MITC is officially 5k reads y'all ✨... Thank y'all so much💕

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

I gave the money to the bike man who had dropped Romeo off at his house before driving me to my house. I had persuaded Romeo to let me pay the man, but it was not easy. I strolled absentmindedly past the gate opened for me by the gateman, my mind filled with the vision of Romeo's sick sister, Grace.

"Delphine!" As I neared the balcony, I snapped out of my thoughts. Sitting on the white sofa that had been placed there was Debby. She seemed anxious as she stood and touched my body.

"Sister?" 

"Where are you coming from?" Her worries enveloped the orders as she pushed them out. She held up her iPhone to show me the screen when she realised I was not answering. "It is after seven. Where are you coming from? I was worried sick."

The fact that she wasn't commenting on my cheeks only showed that the handprints were no longer visible. 

"Oh," I said, moving to sit on the sofa, and Debby did the same. "I . . . I . . ." Out with it already, Delphine. She's going to kill you anyway; it's better to die now, I commented inwardly. I gazed at Debby, who was waiting for me to speak. "I went with a friend to the hospital, sister."

Debby placed both hands on my shoulder as she frantically shook me. "Are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere?" 

"I'm fine." My cheeks weren't as hot as before, so I was fine. "His sister is very sick. She's got acute myeloid leukaemia."

"That sounds serious." 

"It is." I began playing with my fingers. Here comes the death trap. "He needs money. Huge money to pay her medical fees and ongoing bills."

"Okay? . . ." Debby dragged, not sure where this discussion was heading. 

"I kind of told him I knew a makeup artist in need of an assistant." I dared to glance at Debby. She wasn't smiling. "And was willing to pay sixty kay."

"I hope that's not me."

"Sister," 

"Delphine!" Debby let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't work with people; I work alone. And sixty thousand naira for just being an assistant? You should've suggested he rob the bank." 

"He really needs the money, sister. And besides, you've got like three to five clients daily, and each pays nothing less than twenty-five thousand naira. You can afford this."

Debby ignored me and moved her gaze elsewhere. "Sixty thousand naira is just too much for an assistant, Delphine."

"Sister," I moved a bit closer, trying my best to convince my sister. "This is for a good course. Think about the life you'll be saving."

Debby fell quiet. It felt like forever before she let out a sigh. "Fine, tell your friend to see me tomorrow at the studio, obviously when he's done with school."

"Thank you, sister!" I leaned in to give her a big hug. 

"Let go; you stink." I wrinkled my nose and withdrew from her.

"I don't stink," I said in my defence, then remembered something. "Right, sister," Debby looked at me, waiting for me to continue. "I didn't tell him you're my sister. Can we keep that a secret?" 

"Why?" 

"Cause," I dragged, "I don't want him to be my friend out of pity. I don't want him to know I'm Danielle's sister."

"You confuse me, Delphine. You're helping him because you feel pity for him after finding out his sister's predicament, yet you still want to keep your true identity a secret?" 

"It's different, sister." I tried to reason with her. Debby gave me a disapproving look, but I chose to let it go. 

"Does he know anything about makeup?" 

"Nope,"

"Delphine!" But I had already patted her upper arm and dashed into the house. Regardless of Romeo's lack of makeup knowledge, I wasn't going to let my sister change her mind.

I entered the house to find Trust. For a temporary CEO, he had plenty of free time. I could feel his gaze following me as I climbed up the stairs, prompting me to shut my door once I was inside my room. I tossed my bag on my reading table, careful not to harm anything, while I removed my uniform before heading to the showers. Minutes later, I was in bed, phone in hand. I switched to my Gmail app, knowing I had a lot to tell Seidi.

𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘, 𝚂𝚎𝚒𝚍𝚒. 𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞? 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍. 𝙸 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝙺𝚛𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚗, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚝𝚢. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕. 𝙸 𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝙳𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎'𝚜 𝚎-𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚢, 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚜. 𝙷𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚃𝚘𝚢𝚘𝚜𝚒 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚃𝚘𝚢𝚘𝚜𝚒 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝙶𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝. 𝙸'𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚗 𝚎-𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸'𝚖 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚘𝚢𝚘𝚜𝚒 𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛𝚜. 𝙾𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕, 𝙸 𝚐𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚙 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚎. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚍, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝙸'𝚖 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚝. 𝙸 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝙷𝚢𝚖𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙳𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚍, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸'𝚖 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗.

