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I am soooo excited to dish out this chapter that I just couldn't wait till Tuesday 😩😩😩 I think y'all would LOVE it!😩🔥🔥🔥

~DABI~

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

Only God knew how many times I had said that prayer over and over and over again, since it had dawned on me over and over and over again that Marcus' friends had seen me today.

They had SEEN me! 

Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.

What was going to be the outcome of this?

What if they told people from School about us? What would I do then? How would I explain it to the entire population of Castron High that Sean Ayomide and stupid JJ saw me hiding behind the couch of Marcus Acha's living room?

How? What kind of reasonable explanation would I give them?

I was indeed, inarguably doomed. Completely in peril. Peace of mind and tranquillity was never going to locate me at this rate. My classmates were not going to just kill me, they were going to use my grave as a dinner table, as well. I was doomed forever!

All the way, Marcus had been coming over to see me and try to calm me down and assure me I was overthinking. He was the one under thinking, he knew how our classmates could be! Worst of all, after coming about two to three times, he disappeared on me. That was it! He left me to face my doom alone! He left me to wallow alone in my misery, he was never going to come back!

The time was 5: 07 pm, and each minute took an infinity to pass over, and that just made things worse. Gave me more time to suffer.

And, damn it, I was so hungry.

Marcus couldn't even get me food!

If I come out of this alive, I was going to break up!

"I have to help myself." I came to that realization, as I gently came down from the bed, and landed with my feet onto the tiled floors, shrieking right after as I stepped on something that felt so stringed, yet mushy and disgusting.

"Ew! What is that!" I jumped and landed back on my bed in horror, gaping at the not-empty nylon on the floor that I had stepped on, and I grimaced in disgust and irritation as I looked onto my feet to see what looked like stains of salad and cabbage and tomato sauce on the heel of my feet.

Dabeluchi, what is all this?

This was remnants of the Sharwarma from Last Night that Marc had gotten for me.

I had forgotten to dispose it properly.

Hence, this.

"I have to start trying, at least," I muttered to myself in realization, "I can't be such a slob at home, and in someone else's house."

With that, I did something I had never done before in my life.

I cleaned.

I started to pick up all the things I had disposed onto the floor, one by one, and even searched under the bed to see what I may have left there as well. I arranged the bed, the cupboard, my school notebooks and textbooks, and my uniforms as well, and surprisingly, I didn't stop until I felt it was neat enough.

I wasn't sure what the source of my inspiration was, but whether it was the Sharwarma tinfoil or the fact that the scent and cleanness of Marc's room was incredibly and beyond impressive and just inspiring, but I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned.

And there was a sense of satisfaction when I was done.

Looking around the room that was too neat, too arranged and organized to belong to me, I smiled proudly and nodded at my work.

"Maybe I should be doing this often," I said to myself.

Maybe. Because I wouldn't lie and say the process was completely fun, but at least, I would try.

"Now, about Lunch," I sighed to myself, pushed open the door open and stepped out of the room in a bid to get to the private Kitchen downstairs. I figured the cooks would have been in the main kitchen and I wasn't one for confrontation. I was even a visitor here, so I couldn't demand food, because I was hungry. But, I stayed hopeful that maybe I could find some fruits and drinks, or even cereal to fill me up for the mean time.

"Hopefully." I mused to myself.

Therefor, I got to the Kitchen.

Soon enough, actually, and I touched the round door knob, in order to push the large Mahogany door open and walk in for food.

But, then.....

I didn't.

"Hmm?" I hummed to myself, feeling the confused frown that immediately rumpled my face on a sudden distraction.

It was from the inside of the Kitchen.

Curiosity got the best of me and I leaned in closer to eavesdrop on the voice, no voices, that I was hearing from the inside of the Kitchen.

Swallowing, I listened in, deciphering quickly that the boy's voice was not one I was familiar with. It was not Marcus Acha's voice, that was for sure. He seemed to be in a conversation with someone else, someone who sounded like they were speaking from the other line of the phone. But then, this other voice was even more strange to me.

It sounded like a woman?

Not a girl, but a woman. A full grown woman. I could not confuse the voice of a girl with the voice of a woman and that was for sure. I knew this was a woman speaking from the other line of the phone, to whoever the boy whom was in the Kitchen was supposed to be.

There was something about how she sounded.

It wasn't just the tone of authority or the strong condescending tone she had to her voice, a firm tone that was a force to be reckoned with. A tone, so hard, so authoritative, it almost made me want to stand up straight and dust off any dirt off my shirt, it made me want to behave myself and be on my very best behaviour.

But, that was not the most surprising part of it...

The unknown woman over the line had an accent.

It was a very strong accent, so strong it couldn't go unnoticed. She broke her words, bit by bit, even though it seemed she was scolding the boy she was talking to.  Her accent was non-rhotic; She pronounced most of her words very much articulately, her syllables were evenly stressed, most of the T's that came in in the middle of the words she used were silenced, and her R's were often trilled or tapped.

That was one heavy British Accent.

And there was something sassy and sultry about it, like there was a possibility that she could, perhaps, be a dark skinned British lady?

I knew for a fact there was no way on earth that kind of accent was adopted - It sounded so original, so real, so strong that I deciphered that whoever that woman was, she most likely was born, had lived and bred her whole damn life in a British country.

I only wondered who on earth she was supposed to be, and how she may have had any kind of connection with anyone in this house.

And indeed, I got shocked to say the least when the boy speaking to her, addressed her as-

"Mum."

That took me off-guard.

