Hey guys! Guess who's back!!!!

~DABI~

"Ebere?"

I timed my confrontation willingly.

I had waited for the twins to be alone. Two of them or one of them, I didn't care. So, as Ebube left to go get their Sports backpacks, and Chika and Soma disappeared after they had repeated it over and over that they were going to get some drinks and snacks from the School Restaurant, I breathed out a sigh of relief.

Apparently, the twins had announced a spontaneous track try-outs for girls since they were already given the 'pop up' responsibility to be in charge of the Female Track team with another classmate, Prissy, just this afternoon.

I could only imagine how the juniors who wanted to be on the team felt hearing such a sudden announcement for the try-outs. I wondered if they were even ready. And as I watched the girls - about 10 to 15 of them or more - on their Sports Uniforms, hanging around the field space of the track, segregating themselves in little groups according to their classes and friend groups, and looking like they were on their way to face a heavy judgement scenario, I was certain the whole thing took them pretty off-guard.

The twins had clearly warned everyone who wasn't a part of the Try-outs not to step foot into their track, and as terrified of the two those juniors were, they did Ebere an extra favour of staying a good distance away from her until she was ready to call out to them.

"Yeah?" Ebere closed the lid of her water bottle, turned to me as she started to stretch her hands in a form of little warm up. "Yes, Dabi?"

"Can I.." I moved my shoulders uncomfortably. "Can I ask you something?"

She stopped for a moment like something crossed her mind, stretching hands pausing in the air as she tilted her head at me. "Sure, hit me."

If I said I wasn't nervous about how she was going to react to what I was going to ask her, I'd be lying. But why was I going to ask anyway? Well, somehow I knew that the twins were always about a 99% correct about their assumptions. Or at least about 98% correct.

"Okay so..." I started. "I just wanted to know..."

She looked at me, pretty eyes peering into mine, patiently waiting for my question to come out.

"Is there a possibility that Marcus Acha didn't share that video of us?"

Ebere didn't move a muscle on her face.

It was like my question didn't faze her, but somehow I was a hundred percent sure it most definitely did.

"Is there something you want to tell us?" She inquired. Her voice; surprisingly patient and calm.

Well, they were a lot of things I wasn't telling the sisters, to be honest.

If it wasn't for the leaked video, for starters, they wouldn't even have known that Marcus had shown up at my dance class.

And even now they are aware, they do not even fully understand how his entire presence made me feel that night. How good it made me feel. How warm and at peace it made me feel.

They'd only seen the video we danced together. And since the twins seemed to be clairvoyant - and many other creepy things- they swore they could feel how uncomfortable I was in the entire dance video, and they weren't wrong. I was uncomfortable. But I swear, the rest of the night after that was magical.

But maybe the entire time, I was just being stupid.

And honestly, I had woken up this morning to a sad reminder of how stupid and pathetic I was, and am.

If I had it my way, I would have stayed away from School today, but I wouldn't dare it. Mum had sworn she wouldn't let me do anything of the sort. Not even over her dead body.

And the entire school period, I clung onto the sisters like my life depended on it. Held onto Chika's arms, hid behind the twins, and ran up each time to make sure Soma didn't hop away from me.

It didn't stop me from catching all the deadly glares from girls who didn't like what they saw, and laughter and teases from guys who made insensitive jokes right about everything.

No one hated me more than Class F girls.

I actually wondered how those girls worked.

When this whole rumours started flying around, they were all over me. Saying hi and smiling with all their teeth, trying to get my attention and approval. All it took was for an online anonymous troll to come up and call me out and they suddenly had all the courage to show me how they really felt about me.

Is this how it works?

People like them will worship the ground you walk on, throw you smiles and fake love. But the moment, one person is brave enough to call you out, they see it as a chance to showcase every hate feelings they've been harbouring against you for so long. They come out and show their true colours.

I knew I wasn't exactly a person that people liked much in the set. I always heard all the back comments about me every goddamn time, but man, the hate has never been this open before.

I could bet even the sisters could hear all the comments clear and crystal this time around.

"See how she's now doing like someone that cannot talk!"

"As in ehh! But if it's to be rubbing her body on Acha like she was doing in the video, she will have energy!"

"So desperate! And acting like such an oblivious saint!"

