Peep Wendy in the image box, lmaooooo, I'm here lol...😂❤️

This chapter is dedicated to Talkmarie11

Shout outs from the heart to Stardust_Wendy. dheenmah. Iyanuoluwa-Temi  Rihanna_Adedeji  I_am_Jazzy. claudia-143
(These girls don't know how much I love them sha😥❤️)

And also, to all my readers. I love y'all plenty. Say 'yoooo' if you're here from TLT.

And also, a surprise character is here, I wanted to tell dheenmah about it cause she was the one who inspired her, but nahh, I'd rather keep it a surprise. Dheemah, this will shock you😌 If y'all read her book 'Stardust', a character she made up called 'Adaugo Uzoka' had called Hassana a prostitute, and Giwa swore to deal with her.

Scene cut out from Stardusts by Dheemah(above)

Adaugo Uzoka, yeah? Hmm?😈 Remember the name as you read this chapter #sips stone

PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END❗❗

Now, introducing....

~ACHA~

Ironic, isn't it?

How a night I predicted to be the best one yet was starting off by giving me a heart attack.

On it's own, Yure's house party was going smooth, as cool as it could be. Imagine a 90's disco themed setting, remixed a little with the 21st century spice, and just a touch of some Burna Boy music vibes, yeah. Well, if you could also add up the large chocolate fountains at all the corners of the room, the food and drink tables, and that extra large foosball table by the dining stairs, into your imagination, you'd literally be visualising the entire thing like you were here with us.

In my opinion, it perfectly suited the initially levelled and cool atmosphere that the party had originally started off with. You know? The not-too-rowdy intro where everyone was just welcoming those who were just coming in, chilling with other classmates, laughing with friends, and basically just getting into it.

It wasn't long I arrived with my boys, and a few seconds into settling into Yure's unbelievably, massive sized living room - the popular be for this so-trending party- I found myself easing into the zone, almost too easily.

Dangote was playing for the thousandth time, and I, as well as everyone else was quickly adjusting to the initial atmosphere - the way we all should; Socializing, basically.

Looking like a catch while at it, I made sure to put on my pretty boy smile, pulled up my sleeves to showcase my expensive Louis Vuitton wristwatch, and proudly, yet subtly, showed off my new expensive iPhone - the latest version - in an attempt to look even better as I talked with the girls.

Needless to say, it actually worked like magic.

In no time, these girls were easily giving me all their attention - just as they always do, anyways.

Well you see, all classmates invited to this party were actually worth giving attention to. I mean, looking at them, it was quite clear and easy to tell.

Judging through the expensive brands of clothes and shoes that guys around me were rocking, neat fancy cuts too - things I didn't fail to observe as I stepped in here. Things that almost made me feel I hadn't packed myself up as much as I needed to - which I know was rubbish, because I know I did obviously. I looked just as good as all the boys here... I looked better.

Then our girls.. Damn, Castron High girls were pretty as fuck. They wouldn't stop showing off immensely costly hair that looked amazing on them, foreign jewelry, nails and outfits that almost looked 'too expensive to even look at'.

It was clear to tell these boy and girls were the selected sects of our classmates that everyone else looked up to, and generally accepted, and termed the 'worthy' ones.

In clearer, more common terms; The popular kids.

And since everyone here in this party was "worthy" - as classmates had so termed them, long ago in junior school - the fear of threading where you shouldn't, or speaking to someone that was capable of murdering your social status, was non-existent to an extent.

And yeah, there were even invisible rules for that too. For even little things like talking to people. For everything we did, infact.

Well..

It absolutely sucked.

I had to admit that deep down in me, I was exhausted with the facts. This was exhausting - having to live under certain rules, just to keep your social status in check.

I absolutely hated it.

I wished I didn't have to worry so much about all these little things. To be more free, to live the way I want, without being crucified on a cross. I wished I didn't have to be careful or overly cautious of what I do in public, just to keep a 'reputation'. Sometimes, I imagined a world without all these crap, but I know that all that is a fantasy.

This was real life. And in real life, these were the terms for surviving secondary school.

The system wouldn't change. This fucked up system that birthed ridiculous invisible rules, as well as the social segregation and hierarchy that has been long existent in Castron High, would never change.

