GLITCH

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER THREE

   They say clarity begins when you take a leap of faith into the unknown. I think they lied. The breathe clogged in my throat as I walked side by side with Femi, the boy who acted so sure of himself, I almost asked him if he was a model or something.

    "I know you like staring at me, but at least pretend you aren't sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I like the attention. Just for your self respect to remain intact. Sho get?" He spoke suddenly, adding the Yoruba dialect as he walked with that annoying gait, as though he had the world in the palm of his hand. He was pretty much everything I'd ever not wanted in a boy, if I ever got to be with one.

    "Don't flatter yourself, I think your nose might be a little too big for your face. You should get it checked soon." I fired back in the sweetest tone I could muster, wondering how I became so comfortable with a total stranger.

     "Ouch. That would have hurt if I had a heart. But I think my nose is fine, you're just justifying staring at me for too long. Don't think too much about it, I'm pretty like that." He winked at me and I was tempted to give a harsh retort when he stopped me even before I spoke.

    "We're here." He said as though that explained everything.

    "Where exactly is here, if I might ask?" I responded, trying my best not to bite the bait he threw.

    "Don't worry, you'll see." That's all he said as he grabbed my hand and led me into the room I heard sounds from earlier. I was so immersed in my discussion with him, I didn't notice when we got to the end of the hall. Typical me.

    "Go on in. We don't bite." He said, all trace of the earlier playfulness gone from his face. The eyes that seemed mischievous few minutes before looked dead, as though they were staring at nothingness. The sudden change jarred me but I didn't want to mention it, it didn't seem like the right place to.

   I trapped a mouthful of air in my mouth and release it slowly, making sure I had my emotions under control. Whenever taking deep breath doesn't help me, I take a mouthful of air instead. Works just fine.

     I stepped into the room as soon as I released all the air from my mouth, schooling my facial expression into one of casual indifference. Even if I was a hostage of some sort, I wasn't going to let them push me around. The room I entered was larger than the room I was in earlier, a large mahogany table sitting right in the middle. It loomed in my vision, as the people sitting bite their eyes through my very being.

    The first girl my eyes caught was on white, down to the tips of her hair. She had lazy eyes that scrutinized everything, you can just sense her cross examination of you without saying a word. She had the straight nose I'd ever seen, I was tempted to reach out and touch them. The casual way she sat exuded so much power, it boggled my mind. The leather jacket she wore added to the toughness her eyes betrayed; she was exquisite.

    "Dye. It's dye." She said, startling me out of my analysis.

    "Uh, what?" I replied in confusion, wondering if my blanking out made me miss anything.

     "My hair. I noticed you staring. I dyed it white." She said as a way of explanation and Femi chuckled while muttering an I told you so under his breath. I was tempted to clobber him over the dead with anything I could find but I also knew he'd expect that. A waste of effort.

     "Uh? Oh yes. Sorry about staring. Is there something I'm missing? How's everybody so uhm... beautiful?" I phrased it that way for lack of a better way. There were just three others in the room asides Femi and I but they had an ethereal sort of beauty, something I'd only read about in books. Their eyes, nose, mouths. Everything fit a little bit too perfectly.