ã€ŠFalling For The Playboyã€‹


 Chapter 1

    EVA

    Omar would be so proud of me.

    I could literally hear his voice in my head saying; peek out of you shell once in a while, Eva. It¡¯s fun I swear.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.

    Today I had. And to be honest, I didn¡¯t know if the oue was either a blessing or a curse.

    Mrs Lawson¡¯s happy eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, the edges of her lips tilted up.

    I matched her smile.

    ¡°Abi and Zoe are the same age as you. I can¡¯t wait for you to meet them. ¡±

    Well, that made the two of us.

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to meet them either. ¡± I replied honestly.

    Abi and Zoe were twin girls and the only children of the Lawsons. I hadn¡¯t met them in person yet, of course, but I was pretty sure I knew more about them than any stranger had the right to. Because that¡¯s what I was, a stranger, contrary to what many people might believe. Yes, on paper, I wasn¡¯t really a stranger anymore. But to them, I very well might be, seeing as they knew next to nothing about me, other than my name -which there was a huge possibility might actually be fake but let¡¯s not talk about that.

    First meetings were notorious for being painful and awkward as hell. Each person didn¡¯t know what to expect of the other and whatever aspects of oneself a person showed on that day, was how the other viewed that person until proven otherwise.

    For the first time in a very long time, I found myself actually worried as to how people would see me. I wanted to meet up to their expectations of me -if they had any. To be honest, wondering how they would react to a stranger living in their home, admist all their private things, was beating me up more than the thought of my adjusting was.

    Thinking of having to start my life all over was killing me. Ergo¡­

    Her eyes returned to her tab and I sighed out in relief. My smile dropped, my head lolling to the side as I resumed my task of idly watching the scenery as we passed. People going about their day, some looking happy, some quite forlorn, and others particrly hopeful as to what the day might offer.

    Learning about people¡¯s lifestyles was a hobby of mine, something Omar found odd. Well, Omar found a lot of things about me odd. He simply chalked up my interest in people¡¯s lives to mine being too boring. I wouldn¡¯t say he was right. But he wasn¡¯t wrong either.

    Writing was second nature to me and studying the the people around me was how I got my inspiration to write. So I guess he was right if he had been implying that if I had been interesting, I wouldn¡¯t have to study anyone but myself. But he was also wrong because everyone had their own story. My story might fill the pages of a book, but it wouldn¡¯t fill all the books in the world.

    Although, in spite of all the faults Omar found with me, he epted me. Wholly.

 Chapter 2

    Omar.

    Merely thinking his name brought a fresh pang of sadness to my heart. I missed him so much. From the moment I met him five years ago, it had been the both of us against everything in our own distorted little world. Until he¡¯d gotten adopted a week ago, and I¡¯d gone back to riding solo.

    A smile crept up my face as I reyed the moment I first met him in my head.

    A twelve year old me had been heading to the store room in search of water at the exact same time he¡¯d been sneaking back in. I¡¯d wanted to scream bloody murder, but my body had been too upied with saving itself from what could have been an unfortunate fall, to focus on transmitting that information to my brain. We¡¯d bumped into each other,nded on our asses on the floor, then burst outughing at ourselves. We hadn¡¯t even bothered getting up. There, on the store room floor, in the middle of the night, we bonded. He¡¯d seemed honest, had a great sense of humor and my eyes hadn¡¯t seemed to freak him out like I¡¯d expected them to. I¡¯d felt at ease with him.

    Eventually, when we¡¯d fallen silent and awkwardness had started to creep in, he¡¯d said, ¡°Will you be my best friend? ¡±

    I¡¯d been so confused. Who asked someone they just met to be their best friend? It hadn¡¯t been my first time seeing him at the orphanage, but that had been the first ever conversation we had.

    I¡¯d said yes anyway and that had been the beginning of Eva and Omar.

    Words couldn¡¯t express how sad I¡¯d been when he delivered the news to me that he was getting adopted. I¡¯d acted selfishly, mourning the loss of a friend that was still present, when I could have been celebrating with him. I cursed myself now that I thought about it because I knew if it had been the reverse, he would¡¯ve been happy for me.

    Before he left, he¡¯d made me promise that I would let myself get adopted. I made the promise despite how bizarre it sounded. As if I had a say in whether I was going to get adopted or not.

    It all seemed to me like a big prank when Mr. Ayo, the head of the orphanage, ordered me to pack my meagre belongings that I was getting adopted. I hadn¡¯t really had to work my magic or do anything of the like. I¡¯d simply gone into the office, smiled at the upants and poof, the next day, I was in an expensive car, heading to a new house where I would be living for the foreseeable future.

    Mr. Ayo hadn¡¯t been able to get rid of me fastly enough. The pretentious, money-grubbing old man had been all smiles with the couple, agreeing with whatever they said and had damn near pushed me into their car and out of the orphanage. That man made my stay there a living hell and it filled me with huge relief that I could confidently say I was never seeing him again.

    The car jerked as we passed over a pothole, the movement jolting me back to the present, making me aware of my surroundings. I tended to get lost in my head a lot, it was a little trick I did to escape my trash reality. Reality that was changing for the better, I hoped, thanks to the couple in front of me.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.

    I found myself studying them. Again.

    If I were to describe my new foster parents in one word, it would be understated. Merely seeing them, one would think they weremon people who had nothing to their name. I¡¯d thought so too at first, too, even though I knew better than to judge people based on their appearances, and I¡¯d been proven wrong when I actually got to know who they were.

    Mr Lawson wore a in purple polo shirt paired with grey khakis, with a wristwatch adorning his left hand while his wife doned a straight, floor-length gown in burgundy red. Simple. Understated.

    Would the twins like the same style?

    Somehow I doubted that. I didn¡¯t know why. I just did.

    And I was assuming again.

    Sun caught the ring on Mrs Lawson¡¯s finger, drawing my attention to it and when I looked, I saw that they were actually two. Simple, beautiful, gold bands. Just like her.

    I remembered a girl from my ss had said she believed that every rtionship between a man and a woman, was done in the order; love, marriage then sex. I hadn¡¯t called her naive like I¡¯d wanted to, I¡¯d simply said to each his own.

    I mean, if the hiking number of pregnant teens hawking in the streets didn¡¯t tell her otherwise, then maybe I didn¡¯t live in the same world as her after all.

    Mr and Mrs Lawson were definitely in love, I could tell. I knew how to get a good read on people, it was a gift. Like for instance, I could tell Mrs was a chatterbox, while her husband was more reserved. He hadn¡¯t uttered a single word since we entered the car, but I could tell he was at alert.

    The car slowed to a stop as we reached traffic and I sat up, looking out the window. Nothing about where we were was familiar. At all. If the three hours drive hadn¡¯t been enough to tell me we were very, very far from the orphanage, this did.

    I took in the sleek cars waiting in front and behind ours in line. The scenery alone was mind-blowing and enough for me to forget about my nagging hunger. The structures were so beautiful, the fresh green of the trees, refreshing and filling me with an odd feeling of happiness.

    My wandering eyes came to a halt as I realized what I was looking at.

 Chapter 3

    A. Bookstore.

    And it looked like it was straight out of my dreams.

    The store had ss doors and windows that allowed me see little inside. I could tell people were milling around, no doubt surfing for books they wanted to buy. Two trees were positioned on either sides of the store, with benches resting on them. The ce looked so peaceful, like a little book heaven, and I found myself wanting to be in there.

    ¡°Can I visit this ce sometime? ¡± I found myself asking before I even realized my mouth had opened.

    I froze, shocked at my own audacity. I had just met these people. Why on earth had I thought asking them for something just today was a good idea? Well, I hadn¡¯t been thinking at all, that was for sure.

    Mrs Lawson looked surprised at my question. She nced up and through her window -in the wrong direction, searching for the store I was talking about.

    ¡°Where? ¡± she asked, when she couldn¡¯t find it.

    I wondered if it was toote to back out now. How rude would it be if I zipped my mouth shut and acted like I hadn¡¯t said anything in the first ce? Very, I supposed.

    Don¡¯t be a coward now, Eva.

    But when have I not been? A coward, I mean. I was too scared to go parties, wear clothes that actually suited me, make new friends and speak out in public, because I didn¡¯t want to bring attention of any kind to myself.

    How much more cowardly could I get?

    But this wasn¡¯t the moment for me to point out my ws. My foster mom was patiently staring at me, waiting for an answer and seeing as no one but me got myself into this ufortable situation, I was going to have to get myself out of it.

    ¡°The store that sells books to your left. ¡± I pointed at it, watching as she followed my finger.

    The earlier excitement I¡¯d felt on seeing the store, had dissipated and was now reced with a feeling of fear. Fear that one of them might say no and then the atmosphere would be awkward between us for the remainder of the journey.

    I blew out a breath when she faced me with a smile, ¡°Of course. Abi could go with you if you want. ¡±

    ¡°Thanks. ¡± I smiled back at her, thankful that she was such a likeable person.

    ¡°You like books? ¡± her husband asked, speaking for the first time since the journey began.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    So he had been paying attention to the conversation after all.

    ¡°Yes. ¡± I stated, but it sounded more like a question. I couldn¡¯t help but feel defensive whenever the topic of books came on. A lot of people found my obsession with books weird and I guess I expected the same annoying reaction from everybody.

    Mr Lawson smiled at me in the mirror but didn¡¯t say anything.

    It was his wife who said, ¡°Oh, he loves books. ¡± she exined, ¡°He even has a library full of them at home. You should see it. It¡¯s every reader¡¯s dream. ¡± she smiled fondly at her husband, the love in her eyes, unmistakable.

    I looked away, suddenly feeling like I was intruding on a private moment. Love was a confusing concept to me. It made me feel weird and I did my absolute best to stay as far away from that topic as I could.

    Back to books though, I wouldn¡¯t have guessed Mr Lawson was a fan. The fact that he had a library intrigued me. I¡¯d always imagined having a mini library consisting of books of different genres that I loved. There would be more of romance, of course. I was a sucker for good romantic suspense.

    The car resumed it¡¯s descent, turning onto another road, with equally beautiful ces.

    ¡°Remind me to give you a key to the library when we get home. ¡± he said.

    I nodded absently, because at the back of my mind, I knew I would do no such thing. If he wanted to give it to me, he would. I had never learnt to ask for things and I didn¡¯t see myself starting now.

    At the moment though, what captured my attention, was the environment. It was amazing how this world waspletely different than the one I was used to. It was all so wonderful.

    I¡¯d heard about people and how they seemed to connect with a certain state once they found it. I knew Abuja was that ce for me. Back in Lagos, I¡¯d always been out of breath trying to keep up with the fast life. Everyday had been more exhausting that the previous.

    Now, however, this was a ce I could live in. Beautiful trees, zero people, peaceful atmosphere. And sure it was more than a little odd that I hadn¡¯t seen a single person since we turned down this¡­.. street? But I wasn¡¯t one toin about odd. The odd life was mine. I lived it. Breathed it.

    We slowed to a stop in front of a huge ck gate that looked like it hade out of a movie. Mr Lawson hurriedly got down from the car and walked towards the gate.

    Shouldn¡¯t a house like this have a gateman or something?

    He swiveled right all of a sudden, moving away from the gate and going to stand in front of a brick wall. He pushed at the wall and slowly, the gates rolled open.

    What the¨C

    ¡°Is the control for the gate there? ¡± I asked the one person sitting in the car with me.

    ¡°Yes. ¡±

    But¡­¡­. How?

    She must have seen the look of confusion on my face because she exined. ¡°The gate has a code programmed in and everyone who lives here know it. Once you punch the right code in the keypad, the gates will open. If it¡¯s wrong, the gates will remain firmly shut. ¡±

    Amazing. Security here was tight as hell. I¡¯d never seen anything like that other than on TV. This was new. Everything was new.

    Mr Lawson was back in the car like a sh and the minute he drove through, the gates slid closed. Just as I¡¯d expected. How cool would it be living in a ce like this? Burrs and kidnappers would be the least of your worries. Well, as long as you were inside. The thought of a person being stuck outside, having forgotten the code, with robbers on his tail, had me cracking up silently.

    Beyond the gates were rows of houses and I knew one of them had to be theirs. We stopped in front of another gate, which Mr repeated the same process for and in we rode.

    Mrs Lawson, having kept her tab, turned fully in her seat to face me, ¡°Eva, this is your new home. ¡±

    And what a home it was.

    We drove between hedges of neatly trimmed flowers to the house she spoke of up ahead. From the view the car allowed me, I could see it was a magnificent two story building, far bigger than the whole orphanage put together. The house was painted in in white and grey, the colours in pristine condition, which told me it had to be maintained regrly.

    We parked off to the side and alighted the car, with the couple, checking to see if they had everything with them, and me gripping my bag and desperately trying not to gawk at the house.

    In my circle, back at school, we¡¯d all been from simr backgrounds. I didn¡¯t mean we were all orphans, no. We¡¯d just had the average life. Same style houses and lifestyles, nothing out of the ordinary, but then again, my circleprised few friends from my school. A public school.

    There, standing just outside the house, were the first signs of life I¡¯d seen since I entered this ce. Two people stood beside each other and from their poses, I could tell they were girls. The twins.

    I straightened, gripping my poor bag tighter as we walked. Mrs Lawson threw an arm around my shoulder easily. It was as if she¡¯d sensed my unease. The difference in our height wasn¡¯t much, I noticed, she was maybe two or three inches taller than I was.

    It wasn¡¯t until we were just about six feet from the girls that I processed something Mrs Lawson said in the car a while back. When I told her about wanting to visit the shop, she¡¯d said Abi could go with me. She hadn¡¯t said the twins or one of the girls. She¡¯d simply said Abi. That was¡­ strange.

    Before I could ponder on that, we were already standing in front of said twins.

    ¡°Abi, Zoe, this is Eva. ¡± Mrs Lawson started cheerily by my side, oblivious to my inner turmoil, but then again, it was called inner for a reason, ¡°I¡¯ve told you all about her already, I¡¯m sure getting along wouldn¡¯t be an issue. ¡±

    Oh, but it will be.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see you in a bit, Eva, I just need to go change. ¡± she said before her hand slid from my shoulders, leaving me feeling surprisingly cold under the hot afternoon sun.

    I stifled a shiver.

    ¡°They¡¯ll get you settled in. ¡± Mr Lawson squeezed my shoulder lightly, before walking off with his wife, leaving me alone with people I wasn¡¯t so sure I wanted to be alone with.

    As I met the cold gazes of the twins, I kicked myself internally for being so stupid.

    Omar was wrong.

    Peeking out of your shell wasn¡¯t fun.

    It was dangerous. As hell.

 Chapter 4

    EVA

    My heart beat wildly in my chest, thumping around with so much force I thought it was going to beat right out andnd at their pretty feet.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    Feet that were d in unnecessarily big fluffy slippers.

    Two purple, two ck.

    I knew this, because my eyes were currently glued to them. There must be something so captivating about them, I wasn¡¯t quite sure what, but I was positive I would find that out within the next five minutes of my one-sided stare down. There was a possibility that the bodies might be just as interesting, even more so, but my eyes hadn¡¯t seemed to find the courage to make the rest of the journey.

    All through the car ride, I¡¯d been itching to know what they looked like. Dying to. Now, here I was, standing in front of them, with nothing stopping me but my stupid self. I had to be pushing a new level of stupidity with my dy.

    Say something so I can look at you.

    Talk to me so I can stare at you.

    They didn¡¯t however. But that didn¡¯t stop my eyes from feeding their curiosity.

    My eyes trailed up the legs wearing the purple coloured slippers, passed thick thighs hidden by a beautiful flowery gown, a surprisingly cinched waist and atst they came to rest on the face.

    A face that belonged to Mrs Lawson.

    She was the exact replica of her mother. The same softly curved face, same friendly eyes -although friendly wasn¡¯t the word I¡¯d use to describe them right now, same straight nose and full lips. She and her mom could definitely pass off as twins. I even felt the same easy connection I¡¯d felt with her mom.

    In fact, the frown she was directing at me looked out of ce on her face.

    She was beautiful and had an aura that made me want to befriend her even though the chances of that happening were less than zero.

    The other twin, though, gave me pause.

    I knew a lot of pretty girls, had met even prettier girls, but never had I seen a face like the one in front of me.

    She wasn¡¯t merely beautiful, she was devastating to look at. Heartbreakingly so. She had the same nose and eyes as her sister, with full down-turned lips that gave her an unimpressed look.

    I chose to believe that was her usual look and not just a reaction to my presence, because hell, there was only so much I could handle.

    I could easily see boys falling at her feet, irresistible to her beauty. I was straight, yet even I was finding it hard to stop gawking. I was pretty sure she could see the awe written all over my face -my gaping mouth was a dead giveaway. Anytime now, I¡¯d pick my jaw up off the ground before flies swamped my mouth.

    Anytime now.

    Two pairs of brown eyes bored into me, threatening to incinerate me with the scorching heat in their gazes. My eyes dropped automatically, not interested in fighting a battle it would woefully loose, and instead, decided to have a conversation with their newly found friends; the fluffy slippers.

    Three minutes passed. Five. They still hadn¡¯t said anything.

    I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. It was seventy-five degrees and I wasn¡¯t sure how long I could pretend that it didn¡¯t bother me. Really. How long did it take to size me up? I wasn¡¯t that tall or interesting to look at. Whatever they were doing, they had to do it fast.

    ¡°Your eyes are pretty. ¡± a soft voice broke the silence.

    I froze, ncing up at the speaker, whom I was very shocked to find out was the goddess. I hadn¡¯t expected her to be the one to break the silence, neither had I expected such a delicate topic. She¡¯d pointed out the physical feature I was most sensitive about; if her aim had been to make me feel out of my element, she¡¯d seeded.

    Heterochromia was a pretty easily seen condition in a lot of countries -just not in Nigeria. I had different coloured eyes, one green, one blue and as if two colours weren¡¯t enough, I was told they changed colours from different angles. It was quite amazing and a whole lot freaky -in people¡¯s words. They¡¯d always been a problem for me growing up since all they ever did was bring attention to my person. The bad kind.

    I¡¯d learnt to hide myself behind hoodies and ball caps, my skin too ufortable to live in, but long gone was the time when my eyes made me feel ashamed. All I ever felt anymore was self conscious and even self-consciousness could go to hell right now. If there were a set of people I¡¯d grown to hate in this life, they were bullies. A long time ago, those words she¡¯d said, would do serious damage, now though, the taunts simply bounced off me. And if my new sister had decided she was going to be one, then she could knock herself out.

    But as I assesed her, a sudden realization hit me that she might have actually meant it. There was absolutely no expression on her face to let me in on what she was thinking which meant trying to read her was a lost cause.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go in. ¡± the second twin announced, effectively changing the topic, before turning on her heel and in sure strides, closed the distance between her and the door leading to the house, I assumed, and pulled it open.

    Saved from the possible conversation that might have ensued between me and the goddess, that would have been without a doubt, terribly crippling, I hurried after the safer twin, not wanting to be left alone in the presence of said goddess for even a second. She followed after me and I instantly regretted my decision to walk in front of her, which ced her behind me and which meant I was a gazillion times more self-conscious than I was before. I tried to walk slowly, careful to mask my excitement at having to see the inside of the house.

 Chapter 5

    Cool, artificial air weed me as I took my first step inside and, oh, how good it felt to be free from the suffocating afternoon sun. I heard the faint sound of the door closing behind me as my eyes took in the living room in one long sweep. Humongous TV, in white walls, ck leather couches with throw pillows discarded carelessly on them, a tiny table at the centre that looked too small to have any use asides decoration really, and a beautiful spiral staircase.

    I saw the beginnings of something just behind the staircase, although I couldn¡¯t see clearly what it was. From my angle just behind the staircase, I¡¯d never be able to tell, but if I moved to the left just a little¡­.

    ¡°That¡¯s the dining area. ¡±

    The velvety voice drew me out of my thoughts, reminding me that I wasn¡¯t alone. The voice belonged to the friendly twin and apparently, I¡¯d been caught staring. I might even have taken an actual step in that direction, who knew?

    ¡°You can go see it if you want to. ¡± she added and I shook my head. I didn¡¯t want to take up too much of their time unnecessarily and after all, that was where they had their meals. So I would be seeing it sooner orter.

    She shrugged, climbing up the stairs as we resumed the ¡®tour¡¯. The other twin followed closely behind me and her soundless feet hitting the tiled floors made me hyper aware that she was there, even if she didn¡¯t say a word. Was she scrutinizing me right now? Did she mean what she¡¯d said earlier? What did she think of me?

    I could keep asking myself these questions but I wouldn¡¯t get the answers because I was asking the wrong person.

    Rows and rows of brown mahogany doors upied the walls of the wide hallway on the second floor.

    ¡°All the rooms are on this floor. ¡± the friendly twin exined, leaning on the railing, ¡°The only rooms on the next floor are dad¡¯s home office and the library. ¡±

    ¡°Just two? ¡± I asked too quickly, almost cutting her short.

    She nodded. ¡°Well, yeah. The library¡¯s pretty big so it takes up a lot of space. ¡±

    She continued up the stairs, heading to the first floor, but she paused when I spoke up.

    ¡°Please can you tell me which one of you is Abi and which is Zoe? ¡± I asked because, hell, I was getting tired of referring to them as the friendly twin and the goddess.

    She pursed her lips as though she hadn¡¯t expected such a question. Well, they hadn¡¯t expected me to figure that out myself, had they? I mean, it¡¯s not like they had stamps on their foreheads with their names written on. In my opinion, that was a pretty valid question I¡¯d asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m Abi. ¡± she answered eventually, tilting her chin to the person standing behind me, ¡°She¡¯s Zoe. ¡±

    I was going to ask who¡¯s older but then I decided against it. Pushing one¡¯s luck was never a good idea. Also, let¡¯s not forget first impressions.

    The two doors on the top floor were locked with no keys in sight.

    ¡°The room on the right is the library and on the left is dad¡¯s office, ¡± she started, ¡°We all have keys to the library but no one ever really uses it other than Zoe and, well, dad. ¡± my eyes flickered to the former, who had her shoulder against the wall, with her hands tucked into the pockets of her shorts, before returning to Abi.

    I was an inch taller than the twins, and while I was sure I could pull of sharing clothes with Zoe, Abi, on the other hand, not so much. My shorts would rip at the seams if she forced them on, that I was certain of.

    They weren¡¯t very identical if you asked me. The only features they shared were their skin colour, nose and eyes, and even the eyes were debatable. Abi¡¯s were easier to meet, but Zoe had overly intense eyes that made the browns somehow ck. That was why maintaining eye contact with her was such a chore.

    ¡°So, you¡¯ve seen it all. Let¡¯s go back down so I can show you your room. ¡±

    As I turned to leave, my eyes fell on a bend to the right at the extreme of the hallway. It was so far off that one wouldn¡¯t see it easily which was why I hadn¡¯t seen it when I came on. That bend definitely had to be leading somewhere. Hadn¡¯t she said there were just two rooms up here?

    ¡°I thought you said there are only two rooms up here. ¡±

    ¡°I did. ¡± she answered smoothly, one leg already in front of the other, prepared to go back down.

    ¡°Then what¡¯s down there? ¡± I pointed with my one free hand.

    She nced in the direction and her mouth formed a small O, and just as quickly, she recovered, giving a small humourlessugh. ¡°That¡¯s not a room. ¡±

    What did she mean?

    And with that, she made her way down the stairs and seeing as I had no choice, I followed, and of course, the silent Zoe followed behind me.

    We stopped when we reached the fourth room in the hallway. Abi twisted the set of keys that hung from the keyhole and pushed the door slightly open, but she didn¡¯t make any move to go in.

    ¡°This room is yours. That room, ¡± she pointed at a room which had to be the biggest since it took up the whole span of the wall facing us, ¡°is dad and mum¡¯s room. Those two, ¡± she pointed at two door facing each other, ¡°are mine and Zoe¡¯s. ¡±

    ¡°Who has the one opposite mine? ¡± I wondered out loud.

    ¡°It¡¯s a guest room. ¡±This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Oh. ¡±

    She took a step back, going to stand beside Zoe, who had been watching the both of us with absent eyes. She would have been a whole lot scarier if she weren¡¯t wearing colours that had life.

    ¡°So, I¡¯ll leave you to pack. ¡± Abi sent a questioning nce at my bag, and I knew she was just being polite because the contents of this bag wouldn¡¯t take twenty minutes to sort through. ¡°You can meet me and Zoe if you need anything. ¡±

    ¡°But you wouldn¡¯t need to because you¡¯d have everything. ¡± Zoe added, finally gracing us with her voice, a low, soft, raspy thing.

    Was it just me or had there been a note of aggression in there?

 Chapter 6

    With the sharpness in her gaze, I¡¯d put my money on thetter, but one couldn¡¯t judge her based on her eyes because they hadn¡¯t changed since I¡¯d met her.

    ¡°Okay, well¡­ ¡± I mumbled, at a loss for words.

    I wanted them to leave already so I could safely hide behind the walls of the room. Granted, I would be seeing them in no time, there was no way I could live with them and not, I just needed to get my bearings. I¡¯d barely spent an hour with them and I felt out of sorts already.

    I thought I caught a sh of pity in Abi¡¯s face, but then I wasn¡¯t so sure because it was gone in an instant. She pulled at her sister¡¯s hand, walking backwards.

    ¡°We¡¯ll leave you to it. ¡± they bundled down the stairs, disappearing out of sight.

    I stared at the nk spot they¡¯d just been in for a while, before pushing the door wide open and entering the room.

    The room -my room, was painted a in purple,plete with afy-looking four poster bed, a bed bench, bed rug, a dresser, side table and a couch off to the side. A door was situated on the side wall and I knew it had to lead to a bathroom.

    My own personal room and bathroom. Who would¡¯ve thought?

    Back at the orphanage, we weren¡¯t as privileged. The poption in there grew almost everyday as the supplies remained stagnant and with time, we¡¯d had to resort to pairing. A room housed about six beds in it and each bed had two upants. More times than one, people found themselves on the ground, with no memory of how they got there and some, t out opted to sleep on the floor. I couldn¡¯t fault them when I knew one person could barely fit into the beds, much less two people.

    I, on the other hand, was one of the lucky people who got to share their beds with the younger orphans. My bed partner had been a three-year-old girl, Fatima, incredibly smart and just as special. She had trouble sleeping, the sole reason every other person refused to pair with her. Sometimes, she¡¯d wake up at night and stare into the dark. It had been creepy witnessing it at first, but with time, I got used to it and devised a coping mechanism for the both of us.

    I read. For her and for me. Talking about false scenarios and how happy we were going to be even if all I fed her were lies. Lord knew they were better than our reality.

    Constantly witnessing children like Fatima arriving at the orphanage, took me to a bad ce. Hearing the pain in their cries, the sorrow on their tear-streaked faces, how impossibly small and vulnerable they were. It reminded me of myself. That had been me once upon a time.

    Now that I wasn¡¯t there for her anymore, I hoped she was okay.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    I didn¡¯t know from what age a person retained childhood memories and I didn¡¯t know if it was possible to have a memory before reaching the age of five, but I remembered tibdits of that night. It yed behind my eyelids like a footage when they slid closed.

    I¡¯d been chilled to my bones, sitting on the floor, my weak arms by my side, helpless to defend themselves against the unforgiving night wind. My desperate cries had rent the air as I screamed for help. Pity. Forgiveness. Anything really.

    And the only thing I¡¯d been granted, was silence.

    I could still remember how confused I¡¯d felt, my poor brain struggling to find the word it needed. When I did, I screamed, ¡®MAMA¡¯. She¡¯d paused as shock registered on her face, and in that short moment, I¡¯d felt hope. My hope dashed when she turned around and made the rest of the journey. Without me. One lesson that night taught me, was that words were never enough.

    Deep in my gut, I knew my parents were alive. I just didn¡¯t know where they were. And I wasn¡¯t a hundred percent sure I wanted to.

    I blinked, bringing myself back to the present. My hand had a death grip on the door-knob as I stood at the entrance of the bathroom. A little bit more pressure and it would have snapped. How nice would it be causing damage on my first day here? The girls would absolutely love it. My ass would be sent back to the orphanage and they¡¯d have their house all to themselves once again. Peace.

    If only.

    I might be downying my excitement just a little -okay, a lot. The house was beautiful, both inside and out. The furnitures and design were top notch and I would¡¯ve been rmed if I didn¡¯t know the kind of money my foster parents had.

    My room was absolutely stunning. Not too girly and not boyish either. It fit perfectly in the middle. Exactly what I would have wanted. Living here wouldn¡¯t be hard, rather it was the people I would be living with that bothered me.

    My foster parents weren¡¯t that much of an issue, but the twins¡­

    Abi seemed to tolerate me at least. She didn¡¯t like me, that very much was obvious and it would be unrealistic to assume she would since she¡¯d only just met me. Zoe, on the other hand, confused the hell out of me. I¡¯d never met a person asplicated as her. It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out that she didn¡¯t want me here. At all.

    What would it be like actually getting to know them without this new rtionship hanging over our heads? Would they have let me in?

    I dropped down on the bed, cing my bag beside me, feeling drained all of a sudden. Running a hand through my unmade hair, I stared absently at a spot on the wall.

    In another time, another ce, under different circumstances, I could have been friends with them. Maybe even good ones. But that was just a thought and it didn¡¯t really matter anyway. Because they¡¯d decided to make me an enemy.

    Even before I became a stranger.

 Chapter 7

    EVA

    Boutiques were a special kind of hell. They could fool people with their rows and rows of designer clothes, the soothing air sting from the AC¡¯s, the excited looks on people¡¯s faces, Satan¡¯s absence and theck of a zing red inferno, but they didn¡¯t fool me.

    This was where people¡¯s self esteems came to die. And mine was in danger of drawing it¡¯sst breath.

    ¡°Let me show you to another section. ¡± the sales attendant bared her teeth in something too shark-like to be a smile, sping her hands in front of her. She¡¯d clung to our side from the moment her eyestched onto us, when we came in and had refused to leave, offering suggestions when she thought we needed them.

    One could barely me her. One look at Mrs Lawson and the twins and you¡¯d know they were moneyed. With Mrs Lawson looking startlingly young in blue jeans, a cashmere sweater, her face coated in light make-up, Abi, in a brown long-sleeved thigh-length sheath gown, Zoe, in a ck baggy designer T-shirt that I¡¯d definitely cop, paired with a short Jean skirt and shorts, and finally, me, in my baggy faded joggers and holey oversized hoodie, it didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out I was the outsider.

    I felt like a rat.

    ¡°Another section? ¡± Mrs Lawson threw an incredulous look at the girl, ¡°When we¡¯ve only just entered this one? ¡±

    My brows rose involuntarily. If spending an hour at a ce counted as just entered, then she was right.

    ¡°But there are somuch mode clothes for her to try out. Spending all her money on-¡±

    ¡°She can get as many clothes as she wants. ¡± Mrs Lawson cut in, obviously offended.

    The sale¡¯s attendants already attained smile, turned apologetic as she nodded, ¡°Of course. ¡±

    I could guess it would not be favourable getting on a customer¡¯s bad side especially at a ce like this, reputable for it¡¯s top notch deliveries and customer service. ording to Mrs Lawson, it was the best boutique in Abuja and the most expensive. Of course I could easily have figured that out with the decor and amount of people milling around. If the ce hadn¡¯t been as huge as it was, I¡¯d have suffocated to death.

    I looked up to find Mrs Lawson watching me.

    ¡°Do you have all you need here, Eva? ¡±

    What a question.

    The huge pile of clothes in the cart beside her could answer that for me. They were tops. All of them. This was the first and only section of the boutique we had entered and I already had more clothes than I¡¯d had my entire life.

    Who spent an hour shopping on just tops? Mrs Lawson apparently. Not that I wasining or anything, but my legs were threatening to give. If she nned on spending an hour on every section we entered, then I was definitely going to pass out.

    ¡°In my opinion, ¡± she continued, ¡°You need much more than these. But if you¡¯d rathere another time for more, that would be okay too. ¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d rathere another time. ¡± I hurriedly said, and in a bid not to hurt her feelings, added, ¡°Probably newer clothes will be out by then. ¡±

    I didn¡¯t really care about the clothes, I wasn¡¯t one for trend. I¡¯d just opted for something that would sound convincing enough to her.

    ¡°How convenient. ¡± I heard Zoe mutter behind me.

    I acted like I didn¡¯t hear her and stared straight at Mrs Lawson, whose face broke out in a warm smile I¡¯de to grow fonder of within the past two days.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°That¡¯s true. I hadn¡¯t even thought about that. ¡±

    ¡°So where next? ¡± the assistant piped in, bouncing on the heels of her feet, her vibe, restored. She had passion for her job, that was for sure.

    ¡°Skirts and trousers. ¡± Mrs Lawson answered without hesitating.

    ¡°I¡¯ll lead the way. ¡± the attendant made a grab for the cart, but I beat her to it. I¡¯d felt fifty shades of ufortable watching her push my stuff around and I wasn¡¯t going to let her continue if I had a say at all. Which, apparently, I did because no-one said a thing.

    We walked out and into a hallway where we almost bumped into two girlsing in. We entered the next door in the hallway, which was for bottoms, indicated by shing neon light.

    We paused in front of the rows of clothes and I could tell we were all thinking the same thing, where do we start from?

    ¡°Do you wear skirts, Eva? ¡± the attendant surprised me by directing her question at me.

    ¡°No, not really. ¡± I answered quietly.

    ¡°But you¡¯d love to start wearing them now? I¡¯m sure they¡¯d look good on you. ¡± Mrs Lawson added.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. ¡± I kicked at the tires of my cart.

    ¡°How will you know if you don¡¯t try it? ¡± she asked tentatively.

    I shook my head, but I didn¡¯t look up at her. Hell. Why couldn¡¯t I have been a normal person with a normal life, dress sense, looks, likes and all? Why did I have to be a giant oddball with baggage the size of Africa?

    The atmosphere shifted, bing suddenly awkward. No one said a thing and I couldn¡¯t find it in me to check what their reactions were afraid I¡¯d see the familiar irritated looks I saw on people¡¯s faces when they dealt with me, on theirs.

    ¡°Trousers then. ¡± the attendant pper suddenly, catching me by surprise. Everyone really.

    She walked briskly and Mrs Lawson followed silently. I wondered if she was pissed at me. That would be hard to stomach. I turned to the twins, curious. Zoe stared at me nkly, no surprises there, while Abi gave me an apologetic smile. How¡­ Nice?

    For the past two days, -yes, it was my third day with the Lawsons and I was still of sound body and mind- Zoe had proceeded to ignore my existence to the point that I caught myself actually feeling my body just to make sure that I was indeed flesh and not a ghost. We hadn¡¯t had a single conversation since we were never really alone together, thank God, other than the usual ¡®good mornings¡¯ we exchanged. Well, I said, I wasn¡¯t sure she ever responded.

    My intuitions had been right about Abi. She¡¯d turned out to be the safe twin. Polite, nice and patient when showing me the basics around something. I wasn¡¯t that ufortable around her anymore. It was progress even if it was small.

    Her smile had me feeling slightly better. Slightly being the operative word. I simply couldn¡¯t handle Mrs Lawson being pissed at me.

    Mrs Lawson¡¯s voice pierced through my not-so-clowded thoughts. ¡°You only own baggy jeans, Eva, do you think you might want to try out form-fitting ones? ¡±

    I nced up at her, relief washing over me on seeing the small smile on her face. I blew out a breath I hadn¡¯t known I¡¯d been holding. So she wasn¡¯t pissed after all.

    Or maybe she was over it.

    ¡°No, they¡¯re not really my style. I¡¯d rather stick to the ones I¡¯m used to. ¡± I managed to maintain eye contact with her.

 Chapter 8

    Her smile fell, ¡°But you-¡± she cut herself off, sighing, ¡°Okay then. ¡±

    How long was it before she grew tired of me?

    ¡°This one, definitely. ¡±

    ¡°Oh my God. Look at this color. ¡±

    ¡°This one would look good on you. ¡±

    Mrs Lawson and the attendant finally managed to drown me in a heap of trousers. I could barely see past them. Why they hadn¡¯t just loaded them into another cart, was a mystery to me.

    ¡°Go try them out. ¡± Mrs Lawson waved me away.

    My eyes scanned the room, wondering in what direction the changing room was. When I couldn¡¯t find it, I turned to the attendant, ¡°Where is the changing room? ¡±

    She pointed to the back of the room where I now saw a door was located, ¡°Down there. It¡¯s the same for all rooms. ¡±

    I nodded, turned and marched towards my destination. I really didn¡¯t need to try most of them out as I already knew they were my size, but I¡¯d turned down Mrs Lawson enough for one day and I wanted to make up for it any way I could.

    The changing room was a big in space, with the only things in there being a couch, table and mirrors lining the wall in front and back.

    I dumped the heap on the couch, locked the door, took off my joggers, then proceeded to try the new clothes out.

    After sessfully trying them all out, I figured three of them were several sizes bigger than I was. I flung them over my shoulder in order not to get them mixed up with the rest, then I made my way back outside.

    Mrs Lawson looked up when she saw meing. The twins, though, we¡¯re nowhere in sight and the attendant was upied with rearranging the hanged clothes, spreading them to fill the newly empty spaces.

    ¡°They all fit. ¡± I dumped the clothes into my already full cart, extending the oversized ones to her, ¡°Except these two. ¡±

    The shopping progressed from there, everything falling back smoothly into ce. It turned out the twins were sitting by the entrance of the room and they got up when they saw using.

    Underwears were next, then slides, then finally, my most dreaded clothings, gowns.

    The doors at the entrance of the room slid open, my mouth falling open along with it. A group of people bumped into me, causing me to lose my grip on the cart for a few seconds before righting it.

    ¡°Good God. ¡± Mrs Lawson gaped, ¡°Look how packed the ce is. ¡±

    ¡°Exactly what I was going to say. ¡± Abi pursed her lips.

    My body rejected the idea of having to squeeze past such amount of people and risk them bumping into me from time to time and maybe even do damage. Who knew?

    ¡°We don¡¯t have to buy the gowns today. ¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We will. ¡± Mrs Lawson gave me a small smile, that wasn¡¯t even convincing in the slightest, before her face crumpled, ¡°But the crowd. ¡±

    Zoe¡¯s light chuckle caught me off-guard and I turned to see her shaking her head, ¡°I remember saying thating here today would be a bad idea. But of course no one listened to me. ¡±

    Mrs Lawson¡¯s brows dove down, ¡°I don¡¯t remember you saying anything like that. ¡±

    ¡°She did, Mum. ¡± Abi said at the same time Zoe said, ¡°I did. You just weren¡¯t paying attention to me. ¡±

    ¡°Well, you can¡¯t really me me for not listening to you when you always tend to be pessimistic. ¡±

    Oh, boy.

    ¡°You think I¡¯m pessimistic. ¡± Zoe shot back.

    This was starting to get ufortable. What was I supposed to do in a situation like this? Did I shut my mouth and let them argue until one of them grew tired? Zoe showed no signs of backing down and by the look on Mrs Lawson¡¯s face, I knew she wasn¡¯t going to too.

    ¡°Look, now is not the time, Zoe. ¡±

    A bitter smile found its way to Zoe¡¯s face, ¡°When ever is it the time? ¡±

    I nced at Abi but I couldn¡¯t read the look on her face. Oh, hell.

    ¡°There she goes again. ¡± Mrs Lawson shook her head, taking several steps inside the crowded room.

    ¡°That she is your daughter. ¡± her voice cracked on thest word. And for the first time since I met her, I saw an expression on Zoe¡¯s face. Hurt. It made her¡­.. Human.

    ¡°And that means your bad attitude should be pardoned? ¡±

    I wanted to run. Just get the hell out of there.

    Zoe¡¯s face shuttered. Where hurt had been a second ago, a nk look now lived. What terrified me was the ease with which she hid her emotions. Masking one¡¯s emotions was an art, and Zoe, I realized, was a master artist.

    ¡°Bad attitude? ¡± she cried, ¡°I -¡±

    ¡°Have some respect, Zoe. ¡± Mrs Lawson cut her off, ¡°If you¡¯re too shameless to have any for yourself, have some for me at least. ¡±

    Ouch.

    ¡°Mom, it¡¯s okay. ¡± Abi finally spoke up. But she was toote.

    Zoe turned to Abi, giving me her face in profile. She had that carefully constructed mask of indifference on and I almost believed I had imagined the look of hurt on her face. Almost.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be outside. ¡± she made it very obvious she was speaking to Abi in particr before walking off.

    It was perfectly normal for parents to get into fights with their children every now and then but witnessing Abi and Mrs Lawson argue, threw me off. There had been an underlying tension there, like they had been talking from a ce deep inside them and those were bottled up feelings they¡¯d been dying to let out.

    I gazed at Mrs Lawson, wondering if my theory was right. Did they have arguments like this often? With the venom in her words and the bitterness in Zoe¡¯s, I¡¯d bet they did.

    Now is not the time, Zoe.

    When ever is the time?

    It was definitely not the first time they hashed things out like this.

    But¡­.. Why?Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.

    Then I realized the oddest thing. They had never had a single conversation in my presence, none that I took not of anyway. Could it be that they had more going on between them than just a mere misunderstanding?

    The imprable Zoe¡¯s mask had skewed for a few long, ufortable seconds.

    ¡°Eva what do you think? ¡± Mrs Lawson raised a blue gown in front of her, showing me it¡¯s full length and style.