And as much as I hated to live by it, I had no other choice.

No one did, really. That was how things were, and there was nothing I or anyone else could do about it, than to blindly not go against the order.

So, as my classmates hovered around, showing off expensive items and gadgets to be proud of, trying their best to look as best as they can in the eyes of the public... I did the exact same thing.

Just as I should.

Just as everyone should.

Atleast we all were somehow lucky enough to get into the advantaged side of this cruel system. Just like me, I was certain that nearly we all, dreaded to lose that advantage.

I had just had a few drinks with my homies, and Sean and I had left the pack to hit on some of the pretty girls from Maranatha, who had joined the party minutes after our most classmates had shown up. It didn't take too long after, my fun started to go down the drain.

I was just about to get her number - the fine ass Maranatha chick, blessed with the curves of Kylie Jenner, when that idiot texted me!

Ada. She texted me, and on seeing her message, my fun was ruined in mini-seconds.

Filled up with sudden dread and anxiety, I quickly excused myself from Sean and the chattering pretty Maranatha girls that were surrounding us and made my exit from the already rowdy living room. Intent? To be alone at the moment. To get away from everyone. Immediately. ASAP!

I gave a short sigh of relief on realising that fortunately, the stairway outside the living room was devoid of classmates, and I quickly found a quiet dark spot, behind the building - somewhere I hoped no one would see or hear me.

With an anxiety filled, uneven breathing pattern, and an even more uneven, dangerously beating heart that threatened health complications, I dialed Ada's number.

And waited for her to pick up.

"Marcus Bruno Acha."

I winced painfully as Ada's destructively seductive tone seeped in, through the phone, and into my body, like deadly, injected poison.

I ground my teeth, swallowed back the weight of my words, and fought the urge to grab her neck through the phone, and scream at her to never call my name like that ever again.

If only that was even possible.

"I didn't expect your call, baby-"

I cringed.

"So, this should be interesting," the idiot was literally mocking me over the phone, and I knew it when she burst into laughter

I let the anger burn and bristle in me, as I waited. Waited for her to finish wheezing and laughing with herself, to something that was apparently funny to her alone.

"Are you done?" My voice barely escaped through gritted teeth, and her laughter was adruptly cut short.

"Jeez, such hostility!" She gushed, I almost felt like I could see the mock hurt on her face through her annoying ass high pitched, humor filled voice. I knew she was enjoying this - spiting me. Ofcourse, that was her hobby.

The idiot.

"Anyway." her voice was suddenly back to normal in seconds. Switched quickly and easily from the faked soft, playful, mock seductiveness it was a few minutes ago, to her usual voice - a hard, controlled auto that sounded anything, but friendly.

"I believe you saw my message." She went straight to the point.

Yes, I did, Ada. The exact reason I came out here to call your selfish ass.

"So," I almost visualised her blowing off dust from her long nails, "When are you paying me the rest of the money?"

"I already did." I said straightly, trying my utter best to calm the storm rising in me and keep my voice in check.

"Guy, it's like you don crase oo!" She flared up immediately, "You wan may I fuck you up now, shebi!?"

I cringed as her sharp, sudden ghetto loud voice pierced into my head and nearly shattered my brain cells.

"It's not fair." I accused, "Ada, this thing you're doing is not fair and you know it."

What she was doing to me was just pure wickedness.

"70k per month was our deal, Ada. I already sent you the cash last week." I told her.

"Well, I spent it all, and I want more!" She snapped at me.

"Ada-"

"That 70k is too small, abeg!" She cut me off, and I prayed she didn't hear my groan.

"Just 70k will not do, especially for a girl like me. You think I'm one of those cheap SS3 girls you sleep with? Please, I have beta class and mad expenses to deal with.." She said, and I nearly hissed in irritation.

'Talmabout 'class and mad expenses'.

She talked like she had such experience in having class. The idiot. Ada was just about to enter Ss2.

And yes.. she was my own fucking junior.

"Look, Mr. Man!" I heard her snapping her fingers in the air as she spoke, "Like I said in that message, I'll need double of that. That's going to now be 140k per month. You're owing me another 70k as we speak."