I wanted to tell Seidi about Romeo and his sister, but I felt it was not my place. It was simply too personal for a casual gist.

𝙰𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚒𝚝. 𝙸 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕. 𝙸'𝚖 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎; 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚜𝚘𝚗.

My heart skipped a beat as I typed down his name. I still wasn't thrilled that he was hanging out with her, but I decided not to focus on it. I clicked to send icon and quit the app before moving on to Google. I wanted to find out more about Romeo's sister's health.

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

I walked into the hall with my backpack falling low on my shoulders. The reason I didn't move further was because Kim was standing close to the notice board looking sorrowful. I sighed and marched over.

"Hey," Kim looked surprised, judging by her wide eyes and agape mouth.

"Delphine!" she exclaimed. I watched her tap the surface of her skirt pocket before sliding her hands inside and pulling out her inhaler. Before putting the inhaler back in her pocket, she applied pressure to the top to ensure that she'd had enough oxygen. "I'm so sorry."

I waved my hands off, smiling. If I could talk to Romeo, I could also talk to her. "It's fine."

"I assumed you would never talk to me again. I was about to apologise to Romeo if that was what would get you to talk to me."

That got me smiling for real. "It's fine, seriously. What are you doing?" 

Kim let out a sigh. "It's time to take out the flyers from the classes. By the end of this month, I'll take this down too."

"How many students have joined your club?" 

"Zero," Kim buried her face in her palms before resurfacing. "Literally. The other two members left. What am I going to do, Delphine?" 

I had no answer to her question. I felt guilty. I kept malice with her when she was in crisis. It might feel like nothing to others, but the debate club meant a lot to Kim. 

"Do you need help taking down the flyers?" Kim sent me a look, but she knew she'd hit rock bottom. There was nothing she could do. 

"Yeah," she sluggishly turned and began walking. I stared at her for a moment, still feeling bad, before rushing forward and putting my hand on her shoulder as she led the way.

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

The alarm rang, indicating that it was time for the next class. The Literature teacher completed her teachings before leaving the classroom. I looked at Kim, who was still not her usual bright and cheerful self. In her lockers were the flyers we'd taken from the other classes. Most were torn apart by students from those classes, which broke Kim's heart. I'd made up my mind to buy her lunch, hoping that would help with her cloudy day. 

"Kim, aren't you ready for the next class?" 

Kim turned to me as if the realisation had hit her. She got up with a sigh and turned to the rest of the class. "Everyone! To the computer lab."

We had Data Processing, which meant we had classes in the computer lab. I began to pull out my textbook and exercise book, and Kim followed suit. There wasn't any need to take our backpacks to the lab.

"What's up with Juliet?" Romeo found his way over to our seats. Kim ignored him or tried to. 

"You both are talking?" Kim directed her question to me, and I gave a nod. She looked like she had a lot to say, but chose not to. 

"Her debate club isn't doing very well." 

"Don't tell him!" Kim protested. 

"Wow, I'm in shock." Romeo placed his hand on his chest and let out a gasp. 

Kim grumbled in frustration and sat back down, only to smack her head on her desk a few times. That got Romeo laughing. "Bye Delphine." 

I watched him go, then wondered how he was so good at keeping a facade. If it weren't for the fact that he'd taken me to the hospital to see his sister, I wouldn't have guessed someone like him was passing through a lot. 

"Come on, Kim." I placed my books on my desk and attempted to drag Kim up to her feet. Soon we were out of the class and moving to the computer lab with the rest of the class.

Even though the computer lab served as the Data Processing teacher's office, he was not present. Kim and I spotted an empty stool and sat down. She turned on the system in front of her and started playing a card game, while mine remained blank. Daniela found her way to us and sat near Kim, causing Kim to sit between the two of us.

"I pray say dis man no come today, sha. Kim, did you see him today?" Daniela asked. 

"I didn't," Kim said to her. "But I'm sure he would've sent a message if he wasn't in school."

Daniela moved her attention to me. "Delphine, howfa your cheek?" 

"Better, thanks." I hoped she'd end it at that. 

"No vex o, but . . ." She leaned forward to focus on me. "Na true, say you and Ore fight?"

"Daniela, where did you hear that from? It's clearly not true." Kim turned to me and asked, "Right?"

