By any means necessary,

We didn't say that a lot but we all thought of it, always, by any means necessary it was going to work out in our favor.

It had to.

We had a structure, well planned, if only everyone just stuck to where they belonged.
This all started when the need to break free became unbearable.

Everyone wanted the whites to fall.

✯•Ameliorate /əˈmiːliəreɪt/: To make something better or more tolerable•✯

»»———-YVETTE———-««

❝Some day she will be brave
Some day she will be bold
Some day she will be everything she hoped to be
But not today.❞

»»-————-✯ •✯ •✯—————-««

✯••✯
»»Everyone wanted the whites to fall««

Mike normally took me to school.

But now there was no Mike, there was no us, there was nothing but past and regret and a failed attempt at thriving in love. It felt bitter to even think about it, cold even. For as long as I have been in Everest he had always been by my side, his warmth in my chest.

Nowadays the weather was so unpredictable, the sun could be up all golden and bright, and a minute later it would be enveloped by storms of cold grey and pregnant clouds. It was the worst.

The rain hadn't started until I had stumbled out of the house and out the gates of the estate. My head was just too deep in a haze of thoughts and pain, I needed to get something clearer than air to wipe it clean and so before the car could warm up I just left.

Now it was raining and I had no umbrella, I had managed to rush to a bus stop for shelter but the wind had needles and knives that kept cutting my skin and lungs, making breathing painful. But it seemed I was the only one out of the other two people under the shed that felt like the cold was strangling them from inside.

It made me feel so weak. I was so weak. I hated it. I hated the rain, I hated the heaviness in my heart, I hated Mike wasn't here and I hated I wanted him to. I hated the stupid beanie on my head, I hated the chopped braids and throbbing wound beneath it. I hated everything.

I couldn't even call for an Uber because my phone was still a pile of glass wire and metal on the floor of the kitchen at home.

Someone settled beside me, dragging me from my thoughts, tossing their bag with a grunt. I looked up from the brown tatty thing up to their soaked shoes, the ends of their grey trouser weren't spared either. It was then I recognized the uniform, everything about Everet was just too distinct, intentionally made to stand out.

He was slouched over, a big black hood over his face but the strands of dread that laid out and irritation in his voice sounded familiar.

He took a deep drag of the cigarette between his fingers and let out a puff of smoke that quickly mingled with the wind and twiddled away.

He leaned back on the bench with a sigh before slowly turning towards me, my eyes quickly meeting his uninterested ones, bagged with dark circles.

"What's up, Yvette?"

Anwa was Mike's best friend, but they acted like their relationship was thicker than that. Mike absolutely loved him, loved him way more than he ever showed to his actual brothers, there was just something about Anwa he was drawn to, something that made him soften, that made his life more of his.

Anwa on the other hand, I just couldn't say, most of the time he was just blank and a shadow in a room, quiet and absent, it was like he was there but never around, a doll without consciousness. I was even surprised he could remember my name and why he was talking to me without having to be indulged.

Or was I staring too hard?

Or did Mike send him to find me?

I might've taken too long to reply because he simply dragged his eyes away and brought the cigarette to his lips, not a single regard or care to the middle-aged lady in a tweed suit standing at the end of the bench sending him side eye glare.

I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. "Hi, Anwa."

He didn't answer me but that wasn't surprising, he got bored easily and zoned out fast. He wasn't like this all the time, there were times he was too loud, too happy, roaring and howling and then he would just crash. There were only two sides to his spectrum, a body-wrecking high or a sluggish low.

The rain was still harsh and the wind harsher, pouring and swaying the vibrant flowers and soaking up the grass, making the glint of the glass buildings dull and leaving the flashy billboards and lights without an audience as cars occasionally glided up and down the empty roads.

Somehow with Anwa sitting here, beside me, my heart couldn't just be at ease, it felt like he was spying on me, snitching on me to Mike.

She is at the bus stop, heading to school.

Oh my God, that's so stupid. But stupid didn't mean it was wrong.

"Did you know I was here?" I asked rubbing my bare knees together from the chills of my fear and the breeze.

He didn't answer, he stared forward as though he could see past the roads and cars and straight through the glass windows of the café down ahead.