"Ada, we didn't agree on this. I won't give you one hundred and fourty fucking naira every month, that's ridiculous!" I said.

Silence.

Silence.

And more silence.

"This confidence."

Ada's voice was softer, this time.

So soft, almost mocking. Infact, the slight humor I had sensed in her tone was so painful to absorb.

She scoffed, tssked, then sighed.

"Marc, you almost like you aren't the one at loss here," She said to me.

A lump formed in my throat and it was suddenly hard to take in more air.

I knew exactly where she was going now.

"If you don't want to send it, that's your business," her hard auto was back, "I'll just forward this video to Sean right now, so he'll see what really happened that night..."

Blood rose to my head.

"Stop!" I screamed.

Ada broke into hysteric laughing.

"Oh, you don't want Sean to see the video, ba?? You don't want him to know who I slept with that night? You don't want to break your poor best friend's heart, abi?" Her question was full of mock, and with the intent to shame me, and she was slapping her thighs now as she laughed so hysterically.

I don't know what Sean ever saw in you, Ada.

Only God knows why he chose to date you, YOU, over all other girls.

"Same thing you saw in me, Marc. Same reason you dated me too, babe." Ada answered, making me realise I had voiced out my thoughts.

"Don't you remember, Marc?" I cringed hard at her soft, taunting tone at me, "Don't you remember those nights you confessed I was the prettiest girl you knew while you made love to me, Marc? Don't you remember? What changed now?"She mocked onn.

"Oh, I know," she continued. "You're pained that I dumped your sorry ass and went for your best friend instead, ba? Pathetic! Good for nothing idiot!"

My jawbone nearly cracked, and the veins on my temple nearly popped, as I bottled it all up; the pain, the anger, the bruised ego.

"I dumped him too." She went on. "Sean. I dumped both your pathetic asses. Funny how he thinks he left me, just because he found out I was cheating. The self decieving fool.. He doesn't even know that in reality, I was the one who dumped him long, long ago."

Ada, it's okay. Please, stop talking.

"You know what excites me the most?" she continued, and I wondered why I hadn't hung up the phone yet.

"That night, Marc. The one I have on video. The video that will absolutely crush Sean if he were to accidentally see," Ada was saying.

"Ada, don't do this."

"I can't stop thinking about that night," she ignored me, was clearly using this to play with me now, to make me break more and more with guilt. "I can't stop thinking about the.. the soft kisses, softer touches, and boy, that dick action was on point!"

"Ada, stop!" I nearly screamed at her, as the shame and guilt hit me with full force, shattered me to bits.

"Sean would be so destroyed when he sees that the person he least expects was the same person I had slept with that night, wouldn't he, Marc?" Ada went on.

"Please.." My heart sped up now, shaky hands nearly lost grasp of the phone. I held my aching heart tight, pressed it to ease the beating.

Why is she doing this? Why? WHY!?

"So, we can skip the payment for the month, and I can just hit forward and send the sextape straight to Sean's dms, ba?" Ada's sly voice and indirect threat was a slap.

"Don't do this.." I pleaded, "It's unnecessary, don't do it. What will you gain, Ada?"

I couldn't have her sending that video to Sean. I can't. I just can't.

"Look, I'll double the pay, if that's what you want! I will, just don't send him that video, please," My own words betrayed me.

I visualised her smiling mischievously, wherever she was.

"Good. You already have my bank details. If I don't see it before 9pm, you won't like the outcome." With that, Ada hung up.

I could breathe again.

Even if the relief washed over me, the anger and frustration of dealing with this girl hit me hard.

"Fuck!" I slammed a fist into the wall, feeling absolutely nothing, as I let out all I had been bottling up into the innocent wall.

How did I even get myself into this? Why did I get myself into this?

So much for trying to get a girl to shut up.

So much more for even trying to desperately save a friendship that was on the line. I thought about Sean finding out, and dreaded the consequences of losing the guy's trust for life.

And Ada knew how much I didn't want that. That was why she didn't waste a chance at using the opportunity to extort money from me.

So far, my night hasn't exactly been what I had hoped for.

"Acha!"

I had just exited my bank app, and had barely stepped into the building, when a girl cornered me, successfully blocking my path.

