JUDGES REVIEWS BATCH III

Welcome to the third batch of Judges Reviews! This batch continues our tradition of showcasing a diverse and talented group of contestants.Without much further ado, the contestants in this batch are:

012 Teza Azet

013 Bowl of Fire

014 Lily Bird

015 Wendy Black

016 Summer Writer

Without much further ado, we call on the first contestant for this batch:

012 TEZA AZET

Prompt: "I hate you, but..."

Genre: Light Romance.

Story:

"𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐛𝐮𝐭..." 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐚 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝.

𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫. "𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝."

"𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐊𝐨𝐫. 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧?" 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲. 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥, 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬.

"𝐒𝐨, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲?" 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝.

"𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐮𝐧?"

𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤. "𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐨, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦? 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬." 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐝.

"𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐥. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞."

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨... 𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭." 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤, 𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐰𝐧.

𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞'𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲.

"𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐭."

"𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮," 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐝. 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞'𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.

"𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐭?" 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦.

"𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭."

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐣𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢," 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞. 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.

𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭; 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲. 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨.

𝐇𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞, 𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. 𝐇𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤. 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞'𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩, 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐧-𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐮𝐩.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐝.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐍𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐝.

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐲.

"𝐆𝐚𝐰𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐠."

"𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢," 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧.

"𝐘𝐨𝐮, 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.

"𝐈𝐟𝐞, 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐦 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧," 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐮𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩. 𝐒𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞.

"𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭," 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐨 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞, 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡, 𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬.

𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐳𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬, 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐞, 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬.

"𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢," 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬.

"𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞?" 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧.

"𝐈 𝐝𝐨, 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐞! 𝐈 𝐝𝐨!" 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐳𝐞.

"𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬. 𝐖𝐡𝐲?"

"𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭... 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞'𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬. 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧." 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐠𝐞.

"𝐇𝐦𝐦𝐦" 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡.

"𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥. 𝐎𝐡,"

𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐚𝐡 𝐚𝐡, 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧."

𝐎𝐮𝐜𝐡! "𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐨𝐲," 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠? 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐜.

𝐍𝐚𝐡, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝.

"𝐎𝐝𝐞, 𝐥𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤. 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫." 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐮𝐩.

"𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦? 𝐍𝐚𝐡𝐡𝐡, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭," 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐡er.

𝐀𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦, 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬.

𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐬, 𝐣𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦.

𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.

𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞.

"𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐬," 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦.

𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝. "𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞. 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞?" 𝐇𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡.

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"𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲! 𝐈 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲," 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲.

𝐇𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬.

𝐇𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝.

"𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐀𝐄𝐂, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?"

"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝?" 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐫.

"𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰?" 𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤.

"𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝."

"𝐇𝐦𝐦. 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭? 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫."

"𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞, 𝐯𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞," 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞'𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭.

𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐭, 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫.

"𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬?" 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭.

𝐀𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞.

"𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞!" 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐈𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐧, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞'𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.

"𝐒𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞!" 𝐈𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲.

"𝐖𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭," 𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬, 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝.

"𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧," 𝐈𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐳𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞'𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫.

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨? 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐠 𝐣𝐨𝐨𝐫," 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐠 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧.

"𝐓𝐬𝐡, 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞'𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐛𝐢? 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲," 𝐈𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐠.

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫, 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬?"

𝐈𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝. "𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭." "𝐈'𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲, 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐲." 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬.

"𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝?"

"𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡," 𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝.

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞!" 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲.

"𝐖𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐚𝐡." 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞'𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐝. 𝐀𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐣𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭.

"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐈𝐟𝐞?" 𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝, 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧.

"𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠," 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐲.

"𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧, 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢, 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬."

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦.

"𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬?"

𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤. "𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞. 𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐞?" 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬.

"𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞."

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫, 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐭.

"𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢, 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞."

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝, 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠.

"𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠."

𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫. 𝐇𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬.

"𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞." 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬.

"𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞." 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝.

𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐨, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝?

𝐇𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐦'𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬.

"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲?"

"𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐭?"

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞'𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝.

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐇𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞. 𝐇𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬' 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬.

𝐇𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.

𝐇𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐢𝐧.

𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞'𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦. 𝐇𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐥𝐲.

"𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐦𝐚"

"𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞?" "𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐦𝐚," 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.

"𝐒𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦," 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐮𝐩𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬.

𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞'𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐥𝐲.

"𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐦𝐞."

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫-𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐢𝐧.

𝐇𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐠.

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬." 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬. "𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢, 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤," 𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝.

"𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬."

"𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦," 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫. "𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞."

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.

"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠?"

"𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠," 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡,

"𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬, 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢. 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞."

𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞'𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫.

"𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮."

𝐇𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐲. 𝐇𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐬, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐞, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬.

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡, 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢. 𝐒𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐞." 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝.

"𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭."

𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧, 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞'𝐝 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.

"𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬?" 𝐈𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐥𝐲. 𝐀𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬.

"𝐍𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞," 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐰𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐟𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

Commentary: God whennnn. Let's see what the Judges have to say about this one!

JUDGES REVIEWS

JUDGE NADIA SULAIMAN

😑

I opened this work and the first thing I saw was Chinese. I'm not trying to be creative or shady, I actually dead saw Chinese letters. Why did that happen? I hope all is well.

After I managed to open it with a different app, I was able to finally get through to your story. Hm. Okay. I've read what you wrote. I'm not sure it's impressed me as much as you'd hope it did. But, we'll see about my vote then.

JUDGE OLAITAN DAVIS

I'm not really sure about this, but okay.

JUDGE NINA OGBEIDE

Just a subtle reminder that this is a competition and not a joke.

JUDGE UMAR HASAN

Please, don soyayyar Masiha, learn how to keep your submissions in word document format only. Because why did I open your work and see Chinese first? And although your writing skills are not so bad, you have a lot to learn before you're ready to be an excellent writer.

JUDGE GIWA FALADE

Next time, listen to simple instructions and send your work in word document, and not any other format.

Asides that, cute story. Cute enough to make me smile, especially when Ifemi said she wanted to see Ayomide naked.

I giggled.

Commentary: It is well. Anyways, unto the next storyy

013 BOWL OF FIRE

PROMPT: "I hate you, but..."

Genre: Light Romance.

Story: Lucid Bliss.

"I hate you, but why do you keep appearing in my dreams?" I whisper-screamed at the guy that stood two feet from me.

We both stood in front of the water-dispensers that supplied water to the whole office.

His face morphed from amusement to disbelief and then back.

"Same here, darling. But you don't see me whining about it." he whispered back, with a wink.

I rolled my eyes in distress. "I'm being so serious right now. You are wearing the exact same clothes I saw you wear in my dream!" I stamped my foot, drawing the glaring eyes of my colleagues who were neck-deep in work.

His six-foot plus, lean frame inched closer, making me seem smaller. His visage became serious, and I anticipated his response.

"Maybe God is telling you something. How many people get to see this sexy man in their dreams? Be grateful."

I hissed and stepped aside with my white disposable cup, squeezing it in frustration.

The annoying colleague, the unbearable, know-it-all type-That was Seun-by any means of chants or witchery, I'd been seeing him incessantly in my dreams for a week, and the next day, he strangely wore the exact outfit as the one in my dreams.

I couldn't comprehend the situation and had been praying continuously-yet the dreams persisted.

"Hey people!" Our bubbly team head's voice cut through my thoughts. We all sat up to acknowledge her.

Seun sat beside me, grinning as he slid into his seat.

"We have a gig, and I need you all to come up with mind-blowing ideas. Literal mind-blowing ideas, like pooshh!" she gesticulated wildly, throwing everyone in bouts of laughter.

"No jokes. I'll be pairing you in teams of two. I need fast work, people, starting tonight. Chioma, please hand out the team list. Bye."

With that, She cat-walked out as usual.

To be honest, her Ankara two-piece suit was the only thing that kept me entangled.

The shock on my face was pronounced as Seun slipped me a copy of the team list, with his iconic, stupid smirk.

I couldn't believe it; I was paired with Seun of all people. Did Dara not see Kunle or Uche to pair me with? She had a knack for pairing males and females.

"We could start working on something tonight. Just send a text when you get home," Seun rudely invaded my thoughts, as he peeked over the demarcation between our work desks.

"Sure, whatever," I muttered.

As evening grew closer, we finally closed from work and I got back home.

As soon as I settled down, I brought out the Kilishawarma I bought to devour. No sooner had I started to eat than my phone chimed.

Seun the Goat:

Tee, I've actually been dreaming about you too.

Me:

Yes, we are working on the event planning of the finals of a writing competition called Project Pen. What ideas do you have on the hall setting and decorations?

Seun the Goat:

Maybe if you opened the door, we could discuss.