"You look like you didn't sleep." I blurted out, my fingers twitching, needing to dig deeper, to satisfy my curiosity and hunch.

I expected him to ignore me again, but he cocked his head to the side and made a face like I was speaking gibberish, as though I was a nagging child. "I didn't. I was reading."

"Reading?" That came out more shocked than I had hoped. "You read all night?"

He blinked at me slowly, he was so inclined backward and I was sitting upright and rigid that he had to look upwards a bit to see my face.

He cocked his head to the side. "Do you always ask stupid questions?"

I opened my mouth to speak then paused taking a second to fully process his words, the heat of embarrassment devoured me, especially when I noticed the lady had sent an incredible look our way.

"I-I- what?" I stammered and then cleared my throat. "No, I don't."

He raised his brow at me and I could swear I saw the corner of his lips twitch upwards. He stared at me for a second too long, right into my eyes until I looked away.

He passed the cigarette to me. "It'll keep you warm, I can hear your teeth chattering."

I played with my fingers and darted from it to him. "I don't smoke."

"And?"

I just realized that I had never spoken with him for this long, just the two of us without interruptions or Mike as the middleman. It was always just the basic hi and hellos that were thrown from my part and the nods and quick glances of acknowledgment from his.

I really felt uncomfortable with the way he spoke, I didn't want to be rude but I could even say I hated it. His tone, his posture, and his gazes felt so condensing like I was in junior class or a fly pestering him.

Maybe I am pestering him. Why do I keep asking him stupid questions?

"I-I don't think it's healthy."

"It isn't," He said plainly. "But I didn't ask you that, I said it'll help with the cold."

"I'm fine." I shifted in my seat and sent him a small smile hoping it didn't come out too harsh, even just the secondhand smoke was giving me a migraine.

Again with the stare, this time he darted his eyes around my face like I was a movie or a painting, he then pulled his hand back and took another puff.

"Didn't you?" He outstretched his long legs and sat straighter causing the hood to tip back a bit, he had fresh stitches that ran from the crown of his head to his eyebrow. "Didn't you stay up all night reading?"

I couldn't look away from the jiggered ugly wound, it looked like it was done clumsily, without a care in the world. It took me a moment before I understood what he was asking and all I could do was chew on the inside of my cheek and look away.

I could feel his eyes still on me, they felt like bony fingers on my skin. I didn't answer and rubbed my knees again, tapped my feet, and waited so patiently for the ground to crumble and cut our conversation short.

"Weren't you at Mike's?"

"I wasn't," I answered, too fast, too sharp, too suspicious.

"You sure?"

I looked back at him and wondered if Mike had told him everything, if Mike had been telling him everything, from the very first time he grabbed my jaw too tight last year in March to the outburst from last night.

Did they laugh at how much I cried?

Did they find some kind of amusement in seeing how little it would take to hurt me?

Did they like to draw bets and see how long and how many apologies would it take before I went back to him?

There was a subtle anger in my chest, my head felt hot with the gnash under my beanie boiling. "Yes, I'm sure."

He chuckled, low and thick, a cloud darker than the ones above escaping his teeth. "You're fun."

I furrowed my brows at him, the growing heat vanishing at that. "What?"

A small smile stretched his lips. "Do you know why?"

"No, I don't." I didn't want to know why I wanted to run away from here.

He wagged a finger at me. "That's why."

I couldn't be here any longer, sitting and talking with Anwa felt like he was playing cards with me. He made me uneasy and filled my mouth with acid and forced me to swallow it down to my stomach to nibble on my guts.

Or maybe I was just too paranoid.

"I didn't mean to be rude or whatever," His words cut through my nerves and thinking. "If I was, I'm sorry. You're Mike's girl."

You're Mike's girl.

You're Mike's girl

Over the months I had heard whispering of different versions of those words, from the girls on the cheer squad to the guys on the football teams to even the seniors a class above us, but I had never heard someone say it so blatantly to me.

It was like being Mike's girlfriend was all that mattered, was all that made me matter. It made me invisible, untouchable like I walked down the hallways wearing a safety blanket over my blazer and two hefty guns strapped to my skirt.

