Mwikali and the Forbidden Mask

Mwikali and the Forbidden Mask — page 1 — Intasimi Warriors Book One MWIKALI THE AND FORBIDDEN MASK SHIKO NGURU

Mwikali and the Forbidden Mask — page 2 — The Freak Chameleon You can hide a lot behind a smile And as Mwikali stood in front of the mirror that morning she practiced all the different types of smiles she could think of The first smile made her look overly excited and far too eager like a puppy panting for a frisbee The next was impossibly sweet and wide eyed in a way that made her look half crazy And the last smile was so tight and forced that she might as well have been holding a neon sign above her head letting everyone know she was hiding something None of the smiles were believable So Mwikali dropped the corners of her mouth and took in a deep breath Plan B no smile Instead she would try not to be seen at all Her new plan was to be the unsmiling plain ordinary girl who nobody noticed She was going to fade into the background Be invisible Disappear It was the only way to make sure nobody discovered the truth about her Mwikali Her mom's voice rang out from outside her bedroom Hurry up or you'll miss the van 9

Mwikali and the Forbidden Mask — page 3 — MWIKALI AND THE FORBIDDEN MASK Mwikali scooped up the backpack resting at her feet I'll be right there she yelled before turning back to the mirror Scanning her reflection she smoothed down her school uniform for the umpteenth time The girl in the mirror looked as normal as could be She had the height of a normal twelve year old Wore a normal uniform white blouse red tie blue skirt with a matching sweater And even though her almond shaped eyes were larger than most they were perfectly suited to her deep brown face Mwikali grabbed a hair band and tied her thick jet black Afro into a ponytail making sure she rounded out and tucked in all the loose ends forming a tight bun on top of her head Her scalp ached in protest but Mwikali pushed through the discomfort As much as she loved her loose fluffy hair it had to remain hidden away The plan was to be as unnoticeable as possible She clenched and unclenched her hands worry clouding her face Everything about the girl in the mirror looked normal but deep down she knew that she wasn't normal at all I'm a freak A dangerous very not normal freak The memory of names others had called her brought a familiar tightness to Mwikali's chest She crumpled 10

Mwikali and the Forbidden Mask — page 4 — THE FREAK CHAMELEON handfuls of skirt in her clammy hands as her heart began to thump Stop this she commanded herself She couldn't lose it Not today She wanted today to go well Needed it to go well Today was her first day at a new school It was a chance to start afresh A chance to leave behind all the horrible things that had happened at her last school For that to happen she needed to act normal Boring even She had to hide who she really was Haraka haraka Mwikali Mom called out more urgently than before Hurry up or you'll be late With one last glance at the mirror Mwikali exhaled sharply and then swung her bedroom door open Coming The sweet scent of freshly fried dough wafted out of the kitchen and into her nose as soon as she stepped outside Mandazis she cheered bounding down the stairs of the three bedroom townhouse she lived in with her mom and auntie Mandazis were Mwikali's favorite pastries in the whole world They were an extra special treat with a mouthwatering smell powerful enough to push out her worries and put a real smile on her face She loved mandazis even more than she loved donuts And that was 11

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