    It was pretty but, really? Now?

    I shook my head, taking a step back from my cart, ¡°I-I need to use the restroom. ¡±

    She frowned, taken aback by the abrupt change in subject, ¡°Oh? Well, it¡¯s -¡±

    I dashed out of there before she could finish her sentence.

    The boutique was huge, the size of a whole mall. Finding the restroom without asking for directions wasn¡¯t going to be easy. Although I didn¡¯t specifically need the restroom. Any room would do. All I needed was to hide behind a wall. And breathe.

    Granted, it was a cowardly thing to do, but that was the only way I knew how to deal with ufortable situations.

 Chapter 9

    Shoppers stared at me strangely as I raced past them. They probably thought I was mad and I wouldn¡¯t me them if they did. I tried to imagine what I looked like to them. A haggard five foot four teenager, racing through the Updated Collections with no one chasing her.

    What a view.

    I skidded to a stop when I realized I was standing in what happened to be a narrow hallway with a door on the right and left eachbeled; FIRE EXIT and, thank God, RESTROOMS.

    I pushed the door open, walking into a wide hallway with a total of five toilets in it. I wasted no time in trying the door knobs, searching for the unupied room.

    Locked. Locked. Locked. Locked.

    Please let thest one be open. Please God, let thest one be open.

    I tried the handle slowly, saying a silent prayer, and yes! Open.

    I shouldered in, stumbling to a halt and my eyes going wide at the sight that awaited me. It took me five seconds to process what I was seeing, five seconds to deem it inappropriate and another five seconds for me to turn away because it was somewhat captivating.

    There was a guy, with his front to me and his feet nted wide and a girl on her knees before him, who appeared to be¡­¡­. servicing him.

    The former merely stared at the intruder while thetter threw me an irritated look. No shame whatsoever, when she should have been considering how low she had brought herself. Literally. One look. That was all she gave me before before she turned back around and yep, she was still holding his thing.

    The guy, who hadn¡¯t taken his eyes off me since I interrupted them, pushed her head away lightly. She pouted up at him.

    ¡°Another time, maybe. ¡± he spoke, his voice catching me by surprise.

    She rose in one graceful move and my eyes flew up instantly because that meant he was hanging free. Hanging free. Wonder why it was so hard to stop thinking about that.

    She shouldered past me and that was when I got a good look at her. She looked to be in her early twenties and apparently, she worked here, in the boutique because she was wearing a shirt with the boutique logo. A long and artistically designed U.

    Hanging with a guy when she should have been working. How professional. Well, technically, she had been seeing to a customer¡¯s needs but that particr need wasn¡¯t among the services she rendered.

    When did I get so judgmental? I wasn¡¯t even one to talk. Why on earth was I still standing here when in my right state of mind, I would have gotten the hell out of this ce?

    It must be shock. Of having being scandalized. That had to be it.

    The m of the door ricocheted in the small room, signaling the girl¡¯s departure.

    I should turn around and leave. I knew I should. I had absolutely no reason staying here. What I¡¯d needed, was an empty room. This one was far from empty, so the normal thing to do would be to apologize, turn around and leave.

    But I wasn¡¯t normal and I couldn¡¯t, for some totally ridiculous reason, pull my eyes away from the riveting male in front of me.

    He¡¯d tucked himself in but his zipper still gaped and he made no move to roll it up. Instead, he took one step, then another, and another, then a final one that brought him for to toe with me, right in my personal space. He¡¯d seemed to grow taller with each step and with him standing this close, he dwarfed me. I had never considered myself a short person, but he certainly made me feel like I was now.

    ¡°You pissed her off. ¡± he surprised me by speaking again. It wasn¡¯t merely his talking that surprised me -it was his voice. It was light, raspy and yes, sexy.

    By her, I assumed he was talking about the girl that just left here.

    ¡°Are you mute? ¡± he asked.

    What a stupid question to ask a mute.

    Again, why was I still standing here and why wasn¡¯t I freaking out over him standing so close to me? Two very reasonable questions I should be trying to answer.

    ¡°My eyes are up here. Stop ogling. It¡¯s disrespectful. ¡±

    My eyes flew up to his face and with a scowl etched on mine, I red at him, ¡°I wasn¡¯t ogling. ¡±

    He blinked once. Twice. Then his mouth dropped open, quiteically, ¡°Fuck me. ¡± he breathed, ¡°You¡¯re beautiful. ¡±

    If I were shades lighter, I would be the color of a tomato right now. Thank God for my skin tone. The only physical reaction hispliment were my eyes dropping, but even that was short lived because they had way more importantly things doing. For instance, they were currently preupied with the model-worthy face of this male.

    He was young. Younger than I had initially thought he was and he had all the features romance authors seemed to be infatuated with; sculpted cheekbones, square jaw, straight nose, enviably longshes, and those pouty lips that I seemed to love. He had every single thing.

    It was almost annoying.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.

    A tiny flicker of light trickled in from the only window in the room to rest directly on my face. Just as I turned to shield my eyes away from the burning, he caught my hand, shocking me with that bold move.

    Warm, big, hands encircled my wrist and I stared at them puzzlingly as if they had the answers to all the questions running through my mind.

    When he spoke this time, his voice was low and filled with awe, ¡°You have the rainbow in your eyes. How¡¯s that even possible? ¡±

    My breath caught.

    My eyes!

    I¡¯d been so caught up in the moment, I hadpletely forgotten about them. About everything that was wrong with me.

    Tensing, I tugged my hand out of his grip, which turned out to be surprisingly free, then dashed out of there like my ass was on fire. I regretted not stealing onest look at his face before leaving. Oh, well. I would live.

    I sighed immediately I caught sight of Mrs Lawson and Abi. Back to shopping. Sure I was excited for the clothes. Who wouldn¡¯t be? It was just the process that killed. Before we¡¯de to the boutique, we had gone to Abi and Zoe¡¯s school, Ivacy High, to get me enrolled in. As at now, I was officially a student of a school reputed to be one of the best in Nigeria. How¡­ odd.

    Monday, I started school. With new ssmates, teachers, teaching pattern and sybus. I was already getting stressed thinking about it so I tried to push it to the back of my mind.

    Monday was two days away and I would deal with it when it came. Now, I had to get through this shopping.

    Mrs Lawson grinned at me, with a gown -and her eyebrows- raised.

    I sighed again, stering a fake smile on my face.

    At least it was fun for someone.

 Chapter 10

    EVA

    Ivacy High was, well, high, and nothing like what I¡¯d expected.

    Nothing turned out to be what I expected these days. I might as well stop assuming.

    I¡¯d expected in colours,rge, impersonal buildings, snobby students -I was yet to meet them, and ssy teachers. I mean, it was a private school, also one of the most expensive and if Abi and Zoe¡¯s characters were things to go by, I¡¯d say they went to a school that reflected them. I could hardly be med foring to that conclusion. Really.

    Lord knew the beautifully colored, albeit overlyrge buildings with inspirational and motivational quotes from different prodigies, hanging on the walls on various sides, took mepletely by surprise.

    ¡± The school assembly starts in exactly ten minutes from now, ¡± Abi nced at the watch on her left wrist, ¡°And I like to be there at least three minutes before. ¡±

    She looked smart and put together in her school uniform; white long-sleeved button down shirt and a ck colored skirt that ended just an inch above her knee. I loved the length. It always irked me how the students back at my old school took advantage of the nonchntness of the people in authority. They tookwlessness to a new degree, chopping off several inches off their skirts and unting around with their new lengths. Mid-thigh.

    ¡°I¡¯m an arts students and my ss is over there. ¡± Abi continued, pointing to a two storey building located on the right of the school building.

    The whole secondary school block was divided into four buildings, excluding the gate man¡¯s post. There were three main buildings in the form of a Y. Just picture a Y with a straight line drawn through the middle. That was exactly what it looked like. The building on the right hand side, where Abi¡¯s ss was located, was apparently, for Arts students. And if I had to guess, then the one on the left was for science because they were simr in style. The middle building was a one storey.

    ¡°Zoe¡¯s science too, so you guys¡¯ ss is over there.¡± My guess was right. She pointed at the opposite building. ¡°It would be so much easier if you went with Zoe, but¡­ ¡± we both nced at her, who, in return, gave us a nk look, ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s go then. ¡±

    Zoe rolled her to eyes. Yes, actually rolled her eyes and sighed, ¡°Go do your good girl duties. I¡¯ll take her. ¡±

    Abi frowned, her eyes darting between us unsurely.

    Same, girl. Same.

    ¡°You mean¡­.. I should leave her with you? ¡± she asked, choosing to ignore the good girlment.

    ¡°Did I stutter? ¡± Zoe cocked a perfectly shaved brow.

    Abi¡¯s eyes roamed my face as if silently asking me if I was okay with it. Wait. Were we even considering this? Zoe hated my guts to pieces. If she was volunteering to show me around, then she definitely had a n. And it wasn¡¯t a good one.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± she pressed, ¡°Cause it¡¯s not that big of a deal. I could easily just -¡±

    Zoe fingered the strap of her water bottle, ¡°For someone who¡¯s so adamant on getting to the assembly earlier, you¡¯re pretty hell bent on wasting a lot of time. Go. I said I¡¯ll take her. ¡±

    Abi shrugged apologetically before giving me a bright smile, ¡°Okay then. See you guyster. ¡±

    Please don¡¯t go.

    She left.

    As we walked, Zoe talked, ¡°There¡¯s a ss A, B and C. I don¡¯t know which one the school would put you in, although I¡¯m guessing a C. So you¡¯ll stay at B until they decide what to do with you. ¡±

    How rude.

    Usually, ss C was reserved for the students that weren¡¯t as bright as the others and I had to admit that it stung, even if a little, that she ssified me amongst one of them. Sure, my previous school had been a public one and we were generally looked down on, but that didn¡¯t mean I didn¡¯t do well with my studies.

    Suddenly, a series of loud, impatient honking sounds rang out behind us, the unprecedented sound, making my ears ring. Several cars drove in just as I turned. Pretty, expensive-looking cars that had me pausing to stare. They were about five in total. And I didn¡¯t know if they hade together or if they just happened toe in at the same time but it looked like it. When they alighted the cars, I saw that they were students!

    I¡¯d never seen a student who owned a car, not to talk of one who drove it into the schoolpound. But apparently, it was a normality here.

    ¡°Don¡¯t stare. ¡± Zoe scolded harshly, her soft voice bing an octave deeper, causing me to jerk around and face her, ¡°Why would you even? ¡±

    I opened my mouth but no sound came out. I had nothing to say. The only thing that stood out in my head right now was the fact that this was the longest conversation Zoe and I had ever had, even if it wasn¡¯t really one since she was doing all the talking -which made it even weirder because she wasn¡¯t a talker- and it just happened to be when my brain was running 0. 00 mile an hour.

    ¡°When you do, it makes them want to put up more of a show. ¡± she leveled those intense orbs on mine, ¡°It¡¯s not worth it. Believe me. ¡±

    I nodded, figuring my brain wasn¡¯t ready toe on board yet, before we resumed our walk.

    Err, in case you were wondering, she did dump me in ss B. Stupid old me had thought we¡¯d somehow bonded or something.

    Assembly passed by in a blur, and then came a general ss meeting with the principal.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.

    I thought I was going to die when a girl, I assumed she was a prefect because she wasn¡¯t standing in line with us, eyed me then hissed as she turned to her friends saying, ¡°Wah for who nor wear contact lens oh. ¡± and they all burst outughing, which made everyone turn to us in curiosity. I had never wanted the ground to open up and swallow me more than I did in that moment.

    [Wah for who nor wear contact lens oh: So contacts are the new trend. ]

    ¡°That¡¯s not nice. ¡± a familiar voice said and it turned out to be Abi.

    ¡°If it isn¡¯t Mrs Do Good. ¡± another girl said, throwing them into a fit of giggles again.

    I looked up when they abruptly stoppedughing, wondering if perhaps, a teacher, had caught them, but there were no teachers in sight. It was then I noticed how they were studiously averting their gazes to the left, so naturally, I looked to the right to see who could evoke such a reaction in them and saw Zoe giving them the full force of her re.

    Oh. She was the one they were scared of.

    I chuckled lightly, shaking my head. Of course I wasn¡¯t the only one that found her terrifying.

 Chapter 11

    But the deed was done. People were now whispering and not-so-discreetly pointing at me. The number of eyes on me made my skin itch, making it almost unbearable to be in. I wanted to cry. Badly.

    A loud, prolonged hiss rang out, ¡°These girls can disturb for assembly. ¡± a male voice said.

    [These girls can disturb for assembly: These girls talk too much during assembly.]

    ¡°Abeg let me hear word. ¡± a female voice retorted.

    [Abeg let me hear word: Please spare me that. ]

    ¡°Who¡¯s that one talking to? ¡±

    And so they began, sessfully deviating from the topic. Although not for long. They woulde back to it. They always did.

    Few gazes lingered, but I kept my head straight forward, acting like I didn¡¯t see them. I had gone through worse after all. And even though I left with battle scars, I left victorious.

    The school principal, from his standing point where he had been addressing us, threw a warning look in our direction for the distraction we caused. That shut us up pretty fast.

    The principal dismissed us soon and we trailed towards our sses -I actually ended up in ss B, thanks to the principal. At least it was better than a C.

    I waited for everyone to sit before ncing around, looking for where I would too. There were only two vacant seats. One beside a girl and another beside a boy.

    The boy, probably guessing that I was searching for a vacant seat, frowned, cing a hand on the chair protectively, ¡°I can¡¯t share this space with anyone. Sorry. ¡±

    Well, there was only one ce left.

    The girl rolled her eyes at the boy before giving me a warm smile, ¡°It¡¯s okay. You cane sit with me. ¡±

    I smiled gratefully.

    The form teacher walked into our ss the moment I sat. She was outstandingly prompt, another difference between my old school and this one. My form teacher back at my old school could never find the time toe to ss this early. God forbid she let a drop of her special pap go to waste.

    I smiled. Mrs Gbenga. I would definitely miss seeing her chubby legs going on tiptoes as she struggled to reach the top of the ckboard as the studentsughed away.

    My current form mistress seemed like a woman I would like. A smart, no-nonsense, straight to the point woman.

    ¡°So I came into the ss and you people couldn¡¯t even coordinate yourselves to greet. ¡± she asked, dropping a file on the table in front, ¡°ss Prefect, you¡¯re there sitting. You, too, zipped your mouth abi? ¡±

    {Abi: Right }

    ¡°Are we children? ¡± a guy hissed.

    I gaped, shocked at his audacity.

    She narrowed her eyes, ¡°You¡¯re asking me if you are children. So you think you are adults now. ¡± she fumed, ¡°And even adults don¡¯t respect their elders? ¡±

    She shook her head, crossing her arms, ¡°As you can see, you¡¯re in the second week of SSS3 already and time is running out. I pity those of you that think that just because WAEC is next year, you shouldn¡¯t start preparing now. Next year is just four months from now in case you¡¯re deluding yourself into thinking it¡¯s a long time. All of you better sit up. ¡± she pointed at me, ¡°And you. What kind of student transfers to a school in SSS3? In my opinion, you¡¯re just desperately looking for failure. ¡°-someoneughed- ¡°We¡¯re serious people here. You better be one too. ¡± she paused, ncing at her watch, ¡°Your teacher will be here soon. I trust you¡¯ll behave yourselves. ¡±

    With that, she left.

    Well, I may have been too quick to judge her.

    She was definitely someone I would hate.

    Between periods, my seatmate decided to strike up a conversation with me.

    ¡°So what¡¯s your name, if you don¡¯t mind me asking? ¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Eva. ¡±

    ¡°Nice to meet you, Eva. I¡¯m Coco. ¡±

    I blinked, ¡°Coco? That¡¯s your name? ¡±

    Sheughed lightly, ¡°Well, it¡¯s Chloe but everyone calls me Coco. ¡±

    I nodded. That made sense. ¡°Oh okay then. ¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t talk much. ¡± she noted.

    ¡°No, I-¡±

    ¡°Is it the nerves? Being a new student? I totally understand how hard it must be for -¡±

    ¡°The girl isn¡¯t in the mood to talk, Coco. Take a hint. For once in your life. ¡±

    The girl who had just spoken, upied the seat directly behind me and had her head down, focused on the book she was reading.

    I peered closer at the cover, trying to get the title, but she mmed it down on her desk. She gave me an odd look, ¡°You¡¯re wee. ¡±

    I assumed that was my cue to turn around.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    Chloe¡¯s eyes were filled with guilt. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I was making you ufortable. ¡±

    I shook my head quickly, ¡°No, no, you weren¡¯t.¡±

    She smiled, her eyes lingering on mine. I looked away.

    ¡°Were you born like this? ¡±

    Of course. My eyes.

    ¡°Yes. ¡±

    I focused on catching up on the math work they¡¯d learnt the previous week.

    She cleared her throat. Loudly. ¡°So they¡¯re really not contacts? ¡±

    ¡°Of course not. ¡±

    Why would I even wear contacts to school?

    Good question. You should ask her.

    ¡°Cause, ¡± she continued, undeterred, ¡°You know, everyone thought that¡¯s what you were wearing. ¡±

    More like assumed.

    ¡°No. ¡± I said simply.

    She shifted to the edge of her seat, leaning heavily on her desk. If only she could topple over. ¡°So, if it is true, what¡¯s it like having eyes like yours? ¡±

    If it is true.

    I might have made a terrible mistake choosing to sit with this one, not like I had been left with another option though.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯m very busy. ¡± I mustered up a smile, ¡°Yourst week¡¯s math is giving me a headache, ¡°-it wasn¡¯t-¡°and I really need to concentrate so¡­. ¡±

    Her eyes widened with faux innocence and understanding, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s okay. ¡±

    I nodded, returning my eyes to the textbook.

    ¡°But-¡±

    The bell cut her off, signaling it was time for lunch break. Saved by the bell. Thank goodness. I dashed out of the seat and I thought I heard a faint sound ofughter from the girl behind me.

    But now that I had run out into the corridor like a little chicken, where to?

 Chapter 12

    A girl walked passed me with a guy who had his hand around her and I watched as they talked animatedly. She leaned into him, wrapping her hand around his waist. He said something to her that made herugh up at him. How happy they looked.

    I felt something squeeze in my chest.

    What was it like being in a rtionship? Being in love?

    A teacher walked out of one of the sses just then, nced at them, then looked away and walked down the stairs. He literally saw them and didn¡¯t say anything.

    Students were allowed to be in rtionships? My brain was having a hard time processing this.

    A girl almost walked into them,pletely absorbed in the book she was reading. Books! I could go to the library. See if they had anything good in there.

    Now for directions to the library¡­Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.

    I approached a girl, smiled and asked her, rather politely, if she could point me in the direction.

    ¡°Do I look like a map to you? ¡± she scowled, her eyes shooting daggers at me. All that anger. For a simple question.

    Oh, to hell with these people. I would find the library myself.

    Ten minutester, I did. VICTORY. I pushed the door open, taking a step in, but I paused when I heard voices. It sounded like two people were talking. Whispering, more like. Or maybe it was the distance that made it seem that way.

    There was no way I could go in, not with those people in there. What a wasted time effort finding this library turned out to be.

    I turned to leave when-

    ¡°Don¡¯t leave yet. ¡± a male voice said. But it wasn¡¯t directed at me.

    ¡°I have things to do. ¡± came a female voice.

    It was a boy and a girl in there.

    ¡°I know but please stay a little longer. ¡±

    I wasn¡¯t one to eavesdrop, but asking me to leave there now was impossible. I leaned into the room, the reason I¡¯de searching for the library in the first ce, long forgotten.

    ¡°Why? ¡±

    ¡°Why does everything with you have to be so hard? ¡±

    Silence.

    ¡°Please? ¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t, Dexter. ¡±

    I made a mental note to get as much information as I could on this Dexter person.

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it¡¯s going to be between us? ¡± his voice was low, so low, I had to lean farther into the hear them. The possibility of me getting caught was progressively increasing by the second.

    ¡°What do you mean? ¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been somehow with me ever since he got transferred into our ss. ¡±

    He?

    ¡°He? ¡±

    Theck of emotion in the girl¡¯s voice had me feeling sorry for this Dexter guy.

    ¡°Are you just going to keep standing there or are you going to go in? ¡±

    I frowned. What did that have to do with the conversation they were having? Also, that voice had sounded too close to havee from them.

    I yelped, turning around.

    Pretty eyes, chiseled jaw, Roman nose, firm lips. It was an overall blindingly handsome face. Of course I couldn¡¯t have been caught by an average-looking guy.

    My hands flew to my chest, pressing down on it as if it could slow my racing heart.

    He took a step back, looked through the window -funny, I hadn¡¯t seen one there before- then at me. ¡°Eavesdropping, were you? ¡±

    His deep voice rmed me and I wanted to mp my hand over his mouth.

    ¡°No. ¡± I whisper shouted, ¡°I wanted to use the library-¡±

    ¡°But then you saw them in there and decided to listen, ¡± he cut me off, ¡°Or you probably saw theming up here and followed. ¡±

    How absurd.

    ¡°The first one. ¡± for some reason, my voice couldn¡¯t rise above a whisper, ¡°And not quite. So please lower your voice or shut up. ¡±

    His eyes widened in surprise over the fact that I had told him to shut up. I was too, to be honest. Where had thate from?

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? ¡± a familiar voice said behind me and it was then I noticed that the upants of the library weren¡¯t talking anymore.

    Oh, great. They hade out. I knew that if my yelp of surprise hadn¡¯t been enough to make them know they hadpany, then Pretty Face¡¯s voice certainly would.

    Pretty Face nced behind me and I thought I saw a subtle clench to his jaw. Subtle, but obvious, because of how definite they were.

    I turned around and standing in front of me, was Zoe Lawson.

    It had been her in the room with the Dexter guy!

    ¡°Were you guys eavesdropping?¡± the guy -Dexter, said. He was tall, handsome in a ssic way, light skinned and had a slight build.

    Oh boy.

    ¡°In order for that to happen, I would actually have to give a quarter of a fuck first. ¡± Pretty Face said cooly.

    ¡°Eva, were you? ¡± Zoe crossed her arms.

    ¡°No, of course I wasn¡¯t. ¡±

    ¡°We heard everything. ¡±

    Shit.

    ¡°I-¡±

    ¡°What the hell is your problem? ¡±

    ¡°Baby, calm. ¡± Dexter put his hand around her shoulder. Well, tried to. She took a step away, bringing her hands out in front of her.

    ¡°Just go. Okay? I need to handle this. ¡±

    This. I was screwed.

    ¡°Can Ie to youter? ¡± he stuck his bottom lip out and he looked a lot like a puppy. Did he think that was a good look on him?

    I tried not to cringe in disgust. I looked away instead.

    ¡°I think I died somewhere during this conversation. ¡± Pretty Face delivered tly before I heard him leaving. Dexter threw him a murderous look.

    I would haveughed but I was about to witness my own funeral. I shouldn¡¯t find anything funny.

    ¡°Yes. Just go. ¡± she waved him away, her stormy eyes fixed on me.

    He seemed like he wanted to say more, but then thought against it and he was off.

    And I was left with a fuming Zoe.

 Chapter 13

    EVA

    ¡°What did I do to you? ¡± Zoe started. ¡°Besides putting up with your unprecedented existence in my life, that is. ¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what to say. She was obviously in a very bad mood, worse than I had ever seen her in. I couldn¡¯t tell by her face, no, one could never tell her emotions from it, rather, it was the liquid fire emanating in waves from her narrowed eyes that did.

    ¡°It¡¯s your first day of schooling here, Eva. But you just couldn¡¯t wait even for a little while, could you? ¡±

    It resonated somewhere at the back of my mind that this was the first time she was actually calling my name.

    ¡°What exactly was your n anyway? ¡± she shifted her weight from one foot onto the other, ¡°That you¡¯d get some huge dirt on me and then tell mom and dad about it? ¡±

    Her fury escted with each word, as did my heart beat.

    ¡°I hate to break it to you but mom and dad couldn¡¯t hate me any more than they already do, so, congrattions, your efforts are officially wasted. ¡± she sneered, ¡°Go spy on someone else, preferably someone who would actually want their business aired. ¡±

    ¡°I-¡±

    ¡°Nothing, ¡± she cut me off, shing her hand through the air to emphasize her word, ¡°Nothing you have to say matters anymore. Just, please, stay the hell away from me. ¡±

    At first, it felt like I had imagined the whole thing, but as seconds rolled by into minutes, I began to absorb the full meaning of what had just happened.

    Myplicated rtionship with Zoe was now, totally ruined.

    She was most likely going to tell Abi and her parents that she had caught me eavesdropping on her.

    I lived with those people.

    I was screwed.

    I trudged into the library, walking far inside to where the books were neatly arranged on the shelves. Guessing, I would say they were sorted by genre, but who knew?

    I trailed my fingertips along the books surfaces, not really paying attention to the name, as I moved from one shelve to another. Calm surrounded me, swiftly andpletely, pushing all my fears into the shadows.

    This. This feeling right here, of serenity, that books gave to me, was priceless. Just being in the mere presence of them soothed something deep down in me that I couldn¡¯t quite describe.

    ¡°Books or people? ¡± a voice interrupted my thoughts, and I answered before thinking.

    ¡°Books. ¡±

    ¡°Smart. ¡±

    It was a feminine voice. Sure and loud in the otherwise silent room.

    ¡°Horror or romance? ¡±

    ¡°Romance. ¡± I answered again.

    ¡°Sappy. ¡±

    Iughed. Sheughed. I still hadn¡¯t turned around. I didn¡¯t know who this person was and there was something exciting about the anonymity of our conversation. Did I know her? Did she know me?

    ¡°Daydreams or nightmares? ¡±

    ¡°Daydreams? ¡± I frowned.

    ¡°Mmm. ¡± was all she said, ¡°Boys or girls? ¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t judge a person based on their gender. ¡± I stopped in front of a book. I was staring at it but I couldn¡¯t see the name.

    ¡°Lesbian, bisexual or straight? ¡±

    Oh, that¡¯s what she meant.

    ¡°Straight. ¡± I almost turned, but I caught myself before I could.

    ¡°Friends or family? ¡± she asked again.

    A dull ache echoed in my chest. The ¡®family¡¯ I had to speak of, took me in only out of charity and it was incredibly sad to think that I didn¡¯t even know the location of the one friend I had. Not anymore.

    My life was aplete joke.

    ¡°None. ¡± I croaked.

    There was a pause. Then, ¡°Do you want to talk? ¡±

    I thought about it. How pathetic would it be dumping all my problems at the feet of a stranger?

    But what did I have to loose? EVERYTHING

    I shook my head, ¡°Not really. ¡±

    ¡°Have you ever been to a hospital? ¡± she asked all of a sudden. I opened my mouth to answer, but she didn¡¯t let me, ¡°Do you see those sick people? The ones on the beds? Waiting to get parts of their bodies amputated or just struggling to get better? They wish they were you.

    ¡°Complete. Strong. Healthy. ¡±All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.

    I felt heavy emotion on thest word.

    ¡°If you spend your whole life regretting and thinking about the past or your current situation, you¡¯ll never live. Be grateful for where you are even if it¡¯s not where you want to be. You could be so much more worse. ¡±

    I wanted to say something, but the words couldn¡¯t make it past my clogged throat. I was experiencing a myriad of emotions that I couldn¡¯t even begin to name.

    I spun around so I could see her. I wasn¡¯t supposed to see her face. I was ruining the game, I knew that. But who were we kidding? It wasn¡¯t a game anymore. Not for the past five minutes anyway.

    But she wasn¡¯t there. She left just as silently as she¡¯de.

    I turned back around and my eyes fell on the book I was standing in front of.

    The Phoenix. Joe Nigg.

    I dragged myself back to ss, concentrating on studying.

    6pm.

    The bell went off. The school usually closed at 4pm but with the extra lectures attached to all promotion sses, whichsted for two hours, we closed at 6.

    I sat back, reluctant to leave the ss because that meant having to face Zoe and not a single part of me wanted to. Hugging my bag to my front, I watched the eager students fill out into the hallway.

    Their excitement clearly showed on their faces and who could me them? My butt hurt like hell from sitting so long and I would happily rush out too if the consequences weren¡¯t so dire.

    Story of my life.

    I waited until it was just a few people loitering in the hallway, before waking out. I strapped my bag to my back as I made my way down the deserted stairs.

    Ars Longa, Vita Brevis.

    Art is long, life is short.

 Chapter 14

    The framed quote hung on the wall of the staircase.

    Death was inevitable. Everyone was bound to die at some point, some sooner than others. But art never died. It lived on continuously from one generation to another and the other, gaining more fame and recognition in its immortality.

    Take Pablo Picasso, ude M, Salvador Dali etc. They were long dead, yet they were remembered for their arts. And they probably would always remain in our hearts.

    And I guess that short quote was what pushed me into making a decision, there and then, that I was going to be a published author one day. Even if it was the only thing I did.

    I stopped abruptly when I saw a shadow looming at the foot of the stairs. The head lifted and I sighed out in relief when I saw that it was Dexter. Why had I been rmed when I saw the person standing there? Perhaps I had thought it was Zoe? That was totally ridiculous of me because she didn¡¯t have a violent bone in her body. But her words¡­

    Words did more damage.

    His eyesnded on me. ¡°Finally. ¡±

    ¡°Finally? ¡± I echoed dumbly.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you. ¡±

    What for?

    He took two steps up towards me and I took one back. My heart mmed against my rib cage.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.

    ¡°Why? ¡± I gasped.

    He stared at a spot over my shoulder, ¡°For two whole years that I¡¯ve dated Zoe, I¡¯ve never seen her cry. Not once. She¡¯s the strongest, most untouched person I know. ¡± he nced at me, ¡°But somehow, you made her cry. ¡±

    Zoe cried? Jesus.

    He smiled all of a sudden. A sadistic, creepy smile that gave me chills, ¡°Do you know what I¡¯m going to do to you? ¡±

    A mad light entered his eyes and somehow, I knew he wasn¡¯t human anymore.

    This was wrong. So bloody wrong.

    He pounced on me but I jumped out of the way before he could catch me, dashing up the stairs. It was hard running up the tiled floors since I wasn¡¯t so ustomed to them yet, but adrenaline fueled me and I found myself on the second floor in no time.

    I pulled the first door I found in the hallway open and dived in. I fell back against the door, closing my eyes as I tried to calm my erratic heartbeat.

    Please, God, don¡¯t let him catch me.

    If he did, I was dead. I mean, I didn¡¯t know what he intended to do to me. And I didn¡¯t want to find out.

    Hesitantly, my eyes fluttered open. I tried to take in the dark room but I couldn¡¯t because it was, well, dark. Until the lights flickered, then came on.

    ¡°Rainbow! ¡± the guy, who apparently, had been in the room before I came in, eximed, ¡°You go to school here? ¡±

    My eyes bugged out. I rushed over to him, stretching to mp my hand over his mouth. It was toote to pull back, however, when I felt his teeth digging into my flesh.

    ¡°Ow. ¡± I cried out, momentarily forgetting that I was hiding from a madman, my mouth dropping open in surprise and confusion.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that again. ¡± his eyes narrowed, but there were no heat in his words.

    ¡°You¡­.. bit me? ¡± I shook my hand out, trying to ignore the sheen of saliva coating my palm.

    ¡°I will if you do it again. ¡± he said, not in the slightest bit apologetic.

    ¡°I won¡¯t. Just shhhh. ¡±

    He cocked his head, nced at the door, then at me, ¡°Mind telling me what¡¯s going on? ¡±

    ¡°I do. ¡±

    ¡°Why? ¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s not your business. ¡± I shot back.

    I didn¡¯t know what it was about him that made me talk back, but I liked it. Like how I¡¯d forgotten myself with him in the boutique bathroom. It made me feel¡­ normal.

    ¡°You know, ¡± he mused in Thinker Pose, ¡°I could easily just push you out there, right into the arms of the person you¡¯re hiding from, right? ¡±

    My breath faltered. ¡°Please don¡¯t. ¡±

    He smiled and his dimples showcased, sessfully making everything within four feet of him fade away, ¡°Rx. I was just saying. ¡±

    My heart now beat at its normal pace as my fear subsided. Did Zoe know the kind of person she was dating? No. No, she didn¡¯t.

    The Dexter I saw with Zoe had been nice, calm and loving. Soft, even. So where had this evil versione from?

    ¡°Do you remember me? ¡± the simple question said in his low voice caught me off guard.

    I nodded, ¡°From the boutique. ¡±

    He smiled again and it was then I knew why talking to him was so easy. He was free, quick with smiles and had that down-to-earth vibe.

    ¡°Why do we meet like this? ¡± he voiced out my thought.

    I shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I should be asking you. ¡± I nced around the cluttered room curiously, ¡°What are you doing in here anyway? ¡±

    He took several steps inside the room, flipped a bucket over, sat on it, then proceeded to stare at me like a creep, ignoring my question.

    Him, fixing his gaze on me like that -I wasn¡¯t even sure he was blinking- was disturbing, but for some reason, it didn¡¯t grate as much as it should have. I didn¡¯t feel the urge to hide behind a wall, neither did I want the grounds to open up and swallow me. Instead, I found myself wondering how I looked. If my uniform looked good on me and what his opinion on my eyes were. And that was even more disturbing.

    ¡°Stop staring. It¡¯s rude. ¡± I threw his words from when we first met back at him.

    I caught the glint in his eyes that told me he knew. ¡°It¡¯s not if the other person¡¯s staring back. ¡±

    I rolled my eyes. Such a hypocrite. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you were staring back that day, too. ¡± then I amended, ¡°Not that I had been staring though. ¡±

    ¡°I was. ¡± he blurted, and my breath caught, ¡°And you were. ¡±

    There was something hot about him not denying. It had me feeling a certain type of way. I couldn¡¯t look at him anymore.

    ¡°Howe we both go to school here but have never seen each other before today? ¡±

    I shrugged, refraining from mentioning that I was new.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense. ¡±

    Jesus. Did he ever shut up?

 Chapter 15

    I folded my arms across my chest, ¡°Look, I came in here because I¡¯m hiding from someone, as in I don¡¯t want to get caught. So, I really shouldn¡¯t be doing anything that would make that happen. ¡±

    He stared at me nkly, as if waiting for the pin to drop, ¡°What you¡¯re trying to say is¡­. ¡±

    ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is, I need you to stop taking to me. ¡± I snapped. And wow that was harsh. Also, incredibly stupid of me. Yelling when I was trying to be as invisible as possible, I mean.

    He blinked, rearing his head back, ¡°Only thing I picked from that statement was I need you, but okay. ¡±

    I wanted to strangle him. And that train of thought surprised me because I wasn¡¯t a violent person. Trust me, you wouldn¡¯t meet a more anti-violent person.

    When he didn¡¯t say anything, and instead, started taking off his tie, I took that to mean that he had, indeed, stopped talking to me.

    All traces of yfulness seemed to have left him. His now serious brown eyes, watched his deeply tanned hands as they meticulously undid the knot on his tie.

    He looked down fully and I couldn¡¯t see his face anymore, but I could see his arrogantly shed brows and the dark, long,shes underneath them. I liked him like this -unaware of my curious eyes.

    His lean legs were nted wide in his seated position. The picture he created screamed powerful, rich and ¡­ teenage male. Okay, fine, he was sexy. The very definition of the word even. But I wasn¡¯t supposed to notice that!

    I chided myself. Simping over a guy, Eva? PATHETIC.

    My reaction to him doing such a basic thing as loosening his tie irritated me. I¡¯d seen numerous guys loosen their tie -and girls too, not that this had anything to do with it- so what was so captivating about his?

    I shook my head, turning around and gripping the door knob, ready to leave. Dexter had probably given up on looking for me anyway. Hopefully.

    He appeared next to me, leaning on the wall beside the door. ¡°What¡¯s your name, Rainbow? ¡±

    ¡°Why-¡± I hesitated, ¡°Why do you call me Rainbow? ¡±

    ¡°Your eyes. You have the rainbow in them. ¡± he stared at said eyes.

    He had said the same thing at the boutique, and what a beautiful thing to say, it was. Was that how he actually saw them?

    ¡°You don¡¯t think they¡¯re freaky? ¡± I nted my head, a small smile ying at my lips.

    ¡°Well, they are freaky. ¡± he stated matter-of-factly and Iughed at his blunt honesty. ¡°But they¡¯re also beautiful. And new. ¡±

    And of course boys liked new. If there was one thing I knew about guys, it was that they had a never ending love for new things. It intrigued them. Fascinated them. They loved the chase and when it was eventually over -because it definitely would, they lost interest.

    ¡°Your name, ¡± he pressed, ¡°Please. ¡±

    And that was when I realized he was standing too close to me. What was it with him and being in people¡¯s personal space even? Mine anyway?All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.

    ¡°You have to stop that. ¡± I snapped. I definitely hadn¡¯t intended for it toe out like that but there was no taking back the words now.

    ¡°Stop what? ¡±

    ¡°Crowding me. ¡± I said, ¡°I don¡¯t like it. ¡±

    He exhaled, taking several steps back, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t even realize I was. ¡± he paused, as if just now remembering something, ¡°Wait. Why do you always bring up stuff when I ask for your name? ¡±

    But before he could even finish his sentence, I was out the door, and just likest time, he didn¡¯t follow.

    I took the stairs two at a time, taking extra care to be as soundless as possible incase the madman was still looking for me. Luck was apparently on my side because I didn¡¯t run into him on my way downstairs.

    As I made my way down the stone-path that led to the sitting area,plete with a shed that prevented the sun from burning students to ashes and and enough chairs to fill a whole ssroom, I caught sight of Abi in the car park, waving me over.

    I changed my course, walking straight towards her. She had just one strap of her bag over her shoulder, her prefect¡¯s badge stamped on the left side of her shirt and I noticed she was munching on something.

    Had Zoe told her already? Would she believe her? Of course, she would. She was her twin and I, a mere stranger.

    I guess what hurt me most about the whole incident was that Zoe believed that I had been eavesdropping on her so that I could give information to her parents. That she believed I could do something as malicious as that, hurt. But I supposed I couldn¡¯t me her. She¡¯d known me less than a week.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you. ¡± Abi said when I was within hearing distance.

    I doubled my steps. ¡°Sorry. I got caught up with something. ¡±

    If they had been waiting for a while now, then Zoe had definitely told her everything. Shit.

    I saw the sleek Lexus -the same one that we¡¯de to school in this morning- parked behind her and I wished I could see through the dark windows.

    I remained unmoving, staring at the car warily. The driver was probably getting tired and she was no doubt wondering what my problem was. They didn¡¯t know I dreaded getting into the vehicle.

    ¡°So, ¡± Abi smiled, ¡°Ready to go? ¡±

    I gauged her smile, weighing and dissecting to see if it was real or not. Sheer confusion was probably written on my face and I guess she considered it funny because her smile widened. How odd. Her smile was genuine.

    Zoe hadn¡¯t told her anything.

    And she wasn¡¯t in the car.

 Chapter 16

    EVA.

    ¡°Is it just me or has Eva been sneaking nces at Axel? ¡±

    My eyes flew to the curly-haired girl¡¯s on hearing my name.

    ¡°What? ¡±

    She rolled her eyes, ¡°Okay, fine. That might be downying it a little. You were definitely staring at him. ¡±

    Did I mention she had a slight ent? A British one to be precise.

    ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t. ¡± I argued.

    Abi, who had barely said a word ever since, merely looked between us, then continued eating.

    How a girl like Laura had be friends with Abi was still, and would probably always be a mystery to me. The two were nothing alike, the only thing they had inmon being that they both breathed in oxygen, oh, and drank water, and did basically everything the average human did -but even that was debatable.

    The exotically pretty, light-skinned girl fixed me with a ¡®really?¡¯ look, the enviable mass of jet ck curls framing her oval face, dancing softly as she tilted her head.

    ¡°Of course you were. ¡± she leaned back, draping her hand along the top of the bench she and Abi shared, ¡°You were trying to be discreet, but that drool gave you away. ¡±

    Automatically, my hand flew to my chin to check for said drool and sheughed.

    ¡°Ha. Got you. ¡±

    I frowned. She smiled.

    Well, she was right though. I had been sneaking nces at Axel. The guy I met at the boutique restroom, then met in the janitor¡¯s closet. Yes, I knew his name now. I heard someone call him that some days ago and it had stuck to my brain ever since. It was a very pretty name and it fit the bearer too.

    We were seated at the cafeteria, Abi, Laura and I when I saw he upied one of the tables with three other guys -Pretty Face included, whom I got to find out his name was Ivan- and I had been sessfully distracted since. My eyes found their way to his table every time I shoved a spoon into my mouth. But I guess it was his fault for being that good-looking andpelling.

    He had his back to me, which was why he hadn¡¯t seen me yet, but if he did aplete 180, then I would perfectly be in his line of sight.

    ¡°Look, she¡¯s staring again. ¡±

    ¡°Please, leave her alone. ¡± Abi sighed.

    I dropped my eyes, focusing on my food, but not before ring at Laura for being such a poke noser. She all but grinned. It was almost impossible to get her in a bad mood as her anger tended not tost a long time. She took whatever jabs came at her in stride, smiled, then gave as good as she got. It was an admirable trait and I envied her. The extent of my power was acting like the jabs and taunts didn¡¯t get to me and all the while, dying inside.

