Hi!

And since this is the first update of the year; Happy New year guyssss!!!

I know in the previous chapter I mentioned that this chapter was in Beryl's POV, but it's actually in Jimi's POV with a bit of emphasis on Beryl.

Alright then...let's go🤸🏽‍♀️.

(P.S : Jimi in the media😚)

~~~~~~~
"The sun'll come out,
Nothing good ever comes easy
I know times are rough
But winners don't quit,
So don't you give up."
~~~~~~~
- Kali Uchis
(After the Storm)

Jimi

It was the period just before lunch.

The early afternoon weather was clear
and surprisingly very hot for a day in late October, such that the ACs in the class were being put to good use.

Normally, everyone is restless during the school week just after test, but I guess my mates must have partied out all that hyperness from their systems at Ricardo's party, judging by the calmness exhibited since morning.

All was quiet as we all payed attention to Mrs. Vwegba, the Biology teacher. This was actually normal as Mrs. V is one of those demonic teachers who give notes that are only summarised facts and relay the main points during explanations, meaning that if you failed to grasp what she said in class, you failed the subject.....period.

The only sound was Mrs. Vwegba's shrill voice, a few whispers here and there, and the faint smacking of chewing gum from the mouth of our resident ruminant animal, Roli.

My jotter was opened up on my desk and I had a pen in my hand, taking down any unfamiliar things the teacher said.

I had just written down two definitions she definitely didn't give us in the note, when I heard a soft voice counting.

"One-two-three, one-two-three..."

I looked up at Beryl who was sitting in front of me, since she changed her seating position a few days before tests began.

She was backing me, of course, and all I saw were her long braids.

But when she shook her head slightly, I saw a small blink of blue light, the kind that came from AirPods.

She was listening to something and using her hair to cover her ears.

"One-two-three, pirouette, demi-plié, one-two, arabesque....."

Was she learning a dance?

I was about to ask her this when Mrs. Vwegba called out her name.

"Miss Okezie!" she voiced out sharply.

"Yes,ma?" Beryl answered, standing up.

She stylishly pushed her hair more to the front, probably in a bid to further cover the AirPods she had on.

"Would you care to tell me what I just defined as the nerve circuit from sense to muscle via the spinal cord?"

I looked down at my jotter and immediately saw the answer.

Beryl, on the other hand, was blinking rather rapidly.

"Of course, ma," she replied, channelling confidence into her voice. "It's...um..it is.....you definitely said...um..it's..."

That was when I bent my head slightly and gave a small cough, muttering the words; "Reflex arc", under my breath.

"It's um....uh...oh yeah, Reflex arc!"

Mrs. Vwegba squinted her eyes at Beryl in annoyance.

"Sit down!" she ordered.

"Thank you, ma," Beryl smiled at her, causing Mrs. Vwegba to scoff before she continued.

I heaved a silent sigh of relief, thankful that she hadn't noticed me helping  Beryl out.

Looking round the class, my eyes caught Majid's and he gave me a thumbs-up with a small smile and a shake of his head.

He must've noticed.

We've become friends in a way, the two of us, basically because we're both just quiet guys who like things at a calmer pace than most, and so conversations about random things flow easily.

The class went on in peace till the bell for lunch rang.

"Oh, praise God!" someone at the back said.

But, instead of leaving the class, Mrs. V simply turned and began writing out an assignment on the board.

Several students groaned at this.

"Em....ma, your time is up," a girl said.

From the gum she was chewing sassily, I knew it was Roli.

"God forbid!" Mrs. Vwegba intoned. "It is the time for Biology that is up and not mine!"

"All join, abeg," someone else grumbled.

"And for that, you will do both Chapters 13 and 14 in your workbooks, to be submitted first thing tomorrow, before Assembly, " Mrs. Vwegba added sternly.

"B-but, ma," came Amira at the front of the class, "Chapter 13 is  about 20 pages long, and so is Chapter 14!"

"Precisely! Do you want me to add 15 and 16 to it?"

"No ma!" everyone chorused.

"I thought as much," she huffed, gathering her things to leave.