Maybe Anwa did mean to or not but it was a slap to my face, like I was dosed in ice water colder than the rain and hit so hard with reality, that it made my eyes water.

Without him. Without him being my boyfriend. Without Michael Fagunwa.

What will happen to me now?

Who will I be?

I let out a shaky breath and opened my mouth to correct him but nothing but silent words left my mouth. I bit down on my lip and swallowed a big lump of nothingness, my gutlessness scratching down my throat.

He shrugged over his hoodie, ruffling his locks in the process and exposing himself to the murderous cold, the rain was still as merciless as ever so it caused me to furrow my brows in heavy bafflement and part concern.

"What-."

He passed it to me. "This will help with the cold."

I glanced at the black material and to him, without it he seemed even taller, but his posture looked more crooked. "No-No, you'll freeze to death."

"I'll live," He shoved it to me. "But you won't."

I unzipped it reluctantly and pulled it over my shoulders, the hands drowned mine and it gathered on my lap, but God did it help. It smelt like soap and felt like warmth and sleep.

"Thank you," I whispered. But I am not Mike's girl.

There was complete silence between us, with him burning the cigarette to ash and the rain drumming over the shade over our heads, and of course, the not-so-subtle tsks and glares the lady who had scooted over to the corner sent to him distastefully.

The school bus made a slow stop in front of us and the doors swung open, relief washed me, I didn't have a watch or my phone so I couldn't tell what time it was but a little irksome voice in my head kept whispering that the exams were already taking place or were over.

I stood up and gathered my bag but then before I could take a step I noticed that Anwa hadn't moved from his position. He was still sitting down slouched over and legs spread looking spaced out as always.

"You're not coming?"

"My scholarship doesn't cover bus fare, sad, I know."

"Oh."

I looked at the bus for a moment before I retook my seat, settling my bag on my lap. The driver glanced between us, shrugged, and folded the door closed before moving away.

"I hope you didn't sit back because of me," He drawled playing with the stick between his fingers. "I don't need your pity."

"I know-."

"We aren't friends."

I buried my hands in the pockets of the hoodies, playing with my fingers. "I know, I just-."

He turned to face me and it felt like we had subconsciously moved closer to each other, his eyes dug into my own, his face blank, he smelt of smoke. "If the roles were reversed I would've walked in and left you behind. I honestly wouldn't have given a fuck."

Somehow I didn't care, he was close and looking straight at me, focused and sharp, I just wanted to tell him that I wasn't Mike's girl. I wanted to see if he would tell me to give back his hoodie or completely shun me out. It was starting to manifest into something heavy and painful and bloody in my stomach, I needed to let it out.

"I know," I sighed and whispered. "I know."

In a place like Everest, in a place like Whitepocket, it was everyone for themselves, greed and more greed before empathy. You were against everyone until you were ahead, made connections before you made friends, made enemies before you made a family.

And for people who were from Backtown, people like Anwa, to find themselves thrown in this place, it was a hundred times harder for them, in an environment where influence and wealth spoke louder than anything, they were ultimately at a disadvantage.

A honk caused me to shriek and grab my bag quickly from falling, it stole both our attention and led to a light redwood car, sitting right in front of us, all sleek and elegant under the shower. The windows rolled down and a familiar face popped up, big boba eyes, and cherry lips.

Kamharida waved us over. "We go to the same school, right? Hop in, I think the bus just passed this stop."

Like I said, Everest's uniform was just too distinct, she could even notice it just from passing by through the wet veil over the glass.

I gestured between Anwa and me. "Us?"

She giggled. "Yeah, come on, enter enter!"

I heard Anwa sigh heavily then he tossed the cigarette into the puddle in front of him and stood up and murmured under his breath. "Well, fuck it, wetin man go do?"

With three long strides, he was already slipping into the front seat and proving his earlier point. It was then I fully processed everything, I shrugged my bag on and jogged over to the car before sliding into the back and sitting beside her.

"Excuse me?" The middle-aged lady moved towards the edge of the shade, and because I hadn't shut the door yet we could all hear her pretty clearly.

