It was the week of the mid-term exams and the students - well, some of them - were prepared, while those who weren't hastily skimmed through their books, hoping to get a few things into their heads before the exam started. The names of the teachers that would invigilate each class everyday was pasted on the notice board so they would know their schedule.

"I can't wait for next week," Ronke said excitedly as she, Jazz and Kelechi walked to their classes.

"Why?" Jazz asked.

"Cause next week is our mid-term break." Jazz just stared at Ronke, not quite understanding why she was so excited about it.

"Our mid-term break lasts for a week, you see, so we all get to go home for a week," Kelechi explained to Jazz whose face lit up immediately. "Are you saying that I get to go home?" She asked excitedly.

"You don't get to go yourself," Kelechi clarified. "Your parents or guardians will have to come and pick you or else you're not going anywhere."

"That's not a problem, I'll just tell my parents about it," Jazz said.

"And you think they'll travel all the way from the States to come and take you home for a break of just one week?" Ronke asked her.

"Of course, my parents would do anything for me," Jazz replied, smiling.

"Lucky you," Kelechi said. "There was a time my uncle forgot to come and take me home for the mid-term break even though I called him the week before to remind him. Mrs K. had to call him to come and pick me up when everyone had gone and I was the only one left."

"That's terrible, it must've suck," Jazz said.

"No need to tell me." Kelechi sighed. "Anyway, our mid-terms come before the break so let's focus on that," She added.

"Hey, can we come to your class to revise before the assembly starts?" Kelechi asked, turning to Ronke.

"Why?"

"Your class is usually quiet this time of the term, I don't want people like Abu and Osas to disturb me with their silly jokes and antics," Kelechi replied, chuckling.

"OK."

As soon as Jazz entered Ronke's class, everyone turned to stare at her. "I know it must be hard to take your eyes off me but try not to stare too long," she said with a smirk.

Kelechi sat on Ronke's chair while Ronke sat on the desk, leaving Jazz to look around for an empty chair. When she couldn't seem to find one, she said, "Uh guys, I can't find a chair so I think I'll just leave."

Mitchel then offered his chair to Jazz to sit on, earning a smile and a "thank you" from her. "You're welcome," he responded with a smile of his own.

"How did you even know she needed a chair, have you been spying on her?" Ronke asked jokingly and Mitchel sheepishly put his hand on his forehead. "Well—" he started but Kelechi interrupted him.

"I hope that thinking about Jazz all the time isn't going to distract you during the exam," Kelechi chipped in teasingly.

Ronke fake gasped. "Don't you know that Mitchel is the Albert Einstein of this school, so there is nothing to worry about," she said in an equally teasing tone.

"Look at the way he's even staring at her. I wish I could find someone who would stare at me that way," Kelechi said, putting her hand on her chest.

"All right guys, cut it out, you've teased him enough. Now let's do what we came here to do before the—" Jazz said just before the assembly bell rang and everyone stood up to leave the class.

Mitchel walked beside Jazz and Kelechi and Ronke slowed down their pace so the two could walk together. Mitchel wanted to hold Jazz's hand but he refrained from doing so because it would attract the unwanted attention of the busybody teachers who were always looking for wrongdoers whom they could lecture.

When they got to the assembly hall, they sat down together but Mitchel left his seat to look for Zainab as they would be leading the assembly together. Ella then walked into the hall with Titi in tow and scowled when she saw Jazz. "Nice to see you too," Jazz said sarcastically.

"Just keep your greetings to yourself, she's not in a good mood," Titi said.

"Oh I'm sorry, is that supposed to be any of my business?"

"Well, you shouldn't have spoken to her cause that only made it worse."

"Not that I enjoy speaking to her anyway."

"Then stop talking already," Ella snapped.

"Ugh, I don't have time for this," Jazz said and looked away.

Ella and Titi sneered at her and walked to the back to find seats. "What happened here? I just saw you talking to Ella and Titi, I hope they didn't disturb you?" Ronke asked.

"Of course they did, but I ignored them cause I didn't want them to get to me and make me do something stupid," Jazz said.

"Really, that's good. I always told you that violence is never the answer and always stopped you from fighting but I never imagined you to be someone who avoided trouble," Kelechi remarked.

Mitchel and Zainab mounted the podium which meant that the assembly had started. Kelechi and Ronke went back to their seats and so did other students who weren't in theirs. Once the assembly was over, everyone went back to their various classes and waited for the teacher assigned to their class to arrive so they could start their exam.

During the week of the mid-term exam, Mrs William announced on the assembly that the school would be participating in an inter-school competition. Eight of the best students would represent the school in the competition; four from the senior classes and four from the junior classes. Two science and arts students would then be chosen from SS3 and SS2 while two students would be chosen from JS3 and two from JS2. The students would then have to stay back in school during the mid-term break to prepare for the competition.

Jazz didn't care about the competition, all she cared about was going back home for the break. She had even started to pack her things and couldn't wait for school to be over for the day so she could go to the matron to call her parents and tell them about the mid-term break.

What she didn't expect was to be chosen as one of the school's representatives for the competition. That meant no mid-term breaks for her. And all her plans of going back home had been ruined. She pleaded with the teachers to unselect her and choose someone else like Kelechi who was more than willing to participate but they insisted she was perfect for the job. Jazz wasn't going to let some competition stop her from going home so she devised a plan that would make the teachers be forced to replace her.

She started complaining about not feeling well and needing to go home to rest so she could feel better but they assured her that she would feel better even if she rested in school. So to prove that she wasn't well, during dinner, when she was walking to her seat with her tray of food, she suddenly fainted in the middle of the cafeteria and everyone was shocked. Mitchel sprung up from his seat and rushed to carry Jazz up and to the sick bay.

Kelechi, Ronke and Miss Toke came to the sick bay to see Jazz. Mitchel told them about how she suddenly fainted as she was taking her food to her seat when they asked him about what happened. Miss Toke thanked him for bringing Jazz to the sick bay instead of just watching like the others.

While Jazz was still "unconscious", the nurse examined her and said that apart from the fact that she was stressed out, nothing serious was wrong with her and all she needed was rest. She also added that Jazz could still take part in the competition if she wanted to since it was about two weeks away.

Jazz woke up immediately and sat up on the bed. "See, I told you I wasn't feeling well and needed rest. Now you've heard it from the nurse herself so please let me go home next week," she said to Miss Toke.

"I'm afraid that's not in my power to decide. We've already submitted all the names to Mrs William so if you don't want to participate you will have to tell her and not me. I'm sure she would let you go home cause she knows you're in the sick bay," Miss Toke replied.

A junior student came into the room and told Jazz that the principal wanted to see her in her office. Jazz, thinking that Mrs William was going to let her go home because of her "condition", happily got down from her bed and left the sick bay for the principal's office. Everyone tried to stop her, telling her that she needed more rest but she assured them that she could make it to the principal's office and back on her own. Miss Toke wasn't satisfied so she asked Kelechi and Ronke to follow her but they refused, saying that Mitchel should do that because he was much stronger than they were and could hold Jazz if she wanted to fall. Miss Toke agreed to it, oblivious to the sheepish looks Kelechi and Ronke exchanged with each other.

Jazz was expecting Mrs William to tell her that she was no longer going to represent the school in the competition and that she could go home to get proper rest but the look on Mrs William's face told her that that wasn't going to be the case at all.

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Yaw! Another chapter dropped!

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