"Omo, abi na Acha trend the video? He sent them the video na!"

"Who else! See how she was even looking at him as if she has never seen fine boy before! "

"Abi that beginning part that he was holding her! She's so love-struck! She doesn't even know he's just playing with her!"

"And she is so easy!"

"And he knows what he's doing! That babe should wise up, abeg! He just wants to make her look like a fool!"

And I understood the sisters couldn't go around fighting everyone for me. Sure, the twins weren't tired of glaring. Chika basically silenced everyone she looked at with basic looks, and Soma kept smiling at me and telling me everything was just fine. And honestly, all these haters could do was talk. As far as I was with the sisters, I was shielded, so no one was going to hover around me like Tekena did the last time.

However, some people took the news differently. Fortunately, some people who were clearly more relevant than the haters in the set seemed to not stop with the showering of compliments and praises. People like Krisdana Moe and Ziba had told me about a million times that I needed to be famous with my dancing.

It still didn't overshadow the haters, anyway.

And having the sisters witnessed everything that had gone down this morning alone with my stupid classmates, they had made it clear that they weren't in any way fans of Marcus Acha.

And in all honesty, I wasn't sure if I was one either.

"So?" Ebere raised her brow, waiting for me to answer. "You like Marcus Acha?"

I frowned. "Hell fucking no." I meant it.

"So, why does it matter?" She asked me.

I wasn't even sure anymore.

This afternoon, the twins had a meeting to attend. Chika had to meet with the Physics teacher, and when I realised Soma was moving towards a bunch of guys in our class who I didn't talk to, I ran away from her without explanation.

I found my solace in the most hidden part of the environment close-by.

Soma came looking for me with a few boys, but I refused to show up.

It was until I heard sounds of small laughter and giggles from the other side of the building that I noticed I wasn't the one lurking around the back of that Jss3 Building alone, and I ran like I was possessed, trying to get away from them, and bumped straight into Marcus Acha, nearly even falling down if he wasn't quick to hold me.

Seeing that boy was like a mental whiplash. It took barely seconds for my body to start to act up; my heart beat sped up, hands started to shake so much, and my sports shirt started to even stick onto my body with the sweat that suddenly started to spill out of my pores.

And with his hands on my body, holding me, I got glimpses, flashes of dance class. When he did the same thing. Had his hand wrapped around my waist, and how our bodies were close, so close, too close that I couldn't even move. How he managed to have my entire senses and body reactions at his own damn mercy.

"Who else! See how she was even looking at him as if she has never seen fine boy before! "

HOW....

"Abi that beginning part that he was holding her! She's so love-struck! She doesn't even know he's just playing with her!"

COULD I..

"And she is so easy!"

BE SO...

"And he knows what he's doing! That babe should wise up, abeg! He just wants to make her look like a fool!"

PATHETIC!

His lips started moving and the moment I realised he wasn't holding me anymore, I ran away from him.

He followed me down into the block and I nearly lost my shit!

I was hiding out in one of the last classes down the hallway, and hearing him slam open all the doors made my heart constrict, the shock zapping into my chest like electricity with each loud bang that slammed the doors open.

I legit thought I was going to faint from panic.

I was trying to keep myself together, stop panting so so hard as I hid right under the desk of the last corner of the nauseating classroom by the corner end, trembling and shaking, hugging my knees to my chest, rocking back and forth in terror, and momentarily searching all ends of the class for anything, ANYTHING to defend myself with, if he caught me here.

"Look, I know you may not believe me, but I really had nothing to do with the video that went viral on the School's page!"

I screamed 'LIAR' in my head when he shouted that.

"I have no intentions whatsoever of making you look stupid in front of anyone, I promise you. I'm just as confused as you are on how the video got out!"

I didn't move. Who else could have sent it?

"I came to see you on my own accord,"

He had said that before.... And I had believed him. I wasn't even sure anymore.

" And I wasn't going to let anyone know, I really promise."

To be honest, I wasn't even sure how to feel about that.

Of course, I didn't want anyone to know he was there with me, and I had my reasons.

And if indeed, he came to my dance class on his own accord, if indeed he didn't also send them the video, what were his reasons for not wanting people to know he came to see me?

Could it be that he was just embarrassed to let people know he was coming to see a person like me? Like, it would be a dent to his reputation?