    ¡°Guys, ¡± she piped up. Of course, staying silent for a whole minute would be too much to ask of Laura. ¡°Guess where we¡¯re going for our field trip?¡±

    Abi side-eyed her, ¡°How do you know? It¡¯s not even been announced yet. ¡±

    She took several sips of water from her can. ¡°I walked in on the VP talking about it with Mrs. Agu. ¡±

    I shoved a spoon of rice into my mouth, trying to recall who Mrs. Agu was. Her image formed in my head; thick, energetic and of average height. She was the Catering and Crafts Practice teacher. A subject that had been madepulsory for study for both Arts and Sciences.

    ¡°Where? ¡±

    ¡°In the VP¡¯s office. ¡±

    Abi shook her head. ¡°No, I mean where are we going? ¡±

    ¡°The US. ¡± Laura grinned excitedly.This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    The water I¡¯d been about to swallow, came back out of my mouth andnded on both of their faces and tops.

    ¡°Jeez. Eva! ¡± Laura sputtered, grabbing some serviettes from the table to dab at her face.

    ¡°Are you okay? ¡± Abi asked before taking some too.

    I managed a nod, hitting my chest lightly before attempting to speak, but it was more of a squeak. ¡°The US?! ¡±

    ¡°Was that why you bathed me in saliva and water? ¡± Laura¡¯s eyes narrowed, ¡°Because I will hit you on the head with my can of water. ¡±

    I didn¡¯t take her threat seriously. There was not a single doubt that she could do it, but what was a hit on the headpared to what she¡¯d just said? We were going to the US?

    ¡°Once in a while, we go on field trips to countries outside Nigeria. ¡± Abi, the ever patient one exined, ¡°We¡¯ve gone to Egypt and the UK and if Laura¡¯s right, then we are going to the United States next. ¡±

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m right. ¡± Laura red at her, dumping the used serviettes on top her empty Tupperware. ¡°Have you never been on one? ¡± she directed at me.

    ¡°No, not really. ¡±

    There was a pause. Then, ¡°Not really as in you¡¯ve never been on a field trip outside the country or as in you¡¯ve never been on one at all? ¡±

    ¡°Not really as in I¡¯ve never been on one. ¡±

    Most of us at my old school had barely been able to afford good feeding. It goes without saying that the school wouldn¡¯t want to pressure us with unnecessary bills for extracurricr activities.

    An awkward silence hung over the table. Why had I even bothered opening my mouth in the first ce?

    ¡°I mean, it¡¯s okay. ¡± Abi finally spoke, ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with that. ¡±

    ¡°Of course. ¡± Laura quickly agreed, ¡°There¡¯s a first time for everything, right? And you¡¯re definitely going to have so much fun at this one. ¡±

    Relief washed over me instantly. Eva Otasowie, stepping out of Nigeria? What was there not to be excited about?

    I smiled. ¡°I think I will. ¡±

    ¡°You are going to have fun. Period. ¡± Laura stretched her hand across the table to ce it atop mine, ¡°Just leave it to me. ¡°

 Chapter 17

    Feminineughter drew my eyes to Axel¡¯s table. There was an addition to the table. A girl sat beside him on his right side, pushing him to the middle and he had his arm around her. There was a smile on her face as she looked up at him, but he seemed to be listening to something his friend said.

    I couldn¡¯t see her face yet I knew that she was pretty and ssy. She¡¯d done her nails -another thing the school allowed. He shook his head yfully at something his friend said then picked up something from his te and fed to her.

    I felt¡­. nothing. Of course I¡¯d known he was a manwhore -evidences of that pointing to the first time we met. And there was absolutely no reason for me to feel anything because I had no business with him.

    I picked at my food, my appetite nowhere to be found.

    ¡°Pretty boys. ¡± Laura sighed with a knowing look on her face, ¡°All we do is admire them and take what we want from them. ¡°-she nced at Abi-¡°If we want to. But apart from that, they¡¯repletely useless. ¡±

    Abi shook her head. ¡°Not all guys are useless, Laura. ¡±

    ¡°I said the pretty ones. ¡±

    ¡°Not all pretty guys are useless either. ¡± Abi argued.

    Laura rolled her eyes again. ¡°Right. The majority. ¡± she conceded defeat, ¡°Were you being specific, Abi? ¡±

    A blush found it¡¯s way to Abi¡¯s cheeks and her mouth fell open. ¡°What? ¡±

    She was cute, I felt myself smiling.

    ¡°I did not stutter. ¡± Laura said in the same tone.

    ¡°No, of course I wasn¡¯t. I was just saying. ¡±

    I burst outughing. To the onlooker, one would think Laura bullied Abi because of her calm nature, little did they know that Abi held her own well.

    ¡°Point is, ¡± Laura continued, ¡°Guys like Axel are like pretty clothes at the mall. You admire them, sometimes try them out, but you don¡¯t really buy them. ¡±

    ¡°Why do you see guys like that? ¡± I wondered out loud. She did not think highly of them at all.

    ¡°It¡¯s the truth. I mean, it¡¯s obvious you have a crush on him and I probably had a crush on him one time too, but the good thing about crushes? ¡± she smiled, ¡°They pass. And yours is going to too. So as the good friend that I am, I¡¯m going to advice you not to act on it. ¡±

    I was going to argue and say that I didn¡¯t have a crush on him, but knowing Laura, I wouldn¡¯t win that argument.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to act on it. ¡± I said instead.

    ¡°Good. Because if you do, the drama thates with dating Axel isn¡¯t really worth it when you find out he¡¯s dating three other girls too. ¡±

    I nodded, absorbing all what she¡¯d said. He just had to be the cliche, handsome, popr, yer at school.

    Two more girls had joined Axel¡¯s table by the time I looked again. His table was now officially the most crowded in the cafeteria. One sat between Ivan and a guy I didn¡¯t know while the other one sat beside said guy. Basically, there was only one guy at the table that wasn¡¯t sitting with a girl and he didn¡¯t even look that into the conversation they were having.

    All of a sudden, silence settled over the cafeteria, slowly and wholly, and the only sound one could hear, came from Axel and his friends.

    Zoe walked in, poised, head held high, and like the goddess that she was, she drew the gaze of every single person sitting in the cafeteria, both male and female. We were helpless not to stare, really. There was just something about her that made you abandon whatever you¡¯d been doing and stare. She demanded attention.

    She walked straight down the hall, not even sparing a nce at anyone. I was pretty sure she knew Abi and I were sitting here, but she made no move to acknowledge us. Had I expected something different from her?

    Avoiding her had be as mandatory as brushing my teeth each morning and going home without her had be a normalcy. I had no idea how she got home everyday, but she always did, sometimes, even earlier than us.

    As she waited for her order, her eyes slowly flitted over the room. Slowly, they came tond on us, but they didn¡¯t stay, they continued the journey round the hall and just when I thought she was done, her eyes stopped on Axel¡¯s table. She seemed to freeze altogether as the soft lines of her body tensed.

    Zoe Lawson was staring and it wasn¡¯t to re at someone, no, she looked¡­. shocked. The same person who¡¯d told me on the first day of school, not to stare at anyone cause it gave them the illusion of power was staring at a person now. I followed her line of sight and found Ivan staring straight at her. Their gazes met and tangled in a fit of will and power. Who would look away first?

    Scorching heat emanated from their gazes and I thought I could get third degree burns just from watching them alone. What was it with them? Perhaps it was because she¡¯d caught the both of us outside the library that day? But I felt there could be more.

    Her eyes shifted to the girl who sat beside him, paused, then finally, she turned around, collected her order from thedy who had been trying to get her attention for a while now, then left.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.

    And everyone could breathe again.

    ¡°So her paper bag didn¡¯te with her today? ¡± Laura hissed, not caring that Zoe was probably still within hearing distance.

    Paper bag?

    The confusion must have shown on my face because she rified, with a sardonic twist of her mouth.

    ¡°Her boyfriend. Dexter. ¡°

 Chapter 18

    Dexter had surprised me by not making any move towards me. In fact, he stayedpletely off my path. He¡¯d seen me in the hallway two days ago and it had been just the both of us there. I had been scared for my life thinking that he had finally gotten the opportunity he wanted but then he just looked away like he didn¡¯t even see me and continued walking. I briefly wondered if he had multiple personality disorder.

    I tried to suppress theughter bubbling up my throat, but a snort escaped. Only Laura would call a someone a paper bag.

    ¡°Laura, be nice. ¡± Abi sighed.

    ¡°Please. And no offense to your sister, but she¡¯s been walking around with an extra long stick up her ass. What¡¯s up with that? ¡±

    ¡°Maybe she¡¯s having her period. ¡± Abi shrugged but I could tell she didn¡¯t believe it. Periods didn¡¯t make someone spend as much time as possible they could in their room to avoid meeting everyone else. Periods didn¡¯t make a person reject a luxurious car ride and pick a lessfortable one instead.

    I was the cause and I knew Abi had to suspect that too. When she nced at me unsurely before looking away, I knew she did. She just didn¡¯t know how.

    ¡°Period-¡±

    ¡°Okay, Laura. ¡± Abi cut her off, ¡°You¡¯ve exceeded your daily badmouthing and advising limit for today. Now, all you¡¯re allowed to do, is give opinions here and there when we want you too. Okay? ¡±

    ¡°Whatever. ¡±

    I found myself smiling again. What a pair these two were.

    Abi nced at her watch, ¡°I should get going. ss starts soon. ¡±

    She got up, taking the book she¡¯d brought with her. Laura did too and I got up alongside them, not wanting to be left alone. ¡°I should get to ss too. ¡±Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.

    They waved as they walked away, Laura making inappropriate gestures with her hand. I shook my head,ughing.

    I walked out of the hall. Thankfully, the entrance door wasn¡¯t that far from our table and I didn¡¯t necessarily have to walk past Axel to get to it.

    Coco, my seat mate, upied one of the tables at the cafeteria, right by the door. Perfect for monitoring everyoneing in and going out. Did she ever do anything other than monitor and gossip?

    She waved me over when she saw me, but I smiled and declined politely. I didn¡¯t like being in herpany, so as long as I wasn¡¯t in ss, there was no need to spend unwanted time with her.

    I walked out and right into Mr Utoh Hope, Vice Principal, who had just been about toe in. I opened my mouth to apologize and move out of his way but he held me still.

    ¡°Oh. Just the person I¡¯m looking for. ¡± he eximed when he saw my face.

    I frowned. ¡°Me? ¡±

    ¡°Yes. ¡± he nodded, an absent look on his face. ¡°Come with me. ¡±

    What in heaven¡¯s name did the VP want with me? As I walked behind him, I kept thinking of all the possible reasons he could be summoning me to his office. Was I about to get another speech on how I needed to sit up as long as I was in this school? I¡¯d heard enough of those tost me a lifetime already. Almost every teacher -and some students- seemed to think that I would do poorly just because I¡¯d transferred in thest year. I wanted nothing more than to prove them wrong.

    My heart jolted as a thought urred to me. Had Zoe reported me to the school authorities? Was that why she hadn¡¯t told anyone back at home? Because she¡¯d been waiting for the school to carry out action? Surely, she wouldn¡¯t. She couldn¡¯t have taken it that far.

    I didn¡¯t want to believe she had, but at the same time, I didn¡¯t know for sure. My heart beat faster as we neared the building housing the teacher¡¯s, Principal, Vice Principal, and Director¡¯s office. This was a new school, also a highly reputed one. It was way too early to get a bad record. But if I got one, it was no one¡¯s fault but mine. It would teach me to stick my nose in people¡¯s businesses.

    We walked past the Vice Principal¡¯s office and I stared at the back of his head in confusion. Where were we going?

    He eventually stopped in front of the Principal¡¯s office, knocked twice on the in brown door before throwing it open and barging in.

    Okay, then.

    I went in after him. I had never, before today, stepped into the Principal¡¯s office and now that I did, I took it all in. The walls were painted a light green, there were shelves on either sides of the room with numerous files on them and a two seater couch just right of the door. She sat on a ck office chair with a brown mahogany table in front of her and two more chairs in front of the table.

    The whole ce, taken together with the small smile on her face, radiated school and weing vibes.

    ¡°Eva Lawson, is it? ¡± she asked.

    ¡°Eva Otasowie. ¡± I corrected robotically.

    The Lawsons¡¯ hadn¡¯t changed my name when they¡¯d adopted me. I assumed they were okay with me going by my original name so I hadn¡¯t bothered to bring that ufortable topic up.

    I¡¯d like to think that was the only reason I hadn¡¯t bothered bringing it up but I would be lying to myself. I felt a childish sentimental attachment to the name. I hate my parents for what they did but that was the only thing I had of them. The only possession they¡¯d left behind for me. Theirst name.

    ¡°Miss Otasowie, sit down please.¡± she gestured to the empty chair since Mr Utoh was already sitting on the second one and I did, cing my hands on my thighs.

    Her name tag read Oguemuno Philomena.

    She took her sses off, resting her elbows on her desk and cing her chin on herced fingers. ¡°Not to waste any more of your time since sses start soon, I¡¯ll get straight to the point. ¡±

    My heart threatened to make an appearance on the clean table.

    Zoe Lawson has made aint to us-

    ¡°Yearly, the school¡¯s technical team make advertisements that we send on different tforms to gatherrger audience, parents that might be searching for good schools for their kids and probably haven¡¯t heard of us yet. You know what I mean? ¡±

    I nodded, thrown by the topic.

    ¡°Good. ¡± her smile was still intact, ¡°Now, as to why you¡¯re here, the school board has decided that you¡¯re going to be the ad girl this year. ¡±

    My jaw hit the floor. ¡°What? ¡±

    ¡°Congrattions. ¡± Mr Utoh and Mrs Oguemuno spoke at the same time.

 Chapter 19

    EVA

    I smiled, pulling the heavy textbooks tighter against my side as I turned to the boy. I nodded. I didn¡¯t hear what he said, and he probably might not have even uttered a word, but that didn¡¯t matter. His lips were moving, I was wearing a smile, the sun was up and shining, it was a beautiful day, we both looked spectacr in our uniforms, our hairs were at their best and everyone was doing their thing.

    What could possibly go wrong?

    ¡°Jesus. This is not a movie. Say something. Why are you mouthing words? Speak!¡± the photographer yelled at us and once again, my smile copsed.

    My cheeks hurt like hell from all the smiling I¡¯d been doing. The boy -who was in the same ss as me- and I shared exasperated looks before turning to the photographer who looked just as tired as we were. He was tired? What reason did he have to be? We were the ones doing the actual work and not to mention, being yelled at under the scorching sun.

    We drew closer to the photographer so we could hear whatever words of encouragement he had to throw at us now. This would be the fourth. Every single time we had failed to portray the right looks or emotions, he¡¯d wave us over and diss out not-so-helpful words to gear us up. Newssh, they did not.

    Who knew making an advertisement for a school could be this stressful? When Mrs Oguemuno set the date for today, I¡¯d envisioned the whole process happening in less than an hour. This was our second hour of standing in the huge school field and to be honest, it was shameful to admit we had made zero progress.

    He had his hands on his waist, standing akimbo, with a sour lour when we got to him.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name? ¡± he snapped his fingers at the boy.

    ¡°Uh¡­ ¡± the boy¡¯s eyes darted to mine in confusion, ¡°Damre. ¡±

    The photographer leveled a stern look on him. ¡°Okay, Damre. I know there¡¯s not going to be sound in this video -from you guys anyway, but you still have to talk to give it that ¡®real¡¯ impression. ¡± he gestured, ¡°Don¡¯t just mouth the words okay? It¡¯s really obvious that you aren¡¯t saying anything. ¡±

    I didn¡¯t see the point in uttering words when the video sound was obviously going to be killed in the end, but I didn¡¯t point that out.

    He turned to me, ¡°And Miss, please make some effort to look interested. You looked too stiff. ¡±

    Stiff?

    He flung his hands in exasperation, ¡°Why do you guys make it look like we¡¯re forcing you? ¡± Damre and I shared a look, then he let out a snort. ¡°Okay, yes. You probably don¡¯t want to be doing this, but it¡¯s a privilege and you¡¯ll get to see that with time. ¡±

    A privilege should never be this stressful.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Now, both of you, go back there and make things easier for all of us. ¡±

    Left with no other option than to obey, we went back. I breathed out, loosened myself, smiled, then turned to the boy, nodding and talking to him and this time, with actual words.

    That earned us two thumbs up from the photographer. Finally.

    Mr and Mrs Lawson had been pretty excited when I told them about the school board picking me to be the ad girl. Abi had offered me genuine congrattions and Zoe had been nonchnt about the whole thing. To be honest, it was my foster parents¡¯ excitement that fed my efforts.

    And I had done a great job.

    We hung back as they packed their instruments. The Vice Principal had joined us after a while to go over the video and he, too, had been impressed. I felt good but above that, I felt relieved. Being on the other side of a camera was an entirely different level of ufortable.

    ¡°I¡¯m Dare.¡± Damre said conversationally.

    Dare was short for Damre, I figured.

    ¡°I already got that. ¡± I tilted my head towards the photographer, ¡°I¡¯m Eva. ¡±

    He smiled. ¡°Yeah, I know. You¡¯re probably the most famous girl in Ivacy High at the moment. ¡±

    I cringed, ¡°Transferring in SS3? ¡±

    ¡°That and your eyes. They¡¯re a sight to behold. ¡±

    My first thought was to say thank you and look away. I couldn¡¯t help but feel self conscious whenever anyone brought them up.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty surprised everyone¡¯s being low-key about it actually. With the way they¡¯re talking about it, I thought they¡¯d be all over you. ¡±

    ¡°Wow. ¡± I breathed.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s your privacy they care about. ¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­ ¡±

    God, I was so awkward at conversations.

    We were still standing in the field, a few feet apart from each other. We were almost the same height and now that I could see past the fog of worrying over the advert, I realized that he was not that hard on the eyes. He wasn¡¯t as handsome as most Ivacy High boys, but he was in his own way.

    I looked away when he saw that I was staring. Out in the field were several students running. They weren¡¯t wearing the school uniform, no. They had on tracksuits. They ran back and forth and sometimes, goingpletely round the circr path.

    ¡°So, Eva. ¡± Dare drew my attention back to him, ¡°I¡¯m throwing this party on Saturday and it would be really nice if you coulde. ¡±

    ¡°A party? ¡± I shook my head, taking a step back physically as I did mentally, ¡°I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯te. Parties aren¡¯t really my thing. ¡±

    ¡°Oh. ¡± he mumbled.

    He was hurt by my rejection, I could tell, but there was nothing I could do. Really. I¡¯d done a lot of things that I wouldn¡¯t even think of doing, a lot recently and I didn¡¯t know how much farther I could push myself before I had aplete mental breakdown.

    ¡°Okay, then. See you around, Eva. ¡± he waved once before turning around and walking down the path leading to the building for sciences.

 Chapter 20

    I looked up at the Arts building, wondering what Abi and Laura were doing. Probably in ss, I supposed. It was a free period for the Sciences, which was why the advert had been fixed during this time, but now that it was over and done with, I didn¡¯t know what I wanted to do with my time.

    I felt the strange urge to talk to someone. Which was pretty ironic because I had been presented with that opportunity just five minutes ago but I hadn¡¯t grabbed it. Maybe because I had not wanted to talk at the time. Or maybe it just wasn¡¯t Dare I wanted to talk to.

    Who then?

    I missed Omar profoundly in that moment. Where was he? Did he miss me? Did he think of me as much as I did him? He could be anywhere in the world right now, far out of my reach and I didn¡¯t know if meeting him again in this life was possible. If only there was a way for me to find him, or get in touch with him, at least.

    I wanted to tell him everything. About my new family, about school, about how hard it was fitting in with the people here, about how I¡¯d wanted to fold when the students made fun of me -he¡¯d definitely be pissed I¡¯d entertained that thought-, about Zoe, about everything. I had a phone now, and it was set up and all even though I didn¡¯t really use it. If only we had those before we were separated.

    With onest look of longing at Abi¡¯s building, I turned around, walking towards mine. I¡¯d probably read a book or something. I hadn¡¯t written in forever, hadn¡¯t been settled enough to, but I nned on changing that soon.

    An obstruction in the form of a body, appeared directly in front of me, stopping me from going forward.

    I moved to the right. They moved with me. I moved to the left. They moved with me. That was when I looked up.

    Axel.

    ¡°Hey, Cg. ¡± he angled his head, ¡°Are you lost, babygirl? ¡±

    When I continued to stare at him nkly, he exined, ¡°Massimo Torricelli¡­.. 365 days?¡­ Cause you looked lost for a second there¡­¡± he gave up, ¡°You¡¯ve never seen the movie, have you? ¡±

    I shook my head slowly.

    ¡°Good. Let it remain that way. ¡± he pursed his lips, ¡°I don¡¯t like how it ended. Plus, the sex scenes were a bit too rushed to me. ¡±

    What was he even saying?

    ¡°Where are you going? ¡±

    ¡°To ss. ¡± I replied and that put my head back on the right track. I should be heading to ss, not letting Axel Arthur distract me, as he had proven several times -most of those times including him not even so much as ncing in my direction, but that had never stopped me from being distracted, of course- that he so effortlessly could.

    ¡°Why? ¡± he frowned at me like I had sprouted a second head, ¡°We have free periods. ¡±

    ¡°I know that. ¡±

    ¡°So what on earth are you going to ss for? ¡± he looked so confused, like the idea waspletely ridiculous, that I found myself suppressing augh.

    ¡°Just because we¡¯re not having lectures at the moment doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t be in ss, Axel. ¡±

    He frozepletely, his eyes lighting up, ¡°That¡¯s the first time you¡¯re calling my name and I like it very muching from you. ¡±

    Him and his words. I couldn¡¯t with them. Talking with him was nice, I had to admit, but it wasn¡¯t a smart thing to do especially when I was trying to stay away from him.

    I sidestepped him again, and he sidestepped along with me. His legs flexed as he moved, the sinewy muscles stretching before rxing. My eyes trailed up, taking in the pronounced dusting of dark hair on his legs, passed his almost indecent shorts -yes, guys¡¯ shorts could be indecent and my mind would not be changed-, passed his light T-shirt, now soaked with sweat from his body, then came to rest on his smiling face.

    ¡°Why are you smiling? ¡± I sighed.

    ¡°¡®Cause there¡¯s so much to smile about. ¡± he answered smoothly.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.

    The positive statement gave me a quick shback to that day at the library with the mystery girl. I was yet to find out who she was. Maybe I¡¯d go there soon, stay and wait for her to appear out of nowhere?

    ¡°Come run with me. ¡± Axel said out of nowhere.

    ¡°Run with you? ¡± I repeated and he nodded. ¡°Are you high? It¡¯s a miracle I haven¡¯t melted already. ¡±

    ¡°Come on, it¡¯s not that hot. ¡±

    ¡°It is and I¡¯m not running anyway. ¡± I folded my arms.

    ¡°Why? ¡± he mimicked me, crossing his hands too. It was getting hard to not smile by the second.

    ¡°Well, for one, I¡¯m wearing my school uniform-¡±

    ¡°I can give you my shorts. ¡±

    I deted. ¡°What? ¡±

    He pulled at the band of his shorts, causing the material to snap against his skin, ¡°I could take it off for you if you want. ¡±

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t. ¡± I narrowed my eyes.

    And apparently I knew better than to challenge Axel because he wedged his thumbs into the band of his shorts on both sides and made to drag it down. My mouth fell open and my eyes bugged out when he exposed a silver of skin, but I couldn¡¯t move.

    He stopped all of a sudden, grinning, ¡°Oh my God, the look on your face. ¡± he removed his hands from his shorts, ¡°Rx. I would never strip publicly. Not for free, anyway. You¡¯re going to pay to see this body, Cg. ¡±

    ¡°I-¡± I was utterly andpletely speechless. It was then, in that moment when I couldn¡¯t find my voice, that I realized the suffocating loneliness I¡¯d been feeling, had disappeared. Probably to the same ce the words in my vocabry had gone, but I wouldn¡¯t know for sure.

 Chapter 21

    And it was all because of Axel. I didn¡¯t know whether to thank him or yell at him for being the one to chase my monster back into the shadows with his magnificent rays of light.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Cg? ¡± he snapped his fingers in my face. I blinked. Of course, I had zoned out while staring at him.

    ¡°Cg? I thought it was Rainbow. ¡± I was pretty sure I sounded bitter. I grudgingly admitted to myself that I¡¯d felt somewhat special being called a Rainbow.

    He waved his hands dismissively, ¡°Rainbow, Cg, that¡¯s all you. Cause you¡¯re both my Rainbow girl and Closet girl. ¡± he tapped my nose with a wide smile.

    His words made my breath catch. I exhaled. How was he so good with words? Well, I guess they didn¡¯t call him a yer for nothing. Pretty face, sexy voice, sweet words and a hot body. A dangerousbination.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I like either of them. ¡± I lied, walking around him and this time, he let me. Not for long anyway, because he jogged until he was standing in front of me, but I didn¡¯t stop walking, which meant he was jogging backwards. If he kicked a stone and fell, that was on him.

    ¡°I saw Dare talking to you back there. ¡± he jerked his thumb at the point we had been standing, ¡°He¡¯s throwing a party on Saturday. Did he tell you? ¡±

    I nodded. ¡°He invited me. ¡±

    ¡°Predictable. Are youing? ¡±

    ¡°No. ¡±

    We were getting closer to the building now and hopefully, he¡¯d go back to the field and continue with his exercise. If not, then I was screwed. I didn¡¯t want the whole school seeing me talking to him. They were already saying enough about me as it was.

    ¡°Why? ¡± he wasn¡¯t even out of breath from all the jogging he¡¯d been doing. Lord knew I couldn¡¯tplete the journey from the first floor to thest without gasping like a fish.

    ¡°It¡¯s a party. So no. ¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not your scenes? ¡± he asked, remarkably on point.

    ¡°No. ¡±

    ¡°Have you ever been to one? ¡±

    ¡°No. ¡±

    ¡°Then how do you know they¡¯re not? ¡±

    That one threw me. ¡°Look, you need to shut up and get out of my way. ¡±

    He blinked. I blinked.

    ¡°You¡¯re incredibly aggressive. ¡± he noted.

    ¡°Only when I¡¯m around you. ¡± I shrugged without giving much thought to what I was saying.

    He stopped walking and I had stop too, unless I wanted to walk into him -which wouldn¡¯t necessarily be a bad thing. ¡°Come to the party. ¡± then he added, ¡°With me. ¡±

    ¡°What? ¡± I squeaked. And what an awful sound it was.

    His eyes widened. ¡°Tone it down, Cg. You cane with a dog or cat if you want. Hell, bring a fucking hyena. Juste. ¡±

    I frowned. ¡°Why? ¡±

    ¡°And if you hate it so much there, you can leave. I¡¯ll even drop you off. ¡± he continued as if I hadn¡¯t said anything.

    I stared at him in bafflement. Why did he want me there so badly?

    ¡°Why do you want me there? ¡±

    ¡°Is that even a question? ¡±

    ¡°Yes, it is. ¡±

    ¡°Well, because if everyone decides not to go, like you, then it wouldn¡¯t be a party anymore, would it? ¡± he grinned proudly, tapping the side of his head, ¡°Common sense. ¡±

    I couldn¡¯t hold back myugh this time and I could tell he liked it with the way his grin widened. His dimples were in full bloom, unting themselves.

    I sighed in defeat, ¡°I¡¯m not saying I¡¯ll go, but I will see if I can. ¡±

    ¡°You are going toe. ¡± he forced.

    I continued my walk towards the building, ignoring him.

    ¡°Okay, fine. Whatever. ¡± he shouted at my back, ¡°Have fun in ss doing nothing. ¡±

    A smile lingered on my lips as I climbed the stairs. I would probably rey the whole conversation in my headter. Yes, I was that pathetic.

    When I reached the top floor, I noticed something odd. All the students of ss A and C, mostly girls, had vacated their sses and were gathered in ss B. It couldn¡¯t contain all of them so some upied the hallways.

    My smile died on my lips. All the excitement I had been feeling over the activities of the day died and a chill now settled over my skin.

    They hadn¡¯t noticed me yet because they were heavily engrossed in what they were looking at.

    ¡°¡­ and I know that you love¡­¡­ ¡± a feminine voice drifted to my ears. That was when I knew. A girl was reading something out loud for all of them.

    I moved closer to them and one girl noticed me. She whispered something to the others standing with her and they all turned back to me. All wearing malicious looks.

    My heart threatened to jump into my throat. What was happening? Why were they looking at me like that? The whispering intensified as I drew closer and as if on cue, they all parted ways for me to go into the ss.

    The minute I walked into the ss, I saw Zoe walk up and snatch a paper from a girl¡¯s hand. The one who had been reading it aloud. Several students hissed as I passed them, muttering words I was pretty sure were insults. What were they on about?

    Zoe¡¯s eyes darted quickly as she took in the contents of the paper, her ever present scowl, growing darker. She dropped the hand holding the paper, staring at a spot on the ground in front of her.

    She looked like she was trying to rein in her anger, and I thought she had until she looked up at me. Me?!

    Raw fury emanated from her. There was no other word to describe the look on her face and the fire in her eyes. I failed to see what I had done to warrant such anger. But it was, indeed, directed at me because everyone had identical looks of anger and hate on their faces, meanwhile I was at aplete loss.

    I had been downstairs for Godssake!

    Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, she closed the distance between us and what happened next shocked the living daylights out of me.

    My foster sister pped me. Hard.

 Chapter 22

    EVA

    My face stung and I blinked quickly, desperately trying to stem the tears that had filled my eyes, threatening to make an appearance.

    I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry.

    I told myself I would not show these people that I was weak by crying in front of them, but as I saw the satisfactory looks on their faces, the smiles and hollers, and the pity on some, it felt like I was fighting a loosing battle. What had I even done to them?

    When I looked at the one who called herself my sister, the one who had hated me from the very first day I stepped into her life, as she put it, I saw something stand out amidst the anger burning in her eyes. I could barely see past the tears blurring my vision, but the hatred she had for me shone clearly and that, I realized, was probably the only thing I¡¯d guessed right about her from the beginning.

    That she hated me with a vengeance.

    ¡°All I asked of you was to stay away from me. ¡± she yelled, breathing heavily. ¡°The only thing I wanted from you, was for you to stay the hell away from me. Did I ask for too much?

    Wasn¡¯t that what I had been doing for the past week?

    I was so confused and I wanted to just scream and let it all out. The pain and the hurt I had been harboring inside me. That I didn¡¯t ask for this -for my life to be cruelly taken and reced with this alien one. But of course I didn¡¯t. The words would nevere out.

    ¡°Did I ask for too much, Eva? ¡± my name rolled off her tongue acidly. I had never hated my name more than I did whenever she said it.

    I believed I was a good reader of people and until today, I had always been spot on. It came as a p to the face, literally, that I was wrong about Zoe. To me, she had seemed like the type that could effortlessly make people hate themselves with the destructive words she threw at them, but never one tosh out physically. That assumption was shot to hell the moment she pped me.

    ¡°Now I know why you were eavesdropping that day. ¡± she shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s because of him, right? And I don¡¯t know what you expected to hear but I¡¯m d we caught you earlier. ¡±

    Who was she talking about?

    ¡°So they caught her spying on them. ¡± mused one of the watchers.

    Everyone, except me, knew what was going on. I looked around, wondering if I would find a familiar face in the crowd and of course there was Amaka, who had made thatment about my eyes being contacts and Coco, my seat mate. I knew for a fact that they were eating this all up; they never missed out on drama. This was, without a doubt, going to be the next topic for gossip.

    I hated myself. Hated that I couldn¡¯t talk back, hated that I let them bully me and get away with it, hated that I was always the victim. I hated that I was born different and I hated my parents for putting me in this condition.

    ¡°You have no idea what¡¯s going on, do you? ¡± she asked after a while, disgust evidently written on her face.

    I shook my head.

    ¡°Jesus. ¡± her eyes flickered up in exasperation. ¡°You¡¯re so fucking dumb. We found your love letter, Juliet. ¡±

    Come again?

    She shoved the paper into my face and I caught it before it could fall. Holding it at a safe distance from my eyes, I read.

    Hi, Dexter.

    I thought long and hard on how to tell you this and I have settled on putting it in written form since I¡¯m a very shy person.

    I think I fell in love with you from the very first day I saw you and no matter how hard I tried, I have not been able to stop thinking about you since. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible for me to continue living without letting you know how I feel and I know you love Zoe, but that isn¡¯t really an obstacle because I know I¡¯m better than her and you will see that with time.

    I would appreciate it if you kept this between us. I await your reply.

    Love,

    Eva.

    The letter had been typed and printed.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t write this. ¡± I shook my head vigorously.

    ¡°Once a liar, always a liar. ¡± she tsked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not lying. It¡¯s not even in my handwriting. ¡± I pushed the paper back at her, but she didn¡¯t look at it.

    ¡°Of course you didn¡¯t. You used a typewriter because you didn¡¯t want to get caught. ¡±

    Really?

    ¡°If I didn¡¯t want to get caught then why did I put my name? ¡±

    That gave her pause. I could tell she thought it was strange too, but she didn¡¯t let up.

    ¡°That was a mistake on your part. ¡± she cocked her brow, ¡°How else was he to identify you if you didn¡¯t? ¡±

    I had obviously been set up and she couldn¡¯t see that. She didn¡¯t want to.

    ¡°It¡¯s not-¡±

    ¡°Shut up, youir. ¡±

    ¡°Ashawo. ¡±

    [Ashawo: Prostitute]

    ¡°Useless girl. ¡±

    Shouts came from the crowd.This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    Frustration filled me and I wanted to cry again. I wanted to speak but I couldn¡¯t find the right words and even when I did, they wouldn¡¯t let me.

    ¡°What is going on here? ¡± this voice, louder than the others, took everyone by surprise.

    The entire room became deathly silent. In that moment, if a pin had dropped, it would have been heard. I turned around slowly, taking in the rmed look on people¡¯s faces and then dreadfully, my eyes met the neer¡¯s. Mr Utoh.

 Chapter 23

    His eyes roamed the students faces intently as he looked for the perpetrators and when they finallynded on Zoe and I, who stood right in the middle of the huge circle the students had created, his mouth pressed in a grim line.

    ¡°Both of you, follow me. ¡± was all he said before turning and marching out.

    As he left, Amaka hissed. ¡°The snitches in this ss have done it again, abi? Who called the Vice Principal? ¡± she pointed at a boy leaning on the wall, ¡°You Ozo, I know it¡¯s you oh. ¡±

    ¡°Me that has been here since? ¡± he red at her.

    So someone had called the Vice Principal and we didn¡¯t know who. But whoever that person was, I owed them gratitude.

    We made the walk to his office like prisoners about to face death row.

    Different ideas of how this could go yed out in my mind. One in which Zoe got yelled at for hitting me and another where I got scolded for ¡®writing a letter to her boyfriend¡¯. The first one was pleasing, the second one would be reliving the nightmare I just escaped. Zoe pushed the door to the VP¡¯s office open, shouldering in, not an ounce of fear on her face.

    Should I be worried?

    ¡°Sit down. Both of you. ¡± he ordered and we did. ¡°Now what did I walk in on? ¡±

    ¡°Well, ¡± Zoe began,cing her manicured hands on top her crossed legs, all prim and proper, ¡°We were in ss when someone found a letter written-¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s this someone if I may ask? ¡± Mr Utoh cut in.

    Zoe seemed to think about it before saying, ¡°I¡¯d rather keep them anonymous, sir. ¡±

    Mr Utoh¡¯s brows climbed up on his head. ¡°And where did this someone find this letter? ¡±

    I stared at her, curious to know.

    ¡°In Eva¡¯s locker. ¡±

    ¡°Okay then. ¡± Mr Utoh continued, ¡°Zoe, before you continue, I want you to understand something. I know you¡¯re just trying to protect your friends but going into someone else¡¯s locker without their permission and collecting something from it is a punishable offense. ¡±

    Zoe¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. ¡°I know that, sir. ¡±

    I had to admit I was shocked by this polite side of her. But we were also talking to a person in authority so I suppose she had to be.

    He nodded, ¡°Go ahead, then. ¡±

    ¡°As I said before, someone found a letter written by Eva that she intended to give to my boyfriend, Dexter, telling him all about how she loved him and how she¡¯s a better person than me. ¡±

    Mr Utoh turned to me, ¡°Is that true, Eva? ¡±

    ¡°No. ¡± I said simply. Faintly. All of a sudden, I was exhausted.

    ¡°She¡¯s lying. Her name was on it. ¡± Zoe argued.

    Mr Utoh shook his head, taking his sses off and cing it on the table, ¡°I expected better from you, the senior students. Treating such personal matters in the schoolpound-¡±

    ¡°But, sir, ¡± Zoe interrupted, ¡°We found the letter here-¡±

    ¡°It makes no difference even if you found the letter here in my office. ¡± he scolded sternly, ¡°You should have waited until you were outside the school premises before bringing up such an issue. ¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe it. Part one was ying out.

    ¡°And what did I hear about a p? ¡±

    She hesitated, ¡°I was very angry and¡­. I didn¡¯t know when it happened. ¡±

    Mr Utoh shook his head again, wearing an intense look of disappointment. ¡°I expected better from you, Zoe. ¡±

    She looked down and was that a look of regret I saw on her face?! She must really have a lot of respect for the man.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir. ¡± she mumbled quietly.

    ¡°And I would send the both of you to the Principal¡¯s office, but I don¡¯t want you getting in more trouble. ¡± he picked up the school telephone, ¡°So I¡¯m going to call your parents instead. ¡±

    Zoe¡¯s face paled instantly, draining of all color. She knew that as long as her mom was involved, she wasn¡¯t going to hear the end of it. I almost pitied her.

    In less than thirty minutes, Mrs Lawson pulled into the school, parking in the car park. Mr Utoh exchanged pleasantries with her as he handed us over. We were going to have to leave Abi behind because she wasn¡¯t done with her lectures for the day. The chauffeur, Mr Desmond, woulde for herter.

    ¡°Thank you for intervening, Mr Utoh. I don¡¯t want to think about what more could have happened had you not been there. ¡±

    He nodded, ¡°I¡¯m d I stepped in sooner rather thanter. ¡±

    ¡°Thank you. ¡± she said again, before entering the car. Zoe and I sat at the back, a thousand miles apart from each other. She had doned that mask of indifference that made it impossible to read her.

    Mrs Lawson didn¡¯t utter a word all through the ride home, she just watched us once in a while from the rear view mirror. When she got down from the car to enter the code for the gate, I chanced a nce at Zoe and saw her looking though her window.

    The lines of her body were tense, her left hand, wedged between her thighs and her right, supporting her head as she leaned on the door. She could act all nonchnt and aloof on the outside all she wanted but I knew she actually wasn¡¯t. And she was scared about what was toe when we entered the house.

    Oh, Zoe.

    Mr Lawson was sitting on the couch in the sitting room when we walked in, a stony expression on his face. He weed us as he usually did, but hecked his cheer.

    Zoe¡¯s ass had barely touched the couch when Mrs Lawson started. ¡°Why did you hit your sister, Zoe? ¡±

    She stared at the ground, silent.

    ¡°Answer me! ¡± Mrs Lawson shouted, showing the first signs of anger, as she dropped down beside her husband on the long couch, her leg bouncing subtly.

    The calm, happy woman I¡¯d known hadn¡¯t been around muchtely. She had been reced by this angry, bitter version.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to. ¡± Zoe said quickly, her eyes still on the ground.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I asked. ¡± my foster mom narrowed her eyes, ¡°I said why did you p her? ¡±

    Mr Lawson hadn¡¯t said anything yet, but one couldn¡¯t forget he was there. His presence was silent, yet loud and it was blindingly obvious that he was not happy.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.

    ¡°I-¡± she paused, using a different tactic, ¡°Eva wrote a love letter to Dexter when she very well knows that he¡¯s my boyfriend. ¡±

    Oh, wow. They knew about them and they were okay with it. A lot of Nigerian parents tended to act like it was the end of the world when they found out their teen children were in rtionships.

 Chapter 24

    Mr Lawson spoke then, ¡°Did you write the letter, Eva? ¡±This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. ¡±

    ¡°Is there proof that Eva actually wrote this letter? ¡± he directed his question this time, at Zoe.

    ¡°Yes. ¡± Zoe sat up, regaining some of her attitude, ¡°She ended with her name. ¡±

    She was still on this? Why couldn¡¯t she see how odd the whole thing was? Who writes a letter with a typewriter because they didn¡¯t want to get caught only to end up adding their name at the end? How did that make sense?

    ¡°Where is this letter? ¡± Mrs Lawson asked.

    She seemed to be taking the issue a whole lot better than I thought she would. I rummaged through my bag, fished the letter out then ced it on her outstretched palm. When she was done reading, she passed it over to her husband silently. Her foot tapped faster on the floor.

    ¡°So why you¡¯re trying to say is that you pped your sister because of a boy? ¡± lines appeared on her forehead, the anger she had kept bottled up all these while, beginning to surface.

    ¡°He¡¯s not just a boy. ¡± Zoe argued, ¡°He¡¯s my boyfriend. ¡±

    ¡°That makes it okay to hit her? Who brought you up that way? Because I know for a fact that person isn¡¯t me. Who taught you that it¡¯s okay to go around hitting people? ¡± Mrs Lawson chucked bitterly all of a sudden, ¡°And to think that you even still have the audacity to defend yourself. ¡±

    The air in the living room was thick with tension and wary anticipation.

