The live chatter of students filled the school corridors as they returned to their hostels after the closing bell. Jazz walked up to Mitchel when she noticed that he looked aloof and was walking in slow strides.

"Hey, you alright?"

"Yeah."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"I said I'm alright," Mitchel insisted.

"Yeah right," Jazz scoffed.

"Fine." Mitchel pulled Jazz aside so they were no longer walking towards the hostels but towards the trees.

"My dad wants me to participate in a young inventors competition. I've won the competition two times in a row but this time around, I don't think I want to participate anymore," Mitchel said as they stood beneath a mango tree.

"That means you've only been participating because your dad asked you to and not because you wanted to?" Mitchel nodded.

"If you don't wanna do it then you don't have to, just tell your dad you don't want to," Jazz suggested.

"It's not that easy. My dad can be very strict about these things," Mitchel said.

"Then you also have to be strict about what you want, it doesn't always have to be about your dad."

Mitchel chuckled. "This is Nigeria, not the US, you don't just object to your parents' requests, it's considered disrespectful."

"Then why did you object to your dad when he asked you to stay away from me?"

Mitchel rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, so you heard about that? Hehe, I got an earful from my mum that day," he chuckled.

"See? You're not gonna get set on fire or anything, you're just gonna get an earful and I think it's worth it for saying your mind and letting them know what you want. Who knows, they might actually pay attention to you."

"I don't think you know the gravity of the earful you are talking about so casually."

"All I'm saying is that if you don't wanna participate in the competition, just say so. You've let this drag on for so long that's why your dad thinks you're okay with it. If you had told him from the onset, you wouldn't be in this situation."

"I don't think you realise it's not that easy."

"It may not be easy, but it's something you have to do."

"You're right. I need to let my dad know that I don't like taking part in all these inventing competitions, I prefer to act on stage, that's where I shine more. I mean, the drama club is practically incomplete without me," Mitchel said and Jazz smiled.

"Are you finally ready to tell your dad about it?" She asked.

"Yeah, and I know he's not going to like it, in fact he'll probably not take it likely but I have to tell him."

"That's more like it!" Jazz playfully slapped Mitchel's arm. "Now that the serious talk is over, let's talk about something more interesting."

"I think we should head back before it's time for prep," Mitchel suggested and they turned around, going back towards the dormitories.

"Are you scared of your dad?" Jazz asked.

"Why are you asking this all of a sudden?" Mitchel asked back.

"I was just curious as to why you never told him before now what you really like and what you don't, having to endure participating in all those contests just to prove a point you don't even want to prove."

"My dad can be a little... intense, especially when it comes to getting what he wants."

"Then you should also get intense with what you want."

Mitchel chuckled. "It doesn't work that way."

"My dad has never forced me to do anything I didn't want to do, except when he brought me to this school against my will."

"That's because you have a good relationship with your dad," Mitchel said and Jazz raised a brow at him.

"Forget I said that," he added quickly.

They continued walking in silence until they were met by Ronke who took Jazz's hand in hers and gently pulled her away from Mitchel.

"Here you are, Jazz! We've been waiting for you to come back to the room so we can get ready for prep and Kel was worried so being the less sentimental one, I went out to look for you," Ronke spoke in a single breath before acknowledging Mitchel.

"Hey Mitch," she greeted and turned back to Jazz. "If I had known you were with him, I wouldn't have come looking for you in the first place. Hope you two had fun?"

"Stop being suggestive, we were just talking about—"

Ronke didn't let Mitchel finish as she started walking away with Jazz who waved him goodbye and blew him a kiss. He waved back sheepishly and went on towards the boys dormitory.

"So what were you two talking about?" Ronke asked Jazz when Mitchel was out of earshot.

Jazz shrugged. "Nothing much," she replied.

"Okay, but if you people were actually planning your wedding for after we graduate, I'm the first guest on the list and also the chief bridesmaid. Don't tell Kel oh, or else she'll fight me about it," Ronke jested, causing them to burst into laughter.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Jazz! Oh my god! You have no idea how much I've missed you! It's been so long since we spoke to each other, whenever I call, your phone is always switched off. Oh, I'm so glad you called! How are you?" Aimee's chirpy voice blasted through Jazz's phone.

"Aimee! Keep it down!" Jazz hissed. "Are you trying to damage my eardrums?"

"Yes! What are best friends for?" Aimee chuckled.

"I've missed you so much too! I didn't think I'd stay this long without you, quite frankly."

"Aren't phones prohibited on weekdays?"

"Yeah, but I was really missing you and couldn't wait another second to talk to you that's why I called."

"Awwwn. But what if you get caught?"

"Then it'll be worth it. After all, I can always make calls with the matron's phone if I wanted. Only during the weekend though, but it'll still be worth it."

