Warning: this chapter contains offensive words.

This chapter is also dedicated to 3360aw

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

I sluggishly walk out of my room with a big yawn after brushing my teeth and washing my face. I still felt sleepy, but for some reason, I didn't want to sleep in today, though it was a Saturday. The first week at Greenville High School was eventful. I got some stories that could help me out and also got into the track team. Guaranteed, Ore hated me and the fact that the coach showered praises on me on Wednesday and Friday, but no amount of hate from her would ever make her beat me. Some things changed, though. Guys started paying attention to me starting on Thursday, and all I did was ignore them because they weren't my cup of tea.

I walked down the stairs to see my sister, Debby, who was already in a hurry. "Morning sister."

Debby looked up at me, then back to her frantic movement in her Chanel bag. "Morning Delphine."

"Are you looking for something?"

"Car keys. I've got a wedding appointment from a client, and I'm already late."

"You are doing the bride's makeup?" I skirted past her to the living room. I began searching the sofas by lifting the soft pillows to see if her keys were lying there.

"No, selected guest makeup. Friends of the bride." Debby explained. "And I'm already late!"

"Here's your key!" We both looked up to see Trust taking a long stride down the stairs. "Left it in the bag you came home with last night."

"Oh my God," I watched her go over to Trust and peck him on the lips. "Thank you."

"Sister, your makeup box." I reached for it and stretched it towards her. I wanted both of them to stop whatever affection they were showcasing in front of me. Debby turned to give me a knowing look before retrieving her box.

"Behave," she whispered to me. "Bye, love."

"Bye!" Trust responded as I strolled past him into the kitchen. While in the kitchen, I heard the front door closing, signalling that my sister was out of the house. I reached for one of the cabinets above me and brought out the chocolate pops before pouring them into a bowl.

"You didn't greet me today," Trust said as he walked into the kitchen. I ignored him as I brought out a peak tin milk and a knife to help with the opening. "I'm not invisible, Danielle. We can all be a happy family, you know?"

After pouring enough milk and placing the rest on the fridge handle, I turned to Trust with my breakfast in hand. "Maybe if you get my name right, I'll consider it."

I sidestepped him and made my way upstairs to my room. There was no way I was going to sit at the dining table with him there. Besides, I had emails to read and send. I was quite tired yesterday to send an email to Seidi or to even read what she'd sent to me. I wasn't worried, though; it wasn't like she would read it right away. She'd have to wait until Monday to get access to computers again. I moved over to my bed and placed the bowl of cereal on the bedside table before reaching for my laptop and placing it on my lap. I skimmed through unimportant emails till it got to Seidi's, and I clicked to read.

𝙷𝚎𝚢 𝙳𝚎𝚕𝚙𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎, 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚞𝚙? 𝙶𝚘𝚍, 𝙸 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑. 𝚂𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚋𝚞𝚝, 𝚘𝚑 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕, 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘? 𝙳𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞; 𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝. 𝙰𝚗𝚢 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚍𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚙𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎?

I took three large spoons of my cereal before focusing on my computer screen.

𝙷𝚎𝚢 𝚂𝚎𝚒𝚍𝚒, 

𝙸'𝚖 𝚍𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙳𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢. 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚖? 𝙻𝚘𝚕. 𝙸 𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎. 𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚕, 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚘𝚕, 𝙸 𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚜. 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜, 𝙺𝚛𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚗. 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚛𝚞𝚍𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗, 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚋𝚘𝚢𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚜. 𝙷𝚎'𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙴𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢'𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚖. 𝚃𝚠𝚘 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚕𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙺𝚛𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙾𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚕𝚜. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸'𝚖 𝚊 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚛, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝? 𝙺𝚛𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝙳𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎'𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢, 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚒𝚝. 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝙾𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚊 𝚏𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝙳𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝙳𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚝 𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚎.

