THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD

GOOD AS HELL?

''I do my hair toss, check my nails, baby how you feelin'?

Yes it was already time to go to school, I spent  two weeks trying to put the house and my life together and I was mostly indoors so if you want to know if I have met anyone else well there you go. Before I came here I was a fat sixteen year old, sure I was pretty, had enough boobs and bum for my body but that didn't make me confident. The feeling of not belonging hunted me for a while because of bad I thought of my body. I didn't show this neither did I tell anyone about how I feel but I guess that phase of my life is over now. I  lost  some weight and did lots of workouts that helped make my body look attractive . I had my bath, brushed my teeth and put my big box braids in a high pony tail that was honestly the best I could come up with. I was never the type to do too much. I really can not believe that these people do not wear uniforms to school, now I have to be looking for what to wear every morning like that idea never made sense to me. I wore a blue denim skirt that had few rips, it stopped right above my knees. I complimented the look with a black crop top, white fila disruptors, and a denim jacket. I felt good because finally I could wear crop tops without getting weird looks and without feeling uncomfortable, that feeling sent butterflies down my spine and my day. I grabbed my bag and went downstairs but obviously my mum I had gone to work and she just left me a text message but I actually don't care,its fine and it must be fine because I do not even enjoy her presence. I sat by the kitchen counter since I still had some time before I had to walk to school because I didn't even want to attempt using the bus. Not wanting to gain the weight I had just lost I took an apple, put on my air pods and began my long walk. In Nigeria people drive their kids to school and peoples schools are hardly close to their houses. When I was in primary school I remember my dad dropping me off and my mum picking me after school and when middle school came I was sent to boarding school and trust me it is a very normal thing in that part of the world. It took me twenty minutes to get to school because of how slow I was walking, when I finally got there it reminded me of those high school movies I usually enjoy watching. There were so many people, so many groups, sure even in Nigeria it was like this but the people here seemed different in a way. The vibes they gave was, "if you look me in the eye I will bite you" but that didn't even move me a bit because I've been through a lot worse when I was a junior in Nigeria. I went to the register to get my schedule and I was greatly disappointed because I had algebra first and I always hated math but at least here it is broken in different categories. I didn't know the way so I asked the kind lady that gave me the schedule and she showed me to my class,  I was so grateful I didn't have to walk this crowded hallways clueless.

I settled in for class and the teacher walked in and no one even said hi, I thought to myself how everything is so different here. ''We have a new student here with us today,please could you introduce yourself'' the teacher said looking at me with the biggest smile on her face which literally freaked me out to the bones. ''My name is Grace'' I said and sat back down and with that the class started. I was a little bothered by how I am going to write the SAT's and pass because all this is new to me. I was an A  student in every subject apart from math and I am completely fine with that since I am not failing the subject completely. I was snapped out of my thoughts when this pretty girl who had long thick black hair and a very strange but beautiful accent tapped me ''Hi, I'm Annika''. she said with so much courage. ''I'm grace''and I gave the warmest smile. Class ended and I walked out of the classroom checking what I had next when Annika approached me and snatched my schedule  and offered to be my guide today.  I really like outgoing people, they make it easier to make friends (something I find very difficult to do).). The day went on faster than I had expected and for the record it wasn't as bad as I thought. I went to my locker to drop some books ,they were basically useless since I hated reading on the first day of school. I went to the parking lot where my newly found friend was waiting for me. Thank God she offered to drive me because I am not use to this act of walking. After she dropped me off she drove away because she had to go to work and that was completely fine by me because honestly on days like this I just need to sit down and reflect on everything that happened even though nothing happened. I entered the house went to my room and changed into some comfortable shorts and began my workout for the day. I took a really warm shower to help cool my mind and then Maryam called , the joy that filled me, I missed her so much and if she were here we'll probably be talking about how irritating the first day of school usually is, they're still on break back there so she hasn't started the overwhelming extension classes you had to do in year twelve. We spoke for  two hours about literally nothing, neither of us could decide who should end the call so I feel asleep talking to her. When I woke up I headed downstairs because I was starving. As I opened the refrigerator I heard a knock on the door, my mum had a key so its definitely not her I thought to myself.I opened the door slowly, loo and behold the outgoing  Annika walked into the house like it was hers.What's up I asked her because it was already nine and she was still dressed in her work cloths with so much energy that I couldn't help but notice. ''My cousin lives like three blocks away, I just had dinner with them and thought why not come here after all I have nothing doing at home'' she said as she made her way to the living room to sand slumped on the couch. I wouldn't lie to myself because I knew how loneliness was about to kill me in this house so I'm actually happy she's here. I'm used to going to the hostel after school which I really took for granted then. I took out a pack of chicken nuggets and fried some for Annika and I. After we ate, I took her to my room so we could Netflix and chill. When she entered the room she ran her fingers through the frames that were hung on the wall. ''Do you know I'm half African, I'm from Chad '' she said as she relaxed on my bed. ''I have really never met anyone from there , no wonder your accent seemed different but I really like it''. We sat in silence watching Too hot to handle because the series has gotten so many reviews from basically everyone both good and bad so we wanted to have a say on it. Annika left sometime in the mid night after my mum got back because my mum was wondering what her parents would think. I thought about the same thing but she looked like it would be alright so I didn't bother. I connected my phone to the speaker in my room, played some slow songs and feel asleep to the coldness of the beautiful air.