Through The Maze

Part 1- Mason Williams

Chapter 1 – January Exams

January 2005

The cool early morning breeze had been quickly replaced with cold rain drops as the sky opened up to allow it’s torrent of rainfall. Puddles formed on the cracked pavements causing water to soak into every sock and shoe that walked by. The small pools in the road, caused by the numerous potholes, were disturbed with every passing car. The drivers, of each car, didn’t even bother to care about the water splashing onto the pedestrians as they drove by.

Even with the rain, and the cool breeze, the humidity level was high, causing Selene Yein to crank up the air-conditioning in her father’s navy blue 1981Mitsubishi Lancer. She glanced down at her Economics notebook again, going over the difference between direct tax and indirect tax, and the effect it would have on the overall economy. She closed her eyes briefly, inhaling the artificial air and smiling at how calming she felt over the musky scent.

“Are you ready?” her father, Sam Yein, asked, breaking her out of her calming environment and pulling her right into another one just as relaxing.

“Yea.” She gave him a smile with her one word answer.

That’s how she was. She would hardly speak more than a few words at a time. Simple one word replies were her specialty. It wasn’t that she couldn’t speak, or there was any thing wrong with her brain functionality. No, it was more that she just didn’t feel the need to say anything more than what was needed to be said. If she needed to give an elaborate answer, then she would, but only when pushed or pressured. That’s how she had lived for the past 5, almost 6, years of her life.

Her father gave her a warm smile before turning the car and pulling into the parking lot of an abandoned building. She glanced out and saw a few other students already standing around, waiting to be called into the huge examination hall. She took a deep breath as she scanned the awaiting students for a familiar face.

“There’s Brandon.” Her father pointed to the average height, mostly East- Indian, boy, leaning against a pillar, trying to be as invisible as possible as he constantly ran his fingers through his short hair.

“Ok.” She pulled her boring and cheap black school bag from the floor by her feet, and shoved her notebook back into it.

“You have everything you need?” Sam reached up and played with her ponytail a little. “Your pencils, pens, water, snacks, and cell phone?”

Selene nodded her head and turned to look at her father. Her mind instantly began its daily morning routine of memorizing his features. Her eyes wandered from his black and grey, almost salt-and-pepper, wavy short hair, his dark brown eyes, crooked and pointed nose, bushy mustache that matched the color of his hair and covered his thin but full lips. His tanned skin covered small muscles that were almost invisible to other people, but she knew how strong her father was, even though his lean body hid that fact.

“I can’t believe that it’s your last exam!” he grinned at her. “How about we go somewhere nice for lunch when you’re done? I was thinking maybe we could pick up some KFC and head down Chaguramus?”

“Ok.” Selene nodded her head excitedly.

“Alright.” He pulled her towards him and kissed her head lovingly. “Good luck! I love you baby.”

“I love you too, daddy.” She kissed his cheek and got out the car, closing the door softly behind her.

She swung the back pack over her shoulder and made her way to Brandon. She waved to her dad as he drove out of the parking lot before leaning against the same pillar as Brandon.

“Did you study?” Brandon asked with a nervous look in his eyes.

“A little.” She shrugged. “I’m just glad that it’s our last exam.”

“Yeah.” He smiled down at her. “Still can’t believe our parents made us do this.”

“Well … you know my dad needed to make a point.” She mumbled. “But what sucks is that we still have to go Mr. Elder’s classes after this, and we still have to re-take all these exams in June. Seems a bit unfair doesn’t it?”

“What’s unfair is that we won’t be taking those exams together.” He sighed and looked away. “We’ll be stuck with our actual schools.”

Selene looked away and noticed that everyone around them had the same nervous expression on their faces. Principles of Economics was known to be a hard exam to pass, especially if you didn’t have a very good teacher. Thankfully, for her and Brandon, their teacher was the best in the country. She was just relieved that this was her final exam.

Over the past month, she had been forced, by her father, to take her O’Level examinations early privately. Normally, every student in the country, once they were in 5th Form, had to take their O’Level examinations in the month of June through the secondary school that they belonged to. It was mandatory and you couldn’t graduate from your secondary school until you took those exams anyway. Every student picked 7 -8 subjects, at the end of 3rd Form, that they would pursue as a career choice after they graduated. Unfortunately, her school offered their subjects based on 3 general career paths; Arts, Business, and Sciences.

