Claudia-143 made the cover in the media for me and I looove it 💃💃💃 Thank you 🤗🤗❤️❤️ and if you guys are looking for a teen fiction to drool over, you should check out her book, Broken, it's one of my energy plugs 🤞🤞🤞🙌🙌❤️❤️

~Kunmi~

"You don't look happy to have me back."

That was the first thing Sophia said to me two days after she swapped seats with Adam. I just got to school and Sophia was back on her seat, AirPods in her ears and her body moving in some sort of rhythm to the song she was listening to. Gone was the girl that walked around the school like a ghost for the past two days, gone was the girl with the blank look in her eyes. She removed the AirPods from her ears and her lips stretched into a huge smile when she saw me. Weird but not unusual.

"You don't look happy to have me back."

She repeated when I did not say anything. I only focused my attention on draping my back pad behind my chair before sitting down.

"Trust me, I did not want to return either but I had to. I don't want you guys to flop your exams. It's starting in four weeks and you guys were doing a great job of not listening in class."

I frowned, wondering what she was going on and on about even though at the very back of my mind, I had an idea of what she was saying. Sitting with Adam was distracting, if he wasn't sketching at the back of his notes when the teacher was teaching, he'd be staring at something on my face, making it extremely difficult to concentrate.

"So tell me...." She started, moving closer to me and almost closing the distance between us with her eyes twinkling as if she was aware of one joke that I wasn't aware of.

"Do you like my friend?"

She deadpanned and my mouth dropped open. What? What's this girl sputtering now? Like???

"I mean, who wouldn't like him? That boy stole the beauty of a hundred guys. Just look at him, just look at that smile...."

She was no longer looking at me and I followed her eyes to see that she was now looking at Adam, who was leaning on Kunle's desk and smiling at whatever joke the latter was saying. He looked so carefree, so happy, and full of life, compared to how he was just two days ago. I found myself smiling subconsciously and Sophia was right, he looked......

"Wow. I caught you!!!!"

I turned back to look at Sophia who was looking at me with huge eyes, a little smile on her lips. God! Who sent this girl to me?

"What are you talking about?"

I finally managed to croak out and wait, what? The voice that just came out of my mouth couldn't be mine. No way.

"Yeah, come on. You know what I'm talking about but then, it's okay if you don't want to talk about it now. I'm always here."

I shook my head, ready to turn away from her scrutinizing eyes when she screamed out again, one hand covering her mouth, one of the fingers on the other pointing towards me;

"Oh My God. She's blushing. You're blushing. Wow."

Everybody in the class turned to look at us at her words, even Kunle and Adam. Adam looked at her with his brows raised before he turned to look at me and well, maybe my heart did skip a beat. I looked away from him to Sophia who was still grinning at me before I shook my head and I stood up, ready to walk out of the classroom.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

She yelled after me before she burst into laughter.

This girl must be a psycho.

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

I saw the list of the students that indicated an interest in the prefect's post on the main notice board in the academic block and while I could easily pick out the names of Adam, Kunle, and Aminah, I couldn't find Sophia's name and it took me a while to realize that her name wasn't on the list. She gave up competing for the post for Aminah and she wasn't going to compete for other posts? Wow. I don't think anyone has given me headaches like Sophia was giving me in my life.

I heard someone scowl behind me and I turned back to see Alex staring at the list before he turned to me and his eyes widened in surprise and his lips stretched into a smile.

"Oh, Comrade, you found me."

I rolled my eyes before I could stop myself. Was he lost before? And why does he keep calling me his comrade?

"Of course, you're my comrade. We share the passion, that's enough for you to be my comrade."

Looks like I said my thoughts out again but then what's he going on about?

"What passion?"

I found myself asking as I turned away from the notice board and we both started to walk towards the direction of the music studio. Well, it was music period anyway.

"We both play the piano and we both like to sing."

I stopped in my tracks and I turned to look at him with my brows raised.

We both play the piano and we both like to sing?

He stopped too and he turned to look at me, giving me a plain pointed look. What's up with this dude?

"Because I'm doing music does not mean I can sing or that I can play an instrument."

He only shrugged and he continued to walk towards leaving me more puzzled than ever. When I finally regained my composure, he was gone and I found him sitting in the music studio, stringing a tune on the guitar.

Well, looks like the weird guy can play many instruments.

"Mr. Paul isn't around but I figure out we can use this period to discuss our assignment."

So he purposefully allowed me to come here even though he knew the class wasn't going to hold and what stupid assignment? The one that I did a long time ago or which one.

"I did it already."

I replied to him and I sat on the stool directly in front of him. He looked up from the guitar, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"You did it? It was meant to be a group assignment."