"Now don't go getting in trouble because of me, you should hang up."

"You said you missed me, and now you want to hang up so quickly?"

"Fine, since we were both yearning to speak to each other, let's make the most of it," Aimee suggested and Jazz smiled.

"Now you're talking."

"So, any updates?" Aimee asked and Jazz proceeded to tell her about how crazy the past few weeks had been for her, especially with Ella who has made it her life's mission to badger her. Aimee also updated her about how things were back in the States, and how everywhere seemed lifeless without her.

When they had spoken for about half an hour and seemingly had nothing else to talk about, Aimee asked about Mitchel. Jazz blushed, but she still filled her in on the current status between Mitchel and her.

Aimee squealed and Jazz had to take the phone away from her ear. "So, you did like him, so much for playing hard to get."

Jazz rolled her eyes. "I wasn't playing hard to get, I just didn't like him then."

"Omg, this is so romantic!"

"It's not that big a deal," Jazz brushed it off, wanting to be done with this conversation soonest.

"What is not a big deal?" Ronke asked as she and Kelechi entered the room.

"You're not supposed to make use of your phone when it's not weekend, you know that, Jazz," Kelechi drawled.

"Don't nag me, can't you see I'm on a call?"

"Who are you talking to anyway?"

"None of your business."

"Oh well." Kelechi shrugged and went to her bed.

"Who are you talking to?" Aimee asked.

"It's just my nosy roommate," Jazz replied and Kelechi gave her a look.

"I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear you call me nosy," she said as she crossed her legs and buried her face in a book.

"I would really like to speak with your Nigerian roommates, I want to know how they put up with you for this long and also thank them for looking out for you. It must've been really hard for them to be so nice to you given your attitude," Aimee said.

"I don't have an attitude! And you can talk to them some other day," Jazz told her. "I changed my mind, I don't wanna get caught using my phone. As it is, the principal is already out for me."

"I thought she's your dad's best friend?"

"She's my dad's best friend, not my best friend," Jazz stated.

"Come on, it'll only take a minute, you could lock your door—"

Mrs Kayode walked into the room and Jazz quickly hid her phone behind her, grinning like she was just given a birthday present.

"Good afternoon, Mrs K," Kelechi and Ronke stood up to greet.

"Afternoon. Jazz?" She called and Jazz raised her eyebrows at her.

"Yes?" She responded.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course! Never been better." Jazz beamed.

Mrs Kayode seemed surprised at her reply. "That's new," she remarked and glanced at Jazz's hand.

"What do you have behind you?" She asked, taking a peep.

"Uh, my back itches, just trying to get the right spot," Jazz lied and made a show of scratching her back.

Mrs Kayode just shook her head. "I was just going round to check if everyone is okay," she announced.

"By the way, where are your other roommates?"

"We don't know, maybe they just went out." Ronke shrugged.

"Alright, remember that you are your sister's keeper so try to look out for and protect each other. Also, don't hesitate to come to me for help if you need any, you know I'm always open."

"Thank you, ma," Kelechi piped and Mrs Kayode smiled in satisfaction before leaving the room.

"Hello? Hello? Jazz? You still there?" Aimee kept on calling as Jazz put the phone back on her ear.

"Yeah, I'm still here," she responded.

"What happened? And who were you talking to that made you leave me on hold for that long?"

"The matron walked into my room, she could've caught me with my phone, good thing it wasn't on speaker."

"I guess we should end our conversation here so you don't get in trouble."

"It felt really good talking to you today."

"It felt more than good, it felt great!"

"Yeah." Jazz chuckled. "Bye, talk to you later. I love you!"

"Love you more! Muah!" Aimee exclaimed just before Jazz hung up and hid her phone in her bag.

"Man, that was close," Jazz breathed as she fell on her bed.

"When you won't listen to instructions," Kelechi said, her head still buried in her book.

"Ugh, you're like some code of conduct with all the rules of the school stored conveniently in your brain," Jazz quipped. Ronke chuckled and Kelechi was forced to look up from her book and give Jazz a meaningful stare.

"At least this code of conduct has been saving you," she said.

"Yes! And I cannot dispute that. Oh, thank you great one for saving me." Jazz put her hands together and made a bow, causing both Kelechi and Ronke to chuckle.

"You're such a drama queen," Kelechi remarked as she threw her pillow at her.

"What's going on here? Are we having a pillow fight?" Amarachi asked excitedly as she and Fatima walked into the room.

"Kel isn't into this kind of fun stuff so no, we are not having a pillow fight," Jazz deadpanned and Kelechi threw another pillow at her. "Ow!"

"I'll take that as a yes," Amarachi said and grabbed her pillow which she threw at Ronke. Soon after, they were all hitting and throwing pillows at each other, giggling, having fun and choosing to forget that they had prep in the next couple of minutes.

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