MITC has surpassed 1k votes✨

Thanks to everyone who voted on each chapter, y'all are the best. Yeah, I know that I moved updates to Saturdays but seeing that today is Good Friday, I've got a lot of free time so I decided to drop this chapter.

It's long enough, so enjoy 😘

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All of a sudden, Toyosi was in the top three, and Romeo dropped to the top four. Soon, Toyosi surpassed Danielle last year by being the second-best in government and the top three in every other subject, putting Danielle at a disadvantage. But there's no surprise in Toyosi's performance. Danielle just got distracted in her press club to focus on her studies.

The things Kim had said to me on my first few days of school continued to swirl in my head. Why did she sound so innocent when she first explained about the class's top students?

She thought she could climb her way up the academy ladder and surpass me in a subject, and I'd just keep quiet. 

I was working my brain too much, and it was giving me a headache. I stared at Mr. Obi's closed door for a while. He shared an office with a couple of other teachers. I raised my head to see the CCTV camera positioned in a corner, then lowered it to the ground and turned to leave.

To obtain insider information that would help her in dealing with the Elites, Danielle decided to tutor Hymn. Did they fight for that reason? She was also the second-best student in the class, only behind Krystian, but got dethroned by Toyosi, but only in Government. 

She thought she could climb her way up the academy ladder and surpass me in a subject, and I'd just keep quiet. 

Those words wouldn't leave my head as I strolled to God knows where. It was impossible to think Mr. Obi was connected to this. Connected to Toyosi's grades in different subjects, but I needed to be sure. 

I stopped on my track as I heard a beautiful melodious tone and decided to follow the sound. It led me to a door with the name 'music club' on it. The very club Hymn had been trying to convince me to join. It wasn't time for club and sports, so I was surprised someone was in there. I opened the door slightly to peer in, only to see Hymn in it. Of course. We didn't have classes this period, so it was normal to see him spend his free time on things he loved. I opened the door further, catching his attention. He stopped his fingers from hitting the keys on his keyboard as he offered me a friendly smile. 

"Delphine," 

"Hymn," I said as I entered the room, attempting to seem normal. I scanned the area and noticed the different instruments. I chose to play the solfa notes after grabbing a recorder that was lying on a desk.

"You know your music," I laughed and placed down the recorder. 

"It's simple; trust me, I can't do anything musically related." Hymn laughed warmly and gestured for me to move closer. 

"I remembered you saying you prefer the keyboard over the guitar in real life." I nodded, surprised he remembered that. "Want to learn 'Mary has a little lamb'?" 

"Are you for real?" I needed scolding. I should be weary of people like him and his friends. At least for now. 

He nodded. "Do you?" 

Well, it wasn't like he knew my identity or anything. And it wasn't like he could kill me in a room like this. 

Danielle was killed in a room. 

I moved away from him as though an electric shock had hit me. "I'm fine." I smiled at him, trying not to show how nervous I was.

"Are you sure?" Hymn tried to check on me, stepping forward to put his hands on my shoulder. The door opened at that very moment, and we both turned to see Ore. Ore's stunned eyes darted between Hymn and me.

"Ore, what's up?" Hymn said it ever so casually as he walked back to the keyboard. Ore reluctantly pulled her gaze away from me before settling it on Hymn, who was now looking at his keyboard. 

"Nothing much; I was looking for you everywhere so we could hang out." With hands on her hips and icy glares in my direction, she moved farther into the room. "What's she doing here?"

Hymn glanced at me and went back to the keyboard. "About to teach her how to play 'Mary has a little lamb'."

"What is she? Five?" Ore scoffed, and I rolled my eyes. 

"Not nice, Ore," Hymn scolded, and that surprisingly got her pouting. He moved his eyes towards me. "Ready?" 

"Rain check," I declined. "I remembered promising Kim that I'd help her with something that concerns her debate club."

"You both are still talking." His question took me off guard. 

"What do you mean?" 

"It's no news that you're angry with her over something," he answered slowly. "The whole class is aware."

The whole class? I guess ignoring and not talking to Kim was obvious. 

"Bye Hymn." I was too exhausted to lie, so I just turned, ignored Ore, and left the music club. 

