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Now, go ahead and enjoy your read!🍷

~DABI~

One.

Two.

Three.

Lately, it had become a habit. Counting the order of events of my life in my head, consecutively rehearsing them one by the other, in order to constantly remind myself of what was actually going on.

For some reason, I had to remind myself of everything happening in my life. Daily. By the moment. At every chance that I got. I mean, who could have blamed me? What else could a girl do when it seemed like everyday, their life was threading on a thin line between reality and well, um, some other thing?

As days rolled by, one, then the other, I saw myself finding it more difficult, by the very second, to even decipher what was real and what was not.

And, that, by far, was the scariest thing ever.

So, in order to feel sane again, I simply remind myself of my reality over and over.

Today seemed to be like the last two days already where that thin line was ever visible. I'd show you exactly what I mean by this soon. I can already feel the madness ahead; just hang on, guys. Never does it disappoint actually. You'll see

"Are you talking to someone?"

I blinked, nearly fell off my seat if I didn't hold onto myself on time. Quickly, I whipped my head to my side where Chika sat, staring at me with a confused frown on her pretty face.

"Eh?" I retorted confusion back to her.

"Did you say something?" She asked me again.

"No," I shook my head.

"Oh," She just quipped a smile, laughed it off. "I could have sworn I heard you talking."

That was it. We dismissed our mini conversation from there and let bygones be bygones.

It was Friday, today.

".... And, the last day of the first term of this Session!"

A chorus of applauses created disarray and disorderliness all around the entire school hall and soon enough, the morning assembly had turned into a full wreck of a market square.

It was almost scary. My set girls were screaming in delight. My set boys were hailing with their chairs in the air. Our juniors were competing with us for who could go off more. It was a whole disorganised mess in here and the prefects present were even too happy themselves to even be buzz kills and tame the excitement.

Chika beside me was clapping too and instinctively, my hands joined together in a round of applause contributing to the whole noise.

Everyone seemed excited today. Too excited. I had noticed it from when I walked into the hall late with Chika during the devotion, and everyone was waving at us. It was a very normal act. The Sisters, on a norm, had everyone being so nice to them and saying hi on school days, but something about their smiles was more toothy, and their eyes, brighter with some surreal form of excitement that I did not even understand.

I had also heard my name from a few lips here and there, but deliberately refused to indulge myself or pick out what they said about me.

Some of the girls in front whom I heard sniggering and throwing my name around amongst them, had turned back to say hi and I was wondering why they were so happy to see me. No one was that happy to see me, especially in Castron High.

I had only realised however that I had not returned back a hi or that quirky smile back to them when they turned back to face their front with embarrassment.

And don't get me started on the number of times I heard 'bonfire' and 'Aurora and Clyde' from the junior students that neighboured us and so far, Giwa Falade, the head girl, had a whole bag filled with phones that she had seized from students who were filming me and Chika.

It took me time to understand what the fuss was all about.

Granted, I had skipped school nearly the entire week, and as a result of the gra gra from the bonfire night, Castron High could not take a hint apparently.

Having that this week had been tough, the last thing on my mind was my doubled internet presence and attention.

As a matter of fact, I even forgot I got so famous. I legit forgot.

It was only when I walked in here to the added weird attention that it clicked after a few. I hadn't visited the Internet yet, but the girl beside me had been on Instagram a lot during the assembly, and at one glance or two, I saw my face all over her explore. I had mixed feelings about that.

Or, rather, I guess the idea of being famous started to turn from sour to more of 'neutral'.

Besides, I couldn't stop thinking about Marc.

I hadn't heard from him since the last time that we were in Nana's house and I didn't want to put him through any stress by asking him much questions, so I didn't reach out at all.

Neither did he. Unfortunately.

I only could imagine what he must have been through this week that had him so shut out from the world. It scared me to even think about it.

It was the last day of school, and it was so normal a practice, almost a ritual for everyone to be in school on the last day of the term. I guessed it had to do with the fact that we did not have to wear our uniforms and we had the freedom to go all out in casual wears.

Castron High and Vanity were like 5 and 6. How could they miss out an opportunity to show off?

For that reason, our school assembly looked like we were hosting the Met Gala.

My point was, having that everyone wanted to be in school today, I hoped Marc would too.

However, I had been stealing glances at where our set boys sat, neighbouring us, stalking the cool set ballers and the loud Art boys from his class.....

I didn't see him.

"Let's go, Dabz," Chika has tapped me softly and when I snapped out whatever zone I had been stuck in, I saw the girls around us standing up from their seats and with one quick survey at the hall and its sudden disorderliness, it became clear to me that the Assembly was over and everyone was now leaving.

