Hey, guys😊.

Sooooo sorry for the 4 month hiatus🤧.

But I'm back😝.

Not much to say other than thanks for all the support so far💖💖💖.

This chapter is dedicated to Don_chizzy for all the votes and comments🥺💖💖.(I promised myself I would thank you publicly💖)

I'm so grateful, and I'll be doing shout-outs for all my readers who have been constant and loyal so far😊.

And a huge thank you to all my new followers.

Y'all are the best😩💖💖💖.

Let's get started!

~~~~~~~
"If tear drops could be bottled,
there'd be swimming pools filled by models,"
~~~~~~~
-Billie Eilish
(idontwannabeyouanymore)

Phineas

Chetachi kissed me.

Chetachi kissed me.

Chetachi kissed me.

I'd been sitting on the table in her space, studying her, unashamedly, because she looked so beautiful.

"Yeah?" I'd asked when she placed her tiara in my head and said it looked good on me.

"Yeah," was her reply.

I'd kept staring at her, marveling at the exquisiteness of her features,wishing I had my camera to capture the moment, wondering how God had created someone so perfect.

But then, I'd discovered she wasn't so perfect.

She drinks.

Mum used to drink.

I had almost turned away when I noticed she had been looking at me too.

That we were mere centimetres away from each other.

And then, suddenly, she leaned in, eyelids shutting over her hazel eyes, and planted a small, soft kiss on my lips.

I had gasped silently, insides twisting in pleasurable knots, cheeks flushing with heat.

The kiss had lasted for a second, a fraction of a second.

But I had tasted stars and touched the clouds.

Then it hit me.

"Chetachi, you're.....you're drunk, aren't you?" I asked, almost hoping she would say no.

She had giggled, burped and said:"I guess I am."

It was then, as my heartbeat accelerated,that I realised that my budding crush was beginning to bloom.

I've just helped her into her car, and she thanked me.

She'll probably forget all about it once the alcohol wears off, but I won't.

A smile played at my lips, and then guilt sank in.

Hypocrite! my mind seemed to be telling me. You cut Noelle off because she confessed her feelings and kissed you, but you're not going to do same to Chetachi.

I sighed, remembering the hurt look on Noelle's face when I had pushed her off me and walked away.

She'd been like a sister to me; I couldn't do that......I couldn't give her what she wanted.

So, I left her. Left us; our close friendship of up to 9 years.

Yeah, not of my proudest moments.

I raised my hand to press the button for the elevator when a loud voice called out.

" Oi, Phineas!"

I turned to see Ricardo bouncing to meet me.

"Sup, bro?" I asked as we shared a handshake.

"Tudo bem, tudo bem," he replied in crisp Portuguese I now know translates to; Everything's good.

Ricardo Santano Luiz came to Hillsong in JSS2.

Afro-Brazilian with Nigerian roots, his family relocated to Lagos when he was 11.

At first he was strange, with his tanned brown skin, full curly hair akin to a lion's mane, bright eyes and thick Portuguese accent, but he soon settled in completely, making a name for himself by being the only boy who was in the football team as well as the dance team.

The ladies love him for that one.

"Did I or did I not just see you with Chetachi just now?" he asked, raising one thick eyebrow.

I chuckled. " Yeah, I just saw her off."

"Nossa!" he exclaimed. Wow! "I don't blame you, bro. She's fire. Calm and quiet, but fire."

Tell me about it.

"So, my party on Saturday, you heard 'bout it?" he asked.

"Yeah, I heard."

He nodded, coily wisps of hair flying about. "Just so you know, you're specially invited. I just told Kes and Majid, and I had to come look for you."

"No p, bro, I'll be there. Time?"

"Whenever you show up. You can bring Chetachi if you want," he said with a smirk.

I smiled. " It's not like that, man."

At least, not yet.

"Whatever, bro. Just don't waste time, 'cause they're guys in our set who'd be more than happy to be with Chetachi."

"You're joking," I said with a small laugh.

"Não, amigo," he replied with a shake of his head, "I'm one of them."

My brows shot up as a smiled spread on Ricardo's face.

"You like Chetachi?" I asked.

"Até mais, amigo," he said, patting my shoulder before walking away.

There was a small tingle of what could only be interpreted as jealousy in my chest.

But then I pictured Chetachi's warm smile and serotonin seeped into my system.

And so, I pressed the elevator button and stepped in as it opened, thoughts run over by the girl I could write a hundred poems about.

Noelle

"Mmm mmm mmm mmmh! After Jesus and black women, the greatest gift God ever gave to earth is black men!" Ginika said, lowering her sunglasses as she scoped the male wildlife.