I was trailing down the lobby when "Fish!" an angry voice stopped my movement. I turned to see Ore marching towards me. Talk about ignoring her. I braced myself for what would come out of her mouth, knowing I wouldn't like half of it. 

She finally got to me. We were almost the same height, with me being a few inches taller. Her nose flared up like an angry bull. I wondered what got her pants all twisted up as I waited for her to speak. 

"What were you doing in there, fish?" 

"Did you just call me a fish?" 

"I'm sure you're not deaf," she spat at me. "Or is your name not fish?"

I bit my lower lips as I kept tapping my feet to the ground while balling my fist. I was this close to slapping her. "What do you want?" 

"What were you doing in there with Hymn?" I chuckled at her question, which got her angrier. 

"You questioned if I was deaf, but I can see that you are the deaf one between the both of us. Didn't you hear what he said in there? Or are your insecurities eating you up?" 

Slap! 

It caught me off guard, blowing like a wind. All I remembered was a hand smacking my face and the excruciating sting that followed. Without having much thought, I swayed my hand with enough force and gave her a slap twice what she'd given me. Her head twitched to one side, and her eyes filled with tears as she turned to face me, revealing a tiny bit of blood on the corner of her bottom lip.

"Did you just slap me?!" She was shocked. She was trying to comprehend what had just happened. I guess this was the first time she was receiving a slap on the face. Ore was fair, so unlike me, the cheek I'd slapped her was slowly turning crimson. 

"Who do you think I am? One of the maids you've got in your house?" 

"You dare slap me?!" She shrieked so loudly that students far from us, wandering the lobby, had to turn. 

"And I'll do more than that," I said, moving over to her, challenging her. "I'll beat you like a small pikin if you ever lay those filthy hands of yours on me. Forget about you being a celebrity child; that's not going to give you a free pass to act anyhow in my presence."

I turned, ready to walk away from her. "I told you to watch your back." Ore's icy tone stopped me from moving further. "You just drew the battle line."

"I did?" I turned to her and scoffed. She was pathetic. "You drew that line when you slapped me, so consider it crossed." 

I turned and walked out on her for good. She could do nothing more than a church rat. 

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I got to class and angrily sat in my seat. It was clear as day that I wasn't in a good mood, probably because most of my classmates were looking at me. 

"What happened to my damsel's face?" Femi quickly ran and sat on my desk, forcing Kim to slowly glance at me. Ore must have given me hand prints on my cheek, but my face wasn't as bad as hers. 

"Femi, not now," I answered with clenched teeth. I wish he wouldn't get on my nerves by coming at me at the wrong time. 

"Tell me who that person is," Femi got down from my desk, "and I'll show the person pepper."

"Which one?!" Daniela yelled, "Dry pepper, abi Cameroon pepper?"

Femi hissed, putting his attention on Daniela. "You dey whyne? I want revenge for my girl; you dey talk pepper."

"No, be you bring pepper discussion come out? I wan dey sure na, abi na crime?" 

"You no get sense, don't you know . . ." But I tuned him out as he moved to the back to talk about pepper with Daniela. 

I was in my thoughts, and I was really angry. I thought Toyosi had more motive, but Ore was on a whole 'nother level. What if she killed Danielle after seeing her close to Hymn without knowing she was only tutoring him? What if Seidi had used the right word for the motives I'd labelled on them? Psychopaths. I had a lot of what-ifs roaming my head and needed answers to them ASAP.

I was about to hide my head in my hands, sighing, when I looked up at Krystian. I scowled as he gradually withdrew his gaze from me. Of all of them, he was the worst. He knew something but chose to keep it to himself.

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I held the straps to my backpack as I slowly walked out of the school's building. I didn't concentrate much in class, and Miss. Susan scolded me way more than necessary. She wasn't my favourite teacher, and her over-the-edge criticism today made me feel less bad about the boys calling her a flat ass in the group chat. 

Romeo was standing not too far away, holding his phone, and it stopped me short. I let out a big breath and picked up my speed, moving closer to him. Romeo glanced up at me, pocketed his phone, and turned away.

"I'm not with drugs." 

"Are you okay?" 

Romeo was surprised at my statement as he pushed both hands into his pocket. He leaned in to look at my cheek before pulling back. "I should be the one asking you that," he said, pointing to my cheek. "What happened to you?" 