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝙺𝚒𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚐𝚞𝚢 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘. 𝙺𝚒𝚖 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚏𝚏 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚢 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚝𝚢, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘, 𝚒𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚜𝚗𝚞𝚋 𝚋𝚢 𝙺𝚒𝚖, 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚎. 𝙱𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝙺𝚒𝚖, 𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚜𝚗𝚘𝚋𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚍𝚜 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚊 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚎. 𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚑, 𝙸 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠, 𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚜. 𝚃𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝, 𝙸 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎. 𝙴𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚕 𝚒𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑; 𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚎'𝚟𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚍𝚘 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎, 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝?

𝙳𝚘 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏. 𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚊𝚢 𝚑𝚒 𝚝𝚘 𝙳𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚝. 𝙱𝚢𝚎!

I sent the mail and rested my back while grabbing the bowl of cereal. The chocolate pops were oversoaked now, but I had no choice but to eat them. I got finished and left my room to go wash the bowl.

"Yes, I know, darling. How much is it?"

I stepped into the kitchen and walked toward the sink while minding my business. "I'll call you back," Trust said in a hurry after spotting me. Then he waved his phone, hoping I would see it. "It's Debby."

"I never asked." I rinsed the soap from the plate and placed it on the plate rack.

"Made any friends?" Trust asked, leaning against a counter.

"Are you my father?" He creased his brows. "My mother? My sisters?" I folded my hands below my chest and waited for him to respond, but he didn't. "Then it's none of your business."

I walked out of the kitchen and up to my room to focus on my homework. We both knew that wasn't Debby on the phone, so I wasn't sure why he bothered with a lie.

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

It was a brilliant Monday morning because the sky was clear and there wasn't any sign of rain about to fall. We'd just finished our Economics class, and Miss. Oluchi was good enough to finish it before the end of her period. Now the class was chattering amongst themselves as everyone waited for the period to be officially over so the next class could start.

The door opened, and Krystian, Toyosi, Ore, and Hymn walked in that manner to their seats. I stared at the group, then moved to just Ore. Kim was busy with some work a teacher asked her to do when I leaned towards her.

"Can I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"It's about Ore," I clarified, then paused before adding, "And Danielle."

Kim stopped what she was doing and placed the ruler aside. I took that as an indication to continue. "I heard from the girls on the track team that Danielle was their captain before the tragedy happened."

Kim nodded with a sad face. "She was one of the few to juggle sport and club."

"I also heard that Ore didn't like her much and hated her position." I continued.

Kim closed the book she was working on and then turned to me. "Daniela told you, right?"

"Well, her and Chika." Chika and Nerit weren't in our class, just Daniela. "Gossips and all. I'm just curious."

"It's normal," Kim brushed off, then leaned forward to whisper. "Yes, all Daniela said is true. Ore never liked her assistant position. But the thing is, both Danielle and Ore weren't liked on the team for different reasons."

"What do you mean?"

"Well . . ." Kim felt hesitant. "Ore wasn't liked because she was and is arrogant. Daniela says it all the time."

"And Danielle?"

"Well, Danielle was also not liked cause of the mean and awful things she usually posts about people in her articles, and her teammates were never excluded. Awful right?"

I had no choice but to nod.

"Take Nerit, for instance; Danielle Fat shamed her in her article once. She said Nerit was so fat that she wouldn't be surprised if one day she woke up and found out that Nerit couldn't fit through her classroom door." I fell quiet; that was awful. "She claimed that Nerit might be using some boost or something because she couldn't imagine how someone her size could run fast with so much meat disguised as skin."

"That's bad!"

Kim nodded. "Nerit was the laughing stock for weeks. Everyone kept calling her hippopotamus for close to a month before they all got tired. Once in a while, they still call her that."

I couldn't believe Danielle could write such awful things about a person. I guess I never knew her to begin with. First, she hid the fact of being on a track team, then this awful article about someone? I knew she was into writing, and I knew she was in the press club. She usually bragged about it non-stop. But this? Really? I thought what she did in the club was to report school stories and highlight them.

"What about you?" I questioned. "Did you hate her?"

"I could never!" Kim exclaimed. Heads turned, making her dig hers shyly. "I could never," she whispered this time. "Danielle might not consider us friends, but she was friendly to me, so that counts."

