HEYYYYY!!!!

Okay so hi there! First off, thank you for 42k reads, I am absolutely stunned by the fast growth of this book guyssss, wherever you are THANK YOU FOR READING MY BOOK OOO!!!😫😫♥️♥️

And oh, if you noticed, 'Too Many Broken Things' now has a new cover that is absolutely gorgeous and it's all thanks to the one and only Donaldprince. (Y'all should follow me and thank him, the guy is too much. Hands down becoming one of my favorite people these days, I mean it, Donald ♥️♥️

So, if you haven't noticed, Donald and I are doing this Collab with our books, and if you have been keeping in touch with "The Things We Do" by Donaldprince.. you will realise that it has already begun and Casper Bassey, alongside a lot of other characters from TMBT have already been mentioned in his book. If you aren't reading the book, check it out right now! Donald is very very good and is doing justice to that book, believe me! And I can't wait for the Nero Olympics to begin guys, get ready to see TMBT and TTWD characters meet each other in one HUGE crossover!

I'll like to use this medium to also give a shout-out to Stardust_Wendy. She was the one who made the previous cover for TMBT, and dheenmah. 😍♥️ She was the one in charge of all my character aesthetics too.

I've talked too much, lol. Carry on to the chapter ♥️

~ACHA~

As very much hoped for and expected,  I came to School that Monday Morning, and nobody was talking about Dabeluchi.

Or at least not in a distasteful way.

I figured that as a result of everything that we had to do, all our efforts for damage control, it would have been close to impossible to come to School and have student still talk bad about her as badly as they were doing in the Class Group Chat before I decided to step in.

Hard work does pay off.

And as cliche as it may have sounded, believe me, I'd do anything for Dabeluchi.

**INCOMING WHATSAPP NOTIFICATION**

Aurora💖

Clyde, do you know what I just remembered?
<Sent 9:45am

Lol, talk about the devil.

Dabeluchi and I have been onn-and-off texting each other, back and forth, since Last Night.

We decided to retire to Bed by 12 midnight, but we ended up using up an hour or so, just saying goodbye. We'd be like, "Alright, by now, finally. Final Goodnight oo" and then, the next minute, we're laughing about something one of us suddenly remembered, and talking about it for the next ten to fifteen minutes, before we actually remind ourselves again that we were supposed to be saying goodnight and going offline.

After repeating that process over and over and over again, it was about half past 2am, that we finally forced ourselves to say goodnight, go offline on the count of three, and never touch our phones again till the next morning.

Lol, as early as 5am, Dabeluchi and I were back to actively texting each other while preparing for school, and we had it going on till this very moment.

I smiled to myself, an insane amount of joy bubbled up in me as I texted her back;

What now?😂
<Sent 9:45am

It was 8am, a few minutes into the end of second period that we were supposed to be having, and here I was, texting Dabeluchi Orji, lacking any will whatsoever to stop.

Fortunately for me and her, we probably weren't even going to have any today.

After the Morning Assembly, Guy man had announced that there would be a meeting with the School Authorities, the Prefects, and the Head Teachers of every set, and lately, whenever new like that spring up, it automatically meant that we had a lot of free hours to ourselves. Most likely, all of School hours, even.

For that reason, the whole School, or at least 99% of it, had practically emptied out of the classrooms, and were scattered all around the place, buzzing along with them, a highly insane amount of noise. In all my years of Castron High, I have never seen the school as NOISY as it was today.

The Ss3 Hallway, for one, was a rowdy mess, nearly suffocating mess, as about half the population of classmates were there, making a whole lot of noise, dividing themselves in cliques and groups where they got to laugh, play, flirt, show-off, and gossip about the one trending news that had gone viral this morning, and scattered the same peace of CH - Luckily, it was not concerning Dabeluchi.

I figured, judging through the noise from the other Senior blocks that neighbored ours, that they were also partaking in this same activities the Ss3s' in our hallway were so actively into. I low-key figured, apparently, that even if we hadn't had to cover for Dabeluchi the way we did yesterday, with the rate that everyone was talking about this new rumour surrounding the Queen Bee and the School Star player/ Hunk, I figured that it would have naturally, due to the popularity scale, overshadowed Dabeluchi's gist anyway.

I actually had to leave the School Block because I was getting slightly irritated, hearing the name 'Ivandor Fejaun' over again, in everyone's goddamn mouth.

I was in a good mood this morning, I didn't want to spoil it.

Aurora 💖

Remember when we went to get chocolate cake by those outside Counters close to the Game Arcade?
<Sent 9:48am

I smiled reading Dabeluchi's text.

How could I forget that day?

The same day she couldn't pick a flavour and kept changing her mind so frequently.

The same day she scared the life out of me when I had lost her.

The same day we played with the water hose and ended up getting ourselves so wet.

The same day we bumped into classmates, Prissy and Yure, and I had told Prissy that Dabi's name was 'Menu Tabs'.