"Amen, sister!" Abena concurred.

We were at Ricardo's house where he was hosting an 'after test' pool party.

And pool parties usually mean one thing for my friends; hot guys without their shirts on.

The outdoor area where Ricardo's two pools and jacuzzi were, was huge enough to accommodate the crowd that increased every minute.

Tikki masks and decorations gave off a tropical feel and the bar was even serving fruit juices drunk from  coconuts.

Hot Girl Summer by Megan Thee Stallion was playing from the sound system and we were chilling on lounge chairs, watching the scene around us.

"Excuse me!" Janice suddenly called at a girl in a neon green swimsuit, who was feebly trying to take a selfie.

"Y-yeah?" the girl asked.

Janice smiled. " You're blocking my sun, honey. Can't you see I'm trying to get my tan on?"

I swear, Janice is the only brown-skinned girl I've seen whose complexion gets a rejuvenated glow from exposure to the sun.

Right now even, she's the only one of us directly under the sun's glare.

"Oh, sorry," the girl apologised.

"It's okay, b," Janice said, adjusting her sunglasses. "And I love your swimsuit, BTW."

The girl smiled with pride. "Thanks. It's custom made."

Janice gasped dramatically. " Is it?"

"Yup."

"Shut uppp!" she exclaimed in disbelief, then nudged me." I didn't know road-side tailors made swim wear!"

Lekki coughed and spewed out most of the iced tea she had been drinking.

Ginika paused her boy scoping and burst out in laughter.

"Stop laughing, Gi, it's not her fault if she couldn't afford a proper swimsuit made by the right people," Janice scolded playfully, the venom in her tone leaking out and indicating her original intent of making fun of the girl.

The poor girl seemed to get the message too, blushing in embarrassment and walking away.

"Dumb bitch," Janice mummered.

"Gotta butter them up before you roast them, I'll always say," Ginika said, still giggling.

I sank into my lounge chair and crossed my legs.

To be honest, this kind of thing happens all the time.

"Ricardo sure invited a lot of people from Lionsgate," I said, a few minutes later, having spotted more than ten students from the school.

"He should have invited some Elysianites, na!" Abena whined.

I turned to her.

"Girl, don't tell me you still have a thing for Mahlon Akumeh!"

"Is it that obvious?" she replied, smiling wistfully.

Many, many girls would say the same about the handsome, flirtatious, ladies' man that was Mahlon Akumeh.

"Heard he's with that TV star's daughter," Lekki interjected, snapping her fingers as if trying to remember something. "You know, that one on Real Housewives of Lagos..."

"Yara what's-her-name?" Ginika asked.

"Yeah, Yara. She's an actress too, you know."

"I've always preferred Kylian Bachor. He must have been a god in his past life or something," Janice said.

We all nodded at that.

"I agree, though. I mean, that face? That accent? Girl, bye!" Abena added.

"What about Axel what's-his-name?" Ginika asked.

"Ahn ahn, Gi, this one that you're not remembering people's names today," I had to say with a laugh.

"I wonder, o," Lekki added, making us all giggle.

"Apparently, Axel has been with Kylian's twin sister, Genevieve, since SS1," Janice said, rolling her eyes.

"I heard that Chetachi in A class is related to him or something," Abena came in.

Janice rolled her eyes again. "As if that one fit epp person run tins."

We all laughed again and soon settled into silence.

Need to Know by Doja Cat began playing in the background.

"I love this song!" Abena said, nodding along to it.

"Swears," Janice said, already lip-synching the lyrics.

"Daaaayuum!" Lekki suddenly coo'd."Janice boo, I see why you like Majid. Nigga is hot-hot!"

I turned in the direction she was facing, only to see Phineas, Majid and Kesiena walking in, each wearing an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt and shorts.

I gasped, like,audibly gasped.

🎶You're exciting, boy come find me
Your eyes told me; "Girl come ride me".🎶

"I'd hop on that ride any time, any day," Janice purred, not so subtely checking Majid out.

There was no doubt that Phineas, Majid and Kesiena were among the finest guys at Hillsong.

Kesiena could pass for a high fashion model, I swear. With his height, chiselled features and that gorgeous dark complexion.

Majid was dangerously good looking with his perpetual impassive expression, and that was a fact, but there have been  times I've caught him smiling or laughing. It's like watching a Mafia boss turn into a cute, harmless baby.

And then Phineas.

I don't even know where to start.

He's always been handsome since when we were kids. But now, in all his tall, tanned glory, he could easily pass for a god amongst men; they all could.

Am I exaggerating? Yeah.....maybe just a little.

"Go talk to him," Janice said, raising her fox eyes at me.

