Disclaimer: Even though I bash on tea lovers in this story, I must add that I myself am an avid lover of tea and the victorian era and can probably name thirty plus flavors of tea off the bat, so I am allowed to do that. Please don't take offense.
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The deafening sound of the wooden bat in my hand colliding with the ball Nika had thrown echoed against the buildings which surrounded the clearing of the baseball field. I know that I should start running now but my eyes are fixated as the gleaming ball takes flight through the air. "Amby, this is where you're supposed to run!" Melokuhle whispers aggressively at a safe distance behind me. Yes I know that, my brain and legs just aren't connecting.
When we play baseball with just the four of us it's usually everyman for himself plus Troy who helps all of us out with a slight bias for Melokuhle. Now's not the time to think about that though, now is the time to run legs. Finally with a little delay I begin to kick dust up into the air as I run past each base even though in the cloud of dust I can barely see them. It's best to play when the field is slightly wet but we're in the middle of the dry season. Nonetheless I stumble through the dirt knowing I have to run for as long as I can since there’s no one to help me till Troy steals the ball from me.
I reach home base and without a break it is time for me to hit the ball again, “Amby.” I hear a gentle whisper from a small person behind me.
“Yes? What is it, Mel?” I can barely look back at him as I clutch the bat between palms that can barely keep a steady grip on anything right now, still the adrenaline in my clenched muscles overcame that weakness.
“Are you sure you're happy about going to school now? I know that you had a fight with Mama and when I asked her about it she told me everything.” Hearing this brings me to a clear state of shock, however if I can’t lose my concentration, not now, not at bat.
“ Why can’t you mind your own business for once?” I groan for just a moment knowing that when Melokuhle is in the equation no tension can linger for long. How can I ever stay mad at such an adorable face for more than ten seconds? “ You know, it doesn’t really matter, I guess it’s just that’s just what you do, who knows maybe it’ll come in handy someday.” I relax my tense stance to drop the bat to the ground despite knowing the ball is hurtling towards me. Turning around I rustle my finger through his neatly combed hair and the curls fall back into his face.
“Hey! That’s sabotage!” He called out to Troy and Nika attempting to smooth his hair out his eyes. Of course Troy and Nika were too caught up in their own conversations to intervene.
Even though we are in a mostly open field that’s only partially fenced off, I’m still certain that we are miles away from civilization, I know we aren’t but still. Somehow the seasons had begun to change so quickly and now the remnants of what was summer are slowly fading. This cycle was the same as usual yet now as a student the warm colors and among clouds towering above us had so much more meaning “Hey, Ambrose!” Suddenly a voice foreign from my family calls out my name. This startles me and reasonably so as this has also never happened to me before. I lift my eyes to the fenced area, someone is clinging to the gaps in the wire.
“Oh Lennox, you come here too?” I eagerly run up to her, Melokuhle’s eyes following me thoroughly confused the entire time. She's not in typical school attire. It’s strange to see someone I know from school outside of school.
“Nah, not usually, I just happened to be here at the right time. Is this the legendary family you mentioned the other day?" Lennox picks away at her ash blonde highlights in a sea of waves, seeming to be completely uninterested. I wonder what the reason for that personality switch is, she was so enthusiastic when we met in the library.
“Yep, this is Melokuhle and those are my adoptive parents, Troy and Nika. This is my friend from school, Lennox." As I introduce each of them I point to each of them, even though Melokuhle is still too baffled to actually react. I suppose within his lifespan he's never actually seen me acquainted with someone outside of family.
"Lennox, is it? Thank you for making Ambrose feel comfortable at school." Nika the only one who is acting like his usual self immediately expresses gratitude,
"Yes, I'm so glad that he has someone to talk to." Troy seems to have entered a state of bliss simple from mere mention that I have a friend. I suppose having one of your children make a friend is a pleasure she's been deprived of.
"Hey, Ambrose, my aunt was going to show me this small tea shop nearby. She said I could invite a friend and bumping into you here is definitely the universe telling me to invite you." As she flares her bent wrist towards me, traces of the Lennox I met in the library begin to spark. I look back to my family, not entirely sure if they'd approve of something like that.
“If it's close you can go, just be back here before it gets dark." Nika's shrugs give me permission to follow Lennox. However I still find myself hesitant as I step towards the gate which allows me to follow Lennox. Have I ever done something like this? Have I ever pushed any boundaries in my life to eventually have the gate open wide for me?
"Okay I'll be back, I promise." I mean it this time, it's nothing like that one night I- , actually maybe it would be best if I didn't even think about that night. A few moments later, I stand face to face with Lennox not knowing exactly what I should do. I could stare blankly for hours like an idiot with no guidance. It if weren't for Lennox who reaches her hand out and takes hold of my wrist.
“Come on Ambrose, we only have like an hour before sunset starts, and you made a promise.” Lennox grabs hold of my wrist and begins to drag me along the busy streets, my feet begin to move along with Lennox but my brain is far too slow for her. As a result I can barely think up a response, I’m just too bewildered by what is happening. Lennox seems to take note of this immediately and stops for me, “You good? You look like you’re having a malfunction.” She closely examines whatever strange expression I'm making right now.
“Um, I'm a little nervous, it's kind of my first time doing anything like this, without my family around.” I raise my trembling hand towards my mouth, I don't know why but I speculate this might bring me a little bit of comfort.
“Oh yeah, you're the kid who's been homeschooled for his entire life and today is your debut to the world. How about you say hi to your audience, they've been waiting a long time for you. Listen, you're going okay.” Lennox murmurs in the direction of my ear, as close as she could get to my ear with it towering above her. Somehow I feel a little bit more confident after hearing those words, ‘my debut to the world’ I suppose something like only happens once and. should make the most of it.
