On my way to the wedding, I started reminiscing. It had become a normal thing for me to do since I didn't have a present but a past with him, so I liked to start from the very top.
* * * * *

I had been best friends with Zuoh since my last grade in elementary school until I went to a boarding school for middle school so we kind of just stopped talking until my parents decided we should be next door neighbours.

We started to talk more and we reunited in high school, She introduced me to her friends, Khalil being one of them and I introduced her to my friends.
At that time it was chaos in my house, My parents and I always argued because they didn't approve of what I wanted to study in the university. My Dad wanted me to study medicine, my Mum wanted me to study law while I wanted to study theatre arts. None of this courses were even related.

This is how a typical African home is, they are always on your case and it's worse when you are the only child, I was the only child.

I was to be relocating to America with my mum because of her admission to a university over there but my Dad became a cry baby so we had to come back which caused change of schools for me. I left boarding school to a school around my area and I met Niyi.

Niyi was toxic, very toxic for me. He was one of my ex boyfriends that impacted my life in ways I can't just forget. During this time, Khalil and I were somewhat best friends, but he had feelings for me that he wasn't willing to confess and I knew about it, it wasn't that hard to spot even though we had never seen each other.

Khalil didn't like how Niyi treated me, in fact he hated it so much he got angry at the thought of him, I saw it as cute but Khalil was right, I deserved better, so he tried being the better.

Due to the fights in my house, after a year, my Dad came to the conclusion that my new school was teaching me to be disrespectful and he wanted me to move to Zuoh's school so I could be more like her. Toxic Niyi and I called it quits, Niyi broke up with me and broke me into a million unrepairable pieces, at least what I thought was unrepairable back then. Khalil wasn't there to help my healing, we had lost each other's contacts during that one year period.

After that school year, we were on a long summer holiday and I was to write the entrance exam into Young Spring High so I could get in by fall but I was to out of it to be really focused.

Zuoh tried to help but I wasn't having it, she never knew how Niyi treated me, I only told her the good part- made up excuses for everything he did and also made up some things I wished actually happened- that was until we broke up but Zuoh still never approved of Niyi.

I didn't pass the entrance exam into Young Spring and I had suddenly been an embarrassment to my family. My mum had to start begging for me to get in but the Principal wanted to take me back a grade, my Dad approved of it but I didn't, he wanted me to go back so I could do science subjects but I didn't want to.

So I had to come up with a solution, I knew I was smart I just had to prove it to the Principal.

"After a term, if I don't do well, you are allowed to take me back to the previous grade."

My mum nearly hit me after that statement. She glared at me and I could see she was about to explode.

"Can't you see I am trying to help you here, why can't you just be-"

The principal cut her off,

"One term is all you get to prove yourself."

My mum looked at her in disbelief. Almost like she was asking herself if the woman had something wrong with her and I nearly laughed.

My mum still didn't understand that sometimes weakness doesn't get you out of things sometimes when you look the person in the eye and demand, there would be some kind of respect and a sweet challenge.

"Thank you so much, she wouldn't disappoint you."

My mum got out of the office baffled that day, I didn't know she was impressed about it until she preached about it years later in a house service.

My first day in YSH wasn't memorable at all, I saw Khalil but we didn't talk, we just stared at each other and walked past.

Zuoh had always told me how weird he was since middle school, she would walk funny to mimic the developing teenager but I didn't take her seriously, she always had a knack for exaggerating things.

On my first day, I was bored as hell, without Zuoh I had no one else, Apart from people in my estate who go to the same school as me.

We were the estate crew named Just Us we all dreamed big for ourselves, talking about how we would create a YouTube channel for the crew and what not.

But that term I had to be serious, focus and forget about Niyi. I wasn't ready to go back a grade and I definitely was not ready to start dating, I was so sure that I wasn't going to date till College, I was already on probation as it was and I couldn't risk anyone knowing even Zuoh didn't know the full story.

When I got back home that day, Khalil sent a message, just a simple hey but it made my heart flutter.

It had been sometime since we talked and before we lost contact and before Niyi, I had feelings for him which I pushed aside because we had never met then.

Khalil was the kind of guy that you would fall for not because of looks but personality wise, though most people wouldn't agree with me but I agree with myself.

Khalil was everything that wasn't Niyi, he actually cared though he had a weird way of showing it, he knew everything to say and everything not to say, he could comfort me and not let me cry myself to sleep, he could put up with my shit, and all those things were all I could ever dream of, I couldn't possibly find another.

I decided to reply his hey with my hey and from there my studies and promises were forgotten.

A/n:
People!!!!
Be expecting updates every Monday!!!!
This chapter was just like how she met Khalil and everything, I promise you that from like the third chapter things start happening. 😏

❤️ Nikky