Well, you were unavailable for two days straight.

"The assignment wasn't that difficult and it took less than an hour so......"

I trailed off and shrugged while he was still looking at me in surprise. Well, looks like that's my cue to leave.

"I'll send the assignment to you on WhatsApp."

I voiced out before I realized that I did not even have his number.

".... Or via Xender if you want."

He said nothing, still looking at me blankly and when it starts to get uncomfortable, I stood up, ready to leave the studio when he spoke up again.

"Why did you stop playing the piano?"

I sat down, eyes growing huge and even more huge.

"What? How? What are you talking about?"

The weird guy just dropped the guitar and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You used to play and now, you stopped playing. Why would you stop playing something you're so good at?"

Hmmm. What's this guy? Does he perhaps know ME?

"Who are you?"

"I'm Alex."

He replied to me in less than a heartbeat before he chuckled.

"And you know me?"

"Of course, you're Kunmi, the amazing pianist from Royal High."

My frown deepened. He knows me but how, when, why, how come. I looked at him closely, trying to remember if I had seen his face before but I just couldn't remember.

"We've met before now? Before Cresent High?"

He leaned back, a smile tugging on his lips.

"Of course, we've met, with Tara."

Med oo. Who is this guy?

"Well, I don't remember you, at all."

He shrugged again.

"It took me a while to remember you too even though you've always looked familiar."

I started shaking my head slowly, still trying to remember where we could have, especially with Tara. And then, how come someone that knows me with Tara was in this school? Someone that would remind me of her. God! No, but then, I know this guy??

He chuckled to himself again before he stood up.

"You'll remember someday and well, I'm always here."

And he walked out of the studio, leaving me more puzzled than ever.

**********

When I returned to class, I was surprised to see Adam on my seat, well, not exactly but he was leaning against my desk, his body turned towards Sophia who was also on her seat with Aminah basically cramped together with her and Kunle was also sitting on her desk.

"Girlfriend, where were you?"

Aminah asked immediately I got to them and I struggled to sit on my seat without making noise but their attention was now on me, especially Adam who was no longer facing Sophia's direction but mine. I swallowed a lump.

"I was in the music studio."

I answered plainly, my eyes on my hands which were on my laps.

"Really? I thought your music teacher wasn't around."

"Yeah. I was just doing an assignment with Alex."

But wait, I've met that guy before? Seriously?

"Alex?"

She asked again as if I had pronounced the wrong name. I looked up then to see Adam still looking at me, a frown on his face. It was then that I realized that it wasn't Aminah that repeated the name, it was him. But why? Sophia chuckled loudly before she started humming a tune to herself while pressing her phone. What's wrong with our Queen again?

"Ehn ehn, Adam, do you remember this guy? Mateo?"

"Mateo?" Adam repeated Kunle's word as if he had just uttered rubbish and he looked away from me to him.

"Mateo? Who is he?"

Kunle's reply was an exaggerated shaking of his head.

"That's it. Adam, I keep telling you that there's more to life than painting and drawing and sketching and doodling but iro, you don't know more than that. You need a girl that to shake this boredom from your life, thank God you've......."

"Kunle, tell me who the guy is, or just shut up."

"Adam, you should allow Kunle to complete the sentence na. Kunle, complete what you were going to say share."

"Sophia, let's just let him be for now. We're still going to scatter that table la."

Were Kunle's reply to Sophia's word and I watched as they both burst into laughter as if they just shared a joke and Adam was just looking at the time, the corners of his mouth twitched up and his eyes, dancing with amusement?

"What are you guys talking about?"

Aminah asked, looking at Kunle who opened his mouth to say something but Adam beat him to it.

"Who is Mateo?"

Kunle turned away from Aminah to Adam who was now openly frowning at him. The latter just winked at him.

"We met him at this hangout that we went to last year. Him and his friend. Cool guys like this....."

Adam's frown only deepened and he shook his head while Kunle gave an exasperated sigh.

"... He's a biracial, very fine guy like this. He's always in glasses and his hair has golden flickers at the tip."

When Adam said nothing, Kunle crossed his arms over his chest and he leaned back a little on the desk, a look of disbelief on his face as if to say; this guy is ell me you still can't remember him?"

"Well, I don't."

"Wait, did you even attend the hangout because I don't understand again."

"I did, I just spent more time in the Arts room."

"Listen to yourself. A hangout and you spent more time in the Arts room. How am I even your friend? I don't understand. Sophia and Adam. We don't even have anything in common."

"Me neither. I just don't understand him at all."

"I don't understand the both of you too. The feeling is mutual."