“Um, yeah I am going to be okay.” I wipe my face as though I'm wiping the fear and worry clean from it. “Yeah let's do this.” Without even a moment of hesitation Lennox again takes hold of my hand and drags me through the streets. What amazed me was how long I had lived in this city, I had so long to expand my knowledge of it yet I am finding each turn she makes leads to a new location. She comes to a halt at one of the locations, one that could be easily mistaken for another building filled with apartments if it weren't for the glass doors and floral spring decor which set it apart from the others which embraced dying leaves and pumpkins.
“And we have reached our destination.” Lennox proudly fans her arms presenting the establishment to me, I'm sure that she could believably embellish just about anything she touched. We stand shoulder to shoulder at the doorway after that, she seems a little bit hesitant to go, I wish to address it but I don't know how. “Come on, we can't waste away here forever, even though it doesn't sound like a terrible idea” The sound of pleasant bell chimes through the air as Lennox proceeds.
Instantly I am enchanted by the atmosphere, in a way it reminds me of the restaurant that Nika took me to long ago. It feels as though I am shrouding deep within the recesses of its own universe and the outside world doesn't exist anymore. It's slightly warmer here than in the morass of the autumn foliage which envelopes the city and the smell of an even warmer comfort drink encircles the air. Lennox continues to lead me through the booths aligned against the wall, however this time she doesn’t need to drag me there, I simply follow her through them. “So homeschool kid, have you ever been to a tea shop before?” She asks maybe wishing to just fill in the silence. Even though the ambience of the restaurant was probably just enough.
“Well I’ve been to plenty of places like this one before, I wasn’t completely sheltered from the outside world. They didn’t only serve tea though. Why are there shops devoted entirely to tea? Are there really that many people that enjoy tea that much? ” My mind has such vibrant memories of all the places Nika took me to before Melokuhle had even been conceived and now I review them, the details almost photographic in my mind.
“It’s a weird niche thing for people who wish they lived in the Victorian era, I’m not much of a tea drinker myself so I wouldn’t understand it. My aunt on the other hand is obsessed with anything Victorian, I mean like, obsessed.” I found that obsessed is a word that people use very lightly. “Speaking of which, there she is.” Lennox once more halts herself so suddenly like someone hitting the brakes on a car, I can’t help but to also come to a startled halt too.
Even though her Aunt could be any of the various women congregated in this area of the tea, Lennox’ description of her instantly came to mind. A woman with bright red lipstick and a meticulously pearl clipped updo is sipping tea from a china cup she held between her gloved hand. If that was not already enough to distinguish her from a crowd she wore a simple lace dress with a structure that was held in place by a petticoat and corset. The woman looks up at Lennox and they exchange smiles confirming my suspicion. “Auntie, look I brought the friend I was talking about, are you proud of me now?” Lennox sits next to her, well it’s more like she is crashing into her.
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“Oh my, he is adorable.” Now I know for sure that these two are related, “Come on sit, here’s a menu you can order whatever you like, don’t worry about the price, I just got a raise.” She invites me to the open seat across from her and she is too welcoming for me to reject her. “So how do you like the school? I heard from somewhere that it’s a pretty nice one.” She chirps as I investigate the menu that I can barely decipher a word from.
“Um it’s okay Miss, not exciting or anything like that, I haven’t really been to other schools to be able to tell.” Yes, these past few days have been cumbersome with little to no excitement, I'm not sure what I was expecting though, this wasn't my choice in the first place.
“I hope you warm up to it soon, it usually takes some time, but I'm sure you'll find something that you enjoy there.” I hadn't mentioned being a new student but I guess that the information somehow circled around to her.
"I hope so too.” I sigh placing the menu back down on the table. In my current state of trying to find out who I truly am I could only hope that there is something in me left to discover or someone out there for me to find. While I am petrified in this state of longing and hoping, I can't help but to feel that there's nothing left for me to discover and that all the clues I've been chasing have just been red herrings.
"I need to use the ladies room, I will return shortly, if you need me. Until then, I bid thee farewell" Lennox immediately stands up and leaves, her abrupt exit leaving me in a state of question. I was still trying to grasp exactly what Lennox's personality even was and these random shifts weren't helping at all, that was the real mystery.
"So Ambrose, you probably understand what Lennox is going through better than I do. I never thought adopting a teenager would be this much trouble. Don't get me wrong I love that kid I don't regret adopting her for even a second. I've just never had children of my own and it seems like there's no one who understands her. I thought that you might." How would she have known? Actually, nevermind Lennox probably told her.
"Well I was adopted when I was three so I don't really know exactly how she feels, but if I were to guess maybe she is feeling much more like an outsider than an actual part of anything. So she's trying to convince herself that she is okay that way and she's trying to convince everyone else that's she's strong enough to be that way. I mean she was so reluctant to even look at me when we first met. Still she was able to take the next step so I suppose that she doesn't actually want to be completely isolated, she's just really scared. I don't know anything for sure though I still wish you the best of luck. " I look up at her to realize that her eyes have begun to water, I don't know exactly what I said to warrant that though. However I wonder if by the end of my speech I was even still talking about Lennox.
"No, that was perfect, just what I needed to know, thank you." She wipes the black streaks down her cheeks away onto a napkin, regaining her elegant composure she continues "Please take care of my Lennox for me, when I can't. I get worried at home just waiting for her, I'm sure it would bring me a peace of mind to know someone else's looking out for her too"
"Of course I will." I couldn't abandon Lennox, if I did I would be left alone in that school. Though it's not only for myself that I won't abandon her, somehow I have become deeply captivated by her and I want to protect her, regardless of what she could do for me. I suppose this is the relationship I've been longing to have with someone other than my family.
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The End
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