The same day we sat by the river and would have kissed if she didn't do me 'odeshi'.

Recalling those moments alone were everything to me.

The same day I saw the cut scars on her hand......

My heart dropped for a moment, as I remembered that part of the night. It was a painful drop within me. Very painful.

I texted her back;

Yeah, I remember very, very well 🌝
<Sent 9:48am

Her reply came the next minute;

Aurora💖

Abi, you know we forgot that chocolate cake there?
<Sent 9:49am

I belted out a laughter immediately as the realization slapped me in the face.

We did forget our cake there.

Or I did.

I remembered grabbing the pack from the woman behind the counter, but after I realized that Dabeluchi was missing, I couldn't really recall running around and looking for her with it in my hands.

With a playful grin on my face, I thumbed rapidly, replying Dabeluchi immediately;

It was all your fault!
<Sent 9:49am

If you didn't play that kind of play with me, we wouldn't have left it there, Aurora😂😂
<Sent 9:49am

Play-Play Aurora🌝
<Sent 9:49am

Aurora💖

Yen yen yen
<Sent 9:50am

Aurora💖

Abeg, stop making me laugh too much, Chika is here.
<Sent 9:51am

A part of me wondered where she was and if she was was close by, perhaps. I hadn't even seen her today at all. Not even in the Assembly Hall, and immediately after the Assembly was over, I barely spent two minutes in the Hallway, before going out to chill in the void and empty Senior Basketball court.

Well, it was void and empty when I came.

However, not so long after, I started to have some company. Or maybe even too much company, even. Some boys from my set, a few athletic girls too, and some other boys and girls from Ss2, were engaging in a friendly match of Basketball. Thy had quite an audience too, because it even started  to seem like half the population of Castron High was suddenly eve so interested in being here in the Senior School Basketball court all of a sudden.

Or Nana's throne - as it was popularly known.

The boy, Nana Obi, was actually no where to be found. Everyone else in Castron High seemed to be on his court, except him, and he wasn't a prefect, so only God knows where exactly he had gone off to.

I sat there, on one of the benches by the court that was supposed to be for the Spectators who would be watching the game, texting Dabeluchi, and paying little to no mind what was going on, on that court.

Funny enough, normally, even if I wasn't texting Dabeluchi right now, a part of me would have naturally preferred to stay here, than on the football field.

On a normal day, being in the same space with Ivandor Fejaun just had a way of riling me up. In as much as the Ballers' knew, and I mean it that the were fucking talented in hyping the shit out of me, once we were on the field, and Ivandor was there, I was almost invisible.

And it irritated me a lot how my Dad loved Ivandor and his abilities so much, more than he even loved me - if he did, and then, when I get to School, which was the only place I had my own share of ego boosting, I get to the field, and Ivandor Fejaun also steals that from me as well.

Nevertheless, he was a prefect, and my luck was that I probably wouldn't have to set my eyes on him at all today.

I decided to zero on all my thoughts on Dabeluchi and Dabeluchi alone, as that was the only thing that was really giving me joy, and not riling up toxic feelings in me. So, I texted her;

Where are you, sef🌝
<Sent 9:52am

My message ticked blue and she was typing immediately.

Aurora💖

Class.
<Sent 9:53am

I was surprised, really, because I didn't think that with the crowd of noisy, basketball watching students here, that anyone was even in class at all.

I texted her back;

I want to see you🌝
<Sent 9:53am

Aurora 💖

You always want to see me.
<Sent 9:53am

On seeing her reply, I tried to muffle my laughter so I wouldn't come off so loud, and I was laughing under my breath as I texted her again;

Pretty, Pleasseeeee❤️
<Sent 9:53am

She was typing back and in a minute, I got her messages.

Aurora 💖

Oya, wait.
<Sent 9:54am

Aurora 💖

I'm coming.
<Sent 9:55am

I was really excited, eagerly waiting for Dabeluchi, and so many minutes were passing and passing and passing, until a picture dropped in my DMS.

The picture, guys!!!✨✨

My hands froze over as chills ran through my whole body, and my heart stopped, dropped to my stomach, and I stopped breathing, but my fingers were pouring out my heart and mind in her DMS.

"YO! ACHA!"

One of the guys in the court had snapped me out of my thoughts, reverting my attention to them, a bit alarmed at the sharpness of his tone as he shouted my name.

I looked up to see a basketball, flying towards me and headed directly into my face, and in reflex, my hands had gone up, trapping the ball in them, without stress, easily catching it, before seeing the faces that were on me, fronting large grins and extra large smiles.

"What's up, na? Man like Acha, you no go like ball with us?" Ayo spoke pidgin, proposing that I play basketball with them, and the other Ballers around him, were also in on the idea, anticipating my participation as well.