I shrugged as if it were nothing, my gaze fixed on my black screen. "She came at me, slapped me, and I slapped her back."

"What?" Kim stared at me worriedly, and at the same time, Daniela let out an 'I said it'. 

"Babe, do you know what you've gotten yourself into?" I could sense the worry in Daniela's tone. "Kim, tell her."

"Why should I? You've got a mouth of your own."

"Una, see why I like Chika?" Daniela rolled her eyes. "Babe, just tell her, abeg."

"Delphine, but I told you about Ore. She's the daughter of Baby, the biggest Nigerian rapper. The Elites are not meant to be treated with disrespect." Kim was acting like I was in some big trouble. "Why did you slap her?" 

"So what would you have me do?" I was trying hard not to get mad at both Kim and Daniela. "Turn the other cheek for her to slap? I don't care if they're the sons and daughters of celebrities. They act anyhow; they'll see anyhow."

"I too go like you!" Daniela hollered. I turned to find the Elites not far from us. Toyosi sat next to Krystian, putting her hands around his shoulder as if they were the most stunning couple in school. Ore was sitting next to Hymn, and she was trying to show off her new phone case to him. I wasn't sure if it was new, but the way she acted made me think it was. All four were on a roll and, like everyone else, were waiting for the teacher.

"Your funeral, sha," 

"What do you mean?" I turned to Daniela. 

"You know who their parents are, and you're fighting fire with fire. I'm surprised she's this calm. Ore, this calm? Maybe a calm before the storm." Daniela leaned on the large wooden table so she could look at me. "If Ore decides to mean you, she'll take what you did to her on social media, and when her followers and father's supporters target you, eh, then you'll know that cyberbullying no be moimoi."

"Well, good thing I'm not on social media aside from WhatsApp."

"Delphine," I looked at Kim, noticing the worry in her eyes. "This is serious."

"And I'm serious, too," I stated firmly. My phone turned on at that exact moment, as did Kim's and Daniela's phones. It did not take long for the lab to be filled with different alert tones. I reached for my phone, rolling my eyes. It was a message from the class group chat.

"Omo eh!" Daniela exclaimed in a singsong voice while staring at her phone.  

"You need to see what is going on." Kim shoved her phone at me, and though I didn't want to, I decided to read. 

𝐔𝐍𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐍
𝙰 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚒𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚘 𝚜𝚘 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚜.

"Someone's pregnant?" It wouldn't take a genius to know what the message was talking about. 

"Who do you think is pregnant?" Daniela asked, directing her attention to Kim, probably because I was the 'new girl'. "Omo, see news na. Chika must hear this."

Daniela continued to observe the girls in the lab to see who appeared to be pregnant. She was not the only one. Everyone was doing the same thing. My gaze studied the room as well. I didn't like getting involved in foolish rumours, but I was curious. My attention rested on Krystian, and I noticed he was looking at me. Was he considering the fact that I—? No way.

"Alright class," the door to the computer lab opened, and the Data Processing teacher waltzed in, distracting the students' potential career choice of becoming detectives. "Bring out your books fast; we don't have time."

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

On our way back to class, everyone started discussing the anonymous message in the group chat.

"I can't believe someone's pregnant." Kim had stopped thinking about her debate club and was instead focused on the message in the group. Of course, my classmates kept highlighting the message, hoping to get the anonymous sender to reveal the identity of the pregnant girl.

"This is a shame," Kim went on, as we got to class and sat down. I pulled my backpack out of my locker so I could put my books back in my bag. "I mean, if the principal finds out, that student is for sure going to get expelled."

I'd let my curiosity die. I no longer cared who the student was or what punishment she'd be getting, but I let Kim ramble. "I need to go call the teacher."

"Alright," I said, opening my zipper to put my books in when something fell from my bag to the floor near my feet.

"What's that?" The student at my back inquired, gaining the attention of a few others. Even Kim stopped to examine. 

"Oh my God," Ore said, getting up from her seat and approaching mine. She bent to pick up what had fallen from my bag. "You are the one pregnant."

"What?" I looked at her in bewilderment. My classmates started whispering, and many rushed to see what Ore was carrying. She grinned and moved the item closer to my face. It was a pregnancy test strip.

"I am not pregnant!" I stood up to glare at her.