    ¡°Where did I go wrong? ¡± she asked to no one in particr, ¡°What on earth did I do to deserve this? ¡±

    Zoe curled into her side of the couch as if she wanted to disappear. I couldn¡¯t see her face, but if I had to guess, her feelings were disyed and that was why she was why she was hiding.

    ¡°I say this a lot, Zoe, but apparently I don¡¯t say it enough. ¡± Mr Lawson finally spoke, ¡°No one should evere between you and your family. No one. The minute you let that happen, not only have you betrayed your family, but you have betrayed yourself too. ¡±

    Zoe didn¡¯t move. In fact she hadn¡¯t moved for a while and it was starting to be rming.

    Mr Lawson went on and it was either he hadn¡¯t noticed her state or he was simply ignoring it. ¡°I don¡¯t think I have ever been this disappointed in you, Zoe. I have no more words for you. ¡±

    He ced the letter beside him, got up and climbed up the stairs, probably heading to his bedroom. He paused then, as if he just remembered something, then turned to me saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry about what you had to go through, Eva. ¡±

    I nodded, mustering up a small smile just for his sake. I couldn¡¯t imagine how he must be feeling. This whole mother-daughter-sibling rivalry must be getting to him, even though he didn¡¯t show it.

    Zoe still hadn¡¯t moved an inch and if I had been made different, I¡¯d touch her and ask if she was okay. But I was still the scarred, orphaned, timid girl who couldn¡¯t speak up to save her life.

    Why did I still care about her after what she¡¯d done to me?

    I blinked, seeing that Mrs Lawson was standing in front of me and motioning for me to get up. Immediately I did, she put her arm around me, directing us towards the stairs. She walked with me silently until we stopped at the threshold of my room.

    Holding my face gently, she turned it from side to side, ¡°Are you hurt from where she pped you? ¡±

    I shook my head, a lump the size of a rock, lodged in my throat. She cared about me and that made me ufortable. I didn¡¯t know what to do with myself. I didn¡¯t know how to react to someone showing me affection. I couldn¡¯t look at her, I couldn¡¯t speak, I couldn¡¯t move. I felt useless and awkward.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about Zoe. ¡± she whispered brokenly, her eyes shining with unshed tears, ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do. ¡±

    She seemed just as broken as Zoe, and just as lonely. I wasn¡¯t one to give out advice but she looked like she needed one, so what could I say?

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you¡¯re caught up in this. I¡¯m sorry she¡¯s treating you like this. ¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. ¡± I ended up sayingmely. I didn¡¯t even know what I was apologizing for. That she¡¯d adopted me and made everything worse for herself?

    She smiled sadly, caressing my cheeks. ¡°You¡¯ll feel better after a hot bath. Do you want me to make one for you? ¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. ¡±

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯lle check up on youter. ¡±

    As she walked down the hallway, I saw her wiping her eyes. My heart broke for her.

    A hour and a hot bathter, I did feel better. All the activities of the day felt like a distant dream. From the advert, to the chat with Axel, to the drama with Zoe. I honestly didn¡¯t want to think about any of it. All I wanted to do was write.

    I grabbed an empty notebook and a pen then ced them on my bed. I was about to delve into writing when a knock came at the door.

    Abi stood on the other side, still in her school uniform. At the sight of her face, all the memories I¡¯d been trying to push away mmed right back into me with full force.

    ¡°I heard what happened. I¡¯m sorry. ¡±

    ¡°Thanks. ¡± I murmured, then I asked, ¡°Do you believe I did it? ¡±

    She stared at me awhile, taken off guard by my question, but I wanted to know. Did they really think I could do something like that?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to believe. ¡± she said with a small smile.

    How utterly Abi-ish of her. She would never voice her actual thoughts on the matter because that would mean picking a side. Something Abi seldom did. Not to mention, asking her to pick a side between her twin and her foster sister would be even harder.

    When she left, I wasn¡¯t feeling the mood to write anymore so I decided to read instead. I picked up the only book on my dresser. The one I hadn¡¯t touched since I collected it from the school library.

    The Phoenix.

 Chapter 25

    EVA

    arthur

    That was Axel¡¯s handle on Instagram. Just the single name. His page had been suggested to me, as were a bunch of other Ivacy High students, but his, and a few others, were the ones that actually piqued my interest. I made several screenshots of the pages in order not to forget to check them outter.

    He took exceptionally nice pictures and his photographer, if he had one, -although I highly doubted that he did- wouldn¡¯t swap his/her upation for the world. Not with the amount of smiles he threw at the camera every chance he got, it seemed.

    He had a lot of female fans. I knew that because I was stalking the hell out of his page. Clicking on every photo, reading everyment and clicking on the female profiles to see if he followed them. It was pathetic. Really. But I couldn¡¯t be helped.

    He had quite arge number of following -all thanks to his good looking self. As I scrolled even lower, to posts about five months ago, I stumbled upon a picture of him wearing running shorts and a tank top. He was at a stadium, the rows of seated people gave that away, and he was doubled over with his hands on his knees, and an exhausted expression on his face.

    I clicked on the picture to see it clearer and found out that there were actually three pictures in the post. I swiped. The next picture was of him facing the seated people with his hands on his waist, that tired expression still on his face and in thest, he appeared not to know his picture was being taken.

    He had taken his top off, his glorious six-pack bared as he ran his hand through his hair. Sweat glistened on his chest and abdomen, making it impossible for me to focus on anywhere else. He was so incredibly hot and just so damn fine that I couldn¡¯t look away.

    I stared at the picture for aplete five minutes before looking away, and that was only because a notification popped in that I had a new follower. My first follower. Excited and not a little bit curious, I checked.

    It was Axel!

    Oh my God he followed me. How did he evene across my ount? I had only created it today, merely two hours ago. With some coercing from my foster mom, and a subtle encouragement from Abi, I had finally summoned up the courage and opened my own Instagram ount.

    So how had Axel found my ount so quickly?

    I went back to the home page and that was when I saw how he¡¯d found my ount. I had identally liked his picture. The one with him shirtless and sweaty. Oh, God. Now he was going to know that I had been stalking his page, secretly for that matter and I had taken it so far that I had identally liked a picture of over five months ago.

    Panic seeped into my bones and my palms started to sweat. What did I do? Did I follow him back and y it cool like I hadn¡¯t gone all stalker mode on him? Did Ie out clean? Or did I just in ignore that he had followed me?

    The ping of a notification came in again and to make matters worse, he texted me. It came in as more of a message request since I wasn¡¯t following him back yet, but I had already clicked on it. He sent a hey with a smiley face. Not the emoji, the emoticon.

    The good thing about message requests was that even when you clicked on it, it didn¡¯t show the sender that the message had been read until I epted the message request. So I didn¡¯t. I hurriedly ced the phone down on my dresser so as not to do anything stupid, but it slipped out of my sweaty palms and I struggled to catch it before it hit the floor.

    I blew out a relieved breath when I caught it, clutching it to my chest and saying a quick prayer to the heavens that nothing had happened to my still brand new phone.

    My mouth dropped when I turned the phone around. I was video calling him! I quickly ended the video call and cringed hard when I thought about his reaction to the call. And not only had I identally video called him, I had also sent him a slew of utter rubbish.

    I squeezed my eyes shut, my head falling back with a thud on my bed rest.

    What have I done?

    I turned my WiFi off altogether, making sure to exit the app itself, before keeping my phone. I tried not to think about the mess I had put myself in. Axel would probably figure out that the messages and call had been a mistake. Surely, he would. But that would only make it so much more worse because I hadn¡¯t followed him back.

    First day using the app and I had gotten myself in more mess than I did in a week in real life. Did I need any other indication that the social media life wasn¡¯t for me?

    Apparently, I did, because when I turned my WiFi back on -I couldn¡¯t not check-, I saw a message from Axel and as I was reading it, another one popped in.

    Video calling me after liking my six months old picture?

    Do I have a stalker on my hands, Miss Otasowie?

    I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. He couldn¡¯t have acted like he hadn¡¯t seen it, could he?

    I thought about the best way to reply. I couldn¡¯t ignore him anymore since it was quite obvious I was seeing his messages, so I went with;

    I identally liked your picture. The video call was a mistake too.

    It showed seen almost immediately, like he had been waiting for me to text back and I briefly wondered if I should turn my WiFi off again now that I had acknowledged him, but he had already started typing and some part of me -okay, a huge part of me- wanted to see what he had to say, so I waited.

    So you were stalking me.

    Just let it go, you annoying human!N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner.

    I wasn¡¯t. A lot of people from school were being suggested to me. You were too.

    I didn¡¯t peg you as the social media type.

    I felt oddly insulted by his statement. What did he mean?

    I created an ount today.

 Chapter 26

    He went silent after that. The message was seen, but he wasn¡¯t typing back. Had he grown bored with the conversation? Good for me anyway. I didn¡¯t have to speak to him unnecessarily. Besides, I had already exined my liking his picture and video calling him. He could choose to believe or not, it was up to him.

    I put the phone away, picking my book up instead to continue reading. I took the page marker out, it was very handy, and picked up where Ist stopped. I wasn¡¯t even halfway through with the novel and that was depressing. Yes, I had only just started reading it yesterday and I hadn¡¯t had much time to continue reading today between school and the driving lesson I¡¯d taken with my foster mom -I was learning to drive!-, but it was sad still because I considered myself a fast reader.

    The book might be the issue. It was so¡­.. boring. When I picked it from the library, I had thought I was going to be reading a fictional story about the bird, but all I kept seeing were more and more historical facts. It felt like a mini history textbook. Except about a bird.

    I developed a sudden fascination with the bird as I read and I couldn¡¯t really point out why. Maybe because the Phoenix was an enduring symbol of resilience and renewal. Never bested my hardship or defeated by death, the Phoenix was the ultimate icon of hope and rebirth.

    And maybe, just maybe, I craved my own rebirth.

    When my phone pinged with an iing message, the speed with which I dumped the novel, not even bothering to bookmark it, and dove for my phone, surprised even me. The reason was simply because it wasn¡¯t an interesting book. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I had been awaiting Axel¡¯s message. Not at all.

    Pick up the call.

    I frowned. I was about to ask him which call when a video call came in. I quickly declined, my heart rate increasing.

    Why?

    I asked all nonchnt, like he hadn¡¯t just given me a mini heart attack. He replied just as fast.

    Why else do people do video calls?

    I want to see your face, Einstein.

    My breath caught. I noticed that it happened a lot whenever I was talking to him. Yet another reason why I shouldn¡¯t be talking to him. But did I heed my own advice? No, I did not.

    You saw my face in school barely two hours ago.

    He had. Although we hadn¡¯t really talked. It had been a see-him-and-run situation for me. I had been sweaty as hell from all the school work I¡¯d done and smelled bad. I told myself I would die before talking to him within close distance at the time.

    Two hours = two 3/4 years in my world.

    Another call came in and I declined it again, sending him a quick ¡®no¡¯ before turning off my WiFi. He was going to give me a heart attack if I didn¡¯t.

    My stomach growled angrily, reminding me that I hadn¡¯t taken anything in since I came back from school because I had been so excited to finish the book. Now that I couldn¡¯t find it in me anymore to even open the book, the hunger ate at me.

    I carefully kept the book in my bag, ready to return it back to the library on Monday. I would find another book, preferably from my favorite genre, romance. But I couldn¡¯t regret collecting this book in the first ce, it had gotten me to know about the mythical bird that might just be my spirit animal after all.

    Pushing my door open, I peeked out into the hallway. Zoe wasn¡¯t in. I knew that because her car wasn¡¯t in the driveway. She drove a ck Mercedes CLA. Fancy and ssy. Just like her.N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner.

    Abi was in though, and from the faint voices drifting from her room as I passed, I could tell she hadpany. Laura, most definitely. She was the only one that ever visited her. She had been pissed on my behalf when she heard about the incident with Zoe. Laura, not Abi. She thought Zoe took it too far to p me. Abi did too, but she wouldn¡¯t say more on the matter.

    There were several meals in the kitchen for me to choose from, but I was in the mood for snacks. I opened the overhead cupboard, rummaging around in it before bringing out a pack of cornkes. With the right amount of water, sugar and milk, it was everything.

    I poured a hefty amount into a dish I grabbed from the te rack, added the milk and sugar then dove into it. The taste was nothing short of heavenly.

    After eating, washing the dish, and recing it in the rack, I climbed back upstairs. I paused in the living room, wondering if I should stay and watch a movie, but I had a TV in my room so I could watch whatever I wanted there. I also didn¡¯t want to be in the living room when Zoe came back. It would be so awkward.

    Laura was standing just outside Abi¡¯s room, about to enter when she saw meing. She stopped.

    ¡°Hey, I was just looking for you. ¡±

    ¡°I went downstairs to get something. What¡¯s up? ¡±

    It goes without saying that I was a lotfortable with both Abi and Laura now. A far cry from the shy girl I¡¯d been when Laura talked to me for the first time. I wasn¡¯t used to her openness at the time, but now, I found it funny.

    ¡°Come on. ¡± she pulled me into Abi¡¯s room, kicking the door shut with the heel of her sneaker.

    I stood there, leaning on her pristine white walls with my arms folded, looking between the both of them expectantly. Knowing Laura, she was probably about to set me up.

    ¡°I need you to help me convince Abi to go to Dare¡¯s party. ¡±

    I sighed. Thought as much.

    ¡°If she doesn¡¯t want to go then I can¡¯t force her to. ¡± I reasoned.

 Chapter 27

    Abi cocked her brow as if to say ¡®see?¡¯.

    ¡°We can if we put our all into it. ¡± she jumped on the bed next to Abi who seemed to be reading a textbook. ¡°Peer pressure. Hello? ¡±

    ¡°Peer pressure doesn¡¯t work on Abi. ¡±

    She blew out a breath. ¡°This is hopeless. ¡±

    I shrugged. Then I frowned. ¡°Abi goes to parties? ¡±

    ¡°She knows I don¡¯t. ¡±

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t, but I¡¯m telling her it¡¯s a good idea for her to start now. We¡¯ll be going to university in a year. ¡± she stressed, ¡°Parties are inevitable. ¡±This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    ¡°They aren¡¯t. ¡± Abi and I said at the same time.

    Laura rolled her eyes, ¡°Oh, shut up. You¡¯re going to the party. Your opinion isn¡¯t valid. ¡±

    ¡°If it isn¡¯t then why did you pull me in here? ¡±

    Her eyes narrowed, ¡°Don¡¯t be a smartass. ¡±

    ¡°Besides I¡¯m not going. ¡± I said, going to sit on Abi¡¯sfy couch. It was soft as hell.

    ¡°What is wrong with you people? ¡± Laura flung her hands, beyond exasperated.

    Abi put away her textbook, giving her full attention to me. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going? ¡±

    I studied my toenails, noticing for the first time that I had extremely small legs. Weird. Did I want to tell her the real reason?

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I want to go anymore. ¡± I ended up saying. But of course Abi saw right through me.

    ¡°Is it because of what happened yesterday? ¡±

    I nodded slowly.

    School had been horrific for me today. I knew going to ss one day after the incident wasn¡¯t a smart idea but I hadn¡¯t any choice. So I¡¯d gone into ss and had to face the mocking nces I received from people. I hadn¡¯t been surprised when Coco sympathized with me, saying that Zoe was a bitch for hitting her own sister. The chameleon. After going around spreading the news to all sses that hadn¡¯t heard about it already.

    ¡°Oh, Eva. ¡± Laura rushed over to sit beside me, putting her hand around me. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t change your mind because of Zoe. ¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not because of her. ¡± I hesitated, ¡°It¡¯s¡­. ¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s what? ¡± she pressed.

    ¡°The people. ¡± Abi said softly, ¡°You think they¡¯re going to be talking about you. About what happened. ¡±

    My silence was enough confirmation.

    ¡°Aw,e on, Eva. They¡¯ll probably have forgotten the whole thing ever happened by tomorrow. ¡±

    ¡°Right. ¡± I scoffed.

    ¡°No. I¡¯m serious. ¡± she drew one knee up between us on the couch so she could face me, ¡°I know that Ivacy High students are nosy motherfuckers but trust me, they¡¯re not going to care about you tomorrow. It¡¯s a party for fucks sake! All they¡¯re going to care about is getting high and hooking up. ¡±

    I blinked at her.

    ¡°That¡¯s unrealistic, Laura. ¡± Abi shook her head.

    ¡°It¡¯s not. You¡¯ve never been to a school party, that¡¯s why you don¡¯t know what I¡¯m saying, so stay out of this. ¡± Laura pointed her index finger at her.

    Abi mimed zipping her mouth shut. ¡°Zipped. ¡±

    Laura turned back to me, gazing at me expectantly. ¡°So what do you say, Eva? ¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­. ¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure going to the party was a good idea. A huge part of me wanted to go. I wanted to see how parties were, to experience the teenage girl life even if it was just for a day. But I was also scared of how people were going to react to my presence. I mean, look how they treated me today. With scorn and disdain. They absolutely believed I was guilty of Zoe¡¯s ims.

    And oh my God, Zoe would be going to the party too!

    I pulled back from Laura, making her hand slip off my shoulder, ¡°Will Zoe be going? ¡±

    Her eyes widened and she bit her lip, looking at Abi. Obviously, she didn¡¯t know the answer to that question. Abi shook her head.

    ¡°How do you know? ¡± then I stopped. ¡°Never mind that was a stupid question. ¡±

    Laura pped loudly, rubbing her palms together excitedly. ¡°So are you going? ¡±

    Even if Zoe wasn¡¯t going to be there, the whole of SS3 still would. And it¡¯s not like she had to be there for them to treat me cruelly. After all, she hadn¡¯t been there when they mocked me in ss.

    So to answer the question ¡®was I still going?¡¯

    ¡°Stop over thinking it to death. ¡± Laura nudged me, ¡°It¡¯s going to be fun. ¡±

    I nced at her, then at Abi, who was also watching me, awaiting my answer.

    Spend a night, possibly have the most fun I¡¯ll ever have in my life and risk the wrath of my ssmates? Or don¡¯t go to the party, stay home miserable and still end up facing the wrath of my ssmates?

    Seriously. This was a no brainer.

    ¡°I¡¯m going. ¡± I announced.

    Laura squealed, hugging me tightly and squeezing the life out of me. Her excitement was contagious and I felt myselfughing with her.

    I stared at her suspiciously, ¡°Are you just happy because you¡¯re not going to have to go alone? ¡±

    She flipped her hair over her shoulder, a patronizing look on her face, ¡°Girl, what do you mean? You know I¡¯m never alone. ¡±

    Iughed because she was right. Laura could get the whole school to go to the party, even if they didn¡¯t want to, if she wanted.

    Myugh died abruptly as panic threatened to grip me by the throat.

    ¡°I have nothing to wear. ¡± I cried, but Laura merely smiled.

    ¡°Leave that to me. ¡±

    Abi and I shared a look. I groaned, slumping on the couch.

    I was screwed.

 Chapter 28

    EVA

    Therefore I Am by Billie Eillish flowed softly from the Bluetooth speakers, giving the room a somewhat chill and badass vibe as Laura took care of my makeup.

    When I¡¯d first rejected her offer to apply my makeup, insisting that I didn¡¯t need one, she had given me a look of disappointment saying, ¡°Your gown deserves better than the treatment you¡¯re giving it, Eva. ¡°. I¡¯d rolled my eyes, telling her that I hadn¡¯t wanted to wear the gown in the first ce but then I¡¯d stared at the gown, then at my face in the mirror, and I had silently gone and sat on the chair by my dresser, watching as she readied her tools with a satisfied nod.

    I mean, no one said I wasn¡¯t pretty, but my untouched face was way too undeserving of the gown. That, I knew.

    The gown -my gown, was a masterpiece. It would be considered simple to most, underrated even, but it was more to me, much much more. I hadn¡¯t worn a gown like that before. In fact, I couldn¡¯t remember thest time I¡¯d worn a gown, period. So taking a step like this and wearing such a figure hugging gown, was a huge one for me. Not that I¡¯d had any other choice but to wear it as Laura had picked it out andid it out on my bed. There was no arguing with her.

    She was good at what she did. The look of concentration on her face, the expert strokes of her brush, the careful selecting of the shades she used, all told me she knew what she was doing. I realized that I wasn¡¯t the least bit worried about the oue.

    ¡°You¡¯re taking all this pretty well, ¡± Laura noted, ¡°For someone who¡¯s never been to a party before. ¡±This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    I shrugged. ¡°My fate is sealed. There¡¯s really nothing I can do. ¡±

    The brush stopped moving on my face. ¡°Am I really the only reason you¡¯re going? ¡±

    My mind briefly wandered to Axel.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious, even if a little, as to how these things go? ¡± she pressed.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never thought about it before. ¡± I have. ¡°But I guess going once wouldn¡¯t hurt. ¡±

    She gave me a look, before continuing with my make-up. They -Abi and Laura, believed, for all the world, that I was only going to the party because Laura had persuaded me into tagging along with her. Neither of them knew that Axel was one of the major forces that influenced my decision.

    ¡°You¡¯re driving right? ¡±

    I blinked. ¡°No, I¡¯m not. We¡¯re going together, isn¡¯t that what you said? ¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­. When I said together, I didn¡¯t mean together together. ¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the both of us going together? ¡±

    She answered my question with one of her own. ¡°What time do you leave the party? ¡±

    ¡°What time does the party end? ¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t. ¡± she quipped, ¡°It¡¯s an all-nighter.¡±

    I gulped. I hadn¡¯t known that. Since the party was set to start at 7, I¡¯d estimated it tost three hours at least, and had put the closing time at 10pm.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t leave whenever you want though. ¡±

    The tension dissipated from my body, but I still wasn¡¯t settled. ¡°And people aren¡¯t going to talk? ¡±

    She gazed at my face intently for long, ufortable seconds, and just when I was about to turn away, she grabbed something from her box, coated it in a substance, dabbed it on my face, then proceeded to spread it out with a brush.

    ¡°They won¡¯t. You¡¯re not the only one that¡¯s going to be leaving, believe me. ¡± she chuckled lowly.

    ¡°What do you mean? ¡±

    ¡°What? ¡± she squinted, her eyes briefly flicking from her working hand to my face. ¡°Err, back to what I was saying, I¡¯m not leaving until it¡¯s morning. ¡±

    ¡°What? ¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Which is why I think you should go with your car. ¡±

    I lifted my hand to drag it down my face in frustration, but at thest minute, dropping it, remembering that I couldn¡¯t. ¡°I don¡¯t have a car. ¡±

    ¡°Oh. ¡± she hummed, ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be able to figure something out. ¡± she spun me around to face the mirror, rising from the stool she¡¯d been sitting on to stand behind me, watching as I took in her hour work.

    Awe. The only word I could find to describe the feeling that had me blinking back tears that had suddenly sprang into my eyes, was awe. It didn¡¯t look like she hadn¡¯t done much on my face, although it felt like she had. I was still me, albeit a more sophisticated, slightly more mature version.

    I opened my mouth and closed it again. I couldn¡¯t find the right words to thank her, to tell her how much this meant to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m that good, huh? ¡± she grinned, her eyes lighting up. ¡°Just put on your gown. Be careful with your face and your hair. ¡± then she hurried out of the room.

    Her hair bounced around her as she jogged out. She hadn¡¯t done anything extraordinary with it, all she did was divide it in half from the front and back, then tie the front in twin buns, leaving the back half free and bouncing with every step she took. Her hair was nothing short of divine. It was a mystery to everyone, how naturally curly they were.

    The gown didn¡¯t have a zipper, so it was easy to get it on without any help. It stopped four inches from my knee, a decent length, but I couldn¡¯t resist tugging it down. When I straightened, it jumped right back up and I sighed, giving up.

    I walked over to stand in front of the mirror. It wasn¡¯t full length, but it was enough for me to see what I needed to. The person staring back at me was aplete stranger.

    This rich, beautiful, ssy girl couldn¡¯t be me. I pushed the wavy ck wig back from my eyes, angling my head as I took in the full effect of the hair, the makeup and the gown. It was¡­ dare I say, hot. Throwing the heel that I hadn¡¯t yet worn into the mix, I was certain that none of my ssmates would recognize me.

    Laura appeared on my doorstep, shoving her phone into a yellowish-orange bag and what the hell was she wearing? She had on white sneakers, a blue Jean short that she hadn¡¯t even bothered to roll up the zipper, nor button up, but I think that was the style of it because it showed her yellow panties? With a ribbon of the same color around her waist. A white bead-sort-of-thing adorned her left thigh, to match her sneakers I supposed, although I had never seen anything like it before. She wore a single gold ne and a yellow bracelet on her right wrist.

    ¡°Bitch put on your heels. We¡¯rete. ¡± she interrupted my stare.

 Chapter 29

    The word, bitch, had stuck to the forefront of my vocabry ever since she started calling me that and I found myself wanting to say it sometimes. Apparently, she only called her friends ¡®bitches¡¯ when she gotfortable around them, but who was she kidding? She wasfortable around everyone. Ergo¡­

    ¡°Did you forget to zip up your shorts? ¡± I asked, just incase she actually was supposed to and she had forgotten.

    ¡°No. ¡±

    ¡°You mean, you¡¯re going like that? ¡± I asked stupidly, like I didn¡¯t know that already.This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    ¡°How else am I going to go? ¡± she scowled, ¡°Stop stalling and just wear the goddamn shoe. ¡±

    I sighed. She was right; I was stalling. The heel was four inches high and I was wondering just how mobile I would be after wearing it. I might have not put up a fight when she¡¯d brought it out, but I also wasn¡¯t very keen on breaking my neck -or any bone in my body for that matter.

    Shoulders slumping in resignation, I sat at the edge of my bed, strapping the heels to my feet. By the time I was done, my gown had jumped up on my thighs again. I dragged them back down.

    When I looked up, I caught Lauraughing at me, twirling her car keys in their index finger. ¡°Let¡¯s go. ¡±

    I tested my movement before meeting her by taking several steps in the room, trying to keep my shoulders back and not make it too obvious that I wasn¡¯t ustomed to heels. Lauraughed again.

    ¡°Stop it. This is important. ¡±

    ¡°Oh, Eva. ¡± she shook her head, walking away. Grabbing my ck bag -it matched my heels and hair, I carefully, hurriedly, went after her.

    Abi was standing just outside her room, leaning on the wall, no doubt watching us. She¡¯d probably had her bath and she was now wearing pajamas, ready for bed, or her night reading session.

    ¡°Have fun. ¡± she smiledzily, ¡°And don¡¯t stay toote else mom and dad would really get mad. ¡±

    ¡°Thanks. I won¡¯t. ¡± I waved at her, before hurrying down the stairs. I didn¡¯t trust Laura not to drive off and leave me back here, all dressed and stupid.

    The car was already revved and ready to pull out by the time I got downstairs. She drove a grey Mercedes Benz of some sort. I wasn¡¯t really a freak when it came to cars and I gave myself a mental pat on the back for even being able to ce the name without her telling me.

    Pulling the passenger door open, I carefully slid into the car, dragging my gown an inch down as I did. I couldn¡¯t resist.

    Laura cut her eyes to me. ¡°I swear to God, if you do that when we get there, I¡¯m going to cut your fingers off with the knife I carry around in my purse. ¡±

    I nced at her purse, then at her. Her expression didn¡¯t waver. I knew Laura enough toe to the conclusion that she might actually be carrying a knife in her purse. One could never know with her. She was that crazy.

    ¡°I¡¯m not even pulling it down to make it longer. ¡± I exined, ¡°It keeps jumping up on my thighs. ¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s supposed to do that. ¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not. ¡±

    ¡°Yes, it is. ¡± she sing-songed and when I looked at her, she was smiling.

    I strapped on my seatbelt, deciding to let it go. I didn¡¯t want her distracted as she drove, because I knew I didn¡¯t like thinking of anything other than the car and myself as I drove. I took my driving test next week and I wanted to do more than okay.

    We pulled into the Adess¡¯ mansion. Yes, a mansion. It was huge with several buildings inside thepound. The gateman hadn¡¯t even bothered to question us before letting us in, he¡¯d simply pulled the gate open, and then gone to stand by it, probablying to terms with the fact that there were more peopleing and reopening and closing the gate would be nothing short of pointless.

    Laura parked beside the other cars and as we came down, I took in the scenery. A huge fountain right in the middle that acted as a circr turn for cars. Speaking of the cars, each of them was sleek, definitely expensive, and new. No average looking one in the fleet.

    I nced at Laura in question, waiting for her to take the lead. She extended her arm to me, cocking her head, an excited grin ying at her lips, ¡°Shall we? ¡±

    Hooking my arm around hers, deciding for once in my life to let everything go and do something fun, I smiled wholly, thrusting my hair back, ¡°We shall. ¡±

    And together, we headed to the pool house, where the party was happening. The first thing that greeted me, was the extremely loud music. It reached my ears even before we stepped into the house, with the shing neon lights seeming to focus on us for a moment or maybe that was just my imagination. The ce was decorated to the max. Trust Ivacy High students to do the most.

    The party was dark-themed, grey and ck ribbons and balloons adorning the ce, with led lights lining the four sides of the ceilings. A neon club light rotated right in the middle, casting the room in different hues, making the people appear blue, green and red.

    I paid no mind to the queasiness in my gut as we fought for passage amongst the throng of people dancing, some just sipping their drinks, looking higher than a kite on the dance floor.

    ¡°Do you want to get drinks first, or? ¡± Laura nced around.

    ¡°Or what? ¡± I yelled so she could hear me over the loud music.

    ¡°We could go see Dare, let him know we¡¯re here. ¡± she shouted back and I thought about it. What was one¡¯s proof that they came to a party when the host didn¡¯t get to see you? Especially at a party as crowded as this.

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s. ¡± I nodded and followed her as she lead the way. She obviously knew her way around the ce, which made me guess that she had definitely been here before. Obviously, this wasn¡¯t the first party Dare was hosting.

 Chapter 30

    After escaping being squashed by people, we entered into a hallway, filled with girls loitering in the thin space. Why were they so many? More importantly, what could be so important they wanted to do that would make them pile up like that?

    I put my lips to Laura¡¯s ear, ¡°What are these girls doing here? ¡±

    She nced at the girls, before whispering. ¡°They want what¡¯s in the room we¡¯re about to enter. ¡±

    What?

    I was about to ask her what she meant when she pushed a door open, cat-walking in like she owned the ce and I was left to follow.

    Couches lined the walls in the wide room, with the same led light attached to the ceilings, a table at the center and a humungous tv on the wall. The room was dark and I couldn¡¯t see clearly enough to name the people that upied the couches, but I could tell most of them were from school. A white girl was curled up on a guy that upied the whole length of one of the couches to the side and they looked to be making out. I looked away sharply. It wasn¡¯t strange seeing people from other countries anymore; Ivacy High was an international school with a lot of international students.

    The main couch, the one at the center, was upied by some guys from school and as we got closer, I recognized one of them as Dare. He was talking with some girl, smiling and gesturing wildly like he was having the conversation of the century. He looked up when he saw Laura.

    ¡°Hey! ¡± he eximed. ¡°You¡¯re here. ¡±

    ¡°We are. ¡± Laura corrected purposefully and then he looked my way, his eyes widening, as if just realizing I was standing beside her.

    He shot up from the couch in a sh, abandoning the girl he¡¯d been talking to, delight obvious on his face.

    ¡°Eva, I thought you weren¡¯t going toe? ¡± it was more of a question than a statement really.

    ¡°Yes, but then I changed my mind. ¡± I offered a small smile.

    He nodded, too distracted by what I was wearing to care about what could have brought about my change of mind. ¡°I¡¯m d you could make it. ¡±

    I was d he didn¡¯t ask. The lesser the conversation, the better for me.

    The girl he had been talking to on the couch, now forgotten, nursed her drink sullenly. She looked utterly miserable and I could only imagine how she felt. ncing around at the other girls cozying up to the guys, some leaning on the walls, waiting to be fed even a scrap of attention, and the horde still outside, waiting to be allowed entrance, I didn¡¯t feel that bad for the girl anymore. I only felt pity.

    So that was what most of the girls did at parties? Dress up, then wait in line outside the supposed VIP room, waiting to be called upon by the guys whenever they were done doing whatever with the girls in the room? How degrading.

    ¡°Have you guys had drinks? ¡± Dare asked and Laura shook her head.

    ¡°We¡¯ll go get some. ¡± she was already taking a step back, ¡°The decoration is mad, by the way. ¡±

    ¡°You suppose know my matter na. ¡± he was proud.

    {You suppose know my matter na : You should know me already.}

    Coming back out was even worse than going in. The girls kept pushing against the door, thinking that one of them was about to be called in. They were sorely disappointed.

    On our way to get drinks, Laura got intercepted by a guy who snaked his arm around her waist. She didn¡¯t seem shocked though.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were here already. ¡± she beamed up at him, with a certain look in her eyes.

    The guy said something to her that I didn¡¯t catch, then she looked at me guiltily. That was when I realized we were standing in front of a number of seated people. The couches were lined by the walls, just like in the room we entered, except the dance floor was only a few feet away from the them.

    ¡°I swear if the body isn¡¯t as good as the face¡­. ¡± the muttered words came from a masculine voice behind me and I turned, wondering who he was referring to.

    It was Axel. And he was referring to me.

    I had been standing right in front of him the entire time and I hadn¡¯t known.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.

    He froze when his elevating eyes got to my face. He stared at me for so long that I thought he had gone into shock.

    ¡°Hi. ¡± was what he finally said.

    ¡°Hi? ¡± I echoed. What a normal thing for him to say to me. Too normal.

    ¡°You¡¯re here. ¡± he said as he stood up. So he was stating the obvious. I debated on whether I should give him a sarcastic response, but he was acting unlike himself and I didn¡¯t want to be insensitive.

    ¡°Apparently, I don¡¯t have to worry about leaving you alone. ¡± she cocked her head at Axel, a silent question that I was d she didn¡¯t voice, in her eyes. ¡°Will you be okay? ¡±

    I nodded. She had to go with the guy who was still waiting patiently and it¡¯s not like I nned on hanging on to her like a leech anyway.

    She walked off and I turned back to Axel, something funny happening in my stomach as I took in his outfit. Dressed in a white T-shirt, faded blue, broken in jeans and a blue denim jacket, he pulled off the casual look well. Everything he wore was designer, I didn¡¯t have to guess to know that and did everything he wear have to look so good on him?

    ¡°Um¡­. Do you want drinks? ¡± he asked all of a sudden. He seemed to be grasping for things to say and that was so unlike the Axel I knew.

    Figuring I might as well need some time alone to keep my confusing reaction to him carefully hidden, I nodded. He left before I could even blink. Wow. I looked after him, seeing as he shoved his hand into his hair as he made his way through the crowd, with that sexy, confident gait only he possessed.

    I didn¡¯t even want to think about how strange the whole conversation had been just now. Why was he acting that way? Had I made a terrible decisioning here?

    ¡°Eva? ¡± the sound of my name jolted me back to the present.

    Who on earth could have recognized me so easily at this party, even with my back to them? I turned, trying to mask the irritation on my face, but it quickly transformed to shock and I wasn¡¯t so sure I did a good job at hiding that one.

    I should have known the voice sounded familiar.

    ¡°Omar? ¡°

 Chapter 31

    EVA

    His warm, brown eyes darted between mine in surprise, roving over my body and then climbing back up to ogle my face. ¡°It¡¯s really you? ¡±

    He couldn¡¯t believe I was here. The feeling was mutual.

    I nodded, my throat clogged with emotions. The need to blink was strong, but I fought it because I feared that if I did, he would disappear.

    His brows dove down. ¡°You look different. ¡±

    His words seemed to slur slightly. And now that I took note of it, my surprise on seeing him was quickly reced by worry.

    I ignored hisment, wanting to ask him if he was okay instead, but before I could get the words out, he lunged at me and engulfed me in a tight hug. Almost immediately, my hands came up to wrap around him. I¡¯d missed him. I closed my eyes, inhaling his familiar scent¡­¡­ but it was all wrong. He smelled of beer and a cologne too strong to be associated with him.

    A minute went by, then two, three, four and just when I started to think he had fallen asleep on me, he pulled away abruptly, staring at me with an odd look.

    I frowned. ¡°What-¡±

    Omar threw up directly in front of me, missing my heels by mere centimeters.

    I gaped.

    People standing near us shifted, yelling at us to take our ¡®drunkenness¡¯ outside. How rich that was,ing from equally drunk people. I think some of the vomit must have sshed on a girl who had been dancing beside him because she red at us for a long minute before storming off. Thankfully, she wasn¡¯t an Ivacy High student.

    ¡°Omar! ¡± I whisper yelled.

    He lifted his index finger in a ¡®one-moment¡¯ gesture, then braced his hands on his knees, and proceeded to empty the remaining contents of his stomach on the floor, earning more res from people.

    What was the possibility of the ground opening up and swallowing me right now?

    I wanted to walk away, but at the same time, I couldn¡¯t leave him. I couldn¡¯t even if I wanted to and definitely not like this.

    I took a step back -because the vomit was starting to spread, and nced around warily.

    ¡°Uh¡­. What happened between now and five minutes ago? ¡±

    Axel!This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    I spun around sharply at the sound of his voice, my shoulders sagging with relief. I couldn¡¯t deal with the mess that was Omar alone right now.

    ¡°Thank God you¡¯re here. ¡± I ced my hand on his chest without giving much thought to what I was doing. ¡°I need your help. ¡±

    His eyes red as he gazed from me to Omar. Back, forth, back, forth, as if he couldn¡¯t decide on who he wanted to look at. Eventually, when his eyes must have started to cross, he gave up and fixed me with a questioning nce, his left brow cocked.

    Holding two bottles of drinks in his hands, standing a head taller than a considerable number of people in the crowd, with a sexy scowl etched on his face, I believed that it was understandable -and yes, quite shameful- why I felt moderately ttered that I was the one he was standing with, even with prettier girls that were more his style here, tonight.

    ¡°Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on? ¡± he snapped.

    ¡°He threw up. I think he¡¯s had too much to drink. ¡±

    ¡°Correction, ¡± Omar forced out brokenly, his breathing in short gasps. ¡°I didn¡¯t. I know my limit just fine. ¡±

    ¡°Shut up, Omar. ¡±

    ¡°Who is he? ¡± Axel asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s not important at the moment. What I-¡±

    ¡°I saw him hug you. ¡± he bit out.

    I tried not to take offense at his tone. His anger waspletely unwarranted and unsolicited and a huge part of me wanted to snap right back at him, but I bit my tongue. What were a few wordspared to the trouble he was about to go through?

    The song ended and a slow one came up. People paired on the dance floor, grinding against each other sultrily with their eyes closed, absorbed in their own little world, losing themselvespletely in the moment. That was when I realized I still had my hands on Axel¡¯s chest and I was horrified to find that they were clutching his shirt. I dropped them quickly like his skin burned. And somehow, they did.

    I nced up at him; he hadn¡¯t even seemed to notice.

    ¡°He¡¯s my best friend. ¡± I answered his previous question. ncing back at an obviously flushed Omar, he didn¡¯t look a lot like my best friend in that moment. My chest tightened. What could he possibly be going through that had made him drink to this extent?

    ¡°How? ¡± his brows seemed to climb even more. ¡°He doesn¡¯t school with us. I would recognize him. ¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I met him a long time ago. ¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to have to do a lot more exining than that. ¡± he seemed to take in the state of the floor and the looks we were garnering just then. ¡°But not here. Come. ¡±

    He shoved both drinks in his hands into a passing guy¡¯s chest and I watched as the guy desperately tried to catch them before they hit the ground. With his hand now free, he snagged mine, attempting to pull me with him, but I dug my heels into the ground rather futilely. I wasn¡¯t leaving. Not without Omar.

    ¡°What? ¡± he frowned down at me, yes, even in my heels I was still inches shorter than him.

    ¡°I can¡¯t leave him. ¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t saying you should. ¡±

    ¡°You just tried to drag me away. ¡±

    ¡°And he should know to follow. ¡± his eyes zed. ¡°The fuck do you want me to do? Write it out in the sky that he shoulde with us? He¡¯s not a baby. ¡±

    ¡°Right now, he might as well be. ¡± my anger started to surface.

    ¡°Not my fault he can¡¯t drink responsibly. ¡±

    ¡°What do you know about responsibility? ¡± I snapped. It was a cheap shot, but I threw it at him regardless. He just did not have the right to talk about Omar like that. He didn¡¯t even know him.

    ¡°Enough to be able to take care of myself even when I get drunk. ¡± he shot back.

    ¡°Jesus. You¡¯re so annoying. ¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re no fucking pic either. ¡± he stormed off, shouldering past the throng of people, pushing the front door open and mming it shut as he passed.

 Chapter 32

    I stared after him. I¡¯d never seen him angry before and now that I had, well, I was shocked. He¡¯d only ever been yful with me.

    Putting one hand around Omar, we walked slowly out of the pool house. He threw his right hand around my shoulder and a feeling of nostalgia gripped me as I remembered all the times we¡¯d walk just like this. Down in the streets, in school, and on church grounds whenever we got tired of the preacher¡¯s long sermons. Granted, he was seriously drunk, I didn¡¯t know how he hade to attend this party and I had no idea what I was going to do with him now, but I was grateful I¡¯d found him -or the other way round- amidst all the hundreds of people in there.

    I saw Axel standing outside when we finally got out. What was he still doing here? He was resting on a ck car with his head down and he had his hands shoved into his pockets. His head came up when he heard our foot steps. He rushed towards me as soon as he saw that I was struggling with Omar, who had dumped his entire weight on me. I was practically carrying him.

