ZARAMANNI (BOOK ONE)

“Are you certain you’ll be fine?” Colin, Zara's Granny butler-turned-family asked, stopping her eager legs from leaving the car.

“Truthfully…” Her doe-like eyes danced a bit before they pierced into the man’s own whose gaze radiated a warm feeling towards her. “ I am not sure, but I know this time, school will be different for me. I will make sure of it.”

Colin nodded, rubbing his chin that displayed strands of grey hair in the midst of the vast black hair glued to that area. “I wish you the best in there, Miss Zaramanni Agnes.”

”Thank you, Mr. Colin. Please take care of my grandmother and make sure she is hardly lonely. You know how dramatic she can be if she’s left alone for too long.”

The duo shot an appreciative smile at each other and the man replied, “I will make sure she enjoys life to the fullest.” Colin glanced beyond the back seat, checking for something. “Has all your luggage been moved to the dorm?”

Zara nodded and the man bid her farewell. The next minute, she was out of the car, her black tote bag slung over her shoulder as she waved at Mr. Colin who was more focused on getting the car out of the tightly spaced park.

Once the jeep was out of sight, the tall girl walked her way toward the dorm which she was going to be sharing with someone named Dominica. As she ran her finger through the ponytail she made her hair into, she hoped Dominica will be a fun person. Then it occurred to her that her hair was already treading the path wearing the same colour as the snow. She had briefly noticed it in the Jeep's side mirror.

Zaramanni soon made clicking sounds with her mouth as she tried to calm her working nerves which kept bothering her with one question.

How would she make new friends?

As she walked, she noticed students walking in groups, laughing about something or just sharing steps in silence.

Zaramanni didn’t have friends in high school. The ones who were brave enough to sit beside her in class or during lunch were always terrorised by Gavin Rivers till they left her side. And, Zara couldn’t blame them for leaving, they had to protect themselves.

So, Zara pushed through high school without anyone to call a companion. The only people she had some sort of relationship with in school were her bullies who hated her for reasons which were sometimes clear and other times, rather, most times, unclear.

When the torture started, Zara was tough. Though she was constantly mocked because of the way she looked, Zara believed that she wasn’t any different from them even if she had peculiar or rather, odd features.

But, as she advanced in her educational journey, that confidence she had failed her.

She became scared, so scared she had to run away from school most days.

The terrible kids at school made sure to remind her that she was a freak who shouldn't be living at all. They shattered her soul each time she found some kind of strength to pull through. When she couldn't take it anymore, she ran away for a while.

Of course, her grandmother intervened at some point. The wonderful woman almost ruined the school with her harsh, loud words and stern footsteps. But that didn’t mean it stopped.

After her Grandmother's tantrum, Zara became a regular in school again but that monster, Gavin Rivers, and those he was supposedly leading made her regret coming back greatly.

The fact that she could not get admission elsewhere made it way worse.

But, she stayed till the end. She tried her best to survive.

And, she did survive. Her grades weren’t the best, but, after graduating, each time she laid her eyes on her overall report sheet, she felt grateful.

Zara made sure to appreciate herself greatly for surviving till the end.

And, yes, all that was behind her. As she told her Granny, she wished to focus on starting afresh.

So, as Zara climbed the last fleet of stairs that led to the floor that her room was on, she let out a deep breath, scanned the walls with her tinted sight, and walked toward her room.

“Oh, hey,” a bright greeting welcomed her as she ended up right in front of room 025. “Are you Zaramanni?”

Zara halted her steps so that she could take a good look at the lady in front of her. She couldn’t tell what colour her skin was but she did not miss her lovely hair which was full, centre-parted, curled, and let down. It looked so pretty, Zara had to smile.

She liked seeing pretty things.

“Yes, I am. Are you my roommate?”

”Yes.” The lady stretched her hand towards Zara. “I am Dominica. I see that you have moved in.”

”Yes, I have-”

”Hey, babe, it seems the toilet is clogged. You should-”

Zara had her brows lifted so high, that her questions were already known without her uttering a word.