I decided to pay more attention, and listen in even more closely, and understand properly what was going on and why it seemed that the boy was talking in low whispers, while his Mum seemed to be screaming her head over the phone.

"Do you even understand how busy I am?! Do you? No, tell me, do you?! So, do you expect me to have to fly the fuck down to Nigeria just because of your stubborn, hard headed ass?!"

I ignored the strong and strange pronunciation of this woman's words, and asked myself questions as to what the hell was going on in there.

I didn't hear the boy give an answer and I was certain from the silence over the line that the woman was expecting a response from him.

When that response did not come forth, she seemed to blow her head over the top even more, and with a loud, sharp, foundation-shaking voice that caused my heart to drop into my stomach, I heard her scream the boy's name over the phone.

"SEAN AUSTIN AYOMIDE!"

My hands flew to my mouth to cover them and mute my audible gasp.

Sean? Sean Ayomide, Marc's best friend? Sean was the one in there in the Kitchen with that screaming, British lady over the phone?

So, she was Sean's mother?

"Wow." I whispered into my hands.

Sean's Mum was British - That piece of information just surprised me for some reason.

"I can hear you, Mum." Sean's response to the woman came as low and unbothered as a dead man.

I couldn't see him, but I was certain there was the deadest deadpan on his face. His voice sounded like he honestly could not bring himself to give a fuck about his Mum screaming at him.

I simply wondered why.

"Why are you so STUBBORN!?" The woman continued screaming, "Why did you pick up the worst traits from that good-for-nothing father of yours! Do you even have any good trait in your, for God's sake! You never call me, you never text me back, and the ONLY time I ever hear from you is when you get into trouble! Simple Instruction, Sean! The simplest instruction was to STAY THE FUCK AT HOME! WHY DID YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE?! God! I hope you're not becoming mentally deranged! You act like someone who is missing a screw in the head, and I am GENUINELY worried about your mental state of mind! You're MAD, child, innit?!"

I wasn't even hearing Sean's voice - I completely imagined that the boy was staring at his phone, completely unfazed and unmoved.

"YOU ARE THE WORST CHILD ANYONE CAN EVER HAVE! YOU ARE THE ABSOLUTE WORST!"

That struck me like a bullet.

Shattered me more than it should have and I was not even the one being spoken to.

Sean, however, did not even make a single sound.

"SOMETIMES, YOU JUST FRUSTRATE ME SO HELLA MUCH, FAM! I CAN'T STAND YOU SOMETIMES! I AM FUCKING KNACKERED!" She was blowing up even more.

I didn't even know who to feel bad for; The clearly frustrated woman, or Sean who was on the receiving end of her wrath.

"FOR GOD'S SAKE, WHERE DID ALL MY HOME TRAINING GO OFF TO! WHERE ARE ALL THE MORALS AND DISCIPLINE I EVER INSTILLED IN YOU! WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU THROW THOSE OFF TO! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THEM!"

Why wasn't Sean talking to this woman?

It was like screaming at a brick wall.

"YOU TAKE THAT BIG ASS HEAD OF YOURS AND GET INTO TROUBLE WITH DEM GANG BOYS! GANG BOYS, SEAN! I SENT YOU TO CASTRON HIGHSCHOOL TO STUDY HARD AND END UP A LAWYER LIKE ME, GET SOMETHING DOING FOR YOU, FAM, AND EARN A LIVING! YOU DECIDED TO JOIN DEM GANG BOYS AND GET YOURSELF INTO NASTY SHIT LIKE THIS-"

What?

WHAT?!

Sean was part of Kaniru's gang? Was that what his mother was saying? What that true? Was Sean really a member of Kaniru's group?!

"I am going to call the security guards in the next thirty minutes, and if I DARE to find out that you haven't gotten back home by then, I PROMISE YOU I WILL BE COMING BACK TO NIGERIA NEXT WEEK! I AM COMING BACK HOME AGAIN TO YOU AND WHEN I DO, YOU ARE SO GROUNDED! I M'FUCKING SWEAR IT, LAD! I WILL TAKE AWAY ALL YOUR PHONES, YOUR GADGETS, YOUR LAPTOPS, THE FUCKING TV TOO! AND YOU WILL SPEND ALL THE TIME YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN SCHOOL, INSTEAD OF HIDING OUT, TAKING CARE OF SHALOM AND SHARON, AND STUDYING TILL YOU PASS THE FUCK OUT! I WILL TAKE EVERYTHING AWAY FROM YOU! I WILL MAKE SURE YOU HAVE NOTHING! YOU KNOW I CAN DO IT, IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME I HAVE DONE IT, SO YOU KNOW THE DRILL, FAM! AT LEAST THAT WILL MAKE UP FOR ALL THE MONEY YOU'VE ALREADY MADE ME WASTE SINCE ON MISSED CLASSES, AND ALL THE HEADACHE YOU'VE GIVEN ME SINCE THE DAY YOU WERE FUCKING BORN!-"

My forehead bumped against the door of the kitchen, hitting painfully against the hard wood.

"Oh, shit."

I didn't even know which was worse - the concussion, or the fact that in the process of hitting the door I was hiding to eavesdrop, I had pushed it open against my will.....

Giving my presence away to Sean Ayomide. 

God, no, no, no, no, no, no-

There was silence in the Kitchen.

Chilling, disturbing silence.

"Oh, lord, no." I muttered as I held my heart in my hands and remained frozen on the spot. Revealed to him.