"Can you stop lying? We caught you already." I wish I could wipe that smile off her face. "This fell from your backpack, right?"

"I am not pregnant," I repeated with a clenched jaw. "I don't know how that got into my bag."

"Denial is not just a river in Egypt." 

"I'm not pregnant!" I screamed. My classmates flinched at my outburst, but what would they have me do? Someone planted that inside my bag just to ridicule me in front of my classmates. This whole thing was embarrassing enough. And until they get it into their thick skull that I wasn't the girl on that stupid anonymous note on the group chat, the better for them. 

My classmates continued to stare at me with disapproving gazes, while many whispered to one another. Romeo and Femi were both absent from class. Femi was not my friend, but I knew he would have supported me. Kim and Daniela both remained quiet as if they were unable to challenge Ore. I felt alone.

"It fell from your bag, and it got two lines, meaning that you're pregnant."

"And you must know that na," I clapped my hands at her face. "Abortion expert."

"Are you mad?!" Ore raised her hand to hit me, but Krystian moved beside her and held it in place.

"Can you stop?"

"Why are you stopping her?" I transferred my rage to him. "You came all this way to frame me, and you believe I won't fight back. You are the anonymous sender and you placed that in my bag."

"I planted it in your bag?" Ore yanked her hand from Krystian's grip. "I have teleportation, and I'm not aware. Admit your disgusting, smelly mistake; you are pregnant."

"Ore!" 

"What?!" She snapped back. I could see the vein popping in her neck. 

"Enough, seriously." Krystian took the pregnancy test strip from her and held it. "Stop making a scene."

"I am making a scene." She angrily turned to Krystian, and at the same time, Toyosi moved to stop her. 

"Yes, you are," Toyosi said instead. "She said she isn't pregnant, so let it be."

"I don't believe you are supporting her over your best friend," Ore muttered disapprovingly. 

"Even if she's pregnant," I hated the fact that Krystian was using that as an option. "How is that your business?" 

"She needs to get expelled." 

"Ore!" Krystian spoke with such authority. I'd never seen this side of him. He was either unreasonably playful or simply annoying. And they were fighting my battles for me, something I could do on my own.

"I'm not pregnant," 

"We get it, new girl." Krystian let out a frustrated sigh, looked at me, and then at everyone else. "No one speaks of this ever again."

"As if they'll listen," Toyosi muttered, pulling her gaze over to Daniela, who avoided making eye contact.

"Kim, please go and call the next teacher." Toyosi stared at Kim, who still appeared to be struggling to process what had happened. I despised the looks they all had. Krystian returned to his seat beside Hymn, as did Toyosi, who had failed to drag Ore with her. 

"This isn't over," she forcefully poked my cheek. 

"I swear, if you touch me again, I'll break your fingers." I fired at her. "Find something better to do instead of planting fake pregnancy items in people's bags."

Ore clenched her jaw tightly; I thought it was going to break. "Ore," Toyosi called from her seat, attempting to pull her friend away from me.

Ore contemplated hitting me or going back to her seat if the unsettled reaction on her face was anything to go by. She snapped her fingers at my face and said, "This isn't over."

I ignored her as she marched over to her seat. Toyosi tried talking to her, but she snapped at her. Ore was indeed a mad woman. 

"Are you okay?" Kim was back. The teacher didn't follow her, and I didn't have the strength to question why. The door opened, and Romeo walked in and moved to his seat, unaware of what happened. Well, for now. I was sure this would spread, and it made me furious. I was not pregnant, but everyone would think I was. 

"I'm fine," I managed to say. Kim did nothing to defend me—not that I wanted her to, but I expected that she would've said something, but instead, the Elites did. My eyes slowly moved to Krystian, who was the first to defend me. 

"Are you—" 

"I'm not pregnant!" I snapped at Kim. Everyone had their eyes on me, including a curious Romeo. I let out a frustrated sigh and banged my head on my desk. "Please just kill me already."

This was so embarrassing. 

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

"So when am I coming for omugwo?" Romeo approached the cafeteria table where Kim and I were seated. The anonymous message had spread. Several students were giving me the stink eye, and I wasn't sure if I should dig a hole in the floor and let it swallow me whole.

"Not funny, Romeo," I took a large gulp at my plastic coke like it was some alcohol, then slammed it on the table. 