Kam and I both blinked at her, and she continued with what I think was a smile. "I want to give that young man a word of advice, smoking doesn't prove a point, all it does is kill you. You're still young, build on that youth with things you would be proud of in the future"

Anwa rolled his window down and cocked his head at her. "Aren't you Mide's mother?"

She looked taken aback, her face scrunched up. "Eh?"

"I've been to your home before, saw your picture on the wall, you honestly don't do justice to it," He said dully. "When he gets out of prison tell him to hit me up, let's build on our youth together."

Kamharida let out a loud laugh and at that, I shut the door and the car slid away.

Hannah liked to group our classmates in tiers, she gave them colors, grey, blue, wine, and white, the colors of Everest, it was only fitting after all.

We didn't start out like this, the rankings, the colors, the demarcations. But with everything else in Abuja, standards must be met and a status quo must be created. It started with the coming of the founding fathers and their families, purposely setting themselves at a bar so high no one else could reach, monopolizing the whole of Abuja, and birthing a chain of districts and areas they called Whitepocket and disregarding the rest as Backtown.

The Greys were at the very bottom, the leftovers, they walked down the halls and through the school with large blinking target signs. They were hard to miss, when you saw a grey you would immediately know they were one. They were the preys, unanimously agreed by the set that their significance was meaningless.

The Blues were the ones who were a little bit more tolerable to be belittled. They were the silent ones, skiddle through the corners and under everyone's noses. One mess up and they would easily be tumbling back to grey.

The Wines were the academic geniuses, the star athletes, the ones with the latest everything, it was also awarded by association. They were the most popular. The ones whose gist always circulated, the trendy kids with the trendiest things. They were the ones we all must love, like Noah, like Mike, like Hannah.

And then they were the Whites. They were the top. That's all, that's all I could describe them as, they were the very crown of the food chain, too far up that they were disassociated from the entire set.

Kamharida Amaechi was a White.

The car felt like summer and smelt like sugar and sweet and creamy, like what I imagine a child's wonderland would be.

There was enough space between us but it felt like she was closer, sitting beside her made me very self-conscious, I started to wonder if I looked too raggedly with the oversized hoodie and the out-of-place beanie on my head, or if Anwa's secondhand smoke had clung onto my clothes.

"You guys are in my class right?" She broke the silence, well there hadn't really been any because she had been humming and dillydallying on her phone.

She turned to me, two rabbit teeth on display. "You're Mike's girlfriend. You wanted to get into the cheer squad earlier this session, ba?"

She talked in a slight high-pitched tone, as though everything made her excited. Her voice was sicklingy adorable, and charming.

"Yes," I mumbled. "And my name is Yvette."

"Yvette," She threw it around her mouth. "It's so cute."

"Kamharida is-is a cute name too-."

"Oh please," She cut me off waving her laced hand and setting out a string of giggles. "Of course, I know that sweetheart, but I'm talking about yours, Yvette? Now that's uncommon, it's chic, you get it right?"

I nodded slowly, trying not to feel too intimidated but anytime she turned her gaze toward my direction I would immediately look away to avoid eye contact, I thought I would melt.

"I know you're Anwar," She emphasized. "We're in the same sports house, you scored the winning goal at the dying minute last interhouse. I remember."

Anwa seemed unenthusiastic in her chattering or trying to engage with her, but he had to make something clear. "It's Anwa."

"Okay, okay," She whispered. "You two cuties are shy."

Then she turned her attention back to her phone, her humming back to killing off any peep of silence. She was so small, doll-like shape, with her soft babyish features and glittery accessories, she was an eyecatcher, too hard not to miss. Even as short as she was, she just stood out.

But there was a reason she was untouchable. She was everything good on the outside and everything bad on the inside, so I have heard, that this would be my first time interacting so closely with her.

It was like I knew things but didn't, there were all rumors and vague but one thing was for sure, she wasn't someone you'll like to piss off or be too close to. There was always a downside to too much or too little sugar.

What I do know is that she loved to make people's dark closets her personal boutique and wore their skeletons around her neck as though it was Gucci.

We entered an unfamiliar route that caused me to furrow my brows, I wanted to ask where we were going but I assumed it might be too rude. Kam also had an exam she wouldn't be jeopardizing herself by coming late.