She sucked at any science subject, and her father didn’t want her to do any art subjects, even though that was her passion at the time. A bit contradicting since he did art subjects during his time in school, and was now a well-known draftsman. So, she was stuck with the business subjects. Business was something that she had no love for. She didn’t like business, or banking, or even accounting. Hell, she hated it even more since that was the route her mother had taken, and she refused to become like her mom. But, she had no other option because the school wouldn’t allow her to mix and match.

After picking the business courses, her school had warned her father that she wasn’t smart enough for that since her grades were horrible during her 3rd Form end of term exams. Her father had, once again, needed to prove to all the teachers at her school that they were wrong about her. It wasn’t the first time a situation like this had happened. She shuddered slightly as she remembered the other time, but quickly pushed those memories out of her mind.

So, here she was, taking all of her O’Level exams early, in January … in private … just to prove a point. Her father had dragged her after the meeting with her teachers at the end of 3rd Form, to an after school lessons place, famously known as Elder’s Classes. She had been introduced to Mr. Elder, himself, by her mother, who was a good friend of his and his personal bank manager. Luckily for her, Mr. Elder was a sweet old man, who had taken a liking to her instantly. Over the next year and a half, he had taken her under his wing, so to speak, and she quickly became one of his best students, excelling in Principle of Economics and Principles of Accounting. Elder’s Classes wasn’t just an after school program, it was also an actual school for students who got kicked out of their secondary school, and whose parents could afford to send them to Mr. Elder. So, he had a team of teachers, all top teachers in their subjects, and Selene had become a favorite of theirs as well. Her Mathematics teacher had fallen in love her since she had an affinity for math that he hadn’t seen in all his 50 years of teaching, but it was her English teacher who had made her realize that her passion was writing, not numbers.

She was so tired of having to prove herself to people who wouldn’t even bother to take the time to try to understand her or the way her mind worked. She wasn’t normal … she didn’t fit the norms of society … and she never would. Her English teacher had realized that, and showed her the best method of expressing herself. Her stories were always welcomed in her class and she was constantly encouraged to write more. The only person, who actually seemed to understand her, was Brandon.

She had met Brandon during her summer vacation after the end of 3rd form. She spent her entire vacation going to Elder’s Classes full time, and it seemed as if Brandon parents had the same idea for him. Both of them had been quiet in all their classes, but worked seamlessly on their assignments and always got praises from their teachers. It was their Mathematics teacher who decided to make them sit together one day for a class project, and their friendship formed instantly. They both had similar personalities and insecurities. Now, Brandon had become the only person so far that she was willing to have a normal conversation with.

“Did you want to walk over to MovieTowne after the exam?” Brandon wondered. “We could get some Burger King for lunch and see a movie after?”

“I can’t.” Selene sighed. “My dad’s picking me up after the exam, and we’re going down to Chaguramas.”

“Oh ok.” Brandon gave her an understanding smile. “I guess it’s back to regular school after today, huh?”

Selene shuddered slightly at the thought of having to go back to school again. She didn’t understand why she needed to if she was doing her exams early. But, her father had explained that she needed to graduate if she going to go anywhere in life. It looked bad if she didn’t graduate, and since she belonged to such a high class, prestigious school, graduating would only boost her portfolio. Also, she still needed to re-take the exams she was taking now, in June with the rest of her classmates. These January exams were just to keep her teachers from treating her like a bumbling idiot and prove to them that they were wrong. Although she could easily use her results from these exams to further her education, her parents wanted her to still graduate from her school.

“Hey … it’s ok.” Brandon patted her shoulder gently. “We’ll still see each other every day after school. We’re still going to Mr. Elder’s, and I promise you, I’ll always be there by 3pm, so you won’t have to wait long by yourself.”

“You don’t have to … I don’t mind waiting by myself.” She mumbled.

“Selene … I want to.” He gave her a smile that was supposed to make her feel happy, but it had the opposite effect.

It reminded her, again, that after today, she would be going back to a school where no one liked her … no one cared for her … and the only time she was involved in any conversations was if she getting picked on. The past five years at her secondary school had been the worst 5 years of her life. No one talked to her, unless they had to, and even the teachers would give her uncomfortable looks. The only place she felt safe at her school was the library.

The librarian had taken a liking to her instantly after seeing Selene’s love for books. She noticed how the other students, and even some of the teachers, had been treating her and decided to offer her the student volunteer position of ‘Library Prefect’. Selene had readily accepted the position and now spent every free period and break, during her school days, at the library.

“Wait, are you going to Mr. Elder’s today?” Brandon wondered.

“I think so.” Selene frowned. “I think we’re going to pick up my sister after school and then dad’s going to drop me off.”

“At least it’s only English today.” He smiled a bit and ran his fingers through his thick black hair.