    Omar¡¯s weight was finally taken off my shoulders and I sighed as I massaged the aching muscles in my neck.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    We didn¡¯t say a single word as Axel helped Omar across and into the car he¡¯d been leaning on. It was obviously his. I didn¡¯t object because I knew there was nowhere else for him to sit and standing when he was almost passed out wasn¡¯t a good idea.

    ¡°Come into the car with me? ¡± he asked when he stood beside me.

    ¡°Why? ¡± I had my eyes on the door to the house, wondering what Laura was up to. Speaking of, I needed to call her. Looking for her wasn¡¯t an option.

    ¡°It¡¯s cold out here. ¡±

    His voice was softer now. Even softer than usual. He wanted to apologize, I knew it. My stare shifted to the car. I had to go in anyway, Omar was in there.

    I could tell myself that Omar was the only reason I was settling back in the plush leather seat of Axel¡¯s car, but I would be lying. I turned in my seat to check on Omar and saw him sprawled on the back seat, his eyes closed in sleep. He looked so innocent and peaceful that my heart ached.

    I miss you.

    As I righted myself, facing forward, I caught Axel¡¯s eyes on me and I looked away. I thought I heard him sigh.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I went off like that in there. ¡±

    I ignored him.

    ¡°Eva? ¡±

    Silence.

    ¡°I said I¡¯m sorry for speaking to you the way I did. ¡±

    ¡°Why did you? ¡± I frowned, remembering I had been willing to put up with his anger because I had wanted something from him as well. To help me with Omar.

    His head fell back on the headrest. ¡°I¡­.. ¡± he trailed off, sighing. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just kind of lost it when I saw you hug him. ¡±

    He hugged me, I wanted to say but I stopped myself. It was Omar. I didn¡¯t have to justify anything.

    ¡°Why? ¡± I asked instead. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t care. ¡±

    ¡°I know. ¡± he said, his eyes still on the roof of his car.

    ¡°So why did you? ¡± I should let this go. I knew I should, but I couldn¡¯t help myself.

    He shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe I just wasn¡¯t expecting anyone else to be there. ¡±

    ¡°Or, ¡± Omar piped in from the backseat. ¡°Because you like her. ¡±

    ¡°I thought you were asleep? ¡± I turned to him. His eyes were still closed and I briefly wondered whether he was talking in his sleep. But he couldn¡¯t be; he¡¯d been listening to the conversation.

    ¡°I was. ¡± he smiled a small smile, not opening his eyes, ¡°Your not-so-quiet conversation woke me up. And he¡¯s silent ¡¯cause he knows I¡¯m right. ¡±

    ¡°Wrong. I¡¯m choosing to ignore your ass.¡± Axel¡¯s eyes briefly lifted to the rear view mirror to nce at Omar. ¡°You¡¯re practically wasted so your opinion isn¡¯t cogent. ¡±

    Omar scoffed, but didn¡¯t say anything further. Thanks to him, the atmosphere in the car was now ten times more awkward than it had been before.

    Discretely sneaking a nce at Axel, taking note of how he kept his gaze straight forward and how awfully quiet he had fallen, I wondered if Omar was right. I mean, he didn¡¯t have to have huge feelings or anything, but what if he had a tiny crush on me? Could he possibly?

    And why was I so desperate to know if he did? Because I had a tiny one on him too?

    ¡°Do you have any suggestions as to what we¡¯re going to do with him? ¡± I asked, changing the topic -both between us and in my head. Anything to take my mind off the destructive path it was headed.

    Axel seemed to think this over, munching on his lower lip as his eyes narrowed in concentration. ¡°We could take him to a hotel where he can spend the night. And then tomorrow, figure out what to do with him. ¡± he cut a nce at Omar. ¡°Although I assume that wouldn¡¯t be necessary. Someone had to have invited him to the party. ¡±

    I nodded even though he couldn¡¯t see me. He was right. I hadn¡¯t thought all this over. We could drop him off at a hotel, go back to him tomorrow, and hopefully, catch up on everything that had been happening with him. It sounded easy enough. I¡¯d been beating myself up over nothing.

    He started the car, about to pull out from his parking space when a knock came at his window. He rolled it down and a guy shoved his head into the car.

    ¡°Hey, man. What¡¯s up? ¡± Axel asked, leaning his hand on the steering wheel.

    ¡°You¡¯re leaving? ¡± the other guy asked.

    ¡°Yeah, I have to. Something came up. ¡± Axel exined. ¡°Will you let Dare know I¡¯m leaving? ¡±

    The guy nodded and then his eyes fell on me. ¡°Who is she? ¡±

    Axel put two fingers to the guys forehead, pushing him out of the car roughly. He hurriedly dragged his head back when he saw the window sliding up. ¡°Tell Dare what I said. And shut the fuck up. ¡± the window slid shut.

    He pulled out of the parking space, turning in the circr path the fountain provided, then drove out, honking when he passed the security man. He waved. They knew each other.

    I nced at him in surprise. I knew a lot of Ivacy High students that wouldpletely disregard that man¡¯s existence simply because of his post. I had seen two more sides to Axel tonight. This one and the angry one I¡¯d seen back at the pool house.

 Chapter 33

    Watching Axel drive was sexy and distracting, so I decided to watch the scenery as we passed instead. The time on his car said it was 9:08pm. My lips twisted ruefully. Had I been worried about how I was going to leave the party because I didn¡¯t want to stayte? A party I hadn¡¯t even experienced in the slightest, again, thanks to Omar.

    But I couldn¡¯t say I regretted going. Sure, the night hadn¡¯t really met up to the expectations I had in my head, but I had gotten to meet my best friend that I hadn¡¯t seen in ages. So I guess I won in some way. Could this be fate? I wouldn¡¯t say I believed in it, but right now, I was second guessing everything.

    What were the odds of Omar attending a party thrown by a guy from my school? We met and grew up at another state, got adopted in that same state, how could both our foster parents be living in Abuja aftering all the way to Lagos to adopt us? It was too much of a coincidence to be totally unrted. I was starting to get a strange feeling.

    I blinked, seeing that we were approaching the entrance of a huge hotel. That hadn¡¯t taken long. Or had I been too absorbed in my head and I hadn¡¯t been paying attention to my surrounding?

    Axel parked the car, turning the engine off and then he faced me. ¡°We need to go in, get a room, thene back out and take him up. ¡±

    ¡°Okay. ¡± I fumbled a little with the door before figuring out how to open it. My face flushed hot in embarrassment. I still and would probably never be used to this rich people life and their fancy things. Thankfully, Axel didn¡¯t notice.

    We walked into the glitzy hotel and straight to the receptionist. She was polite enough, listing the avable rooms they had and which was mostfortable. All the blood drained from my face when she asked for an ID to ensure we were up to eighteen. I didn¡¯t have my ID with me right now and I definitely wasn¡¯t eighteen yet! How had we not thought about this?

    I turned to Axel, but he didn¡¯t share my worry. He simply grabbed his wallet from his back pocket, flipped it open, fished his ID out and slid it to thedy. She went over it, smiled, and handed it back to him, going over to herputer.

    ¡°How old are you? ¡± I whispered to Axel.

    ¡°Good thing for the both of us, I turned eighteen two months ago. ¡±

    So he was born in July. And wow, I had assumed we were the same age.This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    The receptionist gave us our bill and before I could find the time to copse on the floor out of shock, Axel was already paying with his card. The amount we were being charged for a single night was obscene! And what the hell had I expected from a ce like this? Couldn¡¯t we find a cheaper one?

    Axel collected the key from the woman, and back outside we went to get Omar. He whistled low as he strode out leisurely, swinging the key around his finger. Okay, this boy was too sexy. How was I supposed to ignore it? It was impossible.

    Twenty minutester, we were walking back outside. Getting Omar up to the room hadn¡¯t been as stressful as I thought it would be. The hotel had an elevator -it was my first time in one, yay!- and Axel did most of the work. All I did was hold the door open for them as they passed. Oh, and tuck Omar in.

    The temperature had dropped several degrees as the day darkened and I was starting to get cold. My legs were also starting to hurt. Why was the car suddenly so far from the hotel?

    I stopped when I felt light weight on my shoulders. Axel had ced his jacket on me. How had he known I was cold?

    He must have seen the question in my eyes because he shrugged. ¡°I could tell. ¡±

    ¡°Thank you. ¡± I voiced, before resuming my walk.

    His car had heat and he turned it on too. In no time, I was starting to feel warm. I nced at him out of the corner of my eye. He was so thoughtful.

    I gave him directions to the house since he was dropping me off and then going home. He slowed the car as the huge gate came into sight. ¡°Am I stopping here or? ¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. You can stop here. ¡± I didn¡¯t want to stress him further by driving inside, before driving back out and not to mention, he¡¯d need the code. He had done enough already.

    ¡°Thank you so much for today. I don¡¯t know what I would have done with Omar if you hadn¡¯t been there. ¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. ¡±

    ¡°I know. But still. ¡±

    He left the engine revving, waiting for me to get down. I popped off my seatbelt and just when I was about to open the door, he stopped me.

    ¡°Are you still mad at me? ¡± he asked quietly.

    ¡°No. ¡± I stared at him, incredulous, ¡°Why would you think that? ¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve barely said a word ever since. ¡±

    ¡°Oh. I¡¯ve just been lost in my thoughts. ¡±

    He nodded, watching me quietly as if waiting for me to say something else. When I didn¡¯t, he nodded again. I could tell he was apprehensive.

    ¡°Goodnight, Eva. ¡±

    ¡°Goodnight, Axel. ¡± I replied just as quietly.

    I got down from the car and walked over to the gate, typing in the code and waiting for the small gate to roll open. I stopped walking when I got to the main gate to the house, turning to check if he had driven off. He was still there. Immediately I got into thepound, I saw him reversing, about to leave.

    He wants you to get in safely.

    What was that weird feeling happening in my stomach?

    I was already climbing up the stairs, headed for my room when I spotted Abi standing just outside her door. Had she been waiting for me toe home or did she hear mee in?

    ¡°You¡¯re back. You¡¯re lucky dad and mom aren¡¯t home yet. ¡± she beamed. ¡°How was the party? ¡±

    ¡°Fun, I guess. ¡± Iughed to myself. Fun, indeed.

    I turned to my room. I was already pushing the door open when she stopped me. ¡°Eva? Whose jacket is that? ¡±

    I looked down. I¡¯d forgotten to give Axel back his jacket!

    ¡°No one. ¡± I smiled sweetly at Abi, but I could tell she didn¡¯t buy it.

    As I took off my gown and got ready for bed, I realized that I was smiling.

    And the smile didn¡¯t leave my face until my back hit the bed.

 Chapter 34

    EVA.

    Where are you?

    The text from Axel popped into my phone and I didn¡¯t even pretend to ignore it.

    At home. Why?

    We¡¯re supposed to pick Omar up. Did you forget?

    Oh.

    I have to remind you that we¡¯re picking your best friend up today? Really, Eva? I thought he was the one that got drunk.

    I narrowed my eyes at the screen. So he was back to his usual infuriating self. I should have known that thest night version of him wouldn¡¯tst long.

    I thought I was going alone.

    When he¡¯d said ¡®we¡¯ yesterday, I hadn¡¯t thought he meant it literally. I was shocked he was even helping at all.

    You thought wrong.

    The bubbles showed that he was still typing. In curiosity, I clicked on his profile. He had one new post. He was dressed as he had to the party so he¡¯d definitely taken the picturesst night but the house in the background was different. Maybe he¡¯d snapped them at his house.

    I squinted, pinching on the picture, trying to zoom in so I could see the house clearly, but it was all blurry. I gave up, going back to our chat to reply his message.

    When are we going?

    I noticed how he put the ¡®we¡¯. I¡¯d never met a more relentless person. He could be quite unstoppable when he wanted to have his way.

    I was thinking maybe an hour or two from now.

    Okay, I was lying. That was what I told myself an hour ago when we came back from service. The truth was, I dreaded ordering a ride to the hotel. I¡¯d entered the app several times and exited again, unable to make up my mind. Sitting in a car alone with someone I didn¡¯t know would be so ufortable for me to bear. And what if they decided to strike up conversation? Dear God.

    Maybe Axel going with me wasn¡¯t really a bad idea.

    Why? Are you busy now?

    His quick replies baffled me. Was he truly that jobless? I barely pressed send on the texts before he replied back. It was like he gave all his attention to me when we texted. But just as easily, he could also be like that with everyone else he chatted with. Right.

    Yes. I¡¯m reading.

    Shelve the books. We¡¯re going now.

    So annoying. Who did he think he was to order me around?

    I said in an hour¡¯s time.

    His reply had my eyes widening.

    Tough shit. I¡¯m already at your gate.

    Tell me you¡¯re joking.

    But he wasn¡¯t. He wasn¡¯t at all. I knew the crazy boy well enough to know that he was currently parked in front of the estate, not-so-patiently waiting for me. I could just picture him sitting back in his car, obstructing every other person wanting toe in, one hand thrown carelessly on the steering wheel and the other holding his phone as he texted me, with a nonchnt look on his face. And why did I picture him chewing a gum?

    I wanted to yell at him, curse him out for being so annoying, but I couldn¡¯t do that over text. Adrenaline fueled me as I hopped off my bed, marching over to my closet and flinging it open. I shoved my hand in, blindly picking out joggers and a hoodie. I didn¡¯t even have to search; they were almost all I had in there.

    I heard the ping that told me he¡¯d replied back, but I didn¡¯t care. Shoving my feet into oversized slides -which I wouldter regret, mind you-, I grabbed my phone, my tiny ck wallet, and stormed downstairs. Mr and Mrs Lawson were rarely hometely and other than me, there had been no one else in the house. Everyone left after they changed from their church wears.

    I¡¯d never seen Zoe walk with anyone at school or even be visited by anyone so I didn¡¯t really know where she spent all her free time. Probably at Dexter¡¯s. And I could guess Abi had gone to see Laura or some other person from her study group. Yes, she had a study group. I¡¯d wanted to join, but they interacted a lot, so no.

    Laura and I had not been able to talk about where I went that night and I knew she must have been worried so I¡¯d called her several times but her number wouldn¡¯t connect. I figured I would see her in school tomorrow after all.

    As I stormed down between the row of trees just outside ourpound, I caught sight of Axel¡¯s car in the distance. It gleamed under the afternoon sun, shiny and luxurious.

    1-4-7-1

    I recited the code in my head as I typed it into the pad. I did that every time. I always felt like I would forget it one day and get stuck. It was always a relief to see the gate sliding open.

    Axel¡¯s car was tinted everywhere so I couldn¡¯t see his reaction as I marched straight to his door and pulled it open. ¡°You¡¯re such an asshole. Do you know that? ¡±This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    I hadn¡¯t used the word ¡®asshole¡¯ before, but it seemed fitting now. I didn¡¯t even have to think about what to tell him, the words just poured out of me.

    His eyes widened in shock and he actually drew his head back, looking marginally scared at my outburst. ¡°Well, if I didn¡¯t before, I do now. ¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re so bloody annoying. What the hell is your problem? ¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t really know for certain. ¡± his eye darted between mine and he seemed to be measuring his words carefully. ¡°Can you get in the car, Cg? ¡±

    Again with the smart-ass replies!

    ¡°Stop telling me what to do! ¡± he shifted farther away from me. ¡°You. Do. Not. Have. The. Right. To. Do. That. Do you understand me? ¡±

    He seemed to have gone into a trance so I snapped my fingers in his face, leaning into the car and closer to him. ¡°Yes or no? ¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am. ¡±

    As I turned to leave, I heard him mutter, ¡°Although for the record, I asked a question. I didn¡¯t order you. ¡±

    My head whipped around and I red at him. He instantly mimed pulling an invisible zipper over his lips. I didn¡¯t relent in my re even then, because I needed him to understand just how serious I was. I didn¡¯t appreciate being ordered around. Especially by him. When he didn¡¯t say anything, I assumed that he had finally gotten the memo.

    With that cleared, I felt better all of a sudden. I took a step back as I closed his door, breathed in deep, then rounded the car to get in on the passenger¡¯s side. I felt better. I really did.

    Silence wrapped around us like a thick nket. It wasn¡¯t quitefortable -mostly on his end; he was shifting around in his seat, fidgeting with the car stereo, but I was okay with it. Loud music filled the car suddenly and he hurried to reduce the volume. ¡°Shit. Sorry. ¡±

    When he wanted to reverse, he didn¡¯t drive backwards until he reached the tarred road. Instead, he climbed right on top of the high carpet grass, causing the car to tilt, and almost hitting the tree before he stopped, then he turned the wheel, now reversed. We were on level ground again.

    I gazed at him in puzzlement, wondering how he could be so¡­.. rough. How did he work? What went on inside his head?

    ¡°How did you and Omar meet? ¡±

    He just couldn¡¯t stay silent, could he? Well, I guess that was the difference between us, while I could keep my questions to myself, he couldn¡¯t.

    I should have known he was going to ask sooner orter. It wasn¡¯t a secret that I was adopted. He knew it was only my first month living in this state, yet I¡¯d told him that Omar and I had been friends for a long time. Being the curious person that he was, he was bound to ask questions.

    But I hadn¡¯t talked about my time at the orphanage with anyone. Not that they¡¯d tried to ask. I¡¯d always assumed they could care less, although sometimes when Abi introduced me to new things, I caught a question or two in her eyes, but she never voiced them.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re taking your time toe with me. Especially with how you reacted yesterday. ¡± I studiously changed the topic and surprisingly, he followed through.

    ¡°What? You think I¡¯m going to miss the verbal ass beating you¡¯re going to give him for his massive fuck up? ¡± When I didn¡¯t say anything, he took his eyes off the road, ncing at me. ¡°You are going to give him a verbal ass beating, right? ¡±

    ¡°Why would I? ¡±

    ¡°Why would you give him an ass beating for getting drunk, spilling his guts on the dance floor ¨Cliterally, for everybody to see, possibly ruining your reputation and making you go through the stress of dealing with him alone if I hadn¡¯t been there when it was prettyte, mind you and you were wearing that dress? ¡± sarcasm dripped from his every word. ¡°No. Really. Why would you? ¡±

    So he noticed my dress after all. He hadn¡¯t said anything about it yesterday.

 Chapter 35

    EVA

    I looked out the window. ¡°Unlike you, I understand that he¡¯s probably going through a lot right now and that¡¯s what must have pushed him to drink like that.¡±

    He snorted. ¡°Right. ¡±

    It was understandable that he would think I was mad at Omar. His performancest night had been shameful and saddening, but it wasn¡¯t his first. It was typical Omar behavior to stay outte ande home drunk. That was how I had met him after all; sneaking back from a party. He had been fourteen at the time. He probably got worse.

    ¡°What the hell are you wearing, Cg? ¡± Axel asked wide-eyed as we walked inside the hotel.

    ¡°What? ¡± I frowned. Sure my hoodie and joggers were quite baggy, but they were in good condition. The best even. Mrs Lawson paid for quality and quality was what I had on.

    ¡°Your feet. Jesus. ¡± he groaned, dragging his hand down his face like he was experiencing physical pain.

    Oh that. I nced down at my huge slides sheepishly. They were really big and very noticeable. Why had I worn the color orange? I could care less about what I was wearing, I just felt bad for his sake. I tried not to feel too bad. It was his fault anyway.

    I narrowed my eyes at him. ¡°Am I embarrassing you with it? ¡±

    ¡°Yes. ¡± he stated.

    ¡°Good for you. ¡± I walked ahead of him, heading straight for the elevator and then pausing when I couldn¡¯t remember what floor Omar was in. Shit. I would have to ask Axel and he would definitely gloat.

    He gave me a patronizing look when he found me waiting for him. ¡°When are you going to admit that you can¡¯t do anything without me? ¡±

    I hissed, shaking my head. And thenughed when I reyed the scenario in my head. He was so predictable. A small smile touched his lips as he watched me through hooded eyes. I suddenly felt a strange urge to run my fingers through his hair. I shoved my hands into my pockets to stop myself from doing anything foolish.

    Omar was eating when we walked in. A salivating meal of fried eggs, several pieces of sliced bread and a hot cup of tea. Yet no matter how yummy it looked, I couldn¡¯t be moved to actually want a taste. I had no idea why I was so averse to food.

    He looked up when he saw me, a slow grin taking over his features. ¡°Now, this is the girl I know. Only still¡­.. slightly different. ¡± his eyes trailed behind me to Axel. ¡°Hey, man. ¡±

    Axel rolled his eyes and made to sit on the only couch in the room, making it quite clear he was  ignoring him.

    I sat on the bed next to Omar. ¡°How are you feeling? ¡±

    ¡°Better. ¡± he grunted. ¡°I felt like shit this morning. ¡±

    ¡°How¨C¡± I hesitated.

    ¡°Huh? ¡±

    ¡°What? ¡±

    ¡°Why are you mumbling? I can¡¯t hear you. ¡± he frowned.

    ¡°Shut up. ¡± I hit him on the thigh, ncing at Axel and saw him watching us avidly. Ugh. Why couldn¡¯t he turn the other way.

    Omar followed my eyes, saw who I was looking at and he sighed, then he proceeded to announce loudly. ¡°I can¡¯t talk to you if he doesn¡¯t leave. ¡±

    Axel didn¡¯t even pretend that he didn¡¯t hear him. ¡°Good thing I don¡¯t give a fuck then. ¡±

    ¡°Can you at least turn the other way? ¡±

    ¡°No, I cannot. ¡±

    Omar stared at me in confusion. ¡°Why is he such a stubborn piece of ass? ¡±

    I watched them warily.

    ¡°He is sitting right here and he isn¡¯t deaf. ¡± he shot back.

    Omar cocked his brow, looking between the two of us and then slowly, deliberately slowly, he turned back to his food, eating in silence. A fine act. If Axel didn¡¯t leave, then he wasn¡¯t talking to me.

    I schooled my features before turning to Axel, shrugging as if to say ¡®well, you heard him¡¯.

    His mouth fell open in shock. ¡°I cannot believe you. You¡¯re sending me out? ¡± I shrugged again. He lookedpletely floored. He probably wasn¡¯t used to not having his way.  ¡°Wow. ¡± he blinked, before getting up and storming out of the room.

    ¡°By the way, you¡¯re paying for my breakfast. ¡± Omar shouted after him and I swear I could literally hear the slew of curse words Axel threw at him. Iughed lightly.

    The truth was, I wasn¡¯t reallyfortable hashing stuff out and while Omar had seen that part of me several times already, he knew that I still hated doing it, and I could never when we hadpany.

    So when he¡¯d asked Axel to leave, it hadn¡¯t been for him. It was for me.

    The first thing I asked was. ¡°Howe you were at that partyst night? ¡±N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner.

    ¡°I should be asking you that. One of my friends that I¡¯m in town with, got invited and I tagged along with him. ¡±

    I blinked, puzzled. ¡°That you¡¯re in town with? You don¡¯t live here? ¡±

    ¡°What? No. ¡± he threw a piece of bread into his mouth. ¡°But this is where you live, isn¡¯t it? ¡±

    I nodded, but I was having a hard time processing what he was saying. He was in town with a friend? That meant he didn¡¯t live here.

    ¡°Where do your foster parents live? ¡±

    ¡°Lagos. ¡± his eyes widened. ¡°Eva, you wouldn¡¯t believe it-¡±

    ¡°You came all the way from Lagos to Abuja to visit your friend? ¡± I cut him off.

    ¡°Well, no, not really. We all decided to vacation here, in Abuja, and one of the guys has a friend that owns a house here that would contain all five of us, so that¡¯s where I¡¯ve been at. I¡¯m supposed to leave tomorrow. ¡±

    Thousands of questions went through my mind, but I didn¡¯t know which I wanted to voice first. He pushed his te away, done with his meal, and sipped his tea, watching me.

    ¡°How did you get your foster parents to let you travel this far? ¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°They don¡¯t know. ¡±

    ¡°What?! ¡±

    His expression didn¡¯t change.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t tell your foster parents that you¡¯re traveling to another state? ¡±

    ¡°Correct. ¡±

    ¡°What the the hell is wrong with you? ¡± I snapped.

    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t know. They think I¡¯m at school. ¡±

    ¡°School? ¡±

    ¡°Yes, Eva. I got epted into Pan-Antic University. ¡±

    I pped my hand over my mouth. ¡°Oh my God. Congrattions, Omar. ¡±

    ¡°Thanks. ¡± he dropped his now empty mug on the tray. ¡°Everything¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t you see? ¡±

    I shook my head slowly, so incredibly disappointed in him. ¡°It¡¯s not, Omar. It¡¯s not. ¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your problem. ¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m so disappointed in you. ¡±

    ¡°What about you? ¡± he shot up from the bed with a sneer. ¡°Turns out I¡¯m not the only rebellious one. Do you want to talk about how you look? That party? That guy? ¡± he shook his head like he was the one disappointed in me.

    ¡°Rebellious? ¡± I breathed. ¡°My foster parents knew I was going-¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean and you know it. ¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t. ¡± I muttered, feeling incredibly small.

    He was doing it again. Pushing everyone away when he didn¡¯t want to face the truth. And it hurt that he was doing it to me too. He had a tendency to shut everyone out and retreat into his own little shell whenever he went through something that he couldn¡¯t handle. He called it a coping mechanism. I called it self destruction.

    ¡°The Eva I know ¨Cknew, wouldn¡¯t have attended that party. ¡± he cut the final thread. ¡°You changed, I changed, let¡¯s ept that and move on. ¡±

    I stared up at him, letting him see how disappointed I was and hurt by his behavior and then suddenly, unable to be around him anymore, I walked to the door, pulling it open.

    I just had to find Axel and get out of here.

 Chapter 36

    EVA

    Omar grabbed my hand before I could walk out, turning me around and pulling my body into his, hugging me tight. He ced his chin atop my head, muttering something under his breath.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m being an ass. ¡±

    The anger left me in a breath and I hugged him back. I couldn¡¯t stay mad at him. The longest I had, was a day. And what a horrible day it had been.  ¡°Maybe Axel was right about giving you a verbal ass-beating. ¡±

    ¡°Axel. That¡¯s his name? ¡±

    My face went hot. Thankfully, he couldn¡¯t see it right now. I nodded.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like him. ¡± but I could hear the smile in his voice.

    ¡°Really? I couldn¡¯t tell with all the arguing. ¡±

    ¡°Still a smartass. I¡¯m d that didn¡¯t change. ¡±

    At the word ¡®change¡¯, I tensed and he felt it because he released me, sighing. I took several steps away from him, folding my arms.

    ¡°I could me everything I said on the hangover, but I would be lying. And you don¡¯t like it when I lie to you. I¡¯m also not sure hangovers do that to people. ¡±

    I didn¡¯t know why but I felt the need to exin myself. ¡°The partyst night, was a one time thing. I just wanted to know what it felt like to, you know, just be¡­.¡± I trailed off, searching for the right word.

    ¡°Free? ¡± he supplied.

    ¡°Yeah. ¡± I nodded. ¡°You should know that I didn¡¯t go alone. I went with my friend. She¨C¡±

    ¡°You have friends now? ¡±

    I shook my head sharply. ¡°Just the one. And she¡¯s actually my foster sister¡¯s best friend. She¡¯s just really easy to be around. ¡±

    His brows shot up. ¡°You have a foster sister? ¡±

    ¡°Two. ¡± I paused. ¡°Do you have siblings? ¡±

    ¡°Yes. She¡¯s still in primary school, but she¡¯s greatpany sometimes. ¡±

    ¡°My foster sisters are twins. ¡±

    He pushed his built shoulders off the wall, going back to sit on the bed and he waved me over with a flick of his wrist. ¡°Tell me more. ¡±

    I did. We talked for almost an hour. Me, telling him how nice my foster parents were, how good Abi and Laura were to me, how Zoe was, about the school in general and the advert. He was truly happy for me, joking here and there and then giving me shit about Axel.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t even talk about him once. ¡± he narrowed his eyes. ¡°I think you deliberately avoided bringing him up. ¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t. ¡± I did. But why bring him up unnecessarily?

    ¡°Okay, tell me one thing about him. ¡±

    I gave him a nk look. ¡°Like what? ¡±

    ¡°He goes to your school, right? ¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°He seems like a yer. ¡±

    ¡°I know he seems like that type of person, but he¡¯s really not. ¡± I surprised myself by rising up to his defense.

    He eyed me. ¡°Why are you defending him? ¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not. I¡¯m simply saying the truth. ¡±

    But was it? My mind wandered to the first time I met him in the boutique bathroom with that girl. Then in the cafeteria with those girls around him. There were also thements on his pictures on Instagram.

    Why was I defending him?

    Omar saw the look of conflict on my face and he shook his head,ughing. Just then, his phone rang. He nced at the screen before swiping.

    ¡°What¡¯s the name of this hotel? ¡± he mouthed to me. I shook my head at him, telling him I didn¡¯t know. Then I saw the card on the tray carrying his food and I picked it up, showing it to him. The Wells Carlton. He nodded, rying it to the caller.

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll wait for you outside. ¡± he spoke into the phone before ending the call.

    ¡°Do you need to start leaving? ¡± I asked and he nodded.

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely see you more. ¡± he tossed his phone to me before collecting his shoes and shoving his feet into them. ¡°Your contact, please. ¡± he grinned.

    I giggled, saving it into his phone as Eva before handing it back to him. Before we walked back down, I stopped him.

    ¡°Omar, I know that you¡¯re an adult and you can do what you want or go where you want without necessarily letting anyone know, but please, I¡¯m begging you, don¡¯t do that to your foster parents. Do I need to remind you of what happenedst time? ¡± he opened his mouth to argue but I talked over him. ¡°You can¡¯t keep making decisions about your life without thinking about the people that love you. It hurts, Omar. ¡±

    He sighed, dragged his hand down his face, looked at me, then sighed again. ¡°Okay. I hear you. ¡±

    When we got outside, I immediately spotted Axel¡¯s car parked right in the middle of the parking lot. A white Benz drove in with startling speed, parking roughly. Was that Omar¡¯s ride?

    I nced at him warily. He scratched his close cropped hair, looking slightly ashamed.

    ¡°Listen, I know that I said some mean things that you are definitely going to overthinkter, which is why I want you to know that I didn¡¯t mean them. I was justshing out. ¡± he started. ¡°I want you to know that I¡¯m very proud of who you are now. You¡¯vee a long way from the girl you were six months ago and I¡¯m proud of you. So proud. You did peek out of your shell, Eva, now I want you to strut like you own the motherfucking ce. Okay? ¡±

    I smiled, feeling emotional as hell.

    ¡°You need to show them that you¡¯re strong. Promise me you¡¯ll do that. ¡±

    ¡°I promise. ¡±

    ¡°And don¡¯t let the mean people make you change. ¡± he tapped my nose, before pulling me in for a quick hug. ¡°I love you, Eva. ¡±

    I swallowed. It was so hard saying those words back. But I did. For him.

    ¡°I love you, Omar. ¡± I whispered.

    He pulled away and I watched him disappear into the car. Sighing, I walked over to where Axel¡¯s car was parked and got in. He had the engine running and the AC was on.

    He red at me, cing his phone in the center console, before driving out of the hotel.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been un-fucking-believably nice to you, Eva. Don¡¯t you think? ¡±

    I nced at him. He was staring straight ahead, seemingly focused on driving and he didn¡¯t sound angry.

    ¡°You have. ¡± I agreed and he nodded.

    ¡°So I¡¯m assuming I wouldn¡¯t be asking too much when I say we go to an eatery before I drop you off? Cause I¡¯m really fucking hungry right now. ¡±This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    My breath caught. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t. ¡±

    He grinned at me, all cool and collected. ¡°Great then. ¡±

    And that was how I ended up going on a not-date with Axel Arthur.

 Chapter 37

    EVA

    ¡°Hey! We never got to talk about how you met Omar. ¡±

    I stilled, my spoon of ice cream stopping halfway to my mouth. I lifted my head and saw Axel watching me expectantly. He just wasn¡¯t going to let it go, was he?

    Sighing, I shoved the ice cream into my mouth, contemting on the best way to answer him.

    I could lie and tell him that we met at my old school back in Lagos, but that would only attract more questions, which meant cooking up more lies. I wasn¡¯t a very good liar.

    Why not just go with the truth? I asked myself.

    ¡°We met at the orphanage. But he wasn¡¯t raised there like me. He got-¡± I stopped, realizing I was saying too much, then tried again. ¡°He came in when he was like¡­. fourteeen and I was twelve at the time. I¡¯ve known him five years. ¡±

    ¡°What orphanage? ¡± He frowned.This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    ¡°What other orphanage would I be talking about, Axel? ¡± I looked down at the tub of ice cream in front of me. My stomach wouldn¡¯t wee food, that¡¯s why I¡¯d opted for it.

    ¡°You grew up at an orphanage? ¡±

    My eyes snapped up to his. Why did he look so surprised? Surely, the entire school knew about this already.

    ¡°You¡­. don¡¯t know? ¡± My eyes danced between his, probing the brown depths to see if I would find any cracks in his expression, but I found none.

    He doesn¡¯t know!

    His cutlery ttered to the te as he leaned back on the leather couch, running his slim fingers over his mouth. Our chairs were opposite each other, with a table in between. That was how it was throughout the eatery. I¡¯d suggested we pick a window seat because the middle ones felt too exposed. The backs of our couches were high and I felt safe and cozy, cocooned against the ss. He¡¯d wanted me to sit on the same side as him but I declined. I didn¡¯t think I could bear the close proximity.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t. How-¡± Deep lines formed between his thick brows. ¡°The Lawsons are your foster family? ¡±

    ¡°Yes. ¡± I stressed. ¡°How can you not know? The whole school does. ¡±

    He sat up. ¡°I can assure you that it doesn¡¯t. Everyone thinks you¡¯re a distant rtive or something. ¡±

    How could they think I was their blood rtive? Didn¡¯t they witness how Zoe treated me?

    ¡°And you people never thought it was weird that I suddenly started living with them? ¡±

    ¡°Well, some of us did, but weirder things happen. ¡± He extended his hand and picked a toothpick from the table. ¡°Personally, I couldn¡¯t care less. I¡¯m not very fond of them. ¡±

    ¡°The Lawsons? ¡± I asked.

    ¡°The twins. ¡± He rified. ¡°Too fucking uppity in my opinion. ¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not that bad. ¡± I smiled, liking how the word ¡®uppity¡¯ rolled from his lips. I¡¯d never heard anyone use the word out loud before.

    ¡°They are. The senior one most especially. What¡¯s her name? ¡± I stared at him, confused. Abi could be unbearably proper sometimes, but that was just who she was. She never acted like she was better than anyone. ¡°Zoe. ¡± He said finally.

    That cleared my confusion a bit, but not quite. ¡°Zoe isn¡¯t older. Abi is. ¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? Zoe told everyone she¡¯s older. ¡±

    ¡°She told everyone? ¡± I cocked a brow. ¡°Now that¡¯s a lie. Zoe doesn¡¯t talk to anyone. ¡±

    ¡°See? ¡± He spread his hands wide. ¡°Proves my point. ¡±

    ¡°Which is? ¡±

    ¡°Uppity as hell. ¡±

    Iughed, shaking my head. ¡°So you did all that just to prove a point.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯tpletely a lie. I thought Zoe was older. ¡± He drew one leg up onto the couch, throwing an arm across his knee. ¡°The principal called her the older twin one time in assembly and the other one didn¡¯t correct him, so I assumed. I know what my sister would have done if someone had called me the elder sibling. ¡±

    My breath caught at the tiny slip of information. ¡°You have siblings? ¡±

    He smiled at me. A full smile that made his dimples pop. ¡°I do. Just the one. ¡±

    ¡°Tell me more about her? ¡± I asked after brief hesitation.

    His smile widened and I thought his face was going to split into two. He looked delighted. Why did such a simple question make him so happy?

    Maybe because you never showed any interest in wanting to know him before and you just did.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to ask. I could talk about her all day. ¡®Cause even though she¡¯s such a huge pain in my ass and the world¡¯s nosiest person, I love her to death. ¡±

    Curiosity piqued, I abandoned my ice cream. It was starting to melt anyway and it wasn¡¯t like I could finish the whole thing. I¡¯d told him that before he paid, but all he¡¯d cared about was getting his food. Staring down at his now empty te, I confirmed that he must have really been hungry.

    ¡°She¡¯s older by eight years. ¡± At my shocked expression, his eyes widened. ¡°Yeah, I know, I was probably a mistake. ¡±

    ¡°Stop it. ¡± Iughed lightly, even though I asked myself the question. Why that much gap?

    ¡°So, she¡¯s a real fucking princess. ¡®Name¡¯s Avery. Beautiful, kind, smart, tall as fuck too. Shees up to my shoulder. ¡± Love for his sister shone in his eyes as he spoke. ¡°She treats all my friends like they¡¯re family. She¡¯s very protective and she coulde off as a mean person when you¡¯re meeting her for the first time, but when she warms up to you, that¡¯s when you really start to see her. ¡±

    He frowned, pulling the broken toothpick from his mouth. He must have chewed on it. He tossed it, picking another one. I ced my elbows on the table, folded my hands and dropped my chin on top of it, waiting for him to continue.

    ¡°When she first saw Henri, she hated him. She thought he was a bad influence on me. ¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s Henri? ¡±

    ¡°My best friend. ¡±

    ¡°Oh. ¡± But it still didn¡¯t make sense.

    ¡°She thinks he¡¯s a no good yer. ¡±

    Now it did. And of course he would have a manwhore for a best friend. Birds of the same feather and all that.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he though? ¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not. ¡± He said sharply, lips pursed. ¡°People are just too quick to judge. ¡°

 Chapter 38

    EVA

    Guilt suffused me and I instantly felt ashamed. ¡°Right. I¡¯m sorry. ¡± I knew what it was like to be judged by people who knew nothing about you. It was a horrible feeling and I wouldn¡¯t wish it on anyone. Shameful how I had been so quick to judge him and his friend. Didn¡¯t people who knew better did better?

    He shook his head, his frown gone in a sh. ¡°Back to what I was saying. That was before. Now though, they¡¯re literally best friends. She¡¯s closer to him than she is with me. It¡¯s kind of annoying sometimes. ¡± He paused. ¡°Really fucking annoying, you know. ¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help butugh at his obvious frustration. ¡°No, I don¡¯t know. ¡±

    He red at me. ¡°She¡¯s my sister. She should be closer to me than any other other person. ¡±

    I shook my head, smiling sadly. I had a friend closer than any family member I could possibly have. ¡°Not really. ¡±

    He caught on to my mood and he leaned back into the chair, his leg dropping to the floor as his eyes grew somber. ¡°I never would have guessed you were an orphan. ¡± He said quietly.

    I flinched at the word. I never referred to myself as an orphan and it was quite stupid that I reacted that way whenever people called me that because that, in fact, was exactly what I was. I had the documents to prove it, but the truth was, I couldn¡¯t term myself that. Not when I knew my parents were alive somewhere in this world. Sure, they could be dead; life wasn¡¯t guaranteed. But I didn¡¯t believe that.

    ¡°I¡¯ve only met Mrs Lawson once, but I¡¯m assuming she and her husband are nice people. ¡± He said again, dragging my eyes back to him.

    ¡°Why? ¡± I asked absently.

    ¡°They adopted you. ¡± He said, matter of fact.

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s that. ¡± Iughed. Why was Iughing? I frowned.

    ¡°There¡¯s also the fact that they built the school pool and furnished the gym to death, voluntarily, of course. ¡± His eyes lit up. ¡°Have you had the chance to go in there yet? ¡±

    I shook my head. I didn¡¯t even know the school had a gym, but I knew about the pool. Zoe took regr swims there after school. I saw her walking in there one day and my question of why she never came home with us was finally answered.

    ¡°I use it a lot, except when I need to stretch. Then I go out to the field. ¡±

    I perked up at the mention of the word, ¡®feild¡¯, reminding me of something that had been bugging me. I hadn¡¯t been able to ask before but now that we were talking, I could.

    ¡°I noticed on your Instagram that it says you¡¯re an athlete. ¡± I waited for him to digest that and he gave me a nod, urging me to continue. ¡°And you have a lot of followers. How? ¡±

    ¡°Because I am an athlete. ¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not serious. ¡± I narrowed my eyes at him doubtfully.

    ¡°As a heart attack. ¡°He deadpanned. ¡°What? You thought I put that there for fancy? ¡± He scowled, looking offended and I wondered whether I should apologize or not. I couldn¡¯t keep up with his mood.

    ¡°No. ¡± I hurried to assure him. ¡°It¡¯s just that a lot of people have simr things on their pages too when there was nothing to show for it and I figured maybe you were aspiring. I didn¡¯t know you were actually¡­.¡± I trailed off.

    ¡°I¡¯m nowhere near halfway to where I want to be. So, yeah, I guess you can call me an aspiring athlete. ¡± He grinned at me, showing his even white teeth.

    Jesus. His mood went from zero to ten and back real quick. It took a lot of work matching him. I didn¡¯t think I had that much mental -and physical- energy.

    That exined my fascination with his legs!, I thought. He had really toned legs, filled with muscles and when they moved, it was nothing short of divine.

    I decided to just go with the flow. ¡°So what does being an athleteprise? ¡±

    ¡°It means I qualify for all track and field events. ¡±

    ¡°And you do¡­.. all? ¡±

    He looked at me like I had sprouted a second head. ¡°No. I run and jump. Those are track events. I have no business with field. ¡±

    The waitress came just then to clear the dishes, leaving my ice cream in front of me. She probably thought I wasn¡¯t done with it.