"Today is entrance day exams," She spoke up looking at me as though she read my mind. "You know how it gets, the regular road will be crowded to hell."

"Oh."

How could I ever forget what it used to be like, I had written the exams over six times and was put on the waiting list each year right from the first time I wrote in primary four. Every year I wouldn't make it, each year I would be so close, and each year I was asked to wait indefinitely for a callback.

Until the sixth time, I read harder than I ever did, harder than for my junior WAEC, but like a stupid curse, I was placed first on the waiting list.

Being on the waiting list was as good as failing because nobody was dumb enough to withdraw from their acquired spot, it was nearly impossible until it wasn't.

Someone did withdraw and I got in.

"That thing is rigged as hell," Anwa spoke up for the first time in a while, for the first time I could sense something strong in his tone, anger.

Kam hummed rubbing her lips against each other and leaned back on her seat. "And why do you say so?"

He scoffed. "Only a particular caliber of students can get in, no matter how good or intelligent you are if you don't fit their ideal image you'll be cut."

She shrugged. "That sounds fair to me, why would someone take the spot of someone else who fits the criteria better?"

"So you're trying to tell me that each Talha, or Amari, or any other of the fucking founding members like yourself that got in did it cause they fit the criteria?"

"Yes."

"Bullshit." He spat. I have never heard him talk so much and so passionately.

A blue to a white, inching over the line.

Kam narrowed her eyes at him and bit a smile, not in the slightest railed up as he was. "Anwa, is it? tell me please what are the criteria?"

He was quiet for a bit and then continued. "Money, status all that bloody connections."

"Exactly, money, status, those sweet bloody connections, you said it" She counted with her gloved fingers. "Talha, Amari, Fagunwa, Mohreen, Sinclair, Amaechi, Madichie, they are the criteria, those names are the standard. Me, you, Yves—isn't that a cute nickname?—we were and will be judged according to them."

"That isn't fair," I mumbled, digging my hands deeper into my pocket.

Wasn't it ridiculous that both I and Anwa were against this when we knowingly and unknowingly suckled the privileges of being around Mike, those privileges that came with him from being a Fagunwa.

"Well," She laughed, unbothered. "Everything is fair when you have power, isn't it? Power makes it fair."

"That's pure ass," Anwa snapped. "And you should fucking shut up with that ideology, stop trying to spread it."

She stared at him for long silent seconds, just staring at the back of his chair and when she spoke she wasn't smiling any longer. "Stop the fucking car."

The car swerved onto the pavement and I had to grip the door handle to stop myself from smashing my face. "What's going-."

"Get out Anwa."

My heart dropped at her piercing tone, chills caused goosebumps to sprout all over my skin. I darted my eyes outside, it was still raining as heavily as ever, and there was no shade, no taxi, no nothing.

Tension thickened the air, so heavy it balanced on my shoulders sinking me with its weight, wordless and hot.

Anwa didn't move for a moment before he made to push the door open but it wouldn't budge, he did it for a second time but it was still locked.

Kam let out a chuckle, cupping her face like she was a naughty child who had just played the most basic prank the world had ever seen.

She dropped her hands. "We can move now," the car slid back on the road, and I was left freaking confused. "Yves, darling?"

I glanced at her, she was blinking expectantly at me. "Yes?"

Anwa's voice punched the air, hotly. "I want to get down."

She ignored him. "Would that have been fair?"

It felt like I was pushed into a corner, maybe this time if we said anything that provoked her again she would just toss me out instead. "I-I don't know."

She hummed. "Anwa, would that have been fair?"

"I said I want to get down."

"For God's sake Mr Macho man, calm your little tits down. If you really want to get down break the window and fly out but this car isn't stopping and no one is getting down until I want them to," She took a deep breath. "Okay, sweetheart?"

He didn't answer.

"It wouldn't be fair," She chirped answering her earlier question, jumping on her seat a little. "Sending you out like that, come on where is the humanity in that? But why didn't either of you say anything? Because it is my car, I had all the power, you just had to follow, and so what if it was fair or not?"

