Let Me Forget

Izwa’s POV

To say that I was nervous was an understatement. Alia, my fourteen-tear-old sister seemed pretty comfortable as she entered the school building with her twin, Ahmad who shared the same feeling as me.

“New school! Oh my God, this one’s so big. I can’t wait to explore it, and make new friends, and check out the canteen. I just hope it’s better than the last one,” Alia chirped besides me, her curly hazel hair bouncing as she skipped.

“I don’t know Ayi, but I have a weird feeling about this,” Ahmad replied from besides me, clutching my hand even harder.

A part of me ached because of the worry that laced his face, knowing that I was the reason they had to move away. He was nothing like his twin sister who was a typical teenage girl who loved partying, being social, and act crazy. He was shy, sensitive. I never blamed him for it since it was because he was blind. Not being able to see meant that one of your siblings had to be near you 24/7, which led to people mocking him and bullying him when or if we weren’t around.

I knew I couldn’t do anything about it, I wanted to help him but I felt so vulnerable that I couldn’t.

“This is my locker! Well, I’m off to find m classes. Bye guys, I love you!” with that I ran into the crowd of students busy chattering about.

“Come on, Ahmad. Let’s find your classes.” Locking are arms together we made our way through the corridors, with me frequently looking up to find the destined class.

Through the chaos, Ahmad accidentally bumped into someone, pulling me behind as well.

“Hey, asshole. Watch where your going.” The guy said to him.

“S-sorry. I-I didn’t see you,” Ahmad replied, looking down into his darkness.

“Well, I don’t care. Your s-sorry is just as useless as you. You bump into me and expect me to forgive you?”

Ahmad clutched my arm tighter as his eyes started to water.

“Hey, he said he was sorry,” I snapped. “You wanna accept that apology or not is completely up to you but you better stop yelling at my brother.”

The guy’s eyes locked at mine. “Listen up, girl. I don’t care what you are to him, this is our talk so you better not stick your leg in.” he turned to my brother again. “You have a brain, you have eyes, start using them, you useless asshole.”

A tear slipped down his cheek and then I flipped. “Oh, he’s got a brain that works far better than yours since yours made a home in the gutter. But he doesn’t have sight and he doesn’t mind that at all because he has far better gifts. But you. You have your two eyes. Did forget how to use them when you bumped into him. Face it, it’s both of yours mistake but he has a valid reason while you don’t. So quit your whining and get lost.”

Without letting him utter another word, I grabbed Ahmad’s hand and nudged through the crowd that had gathered around.

“I’m sorry I told them you’re blind. I was losing it.” I said after a while with a sigh.

“He shook his head. It’s okay, sis. They were going to find out someway or another, might as well be when my sister was saving my ass from someone who was tormenting me.” He offered me a weak smile as we entered his classroom which was still empty.

I helped him sit on a seat as I wiped off his tears. “What’s the rule?”

“Never cry for people who’re not worth your precious tears. Never let them think they’re over you. Always remember that if someone breaks you into piece, make sure that they step on those pieces bare foot...”

“. . . so it fucking stings them.” I complete with a smile. “Your blindness is never the weakness until you make it one, Ahmad. DO NOT make it one. Stay here after class, I’ll come to pick you and drop you to your next, okay.”

He gave me a thumbs up which was little off direction but it was worth it. I smile and left.

Outside stood a girl fairly half a foot taller than me with red curls and blue eyes. I stared at her, having a feeling that she was waiting for me. “Hey, new girl! You pulled some great string a little while ago.”

The bell rang.

“Yeah, maybe I did. Now if you excuse me, I have to look for my class, I’m already late.”

“Well, so am I. which class do you have?”

“Physics.” I replied in a monotone.

“Great! So do I. let me take you there.”

I gave her an odd look as she smiled and grabbed my hand, pulling me with her. “Because I like you already. Kevin isn’t the meanest in our school, but he can cause trouble. You standing up to him was—WOW.”

“Thanks... I guess.”

“I’m Venus.”

“Izwa.” I replied.

“Nice name. I’ve never heard it before though. Different origin?”

“Different origin.”

William’s POV

“Hey, William.” Julian called as he strode towards my desk, flipped his long, dark hair back. He never changed his goth dress code since we hit the sophomore year. Looking at my face, he tilted his face. “Didn’t sleep much last night, huh?”

“Nah, man. It’s been a shit week.” I replied when he slid down on the seat beside me. my job was becoming tiring and getting on my nerves. I worked in a local car shop even when I didn’t want to, I had no choice.

The teacher walked in that moment and started teaching us. Apparently, he was too confined in his own world as he taught. Not noticing that half of the students were busy with their chattering.

After about fifteen minutes, someone knocked the door and a petite girl entered the class. Her dark hair hung a little lower than her shoulders in loose waves. Her dark, shining eyes scanned the room once as she came in. She didn’t look of our age though, a lot younger, her features sharp yet soft, holding the childhood innocence, her figure petite matching her incredible short height.

And her clothes—what in the world was she wearing!?

It wasn’t that it looked bad but... god. It was a long turquoise shirt that reached her mid-thigh with a cut on either side of it. It was paired with white trousers and turquoise joggers.

“Ah, you must be the new girl. . .” our teacher trained off, looking at the list he had pasted on his desk to remember the names of his students. “. . . Izwa. Miss Anwar, you are late for your first class.”

The girl, Izwa, didn’t say anything as she made her way towards him and handed him a piece of paper. His eyes scanned it as he nodded. “Okay, please take a seat.”

She passed him a smile as she nodded and made her way to the empty seat right in front of me.

“Girl’s got moxie,” Julian whispered in my ear.

I gave him a questioning look. “What makes you think that?”

He just shrugged, looking at Izwa as she started scribbling something on her notebook. “She gives off those vibes.”

“I think she’s a prodigy. She barely looks like she’s fourteen.”

“Uh, I do Not.”

Our attention snapped at the new girl who had turned around to look at us with shocked expressions. Then she passed us a smile, confusing us all the same as she laughed lightly. “Didn’t think I could hear you when I’m right in front of you?”

I stayed blank, almost not wanting to start a conversation with her. But Julian seemed to be his usual comfortable self with newbies, introducing himself to her.

But something about her was off. A girl shifting her school in the middle of the year, especially in the senior year.

“Aren’t you the girl who was roaming with Venus?” he asked to which she nodded.

“You know her?” she asked. “She asked me to join her for recess.”

“Pfft, know her? She’s my girlfriend. And welcome to the group then. If she invited you, no one can say no.”