"You go talk to your Majid," I said, getting defensive.

Janice sat up, chuckled and flipped back a few loose, gold tipped braids.

"Honey, you know me. I can get Majid Mustapha in a heartbeat if I want to, and right now I'm taking my time with him.You, on the other hand, need to step up your game when it comes to Phineas,"she stated matter-of-factly.

Ginika nodded. "I heard he was with that Chetachi what's-her-name on Wednesday this week, and you know they're classmates."

My shoulders drooped.

Chetachi Adigwe.....

We're not familiar at all, but I do know that she's stunning.

I wish I looked like her.

"Hey," Janice said, snapping her fingers in front of my face,"clock's ticking, b."

I stood up and adjusted the short, silk kimono I was wearing over my bikini as a cover-up.

I was about to start moving when Abena called me back.

"Take off the kimono, na," she said.

Did I mention that I hate pool parties?

Sure, they're fun, but all I see are girls with perfect bodies gallivanting around in bikinis I'll never be able to fit into.

Take my friends for example, all of them in their teeny tiny designer bikinis, showing off toned bellies and lean, long legs.

It took me forever to find the one I have on now and it's still a wee bit tight.

"Yeah, take it off," Lekki supported.

"I don't want to," I said, plainly, rolling my eyes sassily, hoping they'd just drop it.

"At least untie it?" Ginika said.

I sighed and untie the silk belt that held the kimono together, immediately feeling self conscious.

Would they notice my stretchmarks?

The fact that I don't have a thigh gap?

But they didn't seem to notice, simply nodding in approval and going back to what they were doing.

I perched my sunglasses on the bridge of my nose and walked away from them, beginning my search.

As usual, though, he seemed to have vanished into thin air.

I saw Kesiena standing by the edge of the pool, talking to Fortune and Shera, but there wasn't any sight of Phineas.

Majid was nowhere to be found as well.

Just great!

I was headed back when a tall, kinda cute guy approached me.

At least I think I'm the one he's approaching?

I paused and looked behind me but I didn't see any pretty girls.

"Hey," he said as he met me, flashing a smile.

" 'Sup," I replied.

"You know my guy, Ricardo?"

"Yeah, we're classmates."

"Cool," he said, nodding.

I nodded back, not really knowing what to say.

Let's just say....I haven't been toasted before.

I simply stood there, staring at the dude.

Lekki says that I have a tendency to do that a lot.

That I have a serious case of resting bitch face.

"I just wanted to let you know that I think you are breathtaking!"

"I...uh...thank you?"

He stuck his hand out. "I'm Theo, by the way."

"Noelle," I replied, giving him mine.

"Noelle, you have a gorgeous name," he whispered, planting a kiss on my hand.

Okayyy?

"Would you mind if we kept each other company for the party?" he asked, leaning in, my hand still in his.

I opened my mouth to speak when someone called out his name.

"Theo?!"

He cussed and pulled away from me.

"Stay right here, would you?" he said, before leaving to meet a group of Lionsgate kids.

I stood there for about 10 seconds before my eyes wandered towards the main house.

People were going in and out of it.

Maybe Phineas is inside?

I cast a quick glance at Theo and then made my way towards the house.

Majid

64 missed calls. Unknown number.

I have to hand it to this person, whoever it is.

If it's my attention they want, they have it for sure.

For the past week and a half, this particular number has been calling me nonstop.

So much that I've almost been tempted to pick up.

"....you've got to be kidding me?! I thought you guys had it covered!" Ricardo ranted into his phone.

"Thought who had what covered?" I asked.

Ricardo scowled as he cut the call and put his phone away.

"The soda fountains I ordered! They just came in, but something happened so deliveries are off for today. I'll have to go pick them up myself, since my siblings aren't around."

"Will it take you long?"

"I guess not, but it might be better if I have someone with me," he said, looking at me, then Phineas and back at me again.

I shook my head softly and he faced Phineas.

Phineas pursed his lips. "Alright, fine, I'll go with you."

Ricardo smiled. "Obrigado, amigo. Wait here, lemme go get my keys."

He left us, running into the house.

"Thanks a bunch, 'Jid," Phineas drawled sarcastically.

I chuckled a bit before I noticed the sour expression on his face.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing.....it's just...do you think any of our set guys like Chetachi?"

Oh boy....

"Just answer the question, mate."

"I guess so, I mean, she's pretty, nice and smart. What's there not to like?"

He smiled ever so briefly, and I knew he was under Chetachi's spell already.

"Ric has a crush on her, he told me himself," Phineas mumbled.

"Interesting," I said, "and this concerns you how?"

