It was finally the day of the inter-school competition and everyone was in high hopes that the school would win. Mrs William and Mr Nwosu had given the representing students a pep talk the previous day about how they believed they could win and how important it was for them to win as it would boost the school's image. The students had glanced at each other knowingly because they knew winning the competition was not only to boost the school's image but to boost their egos and make them seem better than the other principals.

"Jazz hurry up. You don't expect them to wait for you?" Kelechi said to Jazz as she sat in front of her mirror, applying makeup and doing her hair.

"I'm an important member of the team so of course I expect them to wait for me. I know they can't leave without me, they need my brains." Jazz continued with what she was doing, unfazed by the fact that she could be keeping everyone waiting.

"It's an inter-school competition not a beauty pageant." Ronke rolled her eyes.

"Either way, I have to look my best, which I always do," Jazz stated as she touched up her makeup.

There was an impatient knock on the door before Mrs Kayode entered the room. "Jazz my dear, what is taking you so long? Everyone is waiting for you downstairs. Please, hurry up," she said indifferently, wanting more than anything to go back to her office and lounge in her chair.

"I'll be done in a minute." Jazz did her hair into a high ponytail and stared back at herself in the mirror for some time before saying, "This doesn't look good enough, I think I'll just—"

"Of course it looks good my dear," Mrs Kayode interjected. "Now please go downstairs so you all can make it in time to the competition."

"Okay okay, I'm going." Jazz bathed herself in perfume, making everyone in the room -except herself- cough.

"Do you have to spray so much perfume? The scent is already nice," Mrs Kayode managed to say between coughs.

"You can never spray too much perfume." Jazz checked herself out one last time in the mirror. "Now I'm ready," she said as she finally left the room and Mrs Kayode followed her out.

* * *

"What were you doing that made you want to spend the whole day? Do you know how long we've been waiting for you?!" Mrs William fumed when Jazz approached where they were waiting for her.

"You can scold her later, right now we need to be on our way to the competition. It's not going to wait for us before it starts," Mr Nwosu said to her and the students stared at him surprisingly. They hadn't known just how important the competition was to him, but now that he asked Mrs William to scold Jazz later instead of scolding her himself, they knew.

Miss Chinaza wanted to give the students another pep talk before they left but Mrs William stopped her, saying that there was no time for it. The students rolled their eyes at Miss Chinaza, she was always trying so hard to impress the principal by pretending to care about them.

The students boarded the Toyota coaster bus along with their teachers and soon they were on their way to the competition. Mrs William and Mr Nwosu went in her car, trailing behind the bus.

They got to the venue of the competition before time and the driver parked the bus alongside other school buses in the parking area. After they alighted the bus, Mitchel looked around and spotted his dad's car among the few private vehicles that were there.

"My dad is here," he whispered to Jazz.

"Where is he?"

"That's his car, he must be inside." Mitchel pointed to the car and Jazz ohhed.

"This way," Mrs William ordered as she directed everyone into the building.

When they got inside, one of the staff of the organizers ushered them to their seats and informed them that when the competition started, the students would be called to the stage. Other schools were already seated in the hall, some of the students chatting amongst themselves and their teachers doing same.

Mitchel whispered something to Mrs William and she nodded at him. He then stood up and walked over to a tall, handsome, middle-aged man who was smartly dressed in Senator wear and talking to a group of men his age. He was a bit plump but had a healthy figure and didn't look too fat. Mitchel was slightly taller than him and looked so much like him that it was pretty clear where he got his good looks from.

The man beamed proudly when he saw Mitchel and pulled him into a hug. "How are you, my son?" He asked cheerily.

"I'm fine, dad," Mitchel replied as they broke away from the hug. Mitchel's dad swiftly turned back to his acquaintances.

"This is my son, Mitchel. He's the head boy of his school and is also representing them in this competition. You see, my son is very intelligent and has led his school to victory in several competitions in the past. I can assure you that he is going to be one of the best medical doctors of his generation because he is zealous, just like his father," the man boasted while his friends stared at Mitchel in awe and Mitchel just rolled his eyes.

He was used to his dad bragging about his son and how brilliant he was and how bright his future was. He never seemed to get tired of it. Mitchel suddenly felt uncomfortable with his dad's friends nodding at him approvingly and joking about them wanting him to marry their daughter. At least he hoped they were joking.

"Everyone please settle down. The competition is about to start so please kindly be seated," a timid female voice announced into the microphone and Mitchel's dad patted him on the back.

"Alright son, go to your seat and be focused so you can make me proud," his father said imperatively and Mitchel slowly walked back to his seat.

"Your dad?" Jazz asked.

"Yes," Mitchel sighed.

"You know, when you told me about him, I thought he was gonna be like, some grumpy looking old man with a scary face."

Mitchel chuckled. "My dad doesn't look scary at all, he's like, the older, chubbier version of me."

"I could see that," Jazz stated, chuckling. "He seems quite authoritative."

"Yeah, he likes to get what he wants."

They talked about how they were going to crush the other schools before the MC took the stage and the competition officially began. He called out the names of the schools competing and the students representing each school would make their way to the stage amidst applause from the audience.

"Landmark College."

"Solid Foundation Secondary School."

"Step Up Academy."

"Five Star International School."

"Premier College."

"Success Academy."

When all the students had made their way to the stage, the competition began. Premier College was taking the lead and Jazz and Mitchel high fived when it was time to take a break.

"We're doing well." Mitchel smiled at Jazz.

"We sure are," Jazz responded with a smile of her own.

"Come this way children, we have some refreshment for you," said a lady dressed in a purple polo and jeans. She directed the students to the canteen where they were served the refreshment. She also mentioned to them that they could move around if they wanted to but had to be back in time for the second half of the competition.