“Oh.” Dominica’s eyes shifted uncomfortably as she reached for the man’s hands. “Mark is my boyfriend. He slept over because he couldn’t go home after midnight. His house is very far, you know, and-”

”It’s fine,” Zara cut the lady short. “When is he leaving?”

”Hey, babe,” the dude named Mark spoke, his heavily tattooed chest disturbing Zara’s sight as she watched him pull his girlfriend to his side, “is your roommate always this cranky? She seems like the aggressive type, will you be fine?”

”Mark, I told you-”

Zara didn’t mind his words, she just faced Dominica who she felt was audacious to bring her boyfriend over when the room had hardly been used. “He had better be gone when I get back. I can’t arrange my space if your man’s walking about with his ass almost displayed.”

Zaramanni's eyes glanced at the loosely tied towel around his waist before letting out a scoff. Then, she let out a sigh, adjusted the bag on her shoulder, and walked out as Dominica apologized for the situation.

Since she still had one more payment to make, Zaramanni decided to use the sudden opportunity to head to the College's administrative building, which she soon realised she might have some issues locating.

She went there the previous week to make other payments and get some information, but, a lot of corners and turns led to the building, she barely remembered her way back and she doubted she would recall anything at that moment.

But, she was in college. She doubted she would get lost and end up miles away from campus.

~

Zaramanni did find her way to the building. After an hour of being misdirected and missing her way a lot, she finally got there.

Unfortunately, there was a long line which was ridiculous considering the fact that most payments were online except for the one she had to make.

But, after another hour was used up, Zara finally ended up in front of the cashier. As she handed over the cash to be paid, she heard something weird.

No, not the murmurs behind her talking about her peculiar hair. Or the paleness of her milky blue skin.

No. It was a distinct sound. It came as a whoosh like air was passing through a hole.

As she received her receipt from the cashier and left the queue, her eyes caught a bright blue light and she was suddenly reminded of her dream.

In that dream, she could see the blueness of the light clearly and now that the same thing was happening in real life. So she became curious.

As Zara looked around the crowd that was unaware of what she was seeing, her suspicions became certified. There was something about the blue light that was wrapping the door she was staring at.

She could see it clearly. Her eyesight, at that point, had become like a normal human’s, as clear as day.

Normally, all she sees whenever she looks around her is the colour blue. No matter what, even if she is staring at her favourite gown which happens to be blue and white, nothing changes, everything is always the same.

Blue.

But, at that moment…

s Zara’s legs dragged slowly towards the light, it suddenly disappeared. Her slow steps halted and the frown on her face deepened.

Her vision was now back to its usual self. The door she had been looking at with a clear sight a minute ago was now looking blue to her.

Zara sighed as something told her that she must have been imagining it.

So, she decided to leave.

Suddenly, that particular door swung open, and a man stepped out of the room and Zara instantly decided that she was not imagining things. Her dark blue orbs were slightly bulged as she stared at the man's skin with her sight which wasn't tinted at that point.

She didn’t know what term to use, but his skin looked distinctive.

But there was something else.

As he locked eyes with her and muttered inaudible words, her body instantly felt stiff. She could not dare move as his intense eyes never left hers until he walked past her. The man gave off a strange scent, one that made her feel oddly nostalgic and at the same time, worried.

So many things had happened within a minute and she was yet to make total sense of it.

She instantly turned as the man’s presence diminished and everything was back to how she knew it to be.

Her limbs were working properly and her vision was back to showing her the world in nothing but deep blueness.

As she tried to find an explanation for the strange occurrence, a little voice from nowhere, in particular, whispered, “You should go to sleep.”

Zaramanni found herself nodding in agreement.

She was having a headache anyway and sleep is the best way to get rid of such pain.

So, Zara headed for her dorm, hoping that shirtless Mark was out of her room and hopefully, not sleeping on her bed.

And, she also hoped that the crazy brief thing she just experienced was not going to turn into an event that will haunt her thoughts for several days and nights.