His question made me remember my throbbing cheek, but a smile appeared on my face, knowing Ore would be feeling twice the pain I was going through. When she appeared in class, our classmates couldn't help but whisper about how red her cheek was. Toyosi kept asking her, but Ore yelled for her to shut up. Krystian offered her a cold bottle of water, but all she did was throw the bottle angrily at the wall close to the whiteboard. She was a mad woman. Hymn? He wasn't in class and only came in when the free period was over. By then, Ore's mad traits had subsided. He had asked about her red cheek, and all she did was ignore him. 

"Nothing serious," Romeo shrugged and turned to wave at a student who had just hollered his name, and all I did was stare at him. 

"What?" he turned to me, then sat on the pavement. "You're making me uncomfortable."

"Well, you should be." I sat beside him as we both looked ahead. "Is that the reason why you sleep in class?" 

"What?" 

"Being tired of selling drugs? Probably at night." Romeo pulled his gaze away from me.

"You won't stop, will you?" 

"Nope." Romeo remained silent, and I sighed. "Look, Romeo, I know you want fast money, but drugs aren't it. There are other ways to make money. If this is about you saving for the university, then—" 

"You think this is about me saving up for my higher education?" He answered icily with a glare. "You don't understand; no one does."

"Then make me." I put my hand on his shoulder as I leaned forward. "I won't stand by and watch you walk in the wrong direction. Whatever it is, you must share it with others before your issues spill out of the container you've been holding them in."

Romeo, being adamant, remained silent. I let go of his shoulder and let my hands fall to my lap. "I'm sure you consider me a friend, and that's why you keep talking to me irrespective of the fact that I'm rich. Can't you trust me?"

I wanted to mentally count to ten and swear that I would never make him talk about it again.

"Do you really want to know why I'm doing this?" I was surprised when Romeo spoke at nine. He stood up and peered at me. "Then come with me."

I wasn't sure where he was going, and he didn't give me time to question him as he started walking ahead. I quickly got up on the pavement and tried to catch up with him. Romeo was popular, so I wasn't surprised by the number of students waving farewell as they left the school for their various homes. 

Romeo and I got past the front gate. I wanted to ask where he was taking me, but I feared that would change his mind from telling me the reason he was doing all this. Romeo flapped a bike down, and we both turned to gaze at each other. 

"Are you getting on?" I pressed my lips before getting on the bike, followed by Romeo, trapping me between himself and the bike man. 

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I didn't say anything the whole bike ride. When the bike man came to a stop in front of the gate bearing the name of a hospital on a sign, I became even more silent. Regardless of how big its gates were, I could see most of the hospital's building, giving the impression that it was a huge one.

Romeo went past me and towards the gate after giving the bike man his money. I braced myself for a few seconds while standing. Since it was me who was requesting the truth from him, I needed to be ready for whatever lay beyond those gates. After passing the gate, I made an effort to be in line with Romeo. It was a very stupid idea, but given the size of the hospital, I couldn't help but wonder if he could afford the services the hospital rendered. 

After entering the hospital, we made our way to what appeared to be a lift. Romeo opened it by pressing a button. He pushed the button on the floor he wanted to visit once we entered, and then there was complete quiet.

"Romeo?" I questioned softly, trying not to push him. "Where are you taking me?" 

"You want to know why I'm doing this, right?" I gave Romeo a nod as he asked. Once we reached the floor, the lift opened, and Romeo said, "Then come with me."

We were met by a waiting room on that floor with several comfy seats. Not too far from us was a young lady in a nursing uniform. Romeo moved over to her with a stiff smile, but irrespective of that, the lady seemed delighted to meet him. 

"Romeo, I didn't know you'd be coming in today." She said in a cheery tone, then gazed at me and then the uniform I was putting on, which was the same as Romeo's. "Friend from school."

"Yes, Abigail," Romeo sighed, filling in something on a notepad she'd handed to him. 

I nudged him on the rip and whispered, "She's older than you; can't you see? Put auntie in front of her name."

Romeo stopped to give me a look, forcing the lady to laugh. "No, please. I asked him to call me that." She gazed at the cheek Ore had slapped me, but she did not comment on it.