She sighed dramatically, and pulled out her lipgloss and hand silver hand mirror. "Tell me something Anwa. When you eventually graduate and you have universities lined up for your choosing, do you think that is fair? That your hard work did that?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"I can bet you my granddaddy's dying liver that you will definitely not be the best nor the most intelligent but because you fit their criteria you'll be ahead of the rest by far, why is that? Hm? Any answers?"

She looked at me, her brows raised in question as she applied a layer of pink gloss over her lips, I swallowed. "You guys, the founding families, the standard."

"Exactly, darling," She grinned. "You'll be judged according to us, schooling in the same vicinity, the same class as the high and mighty, come on name something better you can put in your application letter. You'll be like third-hand royalty"

She smacked her lips and viewed her mirror. "It's not fair but that's your power card. In fact, what is 'fairness' anyway? Nothing is fair in this life, heck even in death. But that doesn't stop the world from going round and round, does it?"

"No." I wasn't sure if that was a rhetorical question or not but I answered it anyway.

"It doesn't, so instead and whining and crying try and make sure you're just not on the losing end by any means necessary. You see, life is a game of power and perception. You have to navigate it with grace and strategy. Sometimes, it's not about being fair but about making the rules work in your favor. Don't you think Anwa?"

Anwa turned over in his seat to properly face her and there was a spark of fire in his eyes. "Do you pick up just any Everest student?"

"Hm?"

"Why did you stop to pick us up?"

She comically tapped her chin and then grinned. "Because I wanted to! Why else?"

"But why did you?" He pressed. "Because I highly doubt you could've spotted us with the rain unless you were looking out for us."

"Because I wanted to help," She looked out the window, humming. "I don't think I have to explain myself to you."

As we approached the school, I realized how little I understood but always thought I had it all figured out. The façade of perfection and power was a complex maze, and I was just beginning to see more of its intricacies. And while Kam and Anwa went back and forth it was all I could think of.

Micheal Fagunwa. Was he my standard?

"Do you gather all the students and lecture them about fairness and all the other crazy bullshit? Or do you just do this to those you deem beneath you?"

"I deem everyone beneath me." Kamharida laughed lightly, sugary. "You're such a charmer, Anwa, pretending you're different.

You should know better by now, after all my blabbering that I don't waste my time on those who don't matter. But you, despite all your Macho macho, you do matter to me, what's a better life purpose than that?"

Anwa's jaw tightened, but he didn't respond instantly. The car continued to drive through the rain, the rhythmic sound of raindrops on the roof blending with Kamharida's idle humming. I stared out the window, lost in thought, trying to piece together what I could.

"If you have something to say to me," He turned on his seat, as the car slowed down. A deep frown across his face, deeper than his wound. "Just fucking say it, let's end the class."

The car slowed and stopped, parking at the site restricted for the high-ups. I had never been here before, there was a sign in front, on a golden platter with DIRECTOR carved boldly on it.

"One of my best friends wants to sleep with you."

"I don't even blame you." Anwa kissed his teeth as he tried to push the door open like he had been zapped with electricity. Anger flooded out of him and filled the car with its waves.

But the door wouldn't budge.

"I told you," Kam sang. "No one is leaving this car until I say so, that includes you Mr macho Man."

He flicked with the lock but it was of no use, he snapped. "Open the door or I will—."

"Or you'll what?" She rolled her eyes. "If you don't ask politely we'll be here till night prep."

My blood turned cold. "No-no, I-We have an exam soon."

I wasn't sure if she was serious or not, she spoke like everything was a little innocent game, and was just trying to be a naughty child, but still, I had to tell myself that she wouldn't miss an exam just to prove a point.

Or would she?

She stared straight at him. "Ask politely."

His jaw flexed and his eyes narrowed, spitting acid and hate.

"Fuck you," He cursed and pulled the driver by his collar. "Open the freaking door! Or I go just scatter ya head."

The car was hot, everything had escalated into a boiling mess. Sweat ran down my back and thick heavy hands grabbed onto my heart, squeezing and crushing. I wanted to throw up blood.

"Don't you have any respect," But she was still smiling, more amused than anything. "Hold him down."

In a flash Anwa was trapped, hands clasped in one of the driver's big ones and pressed on the dashboard slamming him against the panel and curving him in an uncomfortable position between the door and his angled forearm. It happened so fast that it left him stunned, he shook on his seat and wriggled to set himself free.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

I clasped my mouth to hold in a scream and my vomit. I felt dizzy. This was the rain's fault.