I smiled at their bickering, starting to see what Aminah told me yesterday. They looked so close and so free with each other. Their bond seemed unbreakable. Aminah was already pressing her phone, obviously lost to the conversation.

"Wo, Kunle, what happened to the Mateo guy? I'm starting to remember him and his friend but in bits. I just remember them to be this carefree and jovial person. So what happened to him?"

"I heard it through the grapevine that he attempted suicide. I heard it from another guy that attended the......."

I blocked out the rest of the words. Suicide?? Suicide?? I closed my eyes, things that I don't want to remember coming to my mind.

"Wow. God! I never saw him as someone like that. God. Only God knows what must have prompted him to do that."

"Exactly, Adam. You don't know what people are going through. A smiling face is nothing. I don't know him but my heart is breaking for him. God!"

Aminah said, finally looking up from her phone, a frown on her face and she almost looked like she was going to cry.

"And see ehn, we could have easily prevented things like this to a great extent but then, we shy away from these topics because mental health is too sensitive and......"

"Conversation I had with my therapist yesterday.........."

Sophia said, interrupting Kunle before she trailed as if she had said something she shouldn't have but then, Sophia has a THERAPIST?

Does she seriously have a disorder, a mental health disorder?

Bothering personality disorder?

Or possibly Multiple Personalities?

Does that explain why she is cool one day, cold the next, and mean the next?

I looked at her, really looked at her and I realized that I don't know anything about her except the fact that she's a fast-rising teen model with more than a million followers and that her mother owns a Beauty Empire, House of Bibi, which has one most sought after makeup line in Africa and that was how she started her modeling career. Every other thing apart from that was unknown to the public. Sophia was the definition of you're famous and you still have a very private life. Because most time, I only see her as Sophia, the weirdo, not Sophia, the teenager with a wide array of achievements, the one who has featured in lots of music videos, the youngest person to host the red carpet for AMVCA and Headies Award, the one who has been listed numerous times among the most influential Nigerian teenagers and she wasn't 17 yet. And I was sure of other achievements that she was probably keeping private. She kept her fame away from her private life, so perfectly. She always looks so different from Williams on Instagram or any other social media platform.

"Anyway." She continued, undeterred by her slip of the tongue "...conversations about mental health in Nigeria is nothing to write home about, especially the mental health of teenagers. It's like we're expected to just be fine like we're still kids that understand nothing about life. People would be surprised to know that teens bear more pain than the so-called adults self."

"I agree with you on that."

Aminah replied, her voice a tad bit lower than usual.

"So during our Arts and Literacy week, I'm thinking that we should have a speech on the mental health of Nigerian teenagers. What do you guys think?"

"Nice."

"Good."

"Not the norms. I like it."

The smile on Sophia's face at the replies, especially Kunle's since he was the lady person to reply could light up the darkest night.

"I'll just make the proposal sha. Let's pray the school authorities to accept it."

"But they've even postponed the literacy week till next term..."

"Yeah, the fourth week but we still need to start planning from now."

Sophia replied Aminah, I thought I'd get used to it but it's just weird, seeing both of them like this. I couldn't help but feel like something sinister was going on.

"So Guyyyys...." Aminah shrieked in her usual high pitch voice and I saw Adam roll his eyes as he turned to look at her.

"So our trip to Ibadan is next week. God! I'm so excited. I've never been to that city. I can't wait to take lots of pictures in the biggest city in Africa."

It's Ibadan that we're going to oo, not Paris.

"It's a four days excursion, right?"

Kunle asked and I watched as Aminah placed her hands on his that were on his lap and I looked at Sophia who was also looking at the almost entwined hands with a very blank expression.

"Five actually, we're traveling on Tuesday and we're coming back on Saturday. It was meant to be four but there's a teen summit at the University of Ibadan on the Thursday of that week."

"Oh Good! Lots of new people to meet then."

Kunle answered his girlfriend and I frowned. The fact that some people are genuinely interested in meeting new people always baffles me. I'd rather sleep or listen to music in the comfort of my room than socialize.

"I don't think I'd go sha. I'm not...."

"Adam, you're going. No argument. Do you have anything against excursions?"

Sophia interrupted and I turned to look at Adam whose expression was turned between a grimace and a frown.

"I'm not sure yet but let's wait and see."

"You should go....."

"Sophia! Don't push it."

He interrupted her, his voice low, a little bit stern and so unlike him. It sounded so much like a controlled angry voice and it almost creeped me out. Sophia on the other hand just looked at him as if he had grown two heads before she looked away.

"I'll be in the Arts Studio, I'll be back for our next class."

And he left without waiting for anybody's reply.

Sophia and Kunle exchanged a knowing look.