Or was I over-thinking? Could he have successfully faked everything I saw in him that night to be good? Was anyone that good at pretending?

"And in case you may be doubting, I had fun that night with you."

If I said that my heart didn't stop for a second, I'd be lying.

It soon picked up quickly, started to beat even faster than it did before... But this time, not of fear or anxiety. It felt like something more intense than nervousness, but not as cruel as fear or terror. My heart was just beating so fast, I didn't understand why.

"I really really had fun." I heard him, and my heart skipped a few more beats, and sped up just a little bit faster. "Honestly, Dabeluchi. The joy was real and genuine, it's something I can't explain in words. I've never felt as much peace as I had felt that night in such a long, long time."

Thinking about it made me smile.

It was for me too, Marcus. It was.

I smiled recalling how good he made me feel that night. Found it in me to stand up, and a part of me wanted to walk to him.

But when I got to the door and got my hands on the knob, I had second thoughts.

This felt desperate.

The door pushed slightly open in front of me, but I didn't walk out.

I stayed there, thinking and contemplating if I should go see him, and I wasn't sure just how long I stood there.

But when I eventually got out to see Marcus Acha.... He wasn't there anymore.

"Dabeluchi."

I blinked, remembered I was talking to Ebere.

She stood in front of me, looking at me like she expected me to say something.

"I asked why it matters." The twin repeated herself.

"I'm just..." I shrugged nervously. "Curious."

Ebere shocked me by looking understanding.

"Okay," She was soft spoken. Sighed. "You know Ebube and I said that there was a 90% chance it was him?"

I nodded. "Yeah?"

"Well, that mathematically means there is a 10% chance he isn't the one." She said.

Umm. "I see."

"But, let's be honest. That's like 10 possibilities out of a 100, Dabeluchi," Ebere told me.

But it's still a possibility, right?

Our conversation was cut short abruptly.

Chika, Soma, and Ebube stormed in like a whirlwind.

"Sisters, what's popping!" Soma screamed first.

Chika rather bounced in with her, tearing a large paper bag open and tossing snacks and drinks to the sisters in reckless abandon.

"Ugh! Why are there so much Ss2s here!" She had groaned out loud as she glanced over the Junior girls from Ss2, clustering together, for the Track Try-outs.

I was reminded of the fact that Chika absolutely hated Ss2 girls.

"No! No! Give me Fanta! Chi Mama, I said I want Fanta naw!!" Soma was whining to Chika, as she tried to exchange her bottle of coke with the Fanta in Ebube's hand.

Chika had tossed a jam donut in a white nylon towards me, without warning, and Soma had shoved the Fanta she had snatched away from Ebube into my hands to grab my Sprite instead.

"Indecisive much, Soso!" Ebere had commented on my behalf.

"Seconded!" Ebube said. "She took mine too, and still exchanged it!"

"And they're littering my track field with snack wraps oo!" Ebere realised, suddenly wanting to pull out her hair in frustration.

"Who wants meat pie!" Chika shouted. The girl was already sitting on the ground, balancing, spreading her legs, and scattering all the wraps of donuts, meat pies, and eggrolls on the grass.

"Hehe! Ebere looks like she wants to kill you, Chi Mama!" Soma giggled, finding the entire thing funny apparently.

"And you guys take way too much soda!" Ebere complained as she opened her bottle of coke. "Do you know how much calories one bottle of coke has?" She drank from her bottle.

Ebube's eyes widened immediately.

"No, we're not supposed to be drinking soda right before games," The other twin panicked.

"140 Calories," Ebere completely ignored Ebere. "One bottle of coke equals 140 Calories!" She drank more coke. Her sister looked like she had seen a ghost.

"And relax, Ebube," Ebere finally gave her attention. "We aren't doing shit today. It's Try-outs."

Ebube realised. Shrugged. Popped open her own coke bottle and drank from it too, giving in.

I just laughed to myself, and dived into my snacks as well.

The twins did well to ignore us, and focus into commencing the Senior School track Try-outs.

"Where's Prissy?" Ebere had asked her twin.

"She said she'd be here, soon." Ebube answered.

'Hope she is aware we'll start the Try-outs without her." Ebere said.

She wasn't even joking.