After another 20 minutes of waiting, they were called into the examination hall and given their assigned seats. The rules were simple, no talking, no cheating, and once you were finished, you were allowed to leave. It was a 3 hour exam, and you were only allowed to drink water after the bottle had been inspected. No eating allowed.

Selene sat down in her assigned seat and was surprised to find Brandon sitting in the seat behind her. He gave her an encouraging smile before the supervisor said to begin.

The next 2 hours and 15 minutes were the easiest she had ever spent. When she was told that Mr. Elder was the best at teaching Economics, she was skeptical at first, but after spending time with him, and going over old exam questions, she was 100% positive that she had been taught by the best. Every question on her exam was a question that Mr. Elder had asked at some point during his lectures. She knew every answer.

Once she looked over her work and was satisfied, she stood up and walked to the front of the hall. She handed in her booklet, glanced back at Brandon to give him a knowing nod and left the hall to wait for him outside.

She pulled out her cell phone and noticed that she had text message waiting for her. She quickly opened it and smiled slightly to herself.

Mason: Hey, good luck with your last exam today. I’ll be in school, slowly dying. Are you going to be at the pool tonight?

Mason Williams was a quiet kid, like her and Brandon. He didn’t look special or stand out in a crowd. He held this brooding, mystery essence around him, since all he did was stare at people. He was tall though, and had black curly hair that he always kept cut short, but it stood out against his milky white skin. He also had facial hair that seemed to grow faster after every shave. She had known him and his huge family since they were kids. Their mothers were close friends, and she had personally taught all of his younger siblings how to swim.

Every Saturday, for as long as she could remember, her mother, a renowned swimmer and lifeguard, taught a series of beginner classes at their swim club. Selene, herself, had been forced to be a teacher for the older children, and therefore spent every Saturday, from 2pm – 4pm teaching with her mother.

When Mason and his siblings began to attend the classes, she noticed how quiet he was, compared to his 3 loud and rambunctious siblings. She never spoke to him, unless it was to give him instruction during his swim lessons. But then, one Saturday, when they were both 13, his 12 year old brother had let slip that Mason had a huge crush on her and that was why he never really talked around her. She had instantly smiled and felt flattered. After that, Mason and Selene had begun to slowly speak to each other every Saturday, and their relationship had blossomed into a comforting friendship.

Things changed, however, during her 4th year of secondary school. At her school’s annual March Fair, Mason had shown up with his cousin and saw her working at her class’s Tin Can Challenge booth. He had been watching her from afar, extremely nervous to approach her since they were not at their comfortable place at the pool. But, his cousin had helped him out immensely by walking bravely over to Selene and pointing out that Mason was standing across the lot, staring at her. She quickly finished her shift and walked up to him to greet him, only to have him roughly pull her away from the crowds of people and into an empty classroom. He looked completely lost for words, and she didn’t know how to comfort him. Once he had calmed down, he apologized for staring at her like a stalker, and then explained how much he liked her as much more than a friend. He never asked her to go out, but after that expression of feelings, things changed between them.

They had exchanged numbers, and began to text each other every day. On Saturdays, they had become more playful with each other in the pool, and during the random times when she would go to the movies with Brandon, Mason would show up and tag along, holding her hand the entire time. It was safe then to assume that he, Mason Williams, was dating Selene Yein.

The only downfall in their odd and slow building relationship was her father and older brother. Her father and brother, Sebastian Yein, never agreed on anything, until they met Mason. They both agreed then that he was not the guy for her and demanded that she stopped speaking to him. They wouldn’t explain why, but only said that it was a feeling they had. She had ignored them at first, but then, not wanting to push her father away, she relented. Now, they spoke and saw each other in secret.

She sighed to herself and quickly sent a reply to his message as she sat down on the floor, leaning against the pillar.

Selene: I just finished the exam. It was pretty straightforward. I’m not going to the pool tonight, cause I have English lessons later. But I’ll be teaching tomorrow, with mom, as usual. Don’t die … I’ll be sad.

“Well that was easy.” Brandon’s voice reached her ears as she quickly stood up and returned her phone to her bag.

“Yea.” She nodded. “Mr. Elder really taught us everything.”

“Oh, your dad’s early.” Brandon pointed to the car that just pulled into parking lot.

“He’s always early.” Selene gave him smirk and headed to her father’s car. “I’ll see you in class later.”

“Alright.” Brandon smiled and waved to her father.

Selene slipped into the front seat and placed her bag in its usual place at her feet. Her father pulled her towards him and gave her kiss on her head.