Following that was a knock on the door, I walked hastily towards the kitchen with my left-over, stopping by the room to put on a gown. I finally opened the door and came face-to-face with the being that had refused to let me rest-both physically and spiritually.

"Will you let me in or should I drop my flowers and turn back in rejection?" he chuckled, and I noticed the boxes of pizza in his hands.

"Come in, your highness, I've been awaiting your presence," I retorted sarcastically. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" I questioned as soon as he sat on the couch.

"Then I wouldn't be here at all and I couldn't risk that." his deep voice bounced off the tiny walls of my home.

"Well, the food you brought has freed you. Shall we begin?"

He moved closer. "No, before that..."

His melanin skin glowed in the light, accentuating his facial features.

I coughed, "Uhmm...Could you step back?" My voice came out muffled.

"Alright, miss," he chuckled as he raised his hands.

"I've been dreaming about you too..."

I coughed suspiciously as I tried to trace any slight sign of humor, but none was visible.

"So why didn't you say anything when I confronted you earlier?" I asked, folding my arms.

"Well, Ada, the gossip, was eavesdropping, you know..." he smirked. "I didn't want my steeze to drop."

I doubled up in laughter. "Pele o, man of steeze, so it's my steeze that's fit to drop abi?" I said amidst my laughter.

Despite his annoying demeanor, he also had an excellent sense of humor and I always got lost in it when we conversed.

I opened the box of Domino's Pizza, "What's the plan?" I asked, taking a slice.

He smiled slyly, "About that, I already have a wonderful plan drafted out. You can look at it," he handed the file over. "But if you have something else, we could talk about that."

"Never mind, we would work with yours. I already have a lot on my plate. My stress is stressing," I heaved a sigh of relief as I collected it.

I flipped open the document, "Ah, Seun the Scholar, this is such a wonderful idea!" I exclaimed.

He stood up and made a mock bow, I giggled and glanced through the work.

I felt his intent stare on me as I flipped through the files.

"Tope, I've been praying about you... I asked God to show me to you if it was His will."

I was taken aback, nearly choking on my pizza as I spluttered. He immediately poured out a glass of water for me and gently patted my back.

I was still processing his confession when the lights flickered and went out, plunging the room into darkness as night had settled in.

"Uhmmm, are you guys under like Band Z?" Seun asked, amidst the serious situation.

Our laughter echoed through the quiet, dark house, then we both became quiet.

The only sound we could hear was that of the drizzles of rain that had just begun hitting the dry ground.

As I stood up to get the lamp, my little toe hit against the center table, I screamed as the pain moved to my head.

Quickly, Seun put on his flashlight, got on one knee and examined the toe. He muttered soothing words as he applied light pressure to ease the pain.

I felt better within minutes. He attempted to stand up but went back on his knees. I peered at him through the dim light, as his flashlight faintly illuminated the room.

"Tee, you are the essence of my being. How about you stop chasing me in my dreams, and allow me to adore you in real time?"

My heart fluttered at the love and humor his voice carried to my heart. Like a closed tap turned open, happiness and peace gushed into me.

Blushing, I said, "You've been the one chasing me, Yoruba demon,

"Despite being the bane of my existence, I'll allow you to adore me, Seun. Till forever." I said quietly, amidst smiles.

He jumped up from his knees, and almost bumped his head against the ceiling - he was that tall.

As I got up, his arms slid around my waist perfectly and we stayed in each other's embrace for a while. A long while.

Our thoughts filled with the dreams of our tomorrow-oblivious to the fact that we had work the next day.

Commentary: I see what you did there 👀

JUDGES REVIEWS

JUDGE NADIA SULAIMAN

They're so adorable. Ew. I hate cute couples.

Anyways, I love the dynamic between the two, it's very wholesome. Warming my cold heart. Anyways, this story was a good read.

JUDGE OLAITAN DAVIS

I like it. Picasso.

Congratulations, Bowl of fire.

JUDGE NINA OGBEIDE

I don't think anything of your entry so I have nothing to say.

JUDGE UMAR HASAN

This was kinda rushed. And I'm not really sure your plot was well plotted. This could have been way better.

JUDGE GIWA FALADE

Not bad. Not bad at all. Loved the banter at the beginning.

Commentary: Okayy...

014 LILY BIRD

PROMPT: "I hate you, but..."

Genre: Light Romance.