"I'm not getting you," I said truthfully.

"The thing is, when I joined this school in Ss1, I got made fun of a lot. Danielle was the only one who defended me. With my Asian face, many called me COVID-19 as a joke." Her face was gloomy. "I mean, is it my fault I'm half Nigerian?" I shook my head. "Thank you; I appreciate that."

"What did Danielle do?" I urged.

"She—well, she spoke the truth." Kim shrugged, trying to brush it off. "She snapped at some boys making fun of me. She told them that she was aware that they secretly admired me because I was pretty, but wanted to go with the flow because I seemed like a new target. None of the boys denied it. I asked if I could sit with her because the seat beside her was free, and she agreed. Ever since then, irrespective of us switching classes every session, Danielle and I remained seat partners."

"I guess she was nice to you." I sank into my seat at the same time the alarm went off. Irrespective of Kim's story about Danielle being nice to her, I couldn't help but think about the awful thing she'd written about Nerit. Now I felt like apologising to her on behalf of my sister.

"Aren't you going to call the next teacher?" I questioned.

"It's Mr. Obi," Kim answered. I knew him as the class teacher. "Krystian's already going."

That's when I knew the latter was getting up and walking out of the class with both hands in his pocket. "Aren't you the class rep? Why aren't you going?"

"Because Mr. Obi appointed Krystian to be in charge of his subject alone." Kim went back to the roster she was working on earlier. "He's the best in Government. When I meant the best, I meant by a landslide. Toyosi being in the top two isn't close."

"That's a surprise; I thought Romeo would be in the top two." I turned to see him laying his head face down on his desk, probably sleeping.

"More like the top three and Toyosi top four." Kim corrected.

"Who was meant to be in the top two?" I asked.

"Danielle," my heart skipped a bit, and I gulped. At least, that was something I was aware of. Well, not ranking, but I knew my twin was equally intelligent.

"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." Kim said. "But there's no surprise in Toyosi's performance. Danielle just got distracted in her press club to focus on her studies."

The door opened, and Mr. Obi walked in with Krystian trailing behind with his textbook. "All stand, greet!"

We all stood at Kim's instructions. "Good morning, Mr. Obi."

"Good morning, sit. Krystian," he turned to Krystian. "Help wipe the board."

Krystian, being tall, could reach the top with ease. He placed the duster aside once he was done and moved to sit on his seat, beside Hymn.

"So today, we'll be talking about . . ." Mr. Obi trailed as he turned to write on the board. NIGERIAN FEDERALISM. "That."

He capped his whiteboard marker and placed it on the front desk. The student sitting at the front quickly held on to the marker before it could roll over. "But first, who can give us an insight into what a federation is?" Then he added, "Why don't you help out Delphine?" before anyone could even lift their index finger.

Every head got turned my way. Kristian in particular looked relaxed as he turned with his head resting on his fist, which was supported by his elbow plumped on his desk. He had a knowing smile on his face as if patiently waiting for me to do something embarrassing.

"Um . . ." I cleared my throat. "A federation is like when two neighbouring countries agree and unify to be one country. They set up a single government to rule the united States. The countries that are federally united still keep their original governments, but the federal government is given certain powers. Because of this act, these countries maintain their separateness."

"And what can you tell us about Federalism in Nigeria?" Mr. Obi pointed at the board.

"It um . . ." I cleared my throat again and side-eyed Kristian, who still maintained his smile. "This started during the colonial period. The first attempt to adopt this system was during the Richard Constitution in nineteen-forty-six. It became effective in the year nineteen-forty-seven, and this marked the start of federation in Nigeria. But irrespective of this, Nigeria has been officially called a federal state since nineteen-fifty-four, because it was the year the country became a federation."

"So it can be said that federalism started in nineteen-fifty-four in Nigeria?"

"Yes, sir." I nodded.