Sean was like a robot. If he had noticed my presence, he acted like he didn't. He stayed there, standing like a statue by the counter, and looking to the screen of the phone in his hands, with the most impassive, most undaunted, undisturbed and unfazed look in his long, dead and emotionless eyes.

He was giving me a chance to run.

Why wasn't I running?!

"I'm sorry, I promise I wasn't eavesdropping," I spoke to his unmoved side, my voice shriller and shakier than I was intending it to sound, dripping fear and panic at each word, "I swear, I wasn't listening, I wasn't. I was just-"

My words died in my throat.

My words died in my throat when Sean raised his head from his phone, and slowly, my anxiety rising with each second his head moved, trailed his look up from the gadget in his hands, and stopped when those dead eyes landed directly on me.

I died and resurrected one million times.

Opening my mouth to speak to him and apologise for something I didn't know I did, I didn't hear my own voice. I spoke, but heard no words. It was like I was puffing out air from my mouth.

He said nothing, but just looked at me. Looked at me with a look so plain, a look so impassive, a look so dead that it was the most uncomfortable thing in the world. 

Worse still, I could not even move. Or, run.

"Is that a girl's voice I heard?!-"

His phone blared with that British woman's voice, startling me for a moment, but Sean, however, did not even move a muscle.

I didn't even know that his mother was still on the line!

"You're with a GIRL, Sean?! So, that was the reason you risked your life to leave the house? Because you wanted to go get a GIRL?!-"

I can't even begin to explain how unbothered Sean was by this woman.

The dark skinned boy was looking at his phone like it was a rock. Completely unmoved by her screaming and cussing at him. It was like they were throwing bullets at him, and he was not even moving in the slightest to show that he was slighted by them. He was like a corpse - no bit of emotion in his eyes, his movements, his entire demeanour. No bit of emotion to his mother's continuous verbal abuse either. My God, it was like it simply did not mean a single thing to him.

Was he even human?

Was Sean really human?

Right in the middle of it, he even shocked me by what he did next.

Without a heads up or a single goodbye, he took his phone up and tapped on the screen, cutting his mother off in mid sentence.

Sean Ayomide hung up on his screaming mother.

And I didn't have time time to ponder on the shock of that.... 

Because it dawned on me that it was now just me and him in this Kitchen.

That messed me up. The fact that it was just the both of us messed me completely up, and instantly, I was suffering with panic and fear.

Why wasn't I running yet?

Why was I so frozen?

Sean, however, did not even act like I was there.

He did not even act like someone who knew that there was someone else in the Kitchen with him.

As a matter of fact, it was like I was a ghost. Soon, becoming wary of that possibility because of how brutally I was being ignored by him, I touched the mahogany door just to insure my hands would not pass through them....

They didn't.

That only meant I was alive and real.

Sean was just simply ignoring the fuck out of me.

Again, why was I not running?

I watched him. I watched him walk to the basket and get a cup, and then, I watched him go to the dispenser to fetch some milk into it. I don't know why, but my eyes just followed him around, even as he got back to the counter, leaned against it lazily, and drank from the cup of milk, slowly and patiently. 

Almost temperamentally.

And Dabeluchi Aurora Orji just stood there and watched Sean Ayomide.

And stood there and watched.

And stood there and watched.

And stood there and watched.

And stood there and watched.

And stood there and watched.

And stood there and—

"You're wearing Muna's pyjamas."

The air in the Kitchen stilled and froze over for a second or two.

Believe me brethren, that was not the voice of God. It was Sean who spoke to me.

He was not looking at me, he only gazed at the glass cup of milk in his hands as he made his comment, but I knew well, more than ever, that I was the one he was speaking to. 

"Huh?" I frowned in confusion at what he said; I was lost. "Sorry, who?"

That was when Sean broke his stare from the cup and directed it once more to me, zeroing in on me and marking me on the spot with the most uncomfortable, trapping eye contact.

"Munachi Beatrice Acha." 

He spoke calmly. Undisturbed and seemingly not triggered.

That was when sense hit me with the name he called and I quickly put two and two together.

Munachi Beatrice Acha, as Sean had called the name, was probably Marcus's older sister's name. She was the girl whose room was given to me. And truthfully, I was having on one of the pyjama trousers that I had picked up from her closet to change into an hour ago. I was wearing her blue, white-dotted pyjama trousers with a white vest.

And if I was also being quick in thinking, I figured Sean was probably sharp enough to understand just how cozy and comfortable I must have made myself in Marc's house to be able to wear his sister's clothes.

I suddenly felt the urge to explain profusely to Sean so he didn't get the wrong idea.

"I know what you're probably thinking and it's not even close, I promise you. I am not the kind of girl you're probably thinking me to be. I promise I am not, I just-"

I babbled rubbish.

Imminent undisguised rubbish.

Fortunately, and unfortunately, Sean seemed unbothered to hear me out.

As I talked and rapped on my desperate explanation, he was busy doing other things. He had gotten up from his leaning position against the counter, and was off to the sink, and as I talked and talked and talked, the boy just paid me no mind, and went ahead to turn on the sink tap, letting water run into the cup as he rinsed the milk stains around in it, off it.

Calmly. He washed his cup calmly, and I was still talking.

"I promise, I am not-"

It was in the middle of my speech that Sean shocked me by aggressively turning the sink tap handle so damn hard like he wanted to break it off, increasing the water flow and drowning out my seemingly annoying voice in the process.

That action shocked me.

It was the vile look in his eyes, and the sudden anger that just jumped out of him from no fucking where - It was so sudden and so sharp.

