She had put on her Transderm-Scop patch which helped her with her motion sickness. Her special bracelet from her mum was placed on her wrist and she had a small metal container filled with mints and gum of various flavours. In other words she was ready to go.
She had given her hotel key to the receptionist and was standing outside the hotel, waiting for her cab.
You'll be fine, you have been given the opportunity to start over, you can do this!
Her thick, long afro had been delicately gelled into a sleek low bun, perfect for travelling. She had a smile on her face, a spring in her step and a cross on her neck.
The littlest things tended to remind Nayla of her mum, making her feel alone, confused and vulnerable. You see, Nayla and her mum were very close and when her cancer shifted into stage 4 she was even worse than before; barely recognisable - and now... Now Nayla had to live with her dad 8,750km away from the place she called home.
Something as simple as Vaseline had the potential to reminded her of how mum used to smear it on my face before she went anywhere when she was younger. A memory that made her laugh at cry at the same time.
As weird as it may seem Nayla liked to take her mum's ashes everywhere with her. A pinch of it was enclosed in her blue butterfly necklace, her mum's favourite animal. A quarter each had been scattered in Nigeria and Jamaica, another quarter at home - in London. And she was planning on scattering her last ashes in LA, so she knew she was everywhere; everywhere that mattered.
__
The whole plane journey consisted of Nayla: eating, sleeping, going on her phone and watching movies. As her plane landed she looked out of the window and there he was. The man who left her and her mum when she was only 4 years old - for some strange reason she couldn't bring herself to despise him, after all he had agreed to take her in when she had nowhere else to go.
This is the part where you dramatically drop your bags, run to your dad and hug him for way too long whilst bawling your eyes out.
Oh.
"Good evening father" She awkwardly waved in his direction. Before she could even contemplate what was happening her father pulled her in for a bone crushing hug, she immediately felt herself relax upon contact - happy to be in the embrace of someone she knew.
__
Jude
His name kept ringing in her head. Whilst she was unpacking her stuff in her dads new 3 bedroom studio apartment.
Whilst she was sitting in her room, reading or drawing as music played in the background. Whilst she shopped with her dad's Black Card. For the first time in a long time she did not have to work extremely hard just to get decent 'luxuries'. Yet she was still humble, still grateful
Back in London Nayla would babysit regularly just so she could buy herself some branded clothes, when her dad had left Nayla and her mum didn't have that much due to the fact that her mother worked for only an average salary and also her rapidly declining health.
She smiled to herself, despite the luxuries she could now afford she had now decided to not abuse her newfound privilege. She went to mall to buy a few things - the absolute minimum - before going home to order clothes from some online stores.
Jude, 4 letters, 1 word, 1 syllable. Yet the name alone carried dozens of memories - both good and bad
She missed the way he would style her hair into two cute buns everytime she let him touch it.
She missed the way his brown hair would flop over his face and he'd lick his lips, patiently waiting for her to move it out of the way before he would lean down and kiss her.
She miss him. She couldn't help it. Because if truth be told, her last day at school was all a facade.
__
One thing that Nayla was grateful for was the apparent lack of school uniforms in most schools in America. It was currently 5:45am and she decided to start of the day early. She had washed her hair and applied Cantu curling cream to it allowing it to stay down with pastel blue butterfly clips.
She had also put on blue ripped mom jeans and a white top with a blue butterfly on it, pairing the outfit with white Air Force 1's and simple diamond studs. She finished the look with a swipe of clear lip gloss.
Nayla has always had a fear of butterflies but her mum loved them, almost as much as she loved the colour blue; for that reason alone they held a special place in her heart.
Despite her dad's early morning protests to drop me at school, she had decided to walk slowly whilst sipping a homemade mango and passion fruit smoothie.
Eyes
As soon as she set foot into the building all eyes were on her. This time she had decided to try and be more confident; new school, new Nayla.
Instead of walking around with her head hung low, she held it proud and high, just like her mum would want her to.
She walked up to reception, smiling sweetly as the lady asked for her name and handed her new schedule
You're late...
She walk into her first lesson smiling, the teacher had asked her to introduce herself - despite her trembling hands she was able to speak clearly
"Uh... Hey, my name is Nayla Junes and I'm 17 years old. I just moved here a couple of days ago from London. I'm currently living with my dad"
"Where's your mom?" an ignorant voice shouted from the back. She froze, her heart was racing
"Oh," she was quick to plaster a strained smile on her lips, confidence. She need to be confident.
"My mum died, I moved here to live with my dad for a fresh start. Also London is quite boring"
A joke, she thought was the best way to lighten the mood. Everyone laughed, just like she wanted them to.
YOU ARE READING
Infatuation
Teen Fiction"The both of you can't spend your life waiting for me to decide on who I want to be with. As of right now I'm focusing on myself and my little girl" "But-" both of them were quick to speak up, ready and willing to take full responsibility as the fat...
