Painting Life

T h i r t y - T w o

Dedicated to SunnyMuslimah for her support and specially all her votes. She helped me reach 100 :) Thank you, friend. I am really glad you liked the story. :D

<< The dampness needs to be dried. It's been years. >> 

Thirty Two | Bloom? 

D a n i y a: 

The rest of the class was awkward. After my witty comeback (which wasn't witty at all), the two of us dissolved in to silence, despite the fact that we had to work togethwe if we wanted to ace this class. 

Eventually, every one filed out and I was left to breathe freely again. I no longer felt claustrophobic - as I had in Remy's presence and I was grateful for it; appreciating the air for the first time. 

I made my way back to the dorm. I had dropped my bags there before class but it had been empty, though, holding signs that someone was living there. After all, the spilled nail polish, unmade beds and perfumes were hard to ignore. 

I was feeling jumpy as I headed to my new home. I had started the day with a hope of remaking myself but Remy had destroyed that. I didn't expect him to hold back and not bully me. He would probably tell the whole school about how shy and tentative I was; how unworthy of friends I was. 

I really wished that I would be able to have at least one person to stand by me, though I really didn't expect it to happen. I couldn't be blamed for that - life had never turned out the way I wanted it to. 

I opened the door to sounds of melodious laughter and shrieks. They all looked at me with permanent smiles on their face but they seemed genuine enough. The three girls, were hopefully, as friendly as they looked. 

"Hello!" The blonde haired one exclaimed brightly. "You must be our new room mate..Daniya, I guess?" 

I nodded, my heart beating ten times faster than usual, "Y-yes." 

"Cool!" The Asian one said happily, "We were wondering if we'd be stuck with one less person for the rest of the year. That sucks big time, ya know?" 

I forced a small smile, "Yeah.....I am glad to..um..fill in this position."

Fill in this position? I thought, incredulous. Get a grip, Daniya. You are not applying for a job. They will not eat you. In fact, they seem happy to see you.

The third one - who looked pure African - smiled at me, "We are glad too! So I am Akua." 

"And I am Katrina," The Asian piped up. 

The blonde haired one gave me a warm smile, "I am Reese. Nice to meet you, Daniya." 

"Er, nice to meet you too," I offered the girls a small smile. 

I expected an awkward silence to commence after my uncertain answer but the girls broke out in a conversation about nail polish and make up, turning to me for advice quite often. I sat there with them, trying to form coherent replies for their questions while listening to them talk. 

It was for the first time, that I took part in a conversation. And it felt good...laughing at the jokes, listening to them talk, inputting one or two of my own sentences...

I didn't feel alone anymore. 

I couldn't escape the inevitable meet up with Remy. Eventually, I ran in to him in the hallway, almost knocking him down in the process. Mumbling a quick sorry, I was about to run away but Remy didn't want me to.