He made not a sound while at it and that was what made it even scarier. It was like hearing me talk nonstop had been riling him up so much and he was being temperament, and then, for that moment, he just lost all his self control and acted out in anger, against his will.

It really took me off-guard.

Especially since I could have sworn that he seemed so calm and untriggered all the while, and I wasn't aware that he was even getting peeved at all.  

It was the aftermath that made all the hairs in my body arise at attention.

Sean held onto the sink, so hard that I could see the veins in his hands popping out like daggers. His eyes were closed. Shut so tight, and his teeth were grinding against each other so hard, yet so silently...... Like he was desperately trying to get himself together.

And, he did.

The next second, he released his hold on the sink and his veins were gone. He looked normal again, he looked calm and still once more.

I was absolutely mortified.

Sean went back to finishing off with rinsing the cup, dropped it back properly in the basket, and made his way towards the door.

The same door where I was still standing in front of.

He only stopped when he got in front of me, towering my height with his', and looking down on me with the most neutral face I had seen on him yet, observing me closely while my heart raced a whole marathon.

"I didn't ask you for an explanation. I was just stating a simple observation."

His voice was, once again, calm and untethered.

"I'm sorry." I didn't even know why I apologized.

"Your hair is messy." He responded, narrowing his vision to eye my head down in another observation.

I suddenly got so self conscious.

I suddenly felt like he could see everything wrong with me in all ways physical - Like he could see that not only my hair was messy, but it was also dirty with dandruff and lice. And that I probably smelt like shit too. And my posture was ugly, like I was standing too hunched over. Or my legs were too apart, or my body was too slim and too weird, and my head was too big.....

I felt like Sean could scrutinize everything about my appearance and find a fault in it.

It was so uncomfortable standing this close to him. I was on the verge of passing out.

"Shift."

"Ehh?" I looked up at him, moping in confusion.

"I want to pass," He deadpanned, "I said, shift."

Muttering more apologies, I awkwardly moved to the side, nearly entered into the wall in an attempt to make way for him to walk past me and away.

I gave a sigh of relief when he moved past me without saying another word, but that relief was short lived because it didn't take long after he had brushed past that—

"You know what? I do have some questions for you."

—Sean's voice came back, right behind me.

I felt footsteps marching towards me and my heart started beating even faster.

I turned around to face Sean when I felt his form and shadow hovering over me from behind, and I had to swallow hard and take a step back as it was just too much for me.

"Tell me all about it," He said to me, voice so calm, but stare particularly hard and penetrating into me like knives on flames, "Acha has been MIA for a while now, especially at night. Somehow, he has other plans that he never fills me in on, and consecutively bails on me.  Just like that. You know anything about that though?"

I swallowed. Hard.

"No." I lied through my teeth, "Why would I?"

Sean's look on me daggered for a second, a shift was seen in his emotions, but he kept his composure entirely.

In order words...

He knew I was lying to him.

"Oh really." He said. It wasn't a question. "What about sometime at the beginning of the month?" He asked again, calmly, looked at me and folded his arms patiently, "Specifically, some time between 2nd to 3rd of November, you didn't happen to be with him, right?"

Every day of this month, I was with Marcus Acha.

In fact, every day since we started seeing each other, there was not a single day we missed hanging out with each other.

"No." I lied again. "I don't have an idea of what you are talking about."

Sean flashed me an unexpected smile and I started to feel he was running mad.

"You don't mean it." His tone dripped painful sarcasm, as he chuckled humourlessly, cocked his head to the side, looking down at me, that smile lingering there at the base of his lips, "What about the Night before Last then?"

I easily remembered that night he was talking about.

And, no, that night, I was not with Marcus. That was the night that I had spent the whole time with the Sisters, at the Karaoke Bar, after we had come back from Dowman's Carol Night.

"I wasn't with him." I told him.

"I didn't ask if you were." Sean countered quietly.

Right. I gulped hard.

"All I want to know is if you have any clue why he didn't come over as he had promised to," Sean said to me, "You don't happen to have an idea of the emergency he claimed that sprung up out of the blue?"

Marcus told me that he and his Mum were really worried since I didn't inform them I wasn't coming home. I mean, common sense had me realize that there was no way that Marcus could have left the house in that state of panic.

"I don't know anything." I insisted.

"But you were with him on the day of Wonder Coast," He accused me, "He was the masked guy and you were the beanie girl. Or are you going to deny that too?"

I said nothing. I couldn't say a thing. My mouth was glued shut. Tight.

Sean's eyes surprisingly glistened and brightened up and his smile broadened as he laughed under his breath, like this was a casual friendly encounter going on between the both of us.

"My Birthday is on the 20th day of November," He told me, "It's just Tuesday, next week."

I didn't know what that piece of information was supposed to do for me,  but I responded, "Okay."

"And," He added, raised a brow to gesture me to keep keeping up with him, "I have a big game the same day." He told me this and I wondered what my business was. "One that will be the arc of my career, and life at large. It means the world to me."

"Okay." I nodded. "That's nice."

Sean just stood there, smile on his face, and no words.

"Why are you smiling?" I just had to ask him.

"Nothing," He laughed to himself, "I just can't help, but wonder."

"Wonder what?" I dared to ask.

Sean shrugged nonchalantly, and answered me without stress, "How it must feel to have someone around you when you're at your lowest. Must be nice."  

He hit me so hard with those that I knew were much deeper than he acted them out to be.

I was so lost for words.

"See you around, Dabeluchi."

Sean didn't only surprise me by knowing my name, he made sure to flick me another free smile and ruffle his hands through my hair before walking out on me.