It was only then that it had occurred to me that Marcus was not the only person whom did not come to the Assembly today.

"Where are the others?" I asked Chika.

I hadn't seen them. Soma and The twins. They weren't here either.

Chika looked confused. "Others?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

She looked even more confused. For a moment there, she kinda confused me too.

"The Sisters?" I specified.

"Oh," She immediately realised and instantly, a sigh of relief escaped my lips.

For some reason, I felt relieved. I mean, I could have sworn there had always been five of us.

"They aren't coming to School today," Chika answered.

Her answer was casual. Too casual that it made me suspicious.

She started walking, but I did not walk with her.

"Dabz?" She stopped when she was at the end of our row; I was about two to three feet away from her and she had paused to look at me, "Come na."

"Where are they?" I asked Chika.

"Soma and the Twins? They are fine, b." She said to me. Cocked her head to the side as she observed my behaviour. "What's the problem?"

"I haven't spoken to them since what happened, Chi." I told her.

"I am aware," She said to me, moved slightly as a classmate brushed past her and towards the hallway exit where we should have been heading if I hadn't stopped us, "And, can we go? Standing here is causing people discomfort, Dabz."

"You aren't letting me see Soma and the Twins," I said to Chika.

"What?" Her brows raised at me.

"You are doing that on purpose, aren't you?" I accused her.

"Why would I be stopping you from seeing your friends?" Chika asked me.

"I should be asking you." I retorted calmly. "Is something going on?"

"No," Chika said to me.

She looked like she was lying. I could have been able to tell.

But, it did not make any sense why she would lie about this to me. So, I didn't even know where to stand.

"Soma and The twins don't even respond to me when I text them," I said to Chika, "And, then, when I want to go and see them, you always talk me out of it. Then, you don't let me come with you when you go to see them, and every time I ask what the problem is, you always tell me-"

"-I have everything under control,"

Chika took the words right out of my mouth.

She always said that.

"I do, Dabeluchi," She said to me. Looked at me. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," I grudgingly answered.

"Then, have my word for it." She said to me.

"I want to talk to them," I insisted. "It's almost been a whole week, Chi."

"Fine," She gave in. "Remind me this evening."

I looked at her to see if I could pick out any sign of cap in her eyes. She seemed genuine enough.

"I will." I responded.

I assured her of that. I was going to remind her by evening as she so asked me to and nothing was going to stop that. I would finally get to see the Sisters and see the meaning behind all these unnecessary distance.

Because it did not make sense to me. The last time in Nana's house, when I talked to Chika via SMS, she had told me that 'they' were worried about me. I knew she meant the Sisters. So, if they were really that bothered about me, why was I being stopped from seeing them?

I couldn't shake off the feeling in me that something was going on behind my very back.

But, no problem, I was going to find out what was really going on this evening-

"Hi, Dabi! Hi, Chika!"

"You both look amazing! QUEEN energy!"

"Dabi, Dabi, oh my God! We saw your videos at the bonfire! You dance SO well!"

"And Aurora and Clyde?! GOALS! YOU AND ACHA ARE KILLING IT! SEE POWER COUPLE!"

"ACHA'S BABY!"

I wasn't even aware when I had walked into the hallway of vanity stricken, show off, noisy and rowdy classmates with Chika until people were all up in my face.

It was all too much and too fast to even react on time. Second by second, large eyes bulged at me in excitement, noses hit my forehead, feathers and glitter from cloths tickled me into sneezing and coughing, and mouth odour slapped me from left to right.

I didn't even know where to start or where to end.

Our classmates were topping the radar with their craziness today in everything and I was not sure if this was partly because it was the last day of school and a chance for them to show off their flamboyant and extravagant fashion statements, or if it was the fact that they felt the bonfire had added some extra repute to my name and for that, they wanted to talk to me.

Or both.

Whatever it was, I wished they could take a hint. I found myself wanting to leave this place all of a sudden.

The Hallway was a whole mess. If people were not coming our way and trying to 'force' at least ten seconds of a conversation I was not interested in having with them, they were at their social corners, here or there, tagged along with their little cliques and groups, or pairs, or social circles, throwing their praises my way and it was hard to even tell what was genuine and what was not.

But, I didn't like it. Whatever it was.

"Just walk with me, b." Chika took me by her hand and made me walk according to her pace, sliding past bodies that hovered all around us with each step we took.

And, by all means, I wanted Chika to take me out of here twice as fast as she was trying her best to. I wanted to somehow have everyone disintegrate.

I wanted a saviour right now. Someone, anyone that could do just that.

"..... OH, COME ON, CH FINALS! CAN WE ALL GIVE OUR STAR GIRL SOME BREATHING SPACE?"

That seemed to do the trick pretty fast.