"If you didn't want to you could've just said so."

Kamharida sighed feigning tiredness and slipped her hands out of her laced glove, tossing it aside, she leaned forward and grabbed his chin forcing him to face her. The anger that had flared in his eyes began to flicker, uncertainty creeping in as he realized just how trapped he was.

"Now apologize to Mr—," She drawled, her thumb caressing his cheek.

"Basit." The driver slipped in gruffly.

"Oh yes, Apologize to Mr Basit and then ask to leave politely."

Anwa's jaw flexed as his eyes narrowed, dark with fury, but now with an edge of desperation. He glanced at the driver's vice-like grip on his wrists, then at Kamharida's unwavering gaze. The weight of the situation pressed down on him, harder than the arm at his chest, his anger slipping into a bitter acknowledgment that he had no leverage here.

"Anwa, please." I didn't even know when the words flew out of my mouth. My hands were shaking, I couldn't comprehend how we had gotten from a ten to a hundred in a matter of minutes.

A second, two, 15 whole seconds passed with me counting every one under my breath, the air stale and heavy passing through my nostrils. Silence hung thick in the air, broken only by the sound of my sizzling in my skull.

Anwa's eyes darted around the car, searching for a way out that didn't exist. The fire in his eyes dimmed, replaced by a cold, controlled resolve. He knew he had no choice.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Basit," He spoke up, calmly, detached, like his regular self. "Can I leave now?"

She held on to his face for a long agonizing second, accessing every inch of it, like she was studying his anatomy and weighing his sincerity before she finally let go, sitting back with a satisfied look.

I didn't know if I was imagining but I swear I saw her glance briefly at his lips.

"If I say no, wouldn't that be funny?" She chuckled, her mirth chilling. "Anyways, see you in the hallways. Let him go, darling."

Basit released Anwa from his body trap, and he scoffed out a bitter laugh, the tension in his body still visibly tightened in his muscles. "I'm going to fuck you up one day, I promise."

"Cry me a river and join the queue, sweet ass."

He shoved the door open and casually stepped out, His anger had dissipated, pieces lingering behind the heaviness of his words. He gently shut it close with a little tap before walking away, in his usual unhurried manner.

He didn't even look back at me once.

I followed him till he was out of sight, my heart was thrashing in my chest for a reason I couldn't understand, I wasn't sure what was making me so terrified, everything that had just happened or the fact that I was finally in school without Mike as my protection or that I might run into him when I step down, that he might find me.

Or was I scared of the girl sitting beside me?

"I really like you, Yvette," Her voice was lower, less energetic, turning my gaze from the window. "Do you know why?"

I shook my head slowly, my stomach twisting. "No."

She moved closer to me and caressed my face a small smile on hers. "Because you're weak and pathetic. It makes me want to protect you."

She eased my beanie off my head and my body turned cold as I felt my chopped braids and bleeding scalp taste fresh air. She glanced plainly at me, unfazed.

"Remember when I said life isn't fair but you should be on the benefiting side, by any means necessary?"

"Yes."

"Good," She placed the beanie in my hands. "Now get out of my car, I have an exam to prepare for."

It was then it clicked as I stumbled out, unexpectedly, the song she had been humming throughout our ride.

Rain rain, go away come again another day.

ROSE'S LITTLE RANT;

Let me hear EVERYTHING. I want to know all your thoughts about Anwa, Kam, and Yvette so far.

Even Mike too!

We have so much more to see and be introduced to. Beginnings can be so slow and dragged out but no worries we are getting there.

What do you think about the founding families and what our sweetheart Kamharida had to say about them and of course her mini-lecture??

Hope you understood the color grading cause it will pop up randomly in some chapters, maybe maybe not, me sef I don't know.

What color do you think Yvette is???

Are you wondering who the other Whites are? Why don't you check the character aesthetics and guess?🤭

Next chapter we will be meeting more characters! I can't waittttt

By the way, was this chapter too short or too long??

Well well, see you one day, hope you enjoyed this update.

Love, Rose❤️.