I was short of an explanation for what just happened.

That was..... Odd.

*****

After my off encounter with Sean, I stayed in my- Munachi's room - confined to it and scared of any other encounter with anyone or anything.

Did Sean hate me? I couldn't tell. One thing was ever so certain, and that was the fact that there was no way he liked me either. It just made me feel odd, having that not only he was the best friend to the boy I was in love with, but somehow, he knew a thing or two about me and Marc.

Or, he knew some misconceptions rather.

I was nervous as to what he was thinking about me, and a part of me was even too scared to know. And it wasn't like I was going to have another confrontation with him to finds out. God forbid.

Meanwhile, Marc came back.

Multiple times, actually.

I thought he had decided to abandon me, so I was surprised when he kept walking in here every two minutes, from whatever he was busy with or wherever he was, to check up on me over and over and over again. I complained and he got creative with his visits - He would say he just wanted to drop me off some juice, or give me some crackers, but that was all an excuse to see me again and he knew it. I knew it too.

In as much as I was appreciative of the concern, I did not want him making the suspicion arising from his friends even worse that it probably was. Only God on earth knew what they were thinking, honestly, and with Marc walking into this room for me every single minute that passed, the boy was not helping matters.

Against my mental protest, in the middle of my mental rant, I heard the door creak open that instant, and a sigh of exasperation involuntarily left me.

"I told you to stop coming in here, Marc."

There was silence.

But, I didn't hear him walk away.

He still stood there, and I mentally face palmed at the boy's stubbornness.

"I understand that you care and that's sweet of you," I told him softly. Marc was the sweetest, honestly, "I'm fine really, I'm not dying I promise. So, you don't have to walk in here every two minutes for me, okay?"

He didn't particularly respond nor did her make an effort to walk away at my request.

And when I waited for him to do so the next few minutes, I only started hearing footsteps walking daintily towards me, on the contrary.

I was about to protest.-

"So, he's been doing that?"

That voice.

That wasn't Marcus.

I raised my head up that instant and whipped my head towards Mama Acha who, with the most beautiful smile and a white flowing robe, was walking her way up towards me.

"Oh." I muttered. "Good evening." I greeted her.

"The best evening to you too, sweet heart," She nodded politely to me, as she joined me to sit down on the bed, making herself comfortable, "So, dinner will soon be ready, and I wanted to let you know that you'd have to be joining us soon to eat.  We have an hour to prepare for our evening program in Church, and I'd love you to be there."

All I got from her whole sentence was the word 'Us'. I knew that 'Us' wasn't just she and Marc.

"I want to have dinner here," I suggested politely, looked away from her awkwardly.

I wasn't looking at her, but the little humming sound she made entailed that she had mused a laughter to herself, and I only prayed she's listen to me, because I wasn't ready to explain why I could not have dinner together.

"I put two and two together," She said to me.

I didn't quite understand what she meant by that, so I let her go on.

"And," She continued as expected, "Something is telling me that you don't want my son's friends to know that you two are together."

She was right. However, I did not give an answer.

"I'm only curious," She looked to me, "Why, Dabeluchi?"

"I am not ashamed of him." I told her.

I don't know why I felt the need to clear that fact out.

I couldn't be ashamed of him, really. If anything, it was supposed to be the other way around.

"I know you aren't," Mama Acha surprised me by saying, "I am just curious."

How do I even begin to explain this to her?

"My classmates are really judgemental," I told Mama Acha, "It's just, I don't know how people are going to react when they find out that someone like Marcus Acha stooped so low to pick a girl like me."

There was silence between us, and I knew that Mama Acha was staring so intently, probably with a look of shock, onto the side of my head.

I don't know what I said that was so shocking - I only said nothing but the truth.

"Are you joking?" She asked me.

I turned my head back to Mama Acha and saw the most flabbergasted look on her face.

"No," I answered truthfully.

"You think my son stooped low in picking you?" She asked in reaffirmation as though she didn't hear what I said correctly.

I nodded. "Yes."

I can't even elaborate how this woman was taking this. She was beyond aghast. I didn't even understand why, honestly.

"I always felt you were a bit insecure," She said, "But, I didn't think it was up until the extent of thinking you weren't good enough for my son."

"You don't understand." I muttered, and folded my arms.

She didn't. She didn't understand the standards we had at Castron High. There was no way Mama Acha would honestly understand.

Calmly, she sat even closer to me and crossed her legs, stared afar off in front of us, like she was about to tell me a story.

"Do you know the kind of girls Marcus used to bring home at some point in his life?" She started by asking me.

"Yeah..." I answered.

Of course, I would know. Those exes of his'. Girls like Funmi, and girls like Neche. Girls who were conventionally beautiful, and known all through out the set for their beauty, style, elegance, feline femininity, and flamboyant lifestyle - Things I could never relate to.

"With no due offence to whom it may concern, I saw all of them as basic airheads who had little or nothing to offer other than trending gossip and fake eyelashes." Mama Acha deadpanned.

Shock - That was what I felt. I was shocked to hear that.

"And I know everyone has their own perk, something tangible that they stand out for, and probably all those girls had it somewhere in them too.... They just let themselves drown so much in vanity that they did not let me see that in them....." She told me.

I listened. She had a point. A good point.

"In all honesty," She looked at me and I could see all the sincerity in her kind eyes, "I think Marcus picking you is simply an upgrade."

That.... Meant so much to me.