Ebere had a Coke bottle in her hands, calling the nervous Ss1 and Ss2 girls to order, and picking out her first five to be 'on their mark', for the first round, and Ebube stood by her, arms folded and eyes carefully studying the girls Ebere had picked forward.

I joined Chika and Soma on the grass as they seemed to still be bickering something about the snacks, and I tore open my nylon of egg rolls, looked around the thing and wondered how I would eat a thing like eggrolls in public.

Without asking questions, Chika exchanged the wrap of meat pie in her hands with my egg roll, throwing a comforting smile along with it.

I was grateful. Also wondering how she easily understood my very very awkward situation.

However, I nearly choked on one bite of the meat pie when I caught sight of someone.

Right behind us, I saw the person who I least expected walking past the track field we were on, and seeming to be heading out into the road side by it.

I snapped my head so fast away from him, daring myself to not get caught by him.

He couldn't see me here. Marcus Acha could not see me here!

I couldn't even control my body anymore because it didn't even take up to ten minutes after that my head snapped back to him. Luckily, he was already on the road side and heading towards the basketball court.

"You! You! You! You! And You!" That was Ebube's voice as she selected all the five girls that just competed on the track. All of them.

"All of you, out!" She said. "You didn't make the team."

Meanwhile, I was struggling between looking to and looking away from the court where Marcus had already gone in, settling with his friends and a few other guys.

Low-key, even if it as once, I missed being with him.

God forbid! Dead it, Dabeluchi! If you don't die in his hands, your classmates will probably have your head for it.

A shot break was announced for the twins to take some food while the other girls shook in their toes, getting ready to be called up next for Try-outs' and possibly eliminated too.

And I guess I was the only one who was able to pick up the things that happened the next moment.

Soma and Ebube seemed to be having trouble with the same thing that was difficult for me; Looking away from the Basketball Court.

But the two seemed to be doing so for clearly different reasons.

First, Soma looked like a horror film watching Kaniru's boys on that court. She would glance back at them from time to time. This should have been the third or fourth time I had caught her staring at those boys like they were ghosts.

I knew those boys had a reputation for being dangerous as hell, and I was also certain that Soma wasn't the only one who was terrified of them in the set. But something about Soma's fear for them was glaringly alarming, this time around.

I only wondered what was wrong. And with the way, Marcus Acha eased into the bad boys all around him and his friends, playing games with them, and having the best of fun.... I even got uncomfortable.

How did he even get people like them to like him?

Should I really be hanging around a boy like Marcus?

Ebube, rather. She seemed to be alternating between intently watching something on the court, and slowly trying her shoe lace.

I didn't even need a saint to tell me who she was watching. There on the court, just as Nana had made a clean basket, the entire place was shaking with cheers and jeers from the guys who were hailing him.

The twin.... Smiled.

I raised a brow. How was I the only one seeing all these?

"Ebube, I'll be back in a sec," Ebere said to her twin who was still busy with the shoelace, telling her something about wanting to head into the block to find Prissy.

Soma jumped to follow her, and Chika suggested it was time for her to go for her Volleyball game as well.

It was so quiet after they had gone. All I could hear was the clear chirping of birds in all our silence.

Why wouldn't it be so awfully quiet anyway?

I mean, indirectly, the sisters left me on the grass with the one individual who could go on ahead and stay mute the entire time if she wanted.....

They left me with Ebube Onuoha.

The girl sat there, ever so quietly, tying her lace and I stared at her back the whole entire time.

I had been friends with this girl for so long and it was taking me just now to realise just how much I, nor the other sisters, had not actually figured her out.

"Hi."

That was me, to her.

She stopped.

For about a second or two.

Then, turned back to me. Pretty eyes lighted up as she looked at me.

There was something almost creepy about Ebube looking directly at me.

Maybe it was partly because I rarely ever see Ebube in her own, and not with her sister. So, seeing her, alone, was a bit queer.

Granted, it was like I was really staring at Ebere, since they were so so identical. But even as identical as they were, there were some slight differences I couldn't explain. Even with as little as the edges of their noses, and even the shape of their irises. They were so identical, yet, those differences were clear enough for me to see.