Ofcourse, the female's voice that called me definately wasn't the first thing that made me realise that I was back in the party, filled with classmates and Maranathans.

Somehow, there was an effect it had on me. By it, I am talking about the atmosphere my classmates created.

It was something I couldn't explain, but the moment my feet stepped back into the building, the feeling literally hit me, overwhelmed me even. That feeling, the rush to look good in front of everyone. The pressure of wanting to keep being 'acceptable', wanting to keep being called 'worthy'. The fear of doing anything that would hurt your reputation, fear of doing anything that could amount to Social Suicide.

As I stepped in here, I felt it all.

And I knew that everyone - or atleast, a 90% of us in this party, felt it too.

I found out that the anger and frustration I felt from Ada minutes ago, was slowly fading away. It was still there. The guilt was tugging at me, but somehow, I felt less hard on myself when I pushed the blame on Ada's wickedness, being the cause of my sudden miserable state.

However, that urgency to compel to standards was more dominant now. More dominant than my guilt even. Being in here, I felt the toxic urge to "look good", possibly even "best", in the eyes of all. It was almost like we all in this party were in a disguised battle field. I knew nearly everyone else was dealing with that same toxic urge too.

And no one was willing to back down.

Not even me.

"Acha..?" Miranda's subtle voice that was begging for attention, called me to her once more.

I looked to the dark skinned, slender girl, giving her the attention she clearly wanted, and her grin spread out even more, threatened to reach her ears.

"Hi!" She chirped playfully, confidently, and afterward, turning to smile at a bunch of giggling girls that were a few paces away from us.

I recognized neither of the girls she was oogling with, and I had half a mind to walk away.

Miranda Archibong was the 19th girl to walk up to me tonight... And the party had barely even commenced.

Funny how these girls, from School and Maranatha, knew well of my instabilities with relationships and still chose to hit on me on their own accord.

In a way, I couldn't fault her. I mean... Look at me.

"Cool party, yeah? I'm absolutely loving it," Miranda continued, when I didn't say hi back.

"Who invited you?" Left my mouth involuntarily.

My question took her off-guard, and she backed up, hurt flashed for a second in her eyes, her smile twitched, before coming back in place, and I kinda felt bad.. Wished I hadn't voiced out my thoughts so easily.

The truth is, Miranda wasn't fully socially accepted as 'Worthy'. She just happened to be in this in-between category of people that weren't particularly looked down on, neither were they of much relevance.

Still, somehow, people like Miranda knew how to get themselves into trending parties and other social gatherings, as well as forcing themselves to fit into the algorithm by making friends, and doing things to stand out and be talked about.

In other words, my classmates called people like Miranda Archibong 'Wannabes'.

"I didn't mean it like that," I said to her, as that sensitive side of me hit me with guilt. Something about the way she had shut down even for the shortest moment, made me feel like a total asshole for asking her that.

She brightened up easily. So easily, like she appreciated the sudden nice manner I had spoken to her in..... Like she wasn't used to having people be nice to her.

"So?" Long fake lashes blinked steadily at me, smile rising upwards, "Do you want to dance with me?" She pushed up her tiny boobs as she made seductive gestures towards me, and I fought the urge to laugh in her face.

Miranda wasn't ugly. She wasn't pretty either. She wasn't even average too, I didn't know how to place her - Maybe a little above average, and a little below pretty? If that made sense.

She was all dark skin and adorable facial features, even if that forehead was too huge to do any more enhancing to her features. She wasn't exactly breathtaking, and she wasn't bad looking either. However, those dots on her chest that she was forcing to pop out in front of me, made her look like a total clown.

Maybe that's what I needed - A little laugh. Or maybe even something more from her, to wade off the social anxiety rising in me. And maybe Miranda could be an easy instrument, yeah?

I scanned her through, from her long weaves, to her face that was clogged with make up, her transparent top that showcased the imprint of those non existent boobs she was forcing to appear on her chest, and then, down, to her short, hell, SHORT, bums.

She looked like an easy lay tonight.

I found myself going against my way, wading off every invisible rule, and going forward with this girl, attempting to flirt back.

I didn't get a chance to even let out a word afterward. The second I decided to loosen up with Miranda, the party broke into chaos.

Mad chaos. Mad mad chaos.