Too fast, if I be honest.

"LIKE FOR REAL NA. WHY ARE WE EMBARRASING OURSELVES? SHIFT. SHIFT. SHIFT OO!"

Magic, I say. It was magic because gradually, yet definitely, the stuffiness reduced and so did the crowd. It cleared up enough for me to get a perfect clear view of the guys who were responsible for clearing everyone in the space of seconds.

Aaron and Casper.

Wow, I hadn't seen them in a while, and boy, they made quite an appearance.

"Oh, thank the Lord," I heard Chika say under her breath,

With identical grins on both their faces, the two buddies made their way towards us, and I mentally agreed with Chika. Never in my life would I have thought that I would be so happy to actually see those two boys.

With their arrival came the dissipating crowd and casually, throwing acknowledgements to everyone around like they were not simultaneously driving them all away, they threw back high fives into their multiple hands that posed to greet them, exchanging pleasantries to each and everyone around as they all practically made way for the both of them, Aaron and Casper, as they walked their way towards me and Chika.

Somehow, the both of them were able to keep the crowd away and basically, chase them all out even while shining their teeth with them.

How on earth they were able to even do that...

All through my stay here in Castron High, I just could not bring myself to wrap my head around the kind of the insane and ridiculous influence that Aaron and Casper had on our entire set.

"Well, you girls do know how to pull a crowd, don't you?" Aaron started by lightly teasing as he and his blonde haired friend stepped up to our fronts. "It must be so hard being fine like one million celebrities. Aphrodite has nothing on you, for sure!"

I saw it. So did Casper. Chika rather pretended as though she had turned blind. But, anyone could have seen Aaron's eyes linger a bit longer on my light skinned friend as he spoke.

"I mean, look at them," Casper came in talking conspiringly with Aaron like we both were not standing before them, "Come on, bro. Why wouldn't they pull a crowd storming into the hallway looking like this? Aphrodite whoooo?"

"Shift, biko," Chika laughed. She actually laughed at the boys, ignoring the shege out of the clear eye contact that Aaron was literally marking her down with and never wavering, "You guys can whine anyhow." She went ahead to accuse the boys of unnecessary flattery.

"Who's whining?" Aaron raised a teasing brow to Chika who broke character and I thought I was crazy for a moment when I saw her cheeks turn a shade of red in the heat of her laughter break.

Casper apparently lost it with the both of them.

"What's all these one, abeg." He attacked the both of them and instantly, there was an explosion of laughter breaking out of the both of them, Aaron and Chika, like a volcanic eruption.

"Can you not do this here in front of them?" An embarrassed Chika whispered as she hit Aaron playfully.

The taller hunk only smiled back flirtatiously at her, a teasing look in his equally playful eyes, "What am I doing, babe?"

"Abasi mi mbok." Casper face palmed in mock frustration, "Dabi, it's like we will leave this place for the both of them," He shocked me by pulling me directly into this and as much as that caught me off guard, I could not even help, but laugh softly at all of these.

Slowly, I guess, slowly, I was starting to warm up to these guys.

After what they had done for me, for us, that day that the entire drama with Kaniru and his guys occurred, how both Aaron and Casper had stood up for us all the way through it, I was starting to see them in a whole different light.

The idea of calling Aaron and Casper 'friends' suddenly did not sound so 'scary' to me anymore.

"Enough of all the baseless flattery guys, and beside, this one is one Dabz and her doubled fame. Don't even pull me into it," Chika mentioned as we all fell into step together, walking in a group.

I found it odd how the boys had not asked about the other Sisters yet.

"I feel you, Dabi," Aaron surprisingly added me into a conversation himself, "Celeb life tinz, na. Peasants like us with 500 likes max cannot relate."

I heard him groan as Chika hit his arm and I could feel the chemistry from the both of them. Odd and playful and ever so random and sweet.

"Says the guy who has literally shut down countless CH rumours with a single lined tweet," She accused Aaron, eyes him up and down playfully, "Fucking cap, bro."

We stepped around classmates who for some reason could not get their eyes off us.

"Na wa oo, allow my man to be humble," Casper came in on the defence as Aaron threw his head back to laugh, "We are humble men here. Put some respect on our name, Chi Mama!"

"Oh, shut the fuck up," Chika retorted in a heartbeat, "Humble, my ass! You are one to talk about humility, Casper Otobong Bassey. You narcissistic sonofa- "

"Aaron, hold your babe o." He quipped back before Chika even had a chance to finish her statement, and we were all a laughing, literal mess, "See how she dey talk to Cultist! You wan collect?"

These guys.... Weren't so bad.

Scrap that. They weren't bad at all.