Story:

"I hate you, but I have a heart."

He scoffs, "Well, that's a first."

If it were normal times, I would've slapped back. But I've come to terms with the fact Kayode Adesina is an A-class douche.

Or maybe-more accurately-I feel a tinge of sadness after what happened at his family home.

"Oh, here we go again." He throws his hands in exasperation, frustrated at the pouring rain.

I stare at him, certain he isn't being serious. The weather should be the least of his worries right now.

He continues, flicking a lazy glance at me. "That leaves me with the unsavoury task of getting you home."

"Believe me. You aren't doing me any favors by stuffing me in your car. It's quite suffocating anyways."

He gives a dry chuckle and leans back in his seat, staring at the windshield.

The past few hours flash in mind. From the moment we were greeted by a doorman who looked like he saw a ghost to the actual meeting with Kayode's mum.

Kayode and I loathe one another as much as salt hates water (Look, I'm only an actress, not an inventor of lines). It's obvious from the jibes we throw and the stifling tension that exists between us off-screen.

So, when he offered me an insane amount to accompany him to his mother's, I was befuddled. Well, not initially- considering we're fake dating. I assumed the visit was a show.

"You want to grab some drinks." He takes me by surprise.

"Uh..."

"At my place if you aren't comfortable with the attention."

"You bet." I don't want any more pictures featuring Kayode and me to pervade the internet. "But no. I'm comfortable at mine."

Kayode glances at me; I expect a comeback, however, he says nothing and faces the wheel.

You'll always be a disappointment.

Granted, Kayode isn't the best of persons. But he has feelings. Emotions just like everyone else.

"Kayode is a great actor. Numerous awards prove that," I said to his fuming mother. "You'll have to be uninformed not to realise that."

When we arrive at my place, it rains unrelentingly.

We get in, acknowledge the concierge and make for the lift when my name rings out.

"Nadia?"

The person in question stares at us in shock.

"Seun," is my flat response. There are a lot of things I hate. Running into a journalist who tears celebrities down is one.

"You live here?"

"I do. You don't."

Seun manages to smile only for his face to pale. Kayode's arm around my waist is the reason.

I shiver. Most likely from the cold.

"You wanted some peace and quiet, didn't you? It's getting late," Kayode whispers.

"You're right...love."

We leave the dumbfounded Seun and head for my flat. Neither of us speak.

We settle for a glass of Möet as Italian folk plays in the background.

"Added more to your collection?" He refers to the figurines lined up on a bookcase.

"This is named The Crying Mother. Authentic Congolese sculpture. It reminds me feminism isn't a lost cause."

"Right." He throws in his drink before slumping on a couch.

I face him, swirling my glass. "You should talk to someone about it."

"Believe me. I have no interest in discussing feminism or sculptures with anyone."

"That I know."

He looks at me. A glint flicker in his eyes before he shuts them. "That." A humourless chuckle. "I've got nobody to talk to about my epic family situation."

"A therapist."

His dimpled smiles appears. Kayode is good-looking- part of the reason I don't like him.

"There's nothing to talk about. It's an established fact I'm never going to patch things with my mother. She wants something different. Something I can't give."

Did he just go vulnerable in front of me?

I have nothing to say as I watch him looking at the TV. By some miracle, I'm moved to make him feel better.

I connect my iPad to the TV, head straight to Netflix and select a movie that will likely raise questions.

I gauge his expression. I see him change from stoic to surprised to-regrettably-smug.

He smirks at me.

"Before you get on your high horse, I haven't seen this," I say as I take the couch beside him.

"You only want to make me feel better."

My fist clench. I've suddenly forgotten what a mind-reader this guy is.

"That's noble," he says.

"Shut up."

His laughter fills the air, only dying down when we make it past the 10 minutes mark in the movie. The movie which got him a plaque on three different occasions.

An hour, a couple of drinks and a moment of feverish conversation on frustrating crew members later, Kayode calls it a night.

"Thanks for the reception. I didn't expect you to be this courteous."

I plaster a dry smile, leading him to the door.

"So, about the press conference..." I can't complete the statement, not with Kayode gazing at my lips like... Like he wants to...

He reaches for the corner and runs his hand over it.

What the heck? But at least he wasn't thinking of...

It takes me a while to realise what's pressed against my lips is his. It isn't a deep gesture, literally speaking. So, I can't explain the struggle to breath or the chaotic tempo my heartbeat takes.