"You should have faith and courage in yourself," She said to me intently, "Remember that you don't have to be perfect to be worth it, being you is all that matters. And you.... You are not just beautiful, you're deep. You are mysterious, you're talented, you have quality. You are everything that I've ever wanted for my son, Dabeluchi......"

I think I was so moved that tears were starting to form in my eyes.

"And, if the whole world cannot see that, it should not matter to you," She smiled at me, placing a gentle thumb upon my face as though she wanted to wipe a tear if it it dropped, "The only thing that is important is that you see that too. Me and Marcus can see it too, and that is a bonus. But, what we think shouldn't even matter, Dabi, it's what you think. With time, you'd get to see that what you think about yourself is how the whole world will eventually start to see you; It's basic Psychology. Use it to your advantage, think positive."

The tears just brimmed my eyes and I couldn't utter a word, so I nodded at her words, assuring her that even if it was hard, I'd try.

"Think positively," She said, "Learn to accept your flaws, and not just personally, even in your whole life at large. I promise you, when you do, a lot of things will clear up easier for you to see them. For you to see things around you the way they truly are - Not the false way your mind has coined them to be."

Something about that statement hit different.

And when I tried to think too hard on it....

I stopped myself.

"And the fact if that you're an amazing person," She assured me, "You're not perfect, but believe me, perfection is overrated." She laughed at that softly and so did I.

"Come outside and have dinner with us," She urged me, and I was not sure what exactly had taken over me, but this was too precious a moment that I couldn't refuse the offer and say no.

I obliged.

Walking with Mama Acha, I stepped out of my room, completely unprovoked and untriggered.

I followed her without asking questions, and she took me to the pool of the mansion, behind the house - a venue of this home that I had grown to fall much in love with, so far.

It was the bigger pool. The one that was far ahead from the first one that was behind the part of the mansion that was glass walled - the one that had the vinyl floors, and beach sofas decorated all around. It was the bigger pool that I had preffered, the one with the water that was bluer than the latter, despite the attempt of the gold lighting of the marble tiled veranda and corridors around it hitting the water and trying to alter it, the one that had the neatest, silver tiles lining the rectangle of it, and had the most beautiful beach benches and tables, lining all around the veranda.

It was even more beautiful than I remembered it to be.

And having that it was slowly starting to get dark, the entire place glowed a gold hue around me, and there was so much air around me - a feel that gave me peace for the moment being.

"You can join the dinner table," She gestured to one of the tables that had the food we were having that evening, and from the distance, I could see and smell the aroma of the delicacies from here - another feeling that made me very happy.

"We're having Plantain Porridge," She told me, "And there is also pepper sauce, so you can choose to have that with potato or yam, it's all up to you." I could even see from the distance, the covered bowls of fruit salad, and the jugs of orange and water melon juice, as well as some bottles of red wine, by the sides.

I never ate this well at home.

"Oh, you brought her down." I heard a new calm voice join us and I didn't even need to turn to see that it was Marcus who had joined us.

His hands slid over my waist and tugged me softly to himself, bending down to my height to plant a soft kiss on my neck, right there before his giggling mother, and it didn't even take me much a second after to know that this was a set up. Marcus Acha had sent his mum to get me down to join them for dinner!

"It's not time to show off your public display of affection, you little boy!" She playfully teased Marcus who clearly could not just stop being all over me without shame - not that I was complaining, and Marcus just laughed softly at his Mum, a soft laugh that was music to my ears.

"I have to have a word with you for a minute," She ended up telling her son seriously, turned to me and said, "Sweet heart, wait for me and your boyfriend at the dinner table, this will take but a minute, okay?"

I nodded with a smile.

"I'll see you later, love," Marcus made sure to kiss my hand before he walked off to a more isolated space with his Mum, to engage her.

Meanwhile, as Mama Acha asked me to, I waited for them to join me, and made my way towards the dinner table to settle in while at it.

"Smells so damn good," I mused as I settled in to get that aroma of well cooked plantain and that sauce, that spicy, sultry, sweet smelling savour, into my system. It was so satisfying. This was so satisfying, I actually forgot everything that ever plagued me for a second today.

Well, my peace had to be cut short in no time anyway.

Right there, before my eyes, the waters moved.

The water of the pool just fucking moved!

I was about to jump, run, scream, blow off in panic like a mad woman, and that instant, a head popped out of the water, and there was a silent sigh of relief within me. However, when it came to my view whose head that was, I wasn't even sure if I was supposed to be relieved or not.

Sean was coming out of the pool, and the moment it dawned on me that not only was he completely shirtless and dripping water, but the trunk he was wearing which by now was utterly drenched by pool water made his 'area' to look-

God forbid!

I looked away IMMEDIATELY!

I looked away and dared myself to not look bad as it just felt so wrong and awkward, and I was not about to indulge myself in that. 

The entire atmosphere was already so hot for me.

Why didn't it occur to me that Sean would also be joining us for dinner too?

And why do I have to put myself in a position to have yet another encounter with him?!

I wanted to leave this place, run as far as my little legs could carry me, but then, it would just make me look even weirder in front of him. I would look like a total freak!

Sean was close now. About a table close where I could see through the corner of my eyes that he was picking up a blue coloured towel, and I had to give it to this guy for being so talented at ignoring me. 

I tried to do same. To ignore him too. But, it was hard to ignore his presence really. I mean, everything about him being here made me want to avoid looking even more stupid in front of him - made me want to sit upright, and probably stop slouching my shoulders, and look more like a human being.

And he wasn't even paying me any mind at all.

So, it didn't make sense to me how compelling his mere presence could be around me.