"Hi!" Some random girl from Class B and her clique of fan girls, aesthetically dressed and adorned with jewellery, glitter, laces and fake eyelashes appeared in our fronts and my joy was short lived.

I was shocked at how fast my smile turned upside down at the new classmates who crawled their asses up to us.

"Hi, everyone!" Theresa, the one in the middle, seemingly their leader spoke for everyone else who blinked long scary lashes at all of us, "So, like, everyone in the Class GC has been, like, buzzing about the Christmas part and like, we knew that you guys are all admins, because like, you guys are always the party admins and all, so like, so we wanted to ask questions about it!"

God, go away.

Aaron and Casper may have been the nicest guys ever because they entertained their bullshit.

"Questions?" Casper spoke to them first, raised a brow to interrogate, "What kind of questions?"

"Can we, like, walk with you guys as we talk?" Theresa had pushed it further, stepping up amongst her friends to boldly ask us.

Like Casper felt or knew that I had a problem with that, and God in heaven knows that I couldn't come up with a sensible explanation as to why he would even know that, he glanced at me, then back to the girls.

"Walk with me," He insisted, segregated himself from the our group after briefing us with one glance of permission, "Let's go." He joined the girls and I hated that he gave them the satisfaction as they all hovered around him, too happy if I must say, basically flaunting him like a trophy as they walked with him and indulged him on talk I knew was baseless and meaningless.

I stared ahead at them, the girls who were too excited to have Casper Bassey in their midst, laughing too hard at probably nothing all the way, and for a moment, I felt so irritated at the fakeness that oozed off every pore of their damn skins.

Each step of the way, they made sure to flaunt the large fancy gold earrings that they all somehow had identically by flipping their long, expensive five figure costly hair extensions. Theresa, their leader, had her arm specifically around Casper, laughing the hardest to something that he was saying.

I shook my head at them.

I shook my head at all my classmates all around the Hallway.

Anyone who walked in could choke on this vanity.

Each and everyone of them, from every group, to every clique, down to every pair of boy and girl gave in energy into this. Everyone from the 'worthy' to the 'unworthy', from the girls from Class B who were known for their beauty and their flamboyant lifestyles, either hovering around Casper or flirting with some cool Sports guys, the ballers, who of course, only gave attention to girls who were as 'worthy' as they were.

Down to the mean girls from the other classes, majorly Class C, who either showed off their expensive new phones and cool 'fits, gossiped or told stories of privilege, while ignoring every guy who was not 'in their level', and giving once overs, snubbing the literal shit out of every 'unworthy' girl who dared to have the balls to even speak to them.

Nothing had changed. Nothing would probably ever change. I hated this.

".... So, we are planning to have this little meeting with the Christmas party planning committee next week, and-"

Aaron was speaking and I had reflexively cut him off from my listening when I saw someone, a classmate, walk into the Hallway at that exact moment.

It felt like a lightening had struck me at that instant as I watched her step into the hallway, slow and steady in her steps, head held high, and eyes lost in a distance, oblivious to all the charade and madness all about her, walking into the arena, dressed neatly, prim and proper.

Hassana Alfa, a light skinned girl from the Alpha female clique of the set was standing in front of Class A with her athletic, low-cut friend, Prissy and she was quick to pull Kelechi Uwa in, engaging her with so much excitement in a talk.

Looking at Kelechi made me recall completely the very last conversation that I had had with her the other day at Nana's house. Her last words;

"Maybe you should stop by at home and check up on your Mother and brother first."

Oh, fuck it, that was not a conversation. It was that sentence she had said to me before she walked away. That very one that jabbed into me like a broken piece of glass into skin.

"Dabz, we want to stop by at the School Restaurant. You want to come with?"

My eyes moved from Kelechi at the distance and traced back to Chika who had just spoken to me.

I noticed that Aaron now had his arm around her waist and cuddling slightly up to him, she smiled at me and together with him, waited for my answer.

"Go." I said to them. My voice plain and straight. More dead than I had intended for it to be and they must have noticed the change in my tone.

The fact that I stared ahead of them, sending a thorough death glare, to Kelechi who was rounding up her conversation with an excited Hassana did not do much to help matters.

Aaron actually stopped to look back and see what I was looking at.

"Dabz... Are you okay?" Chika asked me instead, a look of confusion on her face.

"Yeah," I assured them. Returned eyes back to them. "Go," I forced a smile at the two love birds, "I will wait here for you. I want to talk to someone."

An answer from them, I did not even wait to get. After saying that, I quipped a brief smile at them and stepped around the both of them to walk away and ahead.

Heading towards Kelechi Uwa.

Now, you see, I had no idea where or how I managed to gather up the balls that I had gathered up, but I believed it was safe to say that Kelechi Uwa was bringing out versions of myself that I had no idea even existed.