And it left me even more puzzled than when Alex said we'd met before.

But I've met that guy??

How? When? Could he possibly pull my legs? To get back to me?

But then, he mentioned Tara's name. Just how in the world???

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

Adam did not return for the next class and fortunately for him, the biology teacher just gave us classwork that became a group discussion as soon as he left the class. Aminah immediately started a conversation with Tolase and Rahmon. I don't get why Aminah was friends with someone as mean as Rahmon but then, Aminah was the type to talk to everyone.

Sophia left the class not quite long after Mr. Amadi left and Kunle left a couple of minutes afterward. I know that they're really good friends but it all looked suspicious. I hope they ain't doing anything that'd hurt Aminah. I turned to look at Aminah who was still talking and laughing with Rahmon and Tolase. I've never met someone more trusting, more blind, and more oblivious to her surroundings.

Or was I overthinking?

Maybe they weren't doing anything.

Maybe they were just hanging out as friends.

Maybe they......

That should be the least of your worries right now.

I stopped, realizing that Adam has still not returned to class and how he'd suddenly had a change of mood when Sophia tried to push him to accept going for the excursion. Was this something there? Something big enough for him to get angry at Sophia? Could this be possibly related to all his other bad moods? About his mom perhaps?

My thoughts started to swirl into different directions as I started to think of what could be possibly wrong with him.

I stood up, ready to go to the garden or anywhere else just to distract myself from overthinking too much but then, I found myself walking towards Art's studio. I stopped at the main door, wondering why and what I was doing here. I turned back only for me to nearly tumble into someone.

Well, what's with me and nearly bumping into people in this school?

I looked up, ready to apologize but whoever it beat me to it.

"Young lady, can you please help me drop this in the Virtual Arts' Studio?"

Before I could say anything, the man who I assumed to be one of the Arts instructors dropped a packet of pencils onto my hands and he gave me a small smile before he walked away.

I stared at the packet, a frown taking over my features. What's up with teachers sending students on unsolicited errands? And wasn't the Visual Arts Studio where Adam would be?

Why did I even come here in the first place?

Just why? Why?

Adam. Adam. Adam.

I could see my subconscious doing leg work and that did not help anything. The stupid question Sophia asked me was only complicating the issue.

And the reason why there was an issue in the first place was that Adam was always looking at something on my face and was always looking at me as if I was the last icing on the cake or something, looking at me in this kind of weird way that made my heart act on its volition.

And those words;

You're hands down the most interesting, fascinating, and beautiful girl that I know.

Why do I think of those words, morning day, and night?

And even more the words, the person that had uttered them?

I heaved a sigh as I pushed the main door open and then the door that leads to the Visual Arts Studio.

He was there, sitting on a chair that looked more like a recliner than a chair. His back was to me and his head was upturned and I had to walk further into the room before I realized that his eyes were closed.

I concluded that he had probably dozed off because of the serene look on his face and because he made no inclination that he heard someone enter the room.

I tiptoed right in front of him to get to the teacher's desk where I assumed I was to drop the packet and well, I ended up dropping it a little bit louder than normal and I instantly turned back just in time to see his eyes fly open.

He turned his head sideways to look at me and I smiled tightly, my heart, acting on its own volition again.

"I'm sorry, I just came to drop this."

I said and I gestured towards the packet and he said nothing, he just kept looking at me, unnerving me.

"I'll leave right now."

He still said nothing and when I attempted to walk out, he grabbed my hands.

Wait, he just grabbed my hands, making it impossible for me to move even further.

I turned to look at him, at where his hand was grabbing mine, then to his face, his eyes, the honey eyes, startling eyes, eyes so deep that it's possible to get lost in them.

"What........"

"Can you stay?"

Hmmmmm?

My eyes widened, Nah, they doubled their original size. He sat up, hand still on mine, eyes still locked with mine while I just stared at him, stupefied, stunned, flabbergasted even.

"Please?"

Pretty, please?? 😭😭😭😭😭

Well, who'd have thought Alex had met Kunmi before. That guy is too weird for his good.

And then, safe to add Matchmaker to Sophia's list of names and again, she has a therapist?? Who saw that coming??

And no matter how hard it gets, just remember that suicide doesn't take away the pain and burden, it just passes it to the next person.

Okay. Who else noticed Mateo in this chapter?? Well, well, well, if you're reading Iyanuoluwa-Temi Eye of the Storm, you'd have gotten the gist by now. Anyway, my book and hers are going to be in the same fictional world 💃💃 💃

And I met another sister on Wattpad, serenity- is such an amazing person and writer. You guys should check out her books when you're chanced. She's an icon ❤️❤️

See you guys when I see you ❤️❤️