Noise. Noise. Noise. And even more deafening noise.

I knew it wasn't just some ordinary chaos. Not some ordinary noise. I recognized this kind of commotion anywhere. I knew who it was about, and my blood was already heating up in advance.

He was stepping down from the stairs, and I figured he had been upstairs the whole time. Hands, lazily shoved in the pockets of his Dior sweats. Hair that defined him as mixed race, packed down into his usual man bun. A cool, effortless swag, oozing off him, as he took lazy, easy steps, doing well to act like he didn't even realise that he was turning this party upside down.. Showing off good looks that drove me crazy with rage, good looks that almost made it seem he was competing with the devil.

A half and an extra quarter of the girls in the party looked like they were about to have a heart attack. However, the nigga didn't even know. Either that, or he just simply didn't give a shit.

Everywhere around me were whispers of girl's voices.

"Oh my God! He's here!?" Miranda, who was wide eyed in pleasant shock, literally screamed, gushing about him, and instantly forgetting I was the one she was giving attention to.

That angered me even more.

I wished I could stop glaring at him, but it was impossible.

He really didn't care. Didn't give a shit about the attention he was gathering. He almost looked half dead, a sign of complete disinterest, I guessed, as he kept looking around, scanning slowly for something in the crowd of his viewers, staring back ever so plainly at everyone with that stoic, seemingly bored expression that always seemed to marry his face and make it clear apparently to us all that he didn't have our time.

Well, this was akward for the other boys.

However, the situation was salvaged for them when some Maranatha girls and a few of our school girls took the dance floor, twerking to Run Up by Major Lazer and Nicki Minaj. Even if a petty, judgemental part of me wanted to assume those girls started sexual dancing because of him, I was comforted when he didn't even notice them at all.

Instead, the girls got crowded by a bunch of our set guys who were either dancing with them or pulling our their phone cameras'.

I was too angry to even get excited by these girls right now. The other girls in the party saw the dance distraction as a chance to meet him, and I watched in my petty jealousy, as he was slowly getting crowded by girls.

Well, as I was still battling within with my 'petty jealousy', Miranda who was still standing with me failed to even give me any heads up.

She left me too.

No, you don't understand. I mean, the girl literally threw me away. Dropped me. Dumped me... Like I was a discarded tampon.

And started rushing up to him.

Him! The idiot!

Ivandor Fejaun.

That was his stupid name.

And as I watched all those girls around the uninterested kid, I realised my beef with that bastard was going to my grave.

How he effortlessly always managed to be the best at everything I aimed to be the top at. Even the little things like getting the girls and getting all the attention... As well as the big things that I practically overwork, and nearly kill myself for everyday.

Like Sports.

Worse still? I always came second to him.

I always came second to Ivandor Fejaun.

And I HATED his guts for that very reason.

Ivandor cornered around the girls' bodies that surrounded him, hostility, oozing off him, as he walked out on all of them.

And what level of disinterest the guy enumerated.

He walked past me without a care.

Without a single care. Barely brushed past me like he deliberately wanted me to notice his Dior Sweatshirt, and the strong scent of his men cologne, hit my nose, and slapped more of his intoxicating presence right into my face.

That scent didn't leave my sense of smell even after he walked past, and away from where I was. I instantly recognised that cologne to be from the Pride brand, and my brain overworked itself with calculation as I tried to recall the price of the perfumes from that brand.

Fucking rich kid!

I instantly felt the sickening urge to order an even more expensive one for school on Monday. I mean, if he looked better than me, then I should smell better than him, yeah? That would show him!

I instantly felt a stronger urge to outdo him. To outdo everyone in this party, infact. And as I walked to a destination I wasn't even sure of, I didn't stop rolling up my sleeves. As far as I was concerned, everyone in this party must see my Louis Vuitton wristwatch tonight, and that's on period.

"Brah!"

The satisfyingly familiar voice calling out over the music,instantly distracted me from the new crowd of girls that found Ivandor, as well as the other crowd, asides the one on the dancing girls, welcoming the new set of classmates who just walked into the party.

"Where the fuck did you run off to, brah!?"

Brah. I didn't have to look - even if I did - to know who it was. Only one human I knew distorted the word 'bro' to fit his taste. Brah.