    ¡°Do you exercise often? ¡± I was pretty sure he did. I remembered seeing him running out in the field, the day we shot the advert. I hadn¡¯t thought anything about it at the time, but knowing he was an athlete now, made certain things make sense.

    ¡°Yes. In the mornings on days when I¡¯m free and evenings on days when I¡¯m not. Like on school days. ¡±

    I was right.

    ¡°You have so many followers. ¡± I leaned back, stretching my leg under the table and stopped abruptly when they hit his. He didn¡¯t look down. Exhaling, I drew them back. ¡°That means you must be recognized, right? ¡±

    He smirked, understanding in his eyes. ¡°Cg, baby, in case you haven¡¯t noticed, my followers all follow me because of one thing. ¡± I tried not to react to him calling me ¡®baby¡¯ and instead, cocked a brow at him, waiting for him to continue. ¡°My. Wicked. Good. Looks. ¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help it. I guffawed.

    He pretended to roll his eyes. ¡°Yeah. Laugh all you want. We both know I¡¯m right. ¡±

    ¡°But seriously though. ¡± I wiped at my eyes as I tried to catch my breath.

    He grew serious, his face scrunching up in thought. ¡°I mean, I¡¯ve been doing this for two years. Participated in severalpetitions, two major ones. Came home with a silver medal after cing second -that one really got my name out there, and ever since, my number of followers have been climbing. ¡±

    ¡°Wow. ¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°Can¡¯t really say if that¡¯s a good or a bad thing ¡¯cause there are so many critics. But, hey, we live for them. ¡±

    I stared at him in silence. I mean, I understood him. I hated attention and the harsh light it brought upon a person, but one didn¡¯t venture into a path that would shovel attention to you in waves when one wasn¡¯t prepared for it.

    I tugged on the cap of my hoodie when I started to feel a little cold. He eyes followed the movement.N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.

    ¡°So is that a career path or a hobby? ¡± I asked after a while.

    He seemed to mull my question over, rolling his bottom lip between his fingers. ¡°And that¡¯s the million dor question. Am I going to make it a career path or am I not? ¡±

    ¡°Do you want to? ¡±

    He met my eyes, unwavering and I was staggered by the conviction I saw there. ¡°More than anything, Cg. ¡±

    ¡°You have your answer then. ¡± I shrugged.

    He chuckled bitterly, looking away. And for the first time, Axel¡¯s smile didn¡¯t reach his eyes. ¡°I wish it were that easy. ¡±

    The pain thatced his words was strong, almost tangible and it took me by surprise. He obviously loved his athletics and would even go as far as wanting to pursue a career, so what was stopping him?

 Chapter 39

    EVAThis text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    ¡°How was it at the orphanage? Did you have like a roster for everything you did? Your sleeping schedule? ¡± He asked suddenly, surprising me.

    I knew he was just trying to change the topic and I didn¡¯t mind it. But why did he have to bring up my past? My face shuttered, the happy feeling I¡¯d had all through our conversation, dissipating immediately.

    ¡°Yes. ¡± I answered simply.

    ¡°Come on, you can do better than that. ¡± He scoffed. ¡°Paint a fucking picture, Cg. ¡±

    I gave him a look. He matched it. ¡°Whenever you¡¯re ready. ¡±

    I gave up. My eyes squeezed shut as I envisioned the orphanage in front of me. From the high fence that wrapped around thepound to the blue bungalow-style buildings scattered around and the children ying outside in their individual friend groups. I told him everything and not once did I open my eyes until I was done.

    ¡°It sounds like a dream. ¡±

    ¡°What? ¡± I gaped at him. ¡°Are we talking about the same ce? ¡±

    ¡°You had your freedom. I don¡¯t see what could be wrong with living there. ¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s still not a very great ce to be. ¡± I said, realizing that I was truly d I wasn¡¯t there anymore. Then I thought about Fatima and I frowned. I hoped she was okay.

    My ice cream waspletely watery now. I dipped the small spoon in, scooping up a tiny portion and bringing it to my mouth. Some of the liquid escaped, sliding down the side of my mouth to my jaw. I wiped it off with the pad of my thumb and sucked on it. Hearing a sharp inhale, I looked up and found Axel watching me raptly with wide eyes. My breath hitched.

    ¡°Shit. ¡± He breathed. ¡°That¡¯s sexy as fuck. Do it again. ¡±

    He grabbed the spoon from me and scooped some ice cream, shoving it against my lips, trying to pry them open. I swatted his hand away, shifting from him as Iughed. Only Axel could make my insides melt and then make meugh right after.

    His eyes lit up mischievously. ¡°Teasing me? Ach, Eva. Who would have thought? ¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t. ¡± I stifled a grin.

    ¡°You definitely were, what with that slutty moan that I¡¯m pretty sure people in the next booth heard. ¡±

    I giggled, throwing my head back. ¡°Oh my God. Stop it. ¡±

    He bit on the inside of his cheek. ¡°Okay, fine, you might be right. I don¡¯t know for sure anymore. ¡± He pushed the spoon towards me. ¡°Do it again so that this time I¡¯ll really know if you¡¯re teasing me or not. ¡±

    I ignored him, grabbing my phone with a small smile on my lips. I turned my data on, checking to see if I had any new notifications. I turned it back off when I saw I had two new followers and zero messages.

    ¡°You hide well, Eva Otasowie. ¡± He used my full name, surprising me. He paused, like he too was surprised. ¡°Wait a second. How did you end up at the orphanage? ¡±

    ¡°I got dropped off. ¡± That was the easiest answer.

    ¡°You¡¯re saying you were found at the door of the orphanage, yeah? ¡±

    I nodded, wondering where he was going with this.

    ¡°Then they have to have named you. ¡± He snapped his fingers like he hit a jackpot. ¡°Which means Eva isn¡¯t your real name and there¡¯s a possibility you¡¯re not even Edo. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised, to be honest. You look Igbo. ¡±

    He was still talking. I saw his lips moving, but I didn¡¯t hear a thing because I had zoned out. I hadn¡¯t thought about the possibility before and now that I did, I saw that what he said had some sense in it.

    How had the orphanage known my name? My parents couldn¡¯t have told them because they turned and walked away immediately they left me at the entrance.

    Had they put me a name tag on me or something?

    Or could it really be that the orphanage had named me?

    In that case, I didn¡¯t know how to feel because I had grown a sentimental attachment to myst name, thinking that it was the only thing left of my parents that I owned. I¡¯dtched on to it. How utterly stupid of me. Why had I even bothered to try to have a connection to people that didn¡¯t want anything to do with me? Nothing said ¡®I don¡¯t want you¡¯ more than sending your child to an orphanage.

    The footage of my mom walking away from me yed in my head. Over and over again until it was the only thing I could see. I¡¯d called for her. The first ever word I said. And it hadn¡¯t been heard. I choked back a sob.

    ¡°Eva? ¡± Axel snapped his fingers in my face, pulling me back to the present and I blinked, ncing around. We were still at the eatery.

    ¡°Can you take me home? ¡± I blurted.

    ¡°What? ¡± His brows dove down.

    That was abrupt and he was obviously confused, but I just needed to be alone. I wanted to hide. And possibly write.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. ¡± I muttered, wishing I could disappear inside my hoodie. ¡°Please just take me home. ¡±

    He watched me like he was trying to read me and after a while, he grabbed his car keys and got up. I stood up too and collecting my stuff and we walked side by side outside, the atmosphere tense.

    ¡°Was it something I said? ¡± He asked when we got into the car.

    Kind of. ¡°No. ¡±

    I leaned my head on the ss, staring at the scenery as we passed. This was such a beautiful and clean state. I guess it wasn¡¯t called The Federal Capital Territory for nothing.

    He must think I¡¯m bipr.

    I noticed that he drove slowly, too slow for him anyway, but I didn¡¯t say anything. When the huge ck gates of the estate came into sight, I sighed internally. Home.

    Axel parked the car, his legs bouncing in the driver seat, agitated. I took off my seatbelt and hopped out of the car, a million thoughts going through my mind as I made my way inside.

    Axel honked causing me to halt in my tracks. I spun on my heel, facing him just as his window rolled down. ¡°I¡¯ll see you at school tomorrow? ¡±

    ¡°Yeah. ¡± Awkward couldn¡¯t begin to describe how I felt.

    ¡°Uh. Okay. That¡¯s-Okay.¡± And just like that, his head disappeared back inside the car and I thought I caught a slight hesitation before his window slid shut.

    I dove straight for my little book when I ran into my room, grabbing my pen as Iid on top of the bed covers. I uncapped my favorite ck pen, turning to a new page and wrote down the words;

    Who am I?

 Chapter 40

    EVA

    ¡°Bitch, I¡¯m going to fucking kill you.¡±

    I ducked before theunched item could hit its target -my head and nced around surreptitiously, noticing that a few people had turned our way in curiosity.

    Oh, for God¡¯s sake. Not again.

    ¡°Where the hell did you go? ¡±

    Picking up theunched item -a fry, I gave Laura a ¡®really¡¯ look for being so dramatic. She wasn¡¯t even that angry. She just couldn¡¯t open her mouth without calling the attention of everyone in her vicinity.

    I chewed on the fry, stifling a grin as she narrowed her eyes at me. Deciding I didn¡¯t want to push her any further and have her draw more eyes to us, I said, ¡°I had an issue that I needed to take care of. ¡±

    Abi nced at me then. She¡¯d seen mee home but she didn¡¯t know I hadn¡¯te straight from the party.

    Shit. I totally forgot.

    Her brows rose and I held my breath, waiting for her to say something. When she simply resumed eating, I took that to mean she wasn¡¯t going to out me. I exhaled. Thank God.

    ¡°What ¡®issue¡¯ could you possibly have had? ¡± Laura frowned, cutting into her chicken with a knife and fork. I watched her in envy. I still couldn¡¯t do it even after being taught several times by Abi. The chicken always managed to slip out of my grip.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that important, don¡¯t worry. ¡± I dismissed, sipping my juice, but Laura wasn¡¯t buying it at all.

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t important then why did you leave? ¡± She pointed her fork at me. ¡°You could have stayed and done whatever it was on Sunday. ¡±

    ¡°It was¡­¡± I grasped around for something to say. ¡°I mean, it wasn¡¯t. It just demanded my immediate attention and I couldn¡¯t find you in the party quickly enough. ¡±

    I apuded myself for keeping my voice stable as I told the lie. Not that it was a lie. Omar had demanded my attention quick and I might not have been able to find her fast enough considering how crowded the party was. Yet justifying myself still didn¡¯t stop me from feeling like I was lying.

    Quite shockingly, she flushed guiltily at that. ¡°Yeah, well, I might have been busy. ¡± She nced quickly at Abi as if expecting her to say something. Abi remained silent.

    I wondered why Laura looked so guilty. Then I remembered the guy that had wrapped his hand around her waist, whisking her away when I stood next to Axel and I thought I might have an inkling after all.

    ¡°How did you get home? ¡± She asked quickly and if I were to guess, I¡¯d say she was trying to push the spotlight off her.

    It was my turn to feel guilty now. I just hoped it didn¡¯t show on my face. ¡°I ordered a ride. ¡±

    ¡°Oh. ¡± She shook her head. ¡°I forget Uber is a thing since I¡¯m always driving. ¡±

    She believed me!

    ¡°People with cars. ¡± I joked nervously and sheughed, seeming surprised. Of course she was surprised. I¡¯d made herugh before, but I hadn¡¯t been the one telling the joke.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I would have called to check up on you, but I lost my phone at the party. ¡± Laura apologized. I could tell she actually felt bad and it made me ufortable because I was lying.

    Stop feeling bad. You¡¯re telling the truth!

    ¡°I figured something must have happened to your phone because I called and your number didn¡¯t connect. ¡±

    ¡°How did you lose your phone? ¡± Abi asked and Laura shrugged.

    ¡°It must have slipped out of my purse or something. ¡±

    ¡°How does your phone slip out of your purse, Laura? ¡±

    Laura¡¯s eyes rolled up in her head. ¡°Oh, let it go already. Stop trying to make me feel even worse than I already do. ¡±

    Iughed breathlessly. What was up with her today? She was usually the one making people ufortable, not the other way round.

    ¡°What? ¡± Abi backed off, an innocent look on her face. ¡°It was just a question. ¡±

    Laura scoffed. ¡°Of course it was. ¡±

    We fell into silence as we ate our food. Lunch break would be over soon and I didn¡¯t need the annoying Punctuality Prefect who thought just because she had attained the title, she was better than everyone else, to go off in my ears about how ¡®seniors should be role models to the juniors¡¯. She¡¯d done it once before when she¡¯d seen me lurking in the hallway when sses were going on because I saw Dexter walking down the hallway and I¡¯d had to hide and wait for him to leave before passing. He didn¡¯t bother me anymore; I was just scared of him.

    A pair of feet came into my line of sight just to my left and I turned to see who it was. My eyes slid up past the usual ts associated with the female students of Ivacy High, trailed up slim legs, a short skirt and fitted top -this person had obviously remolded their uniform, and then, the face. Tabitha Laniyan, Head Girl of Ivacy High International Schools.N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner.

    I watched her lithe frame as she walked past me with unhurried steps, gliding between tables,pletely focused like a woman on a mission. Maybe she was. I realized a little toote that she was heading for Axel¡¯s table -where two girls were already seated, by the way. One sat beside Axel, almost leaning on his shoulder and the other was with Henri, Axel¡¯s best friend. Apparently, I knew him, I just hadn¡¯t known his name and Axel¡¯s sister had been right. He was a manwhore. What she didn¡¯t know was that her brother was an even bigger one.

    I watched with bated breath as she rounded the table with a cunning smile ying on her lips and slowly¡­. dropped on Alexander¡¯s legs. When I noticed that the noise in the cafeteria had dimmed, I looked around and saw that I wasn¡¯t the only one watching. Everyone was shocked. I mean, it was normal for girls to be all over him, but no one had expected Tabitha to be one of those girls.

    Tabitha had a certain image among the students. Shebeled herself the queen bee and bragged of no-one ever being able topare to her. Howe she was over there doing the same thing the girls did now? Mooning over one of the school¡¯s most popr boys.

    Except, could there be more going on between them?

    My eyes narrowed as I tried to read their bodynguage. I didn¡¯t even have to try to be discreet since everybody¡¯s eyes were focused on them.

    Alexander smirked. I noticed he never fully smiled. He shoved her long braids behind her ear, dragging his knuckle down her cheekbone.

    Okay. Okay. There was definitely more going on between them.

    ¡°Oh my fucking God. ¡± Laura gasped. ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me Alexander¡¯s dating that bitch? ¡±

    He was. He definitely was.

    ¡°Even if he is, it¡¯s not your business, Laura. ¡± Abi interjected.

    ¡°Seriously, Abi? ¡± Laura gave her a look of absolute disbelief mixed with anger that marred her face until I almost didn¡¯t recognize her.

    ¡°You know-¡±

    ¡°Not now. ¡± The finality in Laura¡¯s voice was unmistakable as she interrupted what was no doubt one of Abi¡¯s preaches. ¡°Another time, maybe, but not now. ¡±

    Abi looked away, grabbing her can of water with both hands as she took a sip. She gave up, admitting defeat in a fight that I did not know the cause of.

    Alexander was obviously a touchy subject. Why? I did not know. What did Laura mean by ¡®not now¡¯? All these questions and more I wanted to ask but couldn¡¯t. It sucked being the third person in their friend group. I decided that since I couldn¡¯t get answers in words, I would substitute with watching.

 Chapter 41

    EVA

    None of the guys at the table reacted to the new plus one. Axel continued his conversation with his partner, Henri still had his hand around the girl sitting beside him and thest guy -I still didn¡¯t know his name- simply stared at his untouched food. He was hands down the scariest of the group and as far as I knew, none of the girls that sat at the table ever sidled up to him. He never spoke, or ate or smiled.

    As if feeling my gaze on him, his head lifted and his eyes met mine. The arctic orbs roved over my face in¡­ what? Curiosity? While his perusal didn¡¯t feel like a caress, it didn¡¯t feel like he was mocking me either. It seemed like he was just¡­. looking and wanted me to know that he was. I froze, my muscles locking one by one as I sat there, unable to do anything but stare back at him. Why the hell couldn¡¯t I turn away?N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.

    Jesus, he had grey eyes. Not brown like every other dark-skinned guy at this school. Grey. And how startlingly cold they were.

    Starting to feel prickly under his intense gaze, I looked away, rubbing my palms together under the table to rid the cold I was suddenly feeling. With my head still lowered, I peeked at him out of the corner of my eye and to my greatest relief, he wasn¡¯t looking at me anymore. He was now making patterns with his food on his te. How weird.

    ¡°Who is that guy? ¡± I asked before I could stop myself.

    ¡°Who? ¡±

    ¡°The one sitting on the same side as Alexander. ¡±

    Laura shook her head when she saw who I was talking about. ¡°That¡¯s Vaughn. He¡¯s a total creep. And I don¡¯t mean that lightly. ¡±

    That much I could tell.

    ¡°Does anyone even have traditional names here? ¡± I squinted and she chuckled.

    ¡°They do. We just prefer to go by our English names. Since, you know, they¡¯re easier to pronounce. ¡±

    I nodded. That was true, I guess. And I wasn¡¯t one to talk. I went by my English name too.

    Only because you don¡¯t have a traditional name.

    Me and Axel¡¯s conversation at the eatery came back to me. All my life, I¡¯d believed that I was an Edo girl. That was where the name, Otasowie originated from. And now that there was a possibility that Eva Otasowie might not be my real name, I realized that I could be from any tribe in Nigeria.

    I nced at Axel. Well, his back more like, since he was facing away from me. His words from that day came back to me. Did I really look Igbo?

    A waft of perfume drifted to my nose, assaulting my nostrils and interrupting my thoughts. A perfume I¡¯de to associate with Zoe. I looked up just in time to see her walking past, headed straight for the cafeteria, without turning her head our way. I wondered how she did that so effortlessly -pretending someone wasn¡¯t there. I mean, I understood that she was simply ignoring us, but did she have to give the same treatment to her twin sister?

    When she reached the counter and gave the woman there her order, she leisurely raked her eyes over every seated person -as she did every other time- not letting her gaze linger on anyone for a millisecond too long.

    Hell might just have frozen over because today her ritual broke. For her eyes lingered on Alexander and his apparent girlfriend.

    Tabitha, obviously relishing Zoe¡¯s eyes on them, grabbed Alexander¡¯s face and kissed him. Right there for everyone to see. I looked away, but not before seeing Axel throw something at Alexander and muttering something to him. I didn¡¯t wait to see thetter¡¯s reaction.

    There was absolutely no emotion on Zoe¡¯s face as she stared at them. In fact, it didn¡¯t seem like she was looking at them, she seemed to be looking past them, but she wasn¡¯t. And I knew she had to be feeling something, because, hell, Zoe was staring and Zoe Lawson didn¡¯t just stare at anyone.

    All heat evaporated from her eyes when Alexander turned his head and stared back at her as if he knew she¡¯d been watching them all along. Their gazes locked and that familiar tension that tightened the air whenever they stared at each other was back. Only this time, it wasden with something more.

    Everyone was watching this exchange, enraptured by seeing even a glimpse of reaction the coldest girl at Ivacy High. The cafeteriady was now pushing Zoe¡¯s order at her, trying to get her attention, all to no avail.

    Finally bored, it seemed, Alexander turned away from her and it was very much like a dismissal. Zoe¡¯s stunned blinking told me she thought as much too. Her chest rose and fell on a deep breath before she turned around, just now noticing that she had been the center of attention -but to be honest when had she never been? Her usual neutral mask fell over her face and she turned to the cook who had been trying to get her attention, muttered an apology, grabbed her food and left.

    Almostically, everyone went back to what they¡¯d been doing.

    ¡°Oh my God, Abi. ¡± Laura breathed.

    The sound of her voice reminded me of her and Abi¡¯s presence. It was so easy to forget you hadpany when Zoe was in a room.

    When Abi continued eating her food in silence, Laura pressed. ¡°Come on. You can¡¯t not say anything about this. ¡±

    Abi, seemingly fed up, dropped her spoon. ¡°What do you want me to say, Laura? ¡±

    ¡°Are you serious right now? ¡± Laura¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°She¡¯s your sister and-¡±

    ¡°And our rtionship is pretty much the same as yours and her¡¯s. ¡± Abi showed the first signs of anger since I met her. ¡°The fact that I¡¯m her sister doesn¡¯t stop her from giving me the same treatment she does you guys. ¡±

    I¡¯d always assumed the twins were close. Not that close, but close enough. I never knew Zoe was as much of a stranger to her as she was to everyone else. Everyday, I mourned the fact that I didn¡¯t have siblings but I assumed having one and not being able to connect with them was worse than not having at all.

    Laura drew her head back. ¡°Jeez. You kept that bottled in for a hell of a long time, that¡¯s for sure. ¡±

    Abi shook her head, her lips tightly pursed.

    Unable to hold it in anymore, I asked, rather hesitantly because I had a feeling Abi would say it was none of my business. ¡°What¡¯s going on with Zoe and Alexander? ¡±

    Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t Abi that answered me.

    ¡°The whole school, well, not to exaggerate, the old students know that-¡±

    The bell rang out, signaling the end of lunch period. I waited impatiently for Laura to continue but she was already distracted, frowning down at her food. ¡°Shit. I didn¡¯t get to finish my food. ¡±

    ¡°Because you were too busy talking. ¡±

    ¡°Oh, sod off. ¡±

    A wide grin split Abi¡¯s face, her anger gone. ¡°Your ent just became more pronounced. ¡±

    Laura rolled her eyes. I noticed she never said anything about her life back in London. Apparently, that was where she was born, which meant she was a citizen. She left when she was six and the ent had stuck. She never responded toments about her ent or her life when she was younger. I didn¡¯t know why.

    ¡°Can you finish what you were saying? ¡± I tapped Laura.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be going now. ¡± Abi told us. ¡°I¡¯mte already. ¡±

    ¡°Maybeter. ¡± She waited for Abi to gather her things before they both walked out, taking the path that led to their building. This was where we separated. Everyday.

    Taking my empty te, I dumped it in the bin, before walking out. The Physics teacher, Mr Afujue Chinedu, was already waiting for us in ss when we entered. I¡¯d never met a person who took his job more seriously than this man. Taking my seat, I blocked out Coco¡¯s incessant whispers and focused on the lecture.

    Before we closed for the day, all the SSS3 students were told to gather out into the hallway for a brief meeting with the Principal.

    I hugged my bag to my front as we all piled out into the hallway. The Principal joined us almost immediately, taking a stand in front of the small crowd. Her ever present sses were perched on the bridge of her nose, her suit pants and white button down shirt ironed to perfection.

    ¡°Good evening. ¡± A chorus of ¡®good evenings¡¯ rang out throughout the crowd. ¡°I¡¯m assuming you all already know that your first test starts next week. ¡±

    I did. And after I took my drivers test tomorrow, I nned on studying all through the remainder of the week.

    ¡°Next two weeks, which is the week after your test, you¡¯ll be going on your yearly excursion. ¡± I perked up. ¡°The ce you¡¯re visiting is located in the United States of America. The Smithsonian National Meseum of National History. ¡± She ryed all these with boredom like she wasn¡¯t talking about the freaking USA!

    ¡°You can do as much research as you want before we go, of course. Let your parents know so you can get your documents avable on time. I wouldn¡¯t want what happenedst time to repeat itself. ¡± She looked pointedly at some people before addressing a few unimportant things and rounding up.

    Giddy with excitement, I almost skipped down the stairs as I made my way outside. I saw that the Arts weren¡¯t done with their lectures yet. This wasn¡¯t the first time. It had happened twice before and I always sat on one of the chairs arranged outside underneath a shade, just by the car park. It was a good spot and was always empty because most students would rather hang around in sses with their friends while they waited for their cars toe.

    Dropping my bag on the seat beside me, I sat back, removing specks of dirt from under my fingernails.

    A sudden presence had me looking up. Axel stood a few feet away from me with his hands shoved into his pockets. He looked criminally good. His long sleeved button down shirt clung slightly to his skin and his pants highlighted the muscled legs that were constantly haunting me. His hair was dark and so curly, glinting under the low sun. Again, I found myself wanting to run my hands through it.

    Unspoken words hung in the air between us as we stared at each other, waiting for the other person to break the silence.

    What could I say?

    I¡¯m sorry for leaving the way I did yesterday?

    When it started to get awkward and I began to contemte grabbing my bag and leaving, he spoke first.

    ¡°Hey, Cg. ¡°

 Chapter 42

    EVA

    ¡°Hi, Axel. ¡±

    He exhaled a pent up breath the moment I spoke, his shoulders dropping an inch and I realized, rather surprisingly, that he had been tense. Had he been worried that I would ignore him? Sure, things ended abruptly between us yesterday, but I wasn¡¯t a mean person. And not to mention, I was to me for the awkwardness that ensued after our okay conversation. So where had he gotten that idea?

    He closed the distance between us swiftly, lifting my bag from the seat beside me then dropping down on the now empty chair, cing my bag on hisp. Some shuffling ensued before he settled.

    Due tock of space between the arranged chairs, my right leg and his left leg touched, making me painfully aware of the bunched muscles underneath the fabric of his pants. I nced at him wondering if he noticed. He had his eyes straight forward, oblivious. In fact he looked rather nervous to notice anything, really.

    I figured that was a little tell of his. Whenever he was nervous or telling a lie, he would look in another direction, almost as though he couldn¡¯t look at me. He¡¯d done it several times before, but I hadn¡¯t thought anything of it until now.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going home? ¡± He still wasn¡¯t facing me and I almost wanted to ignore him. Pretend I didn¡¯t know I was the one he was talking to, but that would be really foolish of me because there was no one else in sight -at least within hearing distance.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.

    Disappointed at myself for thinking childishly, I replied, tilting my chin in the general direction of the Arts building. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for Abi. ¡±

    ¡°And Zoe. ¡± He supplied.

    I shook my head, momentarily forgetting that he wasn¡¯t looking at me. He caught the gesture anyway and turned to face me.

    ¡°Is she in the car already? ¡± He asked doubtfully, his eyes scanning the car park, assessing the cars one by one. It dawned on me that he was trying to find our car. As if he would know it.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t go home with us. ¡± At his raised brows, I rified, ¡°She doese home. But not with me and Abi. I think she drives. ¡± Although I¡¯d never seen her car in school. Like now, her car wasn¡¯t in the car pack.

    Did she Uber?

    I dismissed the thought immediately it entered my mind. Zoe didn¡¯t seem like the Uber sort. Maybe she had her car parked somewhere else or maybe she shared a ride with someone. Both ideas seemed far-fetched but I didn¡¯t know what else to think.

    ¡°That¡¯s odd. ¡± Axel noted. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t she go with you? ¡± When I just shrugged, he asked. ¡°Does she do extra lessons? ¡±

    ¡°No. ¡±

    ¡°Then why not just go home with you guys? ¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. ¡± The words came out in a clipped, harsh tone that I instantly regretted. Why was I so edgy?

    Yesterday, after I had finally been able to think properly and reflect on the activities of the day, I couldn¡¯t help but feel terrible for making us leave the eatery so abruptly, and in the process, ending our easy flowing conversation -the only time we¡¯d ever truly connected- simply because of a few words he had said, not that he had any idea of the impact they¡¯d had on me. How could he? He didn¡¯t know how tough that topic was.

    Grudgingly, I admitted to myself that the reason I was in such an irritable mood was because I had expected him to talk about us. What us entailed, I wasn¡¯t sure. I just knew I wanted him to talk about yesterday. Sure, if he brought it up, I was definitely going to dance around and try to dodge the topic, but if he pressed hard enough, I would definitely crack and tell him the reason for my swift change of mood. I always did with him.

    And here he was talking about Zoe.

    ¡°Sorry. ¡± He murmured and his knees started bouncing.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be. ¡± I said just as quietly. Not for the first time, I felt myself wanting to reach out and stop the up and down movement of his right leg.

    ¡°Why are you in such a bad mood? ¡±

    I dragged my hands down my face, talking from behind my palms. ¡°I don¡¯t know. ¡± My frustration rose with each second that passed. He wasn¡¯t going to bring up yesterday-and I was too much of a coward to.

    He seemed to hesitate before asking, ¡°Is it me? ¡±

    ¡°No. ¡±

    His fingers toyed with my bag-strap, then he moved to trace the designs absently.  ¡°Your mood today is obviously a huge improvement from yesterday¡¯s seeing as you¡¯re talking to me so I suppose I shouldn¡¯t beining. ¡±

    There! He¡¯d finally brought it up! That was my in. Gathering my confidence, I opened my mouth.

    ¡°-You know, I could tell you a very effective means of getting rid of bad moods. ¡±

    And the chance was gone. I wanted to strangle him. ring at him dubiously, I asked. ¡°Which is? ¡±

    His eyes gleamed with mischief as he angled his body towards mine in his seat. His leg had stopped bouncing, his anxiety, gone.

    He scrunched up his face like he was doing some deep thinking. ¡°I was going to tell you, but now I¡¯m not so sure I should because I think you would p me if I do. ¡±

    Well, he was right to fear me. I had been considering throttling him just a moment ago. But I would never hit him -or anyone.

    ¡°You know I wouldn¡¯t. ¡± I rolled my eyes.

    ¡°A person never knows. ¡± He shrugged in mock-seriousness. ¡°I do not tolerate bodily harm, Cg. ¡±

    Finally having it with his annoying yfulness when I was trying to be serious, I snapped. ¡°Just shut up and talk. ¡±

    He choked back augh, his eyes round and wide. ¡°How can I shut up and talk at the same time? ¡± He asked slowly in an amused tone. ¡°Maybe you just want me to talk? ¡±

    I tried to keep a straight face, but I ended up cracking a smile. His charisma was so contagious that I couldn¡¯t hold on to my anger even in my frustrated state.

    ¡°Yes, Axel. Talk. ¡± I sighed exasperatedly.

    Grinning, he leaned closer to me. ¡°Well, if you insist. Sexual releases are gold. ¡± My mouth dropped open. ¡°Blowjobs are like drugs to me and I would suggest-¡±

    I mped a hand over his mouth to stop him from saying anymore and immediately I did, I remembered how he had bitten my hand in the janitor¡¯s closet. Before I could pull away, I felt his tongue dart out and lick my fingers. Letting out a shocked yelp, so very much like that day, I snatched my hand back, cradling it with my free hand as I red at him.

    His eyes twinkled and it was obvious that he wasn¡¯t the least bit sorry.

 Chapter 43

    EVA

    ¡°Everything about you is inappropriate. ¡±

    ¡°I warned you. ¡± He cocked a brow. ¡°You told me to continue anyway. ¡±

    I attempted to protest. ¡°Because I didn¡¯t-¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t lie and say you didn¡¯t know I was going to say something like that. ¡±

    I stared nkly, unable to argue.

    ¡°Ach, you might just be as dirty as I am, Cg. ¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t. ¡± I voiced weakly, starting as I heard the bell go off for the Arts students. Abi, being the promptest person I knew, would be out soon and I still hadn¡¯t apologized to Axel because he was distracting me.

    I couldn¡¯t exin why I felt the need to apologize so strongly. Maybe because he had been nothing but nice to me since I met him and I didn¡¯t want a one day thing to ruin what could possibly be the start a great friendship.

    But again, I could be making this apology into something bigger than it needed to be. He didn¡¯t seem to care anymore. That was Axel after all, switching breezily from one mood to the other with astonishing ease. He had definitely forgotten about the whole thing.

    Apologize. You¡¯d want him to if the case was reversed, wouldn¡¯t you?

    Blowing out a breath, I conceded to myself that the voice was right. Of all things I was, I wasn¡¯t a hypocrite.

    ¡°Listen, Axel. I¡­ I-¡±

    ¡°Axel! ¡± The high-pitched, feminine voice came from a tiny girl running towards where we were seated with a wide smile on her face. She looked genuinely delighted and surprised to see him, all but pushing my bag to the ground to make room for herself on hisp. ¡°Were you waiting for me? ¡±

    As her voice sifted into my ears, I realized that it was familiar. She was one of the girls that sat at Axel¡¯s table -almost all girls in the school really, but she frequented that table more than the others. It was only now that it urred to me that she was closer to him than the other girls were. Stupid of me to assume he would be unattached, especially considering how much of a yer -and how good-looking- he was.

    He fumbled to catch my bag as it toppled to the ground, causing him to lean into her and she giggled excitedly, throwing her hands around his neck to steady herself.

    People were starting toe out now and seeing them made me think of how stupid I must look right now. My body angled towards Axel, his angled towards mine while she sat on hisp. Although now it looked like he was angling towards her and not me.

    My urge to apologize, now totally waned, I got up from my seat with as much dignity I could muster, walking around the girl to collect my bag from Axel. She didn¡¯t even seem to notice my presence.

    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re leaving? ¡± His tightened his hold on my bad and I had to force it out of his hand. What was wrong with him? He still hadn¡¯t pushed her off hisp -a huge part of me had hoped he would- and he wanted me to stay? Why on earth?

    ¡°I am. ¡± I forced out, trying to tamp down my rising anger. How could he act like he didn¡¯t know what was happening? Was he that obtuse?

    ¡°Wait. Why? ¡± His eyes darted to the girl on hisp, ying with his hair as I always wanted to do but couldn¡¯t, then to mine. ¡°Oh, no. This is-¡±

    He didn¡¯t get to finish because I was already waking away, swinging my bag around my shoulders. Abi and Laura were standing in the car park, just beside Laura¡¯s car. How had I not seen them when they came out?

    Because you had your focus solely on Axel, you idiot.

    Given the narrowed-eyed look Laura was giving me and Abi¡¯s carefully nk face, I knew that they had definitely seen me sitting with Axel. I was so in for it with Laura.This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    ¡°What were you doing? ¡± She asked, not even waiting for me to reach them before attacking.

    ¡°I was waiting for you guys to close. ¡±

    ¡°And the only seat you could find to wait on was the one closest to Axel? ¡±

    ¡°He wasn¡¯t sitting there when I got there! ¡±  She must have thought I was just being defensive because she sighed.

    ¡°Bloody hell, Eva. ¡± She pinched her forehead. ¡°What are you trying to get yourself into? ¡±

    ¡°Nothing. There¡¯s nothing-¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what everyone says at first, until you¡¯re already in too deep and there¡¯s no way for you toe back out unscathed. ¡±

    I nched. Laura was exaggerating again. I knew where I was with Axel. I didn¡¯t expect anything other than friendship from him. The thought of a rtionship happening between us hadn¡¯t even crossed my mind in the slightest.

    All these were true. But it contradicted the pain and betrayal I had felt when the girl sat on hisp and he let her.

    Was I lying to myself?

    ¡°I can see the look on your face. ¡± Laura¡¯s voice softened. ¡°You know I¡¯m right. ¡±

    I nced at Abi, seeing her leaning on Laura¡¯s car. She was taking everything in without uttering a single word, not like I had expected her to, but she didn¡¯t seem surprised to be hearing about Axel. And seeing as she wasn¡¯t correcting anything Laura said, she agreed with her. Abi wasn¡¯t one to make wrong judgement.

    Good God, could everyone see what I couldn¡¯t already?

 Chapter 44

    EVA

    ¡°Stay away from him, Eva. ¡± She fingered the curly hairs on my forehead, her hand sliding down to tap my cheek lightly. ¡°I swear, I¡¯m not trying to be an overprotective, pain-in-the-ass elder sister, I¡¯m just telling you what Abi would be too kind to and let¡¯s not talk about how people making you aughing stock would really ruin my reputation. ¡± She said thest part in a weak attempt at humor.

    I forced a smile, seeing our car drive into thepound just then. Abi saw it too because she straightened, prepared to leave.

    ¡°You see those girls over there? ¡± Laura motioned to a group of students standing just outside the Arts building. ¡°They know what they¡¯re getting themselves into when they decide to get involved with guys like Axel. They know the thrill is only momentary. But people like us, we don¡¯t. That¡¯s why we get hurt. ¡± Her eyes glittered. ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you hurt, Eva. ¡±Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.

    I nodded, my throat closed tight. And with that parting speech, Laura hopped into her car and was pulling out of the school before I could blink.

    As we got into the car, I fought the urge to turn around and check if he was still there. I won the tiny but significant battle and it filled me with a good feeling, even if it was only momentary.

    ¡°Laura¡¯s right, you know. ¡± Abi said quietly as the car went into motion. ¡°Staying away from Axel would prevent you from going through many things that you wouldn¡¯t wish to go through. ¡±

    I nodded again, curling slightly into myself and hugging my bag to my front. For some reason, I couldn¡¯t find my voice.

    I read about love in romance books. They were actually my favorite books to read -which made it pretty ironic that I couldn¡¯t bear to hear the topic whenever it was brought up. Why was Ifortable reading about it in books but not when it was mentioned?

    Probably because reading it was one thing and experiencing it in real life was another. When I read about the feelings associated with love, it intrigued me. That a single four-lettered word could make someone experience a myriad of emotions both good and bad was an utter mystery.

    Sometimes I read about how the male protagonist broke the female protagonist¡¯s heart and how utterly ruined the female would be until the male, after some feat, realized that he had made a terrible mistake and would go after her and try to mend things. I was always pissed on the female¡¯s behalf. Why did the female have to go through suffering before the male realized that he needed her in his life?

    And I wasn¡¯t so stupid as to believe that how it happened in books was how it happened in real life. I had doubts that a guy would, after leaving a girl, all of a sudden realize that she was the one for him and after apologizing, they would live happily ever after.

    I read books simply for the pleasure of escaping my reality. It transported me into another dimension, different from this one, where I could be anything and anyone. That was what books were -escapes. Which was why I would not believe everything I read from them, because the authors too, I was sure, had been trying to escape when they decided to write too.

    Just because books spoke of heart-wrenchingly epic romantic tales didn¡¯t mean I would ever experience it. They were called tales for a reason.

    Laura was right. I was getting in too deep. The line between friendship and something else must have started to blur in my head and I needed to put a stop to whatever this was before it broke me, because Axel undoubtedly would.

    Like how I felt everyday when I saw the girls sitting at his table with his friends. A different one everyday as if they were clothes he changed. The sadness that constantly ate at me when I saw how open and uninhibited he was with them and then the anger that suffused me when I thought about how he was going toe to me at the end of the day and act like everything was okay.

    How betrayed I had felt just now when he hadn¡¯t seemed to see anything wrong with the girl that had bundled herself on hisp, ruining our conversation. And to think that I had wanted to apologize for the previous day.

    How long was it until that little hurt blossomed into something else? Something much bigger?

    But then I thought about the genuine look of confusion on his face as he had tried to exin to me and I wondered. What if Laura didn¡¯t know him? What if he wasn¡¯t a yer? What if he was just misunderstood?

    Of course he is. And the girl on her knees before him at the boutique restroom had just been selling goods to him.

    My eyes slid closed as I leaned my head back on the car seat. A headache was starting to form from all the thinking I was doing.

    The events of the past few days all seemed like a distant memory now. From the party to Omar¡¯s sudden appearance to Axel offering his support all through and then to our time at the eatery.

    An image of his honest eyes as he talked about his athletics shed into my mind. Could I really say goodbye to this friendship? He had befriended me when no one else at Ivacy High would and despite me being a loner, I found his presence weing.

    But it didn¡¯t matter if I could or not.

    I needed to stay away from Axel.

 Chapter 45

    EVA

    There were a few significant days in my life.

    The day I got dropped off at the orphanage, the day I met Omar -I hadn¡¯t taken note of the date, but I wasn¡¯t going to forget it either and the day I got adopted. It was on the sixteenth of September.

    Today was one of those days and as I sat among the others, waiting to board the ne, I knew that there were definitely going to be more.

    Laura nudged my knee. ¡°Tell me you¡¯re not excited. ¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not excited. ¡± It was a lie of course and she knew it.

    ¡°Liar. ¡± She smirked, turning her eyes back to her phone.

    Laura, Abi and I sat together, busying ourselves on our phones until it was time to get on the ne. And I was pretty excited to get on that ne. A tiny part of me was scared too, but my excitement won out.

    Spread around the lobby, were Ivacy High students, each one dressed impably. Abi and Laura had on fitted jeans but while Laura was wearing a T-Shirt on top hers, Abi wore a cami and a ck jacket over it. And then there was me, wishing I could shrink inside my ck hoodie, joggers and sneakers. My choice of clothing was starting to get pathetic, really.

    I took in a deep breath, sitting up in my chair as I watched everyone idly. My mind briefly wandered to the events of the past two weeks.

    My drivers test went surprisingly well, maybe that was due to Mrs Lawson¡¯s presence in the passenger seat and her soothing voice as she went through the process of it all with me. From there, we had gone straight to get my drivers license and that, too, had gone smoothly.

    Of course it went smoothly. It was Mrs Lawson. She had super powers.

    I¡¯d made good on my promise to study throughout the week. Locked myself in my room, hid my phone somewhere far -not that I would have been tempted to get it anyway, seeing as I didn¡¯t talk to a lot of people- picked out the subjects we had on Monday and I dove into reading. And that was how it went for the remainder of the week. The next day, I¡¯d read the subjects we had on Tuesday and then Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. When the days for the tests finally came, all I did was revise before it was time to write.

    With how easy the questions had been, I had high expectations for my test results.