"A round of applause for her," the teacher instructed, and everyone did just that as I took my seat. "I saw your transcript, Delphine, and I must say that I'm impressed. Keep that energy, and you'll be one of the best in this class."

Yesterday, my school books and transcript finally arrived. I'd given it to the principal this morning, before the assembly, and one look from her, and I could just tell that she was proud.

"Okay, let's begin." Mr. Obi took the marker from the student in the front seat and wrote the word 'Federation', on the board. "So, as Delphine said, the Federation is . . ."

Two hours later, Mr. Obi was packing his stuff and handing it to Kristian to help take it to his office because his period was over. I was closing my book and placing it in my backpack when a shadow fell upon me. I looked up to see it was Femi, a boy from my class. He was one of the boys who wouldn't leave me alone. According to Kim, his father was a senator.

"Good presentation in class today," he said, sitting on my desk.

"Thank you," I said, going back to what I was doing. We had Maths next, so I was bringing out my Maths exercise book.

"Come on, girl, look at me when I'm talking to you." For some reason, I felt disgusted. I looked up at him to see his smugness.

"What is it?" I wasn't sure I could tolerate him more than this. It was harder knowing Kim had excused herself to go call the teacher.

"So my birthday is this Friday, and Daddy is making me throw a large party because, you know, his boy is turning eighteen. I'm practically an adult."

"It is said that one isn't fully yet an adult until their mid-twenties." I cut him off.

"Go tell that to the guys outside. Delphine, I'm interested in you, and you're just embarrassing me anyhow." I scrunched my nose at him. He reached for his pocket and brought out a rectangular card. "Anyways, exclusively invite only. You can bring a plus one. Bring Kim."

"If I take this, will you leave me alone?" I eyed him.

"Now, yes. Future, probably not." I groaned deep down my throat as I took the invitation from him. It wasn't like I'd go anyway.

"Hey Femi, wait up!" Krystian's voice filled the room. "Gather the money from your friends; I won the bet."

I turned to Femi with a stunned look and watched him lift both hands at Krystian before moving to his seat. When I thought Krystian would walk away, he moved to the desk in front of mine and sat on it while resting his feet on the seat leaning against my desk. "I guess I won."

"Good for you," I said as I opened my Maths textbook. I wasn't going to study; I was just pretending I was so I could get him moving back to his seat.

"I guess I should share the winning money with you for being so smart."

"Thanks, but no thanks," I muttered to myself. That brought a chuckle out of him.

"You know you are something, right?" He went on. "If you didn't come to this school because you failed to get into Ss3 in your previous school, then I wonder why you are here."

"Because transferring schools is normal and people do it all the time?" I finally looked up to meet his eyes.

"Nope," he brushed off, popping the 'p' sound. "I feel there's something more."

"What are you? Sherlock Holmes?"

"No," he laughed. "I'm way better than a fictional character." He got up from the desk and finally moved to his seat. I breathed out, and it was surprisingly shaky. If he did have something to do with my sister's death, then I had to stare clear of him until I found proof that he did it.

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

I sat with Debby on the sofa with my head resting on her lap as we watched a movie in African Magic Epic. This was the time when we both pretended to be fine to have quality sister bonding time amidst everything that had happened. Good thing Trust wasn't home.

"That evil uncle is going to bury the charm in their compound," commented Debby, as she pointed at the TV. "Who do you think would match it?"

"The eldest brother," I said. "It's so predictable. But there's a part in me that wants the fake pastor to match it." I took a bite of the biscuits I'd poured into a bowl. "How could he accept two hundred thousand from the family for spiritual cleansing, yet gave the person that handed him the gig, twenty thousand? God should just punish him by letting him match it."

"So what are you supporting? For that corny uncle to take the money?" Debby let out a small laugh.

"No, but breaking trust is just not it." We both fell quiet as the eldest son in question walked into the scene with a hoe hanging low on his shoulder. Eerie sounds coming from the movie filled the room, followed by the sound of thunder as the boy in question stepped on the buried charm.