I was using this question as a bait, wanting to see if he'd actually state the obvious.

"Well, I-"

"Phineas! Let's go, let's go!" came Ricardo's voice.

"Later," I said, patting his shoulder as he turned to meet Ricardo.

A yawn rippled out of my throat and I rubbed my eyes.

We'd run out of coffee....again.

And it's mostly my fault, but I needed the extra caffeine boost to study this past week.

"Luiz!" I yelled, as Phineas and Ricardo were still in earshot.

"          ?" he yelled back.

"You mind if I make some coffee from your kitchen?"

"Knock yourself out, amigo."

I waved in thanks and made my way into the house's large sun room via transparent, sliding doors.

The sun room was like an over-sized, atrium-like lounge designed for chilling.

It was considerably occupied with different people carrying out different activities.

Like the group of D Class students playing Truth or Dare amongst themselves.

Or like Craig and Iheoma getting a little freaky on one of the couches.

Yeah, I wish I could unsee that one.

Being familiar with Ricardo's house already, I easily navigated my way to the kitchen and fixed a piping hot mug of black coffee.

I inhaled the richly scented steam evaporating from the mug as I walked back to the sun room, the bar in the corner,specifically.

Someone was seated there already, downing a shot.

"Whoa, you'd better slow down there, dude," I said as the guy was about to take another.

It was when he looked up at me that I saw who it was.

"Ola."

After the fight, he'd gotten suspended and has been MIA since then, only showing up this past week for tests, the healing bruises on him a clear testament of the tussle.

"Afa?" he asked, his tone lacking emotion.

"I'm good," I said, sitting down on a bar stool, "are you, though?"

He scoffed and quickly took the shot down.

"Darius' dad cheated mine out of a lot of money," he said, the explanation coming out of nowhere.

"Cheated how?" I questioned, going along with it.

"At one of the special poker games at Casino Royale."

My brows rose in surprise.

That place was well known as the playground for all things criminally nasty in this city, not to mention it's branches all over the country.

Though it's not weird that even military big shots like Darius' father can roll  in that kind of environment.

"He cheated at the game and embarrassed my dad publicly. Made him a laughing stock in the circles. I heard from some of my friends from Elysian, so yeah, you were right."

"What did Darius have to do with it, though?" I had to ask.

"That Thursday, I was in a bad mood because my parents fought about the issue in the morning. Mum was pretty upset that he'd lost over a hundred million just like that...."

I nearly choked on my coffee.

Damn.

"Then when I got to school, the first thing I hear is Darius bragging to his girlfriend about how his popsi bought two new cars out of the blue, and promised to dash him one."

Ouch.

"I just snapped, I guess. I felt insulted, somehow. It's not fair."

I took a deep sip as he finished his story.

"How are things now?"

He shrugged and got up.

"Mumsi has jetted off to SA. Dad is trying to get his leverage back. Typical shit."

I looked at this tall, brown-skinned boy that I called my friend and I realised I didn't really know him, at least not as much as I thought I did.

"I'mma head out, this joint is wack," Ola said, throwing me a peace sign as he walked away.

I slightly raised my mug at his retreating figure.

Life goes on, am I right?

Noelle

I stepped into the house and immediately started my search for Phineas, but all I saw were a couple of my classmates doing whatever.

And are Iheoma and Craig...never mind.

Not knowing where to go, I just stood there.

Then Ola was about to walk past me.

"Wait," I said, grabbing his elbow.

"What is it?" he snapped.

"Is Phineas here?"

"How would I know?"

I frowned. "Whatever, forget about it."

"Look, I don't know where he is, but Majid is over there so you can ask him."

Ola pointed to the mini-bar in the far corner where I saw Majid's tall figure seated.

"Thanks," I said.

He nodded and I saw a tiredness in his eyes I hadn't seen before.

"Hey, um, Janice is outside, in case you were wondering," I added.

"I was just going to look for her, thanks."

He raised the corners of his lips in a brief smile and walked past me, out of the house.

I moved over to the mini-bar, but I was beginning to feel weird.

My stomach churned and squeezed in a massive hunger pang that came out of nowhere.

"Noelle, are you okay?" I heard Majid say.

I was about to nod when another pang hit, a harder one this time, so painful that my feet gave way and I had to grip onto one of the bar stools.

My eyes were spinning and the pain in my gut was unbelievable.

I groaned aloud and shut my eyes.

I heard the movement of a chair and a door in the distance and before I knew it, a glass was thrust into my hands.

I opened my eyes and saw it was water.

"Drink up," Majid said, his tone etched with concern.

I gulped the water and felt the mildest relief.

"You're not drunk, are you?" he asked.