It was like I was looking at an edited Ebere, or I was looking at Ebere from an alternative universe form. Or, I went to the past, altered it, and in turn, altered the future, and came back to see how Ebere looked like because of a butterfly effect. Same look, yes, but different, different vibes attached to it. Both physically, emotionally and mentally.

"What's up, Dee?" Ebube easily smiled at me as she casually resumed her laces. Those laces she had refused to finish tying.

"I'm good, I just...." I moved to sit with her, glanced at Nana at the Bball Court, and back to Ebube. "Why don't you go and talk to him?"

She didn't stop tying her laces as she asked me, "Who?"

"Nnaemeka," I said his name. "Nana."

She seemed to have a whiplash. Literally froze. Hands on her laces, and didn't move for the next few seconds.

Maybe I shouldn't have brought it up?

She snapped out, but didn't look at me as she very very casually, too casually resumed her laces. It was almost as if she didn't even just go into shock, just a few seconds ago.

"Dabeluchi." Ebube called me.

I swallowed. "Yeah?"

"Why should I talk to Nana?" Ebube asked me, so calmly.

I didn't know how to answer.

"Um..... I just felt you may want to?" I stammered.

"Nah, I'll pass." She easily dismissed the idea.

I wasn't sure what to say.

"Are you sure?" I asked her.

"Yes." She was done tying her shoelaces. "Ebere says we have to be serious with Try-outs, and we have -" She glanced at the wrist watch on her left wrist. "59 seconds for our short break to be over."

It's not about what Ebere wants, Ebube. I wanted to say to her.

I didn't have the mind.

And the sisters were back at that moment anyway, and Ebube was quick to get on to her sisters side, to get into the next round of the Try-outs.

I looked to Ebube as she spoke after her sister, looked for validation from her before doing anything, and I realised just how sad it was that she seemed to not have a decision of he own.

But who was I to judge?

Relating this to my case with Marcus Acha, I was also giving in to external pressure from classmates who were ready to tear me apart if seen with him again. Ready to troll me all the way.

But what did I want to do about the whole thing? If my classmates weren't such big threats, what would I do?

"If you believe me, if you genuinely feel I'm not lying to you, text me?"

His words replayed in my head the entire Sports Time.

~ACHA~

I stepped into the Basketball for about the fourth time that afternoon, right after the bell for Sports over had been rang.

And stepped right into Kaniru's boys trying to tear a random SS2 boy in half.

"Just ignore them," Sean told me, clear non-chalance oozing off him, as he tried to exchange the shoes on his feet into palms.

I was only taken off-guard how things had switched off so fast.

The other times I had come here; alternating between the football field and the Basketball Court, it was all a friendly atmosphere filled with boys who were just having fun together, playing a game, and co-operating with Nana who had literally made this court into existence, in the first place.

Granted, all of those times I came here, I had to - not like I had any choice - pass through the track field where Dabeluchi and her friends were.

The girl didn't even look like she gave a shit about me anyway. And not intending to scare her off or attract he friend's attention, I did her the favour of backing off.

She totally hated me.

The Basketball Court was low-key a solace. Not because I was obsessed with the game, it just gave me a moment to escape that football field for a moment.

And besides, I loved to watch Sean an Nana play. Sometimes, at will, I joined in. Sometimes, I didn't. JJ didn't know a thing in Basketball despite all the training Nana had done with him, and throughout the game, or at least all the time I was here, he was just busy with the camera documenting all of Sean and Nana's baskets, and jeering and running around with Kaniru's boys each time there was a basket.

All in all, I loved to watch the boys' play. Sean particularly loved to have me there, watching him 'school the other boys', and Nana; he basically shocked me each time I watched him play. He was too good to still be on a secondary school court, and his raw passion for the game almost melted my heart. In all seriousness, he was the reason our school decided to have a Basketball Court, and for that reason, we called the Senior School Basketball Court 'Nana's throne'. Most of the time, it was a fairly co-operative zone.

But, I shouldn't have been surprised how things changed afterwards. Usually, after Sports, things did switch up like this. Especially when those thug boys were around.

Fortunately, they had their days of showing their faces on the court to play, and they had their days when they completely disappeared from School during Sports. One thing I was sure that Nana was grateful for was the fact that most of the time they were around - put aside their madness and ruggedness- the boys were fairly co-operative on the court. Or at least, with our mates, they were. The Juniors who joined Nana's Basketball team were often terrified to be free on the court because of Kaniru's boys.