She was just walking away from the girls of the Alpha female clique and I let my legs carry my body towards her direction, walking towards her as she took slow steps of her own, and I did not stop until I was right there in front of her.

The bitch acted like she did not even notice that someone had stepped up in front of her and I watched her make a move to corner around me, as though I was an obstruction, and walk away.

"Hello." I greeted as I cornered her a second time. My voice, more pitchy than I had actually intended it to be.

She gave a dramatic pause, as though, then, she was just noticing me and I fought the urge to barf at how much she feigned innocence.

Imagine. Sis had looked me directly in the eyes when she saw me in front of her, stepped around me like I was an insect, only to act and feign innocence seconds after, pretending like she was acting delighted to see me.

Like she didn't just snub me.

"Well, hello, Dabeluchi. Didn't quite see you back there-"

"What did you mean by what you said the other day?" I cut her off work with straight forwardness.

If Kelechi was fazed by my question, she did not act fazed one bit.

With eyes straight at me, gentle smile hinting on her puckered lips, and the calmest expression on her face, she stared right back at me without a single bother.

"I don't seem to recall, Dabeluchi. Mind if you help me?"

Her response was calm and easy. Completely.

"My Mum. My brother. Home?" I specified, looked at her intently to see through her clueless behaviour that was just one awful bunch of crap.

"I don't quite follow, Dabeluchi." She answered me.

Daintily, properly, and unprovoked.

Damn it; she was good.

Kelechi was so good at acting oblivious that I was starting to feel crazy.

But, no...

I know what I heard her say that day.

"At Nana's house," I continued. It almost seemed to me like a forced attempt to force myself into assurance that I was not the crazy one here and I did remember the details clearly, just the way it had happened. "I didn't like what you said, Kelechi."

I saw a glint in her eyes, every so subtle, but I couldn't pin down it's purpose. Slightly, her head cocked to the side as she observed me more.

"Yeah?" She spoke, her voice soft and alluring like honey on gold, her eyes twinkled like stars, "Why's that?"

I ignored how undisturbed she seemed about this and stood my ground.

"I just didn't like it," I made it clear to her. Scolded her for all it was worth. "Next time, just stay out of my fucking life because it's none of your fucking business. Do you understand that ?"

"Crystal," She quipped me up with a warm and gentle smile. "I apologize."

I stood there staring at her.

Confused.

She didn't even fight back.

Do I just keep blasting her?

Because standing here attacking someone who was no even fighting back with me made me feel awfully stupid. Like the biggest clown alive.

"Well, good!" I barked at her.

She smiled at me, contrary to my heated glare and growl at her, her eyes warm and genuine as she nodded at me calmly.

"May I leave?" She asked me politely.

I stared at her and wanted to find another reason to bite her head off.

But when I didn't, I just felt like I had no purpose in life and I rolled my eyes and stepped away from her front.

"Go, abeg." I muttered grudgingly.

"See you some other time, Dabeluchi. Do have a blessed day." She bade her farewell to me, as she attempted to walk away.

I watched her for three seconds as she walked away, only to ask her back.

"So, wait, how did you even know?"

That question was long overdue.

How the fuck did Kelechi even know?

"How did you know about my family, Kelechi Uwa?" I asked again.

I was practically speaking to her back now. She had paused, but I got no response. Nothing other than the back of that large afro on her head, white turtleneck and Jean skirt that she was wearing.

Carefully, she turned back around to face me.

"You said something?" She asked me with a perfect arch of her brows.

"How did you know about my family?" I asked her again. "Are you stalking me now? Is that it? How much more do you know about me and what do you plan to do with the information? What's your big plan, Kelechi?"

"I don't understand the basis of your accusation, Dabeluchi."

I fought the urge to smile so hard

Why? Because for the first time since I started talking to her, I heard the slightest thing closest to emotion in her voice. I was slowly starting to get a reaction out of her. Perfect.

"What's your big plan? Tell me," I pushed even more, "What other terrible plans do you have for me asides stealing my boyfriend, Kelechi?"

I was hitting a spot. I knew I was. I could see it with every bit of her body language. Every subtle twitch of her eyelids that hinted stress. Every sharp pout of her lips that hinted anger. Every shift in the emotions on her face that made it clear to me that I was getting a reaction out of her.

"There must be a misunderstanding," Kelechi said to me.

And, there it was again.

That sudden relaxation in her entire demeanour.

"I really don't understand why you're accusing me of these things. I assure you, I have nothing against you." She said to me.

I hated how easy she feigned her innocence. I could see right beyond all those charade. I could see right through all that act.

So, I told her exactly what she didn't want to hear.