"No," I replied, a bit insulted.

"Have you eaten?"

I blinked at him.

I haven't eaten anything....for the past 4 days and counting.

And I'm proud of myself.

Yes, I am.

I mean, how else am I supposed to lose all this horrible weight?

"Yes, I just got dizzy, that's all," I blurted out in a rush, lying smoothly.

Majid looked like he didn't believe me but then he just shrugged and sat back on his stool.

Feeling a bit better, I also sat on the stool I'd been holding on to, my back to the table.

"Is Phineas here?" I asked, being direct with my question.

"No, he went out with Ricardo," he answered swiftly, eyes fixed on the phone which he now had in his hands.

My spirit sank and I sighed.

Wonderful.

"If it's any help, I think they'll be back soon."

I hummed in response and looked round the lounge-like room.

Quieter, more conservative students who still liked to party, like Oghale Peters in C class were seated in friend groups, gisting and giggling.

Rowdier ones like Mikel Enyashi were jumping about, moving in and out of the house every few moments.

I don't feel like going out to meet the girls again.

And then there's the possibility of bumping into Theo again.

With another sigh, I glanced briefly to my side at Majid who was still busy in his phone.

For the first time, I noticed how sharp his jawline was, especially with the way he had his jaw clenched.

He reached in front of him and grabbed a white mug, raising it to his mouth and tipping it slightly.

I watched and he took a drink of whatever had been in the mug, his taut neck muscles clenching and his Adam's apple bobbing as the liquid went down.

He put the mug down again and, peeking carefully, I saw that it was coffee inside.

I blinked and turned away.

Did Majid Mustapha just drink his coffee attractively?

I had no time to process it because of the loud shout that erupted from outside;

"Everyone, Abena is going to do a dive!"

This got most people's attention and almost everyone inside the house got up and went outside.

Majid finished off his coffee and headed out as well.

I did the same, navigating my way through the crowd gathering round the pool till I found Lekki.

"Oh, hey!" she beamed at me.

"Where are Gi and Janice?"

"Janice went off with Ola and Ginika is at the other side."

I nodded and smiled at Abena who was situated at the top of the diving board attached to the pool.

She's the Head of the Swim team and her legendary Swan dive has won one too many competitions, so she does it at every pool party.

"Go Abby!" Lekki hyped, jumping up and down while clapping.

Abena gave us a thumbs-up before positioning herself properly on the board.

She bounced on it three times and then shot up in the air, somersaulting twice before diving swiftly and gracefully into the water, barely making a splash.

There was a collective "Whoa!" and a loud applause.

Abena got out of the water, smiling and swishing her wet hair behind her like she was a freaking Baywatch lifeguard.

I felt jealousy poke its sharp fingers in my side at her action.

I wrapped my kimono around myself, almost protectively and made my way back inside.

I sat back down on the bar stool and folded my arms.

The room was empty, and I was feeling restless.

And hungry, my stomach seemed to remind me.

I shook my head angrily.

As some people returned inside, I got up and wandered around till I ended up in the last place I wanted to be....the kitchen.

The problem wasn't the kitchen itself, it was the fancy silver serving dishes full of jollof rice, fried rice, coconut rice, fried chicken, suya and peppered gizzard, which must have just been set up, all fiiling the air with a tantalising aroma that made my knees weak.

There was nobody there, no one coming in......I grabbed a spoon.

I stared at the food as my mind waged war against itself.

No, don't do it!

But I'm sooo hungry!

You've been good for the past four days.

Just a few bites......nothing more.

I sank my spoon into one if the rice dishes and raised it hesitantly to my mouth.

As soon as the spicy tastiness hit my tongue, I lost control.

No,no,no!

'Just a few bites' turned into me nearly finishing the whole rice in the dish.

I stuffed my face, eating and eating till my tummy bulged out and tears started streaming down my face.

After clearing up the mess I made, I found a bathroom, locked the door and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

Face puffed out, angry eyes, food sticking to the sides of my mouth.

I felt sick.

And I was sick, vomiting profusely in the toilet bowl.

Then, while wondering why I came here in the first place, I broke down in quiet sobs on the bathroom floor.

🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧

My poor baby Noelle!

She's dealing with so much😪.

But, sha, things get better.......eventually🙂.

This chapter was also used to drop hints on some of my future characters.

I don't wanna spill too much, tho🤭.

Thank you guys for all the love and support, honestly, that's all I could ask for😭.

And for those of you that send me birthday wishes in October,thank you nd God bless.

I love y'all🥺❤❤❤❤.

Next chapter coming up, and don't forget to vote and share.

😘😘😘😘.