And seeing them brutally harassing that helpless Ss2 Boy there, bruises already forming on his face as a result of the punches the other boys had already thrown at him, even amidst all the punishment he was being given, I figured just how much the other boys wouldn't want to be in his shoes.

He had just completed another circle round the court, doing 'frog jump' - a punishment where you have to squat and hop around like a frog, and I saw the discomfort on Nana's face.

Needless to say, I was almost used to these kinds of things. I hung around with these boys an awful amount of time to witness some of the horrible things they do to other people.

And like I said, I was just almost used to it. In other words, I actually felt bad for that junior boy.

"Maybe you guys should just let him off the hook?" The kind and gentle Nana tried to compromise with the hooligan boys.

That was a big mistake because the boys came at him, hurling harsh words and telling him to 'mind his fucking business'.

Nana left the court. But without his belongings. A part of me felt he was onto somewhere, but coming back.

"What did he do?" I asked Sean.

He looked to the random Ss2 Boy who I just asked about.

The guys were now shoving him around, amongst themselves, like he was some toy, and for a moment, Sean didn't say anything as he watched the whole thing, quietly.

"You know how stupidly petty those boys can be," He responded dryly.

I'm well aware.

"Apparently, they were saying something about the Simon boy wearing the same hoodie with them, so they're mad about it." Sean told me.

I would have been shocked, but I actually wasn't.

It was likely of those boys to have this sort of territorial behaviour that was absolutely ridiculous and toxic. As a junior, you couldn't even be caught dead, dressing like them. One of the boys, Affah, had slapped puss out of an Ss1 boys' ears because the unfortunate kid wore a bandana at the back of his uniform pocket - something that was a thing that Kaniru and his boys' do.

Oh, and how could I even forget how Kaniru, himself, had made a junior boy parade around our class block, stack naked, one time, and just because he caught him 'staring too much' at he, and his boys.

However, Kaniru wasn't there with his boys. But, there was almost no difference because those boys could cause a good amount of damage - with or without Kaniru- if they wanted to.

So, now, through Sean's explanation of what the boy's offense was, and what I could see on my own, I realised the boy who had his life in their mercy was wearing an orange hoodie, just like the other thug boys.

I quickly understood what the fuss was about.

"You know what I don't understand though?" Sean said to me.

I raised a brow. "Yeah?"

"Why JJ is also angry at the boy with them." He answered.

Lord, it took everything in my entire body not to laugh in his face!

But Sean did have point. To even make things worse, JJ was not only in the midst of those huge, scary, heartless boys that were tearing that Ss2 boy apart, he was also wearing an orange hoodie, just like Kaniru's boys.

I started to actually wonder if JJ was still with us, or if he slowly morphing into Kaniru's group.

"OFF THE HODDIE! COMMOT AM!" One of the boys, Jagun, got into the Ss2 Boy's face, ordering him to take off his hoodie as he towered over him in all his enormous height and size, fire blazing in his red eyes as he growled at the junior boy like an animal. "FAST!"

All he needed to do was just comply, and he'd be fine.

Meanwhile, I saw JJ shove the junior boy's head as the other boys cornered him.

Wow. If only these juniors knew JJ's age, lol. I could bet my dick that the boy JJ was shoved was at least a year or two, older than him.

But it wasn't like that mattered anyway. It wasn't even the solution at that moment. Low-key, I just prayed the junior boy would co-operate so that he could free himself from the shackles of those boys.

Because as far as I was concerned, no one was going to be able to stop them from doing whatever they wanted to do with him.

And I thought this Ss2 boy, Simon as Sean said his name was, was going to co-operate and do as they said. That's why I was indeed taken aback when this junior boy decided to do what I least expected.

"Guy, free my shirt first!" He started to struggle with Jagun's hold on him. "You've already beat me, it af do! Free my shirt, abeg!"

I couldn't believe my eyes.

As expected, Hell came down on Earth.

"GUY! YOU DON DIE!" Kingsley and Oshio amongst the boys were the first ones to jump the Simon boy in a gruesome attack.

Seconds. Seconds was all it took for the whole thing to turn into a bloody gang beat up session.