Why haven't I slapped him at this point?

"What was that?" I whisper when he pulls away.

"A goodnight kiss to my girlfriend. Plus, you had a smear." He points at the corner of his mouth. "Not very aesthetic."

But we aren't in public. The words remains lodged in my throat as I watch 😆him disappear into the lift.

He's an actor. But why did he do that when no one watched. When we should be enemies.

Commentary: Someone's in loveee

JUDGES REVIEWS

JUDGE NADIA SULAIMAN

Okay, damn, y'all are talented.

Y'all are really talented!

If everyone is writing so well like this, who will we now come and evict?😩

I love this soo much! This one has entered my list of favorites o, even though I've lost count like this. I love the end when he kissed her and told her she had a smear on her lips and went, "Not so aesthetic." Omoh, Lily Bird, you are good! You see this writing thing, you get am! I love this story so much and I especially LOVE how it ended. I am really looking forward to seeing you again in Stage Two!👏🏾

JUDGE OLAINTAN DAVIS

Lilybird, this is excellent! I love it! I have nothing more to say than that. I love it!

Congratulations, Lilybird.

JUDGE NINA OGBEIDE

I'm sorry but I'm still trying to understand what you were trying to do with this story.

JUDGE UMAR HASAN

Pretty good, actually. But it's supposed to be flash fiction; this wasn't. Read up to know more and understand how to write it. Nice one.

JUDGE GIWA FALADE

Simple and Sweet. I like 👍🏾

Commentary: A lot of mixed reactions to this story

015 WENDY BLACK

PROMPT: "I hate you, but..."

GENRE: Light Romance.

Story:

With her head hung low, she shut her eyes and uttered slowly, quietly, "I hate you, but I can't stop thinking about you." She looked up slowly at him.

"When I look up in a room and you're there, I swear, you're the only person I see, Michael. Everyone else becomes a blur. I hate you, but. . . I can't stop myself from loving you."

The confession was unlike her and she knew it. Words like that should never exist in Sade Ajayi's dictionary because once upon a time, she believed that they were all just myths, and once upon a time, Sade absolutely hated the human race. She was considered a misanthrope by many.

So, when those words slipped out of Sade's mouth and she saw the corner of Michael's lips tug up, she looked Michael dead in the eye with a cold gaze that would have anyone seriously doubting the truth in the words she uttered or how flustered she really felt inside.

"Stop smirking." She plainly said. Then, she turned around and walked away.

She wasn't use to the feelings that overwhelmed her, and the fact that she felt them annoyed her. She hated feeling that way, but for the first time in a long while, Sade smiled because she was genuinely happy.

This all started when Sade walked into a room full of teenagers in the middle of a Truth or Dare game and was kissed by one of the most adored guys in Skyler High. You guessed it, he was Michael, Michael Corker.

Seeing as she already detested people, you could imagine just how pissed off she had felt after that.

Michael, on the other hand, thought it was an interesting experience and found a greater interest in her ability to hate people of her kind. He was more curious actually.

Unfortunately for Sade, they became seat mates at the beginning of the new term. She ignored him like she usually did to everyone else, but he'd still try to start up conversations with her. His charismatic personality and determination to get to know her pissed her off even more.

"I hate you." She told him once, "Can't you tell when someone doesn't like you or was idiocy born with you?"

But he only laughed and shook his head. "Saying that isn't changing the fact that we're seat mates."

Everyone knew about Sade Ajayi, no one ever bothered to speak to her. So, no one could really understand why Michael Corker of all persons had decided to be the one to change things. But as quickly as things started between them, it began to change.

It was as if a miracle had fallen upon Skyler High when Michael fell ill and Sade had called to check up on him. Michael couldn't believe his ears. Saying he was shocked was an understatement. But of course, Sade had a good excuse for being nice.

Gradually, Sade's attitude towards Michael began to change, it was as if she had gotten softer. It didn't mean that she still didn't find him to be irksome and exasperating sometimes, she just started to hate him less.

It was a great shock to everyone when they'd see Sade smile at Michael's jokes, or when he would put the other end of his earpiece in her ear and she wouldn't say a word. It had become obvious to everyone that Sade Ajayi, Skyler High's one and only misanthrope, had gotten a soft spot for Michael Corker.