    Somehow, I¡¯d managed to avoid Axel for the past two weeks. At first it had been easy to pretend I didn¡¯t see his texts, but then when he continued his relentless texting the next day, it became hard to ignore him. Especially since I wanted to open the messages badly. But if I thought ignoring his texts was hard, seeing him was unbearable.

    He felt guilty. I saw it in his eyes whenever mine met his, along with a bunch of other emotions I didn¡¯t want to name. He hadn¡¯te to me ever since and I was thankful that he hadn¡¯t. I dreaded having to hurt his feelings by walking away from him. Axel wasn¡¯t like most guys. He wore his emotions on his face freely for everyone to see. Which was why I had no problem reading him. People like him were prone to getting hurt easily.

    Almost as if I summoned him with my thoughts, my eyesnded on him and my pulse leapt. His face was carefully hidden behind the cap of the ck hoodie he wore, paired with ck ripped jeans. He was slouched on his seat, with his head low and his hands shoved into the pocket of his hoodie. And for once, he wasn¡¯t surrounded by girls.

    Movement from below caught my eyes and I saw that his right leg was going at it again. He was unsettled. My palm itched with the urge to walk over and stop the movement. Slowly, as if feeling my eyes on him -which was impossible- his head lifted and he stared right at me.

    I turned away sharply, cursing myself for not doing so sooner. Looking away, however, didn¡¯t stop me from feeling the heat of his gaze. I unlocked my phone, pretending to get busy on it. I just wanted to focus on something other than the sensation of his eyes on me.

    I almost cried out in relief when Laura spoke. I had never truly been greatly for her loquaciousness until this moment.

    ¡°Seriously. Does Dexter do anything with his life? ¡±

    I didn¡¯t even have to look to find Dexter; he was wherever Zoe was. And right now, he had his hand over the back of her chair, staring at her phone as she tapped away on it. I tried to keep the disgust I was feeling from showing on my face.

    ¡°He¡¯s always attached to her like a fucking leach. ¡± Laura spat, watching them with disdain. ¡°Am I the only one that thinks clingy guys are a huge turn off? ¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not. ¡± I answered before I could stop myself.

    She immediately turned to me, as though she¡¯d needed someone on her side. ¡°Right? How does Zoe even cope? ¡±

    ¡°Seeing as she¡¯s never made a singleint, I¡¯d say she copes very well. ¡± Abi piped in, casually bringing the straw to her mouth as she took a sip of her ribenna.

    ¡°Please. ¡± Laura rolled her eyes, never one to back down. ¡°Zoe wouldn¡¯t want anyone to know that she¡¯s ufortable with him. She hates his clingy ass just as much as we do. ¡±N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner.

    ¡°Zoe doesn¡¯t care what anyone thinks. So why would she be with him if she doesn¡¯t have feelings for him? ¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve asked myself that several times. ¡±

    Abi cocked her head. ¡°See? ¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t see. ¡± Laura shook her head. ¡°It still doesn¡¯t make sense. ¡±

    Everyone knew Dexter was undeserving of Zoe. I mean, he was rich and good looking, but that was where it ended -at least to me. I felt like Zoe didn¡¯t know who he actually was and he kept that part of himself carefully hidden because she wouldn¡¯t be with him otherwise. I was pretty sure everyone knew the pair was odd, but no one would dare say anything for fear of Zoe.

    In less than five minutes, an announcement came for us to board the ne and after getting our boarding passes checked, we walked down the short hallway that led to the ne, with Mr Utoh in front and Mrs Philomena behind us.

    With directions, we stowed our luggages into the overhead bins. Laura had trouble fitting her luggage in because she had packed quite a lot. Henri, who had been passing, stopped when he saw her cursing and struggling.

    ¡°Let me help. ¡± He didn¡¯t wait for her to reply before he grabbed her bag, his muscles rippling under his shirt as he shoved it into the overhead bin effortlessly. I swear I could see hearts in Laura¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Thank you. ¡± She said breathlessly and he winked, strolling to the back of the ne with his duffel bag over his shoulder. Laura stared after him until it became impossible to see him anymore amidst bodies.

    ¡°Are you going to sit anytime soon, Laura? ¡°Abi mocked.

 Chapter 46

    EVA

    ¡°Can you me me, though? ¡± Laura asked as she finally sat. ¡°Did you see him? ¡±

    I frowned, confused. Was she forgetting? ¡°That¡¯s Henri. He goes to our school. ¡±

    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Duh. Did you see him?! ¡±

    ¡°We did. ¡± Abi answered. ¡°Just like we see him every other day at school. ¡±

    ¡°Bloody hell, he¡¯s divine. ¡± Her ent grew thicker. ¡°Such a shame we go to the same school. ¡±

    I frowned when I got the implication of her statement. ¡°You don¡¯t¡­.. talk to guys from school? ¡±

    She leveled her gaze on me. ¡°Talk isn¡¯t the word. ¡± I was pretty sure I blushed. ¡°But no I don¡¯t. I try to avoid it. There¡¯s just too much drama. ¡±

    I nodded, letting the topic go.

    When it was time for take off, I said a silent prayer for safe journey and before I knew it, we were in the air. Laura plugged her headphones in her ear while Abi read a book. I was too excited to do anything. I wanted to take everything in.

    The flight took a total of thirteen hours and thirty minutes and when we finallynded, it wasn¡¯t even dark. I checked the time on my phone. 6pm. Was that still the Nigerian time or had it switched to Washington time zone? After a quick calction in my head, I realized that my phone had automatically switched to the Washington time zone. How cool.

    ¡°We¡¯re in the US of A baby! ¡± Laura yelled as she skipped with her luggage, her stick straight wig, swinging glossily with her movements. I was surprised to see a small smile on Mrs Philomena¡¯s lips as she watched her.

    And why wouldn¡¯t she smile? She had to be very proud of her school right now.

    Washington DC was beautiful. It was clean and cold with a crisp breeze that made me want to take a huge, fat breath. I did just that.

    We checked into a hotel, and the sleeping arrangements were two persons to a room. I almost panicked and Laura must have seen the look on my face.

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask if the three of us can room together. ¡±

    I almost copsed with relief. ¡°Thank you. ¡±

    She was just about to speak up when a slender hand snaked around my arm. ¡°We can share a room. ¡±

    Laura, Abi and I simultaneously turned to the intruder. She had a face that wouldn¡¯t really be described as pretty -striking was the word, with cat-like eyes, a pointed nose and wide lips. She was slightly taller than I was with sleek chocte skin and a slim figure d in jean cutoffs and a long sleeved T-shirt.

    For some reason, she seemed familiar.

    ¡°Where did youe from? ¡± Laura frowned, looking behind the girl.

    ¡°I appeared out of thin air. ¡± She said and I almost believe her. Almost.This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    ¡°Haha. ¡± But there wasn¡¯t a hint of smile on Laura¡¯s face. ¡°Why would you want to room with her? ¡±

    ¡°She needs someone to room with. ¡± She turned to me, giving me the full force of her cat-like eyes. That was when I realized her hand was still linked with mine. ¡°Don¡¯t you? ¡±

    Why are you so familiar?

    ¡°I actually do. ¡± I muttered.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean she wants to room with you. ¡± Laura sassed.

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave it up to Eva, shall we? ¡± Abi suggested gently before turning to me. ¡°Eva, would you be okay sharing a room with Phoebe? ¡±

    Phoebe. So that was her name.

    Phoebe stared at me hopefully and I found I didn¡¯t want to hurt her feelings by saying no. But that wasn¡¯t why I said, ¡°Yes. ¡±

    ¡°Are you just saying that? Cause you can totally room with us. ¡± Laura pressed and I loved her so much in that moment.

    ¡°No, I mean it. I¡¯ll share a room with Phoebe. ¡± I reassured her, the name sounding foreign on my tongue.

    As we rode the elevator up, I watched Phoebe as discreetly as I could, wondering if I¡¯d ever seen her back at school. Ivacy High was huge so it was understandable that I hadn¡¯t seen her before today, but she felt familiar in some way and I couldn¡¯t ce my finger on why.

    Phoebe swiped our keycard -a keycard!- on the lock and the light showed green before the door opened.

    ¡°Stay safe, Eva! ¡± Laura yelled just before I entered the room and I smiled, letting the door shut behind me.

 Chapter 47

    EVA

    ¡°If I didn¡¯t know she¡¯s crazy, I¡¯d be offended. ¡± Phoebe said as she dropped her bag on the floor.

    The room had pristine white walls with a bit of brown here and there. It was beautiful and luxurious, but the only thing I could focus on was the bed. After the long journey, I found the big bed quite weing.

    I crossed to the left side of the bed, dropped my duffel on the floor before falling t on the bed face up, arms spread, forgetting that I wasn¡¯t alone in the room. I froze, my eyes trailing up slowly to find her watching me with a wide grin on her face.

    ¡°I know you forgot I was here. ¡±

    I shrugged sheepishly.

    ¡°This is a littlete, but, I¡¯m Phoebe. ¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Eva. ¡±

    ¡°I knew that. ¡± She smiled. She did that a lot. And of course everyone at school knew who I was. ¡°Nice to meet you, Eva. ¡±

    ¡°Nice to meet you too. ¡±

    She turned away, sitting on the edge of the bed with her back to me as she went through her bag, I assumed, for something to wear. I got that odd feeling of familiarity again as I watched her and I just couldn¡¯t shake it.

    Deciding to ignore the feeling for now, I unzipped my bag, pulling my towel out along with an oversized T-shirt and shorts. Feeling a niggling suspicion, I rummaged around in the bag and hissed before I could stop myself. I packed just one short.

    ¡°Apparently, I forgot I would be sleeping when I decided to pack.¡± I muttered in frustration. Phoebe¡¯s lowughter took me by surprise.

    Thatugh¡­

    ¡°You¡¯re the girl from the library! ¡± I snapped my fingers as I turned to her, everything finally clicking into ce.

    ¡°I was wondering how long it would take you to figure that out. ¡± She said ruefully as she twisted to look at me.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just tell me? ¡±

    She shrugged, turning back to her bag. ¡°I like to keep people guessing. ¡±

    I watched her quietly. I could finally put a face to the voice I remembered from time to time. The pinch of sadness in her otherwise positive words that haunted me.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you at school ever since. ¡± I said, almost to myself.

    ¡°I¡¯m an Arts. ¡± She said as means of exnation.

    I didn¡¯t think that was enough reason. I had never seen her at the cafeteria either. There was also the question of why she had chosen to use the library in the Science building when the Arts had one too.

    ¡°The Art building has a library, right? ¡±

    ¡°True. ¡± She smiled, reading my meaning. ¡°I needed something different. ¡±

    I almost asked what, but I stopped myself.

    ¡°Do you see those sick people? The ones on the beds? Waiting to get parts of their bodies amputated or just struggling to get better? They wish they were you.N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner.

    ¡°Complete. Strong. Healthy. ¡±

    Her words from that day came to me and I thought hard on them. Had she lost someone? Perhaps a parent?

    I jolted at the sound of a knock. Phoebe went to the door and opened it, but not fully, so I couldn¡¯t see who was on the other side. I got snippets of the conversation but it wasn¡¯t enough to let me know what they were talking about.

    Phoebe closed the door as the other person left, putting her back to it. ¡°Mrs Philomena says we can go downstairs to the hotel restaurant if we want to eat. She¡¯s already asked them to put everything on her card. ¡±

    My stomach gave a sudden growl at the thought of food. My excitement hadn¡¯t let me think of food all through the journey -I didn¡¯t even eat on the flight, but now that it had reduced marginally, I realized that I was hungry.

    ¡°Do we go now, or? ¡±

    ¡°I say we do. If I should get into that shower right now, there¡¯s nothing stopping me from sleeping when Ie out. And if your reaction to seeing the bed is anything to go by, I¡¯d say you¡¯re just as tired too. ¡±

    I was.

    I straightened my hoodie as we walked out. Deep voices drew my attention and I turned to find Alexander, Henri, Axel and Vaughn. The image of all four of them, walking beside each other like that, was enough to stop me in my tracks and all I could do for a moment was stare. My mouth might have been hanging open too, I wasn¡¯t sure, but even if it was, there was a perfectly reasonable exnation.

    Alexander was on a call; his was the voice I¡¯d heard. He was the biggest of the group of friends, built like a wall, an inch or two taller than the others with an air of authority around him. He didn¡¯t seem like the type of person that would take orders from anyone, instead he seemed like the one that would dish them out.

    Axel, Henri and Vaughn all seemed to have the same build, albeit little variants. They were all tall, athletic and wide. And right now, none of them was smiling. Axel was texting on his phone -which was why he hadn¡¯t seen me, Henri was¡­. I didn¡¯t know what the hell he was doing. He seemed to be ying with Vaughn¡¯s hair as thetter chewed on a toothpick while ncing from one closed door to the other with dead eyes.

    It took a minute for my fried brain to realize they were headed in our direction and when I did, I snapped into motion, walking even faster than Phoebe. Suddenly, I couldn¡¯t get to the elevators fast enough.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were that hungry. Jeez. ¡± Phoebeughed, misinterpreting my flight for impatience.

    I didn¡¯t bother to correct her, I simply smiled while waited for her to get into the elevator. Was she walking extra slowly or was it just me? I let out a sigh when she pushed the button for the down floor and the doors finally slid closed before Axel and his friends could reach it.

    There were a few people in the restaurant other than Ivacy High students and I felt quite a little bit intimidated to be in their presence, but when I saw everyone just doing their thing, I figured it was a normal thing for them so I went with it.

    After dinner, I went straight upstairs to our room and into the shower. When I toweled, changed into my sleepwear and came back out, I saw Phoebe undressing to go have her bath.

    I dragged my feet to the bed and fell face down on it. And I didn¡¯t get up until morning.

 Chapter 48

    EVA

    ¡°Jesus Christ. ¡± the boy groaned for the seventh time today, within thest thirty minutes. ¡°Can we leave already? ¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one here. You know that, right? ¡± an exasperated voice retorted and that was obviously the wrong thing to do because the frustrated  boy wasted no time in channeling all his anger at the speaker, which made me think he probably had been looking for an outlet all along.

    ¡°Did you not hear the ¡®we¡¯ in the statement I just made? ¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t a statement, Destiny. It was a question. ¡± Another voice piped in. This one, belonging to a girl. ¡°You would know the difference if you ever paid attention to a single thing that¡¯s said in English ss. Just like you¡¯re not paying attention right now. ¡±

    It was Natasha, the queen of sarcasm. A vibrant, quick-witted girl who had a smart-ass reply at the tip of her tongue, always ready tounch. I envied her the talent.

    ¡°No one asked you, Natasha. ¡± The boy -Destiny- bit out, his jaw tightening in anger and embarrassment.

    ¡°Of course. ¡± Natasha replied smoothly, her mocking tone unmistakeable. ¡°I like to help however I can. ¡±

    A round ofughter rang out and Mrs Philomena¡¯s eyes widened in rm at the disturbance. We shouldn¡¯t be talking, not when we were supposed to be taking notes as we listened to the Tour Guide.

    We quieted down and after throwing a menacing look our way-that was actually more funny than menacing-our Principal turned back to the Tour Guide, her hands at her back in that stance people in control wielded. A quick nce at my jotter told me that I hadn¡¯t written nearly enough to make an essay out of. Because apparently, we were making one.

    It was hard to me Destiny for wanting to leave, really. We¡¯d spent over an hour and a half on our feet, walking from one section to another and just before we entered the section before this one, I¡¯d asked myself if the tour was ever going to end. I was starting to believe it would go on forever.

    I, for one, didn¡¯t find the mesuem particrly interesting. It was more the location that did it for me. I didn¡¯t think staring at Dorothy¡¯s shoes or equally uninteresting artifacts was a great idea of spending my day, so, yes, this excursion was in fact, terribly boring.

    We were all asked to turn our phones on silent beforeing in and a lot of people had resorted to texting, doing it conspicuously to avoid getting caught by Mrs Philomena. Whiling away their time this way, obviously alleviated some of the boredom seeing as no one wasining as bitterly as Destiny, which led me to believe that his problem was hunger.

    Judging by his incessantints, it was a nagging one. And that didn¡¯t make sense because we all ate our fill beforeing here, just two hours ago. He was probably one of those always-eating people, like Laura, but while Laura had an ass to show for it, he had nothing. He was skinny.

    A phone beeped and I unconsciously reached into the back pocket of my jeans, thinking it was mine. I heard a muttered ¡®shit¡¯ and I might have uttered the word, I wasn¡¯t sure. I wasn¡¯t cognizant of a lot of things happening around me as I watched my hande back out of my pocket. Empty.

    My blood ran cold.

    Mrs Philomena was whispering furiously at someone, scolding them for disobeying her, but it all seemed to be happening at a distance. My heart beat faster and my hands started to shake. I shoved my hand into my left back pocket, wondering if my phone had, by some miracle, grown legs and jumped into the other pocket, but I had no such luck. It wasn¡¯t in there either.

    My phone was gone!

    Had someone slipped it out of my pocket when I wasn¡¯t looking?

    I dismissed the thought immediately. I would have felt it if someone had and it¡¯s not like there were thieves amongst us.

    Or were they?

    The girl beside me shifted, sensing the shift in my bodynguage and I nced at her with slitted eyes as if she was the cause of my predicament. Her eyes widened and she shifted farther away from me, no doubt thinking I was a psycho. I was far from caring.

    Beads of perspiration settled on my forehead and I wiped it off with the back of my hand.

    How did this happen?

    I had my phone with me all through breakfast at the hotel restaurant, I¡¯d even taken some pictures. From there, we had gone outside to the bus ande straight here, but I couldn¡¯t remember it being with me during the bus ride. Could it be that I might have misced it at the hotel?

    I had to find it. I had to-

    Laura!N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner.

    I¡¯d given it to her when I went back upstairs to make quick use of the restroom. Oh, God. What if she lost it? Laura wasn¡¯t the most careful person.

    My excitement gave way to fear and I searched for her in the crowd, my movements frantic. Despite herck of height, she was quite easy to spot and it wasn¡¯t just because of the hot pink sweater top she wore, it had something to do with her energy.

    ¡°Laura. ¡± I tugged on her arm impatiently when I reached her. Her head whipped around and by the irritated scowl on her face, I could tell she didn¡¯t appreciate being approached in such a manner. However, her frown smoothened when she saw it was me.

    ¡°Dammit, Eva. Don¡¯t do that again. ¡± she whispered. ¡°I was just about to p you. ¡±

    ¡°A p wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea right now, except I¡¯m not sure who¡¯s going to be on the receiving end. ¡± If it was another time, I would relish the  surprise my words evoked in her. ¡°Where¡¯s my phone? ¡± I asked urgently, going straight to the point.

    She rolled her eyes leisurely, no doubt thinking I was overreacting. ¡°Calm down, will you. It¡¯s in my pocket right¡­. ¡± her voice trailed off, a confused frown settling on her face.

    My stomach dropped.

    Lines appeared on her forehead when she checked her sweater pocket and saw that it wasn¡¯t there either.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. I had it right here. ¡± her eyes were two pools of worry when she nced at me. ¡°I swear I was holding it. Ever since you gave it to me, I haven¡¯t dropped it once. I swear, I-¡± she stopped abruptly and her eyes narrowed.

    ¡°What? What is it? ¡°

 Chapter 49

    It felt silly, whispering like this when we were talking about something so important, but we couldn¡¯t risk getting caught by Mrs Philomena who seemed to want to bite our ears off for doing something even as basic as sneezing.

    ¡°Laura¡­ ¡± I pressed when she just kept staring at me with a look of utmost concentration on her face. If perhaps she remembered where she left my phone, then we had greater chances of finding it before someone else did.

    ¡°When you guys came down from the vehicle, I stayed back to make an impromptu video call. But I wanted somewhere private so I used the back seat. ¡± Her eyes met mine. ¡°And I think I might have left it on the back seat when I was leaving. ¡±

    Mrs Philomena caught us talking then and she fixed us with an admonishing re. Laura scoffed, muttering, ¡°Fuck you. ¡± At my gasp of surprise, she said, ¡°If not for her, your phone wouldn¡¯t be missing in the first ce. ¡±

    ¡°How is it her fault? ¡±

    ¡°She didn¡¯t let us bring our bags in. Lord knows I would have kept your phone in there and not a damn thing would have happened to it. ¡± she fumed.

    It would be so easy to put all the me squarely on Mrs Philomena, but I couldn¡¯t ignore Laura¡¯s carelessness either. She was the one that had decided to stay back for a video call and ended up totally forgetting about my phone. And it was my fault for asking her of all people to keep my phone safe. The word safe and Laura couldn¡¯t be used in the same sentence.

    How on earth could we possibly find out who could have gone into the bus and taken my phone? Where would we start from?

    ¡­. Or what if it was still in there?

    My heart leapt at the thought.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s still on the bus? ¡±

    She shook her head as she whispered. ¡°Could be, but I don¡¯t think so. Some of the guys came back in just as I was leaving and I think they hung in there for a while. ¡±

    The little re of hope I had felt, dissipated into dust. If my phone had been in the bus before the guys went in, then it definitely wasn¡¯t in there anymore. I knew Ivacy High boys. They treated everything like a joke. They would want the owner, whoever it was, to suffer a great deal before giving it back. And in this case, it was me.

    Which meant I was in for it.

    ¡°I know what to do. ¡± Laura said, dragging my attention readily back to her. ¡°Did you put your phone on silent? ¡±

    ¡°Yes, I think so. ¡±

    My phone was almost always on silent ¨Cbecause what was the point in turning the volume up when no-one ever called or texted? Once in a while, Laura and I engaged in back and forth texting but that was on rare asions.

    ¡°Shit. ¡± she cursed in obvious frustration, then her eyes lit up again. ¡°No, wait, that works too. ¡± she tugged me closer to her, bringing her lips to my ear as if anyone was paying attention to us. ¡°I¡¯m going to call your phone and if anyone here has it, we¡¯re going to know. If not, then we¡¯ll know that it¡¯s still on the bus.  ¡±

    Okay, that was smart. But she forgot one little detail.

    ¡°My phone is on silent, Laura! ¡± I whispered harshly.

    She red at me. ¡°I know that, but it must be on vibrate or something, right? ¡±

    ¡°Or something. ¡± I agreed. ¡°Silent. ¡±

    ¡°Oh, shush. Whoever has it, they¡¯re going to feel it when it rings so let¡¯s hope they¡¯ll bring it out to see who¡¯s calling.¡±  She pulled her phone from her pocket, unlocking it and scrolling to find my contact. ¡°Jeez. I¡¯ve never met someone so pessimistic. ¡±

    More like realistic.

    ¡°I¡¯m not being pessimistic. My phone has never vibrated once in all the times I¡¯ve put it on silent. Why would it start now? That¡¯s just wishful thinking.  ¡±

    But what did I know about a phone I¡¯d only been using for a month anyway?

    Enough to know that this n was pointless.

    She pressed her index finger to her lips, telling me to shut up as she flipped her phone around, showing me that she was already calling my number.

    ¡°Observe. ¡± She twirled her fingers in a circr motion and I assumed she wanted to watch everyone closely.

    I had a strong belief that my phone was still on that bus, but I also didn¡¯t want her to think I had dismissed her idea without giving it a try. Sighing, I nced around warily. I guess it didn¡¯t hurt to be thorough.

    My eyes moved from one person to the other in the hopes that my phone might be in the possession of one of them while at the same time, knowing and praying that it wasn¡¯t. If my phone had been found by one of the Ivacy High boys, especially the notorious ones, then I was going to go through hell to get it back -and that was if I did.

    As I surveyed the crowd, I paused briefly on Destiny. His eyes were red-rimmed, signaling that he was nearing his breaking point. I wondered what I would do if he happened to be the one that had found my phone. My pulse raced in trepidation at the mere thought of having to speak to him. I would just forget about it, to be honest. The phone wasn¡¯t worth the trauma I would go through.

    After a few seconds of watching and waiting with no progress, I turned back to Laura with a brow arched. ¡°I told you this wouldn¡¯t work. ¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t give up so soon. I¡¯m calling again. ¡±

    Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. It was obvious that we were just wasting our time, but Laura was too hard headed to admit it. The Tour Guide rambled on, gesturing wildly with animated expressions.

    Only a few people were actually paying attention to her. Some of these people were Abi and Phoebe.This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    Abi wasn¡¯t one to miss out on a single moment especially at a museum like this. She was an Arts student to the core. One of the few times I went into her room, I noticed a small shelf of novels just beside her bed. Me being a book freak, I had wanted to take a peek but she stopped me before I could get close enough and that had increased my curiosity ten fold.

    What was she hiding?

    Phoebe stood off to the side in front of the group, just a few feet away from the Tour Guide and Mrs Philomena, making notes on her jotter ever so often. I didn¡¯t know if she was just making notes simply because we ought to or she was actually enjoying the discussion.

    I knew I wasn¡¯t.

    She was surprisingly easy to talk to, even if just a little confusing with her half jokes and theughs that didn¡¯t quite reach her eyes. She was a mystery to me.

    Deciding I was done with this, I turned back to Laura. ¡°Are you done wasting our time? It¡¯s not¡­. ¡±

    And her n actually worked.

 Chapter 50

    EVA

    Standing a few feet away from Laura, was Axel. It all seemed to happen in slow motion as he frowned, dipped his hand into his front pocket, and pulled out a phone with a ck pouch. My ck pouch. He frowned at the screen, probably after seeing the caller ID, and his head swiveled in my and Laura¡¯s direction.

    Of all the boys in Ivacy High, it just had to be him. Axel freaking Arthur.

    He stared at us nkly for a bit, seeming to see only Laura, then his head moved infinitesimally and he was looking at me. His frown deepened and his eyes darted back to the phone in his hand. Instantly, his eyes flew back to mine, finally putting two and two together.

    I expected him to scowl at me or look away, basically anything that portrayed anger. I had been ignoring him for the past two weeks, after all. I sure as hell wasn¡¯t expecting-or prepared for the breathtaking smile that spread across his face.

    Butterflies rioted violently in my stomach, almost making me dizzy with the force. It had been so long since thest time I saw his smile and it felt like I had been starved for it. Unable to look away, I whispered to Laura, ¡°It¡¯s Axel. ¡±

    ¡°Huh? ¡±

    With a great deal of effort, I turned to her. ¡°Axel. He¡¯s the one that took my phone. ¡±

    Her eyes widened and she located him in the crowd instantly, boring holes into his head with the force of her re. ¡°I guess you know what to do then. ¡±

    ¡°Me?! ¡± I gaped at her. ¡°You¡¯re not going? ¡±

    ¡°Why would I? ¡± she looked genuinely appalled.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one that lost the phone? ¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ¡®lost¡¯ it. It¡¯s with Axel. ¡±

    ¡°And whose fault is it that it got into his hands in the first ce? ¡±

    ¡°Mine. ¡± She admitted easily. ¡°But I helped you find it. Isn¡¯t that enough? ¡±

    No. No, it wasn¡¯t.

    Narrowed eyes faced me. ¡°Why don¡¯t you want to go to him? What are you not telling me? ¡±

    I sucked in a breath. How quickly she turned the tables on me.

    ¡°What do you mean? ¡±

    ¡°You like him, don¡¯t you? ¡±

    My eyes darted away. ¡°No, I do not. You were the same person that warned me to stay away from him. I¡¯m only doing what you asked. ¡±

    A brow lifted. ¡°Right. Okay, I¡¯m telling you to go get your phone from him now. ¡±

    Was that how she wanted to y it?

    Why had I even listened to her in the first ce?

    Because, despite everything, you know she¡¯s right.

    Still.

    ¡°You¡¯re a hypocrite. ¡±

    Her jaw dropped, surprise stealing into her features. ¡°Um, ¡± she blinked. ¡°Is it 2030? When did you get this bold? ¡±

    I shook my head, turning away to stare at Axel who was watching us with rapt attention. When he looked at me, there was too much satisfaction on his face. It annoyed me that I was going to have to go to him.

    ¡°Go get your phone, Eva. ¡± Laura whispered in my ear like a little witch.

    ¡°I will. ¡± I bit out.

    ¡°Of course you will. ¡± she said, a cunning smile ying on her lips.

    I couldn¡¯t focus on anything for the remainder of the excursion. My eyes kept drifting to Axel. I kept asking myself how I was going to get my phone back.

    Opportunity presented itself, however, when we went back to the hotel and everyone relocated to their rooms after a brief stern talking-to from Mrs Philomena. She wasn¡¯t exactly happy with us.

    Laura did some work and got his room number for me and I made the walk to his room like a prisoner headed for death row. I stopped several times and almost turned around. But there was no running away forever. I was going to have to talk to him one way or the other.

    Steeling my spine, I lifted my hand to the door and knocked twice. There was some shuffling on the other side and then voices like they were arguing on who was going to get the door. After a beat, said door flew open.

    I blinked once, then twice, color rising to my cheeks instantly, my skin tone be damned. There was no hiding the blush on my face.

    Vaughn¡¯s cold grey eyes assessed me -there was no other word to describe the way with which his eyes bored into my soul- as though I were a tiny bug that had ventured onto his path and he wasn¡¯t quite happy about that.

    He didn¡¯t speak; I couldn¡¯t speak. I couldn¡¯t find my voice.

    Was I in the wrong room?

    I took an involuntary step back, stopping short when I collided into a hard body.

    What the-

    ¡°The fuck are y¡¯all doing staring at each other in the hallway like fucking creeps? ¡±

    I swiveled on my heel at the sound of the new voice,ing face-to-face with Alexander. He stood so close to me that my nose was mere inches from his chest and when I looked up at him, it felt like I was staring at a mountain.

    Okay, I was definitely in the wrong room.

    The amount of testosterone I got from them standing in my personal space like that, one in front and the other behind me, was too much for me to bear. It felt like they were caging me in. I felt suffocated and overheated. It was an overload to my senses that made proper thinking impossible.

    ¡°I-I think I¡¯m in the wrong room. ¡±

    I made to side-step Alexander but he must have seen the moveing. He easily caught me, flipping me around with his hands on my shoulders, and gave me a light shove into the room -and right into Vaughn.

    ¡°You¡¯re not. ¡±

    The door mmed shut behind me.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.

 Chapter 51

    EVA

    Vaughn caught me before I could hit the floor- although I could tell he would have preferred thetter-throwing me to the side and away from him with an annoyed grunt.

    I righted myself before I could make contact with the floor. Again.

    These guys treated me as though I was a rag doll.

    Henri walked in from an adjoining room just then. Their room was bigger than ours, very much so, in fact, that I knew that it had to be a suite. At first, he didn¡¯t seem to notice I was there, but then he did a double take and he froze.

    ¡°Ah, the owner shows. ¡± He drawledzily.

    I wasn¡¯t surprised that Axel had discussed the incident with them. They were his close friends after all and they shared the same room. They were definitely going to ask.

    ¡°Go on, then. ¡± He prompted, cocking his head in the direction of the room he just exited. ¡°We¡¯ll be waiting for you to tell us what you had to do to get your phone back. ¡±

    It was the light amusement in his voice that stopped me from panicking-and also the fact that I knew Axel would never ask anything of me in exchange for my phone. He would never take advantage of me.

    The realization made my breath catch and had me turning around and without a word to the guys in the room, making my way to the person I was here for. The one I was supposed to be staying away from.

    Hey nted on the bed, half under the covers and half on top. As far as I could see, he wasn¡¯t wearing a shirt.

    Eyes above his head, Eva. Eyes above-

    He got up from the bed in one swift motion, the duvet sliding from his body like a caress, slowly, like it, too, was reluctant to leave him. He finally realized someone was in the room with him at the exact same moment I realized that he wasn¡¯t wearing sweatpants like I expected-which made me wonder why I had been expecting him to wear them in the first ce.

    All he had on were briefs.

    He screamed. Actually let out a feminine high pitch scream and I was torn betweenughing and being embarrassed for him. Thetter won out and I turned around with my eyes pressed close because I couldn¡¯t get the sight out of my head.

    Wide, muscled shoulders that tapered down to a narrow waist. His strong chest and well defined abs, all results of his regr work out and exercising. His golden skin, smooth and unmarred like that of a statue. A statue made flesh.

    ¡°How the fuck did you get in? ¡±

    ¡°Through the door. ¡± I attempted a snarky response. Breaths came easier now that my heart was starting to calm.

    A muttered curse. Then, ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you. ¡±

    ¡°Yes, you were. ¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t think-fuck. ¡±  he cursed again. ¡°Turn around. ¡±

    I did. He was still in his briefs.

    My eyes mmed shut again, in a weak attempt to block out the view, as if I hadn¡¯t already looked my fill already.

    ¡°Put on some clothes. ¡±

    ¡°Open your eyes. ¡±

    ¡°Put on some clothes. ¡± I repeated, my eyes still firmly shut.

    ¡°I will if you open your eyes. ¡± he sounded close.

    ¡°Liar. ¡± I ignored the goosebumps breaking out on my skin.

    He breathed out augh and I felt it on my skin. He was in front of me now. I could smell him as much as I could feel him.

    ¡°Please. ¡±

    Perhaps I had simply grown tired of closing them, or, perhaps it was the tone with which he said the word that had my eyes falling open without hesitation.

    ¡°I¡¯ve missed them. ¡± he said softly, in a voiceden with emotion. ¡°I¡¯ve missed you. ¡±

    I hardened myself against the onught of emotions he was starting to make me feel. It was a lost battle. I just couldn¡¯t be in his presence and not be affected.

    ¡°Why-¡±Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.

    ¡°Where¡¯s my phone? ¡± I pushed past him, wanting to put as much distance between us as possible. Maybe I would be able to think more clearly if I wasn¡¯t standing so close to him. But that was even worse.

    Of their own ord, my eyes dropped and I ogled his legs. This time, nothing obstructed my view. The entire length of his legs were bared for my hungry eyes and I took in the sleek muscles almost desperately, before he covered them up, because there was no way I was going to have a coherent conversation with him if he didn¡¯t.

    He eyed me warily, like I was a dangerous animal and he wasn¡¯t sure what my next move was. ¡°You don¡¯t even want to talk? ¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s there to say? ¡±

    I thought it was utterly miraculous that I could easily find my words with Axel. I talked back, stood my ground and sassed even . Things I had not been able to do with anyone except Omar.

    I wasn¡¯t sure why I could be myself around him and I didn¡¯t want to ponder on it. Not now.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done your best to avoid me for weeks, Eva. Weeks! ¡± He spat the word like it offended him. ¡°And for what? No reason. You didn¡¯t respond to my texts, you didn¡¯t pick up my calls. I kept thinking, wondering why you were behaving that way, if maybe I did something to piss you off -cause I seem to do a great job of that- and I kepting up with nothing. It¡¯s been driving me crazy. ¡±

    He was panting now. ¡°I was fortunate enough toe across a phone that turns out to be yours and now I have you here and all you want to do is collect your phone and leave? ¡±

    Eva. He called me Eva.

    That I took note of it irritated me.

    So that was it? He had no problem tossing my given name aside and calling me Cg when he had been all over me, seemingly unable to stay away from me, and now two weeks with no interaction between us and I was back to being Eva?

    It annoyed me, probably more than it should¡¯ve, and I wanted to hurt him. The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

    ¡°Maybe if you were less of a manwhore, I wouldn¡¯t be avoiding you in the first ce. ¡±

    And the thing with words was that once they were out, you couldn¡¯t take them back.

    His face fell. ¡°What? ¡±

    I shook my head, turning away from him. I shouldn¡¯t have said that. I should have had more control over my words. Now he was going to think that I was jealous -or worse, that I had feelings for him.

 Chapter 52

    EVA

    I trudged blindly to the bed and perched on the edge. It smelled like him. Like the jacket he forgot with me that night after the party. I hadn¡¯t washed it since then, hadn¡¯t even worn it. It hung safe in my closet. I touched it from time to time.

    Axel dropped down beside me, bracing his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands.

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying the past two weeks ¡­ All that was because you think I¡¯m a manwhore?¡± His voice was monotonous, devoid of emotion and I didn¡¯t like that he was starting to make me feel guilty.

    ¡°Just give me my phone, Axel. ¡±

    His eyes cut to me. ¡°I missed that. ¡±

    I couldn¡¯t resist asking. ¡°You missed what? ¡±

    ¡°Hearing you call my name. ¡± My breath hitched

    I watched as a sad smile touched his lips. ¡°You always say it in that exasperated tone. Like my mother. ¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what to say to that.

    ¡°What made youe to that conclusion? ¡± he asked.

    I considered telling him that it didn¡¯t matter, but then figured I owed him the truth. My guilt was a real motivator in that decision. I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that I had done something wrong.

    ¡°Everyone says that, and-¡±

    ¡°What made you think that? ¡±

    Was he serious right now?

    ¡°The first time we met? Do you remember that day? ¡±

    He had the decency to look chagrined. ¡°That was a very rough day for me. ¡±

    ¡°Of course it was,¡± I said sarcastically. ¡°Then there¡¯s the girls that are always at your table during lunch in the cafeteria. ¡±N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner.

    He sat up immediately. ¡°Wait. That one isn¡¯t on me. Most of them are either there for Hen or Alex. I-¡±

    ¡°Everyday, Axel. Every single day. I¡¯m not blind. I see you talking to them. ¡±

    His eyes darted away. ¡°Well, yes, I do. But there¡¯s nothing. That¡¯s all it is. Just talk. ¡±

    Was I wrong? Was Laura wrong?

    My eyes dropped to the bed and I fingered the duvet, picking imaginary lint from the soft material. I could tell he didn¡¯t like my silence because his hand was on mine in a second, tugging on my fingers. I felt the tug low in my stomach. I watched his big hand move over mine, covering itpletely. The skin of his palm was slightly rough and hot and the assault on my nerve endings was too much all at once.

    I pulled away.

    ¡°Cg¡­¡±

    I bit back a humorlessugh. I was back to being Cg.

    ¡°When we were sitting in the waiting area beside the car park on Monday. ¡±

    He nodded, watching me quietly.

    ¡°That girl¡­.. ¡± He swallowed. I didn¡¯t have to borate. ¡°Do you understand why I think you¡¯re a yer now? ¡±

    He visibly struggled with his words, and when he couldn¡¯t seem to find them, he dragged a hand down his face with a muttered ¡®fuck¡¯.

    His mouth opened again. ¡°Look, I understand why you think that. All those scenarios, they were obviouslypromising ones, but they weren¡¯t what they seemed. ¡±

    A huge part of me wanted to hear his exnation, wanted to believe him with everything in me, but at the same time, I was tired of all the lies and everything I was putting myself through. The feelings, the words, the opening up, everything was strange to me and I wasn¡¯t adapting well enough to go through these back and forths so soon.

    ¡°My phone, Axel. ¡± I sounded weak even to my own ears, but I pressed on. ¡°Give it to me. ¡±

    ¡°I will. Just¡­. wait. ¡± He shook his head. ¡°Favour has had a crush on me for a long time. We¡¯re talking a year back. She told me about it in SS2 and I felt¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­. pretty fucking bad that while she felt that way, I didn¡¯t, so we settled on being friends. It was weird as fuck at first when she stared at me like that and hung on to my arm and stuff but I figured she maybe didn¡¯t know when she did it and I think I grew used to it over time and the physical contact ¡­ it didn¡¯t bother me anymore. ¡±

    I stared at him nkly, finding it hard to absorb the information.

    ¡°Alex, Hen and Vaughn know this. Just ask them. They¡¯ll back my story up. ¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t they? They¡¯re your friends and they¡¯re guys. ¡±

    He blinked. ¡°That felt like an insult, but it doesn¡¯t matter right now. Listen, I¡¯m telling the truth. Why won¡¯t you believe me? ¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. You don¡¯t have to exin.¡± I lifted my hand in a dismissive wave. ¡°There¡¯s no point, anyway. ¡±

    He was out of the bed in a sh and squatting in front of me. My head flew back in surprise at how fast he had been. Sometimes, I forgot he was an athlete.

    ¡°There is. ¡±

    ¡°Is what? ¡± I asked without thinking.

    It was rather hard to concentrate with him so close to me. My brain didn¡¯t want to partake in the conversation anymore; it had better things to do, like for instance, taking note of how his briefs strained against his expanded muscles in this position and how the color ck was a really good shade against his skin.

    His position put us at the same height and I was staring at his eyes within close range for the first time. The emotion I saw in them was unbearable, but he wouldn¡¯t let me look away.

    His handsnded on my thighs and I would have jumped out of the bed in shock if I hadn¡¯t seen theming. The hands slid back until they were on my knees. I looked at him. He was following the movement with his eyes.

    ¡°Why did you stay away? ¡±

    My eyes flew up at the abrupt question but he wasn¡¯t looking at me.

    ¡°Have you been listening? ¡±

    He ignored my smart ass reply. ¡°Why did you stay away? ¡± he repeated. ¡°You thought I was a yer, yes. But why did you stay away? Why did you want to? ¡±

    I frowned, throughly confused. ¡°Why did I stay away? ¡± I repeated his question.

    I tried to block out the sensation of his hands moving back and forth from my thigh to my knee, and instead, focus on his question. I tried to make it make sense.

 Chapter 53

    It felt like a rhetorical question. And while rhetorical questions might have answers, they didn¡¯t necessarily need one. Which meant I had a choice to answer or not.

    ¡°I think I know why you did. ¡± he spoke before I could. ¡°Do you want me to tell you? ¡±

    That was another rhetorical question. He was full of them today. Of course I wanted him to tell me. But again, he spoke before I could.