"God bless you, ma! We love you!" someone called after her as she walked out, only to drag a long hiss once she was out of hearing distance.

The class then broke into a hubbub of noise

I chuckled.

Typical day in B class.

Beryl suddenly groaned and turned to face me.

"Remind me to drop Biology next year," she said.

"You knows we're in SS3, right?"

"Ugh!"

Her exasperated expression brought a smile to my face.

"Why did you offer it if you don't like it? Unlike me, you're an Arts student,so it's not a big deal for you."

"Not that I don't like Biology, I just don't want to learn it."

"Huh?"

"Wait! That came out wrong," she said, raising a hand to silence me. "What I mean is, Science and Nature appeal to the kinda nerdy side of me, so I wanted to know more about it without actually having to do homework or write exams on it and stuff. You get?"

"Maybe," I said and she accepted my reply with a shrug.

"And thanks for saving my ass out there. I thought I was going to die, and then Vwegbs would use my body for suya!"

I laughed. This girl.

"No prob. But what exactly were you doing with these things in your ears during class?" I asked, pointing at her AirPods which were now very visible.

"You know, just practising a choreography," she said nonchalantly, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Practising?"

"Yeah. I listen to the music,go over the steps in my head and visualize myself dancing. Once I've done it like two, three or four times I can do the full dance in real life.Total life-saver!"

"Impressive."

I had to hand it to her, that was amazing.

Beryl is so gifted, it's crazy at times.

"Thanks," she quipped with a close-eyed smile.

"So what's this dance for? 'Cause I could hear you saying some ballet moves, which is kinda weird since I never see you do ballet anymore."

Ballet had been Beryl's first love as well as mine. In fact, it was our major at Star Dance Academy, while other dance styles, like Afro, Hip-hop and tap-dance, were more like side courses.

She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Tell me about it! Technically, I'm not known for ballet, and I'm not sure how the 'fans' will react if I suddenly show up in tights and pointe shoes on camera," she said, making air quotes around the word 'fans'.

"Have you ever tried it before?"

"Nope," she admitted. "My mum says I should stick to what's popular, and she's the expert, I guess."

I nodded almost sympathetically.

That's basically what being a celeb or influencer is all about; sacrificing one's interests for the sake of image.

"You haven't answered my question, though."

"Oh..um..it's for this audition I'm doing."

I raised a brow.

"You, the great Beryl Okezie, still do auditions?" I teased.

"Which kine great?" she laughed.

"Tell me, na."

"I'm auditioning for Julliard to study ballet," she said in a small voice.

My eyes widened.

"Julliard like.....the Julliard? As in, the one we used to talk about as kids?"

"Yeah," Beryl replied.

I felt like sadness, regret and the slightest bit of anger were being mixed together in a cocktail and handed to me.

Suddenly, I wanted to throw my crutches away.

If I could properly use my feet now, I'd probably be up for that audition, but I guess that ship had sailed and is never coming back to dock.

"That's awesome, Beryl," I told her with a pained smile.

"Thanks," she said, standing up. "Now, enough talk of school and dance. Baby Girl is hungry and Baby Girl wants to eat."

She patted her flat stomach and made a pouty face.

"Pele o, awon Boss Baby," I hailed her.

Beryl nodded with all seriousness and pointed at me. "And as a Baby Girl, I order to come and eat lunch with me and my friends."

"You're ordering me?" I chuckled. " Oshey mail order."

"Jimi stop nawwww," Beryl whined, scrunching up her face.

I tilted my head and pouted at her. " No nawwww!"

"In fact, don't worry again. Go and eat with those your C class friends," she huffed and turned to leave.

"Come back here, joh, somebody cannot play with you again?" I said, laughing.

Beryl stood backing me and then raised her arms to fold them, forming anger.

It was then that I took notice of her uniform skirt which was shorter than acceptable by the dress code. And she's a Prefect.

I shook my head with a chuckle. So Baby Girl is now doing bad bitch tins.

"Oya sorry, boss," I added.

"Good," she turned with a smile and motioned for me to stand up.

I picked up my crutches and used them to get on my feet, balancing my weight carefully so I wouldn't tip over.

