Aviwe

Chapter 3

"Shhh" hushed the owner of the hand that covered her mouth. He'd steadily moved Aviwe to face the room as he leaned back on the door.

Aviwe complied, she was in shock and fear of the perpetrator that had broken into her room. Was it a thief? Did he want money? What could she give him? Back home there were no thieves in the village they could only be found in the city, and if anyone would ever try to steal; father would deal with them. All these thoughts surfaced in Aviwe's head as she stood motionless in a state of stupor.

"Listen to me and listen to me carefully, I don't like you, nobody likes you" Aviwe's eyes widened and her muscles relaxed as she recognized the voice of the mugger to belong to Kyle, but her muscles were quick to tense up again as she remembered the position he had her in and how he'd been standing in a girl's dorm.

"So on behalf of me and the relevant people in this academy I warn you. Pack your duffel bags and let your worn-out shoes hit the road. We don't accept kinds like yours in this school. You are below us, in the dirt; so before we walk all over you, I suggest you go back home and continue herding the sheep." Kyle spat out. Aviwe sighed and her body relaxed, her mother had warned her of people like Kyle, people who would fear change, who would feel threatened by her intelligence. Aviwe cleared her throat and ignored her sudden urge to kick Kyle in his sack, she would not be a boy on this side of the world.

As carefully as she could Aviwe managed to shrug herself out of his grip, she continued to move towards her desk which she hopped on. "Are you done?" She asked Kyle turning to face him.

Annoyed that she hadn't feared his advance Kyle glared at Aviwe "Oh honey this is just the beginning, once I am done - you won't be able to mouth out that question" he said with a sinister smirk.

"Is that so?" Questioned Aviwe, tilting her head. "Well I think it's time you show your self-entitled arse to the door, or do you need me to show you where that is sir?" Aviwe said with a stern look, she'd began to grow tired of the boy and his sad demeanor.

Kyle grabbed the doorknob and made his way out of the dorm, slamming it shut behind him. Aviwe's hands ran through her hair as she sighed, "Msunu arse" she whispered to herself cussing the boy in Xhosa. Remembering she had classes after the break she plopped of the table and hurriedly swapped out her books for the ones she'd need for the rest of the day.

The day went by in a rush, Aviwe felt as if every class were the same. The teachers would mispronounce her name and her classmates would shoot glares her way. All the kids in Quanreed had entered through entitlement, their parents either had a family line of money or they were the newly-rich. Aviwe had been the first scholarship student. This error was frowned upon by the school itself as it trusted in keeping its heritage and reputation, but the government had insisted on Quanreed having some sort of leniency to appear at the least - unprejudiced to the poor. That's why Aviwe stood in front of her art class head held high and nose in the sky with her eyes constantly checking if no one had figured out that her confidence had all been an act.

She was the first and only scholarship student of the Academy, and therefore a contamination to the culture of the school.

Her art teacher Mrs. Boshoff was an odd and quirky woman, she insisted on learning the correct pronunciation of Aviwe's name. This made Aviwe feel warm and welcome in this class, and brave enough to open up about her home town when Mrs. Boshoff asked her to.

Aviwe stood up on the stage placed at the front of the class, she smiled and registered the annoyed faces before her. They all had pale and tiny features, freckled noses and perfectly structured faces, they were all beautiful and Aviwe didn't look like them, nor did she have the same background as them and this fact settled in her head and made her fists tighten. She remembered Kyle's words and suddenly her smile turned into a frown and her eyes focused on her shoes it seemed as if time had stood still yet she noticed the countless breaths she'd taken in before her vision became blurry and the tiles appeared closer before her eyes.

"Angelo, I need to quickly go fetch some pain meds for when she wakes up. Will you stay here with her until I get back?" asked Darcy, she'd filled in for the school nurse who wouldn't return for the new semester till later that evening, which was a risk for the academy as they couldn't afford any casualties with the possibilities of being sued millions. But Aviwe couldn't sue the school and Angelo knew that and so he secretly planned to have it done.

"Be quick" was Angelo's reply. Aviwe had been woken up by Darcy's voice. She opened her eyes looking around registering the odd boy on his phone across the room, the place looked like a hospital room with white walls and blue deco. Sitting up she felt a pang of pain stabbing at her forehead.

"A nasty cut - that is," said Angelo with his eyes still on his phone, he wasn't typing just starring at the screen. Aviwe noticed him as the boy in the hallway who had made Robin cry the boy with the permanently tired face.

"Excuse me?" said Aviwe turning her frame in the direction of the boy.

Angelo looked up from his phone and at Aviwe "The scar on your forehead, it's disgusting. You should get it covered" said Angelo.

"Oh" replied Aviwe unsure of how to react to his blatant comment. A heavy sigh came from across the room as Angelo stood and made his way towards her bedside.

"I brought you here after your exaggerated performance in art. I didn't have a choice, Mrs. Boshoff insisted I do it" He said as he poured some disinfectant on a cotton pad and leaned over to gently press it against her wound. Aviwe hissed in pain, but after the shock, she took a deep breath and she was overwhelmed by how good the boy smelt and how terrifying his proximity was.

"You smell like soap" she blurted out, she closed her eyes and winced again, this time in embarrassment. "I mean clean, you smell good" she said further making a fool of herself she opened her eyes to look at him, Angelo's frown was replaced with a slight smile.

"My name's Aviwe" she said politely holding out her hand, she remembered how Angelo had made Robin cry but she'd been grateful for his help and decided to rewrite her perception of him. She soon realized she'd been quick to think he was any different from the Angelo she'd seen earlier.

Angelo kept his smile as he looked down at the bloody gauze in his hand, Aviwe grimaced at the fact that he hadn't worn any gloves. Angelo clicked his tongue and shook his head disapprovingly. "Naive aren't you, I thought I told you to stay in your place earlier on, I don't like repeating myself that's what fools do, Do I look like a fool to you?" Angelo said getting up from the bed and disposing of the cotton in the trash.

"No, but you sure as hell sound like one" replied Aviwe putting down her hand. Angelo looked confused for a while until he broke out into hysterical laughter. He sat back on the bed making Aviwe shift back a little. Noticing her fear Angelo moved closer as if to taunt her and so she moved back, until her head hit the wall and at this point Angelo had rested his hands beside her on the bed and leaned further towards her face. Aviwe tried her best avoid looking into his eyes but he was too close so she studied his face instead; his chiseled jawline, his soft lips, his pretty nose, and her eyes landed back on his green eyes again. Annoyed Aviwe then chose to close her eyes.

"Please move away" Aviwe said, fearing the boys in the academy had a thing for invading her personal space. She could still smell him though, and his scent was heavenly yet suffocating.

"I like you," Angelo said, his hot breath fanning into Aviwe's face who was beyond irritated by his hostility but oddly stirred by the fact that he claimed to like her. She held both her hands up and aggressively nudged him off. This made Angelo break out into continuous fits of laughter as he made his way out of the room.

"Bye Aviwe" Angelo said, pronouncing her name correctly. He saluted her way and closed the door behind him.