I laughed under my breath, shook my head with a smile and then threw the basketball back to Jaja who caught it in one swift motion, and I told them all, "Sorry. Not today, boys."

The boys were mock groaning in the most dramatic way, punching their fists into the air, and Prissy Waje, a girl who rocked a low-cut, and one of the very athletic girls in my set who had even joined the boys' match, shot out her little head from the small crowd of the tall boys.

"Brooo," She came straight for me, eyes wide as saucers, "What do you mean you don't want to play naa? Inside this hot match, you prefer to press phone??"

"Man like Acha doesn't even know that he and Fejaun are the reasons we packed ourselves from the field and came here to this court," I heard Nomso comment and I frowned in confusion.

Really?

I mean, yeah, I knew that the Ballers loved to play football with Ivandor, and a part of me felt that they all retired here to the court because Ivandor was in a Prefects' meeting, but I didn't feel my absence was of much importance to the team.

At least, not as seriously as this.

But to think of it, I was the second best player in the team, and with their star, Ivandor Fejaun absent, and me, absent, as well as equally great players like Affah, and Aaron and Casper absent too, I realized the boys felt like the field was a bit dry.

I could understand that.

"Leave him naw," A fun and lively Ss2 girl who was also playing with them, playfully punched Nomso on the shoulder, "You people are even disturbing him, what if he's talking to his babe?"

My classmates collectively laughed at the Ss2 girl's joke, before Jaja tossed her the ball and she started to bounce it on the court and moved like a skilled professional at the game.

King Tobi was the Ss2 girl's name, and for some reason, that girl had been trying so hard to be friends with me for as long as I could remember.

Granted, she was friends with about 99% of my set boys, and not in a sleazy kind of way, but majorly because, since she was closely a tom-boy, she knew how to make friends with boys, easier than with girls, and our set boys absolutely loved her effortless cool and swagger.

Large excited screams and cheers erupted from the watching students that surrounded the circle of the court, as Michael Ndukwe, a cocky boy from Ss2 scored a neat three pointer, and the rest of his guys from the Big boys Association of Ss2 were quick to rush up to him, carrying him up and hailing, 'KING MICHAEL' over and over. I smiled, impressed at the kid, too, and his constant efforts of turning a game into a mad house.

However, I contemplated leaving this place. Luckily, no one was hitting my bench in all their cheering and screaming. In fact, to be honest, since I came here, no one had even sat with me on this bench.

In their defense, if I was in a class lower than Ss3 and I saw an Ss3 boy sitting on one of the benches, I would quietly also avoid that bench and sit somewhere else, though.

Most of these juniors here weren't even fully concentrated on the game unless someone scored. A lot of the girls were taking selfies, making videos, gisting with friends, and playing with their classmates, while a lot of their boys used this as an opportunity to flirt with the girls they liked....

They were just like us.

Aurora 💖

There's Dance Class today tho.
<Sent 10:01am

I got confused on Dabeluchi's message.

Dance Class... Today?

I was quick to text back;

It's Monday. I thought Dance Class was only Friday and Saturday.
<Sent 10:01am

Aurora 💖

Yeah, but Yukerya wants our class to audition for this Dance contest next week.
<Sent 10:02am

I hummed in delight. Nice.

Aurora💖

So, we will be having classes through out the week with a few members of the class, and Yukerya says I am going to be the one to come up with the dance moves and tutor Quin and Yusra this week.
<Sent 10:04am

I smiled, texted back;

Well, look at you taking up leadership roles, Aurora🌝
<Sent 10:04am

Aurora 💖

Lol.

<Sent 10:05am

Aurora💖

 Are you coming?
<Sent 10:06am

I was just about to text Dabeluchi back when I felt another presence, a familiar one, join me on the bench.

"Brah." Was all he said as she sat by me, ever so quietly, thumbing softly on his phone, seemingly focused on whatever it was he was doing.

"Sean?" I called him.

"What's up?" His tone was even drier than his facial expressions, he barely even looked up from his phone.

Something was wrong with him.

The boy sucked in his teeth in slight frustration at something, and just put off his phone, dropped it on the bench.

"Is it just me or is today just somehow?" He said to me.

I found it hard to relate. So far, my today had been amazing.

"And Jesus, everywhere I go, every corner I turn, every one is talking about Giwa and-"

"Yeah, me too, I know," I cut him off before he could say the other name.

Like I had said before, all morning, there had been a rumour hovering all around the queen bee and the School hunk, and it had done well to steal the peace of the entire school.

I'd give it to them anyways, they made my job of shifting all the attention away from Dabeluchi a lot more easier.

The students of Castron High were like the wind when it came to rumours and trendy gossip.  They moved aimlessly like the wind, from one thing to another, never settling at one exact place.

Rumours and trending gossip die faster than they come up in Castron High; It wasn't a myth.