"Can you believe that girl?" I turned to him. 

"What I can't believe is you have the time to clear your name cause of someone like her."

"Someone like her?" Kim leaned so she could frown at him. Just like earlier days, I was in their middle. "Ore is a goddess, just like Toyosi. She's got pretty privileged; I think it's okay if she wants to flaunt it by influencing other people's thoughts towards someone. The only bad thing is that she's doing it wrongly, unlike Toyosi."

"And are you flaunting yours?" 

"What?" 

"Look, both of you should just stop, abeg." I gritted my teeth. "I'll have my revenge, that's for sure. I can't imagine that the whole school thinks I'm pregnant."

"It's a good thing the school authorities haven't heard about it."

I turned to Kim and asked, "How sure are you?" 

"You would have had a pregnancy test, and if the results were positive, you would have been expelled." I would have preferred to take a test if it would have silenced everyone.

"I don't understand why you care so much about what they think in the first place," Romeo said, eating a bite of his gala. 

"This is serious," Kim gasped. 

He turned to her and said, "You are the one making it serious, Juliet. And I'm not surprised; you get worked up over little things like your debate club."

"My debate club isn't little." Romeo merely shrugged, as if he wasn't ready to continue with that topic. Kim turned her attention to me. "You're talking about revenge, Delphine. What will you do?"

Her question got me smiling: "Oh, you'll see."

Two could play that game. 

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

My day didn't go as planned, considering the number Ore had pulled on me, but I wouldn't let it disrupt my original plan. I'd taken it in mind to search the class teacher's office. I didn't have the keys to his office; that was the reason why I took with me a bubble pin to help out.

After texting Romeo about the appointment at my sister's studio and sending him the address, I decided to do some study to pass the time. When I realised it was six-thirty in the evening and no one was at school, I began walking to the area of the class teacher's office. Of course, the area had a CCTV camera, but I wasn't concerned. If the CCTV camera at this school was working, the authorities would have used it to track down my sister's killer.

I bent to the same level as the lock and tried to open the door with the bubble pin. It worked well in movies and books, so I was confident I'd get the hang of it. I was mistaken. Why did the movies make it appear easy? My legs hurt after squatting for so long, but I wasn't giving up. I had a goal to get into that office and look at the student's record to see whether it supported Danielle's claim. Mr. Obi was the class teacher. He must have provided records from other teachers. If Toyosi used the back doors, the reported records would not match his students' files.

"What are you doing?" It felt like a lightning bolt had struck me as I pushed away from the door and crashed to the floor. When I turned, I spotted sneakers first, followed by a boy's uniform and it made me realise that anyone was better than Mr. Obi at this very moment. I looked up to see Krystian staring at me with curiosity.

"N-nothing," I tried to get up, but it was difficult. The shock of being caught in this behaviour had drained whatever energy I had left. My heart would not stop pounding, no matter how hard I tried to calm it down.

"Wow, new girl, you are the whole package," Krystian joked, thrusting his hands into his pockets. "You are not just pregnant, but also a thief."

"I'm not a thief!" His remark gave me the courage to get up and glare at him.

"So are you pregnant?" he leaned in. 

"No." I pushed at his shoulder so he could get away from my face. "I am not. Your stupid friend—" 

"She's not stupid," 

I gave an eye roll. "Your stupid friend planted that in my bag; I'm so sure of that. She's so immature and needs to be kept on a leash."

"You slapped her," Krystian shrugged and leaned against a wall. I could see that the bandage around his ankle was gone, but I wasn't sure if he was fully healed.

"She slapped me first!" 

"Look, new girl." Krystian leaned away from the wall and pulled his hands from his pocket. "Ore isn't one to cross paths with."

"So what would you have had me do? Ignore her?" 

"Reported," 

That earned a scoff from me. "Who would've believed me?" 

"Look around, new girl." Krystian waved his hand around, pointing at the CCTV camera. "There are cameras everywhere."

"They work?" I gasped. I was in a big soup. 

Krystian quickly noticed my change in mood. Anger to fear. "Yes, but only if someone looks at the monitors. The security men rarely go there."

His comment helped me relax. "What were you doing?" But I wasn't off the hook.

"I said nothing," 

"It doesn't look like nothing to me." 

"Krystian!" I snapped, hoping he'd let it go. 