"Lead the way, boss," I said.

"Nah," she replied, coming to stand by my side,"let's walk together."

I smiled. "Fine by me."

.......

Beryl carried both her tray and mine as she led me to the table where her friends were seated.

"Baby Girl has arrived!" she quipped brightly, setting the trays on the table."And she brought a guest."

"Hey," I said, nodding at the girls, Chetachi and Adejare.

"Hi, Jimi," Adejare said with a smile.

Our friendship is somewhat similar to the one I share with Majid; 'hi's, 'hello's and the occasional conversation.

Chetachi gave me a small wave which I returned by raising one of my crutches slightly.

Beryl pulled out a chair next to hers and gestured for me to sit. "Baby Girl is a gentleman," she said, flashing me a grin.

I sat, placing my crutches against the table as Chetachi face palmed and Adejare giggled.

"Hope she hasn't driven you crazy yet?" Chetachi asked with genuine concern in her voice.

"Not yet," I replied.

Beryl gasped dramatically and shook her head. "That's insulting, Cheta, utterly insulting."

"You binge watched Miraculous again last night, didn't you?" Adejare asked.

"Yes, and Baby Girl is officially engaged to Mr. Luka Couffaine," Beryl responded with all confidence.

I shook my head and picked up my fork to eat the steaming moin-moin I had on my plate.

Chetachi was having moin-moin as well, while Adejare had white rice and stew on her plate.

Turning to look at what Beryl was having, I was shocked to see her spooning what appeared to be small, brown cubes onto her stew.

"Do not tell me you brought your tofu with you," came Chetachi, staring with a slightly disgusted expression on her face.

Adejare sighed and muttered,"Here we go again."

"You know Baby Girl can't eat her rice without tofu," Beryl replied.

She picked up one piece of tofu with the spoon and stretched her hand to Chetachi.

"Try it, it's delicious. Baby Girl says so."

"I'll pass," Chetachi said, eyeing the tofu piece like it had insulted her or something.

Beryl's face fell and I tried not to laugh at the African Magic they were acting.

"That's how one time when we were kids, I offered Beryl some of the chicken my mum had packed for me and she ran away screaming. Then she came back, snatched the chicken from my hand and went to throw it away," I said, the memory playing in my head.

Adejare laughed loudly, covering her mouth with her hands and hitting the table.

"Haew, bush girl," Chetachi said, shaking her head.

"It's bush Baby Girl to you," Beryl immediately retorted, clicking her tongue. "Jimi, taste this thing and tell Cheta that it's sweet," she said, tapping my shoulder.

"That's cheating!" Chetachi protested immediately, slipping a piece of moin-moin into her mouth.

"Ugh!" Beryl groaned, looking around for someone else. "Enhen, Kesiena, come her first."

Our tall, dark skinned Head Boy walked up to the table and balanced his hand on the back of Adejare's chair.

"Wassup?" he greeted us generally.

"Come and taste this thing," Beryl said, beckoning him with a hand.

Kesiena obliged and leaned over towards Beryl.

She used one hand to cup his face tenderly and the other to gently feed him the tofu, looking into his eyes the whole time.

He stood straight again and chewed almost thoughtfully. "This is actually really good," he eventually said.

Beryl squealed triumphantly and stuck her tongue out at Chetachi, who simply went "Hmmph!" in response.

Kesiena then bent and whispered something into Adejare's ear and she nodded.

"What did you tell her?" Beryl asked him, curiosity evident on her face.

"A secret," Kesiena said with a wink.

With that, he gave us all a salute and walked away.

"What did he tell you?" Beryl questioned Adejare, tapping her hand.

"Wo, Beryl abi Baby Girl, eat your food," Adejare said, shaking her head, making the girl pout briefly in annoyance as we laughed at her.

As the meal went on, I noticed the varying characteristics the girls had.

Chetachi was the sharp, witty one with a sarcastic streak and an equally sharp, mature beauty to her features. She seemed to have strong opinions on every topic and was not shy to let them out, going one-on-one in conversations with Beryl, or anyone else for that matter.