And for a fact, the worthy class did determine just how much relevance that would be attached to a piece of information; Their reaction to it was the determining factor to check if it was relevant enough to be worth talking about, or well, not that important, I guess.

And that was exactly what gave me the idea to help Dabeluchi out.

So, imagine what progress it would have been in Dabi's favour if the most relevant people in the set, took her side? Again, don't ask what I did, what we did, but just know that I successfully managed to make Dabeluchi a celebrity in this school, and she had no clue about it.

And yes, I was aware that as a result of everything that had gone down this term, Dabeluchi had grown to hate attention - good or bad, but my hands were tied. I had to help her, I had to do something to stop her from walking into School and having everyone scorn at her, so it was either I made everyone for her, or leave them against her.

I picked 'for'.

And at the moment, even if no one specifically talked about her case as it had been so overruled by people who were of higher social relevance in CH, anyone who still had the balls to talk against Dabeluchi had their own fair share of dragging by others.

And in all honesty, I needed to admit it to myself that since I had gotten to know Dabeluchi so much, I had lost a lot of respect for a LOT of classmates that I thought were actually cool people.

Ironically, I was still the same guy, who entertained some mean girls from Winnie's clique who were all over me, and slapped hands with cool guys like Gadhafi and co, as they hyped me up on a pedestal and made me feel good about myself.

"Brah." Sean turned to me for the first time since he got here, looked at me with eyes that were too dull and apathetic to be his'.

Something is wrong with him.

"Yeah?" He got my full attention.

"Shey you know I'm not happy with you?" Sean said to me, a slight edge to his voice.

A part of me instantly got disturbed on hearing him say that, but I figured that if whatever reason it was for was that serious, he wouldn't even have come here to sit with me in the first place.

"What did I do?" I asked him. Carefully.

He looked at me, kept that emotionless look on me for about three seconds, then looked away, eyes closed as he rubbed against the bridge of his nose lazily and tiredly.

"What did I do?" I had to ask him again.

He sighed so I though he was about to answer, but instead, he gently cracked his neck in one tired hand motion, before deciding to actually answer me.

"I told you I was waiting for you in Gomery yesterday evening," He said, turned to look at me, and added, figuratively, "Guy, I waited for my head there."

Realization slapped me in the face.

"You didn't even show up, Acha," Sean said to me, his voice, although clearly pained, was surprisingly calm and calculated.

I.... Completely forgot.

"And I really wanted you there," He said, "I really wanted you there, but you didn't show. You didn't even at least call to tell me you wouldn't be coming. You didn't even respond to my texts and I called you so many times, and you left me to stay there alone till past 11pm," He said.

I face palmed, absolutely conscience stricken and battered with guilt.

"Guy, I'm so sorry, I swear, yesterday was so fucked and-"

"All you needed to do was be there, Acha." Sean said, cutting me off in midsentence, uninterestedly waving off my apology.

I remained quiet.

 "Or at least let me know you wouldn't show up, so please, can you not give me any bullshit excuse to defend your fuck up." He sounded a lot more irritated than he probably intended to.

I said nothing because I knew he was right.

I shouldn't have an excuse.

Sean really sounded like he needed to talk to me yesterday, and the truth is that I had completely forgotten, and that was just it.

Yesterday, I was just so concerned about Dabeluchi that I couldn't even properly function well, I was so worried. I had called so much during the day and left so many messages and none had been replied and by the evening, my phone was dead and I didn't bother plugging it in until 10pm when I finally talked to Dabeluchi.

I did see Sean's texts, yes, I totally did, but I had completely forgotten we made plans to meet up that evening, so I didn't feel it was even necessary to open them since I'd still see him in School today. It was a normal thing for us to not open each other's texts on a norms.

"How can make it up to you?" I asked him sincerely.

"You can't, just forget it, brah." He only said.

"I'm serious, I want to," I insisted.

"There's nothing you can do, just leave it." He almost snapped, took in a deep breath and calmed himself down before continuing, "Look, Acha, it's already been done, okay? There's nothing you can do to reverse it, so let it be."

"Sorry." I said again.

"Just don't disappoint next time, abeg," Sean said to me.

He almost sounded desperate.

"You're literally the only person I can talk to these days, Acha." He said again, and this time, his voice was a lot softer, a lot more pleading.

"I won't, I promise," I assured him and he was very fast to brush everything under the rug like it never even happened.

I was debating asking what was wrong with him this morning, but I wasn't sure if it would be too soon.

Although, a part of me felt Sean would still tell me eventually.

"I've been up to stuff lately..." He started telling me.

I told you.

"So, for a while now, I have been trying to find that bastard-" I cringed slightly at the raw bitterness and undisguised loathing hate in his tone, "-that Ada cheated with."

Cold water splashed on my back, but I didn't react.

I tried my best not to.

"You have?" I asked him, forcing my voice to be as firm as it could be to avoid any suspicions.