I sat up on my seat. Shocked. Taken unexpected.

Now, this had never happened before.

It was when we started to attract the eyes of onlookers that I realised this thing was escalating fast. Students started to stop - students who weren't even in the court with us. From the field, from the road side, literally everywhere that a student was, they stopped in horror, watching. The punches, the shouting, EVERYTHING attracted attention.

"Okay, that's enough!" It was Sean who shouted, jumped up from his seat and dived head first into the gang fight.

I nearly ran mad, realising he was about to jump into his death, and a mental scream of 'WHAT IS HE DOING?!' resounded in my head.

Against my will and without thinking, I ran after Sean, diving into a series of blows to the head, shoving guys around and punching back, as I tried to get my best friend away from the mess he had jumped into.

It lasted for a few moments, and after taking a few, giving a few, and pulling after a stubborn Sean Ayomide, the atmosphere stated suddenly calmed down.

I was about to think a teacher had stepped in, but no, not even close.

I wished it was a teacher.

But standing there before everyone, and ordering for the hooligan boys to be chill, was the person I least expected.

Kaniru George.

The Man-boy looked angry. Very angry. His muscles tensed and twitched involuntarily, as he stormed in pushing his boys one by one off the kid, and his eyes were blood shut and fiery, like someone who was about to start a deadly earthquake if he had superpowers.

And he was helping out the Junior boy?

Bullshit. Something was definitely off.

Even Sean wasn't buying it. Just like me, he also believed Kaniru may just have ulterior motives with that Simon boy.

"Leave that boy alone! What's your problem?" Sean warned Kaniru.

The beast turned sharply to Sean with death glaring in his eyes.

"I'll fucking blow your brains out if you ever talk to me like that again, Ayo!" He towered Sean's 6'1 frame, but the latter didn't move.

"Stop calling me Ayo!" Sean spoke through gritted teeth, vein threatening to burst in all his anger.

"Sean, just let it go," I tried to negotiate with my best friend.

Three of these guys, I could fight down. Four guys, maybe. Five guys, a struggle, but it could be possible. But about eight of them, plus Kaniru? Man, they'd roast us.

And I didn't want Sean starting something we could not finish.

"Ayo!" Kaniru shouted in Sean's face one more time. "What are you going to do about it, Ayo!"

"Dude." I grinded my teeth against each other as my patience grew thin, and I moved to stand in front of Sean, covering him from Kaniru, and facing the monster instead.

He actually cackled. Stepped upfront to me. "See this kid oo!"

I swear I didn't want to fight. But if this drug addict spat in my face one more time, I was going to shatter his fucking nose.

Sean, behind me, grunted. Legit grunted like an animal. And stormed out in a fit of rage.

Immediately, Sean left with his stuff, Kaniru left me. Dumped me like I wasn't even relevant enough to waste his time on.

He walked straight to the Ss2 boy as his boys stood there, letting him do what he wanted.

"Remove the hoodie and disappear from here." He told the guy in a dangerously low tone that made the hairs in my body stand.

He said it like he was challenging the boy to disobey him, like he did with his guys. It was almost like he wanted to prove something.

The Ss2 boys stood there, not saying anything. His silence was like disobedience it self, because she clearly looked very, very reluctant to.

I only wondered to myself. Who tf was this Simon kid, and WHY THE FUCK was he so stubborn!

I didn't even have much time to think. The next thing that happened shocked me out of my bones.

Kaniru ran him up like a truck, speared him to the ground, and my eyes grew wide in horror the moment the boy hit the ground, and Kaniru marched his head.... With fucking studded shoes!

The boy wasn't moving on the ground.

I stepped back, shocked.

That was when Nana appeared with Charlie Ba, and Mr. Jimmy.

The entire thing got messier than it should have. And without even waiting for more explanation, the two teachers dragged us all out of the Court, as some prefects carried the wounded Ss2 boy on their Shoulder.

On our way out, as Mr. Jimmy kept referring to us all as 'hoodlums' and 'terrorist', I just couldn't believe how much trouble I had gotten myself into.

Especially with Kaniru's boys of all people.

And the worst thing happened at that moment.

I saw Dabeluchi and her friends, all staring at me as they dragged me alongside with Kaniru and his boys, like a bunch of hardened criminals, towards the School's Disciplinary Building.