It was beyond intimidating,

I quickly thought about my hair and how he had earlier called it out for being messy. That alone made me to start stupidly fumbling with the weaves, and subtly, trying to pat down the edges of my hair to make it appear less scattered. Maybe I could repack my hair, so it won't look as bad? I was quick to action on that, fondling with the weak, lousy rubber band I used to tie the low ponytail together, and trying to tighten it higher and make it appear neater......

And then, the devil decided to punish me.

The rubber band snapped in half with a loud 'PAT'!, leaving my messy hair falling down my shoulders, my face, and everywhere!

"God, no." I muttered in panic at what I had just done, and started to intensely, wrap the head back up before Sean noticed that! Using the torn rubber band as a rope, tying it desperately and shamelessly around my hair in an attempt to get my weaves back into a ponytail.

This was so embarrassing!

Lord, please, do NOT let Sean see this! Do not let him see this! Do not let him see-

"What are you doing."

I froze.

For a second, that is, because the next, my hands came down from my hair and slammed down against the table, leaving my whole hair down and my eyes, shining with so much horror, at Sean Ayomide who had noticed my pathetic wreck.

"N-Nothing!" I stammered pathetically, "Nothing, I just wanted to-"

"Leave it down." He said, his tone matching the look on his face - Emotionless.

"Uhhh..." I wanted to ask why, but no words or sound were leaving my mouth.

"It looks pretty on you." He clarified, absolutely shocking me speechless by that unexpected compliment.

That was a compliment, right?

With a generally stoic face, Sean shocked me even more by looking me over with a quick, cursory survey, hanging his towel over his bare shoulder, and dropping two words to me, without much though, caution, or genuine bother or care.

"You're pretty."

Those were his words.

With that, Sean Ayomide walked out on me and headed into the house without another word.

My mouth actually hung open, and I wasn't sure whether to be aghast or relieved, because I was actually both. 

Sean said that so abruptly and out of the blue. Like it didn't mean a thing to him. Like he was just genuinely speaking his mind without concern.

And I wasn't even sure what to feel about that.

He didn't seem to be lying. So far I knew, he didn't appeal to me as someone that would lie to make someone feel good. He didn't even appeal to me as someone that would lie to make a person feel bad. He just seemed to me as someone that said the truth plainly and barely, irrespective of whatever you were going to feel about that - be it good or bad.

I found it hard to understand what exactly Sean Ayomide though of me.

I only wished I could get into the head of his.

"You know you and that Igbo Sister clique of yours are quite the problematic type-"

I whipped my head so damn fast to see who just walked in on me on the table, and I didn't even have to turn a whole 360 because the person was storming onto the table with a force to reckon with, shaking the table as he landed, nearly pushing it down along with everything on it, with the weight of his hulk sized frame.

"Come on, tell me, is this part of those your rubbish Dares and Pledges dog shit." 

I nearly had a heart attack hearing someone outside our group talk about Dares and Pledges, and my heart sank into my stomach a LOT harder when I deciphered who it was that had stormed in here to engage me in an unwanted conversation.

Sitting beside me with the largest, most mocking grin ever to be seen was Jeffery Jarah Jarah.

Or as the bastard was fondly called, JJ.

This close proximity messed up my mental health.

It was like I was staring face to face with the devil himself.

JJ could have passed for the devil's son, in all honesty. He was clearly mocking me with that grin on his face, and there was no argument there. He even looked the part - With dull eyes that looked like they were glaring even when there was that huge grin on his face, he eyed me down from head to toe, giving me the most uncomfortable sneer. He looked like the devil. He wasn't bad looking, no, that wasn't it. Asides, that brown skin he had that would have looked better with a bit more care and attention, dare I say it, JJ was a bit attractive. 

But, in a harsh, rugged, bad boy kind of way. In an almost cut throat kind of way that makes you know right out of the bat that the boy was of no good.

And even after everything that I had gone through in the hands of this boy, he didn't care for a moment to torture me even more, sitting there and harassing me and my friends - the Sisters- and accusing us of being 'problematic'.

Us? Problematic?

JJ pushed me once! He pushed me down to the ground and laughed at me. He walked and paraded around School with boys who were infamous for causing havoc and dealing drugs. He laughed, the sicko laughed when I was being strangled by Kaniru's bare hands. The sight of me dying in his hands, struggling for air and crossing my eyes over and over was a thing of sick pleasure and amusement to him....

Yet, he, of all people, had the audacity to call me and the Igbo Sisters problematic?

"So, what brings you here to Acha's domain?" He quizzed, folded large and muscled arms across his chest as he stared at me with that mocking look in his eyes, "Abi na dick?"

That slapped me across the face. Hard.

I felt so insulted, I couldn't even begin to elaborate.

It became clear to me that JJ thought I was sleeping around with Marcus Acha.

And God in Heaven, is that what Sean thought too?

"So, you're a baddie, huh?" He licked his lips in contempt, mocking me without a filter, "Quiet introvert in School, fiery whore at night. I dig that shit!"

I felt so damn irritated.

So fucking irritated.

I couldn't even look at him at that point, I was beyond irritated.

And somewhat embarrassed too.

I couldn't even defend myself, I couldn't speak. With my eyes shooting daggers at the forks and knives on the table, I counted from one to ten, waiting for JJ to cross the line.

"How many times have you guys shagged?" He continued, laughed in my face like I resembled a clown, "I heard they always keep coming back for more. Is that why you couldn't resist,  you like that dick, don't you? You fucking whore!"