"Who's there?" We turned our heads to see where the sound had come from. "Who's there?"

"Don't you know the security men patrol the place after school hours?" Krystian whispered to me. "Can you run?"

"I should be asking you that. I'm on the track team, and you're the one with the hurt ankle." But Krystian didn't say anything to me as he grabbed my hand and began pulling me along the lobby so we could get out of the school quickly. We didn't stop until we were quite far from school. Krystian sat on the pavement to examine his ankle while I observed him.

"Why did you help me in there?" 

"Help you?" He released his ankle and shook his head. "I helped me. You seem quite suspicious in there. The security guard would have checked the CCTV to see what we were up to. He'd see you picking the lock and me approaching you, and he'd assume we were both in it together. I saved myself."

I rolled my eyes, of course. "And in class today, why did you interfere?"

Krystian got up from the pavement and reached into his pocket for his phone.

"Do you know how much noise you both were making today?" He stared at me, then returned to his phone. "Someone had to stop it before I go deaf."

I folded my arms and stared at the roadside, hoping to stop a keke or an okada. I did not want to be in the same space with him.

"What were you doing back there?" 

"You won't drop it, right?" 

Krystian smirked, "No."

"Why should I even tell you this?" I turned to face him, and a lizard scurried between us, on its way. "You are a suspect."

"If I were the murderer, I would've killed you, knowing how I knew your secret and all." He had a point, but I wasn't going to tell him that. I sighed and sat on the pavement where he had been sitting before. Now he was standing, waiting for me to speak.

"You won't tell me what you saw in the press club, so I took matters into my own hands."

"And what does that have to do with Mr. Obi's office?" I could tell he was curious. He wasn't attempting to appear smart or annoying; he was simply interested.

I was still considering. I didn't want to take the chance, but I ended up telling him. "Danielle kept some form of e-diary. Your significant other slapped her. Are you aware of this?"

"My significant other?" Krystian scoffed. "What are you on about, new girl?"

"Toyosi." The rage was already seeping in. "She slapped my sister."

"I didn't know that," Krystian said, then paused. "Besides, that sounds like something Ore would do and not Toyosi."

He was going to protect her; I wasn't surprised at all. My sister wasn't a liar. I was the best at lying between the two of us. And even if she wanted to lie, why would she do that in a space that was known to be personal to her?

"She claimed Toyosi used the back doors for her grade." I didn't want to dwell on my thoughts. I expected him to come up with yet another excuse for her. 

"So that explains it," 

"Yes. Can I go now?" I stood up from the pavement. "It's not like you're going to be of any help."

"You say that to someone Mr. Obi puts in charge of his subject," Krystian did the honours of shoving it to my face. I turned, prepared to leave. I was done talking to him.

"I'm going to help you look at the records." I paused to glance at Krystian. Did I hear him wrong? Wasn't he the one who was always worrying about how he would tarnish his parents' reputation if he got involved in such things? "But only because I want you to stop treating Toyosi like a fraud. She did not go through back doors, and unlike you, who is all bark and no bite, I would prove it to you by showing you the records."

My fists curled into a tight grip. I was all bark, no bite. I was trying. I was the new girl looking for information on my sister, and he just stood there, claiming I was all bark and no bite. A car came to a stop, putting an end to any rage I was feeling. Krystian stepped over to the back door and paused before entering.

"You should thank me," 

Was he insane? "Thank you?"

"You're welcome," he said with a pleasant smile. I would not deny that he had an amazing smile. Pearly white teeth paired with his rich brown skin. His smile line was also what made it appealing, and I scolded myself for thinking in that direction. "New girl."

Krystian climbed into the backseat of his car, and I watched as the driver hit the road. I sighed and sat back on the concrete. The sky indicated that it was close to eight o'clock, and I knew I would be in a big soup when I returned home, but that didn't disturb me as much as I expected.
 

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HAPPY EASTER everyone! I totally forgot I promised y'all an update.

Well, it's here and it's quite long. What do you guys think about this chapter in general?

Do you think Ore planted that stuff on Delphine's bag? How about Krystian, do you think he's playing to get at something?

Kim, Romeo and Delphine are back together again? How long do you think the friendship will last?

Till the next update, hopefully, cause I haven't written it yet😭

Don't forget to vote, comment and share✨