Adejare was the calm, soft-spoken one with the pretty, angelic face, big, brown eyes and attractive dark skin. She seemed accustomed to taking the back seat most times when compared to her friends, but on her own -as I've come to notice- she's an individual force.

Then there's Beryl, the warm, energetic, bubbly one. She's the kind whose beauty is not just based on attractive features, and though she possesses them, her own beauty emanated from her soul itself, vibrant and fun-loving, going well with the sharpness and softness of her two best friends.

Sugar, spice and everything nice.

A pick-your-choice situation, so to speak.

".....And that's why Ali is my favourite character from Squid Games," Beryl completed, with pride and confidence.

We were all done eating, and were now just chilling and wiling away extra time.

Chetachi shook her head. "To me, Sangwoo is the best, 'cos he was strategic and played the game as it should be played. I was honestly surprised that he didn't win at the end."

"But, Ali put his trust in him and thought he was his friend," Beryl argued. "Okay, you now, would you do something like that?"

All our eyes were on Chetachi as she shrugged. "For me, it honestly depends on the situation. But in any case, I'm not afraid to do what needs to be done for my benefit," she stated plainly.

"Even if it means hurting another person?" I chipped in.

"Like I said, it depends on the situation," she answered, staring me in the eye. "And when it comes to life and death, it's each man for himself, in my opinion."

I bit my lip in thought.

"But if that's the case, I wouldn't be here today," I said. "It was a friend of mine who tried to help me when I got hit." I held up one of my crutches to buttress my point. "If he had run off or just left me there, my condition could have been more critical."

"What I mean is when you and the other person are both facing a life threatening encounter," Chetachi said, seemingly unmoved by my story. "I mean it's human nature to want to defend one's self, right?" She looked round at the girls for support. "Right?"

"I agree that it's human nature, but still there's room for morals and compassion, and let's not forget that this Squid Games stuff is fictional. Real life is real life, abeg," I added.

"And it's hard," Adejare said softly.

"All I heard is 'I agree' and I'm okay with that," Chetachi quipped.

Beryl joined in again. "What I meant to say is that Ali is my second favourite character."

'Who's the first?" I asked.

"The killer doll," she smiled.

"Of course it is," Chetachi said with a chuckle.

And that was how we kept talking and joking till Lunch was over, although Adejare left us not shortly after she made her last comment.

Beryl and I were on the way back to our classroom when she tapped me.

"Can I ask you a favour?"

"Sure, wassup?"

"I'm not going to be in school for the rest of the week....so, can you cover for me?"

I frowned. "Why won't you be in school?"

"I've got a lot of things to prep for; the Julliard audition, the Late Night show and a photo-shoot thing my mum wants me to do. I'll be busy all week."

"Do you do this often? Skip school to do other stuff?"

She nodded. "Usually, Cheta and Deja help me out, but they can't this time."

"Why?"

"I don't want them to know about the Julliard audition just yet," she said with a shrug. "If they don't know, they won't be disappointed if I don't get in."

I sighed in understanding.

I remembered that feeling of not wanting to tell my dad about dance competitions in case I lost, and if I did win, I'd just bring the trophies home. Not that they mattered to him, sha.

"I'll cover for you," I said. "But try and tell your friends, I'm sure they'll be supportive."

Beryl smiled her warm smile at me.

"Thank you, Jimi, I knew you'd get it."

I smiled back. "Anytime."

People of God😩😩😩

See me that said I'll be updating regularly😭🤧

Sha, don't mind this my wonderful school that decided to give us Test next week.

*hisses in secondary school student*

Anyways, how has everyone been this 2022?

It's still early stages but the things I've seen....

I personally know two people, one of whom was kidnapped this past week and the other shot.

Please o, let's all be safe!

Naija is not as it used to be at all, but we'll keep praying sha.

The Lord will deliver us🤲🏽.

Anyyywayyyyy.....how was the chapter?

It was Beryl as a Baby Girl for me😂💔.

And as for the conversation about making choices for one's benefit.....what are your opinions?

Oya, lemme leave you here.

Vote, comment and share as usual.

Much love and see you when I can💖💖💖💖