In her defence, he seemed to be the only person that could understand her feelings, the only person who didn't try to argue with her when she began to describe people as 'soulless creatures', and more importantly, he was the only person that she would actually care about.

Sade didn't realise that she was slowly falling for him until the day he kissed her and she let him. The realisation hit her like a truckload and it terrified the hell out of her. She hated him for kissing her and befriending her in the first place, and she hated herself for letting him.

At first she avoided him, and everyone else immediately noticed that something was off between them, until she got tired of watching him interact with other girls from the corners and she took him to somewhere private and made her confession.

It took a while though, but Sade finally came to terms with her feelings and she was happy to have Michael as the special person in her life.

She got to meet his friends and his siblings and let's just say, she became less of a people-hater after that.

Commentary: Sade and I have a lot in common...except that special person

JUDGES REVIEW

JUDGE NADIA SULAIMAN

First off, I don't like the guy's name, it kinda threw me off, but it's nothing serious. I just have my reasons. Nonetheless, the story was good, so I could ignore it.

Secondly, this was quite an interesting read. However, the narration needs some work. The writer should learn how to apply wit to their work, a little word play here and there and a some color tuning in their narration tone. I don't just want to find the story interesting, I want the story to stand out. This work was interesting, but it didn't stand out to me.

JUDGE OLAINTAN DAVIS

You started well, but it kind went off as I read further. Don't just catch our attention. Catch us and our attention and hold us captive.

Do better, Wendy.

JUDGE NINA OGBEIDE

I was already so hyped and mindblown by how lyrical your story started. It went downhill after then and all my anticipation and eagerness were for nothing. You have great prospects and it's obvious that with great practices and learning, you'll become a badass writer. Rooting for you.

JUDGE UMAR HASAN

Next time, follow instructions and start with the line you were given. You should also try to understand Showing and Telling. Overall, it wasn't so bad. It was actually kinda sweet. But you can do way better.

JUDGE GIWA FALADE

Stick to instructions!

You were given a prompt, start with it! Kai! 😒

Your story started so well but fell off. We didn't get to see Micheal's reaction to Sade's confession. You just started narrating and I got so confused. Did he reciprocate the feelings? Did she chop breakfast?

I hate being unsure of things. It annoys me.

Commentary: What did Michael do to Nadia???.....Anyways, unto the last in this batch

016 SUMMER WRITER

PROMPT: "I hate you, but..."

Genre: Light Romance.

Story:

"I hate you, but I'm not going to sit and watch you leave." Ezra uttered sternly but his words landed softly in Rosalyn's ears. There was without doubt a string of care entwined in his statement.

Rosalyn's head which hung downwards craned. They both sat on a hill and there was a visible difference between their height. He was a giant compared to her petite frame-one of the things she hated about him but unexplainably fancied.

Rosalyn cleared her throat in preparation to speak. Suddenly, she felt sturdy hands around her waist and was immediately pulled into a warm embrace. Her eyes widened to the point you'd think they would pop out of their sockets. No, she wasn't surprised; there was a different feeling swirling inside her.

Rosalyn was suddenly gripped by a wave of nostalgia for their childhood days. She recalled the days she played outside in the neighborhood and hid behind a tree whenever Ezra popped out of his house opposite hers, knowing he would come tug the ends of her cornrows, seize her stuffed animals-generally tease her in the most annoying way she could think of, and she would nudge him out of anger.

Currently, she couldn't find herself pushing him away despite their close proximity. It was hard to believe but she felt safe and comfortable staying next to him.

"Rosie."

The nickname. He wouldn't stop calling her that name.

"It's been eleven years and you still call me that."

"I guess it's stuck in my head." He shrugged.

"Well, I hate it." She said with arms akimbo.

"I'm not bothered." He tugged lightly at the end of her cornrows and she playfully slapped his wrists. "You hate everything I do and say."

"You said you hate me." She recalled his previous statement and he raised a brow. "You said you hate me but won't let me leave." She reiterated what he had said.

Ezra exhaled deeply, trying to hold in his laughter.

"I guess the word hate is stuck in my head too. I've heard it repeatedly for the past eleven years." Now he bursted out a fully fledged laugh. "These are all words, Rosalyn. Sometimes they have the slightest meaning."

Rosalyn was a little confused, though it seemed he was making a lot of sense. She couldn't find the words to oppose his sentence.

Then why say these words if you don't mean them? A question she directed to herself.