"Sean," I acknowledged him.

I exchanged a guy's handshake with my best friend, and he further took me in a guy's embrace, roughly patting my back. "My guy!"

"Just wanted to step outside for a while, nothing major." I told him.

The dark, dark skin on his forehead rumpled, forming thin lines that enhanced the confused scowl on the tall boy's handsome face.

"Step outside-" He repeated, blinked at me. "-to the back of the fucking yard."

It wasn't a question.

And how did he know exactly where I was?

Sean scoffed at what I wanted him to believe, a scowl that screamed 'ridiculous' on his face, and out came his thoughts, through his mouth. "Rubbish."

And clearly, he was humored by the fact that I wanted him to believe I'd rather find solace in a dark isolated part of the house, instead of being inside the party. It sounded dumb and unrealistic to him, and boy, he was making it clear to me that he wasn't buying that shit.

Ofcourse, trust Sean to be the most straight forward person in communicating all his thoughts and feelings... And without a bloody filter.

I mean, the guy was looking at me like I was bullshit - and the fuck, I ask myself again, how did he know I was at the back of the yard?

"Rubbish, abeg. Are you a bat?" He spat his question out at me, feigning mock disgust, after staring at me for three complete seconds. "What on earth were you doing there alone?"

Well, negotiating with your ex girlfriend to keep a secret away from you.

"Or shit shit shit.." his eyes widened in a sudden excited realization that made him slap my shoulder. Hard. Twice. Three times. Ow.

"You were with a girl down there, weren't you? That's what you were doing!" He accused, shoving me roughly, once more in his excitement.

"No, actually-"

"Miranda?" His expression as he said the name was a shocked one. One that mixed and blended in an unequal ratio to the level of his high excitement.

"They said you two were talking, you and Miranda-"

Wait, what?

They? Who's 'they'?

I barely talked to Miranda for a minute, and people were already talking about it?

"Was she the one? Were you with her-"

"No." I didn't even let Sean finish.

I heard him give a sigh of relief.

"Nothing happened with me and Miranda." I said.

"Okay good," he laughed. "I was starting to think you were losing your damn mind, brah."

True talk. Miranda wasn't exactly my type. Not even for an easy lay, and even Sean knew that.

Somehow, I had realised this about me.. that I had a habit of going out of my way when overwhelmed with emotions, any kind of emotions.

Like how I almost did with Miranda, for example... because of all the stress and anxiety Ada had earlier caused me. This, being one of the very many reasons I wake up nearly every night to girls whose names I didn't remember, and probably brought upon the curse of bad luck in all the relationships I've ever been in.

"There's something off about her though," Sean said, and when I traced his eyes, I saw Miranda at the chocolate fountain with a few gossiping girls.

True, something was off about her. I couldn't exactly place it too.

"She looks like a seahorse." Sean plainly stated.

What the fuck?

"No, she doesn't," I surprised myself by saying.

Sean looked at me funny. "This one you're supporting her like this.."

I don't even understand why.

"Brah." He called me. Yeah? "Look around you."

Why?

"Look around you." He repeated, and I obliged.

Nothing new. Except for the fact that the party was heated up now. People were everywhere, the place was full, almost cramped up like we were in a night club or something. Everyone around me was having fun with the other, laughing about whatever. Some, drinking, some, dancing, others drinking and dancing, or just doing whatever to look cool.

And boy, were they pretty girls in this party. Insanely, effortlessly pretty girls.

"They're plenty of fishes in the sea." Sean said to me, "So, are you really going to skip them all of them and settle for a seahorse?"

I laughed. "Sean, I'm not settling for anyone."

"If you say so," He scoffed.

We started walking.

"Remember, Kisha?" Sean brought it up as we headed to the drinks table together.

Yes, Kisha. The hot Maranatha girl with the body of Kylie Jenner. The one whose number I almost got before fucking Ada called.

"Yeah.. you got her number?" I asked him.

"Oh, hell no," Sean laughed under his breath. "Interesting story though.." he, without asking, took a shot cup from a random guy walking by, and threw it all down his throat.

"So, she actually asked for both our numbers." He told me.

"She asked... Both our numbers." I repeated.

