court with tribute to my foreign beauty, style and charisma, however, Ava was always two steps ahead of me in everything she did. Ava was my senior, captain of the volleyball team, my mentor, idol and the epitome of everything I wanted to be, and because of this I developed a sense of envy. I always thrived to be like her, to even surpass her sometimes at practice, to be noticed as more than just her shadow, but all my efforts failed.
"Did yall warm up," asked Ava.
"Yes, I led them and we bumped around a bit," I said, as the sweat glistened on my forehead.
"Okay, then we'll continue with some theory and analysis of other plays," added Ava as she led the group to a cool spot among the expanse of the desert like court. An hour later, practice was over but we stayed behind for a brief meeting about the retreat which we were going to have. The excitement buzzed on all the girls lips as the endless possibilities and oportunities swelled their heads. I turned to Ava who was desperately trying to hush their chatter. She looked distressed while maintaining her uncomparable beauty and for the first time since the practice commenced I stared at her, detailing every inch of her well toned frame. Unlike most of the other girls, Ava was well proportioned, her eyes held a sense of authority and prowess just from the rich darkness of their colour and her lips were thin, completing her seemingly innocent face. Capitalising on her beauty was her bone straight hair that cascaded down her back when let loose on rare occassions-every boy wanted her, every girl envied her...I wanted her...
Examining the familiar surroundings of my lavender room, I sat in silence which nudged at the thought of Ava. I always thought about Ava. Her name always puntuated the sentences of my thoughts when I found myself alone, from the first time we met which was only a year ago. Losing myself in thought I wandered to her lips, the curiousity of the level of pleasure they could produce excited me yet made me nervous. I wanted to kiss her, to fondle every inch of her perfect body with my hands, but this thought was not permitted to go further and I flicked off the white lamp, immediately casting shadows on the pale wallpaper.
It was a Tuesday and usually there was no practice due to our evening schedule so I had nothing to occupy my mind while I sat in class glaring at the white wall infront of me.
"Amber! Amber!... Ms. Jung! Can you please stop day-dreaming in my class and tell me your answer to question five,"as the loud obnoxious voice from my Maths teacher interupted my thoughts and caused me to drop my pencil. Picking it up slowly to kill time,the bell rang and everyone started packing up and getting ready to either leave school or head to the next class. I felt a soft tap on my shoulder as I tried to make my escape so I turned to see who it could possibly be. A small, bubbly girl with short, thick locks smiled brightly at me as I turned around. "You bess stop watchin anime and try and get some sleep before she send you to Mr. Brown," she said as she took me by the hand. It was my best friend Nana who I've known basically all my life. Nana knew everything about me and we shared alot with each other; seeing her was nice and a wide smile brightened my face from her dangerous comment."If you talk too loud people might hear you girl," I said as I led her gently out of the now empty room. Walking down the ghostly hall, I made my way to the secretary treasurer's office to pay for the volleyball retreat in two days. Nana was going on about some unimportant event in her life that she was exaggerating so for a few seconds I thought of my only escape-Ava, her soft hair, blowing wildly when she played volleyball. The smell of lavender lingering gently around me as she usually had to explain something to me first-her smell, the smell I loved...
