The same group of girls that had been there since this year of school had started were all watching me as I walked around the corner. They had either not yet begun their endless gossiping that kept them occupied through the lunch hour, or they had stopped as they saw me come.

I smiled confidently at them and they turned their faces back into the center of the circle. I checked my blouse and skirt to be sure I hadn’t spilled something on my uniform. I shrugged when I noticed nothing out of the ordinary, and fished a pen from my purse.

I looked up at the steps into Jeuno High to see Xi. He was there as usual, standing with his jacket slung over his shoulder as if the world owed him something. His black hair was sticking out everywhere, the common way of styling hair now, with his bangs hanging over his eyes. His shirt was untucked on the right and his tie was skewed. He looked good, standing among his friends who were completely envious of him, and told jokes to pass the time between our lunch break and our afternoon final.

As I closed the gap between us, his friends glanced in my direction and he followed their gaze. I watched his eyes pass up my body and finally meet my eyes. As I passed him, I purposefully dropped my pen and watched him turn around slowly and pick it up for me. His smile widened as he extended his hand in my direction, and I couldn’t help smiling myself.

“Did you drop this?” he asked me. His voice was so angelic I had to hold myself back. I nodded and took the pen from his hand and returned it to my purse.

“I did, thank you.” I managed. He stepped closer and placed his hand against the wall next to my head.

“How have you been this year Mikado?” I could smell the cologne and I tried to hide the fact that I was inhaling as much of it as I could. I nodded and began to get hot as he stepped closer. I slid my purse to my elbow and crossed my arms over my book. He would think I was weird for being in an AP Math class.

“I’ve had a great year, Xi.” I managed to blurt out. I dropped my eyes as he put his other hand against the wall, blocking all my exits. I stepped backward into the cold brick wall.

“What are your plans after school today?” He asked. I shook my head and realized that I was meeting Niko after school. She was American and her real name was Nicole, but we all called her Niko. I didn’t realize he had dropped his hand and stepped closer until I felt his fingers clutch mine. I could feel my cheeks getting red as he gently took my hand and brought it to his lips. A kiss.

“I’m uh…” I stammered as my heart beat into my throat. “I’m sure you can aim better than that.” I didn’t think, I just grabbed his face and leaned in to kiss him. It was an awkward kiss and I tried to ignore the catcalls coming from his friends, but this was something I had wanted since I met him two years ago.

I let him go and pushed his arm out of my way as I hurried into the school. I’m sure I would hear about that later.

She had matured, probably too fast for a girl of sixteen. Seznie wrapped her arms around her mother and buried her head into her chest knowing it would be a long time before she would be held like this again, so she made it last.

“Goodbye mother.” she said as they parted. Mizraim pulled on the long red locks of her daughter and tucked it behind her ear. “I’ll be careful, please don’t worry about me.” Mizraim’s laugh came out with an uncontrolled burst as she fought back the tears that were beginning to win the fight and roll from her eyes.

“Seznie,” her mother brought her close. “promise me you will look after your sister. If anything should go wrong, come back and find her. Do not let anything bad happen to her.” Seznie wanted to ask her what she felt but remained silent. She nodded.

She had always been closer to her mother than her father, but this exchange felt different from any she could recall. She stood before him and looked at his chin, her way of standing as if she was before a disciplinary council. He brought his hand under her chin and pulled her head until their eyes met.

“Seznie you have been such an example to your mother and I. I have seen you work so hard to excel and master the Medium, and I can say with no bias; you are the best student the Noord schools have seen.” a tear leaked from her eye. “I’m so proud of you.” All the compliments he had ever poured upon her head in the past were minimal to hearing him tell her this now. His hand had a gentleness she had never felt from her generally stern father.

“You promise me now. If things get rough, you will get out. Promise me.” Seznie nodded.

“I will father.” she turned and walked over to the cradle where her black haired baby sister was sleeping. “Goodbye Kya. With any luck, I won’t see you for a long time.” She said as she leaned in and graced her with a kiss on the forehead. Without looking back, Seznie walked through the door, leaving the Mavi name behind her.