The air was suddenly toxic to breath, but I inhaled as calmly as I could. Kept my composure the best way I knew how to even if my body and senses were instantly in disarray.

Sean nodded, affirmative. 

"It's part of what I was trying to talk to you about this week, but since you have been occupied lately, I haven't really gotten the chance," He said.

Jesus Christ.

"I'm close to my answer, though," Sean said, "Very, very close."

It was his certainty for me.

He sounded so certain of what he was saying and it didn't sit right with me.

"I actually have external help with the investigation," Sean told me.

"External help?" I frowned in confusion. 

"Yup," Sean responded with an easy smile.

The fuck? 

"From who?" I had to ask him, pathetically failing to hide the urgency in my whole demeanour and Sean, noticing that, burst into laughter immediately.

"Calm down, naw, I'll tell you everything bit by bit, why are you doing as if you're the person?" He was really laughing at me.

"Of course not," I shook my head, trying to assure him that wasn't the case, "I'm just shocked, you know? Who is it that knows who Ada cheated with?"

"Well, he or she calls themselves Mamba," Sean told me.

What is this fuckery?

"So, some days ago, I got a WhatsApp text from this Mamba of a person and they claimed to have the answers I was looking for," He was telling me.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing..

"They said they knew I was hurting and I wanted to find out who it was that was with Ada that night, so they had answers for me," Sean told me, "Brah, I don't even give a fuck who Mamba is, but if they know something about that bastard, I want to find it out and I won't stop at nothing until I do."

I really couldn't believe what I was hearing...

It felt like I was in a dream. Like, this wasn't happening right now. It was like a thousand electric currents were rushing through out my body in a maddening, rapid speed, but my body was too static, too numb to even show how fazed I was by this news.

The Devil is a liar.

"Mamba updated me on shii yesterday," Sean said and there was a rock obstructing my throat from taking in air.

I gathered up courage to ask Sean, "What did Mamba say?"

"They said that the bastard lives here in Lekki Crown by that Chamber estate," He told me. 

I swallowed the rock in my throat. 

"That's the estate we live in, brah," Sean told me what I already knew, "The bastard lives in the same street with us. Can you imagine?"

The air was so hot. I was literally sweating in my school uniform.

"I can imagine," Was all I could say in response.

"It's the audacity for me," Sean scoffed, shook his head. "For him to be living in our estate, then he definitely knew that Ada and I were dating. The m'fucker -" I really couldn't get over how bitter Sean sounded, "-Let me just get a hold of him, and Lord knows he won't see the light of the next day, I fucking promise him."

"I honestly feel it isn't necessary to find out who this bastard is, though," I lightly told Sean.

He looked at me, eyebrow raised, "Why?"

"Honestly, knowing whoever did this won't make you feel better. I think the best thing to do is to let it go, Sean," I said.

"Let it go?" Sean laughed at the words bitterly, repeated them a second time like it was a different language. Shook his head and didn't say anything more. He only scoffed and repeated my words.

And I knew Sean Ayomide.

Now that this Mamba of a person had come into the picture, the last thing that he would do was 'let it go'. He was never going to let it go.

The Devil is a Liar.

"Mamba has a video evidence too.." Sean went on to tell me.

I fought the urge to choke.

Coughing ever so lightly, I asked him again, "Can you repeat yourself, please."

"Mamba has a video evidence," He repeated once more. "But now, they want money from me before letting me have the video, and that's where I've been stuck."

I may have looked like I had seen a ghost, and Sean easily detected that.

"See how shocked you are," He laughed, shook his head at me, "You would have known all these things if you didn't block me out of your life this whole entire week."

This whole entire week that I had spent with Dabeluchi.

"You and JJ haven't been treating me right this week, I don't even know if you guys are avoiding me on purpose," He said.

"No-" I barely got out a word.

"You guys have been so distant lately," He said, cutting me off. "JJ always has all sorts of discreet agendas with Kaniru and those hooligans, and you, you've just been disappearing off to God knows where the whole week."

I felt really so guilty....

I felt like I wasn't being fair to Sean at all right now.

"You guys are just making me feel so... alone." Sean said, eyes on the ground as though he went deep in thoughts for that moment.

Hearing him say that really bothered me. It didn't sit well with me, especially after everything I knew about Sean.

I didn't want Sean to feel like he didn't have anybody. That was the last thing I wanted him to feel.  I couldn't let him feel that way, no matter what.

"I promise from today onwards, I'll be there every time you need me," I told Sean, "It's a promise." 

He looked at me, his eyes glinting a little hopefully, "Really?"

"It's a promise," I reassured him.

Sean smirked, "Swear on your manhood."

"Wait, what?" A small laugh escaped my lips.

"Do it," He dared me. Tested me.

I did as he said, raised a hand and said to his hearing, "I swear on my manhood."

"Mumu." He laughed, punched me a bit hard on my shoulder, and smiled. Genuinely smiled, displaying a fine set of dimples on his dark skinned face.