“How was it?” he asked as he drove out of the parking lot.

“Good.” She sighed.

She leaned forward and rolled down her window, allowing the fresh air and strong breeze to surround her like a comforting blanket. Being in a car was her second favorite place in the world. She had an affinity for cars, just like her father, and she loved going for long drives, especially along the coast.

Ever since she was a baby, her father had taken her with him and his friends to their weekly drag racing spot, so she was raised to love cars. She used to squeal in her Uncle Tony’s arms as her father raced his fast but old car. She would clap her hands excitedly as he won every one of his races. When she was 11 years old, he father had proudly begun to teach her how to drive. By 13, she was secretly entering the Sunday drag racing competitions, using a car that she, her uncle and her father had built from scratch. She won most of her races, and was praised every time, even though none of the other drivers knew who she was. Her father always made sure that she was wearing a protective helmet. Not just for accidents, but for anonymity.

“Can I have one Zinger Special, and one Popcorn Chicken Combo, please?” her dad shouted into the intercom.

She shook her head and looked around quickly, not even realizing that they had already made it to the KFC drive thru.

“Anything else?” the cashier asked.

Her dad quickly responded and drove to the next window. Selene bent down and began digging through her bag for her Harry Potter book. She was rereading the Order of The Phoenix for the 6th time, and she knew that she would probably reread it again in a month. The Harry Potter books had been her escape from reality for as long as she could remember.

“You know how I feel about you reading while in a moving car, Selene.” Her dad chastised.

Selene sighed and returned the book to her bag before staring out at the coastline. She smiled to herself as they drove along the coast towards their favorite spot. The scent of the salty ocean wrapped around her like a warm plush blanket during winter.

They pulled into the small parking lot and hopped out the car with twinkles in their eyes. Her dad stretched his body before grabbing their food and leading her towards their favorite bench. They sat down and began to eat like ravenous dogs.

“You know you have to start back with your early morning swim practices on Monday, right?” her dad reminded her as he finished off the last drops of his fruit punch.

Selene rolled her eyes and nodded her head.

“School is almost over baby. Just 4 more months and then you won’t have to swim anymore.” He gave her a comforting smile.

“What’s the point?” Selene wondered.

Her father went stone still as he stared at her in shock. She wasn’t one to usually ask questions, and she wasn’t one to initiate a conversation, so this reaction was a surprise to him. He knew that over the past two years, she had become attached to Brandon Reed and spoke with him like any other normal teenager. But, the second she was back with her family, she became the silent girl again.

“Uh, what do you mean? Don’t you love it?” he raised an eye brow at her.

Selene quickly shook her head and focused on the soft waves that were forming in front of her. She heard her father sigh in frustration next to her, but she ignored it. She knew that if she said anything more, it would lead to a long conversation and she didn’t want or need a long conversation.

“You used to tell me everything.” Her father complained. “I don’t know when or why you stopped telling me things. All you do now is read and write in that damn Harry Potter notebook you keep carrying around! What the hell happened!?”

Selene stared at him dumbfounded and opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it and looked away.

“You can tell me anything.” He pleaded. “I’m your father, I’m always here for you. I love you so much. You’re my favorite girl, so please tell me what’s going on?”

She bit down on her lower lip and avoided eye contact. She couldn’t give in. She couldn’t tell him anything. It was for his own good after all. She loved her father more than anyone else in her life, and she vowed to protect him. In order to do that, she needed to keep her mouth shut. Follow the rules and keep her lips zipped.

“You won’t talk to me, you won’t talk to Shay, you won’t talk to Sebastian, you won’t talk to your mom.” He groaned. “You only talk to that Brandon kid. Why? I don’t understand this. Why?”

After a few more minutes of complete silence, her father stood up and dusted off the crumbs in his lap. He grabbed her hand and led her back to the car. He wasn’t in the mood now to stay in their favorite spot anymore.

“No … please …” she stammered as she saw the car in view. She wasn’t ready to head home to where the memories of her life seemed to reenact themselves before her very eyes.

Sam Yein stared down into his daughter’s terrified eyes and nodded his head slowly. He didn’t know what had turned her into … basically a mute … but he knew it had something to do with their house. He wondered if it involved his wife somehow. He knew that his wife didn’t treat Selene the same way she treated their younger daughter, Shay. But he didn’t think that she was cruel to her or anything that would cause her to become like this.

“Ok.” He gave in. She barely asked for anything, so if this is what she wanted, he would willingly give it. He just hoped that as time went on, she would one day get the courage to talk to him again.