I balled my hands into fists, squeezing them on the table, and holding back the weight of anger in me, swallowing all the degrading insults and forcing myself to stay put together, and not burst into tears and grab that knife from the table.

"I just knew Somadina Best was not the only one who was not the only one who was as innocent as she claimed to be," JJ didn't stop.

Anger riled up in me that he had to bring Soma in this. Soma, that they would have killed that day, just because of a stupid bracelet, if not for Charlie Ba. Just because she stole a stupid bracelet!

"And then, that your friend, Chika the audio feminist, decided to come to school to seduce the same men she fucking claims she doesn't need-"

I wished Chika was here to hear this.

This boy didn't even know the kind of girl he was talking about like that!

"And, now, you," He laughed to my face, "You're fucking Marcus Acha!"

Oh, God of self control-

"Who would have known you had it in you, I always thought you were just a basic, weird ass, retard-"

Zing!

That was the sound that rang and screeched in my head as soon as JJ mentioned that word 'retard' and losing every bit of self control I was holding onto, I jumped up from the chair with the knife in my hand and aimed it at JJ's fucking throat!

"What the f-"

He cursed and jumped away from me, with a speed I couldn't believe.

And, I missed.

There was chaos in the entire place as hulk sized JJ hit the ground, horror in his eyes, as he watched me rise onto my feet, livid with raw anger in my eyes, and a sharp knife in my hand.

Afar off, I heard shouting.

It wasn't my business, I didn't care who was shouting. I wanted to rip JJ in half with this weapon.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" He shouted, jumping onto his feet and pulling back away from me, as the shouting from behind me rose and rose and rose.

"I'M GOING TO TEACH YOU A LESSON YOU WILL NEVER FORGET!" I screamed at JJ, and made a move to jump towards the boy and unleash a fiery attack he'd never forget.

Wind whooshed past me.

Yes, wind whooshed past me and immediately, the next second, strong hands that I knew to be Marc's held me from behind and I couldn't move no matter how much I tried.

"Dabi, drop it! Drop the knife!" Marcus kept shouting as he held onto me so strongly, pinning me in place and having me unable to move no matter how much I tried.

When I refused to drop the weapon, Marcus grabbed my wrist strongly and squeezed onto it, almost hurting me with such pressure applied, shocking me however by how in less than a second, my hands involuntarily loosened up and the knife clanged onto the tiles as it dropped to the floor. He pushed it far away from me with his feet, and dragged me out of that spot like I was as easy to move around as a toy.

"Dabi, what the hell is going on?!" He asked me, queried me, as soon as he let go of me.

I could see that he was shocked beyond words, stupefied to say. I could see it in those wary free brown eyes of his' that he was immensely concerned about how I was acting, but I didn't care. I lashed out in an attempt to jump over Marcus and go back to attack JJ behind him, but Marcus blocked me quickly, grabbing me by the hands and cupping both together in one of his, as she pulled my body to his, to force me to keep eye contact with him and control myself. 

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I screamed at Marcus, surprising myself with such a sudden temper tantrum, and storming off his presence, livid and boiling with rage.

I was ballistic, and it was clearly just transfer of aggression, but I didn't care because I was just so angry. I writhed in Marcus hold, screaming to be let go of, but he threw me over his shoulder at one go, and started marching into the house, with me screaming and thrashing against him, and Mama Acha's voice trailing behind us.

One thing was sure for me - I could not stand Marcus Acha's friends.

💀

Well, guys, it wasn't supposed to end here, but I couldn't let this chapter go on, it was getting too short, so I cut it in half. So, basically, the continuation of the chapter should come soon, and I'm sorry, it will be a bit short 💔 (I mean, it's continuing this one, and I can't join the next chapter after that one to it, because that chapter is a whole bombshell on it's own. It has to be a single something, you grab)

Meanwhile, how was this chapter?? What emotions did you feel reading it?

And then, about Sean... Lol, I think I started liking him more? Idk, he's struggling to be my favorite character, lol, but when I think of Kelechi, I can't just do it 😩 I can't wait for y'all to fully dive into Kelechi's character, but unfortunately, it's not for this first book, lol.

Then, about Sean.... I know y'all want to know what the hell is going on in his head, and I can understand that 😂♥️ Unfortunately, the fun of this book is keeping the mystery of the characters secret, so we can't have their POVs or it will just ruin all the fun 💀 Sooooo, all I'll tell you sha is that Sean....

Well, Sean is angry. I can't tell you what exactly is in his head, just know that he is angry. He's SO angry, you can't even begin to imagine. If you listened closely to the conversation with he and his Mum, you may catch not only the part of the reason behind his numb behavior, but also, the reason why he is so possessive of everything he has and everyone around him. And sadly, Sean's possessiveness may honestly get the worst of him soon.

It's actually kind of sad though, how Sean is so scared of losing things and people around him to the extent that even though he is hurt by Acha straying away from him, he is still willing to have Acha around him - even when it is clear that he is hurt by Acha and his actions. He's still willing to act like he's okay and everything is all good, just to make sure his best friend doesn't keep straying away from him.

If you've noticed, Sean's anger with his friends doesn't last long. He keeps coming back to them over and over and over again.

Mehn, the guy is sha a ticking time bomb.

I can't wait to reveal to you guys during the course of this story the things surrounding his toxic traits and the reasons he's the way he is. Hopefully, y'all will be patient enough to not hate him too much by the end of book one. Believe me, he's not a bad person. He's not necessarily a good person either..... He's just, well, Sean Ayomide.

See you guys later!♥️♥️♥️❤️