"I said it!"

"Again," I mumbled, "predictable."

Debby didn't say a word as she kept focused on the movie. "Sis Debby."

"Yes?"

"I wanted to ask something."

"Go on,"

I hesitated a bit with my lips pressed tightly against each other. "Did you know that Danielle was on the track team?"

"Of course," she responded nonchalantly. I quickly sat upright to face her, and she stared at me quizzically.

"Of course?" I parroted. "We shared an interest as amazing as that, and no one said anything to me? Why?"

"Will you blame her?" Debby reached for the remote and reduced the volume of the TV. "Remember what happened during your JSS3 school break? You snapped at her a week before the day you were meant to go back to school. And the words you said. . . ."

I thought back on that day.

During the holiday, I developed an interest in acting. I decided to join the drama group in church and hoped I'd be given the role of Mother Mary. The drama coordinator called me aside one day and told me I wasn't doing my role right and couldn't pick someone to try out for it because everyone already had assigned parts. But then, there was Danielle.

She had accompanied me to drama rehearsals that day. The drama coordinator asked her to try the scene I'd just displayed, and when she did, everyone was amazed. She ended up having a baby Jesus, which was made with a sweater. I got upset that day because I was given the role of the North Star. To just stand there for the three wise men to locate.

I didn't talk to Danielle all through our walk home. When we got home, Debby saw my hostile behaviour towards Danielle and asked what the problem was, and I snapped. I yelled about how self-centred Danielle was, and I wished we would never share any other interests because being twins was already enough for me.

The following week, I left for school. Danielle and I eventually apologised to each other and started talking again. We began telling each other everything again, and we became closer than ever.

"I was a kid," I protested.

"You're still a kid," Debby said.

"But we reconciled." I pressed on. "She could've told me."

Debby let out a sigh. "You've been on the track team since Jss1 in your previous school, and Danielle showed interest in the track team in the first week of resumption in Jss3's second term. With what you said before you went back to school, do you think she would've told you? She was trying to avoid problems."

I felt bad as guilt enveloped me. "Just forget about it. Don't think too much of the past. Trust says so all the time."

"Why?" I scoffed, "Because his past is awful?"

"Delphine!" Debby exclaimed, turning fully to face me. "Trust is an amazing person."

I wanted to tell her how I caught him making a call to someone, probably his side chick. But I refused to say anything. Danielle and I had tried in the past. What Debby needed was proof. But how much proof would she need? I mean, both of them had a big fight in the past. The reason for that must have been valid.

Buzz~Buzz

I looked down at my phone to see the low battery warning. I got up from the sofa and took my bowl of biscuits with me. "I need to charge my phone."

"And do your assignment too," Debby said over her shoulder.

"Yes, sister," I groaned as I dragged my feet up the stairs and into my room. I closed the door behind me and moved under my reading table to plug my charger into the extension and connect the cord to my phone. Once I was sure my phone was charging, I walked over to my laptop and opened it. I would do my assignment, sure. But I needed to see Seidi's email. Aside from running, Kim and probably Romeo, whom I'd made friends with, Seidi was the other person keeping me sane.

I entered my Gmail and clicked on the new mail from Seidi.

𝙳𝚎𝚕𝚙𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎, 𝙸 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚕. 𝙸 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚊 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚝𝚛𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚕? 𝙰 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕 𝚘𝚗 𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚊𝚢. 𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝙹𝚒𝚍𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚢 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎 𝙷𝚒𝚐𝚑. 𝙷𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚛𝚖 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖 𝚊𝚜 𝙳𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚜𝚘𝚗, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚎. 𝙷𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝙳𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚊𝚏𝚎𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚏𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚖. 𝚂𝚘 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜.

I stopped reading. Did she think I was joking from the start?