    ¡°I think you were jealous. ¡±

    I froze.

    ¡°Of the other girls,¡± he continued. ¡°Of how close they were to me when you wanted that person to be you. You didn¡¯t want to, but you did. You were jealous. ¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what terrified me more. The uracy with which he read the situation or how effortlessly he saw right through me.

    My heart galloped in my chest. I was pretty sure he could hear it. He had me caged in. I couldn¡¯t move even if I wanted to and right now, I very much wanted to, but I could only stare at him.

    I hated him for doing this to me. For making me face him when all I wanted to do was hide. I hated him for making me feel so helpless.

    I tore away from his gaze and stared at the dresser. Recognition hit me and I realized I was staring at my phone. It had been there all along, I just hadn¡¯t looked hard enough -or looked at all. Period.

    ¡°Were you? ¡± he asked softly, carefully. ¡°Jealous? ¡±

    Somehow, I knew he wasn¡¯t going to let me go, not until I answered his question. So I did.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t. I¡¯m not. ¡± I answered firmly, my voice even. I could tell I didn¡¯t sound the slightest bit convincing, and that angered me all over. ¡°Happy?¡±

    ¡°Not really. ¡± His brows furrowed. His eyes were still glued to the movement of his hands on my thigh. My breath hitched when he climbed higher than he initially had. I could feel the heat of his hands through the material of my trousers and it wasn¡¯t helping matters.

    Yet I couldn¡¯t push his hands away. I didn¡¯t want to.

    ¡°I was jealous. ¡± His murmured words kicked me back to the present and I blinked, confused. Until he continued. ¡°Of Omar. I left to go get drinks and I knew leaving you there by yourself when you were dressed like that was risky, but I did it anyway because I needed to clear my head. I was¡­ ¡±  He frowned in concentration, his eyes on his hands on my thighs, as if he was looking for the right word. ¡°Distracted. And unsettled. When I came back and saw you in his arms, what I felt, it stopped me in my tracks. ¡±

    I listened to him silently as he spoke, not wanting to interrupt. All the while, my heart raced in my chest. He wasn¡¯t looking at me, he seemed oddly concentrated on the irregr patterns he was making on my thigh, and I didn¡¯t know why.

    ¡°At first, I was confused. It took me quite a while to understand that what I was feeling was jealousy and when I did, I flipped. ¡± The motion of his hand stopped. ¡°I hated it, my body rejected it. I didn¡¯t want to be. I hadn¡¯t felt anything like that before. It was scalding and so fucking ufortable and I couldn¡¯t see past it. ¡± The pain in his words called to me. It was palpable, almost tangible and I wanted to do something tofort him, I just didn¡¯t know what. ¡°And I acted like an ass to you, but I still couldn¡¯t leave. Lord knows I wanted to. I couldn¡¯t even get into my car, I fucking couldn¡¯t. I had just made the decision to go back and beg for your forgiveness when I saw youing out. With you in his arms again. ¡±

    My heart stopped, then started all over again. My hoodie was suddenly too thick and too hot for me to be in.

    ¡°What are you saying? ¡± I asked finally when he grew silent for too long. Too long for me to bear anyway.

    He nced at me then and the emotion in his eyes robbed me of my breath. ¡°We do not want to feel this way, but we still do. I guess what I¡¯m trying to say is, it¡¯s inevitable not to feel when ites to certain people, and the harder you fight the feelings, the clearer and stronger they be. I¡­. ¡± His eyes danced between mine, as if searching for something. ¡°I guess what I¡¯m trying to say is, you make me feel a certain way, and no matter how hard I try to ignore this alien feeling, it grows bigger and¡­. fuck. I don¡¯t know what this feeling is. It¡¯s ufortable and it hurts and I can¡¯t fucking stand it, but I feel it anyway. ¡±

    If he hadn¡¯t been able to hear my racing heart before, then he definitely could now. I wanted to push him away and I wanted to pull him closer. I wanted to wipe out this entire conversation from my memory and his and I wanted to record it and store it forever. I wanted to give myself over and I wanted to run away and hide at the same time.

    I was conflicted. Just like how I wanted to throw Laura¡¯s words to the wind and dive into this and see what it brought, at the same I wanted to run as far away from him as I could.

    I was feeling so much and too much and my brain and my over heating body couldn¡¯t handle the onught of emotions.

    ¡°And if you feel even a quarter of what I feel, then, ¡± he paused, looking so unsure and I wanted nothing more than to wipe that emotion off his face. ¡°It¡¯s okay if you were jealous. ¡±

    I didn¡¯t know who moved first, didn¡¯t know who was leaning into whom, but all of a sudden, we were mere inches apart and his lips were so close to mine.

    His eyes fell to my lips. I read the silent question in them.This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    May I?

    My eyes must have given him a positive answer -I might have even nodded, who knew?- because he was suddenly erasing the remaining distance between us.

    My lids slid shut.

 Chapter 54

    EVA

    A low, prolonged whistle rang out, causing me and Axel to fly apart as we realized we weren¡¯t alone in the room anymore. Axelnded on his ass on the floor from how fast he pulled away. He got up quickly, turning to face Alex, providing me a view of his body in profile. I looked away.

    Oh my God Axel had just been about to kiss me! And I was going to let him!

    I tried to calm my racing heart as I looked anywhere but at Alex, who didn¡¯t even seem all that surprised to have walked in on us almost kissing.

    Almost kissing! Jesus Christ what had I been thinking?!

    ¡°I hate to intterupt your mini make out session or whatever the hell it is y¡¯all were doing, but in case you haven¡¯t noticed -what the hell am I saying? Of course you haven¡¯t noticed- the suite is packed full with horny teenagers that would be safer acting out porn than ying an ¡®innocent¡¯ game. ¡± he cocked a meaningful brow at Axel. ¡°T or D ring a fucking bell? It was you and Henri¡¯s idea. Howe y¡¯all are acting surprised and shit? ¡±

    Axel massaged his brows. ¡°Oh shit. Yeah, I forgot about that. ¡±

    ¡°Of course you did. ¡± he threw a pointed look at me when he said it and I flushed. ¡°Henri is having a hard time containing them all by himself so you might want toe out and get this shit over and done with before an orgy breaks out. ¡±

    I couldn¡¯t even pretend I didn¡¯t know what the word ¡®orgy¡¯ meant. I read a lot of romance books with rtively strong sexual scenes so of course I knew what an orgy was and my eyebrows climbed up on my forehead at the mention of the word.

    What was going on out there?

    ¡°Uh¡­ ¡± Axel scratched his head, looking thoroughly disoriented. ¡°Yeah. Sure. I¡¯ll be out in a sec. ¡±

    ¡°Be. ¡± With that one word, Alex threw another strange look at me before he disappeared.

    I wanted to die. I didn¡¯t want to dissapear or run or hide. I simply wanted to die. Have an arrowunch from a ce unknown and pierce my heart there and then. No, death by arrow would be too painful. Maybe just a gradual obliteration where I faded into ashes and out of existence.

    That would be preferable. Much more preferable than this thick, unbearable silence between me and Axel.

    Who was going to speak first?

    What was he going to say?

    And would I survive the conversation?

    All of a sudden, I was reying everything he said not ten minutes ago. One by one, the softly spoken words bombarded my thoughts, thoroughly and irrevocably, until there was no escape, until there was nothing else I could think about, but them.

    I guess what I¡¯m trying to say is, it¡¯s inevitable to not feel when ites to certain people¡­

    I guess what I¡¯m trying to say is, you make me feel a certain way¡­N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner.

    My breaths grew erratic and my stomach clenched. I shifted slightly, wanting to be so far away from him, yet so close at the same time. I couldn¡¯t make a solid decision when it came to him and I hated it. I pressed my eyes closed when the feelings suddenly became to much to bear.

    But with my eyes closed, my other senses became heightened and as the smell of his cologne suddenly grew pronounced, I knew that he was facing me again.

    I pressed my closed eyes tighter, wondering if by the sheer force of will, he would leave. That I would magically find him gone.

    I opened my eyes.

    He was still standing in front of me.

    ¡°I¡­¡± he ran his hand through his hair sheepishly. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I was thinking when I agreed to Henri¡¯s suggestion of that game. ¡±

    Right. I shouldn¡¯t be distracted. All the while I had been thinking about him and feeling bad for the drift between us, he had been nning out and organizing a T or D game for our ss. A game that would lead to mild sexual activities of some sort at least, no doubt.

    Mild sexual activities that involved him and other girls.

    Didn¡¯t that contradict everything he said before we almost kissed?

    Before we almost kissed¡­

    I was seventeen, I hadn¡¯t had my first kiss yet, I didn¡¯t go out except it involved church activities, school activities and the one time I¡¯d gone to that party. The most traveling I¡¯d done was through reading, I was single and hadn¡¯t dated anyone in my entire life and my idea of fun was to grab a book, curl up and read until my eyes bled.

    I lead the most boring life any person could ever live -I was probably the most boring teenager in existence- but I hadn¡¯t had any issues with it before. I never stopped to think about how other teenagers lived theirs to the fullest, how they always had stories to tell from the memories they created. I simply epted that my life was boring and I was at peace with that fact.

    But with Axel¡­. he made me wish I was different. He made me feel like I was different. With other people, I couldn¡¯t find the words to express how I felt, but with him, they came readily. I had gone out on that not-date thing with him when Omar had never been able to convince me to go out with him. Hell, I hadn¡¯t even thought twice about going in for the kiss with him.

    He brought out a part of myself I hadn¡¯t known existed, a part of myself that I wasn¡¯t sure I liked. And it didn¡¯t matter whether I liked it or not, I didn¡¯t want it. Which was why Laura¡¯s n of staying away from him had been a ster idea in the first ce. But I also valued and missed hispany and a huge part of me felt like he was genuine with his words. Although those words contradicted some of his actions.

    I didn¡¯t like who I was with him -wasn¡¯tfortable with it, but I also hated seeing him around and not being able to talk to him.

    So I came to a conclusion.

    ¡°Those things you said¡­.. ¡±

    ¡°I meant them. ¡± he said hurriedly. ¡°Every single word-¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t-¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°Just¡­ no. I can¡¯t. We can¡¯t. ¡±

    I gave my head a frustrated shake. Why was it so hard to find my words now?

    ¡°Can¡¯t what, Cg? ¡± Axel whispered, but I could tell he already understood what I was trying to say.

 Chapter 55

    EVA

    Mustering all the energy I could, I lifted my eyes to his and saw pain and fear and a whole lot of other emotions swirling in them. I hated how easy he was to read. It made the words I was about to say a lot more harder.

    ¡°I can¡¯t, Axel. ¡± I said finally. ¡°I can¡¯t do this. I-We can be friends. ¡± his eyes dimmed at the mention of the word ¡®friend¡¯, but I couldn¡¯t stop now. ¡°That¡¯s all we can be. The other thing¡­.. We can¡¯t have that. ¡±

    He stared at me a while, but he didn¡¯t look as hopeless as he had a few minutes ago.

    ¡°That¡¯s progress then. You willing to be friends, I mean. Maybe with time-¡±

    ¡°Axel¡­ ¡±

    A sad smile touched his lips. ¡°Friends? ¡±

    ¡°Friends. ¡± I confirmed, standing up from the bed.

    He took a step back.N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.

    ¡°Will you stay for the game at least? ¡±

    Did I want to stay for a game of T of D where absolutely anything could happen?

    ¡°Please? ¡±

    I sighed, my shoulders dropping. ¡°I will. ¡±

    But even though I had agreed to stay, I still felt guilty as hell walking through the door.

    The living area was indeed packed with my ssmates. Thankfully, everyone seemed to be busy doing one thing or the other, so they didn¡¯t notice me when I came out. I spotted Laura in the dining area and I hurried over to her.

    ¡°Hey. ¡±

    ¡°Hey. ¡± she pulled a can of sprite from the fridge, giving it a baleful look before turning the cap and taking a sip. ¡°Did you get your phone? ¡±

    Shit.

    How could I have forgotten about my phone? The only reason I hade here in the first ce?!

    ¡°Yes. But¡­. ¡± think fast! ¡°I-I left it to charge. It was down when he gave it to me and I thought since we¡¯re staying here a while, I should just plug it in. ¡±

    She nodded, believing my lie. I was definitely getting better at it.

    Was that a good thing?

    I knew one person that would be proud if he knew. Speaking of, I had been too preupied to talk to Omar at length and I nned on calling him when we got back to Nigeria. I hoped he hadn¡¯t gotten in trouble for the stunt he pulled. Sometimes, it baffled me how irresponsible he was even after all he¡¯d been through. One would think he might have learnt his lessons. But he never did. Instead, he got worse.

    The door to the suite opened and Zoe came in, with Dexter, of course, on her heels and Phoebe following far behind. They seemed to be thest to enter because immediately they did, one of the guys from Arts who had been standing by the door, locked it.

    ¡°How did you know about the game? ¡± I asked Laura, curious. I hadn¡¯t been aware about it, but everyone seemed to know.

    ¡°Henri sent it in the ss group. ¡±

    ¡°ss group? ¡±

    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s a ss group. ¡± she frowned. ¡°You haven¡¯t been added yet? ¡±

    I shook my head.

    She hummed. ¡°They usually do that around your first week of school. At least I was. ¡± she capped the drink, pushing away from the granite counter. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll talk to Dare. He¡¯s an admin. ¡±

    It made sense that Dare would be an admin in a group chat. He was the type of person to get involved in everything.

    Axel came out into the living area, now dressed in sweatpants and a long sleeved top and even though he was now wearing clothes, I still couldn¡¯t get the image of him almost naked out of my head.

    You¡¯re trying to be friends with him, remember?

    Right.

    ¡°Axel¡¯s here. ¡± Laura pulled me with her as she walked. ¡°The game is about to begin. ¡±

    ¡°Do you people y it alot? ¡±

    ¡°Yes. ¡±

    People were jam-packed on the floor, but at the same time, they were scattered around. Some sat on the couch and some on the floor. Laura and I found a spot and dropped to the floor, sitting cross legged like the others. I guess I didn¡¯t have to worry about a game like this one. People rarely paid any attention to me.

    A guy from ss C dropped a bottle at the center of the makeshift circle and I guess the game had officially begun.

    The bottle was spun by a very loud guy in Arts. I didn¡¯t know his name, but he was easily recognizable. Itnded on Ibiwari, a girl in my arm and she giggled excitedly.

    ¡°What are your top three turn-ons? ¡± the guy wasted no time in asking.

    My mouth dropped. He went straight to the sexual stuff? Okay, Alex hadn¡¯t been joking when he said that these people were horny.

    Everyone watched Ibiwari, waiting for her answer and she seemed to preen under the attention she was recieving. ¡°Well, I¡­ I love being kissed on my neck. I like it when guys grab my boobs and I like being kissed on my feet. ¡±

    A round ofughs and shouting rang out while I tried to recover from my shock.

    Laura leaned into me and whispered. ¡°Foot fetish. Who would have thought? ¡±

    The game continued quickly and one time, it almostnded on me. I nearly died of panic.

    Soon, the bottle was spinned by Henri and itnded on Tabitha and I swear she suddenly sat three inches taller than she was before.

    ¡°Truth or Dare? ¡±

    ¡°Dare. ¡± she said easily.

    He watched her with narrowed eyes, seeming to ponder on what he was going to dare her to do and then suddenly, his eyes lit up. ¡°I dare you to make out with your boyfriend for twenty seconds. ¡±

    She damn near somersaulted with excitement as she got up, even though she tried to y it cool. Alexander¡¯s eyes widened slightly and he red at Henri. Thetter simply smiled. Girls and guys were hooting, saying all sorts of things as Tabitha made her way to him, but Henri and Alex seemed to be locked in a stare down of some sorts.

    Alexander¡¯s eyes promised payback which had me wondering why. Why was he so opposed to the dare? Hadn¡¯t he been the same person that had been kissing her publicly in the cafeteria?

 Chapter 56

    EVA

    Tabitha took her sweet time cat-walking to and squatting in front of Alexander. She ced her hands on his face on both sides and leaned in, but not before saying, ¡°Someone set a timer. ¡±

    ¡°I swear to God, I¡¯m going to kill this girl. ¡± Laura sneered. ¡°That¡¯s if she isn¡¯t dead already from the amount of loathing rolling off of Alexander. ¡±

    There were many catcalls and hootings as people told them to get a room, but what fascinated me was how Alexander¡¯s eyes flew open midway into the kiss and locked with Zoe¡¯s-who happened to be watching them avidly. Again.

    Nothing on earth was going to stop me from asking Laura about them when next I got the chance.

    The kiss was over quickly, mainly because Alex hadn¡¯t been participating in the first ce and Tabitha moved back to her spot, smugness clear on her face.

    I didn¡¯t know if she had magical powers or something but as she flipped the bottle, itnded on Zoe. Zoe¡¯s face gave nothing away, but liquid fire zed in her eyes.

    ¡°Drama. ¡± someone whispered in a sing-song voice and another person snickered.

    ¡°Truth or dare? ¡± Tabitha cocked a brow.

    ¡°Truth. ¡± Zoe¡¯s soft voice came out raspy.

    ¡°Why are you such a bitch? ¡±

    It looked like Tabitha had been waiting ages to ask her that question because she didn¡¯t even think on it for a minute. A number of people gasped, waiting for Zoe to what? Blow up?

    I knew she was better than that.

    ¡°Frankly, because someone has to. ¡± Zoe answered smoothly with a shrug and all the guys went into fits ofughter.

    That was the best reply she could have given Tabitha. Thetter¡¯s eyes narrowed, but she didn¡¯t say anything. She kicked the bottle with her feet to Zoe, rather aggressively and it was quite obvious she was just trying to get a rise out of her. Zoe said nothing.

    ¡°Putting your shoe to a bottle everyone else touches with their hands. ssy, Tabitha. ¡± Destiny drawled.

    Tabitha turned red, but she refrained from saying anything. Laura cackled at that and even I cracked a smile.

    ¡°I could almost kiss him. ¡±

    Zoe spinned the bottle and itnded on Catherine, a girl from ss A.

    ¡°Truth or Dare? ¡±

    ¡°Truth. ¡± she said after a while.

    ¡°Have you ever made out with anyone here? ¡±

    ¡°Yes. ¡± she said with a small smile and she was looking at Axel when she said it.

    Jealousy burned the back of my throat. While I didn¡¯t have to be worried about myself in this game, I had forgotten that Axel definitely had history with some if not most of our ss girls.

    How was I going to cope if he was dared to kiss someone or the other way round? I would have to bear it and die in silence, because there was no way I could leave now without it being suspicious.

    The game continued. One time when it was Alexander¡¯s turn, and the bottlended on Destiny, he dared him to kiss Laura and Laura¡¯s eyes almost bugged out of her head.

    ¡°When I said I was going to kiss him, I didn¡¯t mean it literally. ¡± she whispered harshly, but had no choice but to endure the short kiss. I guess she didn¡¯t fully object because Destiny was good looking. It was Henri¡¯s turn to frown as he watched them kiss and I guess that was the payback Alexander promised.

    Iughed at Laura as Destiny walked away,ughing even harder when she red at me. Theughter died in my throat when she angrily spinned the bottle and itnded on Axel.

    She smiled at me sweetly, too sweetly not to have a notion behind it and I knew she was about to do something that would piss me off.

    ¡°Truth or Dare, Axel? ¡±

    ¡°Truth. ¡±

    I could feel Laura¡¯s frown. She had been expecting him to pick a dare. With a defeated sigh, she asked. ¡°What¡¯s the most expensive thing you¡¯ve ever stolen? ¡±

    ¡°My moms heart. ¡±N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner.

    A lot of girls went ¡®aww¡¯ and Alex grunted, ¡°Cheesy motherfucker. ¡±

    ¡°Wrong answer. ¡± Laura eximed. ¡°You get a dare. ¡±

    ¡°What? No. That¡¯s not how it works. ¡±

    ¡°That is, indeed how it works. ¡± Laura argued.

    ¡°That¡¯s what you get for being cheesy. ¡± Henriughed.

    Axel frowned, but he had no choice but to follow the rules.

    Please Laura, don¡¯t say anything stupid.

    Please-

    ¡°I dare you to kiss someone in this room. ¡±

    My heart dropped. My fate was sealed. I was going to have to watch Axel kiss a girl. A tiny part of me carried the hope that he was going to surprise me by walking up to me and kissing me but judging from the conversation we had before the game, there was no way he was going to kiss me.

    I had asked him to stay away after all.

    But would I have wanted him to?

    Shit. I was screwed.

    He didn¡¯t argue, knew he couldn¡¯t without it looking suspicious, or maybe he just didn¡¯t want to. It was Axel after all. He was a yer. A part of me still believed that despite our conversation.

    He got up swiftly, dusting off his pants with a smile on his face. His eyes swept over every girl in the room, slowly and thoroughly, as if trying to decide who he was going to enjoy it the most with. He looked at me and he spent exactly the same time he spent checking out every other person on me, then his eyes moved.

    Oh, hell. I was going to have to watch him kiss someone else.

    ¡°Friends?¡±

    The words came back to haunt me now. How confident I had sounded offering it up when I couldn¡¯t handle seeing him kiss another girl. I was going to pay now.

    Axel moved, walking in betweeen bodies slowly in that sexy, confident stride.

    ¡°Get ready, girl. ¡± Laura said to me, but I didn¡¯t share her excitement. I knew he wasn¡¯t going to kiss me. Not after our conversation.

    My heart stopped when I saw that he was walking in my direction.

    Oh, God!

    And then¡­.

    He walked past, headed for a girl in Arts, but at thest moment, he swiveled to the left and dropped to a crouch. Everybody¡¯s mouth dropped.

    Mine included.

 Chapter 57

    EVA

    ¡°Pucker up, asshole.¡±

    I blinked. And blinked again just to make sure my eyes weren¡¯t ying tricks on me because what the hell was I seeing? I have never had reason to question the efficiency of my vision before. It was at least 96 percent urate. But apparently, the 4 percent wasing in hard today. Because¡­

    ¡°What the fuck?¡±

    More urate words could not have been uttered at that moment.

    ¡°Pucker. Up.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I heard you the first fucking time. What I don¡¯t understand is why you¡¯re telling it to me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kiss you. Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re out of your damn mind.¡± Henri scooted back and away from Axel at lightning speed, like his ass was on fire. Axel followed quickly, closing the distance between them.

    The room was pin-drop silent and if I had to guess, everyone was asking simr questions in their mind; ¡®Was Axel actually going to kiss Henri?¡¯ ¡®Was Axel crazy enough to go through with it if Henri let him?¡¯

    Axel seemed pretty intent on getting that kiss and not a lot of people knew, but when Axel got serious like that, nothing could dissuade him from whatever it was he wanted to do. And as for question two, yes, in fact, Axel was absolutely crazy enough to kiss Henri.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.

    Now the million dor question was; why didn¡¯t he just pick a girl?

    Majority of them were more than willing to kiss him and even if he by chance picked someone that didn¡¯t want to kiss him, I was sure it still wouldn¡¯t be an awful experience for them. To be very honest, if I wasn¡¯t mistaking, I saw about four girls sit up straighter when he got dared, hoping he would pick out one of them. Pathetic.

    Mhm. Sure it is, Eva.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a kiss, man.¡± Axel snapped, seemingly growing impatient. ¡°Grow the fuck up.¡±

    He was annoyed at Henri for refusing to kiss him? Was he insane? I mean, I knew the answer to that question. But WAS HE INSANE?

    I tried to put myself in Henri¡¯s shoes. How would I react if, for example, Laura tried to kiss me? It was totally something she would do and it was too easy to picture her doing it. At a game like this, with everyone watching, I think..¡­

    I think I would have no choice but to let her kiss me.

    And then maybe dieter.

    Henri turned to his friends at the other side of the room, sitting close to each other. ¡°Is he seriously trying to kiss me?¡±

    Vaughn stared at him nkly. Alex simply cocked a brow.

    The universal sign for ¡®You¡¯re alone in this¡¯. They couldn¡¯t have made a clearer picture, had they tried.

    Henri turned back to Axel, red at him for a solid three minutes-thetter stared at him unflinching-then closed his eyes, resigning himself to his fate. Axel leaned into him, effectively closing all distance between them. We wouldn¡¯t be able to see anything if they hadn¡¯t positioned themselves in such a way that everyone had a direct view of them.

    Everyone seemed to be collectively holding their breaths, waiting for the moment their lips would touch. And they did. Wow. Axel was actually kissing Henri. And none of them seemed to be flinching from the contact. Their lips were locked in an actual kiss!

    It was so ufortable to watch. But at the same time, why couldn¡¯t I look away?

    ¡°Damn.¡± Laura breathed next to me.

    I seconded that. It was actually kind of mesmerising to watch guys kiss. Or maybe it had something to do with Axel and Henri? It could also be due to the fact that they were both good-looking.

    When they pulled away, the first person to speak was Henri. ¡°This was a one time thing. Don¡¯t make it a habit. And I swear to God, if you look at me weird after today-¡±

    ¡°Bro shut the fuck up.¡± Axel retorted, then stood up and turned to Laura, ¡°There. Better now?¡±

    ¡°Actually, I think I feel worse. Could you do that again? But this time just a little bit longer?¡± Her British ent was three times more pronounced.

    Oh, Laura.

    Axel rolled his eyes and walked past her-past us, going back to upy his space on the floor. He grabbed the bottle and spun. Itnded on a guy whom I was pretty sure was from Arts block because I couldn¡¯t remember ever seeing him in the Sciences building.

    ¡°Truth or dare?¡± Axel wasted no time in asking.

    ¡°Truth.¡±

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯m just going to go straight to the point with this one.¡± Axel rubbed his hands together as he took a deep breath. ¡°Did you or did you not start before the referee blew the whistle at the semi-finals racest year?¡±

    I wasn¡¯t herest year so I didn¡¯t know what race he was talking about. But no one was expecting that question at all, judging by the looks on their faces.

    ¡°You really won¡¯t let that go, will you?¡± The boyughed.

    ¡°Not until you tell the truth.¡±

    ¡°Seriously. Just tell him so you guys can bury the fucking hatchet.¡± Alex groaned, ¡°He wouldn¡¯t stop talking our ears off about it.¡±

    ¡°Because I know I¡¯m right.¡± Axel argued.

    There were collective murmurs in the crowd. Why was this race such a big deal?

    ¡°Actually,¡± The boy began and the murmuring stopped. He waited until everyone turned to him before he continued, ¡°He¡¯s right. I did start before the whistle went out that day, but everyone was so distracted by the fact that Axel lost that no one took note of that. Axel was supposed to win that race. ¡±

    ¡°Yes! I knew it.¡± Axel eximed, then, when he saw the look the boy aimed at him, added quietly, ¡°I mean, man you are a beast on the track, we know that, but we also know that I¡¯d top that any day.¡±

    ¡°Why did that sound so dirty?¡± Laura mumbled.

    ¡°I bet everything sounds dirty to you right about now.¡± Alexander told her. This was the first time he had spoken to her directly that I had taken note of.

    ¡°Yeah, well, there you have it.¡± The boy shrugged, ¡°Pass me the bottle.¡±

    Axel rolled the bottle to him and he caught it deftly. Then he stared hard at this girl sitting directly opposite him. It was such an intense look and it was obvious that he was up to something. He tilted his head as he gave the bottle a calcting look. I didn¡¯t know how, but when he spun the bottle, itnded facing the girl. urately.

    ¡°Truth or dare?¡±

    The girl seemed nervous, so it took a while before she said, ¡°Truth.¡±

    ¡°Why is everyone picking truth?¡± Natasha asked, ¡°I swear you people are making this game so boring. From now on, after every truth, the next time the bottlends on you, you automatically get a dare.¡±

    ¡°I agree.¡± Tabitha added and Laura rolled her eyes so hard, I thought they were going to fall off.

    ¡°Back to my question,¡± the boy continued, ¡°Last week Saturday when we were at Ej, you got a call. When I asked who it was, you said it was your mom. Then you went to the restroom to receive it.

    ¡°I know it wasn¡¯t your mom so who called you? Remember you have to answer truthfully.¡±

    The girls eyes widened rmingly like a deer caught in headlights.

    Oh boy.

    Henri whistled, long and low. ¡°Well, this is getting interesting.¡±

    ¡°I thought it already was.¡± Laura added.

    The two shared a long look.

 Chapter 58

    EVA

    ¡°Well, I¡­¡± The girl trailed off. It was pretty obvious that she was nervous as hell, ¡°It was¡­. It wasn¡¯t really my mom that called. It was my friend.¡±

    ¡°I think we all got that part.¡± Someone said and when I turned, I saw that it was Destiny, ¡°The question says who.¡±

    ¡°No one asked you.¡± She snapped at him.

    ¡°Answer anyway.¡± The boy told her.

    That killed her anger real fast.

    ¡°It was a guy.¡± She admitted grudgingly.

    Everyone shouted and some of the guys startedughing maniacally. It made sense that things like this would excite them. I always found it funny. How two people didn¡¯t have to know each other but the minute one of them was caught in apromising situation, the other was always ready tough or mock at them. Nigerians took it to another level.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me anymore.¡± The boy told her calmly, and that was it. No dramatics of any sort.

    I think a lot of people were disappointed.

    Someone took the bottle from him and passed it to the girl. She obviously wasn¡¯t feeling it, but the game had to go on. And so it did. The more truths were picked, the more revtions were made. Some more shocking than the others. It suddenly made sense now why they made this game a regr thing.

    So, my question, since some people knew that they had secrets to protect, why not just sit the game out?

    Eventually, a girl from my ss spun the bottle and Ladies and Gentlemen, It. Landed. On. Me.

    Shit.

    The girl blinked, seeming shocked with her luck-orck thereof. I was the most boring person here.

    ¡°Truth or dare?¡±

    I wasn¡¯t crazy enough to pick dare anyway. And all eyes were on me! Jesus. Was this what it felt like to be on the receiving end?

    I focused solely on the girl like there was no-one else in the room. ¡°Truth.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still new, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen all the guys here at least once.¡± Once was stretching it. ¡°Who do you think is the hottest?¡±

    Oh, for Gods sake. How on earth was I supposed to answer this question? I hadn¡¯t even thought about it before!

    Seriously, Eva?

    Okay, maybe I have thought about it, but that had been what it was-a thought. I didn¡¯t say it out loud!

    Shit. Everyone was waiting for me to answer.N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.

    And I couldn¡¯t lie! The little amount of integrity I possessed left wouldn¡¯t let me.

    ¡°We¡¯re waiting for you to answer.¡± Laura nudged me with her elbow. I red at her so hard she actually drew her head back a notch.

    Just say it. It¡¯s just a game. They won¡¯t remember after today.

    I inhaled a much needed breath, then, ¡°Axel.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Henri yelled, looking offended. ¡°Have you met me?¡±

    I fought the urge to both roll my eyes and smile at the same time. When I nced at Axel, he had this weird expression on his face. It was a cross between surprise, anger and confusion. Welp. That was his business.

    It was my turn to spin the bottle. I felt so¡­. Jittery. Who would itnd on? What would I ask the person?

    This was so weird.

    Nevertheless, itnded on the girl sitting next to Henri. The one I had initially thought Axel was going to kiss. She picked truth and what did I ask her?

    ¡°What¡¯s your favourite book?¡±

    Really smart.

    ¡°I can¡¯t even remember thest time I read a book.¡± She quipped.

    Well that did it then.

    She spun the bottle, itnded on Axel. Before she could even speak, he said, ¡°I got a dare thest time so I¡¯m allowed to pick truth.¡±

    Sheughed. ¡°Okay. Now, what do I ask you?¡± She put her finger to the side of her head as she pondered, ¡°Here¡¯s your question. What is the worst thing you¡¯ve ever done to your friend that you¡¯re not proud of?¡±

    ¡°Shit.¡± He cursed. His eyes darted to Henri as he said, ¡°Okay. One time, I stole Henri¡¯s phone and deleted this girls number he had just saved in it because when she was talking to him, I saw something move in her hair and I think it was lice. I didn¡¯t want Henri catching that.¡±

    Some girls went, ¡®A¡¯ while Henri threw a pillow at him, yelling, ¡°You bitch.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I did it for you.¡± Axel tried to exin. ¡°And for me. I basically live at your ce, I would catch it too.¡±

    ¡°You acted like you didn¡¯t know what happened to her number.¡± Henri used.

    ¡°Well, you didn¡¯t expect me to admit I did it, did you?¡±

    Jesus. This was so funny.

    Axel grabbed the bottle, spun it and itnded on Zoe.

    ¡°You get a dare.¡± He was not even trying to hide the fact that he was excited about it.

    What was this boy up to?

    ¡°I dare you to let any guy here do body shots off you.¡±

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Zoe scowled, ¡°I¡¯m not going to let some random guy do shots off me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make it easier for you¡± Axel grinned.

    ¡°I dare you to go into the next room with Alex and remain in there for the next five minutes.¡±

    Oh shit.

 Chapter 59

    EVA

    Zoe sat there, frozen. She was literally stuck between a rock and a hard ce. I could almost see the wheels turning in her head as her eyes ping-ponged between Axel and the spot in front of him.

    She was probably plotting his murder this very moment and why wouldn¡¯t she? Of all the dares he coulde up with, he decided to dare her to go into a room with Alexander, of all people, for five minutes. Not like five minutes was such a long time, but when enclosed in a ce with with a person you weren¡¯tfortable around, it could feel like ages.

    Alex and Zoe could barely stand each other.

    What exactly was Axel¡¯s aim?

    He had this light in his eyes-the one he got when he was excited. It was the same light I saw in his eyes that day at the restaurant, when he talked about sports and his sister.

    If I wasn¡¯t sure before, I was now. He had ulterior motives.

    This was more than just a dare.

    ¡°Whats it going to be, Zoe?¡± Axel cocked his head. ¡°Are you going to let a guy do body shots off you?¡± There was a dramatic pause, ¡°Or are you going to go into the room with Alexander here for five minutes?¡±

    He was obviously taunting her at this point. But Zoe wasn¡¯t one to back down from a challenge. And that had probably been his n all along because the moment she rose from the ground-rather elegantly, Axel¡¯s face lit up in a breath-taking smile.

    Truly. It was a miracle I wasn¡¯t yet blind from his smiles.

    The silence in the room was deafening as she made her away into the room. She left the door open. All eyes immediately turned to Alex who had been taking everything in quietly.

    A scowl formed on his face. ¡°The fuck are y¡¯all staring at?¡±

    Eyes dropped, as everyone pretended they weren¡¯t actually waiting for him to go into the room. He really was scary when he wanted o be. He neutral look was this nk, imprable mask that said ¡®don¡¯t-talk-to-me¡¯ but when he scowled, that was when he lookedpletely scary.

    Nevertheless, I would pick his scary over Vaughn¡¯s scary any day.

    He red at Axel before standing up and strolling into the room, closing the door behind him.

    God help them.

    ¡°So we have five minutes.¡± Laura breathed, ¡°What do we do?¡±

    ¡°We could make out.¡± Henri suggested, dead serious.

    Now I knew why him and Axel were best friends.

    ¡°Or,¡± Axel stated, ¡°We can alle up with different reasons why Zoe didn¡¯t just let her ¡®boyfriend¡¯, Dexter here, do body shots off her.¡±

    It was that moment when Dexter¡¯s name was mentioned that I remembered he was still in the room. Jesus. That was true. He had been here all along. Why hadn¡¯t Zoe just asked him?

    ¡°Oh, I know this one. Because he¡¯s not really her boyfriend!¡± Laura snapped her fingers.

    Laura had just been looking for an opportunity to call Dexter out and since it had been presented to her now, I knew she wasn¡¯t going to let it go. I wasn¡¯t even going to try to stop her.

    Why would I when I didn¡¯t like him either?

    ¡°Or cause his mouth smells like ass.¡± Someone piped up.N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner.

    ¡°You bitch!¡± Dexter roared.

    ¡°Eat shit and die.¡± Laura yelled back.

    ¡°That¡¯s probably why his mouth smells like ass.¡± Another person added.

    Then another, ¡°I mean,e to think of it. Has any of you ever seen him and Zoe kiss?¡±

    There were echoes of ¡®no¡¯ and ¡®never¡¯ from the circle and one person even went as far as saying, ¡°I don¡¯t me her. She probably cant stand it.¡±

    It was refreshing to see that a lo of people didn¡¯t like him. Had he done something simr to what he did to me, to them too?

    When I nced at Axel, I saw that he was cracking up. Apparently, he didn¡¯t like Dexter either. What I didn¡¯t know was if his dislike for the boy stemmed from what happened between Alex and Zoe or if it was something more.

    Even Henri wasughing when he said, ¡°Look, let¡¯s just wait for them toe back.¡±

    Laura finally dragged her eyes from Dexter to look at me. ¡°Man, he¡¯s such a bitch. I hate him so much.¡±

    It was probably the look on her face, or maybe it way she said the words. It could have also been the whole situation, that had me pressing my palms to my face as I dissolved into fits ofughter.

    She pulled my hands from my face, ring at me with a smile on her lips-I didn¡¯t know how that was possible-and I still couldn¡¯t stopughing.

    ¡°What is wrong with you?¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± I asked as I finally pulled my hands back, wiping my eyes. ¡°Seriously, you¡¯re asking what¡¯s wrong with me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re crazy.¡± But she was still smiling.

 chapter 60

    EVA

    I looked around and saw that Axel was watching me. When he saw that I caught him, he looked away. I absolutely hated how it made me feel when he looked away.

    It hurt. Way worse than it should have because somehow, I knew that was how it was going to be between us henceforth. And I had no-one to me but myself.

    Five minutes had passed.

    Alexander walked through the door, and a secondter, followed by Zoe. The both of them did not look happy at all. They had probably ignored each other all through, I thought as they resumed their ces on the floor. Dexter looked like he wanted to talk to her but probably knew this wouldn¡¯t be a good time.

    Nevertheless, the game went on. It was really an enjoyable experience. I actually had fun. It was starting to gette and a lot of people were yawning discreetly. A few curled up on their spaces on the ground and just dozed off. Zoe and Dexter had retired already.

    I tapped Laura, ¡°Do you think we should go?¡±

    She looked around and shrugged, ¡°Yeah, definitely. The game is over anyway.¡±

    In one swift move, she rose from her cross-legged crouch and didn¡¯t even lose her bnce. She told me one time that she took ballet sses when she was younger. Apparently, they paid off. I rose along with her and as I saw her shoving her phone into her back pocket, I remembered that my phone was still with Axel.N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner.

    Why hadnt I collected it in the first ce? What had I been thinking?

    Defly not how he looked in those briefs, that was for sure.

    ¡°How who looked in briefs?¡±

    I turned to Laura and saw her watching me with a confused frown on her face. Shit. Had I said that out loud?

    ¡°Nothing.¡± I hurriedly said, ¡°I need to go get my phone from Axel. I¡¯ll be back in a bit.¡± And before she could say anything, I dashed off.

    I had seen Axel go into the other room, but Henri and Alex had gone into the kitchen where they seemed to be having a heated argument. We could hear and see them from here, but we couldn¡¯t quite tell what they were talking about. Vaughn, on the other hand, I didn¡¯t know where he had gone into.

    When I opened the door and walked in, the question of where Vaughn had gone into, was answered. He was in the room, sitting on the floor with his back against the foot of the bed. He had a pen and what seemed to be a sketchpad in his hands and his head lifted when I came in. He didn¡¯t try to cover what he was doing, but I kept my eyes carefully averted. Knowing these boys, it was a trick to get me to look. I didn¡¯t want to see anything that would get me in trouble.

    I padded over to the bed-to where Axel was seated watching me-and motioned for him toe close. He seemed surprised at my bold approach, and to be honest, I was surprising myself a lot too. I tended to get bolder when I was pissed. And I was. Pissed, that is.

    He was giving me attitude, and what for? Simply because I suggested we stay friends? What right did he have to be angry?

    ¡°Where¡¯s my phone?¡± I asked him when he was close enough that I didn¡¯t have to raise my voice and draw Vaughn¡¯s attention. Not that I had to draw his attention though, because he was already watching us. Avidly.

    Sometimes, I wondered what went on in his head. But most times, I just wanted to run the other way. He was just that creepy.

    ¡°Charging.¡± Axel pointed to a charger plugged into an outlet on the other side of the room.

    My lie to Laura that I had left it to charge, actually turned into a truth. I gave it a baleful look. To go get it, I would have to walk past Vaughn. I didn¡¯t want to. So, I decided, since I was already acting bold, why not continue?

    ¡°Go get it then.¡± I told him and it was almostical the way his eyes widened. He looked me over, up to down, probably wondering if I had switched personalities with Laura. I guess she was starting to rub off on me. And I had reason to believe it was a good thing.

    Surprisingly, he got up and walked to the other side of the room to unplug my phone, turn the switch off and then bring it(my phone) back to me.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I chirped when he slid it into my hands, and turned around to leave.

    ¡°Wait.¡± He called.

    I paused and turned to him. In my periphery, I noticed that Vaughn was still watching us, albeit without interest. But if he wasn¡¯t interested, why was he watching us?

    Maybe he just had vacant eyes.

    Still. It didn¡¯t exin why he was watching us.

    ¡°I¡¯ll uh¡­¡­.. text youter.¡± He finally said.

    Why did I feel like that wasn¡¯t what he had been about to say?

    Channelling my inner Laura, I shrugged and said, ¡°Sure.¡±

    Then I walked out.

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