The Cross Exit

CHAPTER 2

Argue with your wardrobe – Azara Tswanya

White shirt. Grey tie. Grey sweater. Grey socks. Grey trousers. Green skirt. Grey trousers. Green skirt. Grey trousers. Green skirt, I'm wearing this. Picking up the plaid skirt, Zosia looked at her reflection in the mirror over her wardrobe and tilted her head. Yep, definitely the plaid today, I'm in a girly mood. Well, I'm in an Auden mood. She smirked at her reflection thinking about Auden.

"Ona," her mother called, using her shortened Urhobo name.

"Are you ready for school?" she asked sounding astonishingly nice.

"Yes, Mum," Zo answered. She put on her '2 inches above her knee' skirt and bent to wear her black flats. She carried her rucksack on her right shoulder, adjusted her oversized sweater and walked down to get food. Upon entering the kitchen, she saw Mum making pancakes with there was a brown bag beside her. Damn! I'd been avoiding her.

"Honey, take the brown bag, it's your lunch," she smiled.

"Thanks, Mum," she feigned a smile. She wanted to act all surprised but she knew this was what she did. We've been doing this shit for far too long now- she'd get into an episode, then soon after return to a semblance of normality. If only the normality would stay.

"You look cute today, honey," Zo's Mum smiled. Again. Zo took the bag from the counter beside her and thanked her. She looked up at their small wall clock above their black fridge to read the time – 15 to 8. Wrapping this whole fiasco up, she frantically wrapped two pancakes with a serviette.

"Bye, Mum," Zo said. "Bye Dad," she shouted. Deciding to exploit Mum's good mood, she added, "Mum, I'm taking your car today, I'm almost late for school."

She ran out of the house and jumped into the Corolla, turned the ignition, and sped away. Zosia couldn't be late for school, Mr Thomas- the worst, most stiff principal ever- wouldn't hesitate to annul her scholarship and she couldn't allow that to happen; she did not want to go to a public school, she needed to leave the country, or at worst, the region.

Stuffing a pancake into her mouth, Zosia steered right into the school building, parked, and ran into the building. Usually, she would stare at the great expanse of her school- the main grey and white building covered in ivy and the sports facilities to its left and the stables behind them both, but she didn't have time. She entered the reception, greeted the receptionist with a nod and polite smile then sprinted up the stairs. She would have taken the one of four elevators but didn't because of exactly that fact; a school of about 550 students and 4 elevators and 4 floors equal long-ass queues and a lot of time-wasting.

Luckily for her, her form room was on the second floor. She barged into her class and slumped on her seat in the middle of the class.

"3 to 8. Close. Any closer and Mr Thomas would have had a field day," her best friend, Maia, leaned over to whisper in her ear. Zosia looked left to respond. Her light skinned, low-cut wearing beautiful 'best friend'. Maia's tiny Chinese eyes and athletic body was enough to make any male stutter and any girl envy, and Zo did, oh she did.

"Swear, guy," she agreed frantically.

"You wouldn't believe what happened to me this weekend," Maia continued. Zo hoped with everything in her that Maia wouldn't ask for her contribution to her monologue because she had zoned out. Eating her last pancake, Zo looked over at her and mulled over their friendship. She liked Maia but the truth is that she's only her "best friend" because. Just because. There was not a tangible reason, she just had no one else. Except Auden. Auden. Sigh. Speaking of him.

"Hey babe," she looked up at the sound of Auden's silky voice.

"Hey, boo," Maia replied as Auden kissed her neck while making eye contact with her. Yeah, Auden is Maia's boyfriend and her friend. Zosia and Auden just did stuff.

She thought of him as her oasis. As he straightened to walk a couple steps to her seat, she ogled him. A 6'1'' expanse of a man. Green eyed, chocolate brown hair and jaw that can slice butter. He hugged her.

"Hey Zo," he greeted in a 'friendly' manner with a knowing look in his eyes.

"Hi," Zosia inhaled his cologne with a smile, a twinkle in her eyes and a little nagging voice in the back of her head that she pushed away.