"You're lying."

Just for her to know that I wasn't buying it. It wasn't working on me.

"I don't lie." Came her very calm response.

"Well, you are, right now." I accused.

"I don't seem to understand it," Kelechi spoke, her voice having the slightest edge of frustration. Good. "What exactly did I say to you that makes you come up with all these conclusions about me? The way I see it, you're trying your hardest to believe that all is well and good with your family, so since, I got your out of your comfort zone, you are now projecting all your anger on me."

I felt the cells in my brain twist and contort.

"I am not your enemy, Dabeluchi." She said to me.

But, she-

"You are projecting your anger on the wrong person," She looked me in the eyes, made sure to keep steady eye contact with me as she spoke, her voice hypnotic, like she was casting a spell on confusion on me, "Just because I opened your eyes to the possible reality of your family, which you dread, does not make me the bad guy. I was only trying to help you."

I stared at Kelechi.

She stared back at me.

I stared more.

She didn't break her own stare.

And abruptly....

I broke into hysterical laughter.

I laughed. I was just laughing. I was laughing and laughing and laughing and laughing to all my heart's fucking content.

I felt the weirdest sounds of laughter leave me, escaping from me without control, and I was doubled over, hand to the sides, gripping my ribs, laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing so hard that I knew the entire hallway was staring at me but that was the least of my concern.

One of us was mad.

On God, one of us was mad.

And clearly, it wasn't me.

"You almost got me there though," I said to Kelechi, smile imprinted on my face as I stared at her now horror stricken face.

She was horrified. Of course she was. It must be frustrating for her, trying to confuse me, but failing adamantly at it.

"Listen," I said to her, mad with rage, but somehow, laughing and choking back on my own words. I stepped up to her, and she stepped back. "You're mad."

I started with accusing her.

"You hear me, abi?" I looked at her horrified eyes, "You're mad."

"Dabeluchi, are you okay?-"

"You're mad if you think you can take advantage of my state and mess with my head, but sorry to burst your bubble, but it won't work." I told her.

"Excuse me?" She stepped back again when I came upfront.

"I didn't start seeing you as a villain because of what you said to me that day. I started suspecting something was fucking off about you from the very first day that I saw you being so touchy with my boyfriend, so you trying to confuse me and make me think I started seeing you as the bad guy from the point you talked about my family says a lot about the false reality that you're trying to put into my head.-"

Kelechi looked mortified.

"-You're trying to confuse me, Kelechi, and it's not working. I see what you're doing, b. You want to crack me and fold me, until I have nothing left, and then, you strike."

"My goodness." She was taken aback.

"And you keep acting like you are completely oblivious to everything you do. Being clingy with my boyfriend. Bringing up personal shit to my face to shut me down. Come on, I know you're not that oblivious. You know what you're doing. No one is that stupid to be so oblivious. Especially not an A-Class scholar like you, Uwa. You know EXACTLY what you are doing!-"

Kelechi lost it.

"I won't stand here and take this BULLSHIT!" She screamed at me.

Kelechi, cursing, caused an entire uproar in the hallway.

An epic one.

Voices of shock and disbelief, amusement too, filled the entire place.

My mind was too clouded with giving her back just as much energy than even paying mind to the bloody mofo classmates who could not mind their stupid business.

"When are you going to stop running away from your problems and fixing innocent people as the villains in your story?-"

She stopped. Kelechi stopped immediately. Seeing the drama we were creating and the uproar it was causing in the entire hallway, she was fast enough to keep herself in check and quickly, she pulled herself together.

"I am a prefect," She said to me. "The Disciplinary Prefect. And I am not going to set a poor example for people by starting a childish fight with you in the middle of our School Hallway."

She cleared her throat. Stood up straight. Adjusted the badge that I had not noticed there, pinned to the left side of her squeaky clean white turtleneck top.

"Good day, Dabeluchi," Her voice is calm and easy again, "Of course, I am looking forward to talking this over with you when you are less agitated."

She looked around her to the crowd of forming classmates she was about to disappoint.

"I have nothing against you, Dabeluchi. Not before. Not now," She said calmly, "And I understand that things are not going too well for you right now. You are stressed and you are confused, Dabeluchi."

She said that again. Like she was casting a spell on me. Like she wanted me to believe that.

Was I really just confused?

"See you, Dabeluchi," She bade farewell a second time, turned around to leave again.

Mini seconds.

Mini seconds was all it took for me to see it.

It was ever so subtle, but it was there. That little lift at the corner of her lips that I had sworn was a smile. One ever so slight and tiny, but there. One that made me come to the thorough understanding that she knew exactly what she was doing.

She knew how to tackle me and confuse me for her own advantage.