He took another shot cup from another random stranger's hand. Two, this time, and swallowed the contents of one of them, cringed slightly at the bitter taste, before replying me. "You heard correctly, brah."

She asked for both our numbers...

That sounded familiar... And not in a good way.

It reminded me of someone. It wasn't a good memory.

"So, you gave our numbers?" I asked him.

"Fuck, no." He spilled. "Not when that red flag was glaring like a bastard."

Ofcourse. I saw the red flag from the point he had revealed that she asked for both our numbers.

"She crazy weird, brah." Sean shook his head.

You don't say?

I tried to take the extra shot cup from Sean, but he moved his hand away, refusing for me to even touch it.

"Man, she just kept blinking those stupid long ass feathers at me-"

He's talking about her long, artificial lashes.

"- and, oh my God, now I can NOT get that annoying ass laugh out of my head. She sounded like a fucking clarinet!" Sean nearly ripped his hair out.

He refused to give me the shot cup again when I tried taking it from him.

"I could see she was up to no good," he continued talking, like he didn't realise he did anything. "So, forget her, bro. Don't bother going her direction. She seems like those girls that can trap you and fuck you up, if you let your guard down."

Hmm. Sounds familiar.

"As for me, I've lost interest. She's cancelled," he said, refusing to give me the shot a third time.

"But you let her down easy right?" I asked him.

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"What did you tell her?" I asked back.

"I was straight with her, brah. I told her I lost interest and I walked away." Sean told me easily.

My brows raised on their own accord. "Just like that?"

"Just like that." He repeated.

He sounded like there was nothing wrong with how he dismissed her.

"I can't invite another Ada into my life," Sean silently told me, my heart broke at how suddenly mellow his tone was.

"I just can't do it," he sighed, shook his head.

Man was still hurt.

He was still heartbroken over Ada.

And oh lord, if he knew....

"Can you stop doing that?" He sort of snapped at me when I tried to take his shot cup again.

I laughed. "C'mon, naw. You can get another one. Lemme have this one."

"Abeg, abeg, get your own!" Sean frowned, pushing me away.

"Selfish mofo!" I barked at him, he rolled his eyes, and I shook my head at him.

This boy. Even after being so close to him since childhood, he couldn't even share a common shot cup with me.

Ironically though, even if he could be selfish with little things as these, or certain big things, this guy could donate a kidney for me without even hesitating.

And funny enough, as I expected him to, he ended up walking faster than me, just to reach the drinks table before me, get a glass of whiskey, walk back, and give it to me.

"Oya, take this one. If you disturb me again, I'll give you uppercut." He shoved the whiskey cup in my face and I laughed.

Ofcourse, he gave me a different drink and not his own. As a matter of fact, he hadn't even had his shot yet - the same shot he refused to give to me. Yet, he chose to stress himself by walking that distance to get a different glass for me instead, instead of just giving me the shot since he clearly wasn't drinking it anyway.

I couldn't be surprised. As long as I've known Sean, he hated to share his belongings. As far as it had nothing to do with life and death, he wasn't interested in giving away something that was his'.

He wasn't particularly selfish... He was more off, intensely possessive. When we were seven, for example, he refused to share his action figures with me, and he never allowed me play with them. But then, when he saw how much I wanted those his toys, he asked his parents to buy me some, and he made sure they did.

I knew that was thoughtful even as a kid, however, Sean still didn't let me play with his own action figures.

I realised with time that he took everything that belonged to him more seriously than normal. Even if it was something as little as a shot cup, or as big as a trophy. Even something as untouchable as his status or even a particular grade ranking. Even living things, humans, friends.... Girls..

I remembered Ada and my heart broke to pieces.

Sean had the right to know the truth... But I couldn't dare risk our friendship.

"Are you okay, man?" His concerned voice barged into my head, and after sighing softly, I simply nodded.

"You should be," Sean's smile spread out. "'Cause we're in for a sick night!"

A night full of drinking and anxiety. Sick, alright. That was one way to describe it.

"Yo, Acha! Sean!" JJ called out to us from a distance.

The kid was basically shouting over the loud music, all the way from the largest sofa, dominated by our set boys, who were already drinking the night away.

