Masked

"Excuse me!" Nathan rose up from his seat, raising his arms skywards as he walked out of his seat, approaching the trio who stood at the front of the class. He had noticed an error in Nimah's solution. Hixton looked up, swaying his long blonde hair to the back, which revealed his naked neck.

Nathan, whose gaze was fixed on the blonde guy, spotted a mark, the mark. The mark he once saw in his nightmare, the sign he saw on the back of the goo creature, concentric circles. Hixton's neck was tattooed with this mark.

He could have just over look it and move on but what kept him to it was its nature. Initially, the black strokes of circles were faded but it seemed like the more he moved closer the more it appeared bolder.

Nathan stopped moving, his knees almost giving up as his mind wandered around, trying to merge each and every assumption together but he couldn't. His brain could not process anything tangible.

Nimah ran her eyes around the class, looking for Nathan. She wondered if he was not getting angry because of how the teacher qualified a relationship between her and Hixton. Nathan's head was on the desk but what disgusted her was Emily, she was rubbing her back as if trying to calm an infuriated elephant.

Hixton and Nimah took their seat, be didn't turn his face towards her again until the lesson ended.

After class, the other students including Esmeralda and Nathan left the classroom. And Nimah would have done the same thing but she had something in her mind. Hixton wasn't moving, Big Joe remained seated. So she also decided to remain as she was. Her thoughts was that if Hixton left the class, she would remain seated but if he refused to move then she would leave.

"Don't you want to go spend your recess outside?" Big Joe finally said something. Nimah knew it must have taken him alot of courage to do that, not because he feared she would burst but because of Hixton who was sorted next to her. He wasn't looking at her anymore, rather he kept his eyes on the back cover of a novel he had with him.

"Don't you?" She countered. She didn't want to say no, nor did she want to say yes. If she said she wanted to and latterly remain in the class Hixton could think of her as unstable, though she tried hard not to care, but she couldn't.

"I do, but only if you will come with me." He responded with a tone that revealed the untold.

"I am sorry Joe, I still need some time to think. I don't even know what to do out there, just let me remain here for now, I might reconsider." Her voice echoed. She found out the class was going too empty now, it was only her, Joe, Hixton and a girl who was seated at the back seat far away from them.

"Joe! Joe!" A boy ran into the class. "Your parents are here." At first, Joe reacted like he just heard nothing and at once he flew up excitedly, gripping the boy's arm and ran out of the class without even waving a bye at Nimah.

Although, according to what he said, be didn't live with his parents, he lived with his grand parent and his parents pay him visit only once in a blue moon. He was bound to react that way though, Nimah comforted herself, not wanting to feel bad.

Oh no! Her greatest fear returned, alone with the multicolor eyed blonde, she thought he might make use of the advantage of everyone's absence. He didn't look up or say anything, but she could feel that his mind was on her. She had to get away quickly, but getting out from the corner she was without drawing his attention was impossible.

"Do you want to leave?" Hixton said with his sweet voice. Not only his eyes were hypnotic even his voice was spellbinding. Nimah didn't know what to say in response. She was shuddering compulsively, her heart racing so hard that it began to ache.

"Nimah!" He called her name with some kind of melodious tone that made her body tingle. He stood up and turned to Nimah. "Do you know what I noticed about you? You do feel insecure even when you are not suppose to. I actually have been studying you for so long since I came in, I don't know why you are afraid of me, I am not a lion which would rip you. I am not some kind of animal that eats flesh." He giggled.

"A word from you again and I won't spare you." Nimah raised a finger at him as she yelled, her eyes widened in anger.

"You know something? You were mute since your friends left but after taunting you this much, I brought back your voice. How magical." Hixton raised his arms looking up at the ceiling of the classroom. "O my beloved God, I am so grateful that you gave me a chance to bring back the dumb voice." He teased.

"Oh really? You called me dumb? Who are you?"

"You wanna know who this rockstar is? Then, it is me Hixton, Hixton Arthur.... O yea! Your surname is also Arthur? That means we are somehow...."

"We are nothing!" Nimah cut in. "Do not try to get close to me, or else you will live all your life regretting it." She screamed and left her seat, heading towards the exit.

"I am not trying to come close to you, I only want to you to be careful of that boy, Nat-han."

Nimah stopped on her track, as her heart skipped a beat. She wanted to turn back to him, ask him to be specific and straight forward but could she trust a multicolor eyed blonde. Why should she evn have interest in what a stranger was saying? She asked herself and decided to move on.

"Do you want me to be specific and straight forward? Even if I was, will you try to listen to me or trust me? You don't want to trust me because of your insecurities, but I won't force you." He spoke as if he could hear her thoughts. "I don't know if you had been living in fear all your life which lead to your insecurities, but if you keep living this way there are possibilities you lose some kind of vital informations and opportunities."

Nimah only listened, she didn't respond, she didn't move. She could understand his words clearly, it she felt like asking him to explain more. What he said was right but even if she was supposed to trust people, not someone so weird as him. Weird from the hair on his head to the soles of his feet.

"I can put you through some things, but only if you trust me. I don't make friends with people who doubts me."

Nimah sighed as she mustered the courage to speak. "Were you going to tell me all of these even if there wasn't recess? Was that the reason why you were staring at me?"

"You want to prove your courage, don't you? Why then are you backing me? Why don't you face me and let's talk. Well, let me answer your questions; Yes, I was going to ask you when I get a chance and I finally did. I was staring at you because you knew I was."

Each and every words that came out of Hixton's mouth was as if had another meaning from its real meaning. But she didn't want to care.

"Who are your friends in this school?" Nimah asked.

"I have none, but you can be one."