Dabeluchi and all her friends, stood accordingly in one line; She, Chika, Soma, and the twins, and it was like slow motion. How they all stared me down as they took us away. Stared at me like I as the worst person in the world.

God. Only God knew what she thought about me at this point.

What irritated me the most if just how much these hooligan boys didn't take this entire thing seriously.

As Mr. Jimmy threatened to deal with us, they were laughing. They were actually laughing!

After they had nearly killed someone! Hopefully. I was just hoping the Simon boy wasn't even dead. Panicking and praying. Yet, these boys were unbothered, laughing about it!

As they locked us in the Detention of the Disciplinary Building, they were STILL laughing!

I completely distanced myself from the boys all the way. Made sure to stay far away, on a lone bench, by the corner o the dark, spacey cell we were in, out if the many others that were pushed together in the middle by the hooligan boys.

JJ was STILL recording the entire thing like he was proud of what they did, and I fought the urge to throw up at how demented he sounded. How demented they ALL sounded! And never have I ever been so irritated and dissapointed in JJ till this day.

So, just how dissapointed was Dabeluchi, anyway?

Thinking about it made me so disturbed.

"Guy, this one you're not talking to us?" JJ was the one that announced my silence to the entire cell.

I completely ignored him, and the other boys who found whatever he said funny.

Idiots. A bunch of Idiot Bastards.

I was just honestly tired. Exhausted, even. I couldn't even imagine how I got myself into this mess in the first place.

What would my dad say about this now?

Justice never got into this kind of trouble when he was in Castron High.

Why do I have to be the defaulting child, all the fucking time?!

"Leave him! He's thinking about his girlfriend!" One of the guys hold around.

I ignored. He laughed at his stupid joke. The other boys broke down in an even more dramatic laughter, slapping their thighs and nearly falling off the bench.

I only wondered what was so funny.

"Abeg! No talk that thing again! Don't say it again, please!"

That was JJ's voice.

"I forbid that kind of girl for my guy, abeg!"

Still JJ's voice.

And my blood froze.

What?

"I swear, that one is a downgrade. I can vomit for him, I swear!" Another guy said.

The vein in my temple was ticking, anger was rising in me.

Hold yourself, Marcus Acha. You've already gotten yourself into too much trouble.

"The girl is fine oo, no doubt," One of the guys said, the others agreed. "But no abeg! E get as she be! She behaves like someone who has mental problem!"

Like, you're any normal?

"No! No! I know the kind of girls Acha goes for! It's not people like Dabeluchi!" JJ sounded too certain.

I turned to look at them, directly. Clearly not pleased.

"So what's the big deal deal if I have something to do with Dabeluchi?" I asked them.

There was silence for a while.

Then, the boys broke down, laughing a horrifying, stinging laughter that fuelled me up with more rage.

"He's joking! He's joking!" JJ was telling them.

"Acha is baba for the girls, na! She's defs one of his conquests, that's the most she can be!" He was still talking. "He's just leading her on to take what he wants from her. When he's done, he'll ball out! Is it not our guys again that knows how to get any girl he wants?! He's just playing games with her!"

"Exactly! We know Acha! What could you be possibly be finding in that - Is it Dabu or whatever whatever- girl!" It was Kingsley who spoke.

It took all that was in me to not punch that irritating smirk off his face.

"Look." I told the boys, sternly. "You all should really learn to mind your business. Even if something was going on with us, what's it to you?"

JJ looked at me, puzzled.

"Wait oo!" He said. "Is something really going on with you two?"

Actually, Dabeluchi probably hates my guts.

"No." I answered JJ, wishing somehow I could slap that shocked look off his face.

"Nothing is going on with me and Dabeluchi." I told them. She hates me. "We're barely even friends." I told them for a fact. "I barely know her. She barely knows me. We're just two people who are never going to truly have each other."

Admitting it felt like stabbing a thousand knives into my heart.

But.... Wasn't it the blunt truth?

I'm sooo sorry. For the length of this chapter. But, this entire chapter makes up a massive part of the Climax of this book, so guys, it was necessary.

Theories? How do you think the events of this chapter will affect the characters in this book in the Long-run? Comment everything you think!

I have an announcement to make soon though! Meanwhile, how was this chapter??