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Amani found herself wishing she had simply walked away, casting a glance down at the diminutive figure of Aurora, who, though not short, seemed small in comparison to her. But leaving abruptly was bound to cause a scene, and Amani worried she might be summoned by Aurora’s '‘lovingly’ creepy father with a seagull beak that acted as a replacement for a nose for allegedly ‘disrespecting his daughter and refusing to apologize,’ as perceived by onlookers. Amani had never been called to the principal’s office in her entire school life, having been a diligent student, and she preferred not to start now.
“That’s just ridiculous, why would I do that? Just apologize to me”
Amani would sooner leap off Mount Olympus, akin to baby Hephaestus, or perhaps as Aurora’s parents should have done upon hearing her cry, than apologize to Pippi Longstocking, especially for something Amani hadn’t even done. Even if Amani was going to fake apologize, she should have at least let her done it, instead of jumping to play whatever this game was.
“Aurora, it’s okay,” Amani began, her voice laced with what she hoped passed for genuine sympathy to the onlookers. “I understand you’ve been seeking revenge ever since you saw me kiss him, but the truth is, he kissed me, not the other way around. Despite our tense relationship, I’d never intentionally hurt you.” Except of course, when the urge to slam your face to a wall and pray you break your little nose, takes full control of Amani.
“I tried to explain, I even followed you, I did not know you were dating him, and I didn’t realize he had feelings for me. I knew you liked him, and that’s why, even though we weren’t friends, I rejected him for your sake.” Of course, there was no ‘him’; Amani preferred not to associate with the people associated with Aurora, and even if there was truly a him, Amani would not have turned him down if she knew Aurora liked him; Amani would have kissed him when she knew Aurora was watching, and made him tell her all the things Amani did better than Aurora, not to fuel Amani’s ego—because trust, Amani’s ego—was already high enough—but more so to wound Aurora’s ego.
“But you still blamed me, even when I tried to clarify things. It’s always the girl who gets blamed in situations like this,” Amani lamented, her expression carefully composed to convey sadness, though the mask helped conceal her true emotions. Turning to the crowd, she appealed to their sympathies. “It’s tough being a woman, constantly pitted against each other,” she declared, before directing her attention back to Aurora.
“I’ve always respected you for being thoughtful and kind, so I didn’t mind if you were angry with me. I understood you were just upset,” Amani continued, feigning compassion in her voice. “Being the headmaster’s daughter must be challenging, right?” she continued, “After all, when was the last time someone had asked you how you felt?” She added, layering on fake empathy, and biting the urge to add something else that will sound like obvious mockery. “But I never imagined you’d fully blame me for what happened, let alone try to throw a drink at me!” Amani said, her voice trembling, “And then when you slipped, you tried to blame it on me, when I just stopped back into the party from being in the bathrooms” She turned to an outlooker, giving her a look that Amani hoped presented itself as pleading through the mask, “You saw me right? I had disappeared and then I just recently came back.” The outlooker nodded, as if in deep thoughts and the crowd began to mummur.
Amani resisted the smile coming up her face. Amani has always been a good actress, after all she always portrayed the image of a ‘good warm loving girl’ in front of elders and her siblings, it was also the fact that she was lucky enough to have had someone seen her just entering back into the party.
“Be careful what you talk about.” Aurora had muttered, and Amani eyes brightened, amused. “Or what you will send daddy to me? Tell him to lock me up in a cage, like he did North and the other missing students.” Amani whispered back, only loud enough for Aurora to hear, and so quiet the others could not hear. “You’re not the only one with a powerful father, Beany, if Headmaster seagull tries something, my father will react” she whispered back, before she straightened herself, and smiled. “But it’s ok, I forgive you.” Amani said, it was more so directed at the crowd to hear, than for Aurora.
“I did what?” Amani asked, feigning a shocked expression, taking a step back. “Oh dear,” Amani said, her voice pitiful. “I’ve heard stress can make the mind wonder, but I never knew it was this bad.” She said, placing one hand on her heart and the other at her lips as she shook her head. “You shall thanking medications and stop playing whatever this game is, because you’re not going to win.” Amani whispered to Aurora, “You already stained your white dress, making yourself look like a clown, you’re quantum not an egnima, stop trying to play the circus freak.” She added, her voice going even lower.
Amani was already growing up, and thus she brought up Miles, loud enough for the whole crowd to hear., and loud enough to cause murmurs. Amani had not actually said his name of course, only that Aurora had told her something about someone whose name started with Mi. She had hoped that it would set Aurora off, and it had, just not in the way Amani had expected.
Amani stood there, stunned by Aurora’s unexpected move. The glass slipped from the unsuspecting student’s hand, and before Amani could react, Aurora had snatched it and deliberately spilled its contents onto her dress. A gasp escaped Amani’s lips as the cold liquid seeped into the fabric, soaking it through.
Fcking cunt , fck this game, Amani was going to-. No, no, Amani was not going to do anything right now. Yes, Amani’s first instinct was to lash out in anger, to hurl accusations and insults at Aurora for her reckless actions. But as she glanced around at the growing crowd, Amani realized that this was exactly what Aurora wanted – to draw attention away from something by having Amani react negatively, but to draw attention from what exactly? What had Amani missed.
Whatever she had missed or had not missed, Aurora seemed to have not known that Amani was not hot headed, she knew how to control her temper in front of crowds Amani took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm despite the surge of frustration coursing through her veins.
“It’s quite all right, Aurora,” Amani said through gritted teeth, her voice laced with forced politeness, “But if you simply wanted me to take of my dress, you could have just asked more privately and then I could have rejected you nicely,” Amani said, reaching into her purse and bringing out a napkin she used to wipe the stain off and some liquid that got in her skin, thank God she was wearing black. “I’m not as bad as you think, Dear, Aurora Dear.” Amani continued.
i’m actually, something much more worst- Amani wrinkled her nose at that, sounded corny, exactly like something he would have said. Anyways, with subtle flick of her wrist, Amani summoned shadows from the surrounding environment, weaving them into a cloak of darkness around herself. The shadows coalesced, swirling around her form like tendrils of smoke, cloaking her movements from prying eyes. “help me practice shadow, will you?,” Amani muttered, extending her control over the shadows, reaching out with invisible tendrils to ensnare Aurora’s arm. The shadows wrapped around her tightly, pulling her away from the crowd with a firm yet unseen force as she brought her outside, smiling and waving at the crowd, making it look like they were just to have a cute little conversation and work out their differences through the power of friendhip
As they reached outside the building, Amani pushed Aurora towards the walls with her shadows, careful not to cause enough physical damage, that would have Headmaster Seagull singing,off with her head.
“You fucking cunt ,” Amani said, now that they were finally alone, releasing the shadows. “What game are you playing at?” Amani began. After the argument with Vincenzo, Amani was not particularly in a forgiving and making amends mood. “And why do I have to be involved in it?” Amani snarled,
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