I knew we were totally good.

However, all the way, there was that guilty conscience within me whipping me with a whip continuously. Whipping me so hard that I absolutely lost my peace.

You aren't doing the right thing, Marcus Acha.

When Sean finds out, he will hate you. All of you.

I mustered up the courage to further ask Sean, "Can I see your chats with Mamba?"

Easily, he unlocked his phone and tossed it to me, to see all the chats.

My blood ran cold.

{A/N; PICTURES OF SEAN'S WHATSAPP MESSAGES WITH MAMBA BELOW}

Sean is mean sha 💔😂

I stared at the messages, multiple backlashes tearing behind me, as I digested it, bit by bit.

The Devil is a Liar.

I knew who Mamba was.

Only one person was capable of doing something as nasty as this.

*******

After School that Monday, I made my way into the Ss2 Block, looking for one person and one person alone.

This block was ROWDY!

The outside alone, the little compound around the block rounded by red and white pavements, was so filled up with these students who were hanging around by the pavements, sitting and talking and gisting, literally reminding me of how my set was too when it came to 'forced socializing'. And if outside was this engaged, I only wondered what the inside of the Building would be like, and believe me, I wasn't even interested to know.

So, I didn't walk in. I just turned to one of these Ss2 boys who was hanging around a few girls - whose faces looked familiar, but whose names I didn't know - and signalled him to come.

He obeyed.

Without argument.

"Call Adaugo Uzoka for me." I instructed him, and he adhered, walked into the block to do just as I had told him so.

I didn't bother telling him my name, because in all sincerity and modesty, I found it hard to believe that there was someone in Castron High that didn't know my name by now.

I stood there and waited to see Ada's stupid face.

The idiot.

I knew Ada was Mamba.

I damn knew it so well. I'd know the idiot even if she wore sheep skin and a mask. And in all honesty, I was highly irritated by the level of sheer wickedness that little rat had in her to deliver.

I just couldn't believe it.

For the longest time now, Ada had been literally draining me off all my allowance, literally extorting money from me unendingly, over and over, just for her silence. Leaving me to suffer over and over everytime, with the immense guilt and trauma from having to hide such a big thing from Sean, and on top of that, forcing me to give her money.

And that wasn't enough for her.

She still went over to do same to Sean?

She was still going ahead to extort money from Sean to send him the video. That damn video that had been giving me sleepless nights. That same video that I had been paying her for months now to keep away from him. So, even after taking so much money from me, she was STILL going to send it to Sean!?

How could someone be so damn evil?

Just... How? How!

Thinking about it was riling me up and I couldn't even figure which made me angrier; Was it the fact that I still, even after everything, couldn't bring myself to let Sean know what happened that night? Or was it Ada's wickedness? What exactly was riling me up this bad!? I didn't know. But as I stood there, I was literally shaking in fury, holding myself with all the self control I coul muster up so I wouldn't slam a fist into the wall and startle these Ss2 students.

The idiot showed up in my face that moment.

Ada.

The girl appeared before me, eyes wide as an antelope, hopping like a stupid kangaroo towards me, and shining her teeth like a goat.

Who's laughing with her?

"Abeg, you don see Senior Chido for here?" The girl was laughing as she said this, but seemingly cautious of apparently not being seen by Chido for some reason.

I glared heavily at her. I wanted to strangle her. Yet, she was too jumpy to even realize that.

"You don see Senior Chido? I dey run from that guy, abeg!" She asked again, looked all around her, a playful, but careful attitude all around her as she laughed and hopped more towards me, attempted to grab my arm and hide behind me in all her play, and I just pushed her hand off mine, absolutely irritated by her.

The idiot still didn't get the hint.

"Ah, ah na, how far? I'm asking you if you've seen Senior Chido here? Abi, you want him to catch me? After I've finished dodging sweeping duty for three weeks. Omoh, I've been hiding from that guy for weeks! I'm like a wanted criminal, guy!" Ada was really laughing and gisting me.

Who the fuck is laughing with this girl?

Infuriated, I dragged her.

I grabbed Ada's arm and dragged her, dragged her like a doll, and would have probably thrown her off the red and white pavement if I hadn't forced myself to keep my self control intact.

"Ah ah, na wa oo! Where is this aggression coming from!" The girl looked and sounded shocked by what I did, looking between her arm and my grip on it like she was seeing seven heads in it, "One, two thing happened, you now want to push me down, ejo! Are you okay?!"

"Wahala for who they no dey vex for oo. This kind problem Ada Uzoka has entered today," The busty girl broke free from my hold and started to dust imaginary dust off her body in a dramatic fashion, squeezing her dark face into a mock pout that was meant to portray some form of anger.

"You're a sick person, Ada," I spat bitterly at her. "You are clearly sick on the head, and I honestly cannot believe how evil you can be!"