"Come on, Delphine," he said and returned the notepad to the young nurse. He went to a lobby that was connected to other wards, and I trailed following. We soon arrived at a children's unit, which I recognised from the sign posted at the door. It was a sizable area divided into several sections. Romeo quickly brought me to a bed, where he gently lifted the curtain to see a girl dozing off and a beeping monitor next to her. At a glance, one could see that she resembled Romeo somewhat. She appeared to be a little older than thirteen, and she was extremely pale—almost ghostly. She twitched a little as if she were in pain, but she steadied back to sleep.

Romeo moved his hand and placed it on her forehead. He was so tender when he touched and stroked her hair. He leaned in and kissed her forehead before whispering goodbye to her while promising to come back soon. He softly pulled the curtain back in place and turned to leave the room. I followed him until we were back in the waiting room. Romeo seemed like he couldn't move at the moment, so he sat on one of the chairs in the waiting room, and I joined him. 

"That's my sister," Romeo said, after a few minutes of silence. "Grace."

"She looks just like you." 

"She's got acute myeloid leukaemia," Romeo's reveal stopped whatever I was planning to say, forcing my jaw to drop. 

"That—that sounds serious." 

"Cause it is," Romeo said, looking at his palms. "This is the best hospital in this country that could provide the equipment needed for my sister to survive. She's got a chance, the doctor said. But you know," Romeo turned to me, "it doesn't come freely."

"Romeo,"

"Selling drugs pays well," he continued, ignoring me. "I get to earn close to forty thousand naira monthly to help sort the hospital bills, though I'm still swimming in bills. What do you want me to do? Work in an eatery? Be a sales boy. A job that would probably give me twenty thousand naira monthly? What will that solve?" 

Romeo's eyes dared me to challenge him, and I didn't find it in me to do so. "What about your parents? I mean your Mum, and—" 

"My mum's gone," Romeo spat. I bit my lower lips. 

"I'm sorry for your loss," 

Romeo shot me a look. "I said she's gone, not dead. She left me, my dad, and my sister for some rich older man, and she's probably enjoying life now."

I watched as he buried his face in his palms. That must be why he hated the rich. I kept my comment to myself as he continued. "And my dad's trying. But only he can't solve Grace's hospital bill."

Romeo sat upright, pulling his face from his palm. "Now you see why I sell hard drugs and why you should let me be?" 

"I can't; my conscience won't let me." 

"To hell with your conscience!" 

"Romeo," Abigail scolded softly, all the way from her desk. 

"Look," I said, turning to him. "How about I tell you there's a job that pays sixty thousand naira monthly, way more than your drug business?"

Romeo gave me a suspicious look and said, "I'm not in it for jokes."

"I'm not joking," I said to him. "I do know this makeup artist who's looking for an assistant, and she's ready to pay sixty kay. Would you be willing to stop this drug stuff for that?" 

"If you are not lying, then yes." Romeo still wasn't convinced but chose not to question me further. He looked like he wanted to change the subject. "What about you and Kim? Are the both of you still not talking?" 

"You're not calling her Juliet?" He ignored me. "Well, what she did to you was uncalled for. The both of us were meant to talk to you." 

"You're not talking to her, but you're talking to me, the drug dealer?" 

I rolled my eyes. "I don't react well when someone breaks promises; maybe that's why."

"Well, you should talk to her, so she can stop looking like a wet puppy under the rain; it's uncomfortable to look at."

"I thought making her uncomfortable was your speciality," I questioned him, glad I was drifting his mind away from the sad tale he'd told me a few minutes ago. 

"That's different," he answered, getting up, and I did the same. "About the job, how sure are you that I'll get it? I know nothing about makeup or other girly stuff."

"Don't worry," I said, patting his shoulder with a smile. "I'm so sure you'd get it."

Once I try to find ways to convince Debby to have an assistant worth the sum of sixty thousand naira monthly.

God, I was so dead. 

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That's it for today's chapter. We got gbas gbos from Delphine and Ore, and some little reveals on Romeo's life.

What do you think about today's chapter in general? I might drop an Easter update, but let's see how it goes 😘

Don't forget to vote and comment.

Love y'all.