Walk My Way

Azalea carried the last box up the two flights of stair to the flat she shared with her brother, Jasper. Entering her room, she put the heavy box with care on top of another box just right next to the door.

The room was empty aside from a few boxes that contained her belongings and a lone computer desk sat at the corner of the room. Her bed would arrive later that day along with a few furniture – such as a sofa set, a plasma TV and a coffee table - for the place later that day and the room was already provided with a walk-in closet. She also had her own en suite bathroom and that was one of the reasons they decided to rent the flat. Both she and Jasper did not need to share the same bathroom and the price was reasonable enough.

The location of the building was strategic where there was an easy access to the underground train station and there was also a nearby supermarket where they could do their grocery shopping just a couple of blocks away. Around the corner, in a little pocket space between the buildings, there was a small coffee shop slash bar that Azalea immediately fell in love with the moment she first stepped into the quaint little room, the scent of fresh coffee and baked good filling her nostrils. There was a little stage at the corner where they put a few musical instruments such as a couple of acoustic guitars and a portable electric keyboard. She later learned that every Friday night, there was an open-stage night where anyone can go up and perform on the stage.

Azalea stood up straight, letting her eyes roamed all over the room she would reside for the next few years of her life. After taking a deep breath, she pulled her hair up into a high, messy ponytail and sat cross-legged on the beige carpeted floor, pulling the closest box in front of her.

She pulled the lid of the box and smiled slightly at the content inside. She took out a framed certificate and brushed the surface tentatively with the tips of her fingers. The smile on her face turned bitter as memories began to flood her mind.



She put the frame carefully next to her and peered deeper into the box, taking out several more frames of similar certificates. There were also a few award plaques for her outstanding academic performance and achievements in music.

Azalea stopped when she picked up a framed photograph where she was standing on the right side of the principal, holding a trophy for one of the many competitions that she won. On his left side, there stood a boy with dark hair and a wide smile on his plump lips.

“Calum,” she whispered to herself, tracing the tip of her forefinger on his smiling face. She took a deep breath and quickly set the photograph aside, face down.

She could not remember when exactly she started being competitive but she knew why.

Azalea walked silently, holding her guitar case tightly by her side as she made her way towards the music room. As she entered the room, she heaved out a sigh to see that no one else had arrived yet. She quickly took a seat on one of the front seats and took out her guitar out from its case.

She was picking on a few strings when the door opened and two boys came in. At first, she just ignored them and continued picking, humming softly to herself to the melody she had stuck in her head for a couple of days already. She was itching to turn the melody into a song.

However, the two boys took their seats not too far from where she was sitting and they were conversing quite loudly with each other, which distracted her a little from what she was doing. She lifted up her head to look at them both.

She recognized the two of them from her English and History class. One of them was named Michael, a blonde with a long fringe on the side of his face. The other one was a tan boy with dark hair called Calum. Both of them stopped talking when they felt her gaze on her. Michael gave her a frown as Calum just grinned. For a moment, she found her own gaze locked with his, his brown eyes bore straight into hers.

Azalea suddenly felt like something was constricting her chest and she immediately looked back down at the neck of her guitar and pretended like her heart was not beating as fast as it was.

Since that day, she tried hard to grab his attention so that he would look at her like that again.

But she never had enough courage to lift up her face again to look at him until school was over.

“Lea!”

She was pulled out of her little trip down memory lane at the sound of Jasper’s voice calling her name.

“In here!” she called back, glad that her voice was not shaking.

A moment later, Jasper poked his head through the door, grinning down at her.

“I’m ordering pizza for lunch. You want any specific topping?” he asked, his phone pressed on his right ear.

“No, anything is fine for me,” she replied, shaking her head and continued to unpack, ignoring the framed photograph. Jasper talked on the phone for a couple of minutes, placing order and telling the person on the other line their address before hanging up.

“You okay?” he questioned, leaning against the doorframe and shot her a look of concern.

Azalea smiled and nodded her head.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just gonna unpack some of this stuff,” she said, keeping her hands busy and not looking up so that Jasper wouldn’t be able to see her face. She was never able to lie to him. He could read her like a book.

Jasper still stood there, watching her carefully and Azalea kept her face blank. After a few seconds, he shrugged and left. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

She wasn’t sure that moving to London was good idea but deep inside her heart, she somehow could feel that something momentous was going to happen, to both of them.