"Mad oo!" She mock exclaimed in exaggeration, hands to her chest and eyes wide in mock terror.

I felt like slapping this girl.

Like, snapping her neck in half.

"How can you even do this, Ada! After everything you've put me through-"

"You don't mean it!" She retorted sarcastically.

"How can you be extorting money from Sean, Ada? For the same video I've been paying you to keep away from him, are you okay, bro?" I scolded this girl.

"Ohhhhhh," she drawled in realization, broke down instantly into laughter that riled me up even more.

"So, that's why you're angry like this. So that's what this is all about?" She even slapped her thigh in laughter, had to hold her tummy as she belted out all her laughter to my damn face.

This girl was having the time of her life.

Imagine. So, Ada didn't even know why I was angry, and she was just mocking me with her sarcasm for pleasure, until now.

Idiot.

"Mad oo, so that's why you came all the way to my block, abi, you want to beat me ni?" She laughed at me.

My God.

I swallowed the weight of the rage that was dangerously building up in me right now, because God in heaven knows that all I wanted to do right now was flip her right over this fence and bury her in the sand.

"If you were just going to take money from Sean to get the same video, why did you even make me pay for your silence then? What was your agenda really?" I asked this girl, sincerely and honestly wanting an answer for her I wanted to understand this wickedness.

"Mamba?" I looked at her, narrowed deadly eyes at her, "Really? Ada? Mamba? Mamba!? You're such a snake!"

Ada giggled obnoxiously, "Hehe, it's the pun for me!"

I grinded my teeth in more rage.

The bitch couldn't even care less even if I raised hell on earth.

So annoying.

"You know?" She sniggered, I glared at her, "It took a lot of work though, determining which approach to use in Sean's DMS-"

Ehh?

"Like, brooooo," She was actively 'gisting' me, "I was soooo stuck in a dilemma. First, I wanted to come in his DMS, acting all damsel in distress who's kept in hostage for knowing so much, but I figured that would be too dramatic for the situation and I'd probably just end up getting bored along the way-"

My vein was ticking.

"Sooooo," She continued, "After so many deliberations, I finally settled with Mamba - the low-key smart bad bitch, with a little bit of detective vibes, you sabi wetin I dey talk naw? Shebi, I nailed it, my guy!"

God...

Please, God, give me strength.

Give me strength to not kill this girl.

"What part of this is a joke to you, Ada!" I exploded that moment, reigning in all my rage. "Is there something actually wrong with you in the head, do you even realize the gravity of what you're about to do!? Do you even understand what this is going to result to!? Why are you behaving like-"

"My guy, my guy, my guy, my guy, my guy, my guy." Ada completely cut me off in mid sentence.

I stopped talking involuntarily, looked at her, momentarily pissed.

"Them no dey shout for me where I come from oo," The girl said to me, both hands up in a mocking gesture of surrender.

I raised a brow.

Was that why she cut me off?

"If you want answers to your question, you can start by reducing your voice before I can consider answering them oo. Nobody raises their voice on me, and that your voice is too loud, abeg." She told me to my face.

The audacity of this girl.

"It's not because you're one class ahead of me that you'll be doing somehow, please. Watch the tone," She told me straight up, flipped her red braids in style, showing off long manicured nails that were painted lilac.

Red Braids...

Lilac painted long nails...

On a Monday of School.

How on earth did this girl even escape the Head Girl this morning?

"Look," she blinked at me, naturally evil and icy eyes looked me up and down in attitude, "I think we've already established the fact that I even have more leverage than you right now, so my nigga, keep that temper tantrum in check. Thanks and God bless."

I swallowed back another temper tantrum, forced my voice to stay in check for the sake of getting her to at least be human and reason with me.

"This isn't just right, Ada, I hope you know that-"

I was cut off once again by her laughing.

The girl was laughing at me. She was really laughing at me, covering her mouth with her hands and laughing into it, and I wondered what was so funny.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked her.

"You look like a dog when you're angry," She said to me.

Vein tick.

"But you're just soooo cute, I almost want to stop stressing you too much," She giggled again, made an attempt to grace the tip of her fingers softly against my neck and I threw her hand away with a force that even surprised me.

"Ohh, bad dog!" She teased me mockingly, before a tiny, seductive smirk appeared at the base of her rose coloured lips, her eyes glinted with something akin to lust, and her voice, a now seductive, more sensual tone as she softly adjusted my school uniform collar, and said to me, "But, you know I like me a bad boy though like you, they're feisty!"

I pushed her off me, a bit harder than I intended to and she broke into hysteric laughing.

"Stop it!" I shouted at her.

"Roof, roof, roof!" Ada barked mockingly at me like a dog, literally dying in her laughter.

"Emotional black mail, Ada, that's what you're doing to Sean. That's the worst type of blackmail," I completely ignored her to keep on venting.