When they were done eating, some of the students started taking pictures where they knew they wouldn't be caught by their teachers. Some of them went over to Jazz, complimenting her and asking her to take a picture with them. Jazz willingly agreed, feeling like a celebrity, and took a few pictures with them. A few of them even attempted to start conversations with her, hoping to become friends. When they were done, Jazz and Mitchel went out into the hall, talking and laughing as they went to sit with their schoolmates and teachers.

Mitchel's eyes met his dad's which were glaring at him mercilessly. He instantly knew the reason why and mentally braced himself for a good scolding and lecture. His dad signaled him over and he took in a deep breath before going over to him.

"Dad—"

"What are you busy doing with that white girl?" His dad didn't even let him speak before throwing the question at him. Mitchel expected that question though. He figured that was the reason his dad was glaring at him.

"Nothing, we're schoolmates and—"

"That is not the answer to the question I asked you. I know you are schoolmates, you're clearly wearing the same uniform," his dad snapped.

"We were just revising—"

"I'm not blind, boy, and neither am I stupid. I've been through this phase before so listen to me," his dad said and held his shoulders. "I don't like the proximity between you and that girl. Girls are nothing but a distraction. I know this is the age where you get attracted to the opposite sex and want to form relationships with them but you just have to learn to control your hormones. When you establish yourself and become a great man, you can get married to whoever you want to but for now, just focus, okay."

Mitchel had received this lecture from his dad multiple times and was honestly getting tired of hearing it but he had to respond otherwise his dad was going to get furious. "Yes sir," he responded, involuntarily glancing at Jazz and his dad followed his gaze.

"I hope I've made myself clear?" His dad boomed with anger.

"Yes sir."

"Is that all you can say? Are you a robot that has been programmed to only say 'yes sir'?" His dad asked, irritated.

Mitchel looked slightly annoyed. "What else do you want me to say?"

"I don't like that tone, speak to me with respect."

"Yes sir."

"Are you trying to annoy me on purpose?"

"Not at all."

"Good. I don't want to see you together with that white girl, you're too young for whatever it is the both of you are trying to do. I hope this is not what you do in school, whiling away your time with girls?"

"Dad what are you even saying? You know how much time and effort I put into my school work."

"I'm just giving you a piece of advice as your father. Focus on your academics and your career and the girls will come naturally."

"I've heard you dad," Mitchel responded nonchalantly.

"You better," his dad said through gritted teeth.

Mrs William approached them and smiled heartily at Mitchel's dad. "Good afternoon, Mr Madu," she greeted as she extended her arm to him.

"Good afternoon, Mrs Richard." He shook her hand, smiling out of courtesy and not because he wanted to.

"William," she corrected him.

"My apologies, Mrs William. I'm impressed with the performance of your students, you are indeed teaching them well, that's very good. I knew I made the right choice bringing my son to your school."

"Thank you. We only have their best interests at heart, after all, they are the leaders of tomorrow," Mrs William said and Mitchel rolled his eyes. He knew Mrs William was just buttering his dad up so he would consider another "generous" donation.

That same timid female voice called everyone to settle down once more so they could continue with the competition.

"We have to go now, come on Mitchel." Mrs William looked at Mitchel who was still looking at his dad.

"Coming," he responded and followed her back to their seats.

"Everything okay?" Jazz asked as she put her hand on Mitchel's lap.

"Nothing, he was just missing me a lot," Mitchel lied.

"Right," Jazz drawled, not believing a word he said.

The MC took the stage once again, a mic and a tablet in his hand, and the competition continued. Mitchel had already started to lose focus because of the conversation he had with his dad. His mind started to wander and Jazz had to nudge him a few times to bring him back to earth.

"This next question is for Premier College and if they get it right, they win and if they don't, another school will be given the chance to answer it. It's an easy one though because you've already answered all the hard ones," the MC announced and Mitchel's dad stared right at him.

"What is the soft silvery metallic element which ionizes easily when heated or exposed to light and is present in atomic clocks?" The MC read the question off of the tablet in his hand and it also appeared on the large screen for the audience to see.

All the students stared at Mitchel expectantly.

"What?" He asked.

"You have to answer the question, I don't take chemistry," Jazz told him.

Mitchel looked at the science student from SS2 and eyed him. "Do you also not take chemistry?"

Before the boy could respond, Jazz chipped in. "He's been the one answering all the chemistry questions since we got back from the break and you haven't answered a single one. You've been a bit distant," she said.

Mitchel sighed and asked the MC to repeat the question. "I thought you people were whispering amongst yourselves on how to answer the question," he muttered before repeating the question.

Mitchel didn't need to think hard for the answer. He knew it the moment the MC read out the question to him but instead of answering it right away, his mind drifted to the conversation he had with his dad.

"Remember you only have one minute to answer a question. You have about twenty seconds left," the MC informed him impatiently, interrupting his line of thought.

"It's Cesium," Mitchel immediately composed himself and spoke into the mic.

"That is... Correct! And Premier College takes the win for the second year in a row! Amazing!" The MC shouted and all the students screamed and hugged each other. Their teachers climbed the stage to celebrate with them while the teachers and parents that were present stood up to applaud them.

The trophy was handed to them and they took several pictures with it while flashing their best smiles. It was a happy moment for the students as their hardwork had finally paid off.

Mitchel went over to his dad who smiled and hugged him. "Congratulations," he said.

"Thank you."

"I have to go now, I'll see you on one of your visiting days. And stay away from that girl." Mitchel's dad said to him and left.

"Bye dad," Mitchel said after him but he didn't respond.

"What're you doing standing around like a tree, let's go take some more pictures!" Jazz grabbed Mitchel's arm. He chuckled as he followed her to where the others were taking photos of themselves with the trophy.

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