"Actions will always speak louder than words, and as you know, I'm a man of action." He held her chin and couldn't help but grin when their eyes met. "If you want to keep hating me. Fortunately, I hate you too, but don't expect me to act that way towards you." He said gloatingly and Rosalyn playfully nudged him in the midriff, wiping the smug look off his face.

An awkward silence crept in but was broken almost immediately.

"When are you leaving for Abuja?"

"Saturday." She answered curtly but felt the need to elaborate. "My dad will come pick me up tomorrow. I'll stay at his place for the day before we leave on Saturday."

Ezra nodded.

"What about your mum?"

Rosalyn remained quiet for a while. She had no answer to his question.

Knowing the reason behind why she suddenly went mute, Ezra placed his palm on the small of her back. This time she didn't wait to be pulled in by him before resting on his broad-clothed torso.

"I can't decide for you." He said, running his fingers along her braids. "Goddamit, you're eighteen. This is your decision to make, Rosie." He held her by the chin and she craned her neck.

"Your parents love you so much, but don't let their past hinder your future." He said and without further thought, planted a kiss on her forehead.

She rested in his arms and they looked towards the horizon, watching the sun sink below the skyline. The orange glow in the evening sky was an ethereal sight to behold. It was left for them to enjoy the moment. After all, it was probably their last.

***

The next day came in the blink of an eye. Rosalyn tossed and turned in bed all night while Ezra, despite being busy all night with his school project, took out time to reply to the messages she had sent to him at three in the morning.

Rosalyn had packed up her bags the previous day and got up early to prepare for her father's arrival. He wasn't one to be kept waiting.

She went down to the kitchen to have breakfast and found her mother standing at the sink, lost in thought. Her mother's reaction wasn't what she hoped for. Rosalyn always thought leaving was the best option.

Repeated honks suddenly knocked them both out of their thoughts.

Rosalyn's mother peeped through the window. A black Mercedes was parked outside and a middle-aged man alighted, followed by a young lady.

"Margaret." The man called out to Rosalyn's mother and the two stepped outside.

Margaret remained mute and rather focused on the grip she had on her daughter's arm.

Ezra casually walked out of his house with a backpack slung over his shoulder. The first thing his eyes met was Rosalyn's, and then the drama unfolding in front of her house.

"We are all aware you can only do little for my daughter, Margaret. Rosalyn is better off with me." Shawn said. With that said he expected Rosalyn to get her bags immediately, but she stood rock-still, looking at Ezra and not caring about what was happening or what was going to happen.

He smiled at her and her heart melted; that was the assurance she needed that the decision she was about to make was going to be the right one.

"I belong here." She murmured.

Rosalyn returned a grin and Ezra winked at her before taking his leave.

Commentary: Who wants to be my Ezra????

JUDGES REVIEW

JUDGE NADIA SULAIMAN

This was such a sweet and well written piece. And goodness, such great characterization. The characters had depth, but Rosie and Ezra, and you managed to pull that off with such a short story. Ezra is so hot and dominant in many ways, and yet very gentle and caring with Rosie. And Rosie seems to be the kind of girl to want a protector, someone that would take care of her. They both fit together like a glove. So far, this story and The Pen Reaper's story are my favorite. Keep doing a wonderful job, Summer Writer.

JUDGE OLAITAN DAVIS

Something about characters like Ezra interests me. And no, I'm not gay!!

Anyways, I like how you portrayed your characters well, Summer. This is good.

Congratulations, Summer.

JUDGE NINA OGBEIDE

Can't say I was mindblown by your story. I enjoyed it, not as much as I was expecting because the beginning had great potential but the climax was completely lacking. It's still obvious that you're a good writer and I look forward to how well you'll do in the competition.(That's if you make it past this stage)

JUDGE UMAR HASAN

"Bursted" is past tense that doesn't exist. The past tense of burst is burst. Good writing. A couple of flaws in your punctuation. Other than that, I don't know what to make of your story. But I feel you can do better at your execution. Impress me in the next stage-if you get in.

JUDGE GIWA FALADE

You had three chapters following each other that started with "Rosalyn" which isn't ideal in writing. There are pronouns for a reason.

Also, what is "Light-Romantic" about your story? Because I don't see it.

Commentary: Judge Davis 👀.... We've come to the end of this batch and batch 4 is also out sooo go check it out!