And all that I thought about her was not even make-believe.

What she was really up to, I could not pin my hands on it. Why she was making me so frustrated and trying to turn my 'confusion' against me, I couldn't decipher. Why she would decide to do this much to me and make my life a miserable one, I just could not understand.

I was confused to her intensions and that confusion caused me immense stress. My mind was joggling possibilities one by one and trying to put two and two together, trying to understand what she could be up to, but nothing was solid enough to make sense. And the harder I tried to understand her, the more exhausted I mentally become.

It was easier to hate Kelechi than understand her.

Unfortunately, at this point, I was not even angry anymore.

Damn it, I was weak.

I was just weak.

I was so, so weak.

All the strength to fight her left me and I was instantly reduced to a weak, useless mess, watching her back as she took slow and easy steps away from me.

Out of my own will, my body broke immediately and tars started to pour out of my eyes without any form of control. I felt the urge to scream, run her up and whack her down with an elbow, rip my hair off, rip her hair off and stuff it into her mouth and force her to eat every bit of it.

My head felt hot and heavy and my nose was so blocked that no matter how much I sniffed, I couldn't even breathe. I was suffocating, physically and mentally, and my eyes brimmed with tears that were hotter than acid, burned my skin as they dropped down like a damn river.

How could someone be so weak, yet so outraged? How could someone be so paralyzed, yet so self destructive? And why couldn't I stop crying? Just... Why?

I felt so powerless. So weak. Imagine knowing something to be true so bad, but not having any way to prove it. Somehow, Kelechi managed to do her thing, so subtly and perfectly that fighting back made me look like I was the bad guy?

"Why do you hate me so much?!"

I didn't even know how it happened but before I knew it, I had burst forth into a full blown mental breakdown in front of her. In front of all my drama-needy classmates that I could not bring myself to give a fuck about at the moment.

"Kelechi, why do you hate me?!" I screamed at her and I could not even recognise the huskiness and screechiness that was my own voice, "W-What did I e-ever do to y-you?! Why are you doing this to me? What did I ever do to you, Kelechi?"

Out of nowhere, I saw her friend, one of the boys, Chido Ihenna emerge from the little group of nosy ass classmates that found my misery amusing, and he had stepped up with a look of concern in his face, walked up to Kelechi who exchanged looks of confusion between him and me, communicating to him that she was just as confused as he was.

I felt even more frustrated.

"Is everything okay?" He had looked first to Kelechi like she was priority, before tracing his look to me and doe eyes met mine.

Chido stared me down from head to toe like he was examining me. Carefully. Right off the bat, I could see the guy believed that I was not okay mentally.

That frustrated me.

He said nothing to me, but his eyes spoke a thousand words. His look transitioned subtly from thorough examination to something akin to concern. He stared at me that way for a little while longer and the more seconds that passed, the more stupid I felt.

The guy looked like he was genuinely concerned about me.... Like he legit thought I was crazy.

That was it. Every soul in this Hallway right now saw me as nothing more than 'crazy'.

"Let's go," He quietly spoke to Kelechi who I could see was slipping an arm around his biceps, tugging onto it like a sloth to a piece of branch. Like a child to a Mum.

Chido, to me, seemed to genuinely care about Kelechi. In a way that did not look even platinic to me. But, Kelechi did not have the same sentiments in her eyes when she looked at him. Yet, she had her arm clung to him, just the same way she used to cling onto my boyfriend.

What on earth was she up to? What was on this girl's mouth?

It almost looked like Kelechi was acting smart. Like she deliberately wanted to make a public claim in front of me, majorly for the eyes of everyone, just so that if somehow, I publicly accused her of trying to take Marc away from me, I'd sound delusional.

I'd look more crazy.

She was so calculated. So smart. Knew just the perfect way to shut me down and win every goddamn time. This time, it broke me more than it angered me.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked her . I couldn't define what she was doing, but I knew she was doing something. I knew she was deliberately trying to have the upper hand. Look like th sane one while I looked like the crazy one. Why? I didn't know. Was it to fool me until she was ready to bite? Or was it to reaffirm her stance with everyone as the 'confused, innocent person who had no idea of all the allegations made against her'?

She said nothing. Her and Chido just stood there staring at me.

"Why are you trying to make me look like the bad guy in my own story?" I asked her with tears dripping down my eyes, my voice, shaking, trembling with frustration.

She had won. Kelechi had won. As always.

"Did I do something to you? Should we talk?" I asked her, my voice sounding just as desperate and pathetic as I was. Pathetic Dabeluchi. "Is there anything I can do to just get you off my case?" I was practically begging her now. "Just leave me alone. Please."

I feared some impending doom. I knew she was up to something. I knew all these little torture she gave me here and there was just preparing me for something epic.