"Or just a clever use of leverage," She flipped her red braids, and blue imaginary dust off her lilac acrylic nails.

She couldn't even care less.

"In my opinion, it is a spinnable concept if you ask me, though," She shrugged like she was making a harmless statement.

"The only reason you have leverage is because you think I can't tell Sean the truth, myself," I said to her.

"Think?" She laughed at the word, scoffed to herself, "Marcus Bruno Acha, I know you do not have the damn balls to tell Sean Ayomide the truth." A painfully sly and sinister smile cracked on Ada's face as she said this to me, sinking her words into my system like a deadly poison.

I said absolutely nothing back.

I didn't know what to say.

Ada stepped back from me, looked me up and down with the most disgusted look she could muster up, and that moment, every jumpiness, every playfulness was gone from her demeanor and replaced with that hard, unimpressed, and bitchy look that she was so graced and talented in giving to people.

"Fool." She insulted me.

Her voice was back. Hard and deep. Low and intimidating. Wicked.

"Now, if you excuse me, I have better things to do than stand here and listen to your bullshit ass," She eyes me once more, casted the mist demonic, loathing glare up and down my frame that towered her.

What did I ever do to this girl?

"And all jokes apart.." She said to me, narrowed eyes of evil on mine, "The next time you lay a finger on me, I'll make you go through the worst phases of hell. You have no idea what I'm capable of doing, Marcus Acha. You never even start." With that, she turned around, whipped her hair in my face, and scoffed bitterly, "Suffer, bitch."

She started to walk away.

I watched behind her....

Why was she so wicked?

What did I ever do to her? What did Sean ever do to her too? Why was she so intent in making the both of us absolutely miserable.

I mean, the both of us had been with Ada for a while in the past, if she had any decency or humanity left in her, couldn't she at least feel guilty....

Even for a moment?

Like she heard my thoughts, she stopped walking.

She just stopped walking, stopped on her tracks, and didn't turn back to me...

It almost looked like she was having second thoughts.

I hoped so.

But when Ada turned back to me, all she only asked me one question.

"Why?" She said, "Why do you even care so much that Sean will soon find out the truth anyway?"

What kind of stupid question is that?

"I mean..." She shrugged, a teasing smile tugged at the corner of her lips, "I mean the worst that can happen is that he'd hate your guts for keeping the truth from him yeah, and he may try to fight you, but my guy, you're ripped as hell and I could bet on my left boob that you'd take Sean down easily in a fight."

Is this girl okay?

"This entire thing isn't about me, Ada. And you know it." I said to her.

"Sure," She rolled her eyes, vaguely interested, "Whatever." She started walking away as she said behind her, "I'm expecting November's payment soon, anyway, and if you need me, I'll be hiding out from Senior Chido in the Junior Library. Left by the corner, the perfect spot for a hide out." She sniggered and left my sight.

God.

The truth is, the consequences surrounding Sean finding out the truth would affect me, yes, but compared to how much it was going to break Sean, I couldn't even stand the thought of it.

Sean would be absolutely, completely obliterated by this.

I knew him. He wouldn't take it well. Especially now that he's already been feeling so... Alone.

God.

I'm in a whole shit mess and I don't even know where to start.

Sean needed to know the truth somehow. And definitely not through Ada.

Ada.

That wicked snake.

".... You! Call me Stella Chioma and tell her to come here and meet me with the cleaning rooster immediately!"

I snapped out of my reverie on recognizing that deep, thundering powerful voice behind me, followed by the scampering around, and rushed sanitary acts of all the panicking Ss2 students all around.

I turned back, just in time to see him, Chido Ihenna, the Sanitary Prefect, walking into the block, with a fire storm behind him that compelled one hell of adherence, co-ordination, and cleanliness from the Juniors.

Kelechi was by his side, holding onto his arm closely, as she walks in with him, and together, both of them had walked past me like I was non-existent.

I got a sudden dark urge for vengeance.

"Yo, Chido!" I called behind the spiky hair kid and his royal sweetheart.

He turned to me on hearing his name and I didn't waste time laying out the information to him.

"Adaugo Uzoka is in the Junior Library," I told the prefect, "She's hiding from you. Check the left by the corner, you'll see her there."

Done.

I turned back to leave, then remembered to add one more detail.

"Oh, and she also has red braids and lilac colored acrylic nails," I told Chido, mock saluted him and added, "Please do pass on that information to Giwa Falade."

With that, I bounced out of the premises.

Omoh😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Who wants to say last words for Ada???😂😂 Forget it, that girl is evil as fuck, but I don't still grab why I enjoy writing her character so damn much!

What are your thoughts on this chapter? Do you think Ada will really send the video to Sean? What do you think she has in mind, and what are your thoughts about the whole situation?

What would you do if you were Acha?

Omoh, I've gone for now. My mum is shouting my name😂💔 See you guys another day, Biko oo!!