"Over here!" He signalled us to join them in their careless, aimless carousing.

I sighed, before joining Sean in his loud jeers as we raced towards the boys.

It's not like I had a choice not to. It's not like I had a choice to do things any different. This, was a part of the system, and I was a part of the system. I was, in their terms, in everyone's terms, "Worthy".

And I wanted to keep it that way.

So, therefore,

Louis Vuitton watch, check.

Gucci shoes, check.

Cartier, check.

Smartphone, check.

Status, over check.

So be it.

I couldn't ever get any acceptance from my old man anyway, so I held onto this one

And even if I can't get accepted by my father, atleast I have the acceptance of, and verification from my classmates... And I wanted to keep that.

I was going to keep that.

So, very well then. Cheers to another night of drinking away and making endless merry. Cheers to the few hours I'd have to spend, pretending I'm friends with all those guys, sitting around there, and drowning themselves in sin.

Cheers to being 'worthy'.

What I didn't understand however, was why I wasn't convinced that I loved my life this way

Why after all these self assurance, I still couldn't get total satisfaction from all these.

In all honesty, I felt empty inside.

So, so empty.

PLEASE DON'T SKIP THIS A/N❗❗

Put a finger down if you can relate to the following in secondary schools:

Invisible rules

Twisted social system

Hierarchy and Madness

Fake love

Well, guys, buckle your seatbelts. I'm going to expose the dirty secrets of CH you may have missed out on.

Now, it's okay to not have noticed tbere was something off about CH from TLT. You'd notice if you really were attentive to the smallest details, lol. Like how Miranda talked in some scenes about some people, how some minor characters talked about people like Giwa and Ivandor. How some minor characters (in minor scenes) once in a while tried (in vain) to say hi to Giwa and probably get her to 'notice' them...

Yeah, I mean, it was pretty obvious that the hierarchy was there.

Now, let's face the fact; Giwa Falade is Queen Bee. Granted, she would probably not have experienced the pressure of this social anxiety.

It's like in the world today. Rich people and celebrities don't suffer because they're privileged, they don't know what it's like to be treated as dirt in the country, they don't know what it's like to be owed salary, they don't know what it's like to struggle for bus or to struggle to get certain things done, because everything is always set prepared for them...

So, likewise, in CH, people like Giwa Falade may not even understand how bad this hierarchy thing really is. She knew about it, yes, but she didn't thoroughly understand it cause she didn't feel the brunt of it. Likewise for people like Shade Onam, Prissy, Hassana, Yure, Krisdana, and even Nova. I mean, Ivandor doesn't even know the name of some of the people in his class, Giwa is even the worst.

We saw things from her POV, and we know that Giwa can be quite unobservant, yeah? So, I'm sooo happy I will be using Acha, and mostly Dabi, to break the gravity of this hierarchy thing to you guys.

Warning though; I will portray some TLT characters here in the eyes of our main characters, so thank God you've read TLT (if you haven't, Pele oo) cause you may not like people like Ivandor and Giwa, looking at them from this perspective.

Again, we know they're amazing people, we got to see their true nature from TLT, but the fact remains that they had a flaky image to their entire set, so I will show you exactly how Giwa and Ivandor are seen and percieved in the eyes of the whole set.

One of the reasons I specifically wrote TLT first was 'cause if I wrote TMBT first... Y'all may have hated a lot of TLT main characters without even knowing who they really are...cause there's a lot of misunderstanding on their part, looking at them from the perspective of TMBT.

I will also like to add this point to the case of Prom from TLT, the whole Nana/Prissy fiasco. You think you're mad at Nana? Wait until you see what really went down from his perspective, and you will be FURIOUS at Yure and Prissy. So that's the thing, don't judge my characters yet because you don't know what really happened. Nana is an amazing guy and my God, when you get to know him and see what happened that night of their prom, you will be sooooo sorry you misunderstood the whole thing. So, calm down, have an open mind, and read this book. A lot will make sense in the long run❤️

So, now thats settled, how was the chapter?

How did you percieve the new characters introduced? Acha? Sean? Ada? Even Miranda? Oh, Ada (peeps at Dheemah)

Expect another update today, thank dheenmah she's legit the reason I'm updating twice❤️😂