𝙸 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜, 𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝙺𝚛𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚐𝚞𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝙾𝚛𝚎. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚟𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝙺𝚒𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙼𝚛. 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚎. 𝚃𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚖𝚎, 𝙸'𝚖 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝙺𝚒𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚎? 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘 𝚐𝚞𝚢, 𝚑𝚎'𝚜 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚔𝚒𝚍𝚜, 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚟𝚎 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚕. 𝚂𝚘 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗? 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠? 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚕. 𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕. 𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚒𝚝. 𝚂𝚘 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎, 𝚋𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚕.

I sighed as I read Seidi's mail for the second time. I knew what she was saying was reasonable, and the best thing was to take it as a warning.

Sighing for the second time, I decided to type on my laptop.

𝙷𝚎𝚢 𝚂𝚎𝚒𝚍𝚒, 𝙸 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞—but I got stopped by the warning on my laptop. I looked at the bottom right of my screen to see the battery box blinking red. I had a bad habit of always charging my stuff at the last minute. I got up and moved to my reading table. I squatted to plug in my laptop charger and connected it to my laptop on my table. While it was charging, I thought of going into Danielle's room opposite mine to use hers. I hadn't been into her room aside from the time I arrived from Port Harcourt.

I opened the door with a heavy bile pushing up my throat. My heart kept beating as I walked further into her room. It was easier to use my laptop while it was charging. But I wanted to be here, probably because I'd been avoiding her room.

I sighed as I moved to her laptop on her organised reading table and took it to her bed. I sat on her fluffy bed as I opened her system. I was welcomed with a password. I wasn't sure if I'd get it right, but I wanted to try. Danielle and I had one password for everything—our birthdays. Once I input it and pressed enter, I was welcomed by the home screen.

"Nice," I smiled to myself. It was nice that we still shared things after so much doubt. I looked at her bottom right page to see that her battery was full. I wanted to go straight and log into my Gmail when I spotted a folder named Journal on the main page. It was none of my business. I was meant to ignore it and just go over to send my mail to Seidi, knowing that was the right thing to do. But I saw myself clicking on the folder.

𝙳𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚎.

I smiled—typical Danielle. Danielle, though she was good at everything, was easily distracted. She usually kept sticky notes everywhere to remind herself to do something. Most of the sticky notes were always in my room because she knew I'd be the one reminding her of her tasks at the end of the day.

"Drive." Curiosity all of a sudden enveloped me. I got up and moved to her reading table in search of the drive. I searched everywhere, even her cupboard, but couldn't find anything remotely close to a drive. I moved to her wardrobe to see if there was something in there, but nothing. I searched her bedside table, bathroom, bathroom cabinets, and under her bed, yet nothing. I was about to give up. It was probably not important.

Most of her sticky notes were always in my room . . .

Always in my room.

I took her laptop and left her room for mine. I closed the door and threw her laptop on my bed. I doubt I'd see anything, though. I mean, if there was a drive in my room, I would have seen it before now. But I decided to check. There was nothing on my table or cupboard, and obviously, there was nothing on my bedside table. I decided to check my wardrobe when I accidentally kicked my phone case that I'd always procrastinated putting back into my wardrobe. It opened, and a few of the contents spilled out. I groaned and bent to pick them up. My empty SIM case, phone receipt, spoilt earbuds, drive, . . . drive!

I couldn't believe it. Danielle was still the same. She probably thought seeing my door was already a reminder that she had something in here that needed attending. I climbed on my bed and connected the hard drive to the system. I waited for a while as a box with several documents appeared on the screen with the title Press Club on it. This was probably her story for her clubs.

I scrolled past some documents she'd saved with random numbers until I stopped at actual words. Actual names. Actual people I've met. The Elites.

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

Over 5k+ words. I deserve a pat, right?

What are your thoughts on this chapter? Do you think Delphine should take Seidi's advice? And who's curious about what she'd find in that drive?

Curiosity will be quenched in the next chapter😁

So I was bored a few days back and thought of reading Pride and Prejudice since I've got two copies of that book at home but haven't read it. Man, am I slow when it comes to that book. At this point, I've given up on understanding the conversations happening in that book😂😭. I'm just going to continue for fun😭

Bye!