What I didn't understand was why she wanted to make me so miserable?

The noise in the Hallway was doubling its intensity and for the first time in my life, I was not even affected by classmates over crowding me.

I had other problems.

Bigger problems.

Awkwardly, still feigning that innocence around her, Kelechi tugged on Chido's arms, a signal that she was ready to leave now, and together, the two of them quietly walked out on me.

I burst into tears. Full blown ugly crying that I had been withholding, and the last thing on my mind was the camera flashes from capturing classmates all around me. However the found this, I couldn't have been sure. But all around me, I heard bits and pieces of what seemed like sympathy. The thought of having people understand my predicament made me feel relieved, but if I was being honest, it wasn't like anyone here who showed sentiments for me really understood my plight. The probably just wanted to side me because they found me of some importance now.

That fact that I had no true person on my side killed me even more.

I just wanted to sit down on the floor and cry.

"Hey, what's happening?" I was on the verge of carrying it ahead when strong, familiar hands gripped onto my shoulders, effectively stopping me from sliding to the ground. "Aurora?"

Relief was an understatement. What I felt at that moment, relief did not even cut it.

"Where have you been?" I asked through my tears, looked up at the crowd around us who were hooting with excitement, feeding into another cringe drama session from us and he quickly wrapped up his stare on the and turned to me to ask, "Can we leave this place?"

I nodded so hard that a headache started. "Yes, please. I can't even stand the-"

Halfway through my speech, I noticed him get distracted as he whipped his head to the direction where Kelechi and Chido were disappearing into, and I felt my blood turn cold when the bitch, like she had eyes at the back of her head, she turned back to look Marc square in the eyes.

There was a lost look in her eyes. A dead look. Not angry dead. Just dead. Like there was no signal of life in those orbs, but Marc must have kept eye contact with her for an eternity.

That was what it fucking felt like.

"Fucking burn in hell." I cursed at him, tore my body away from him and stormed out in a bloody fit of rage, and in seconds, I felt quick paced footsteps coming after me from behind.

I walked as fast as I could.

So did he, behind me.

I walked faster.

He started jogging.

And when I heard his footsteps clear enough, and felt his shadow's presence getting closer, I lost my mind.

Damn it, I ran.

I started running away from Marcus Acha.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, feeling a rush of cold wind whoosh through me as I practically leaped and jumped with each big step. I was running away from him.

And Omoh, he started chasing me.

It didn't even take long. I swear it, the moment he started running, it seemed he only took two seconds and he was wrapping his arms around me in a swift catch, lifting my body off the floor like I weighed 2kg, and running ahead with me, heading towards Class C and I started screaming for kidnap.

Marc didn't even care and in his arms, he took us to a destination that I did not even know.

It was until I found myself in the completely empty familiar four red and white walls of Class D that he had dropped me off him, steadied me on my feet on the ground and like a flash, headed to bolt the door from intruders.

"Jesus." Someone exclaimed when Marc aggressively shut all the window louvres right in their face, a harsh deserved action that kept all the stalking classmates away.

Instantly, he turned to look at me, his brows furrowed in confusion and what I feared was annoyance. "What the hell?" He said to me, hand gestured a peeved signal that I read as 'Are you okay?' and I fought the urge to say something I would regret to him.

"Why did you lock the door?" I fired at him instead. "Open it."

"I literally just drove all the way from my house, came to School looking like shit because you were all over the Class GC and you're asking me to burn in Hell, Aurora?" Marc looked at me as he spoke, a hint of appalment in his voice.

Only then had I noticed.

Marcus Acha was always known to always give our classmates a run for their money when it came to pulling up to events with the best 'fits, but as I looked like him, he did not even look like he put in the slightest effort with what he wore at that moment.

My boyfriend came to School wearing a dark hoodie and pyjama trousers.

If I wasn't so angry, I would have laughed at him. Granted, he didn't need much to look stunning, but goodness me, he did look like a clown right now.

And my nigga topped it all off with that dark socks he wore with those scrubs that matched his pyjama trousers, and through my little stay in his house, I had recognized those scrubs because they were always arranged neatly by his bed.

That made me understand how much of an emergency it was to him for him to have actually come here.

"Open the door. I want to leave." I said to him.

It was a warning.

"Guy, we die in this classroom, Aurora." Marc made it clear to me.

I said nothing. Just glared at him.

Marc stood there, folded his arms and looked right back at him, guarding the door he had bolted as he made it clear to me that he was not backing down one bit.

"Just be standing there with pyjama trousers." I jabbed him, my petty side feeling the urge to grudgingly find something to attack him with.

"My choice of clothing is the least bit of concern right now," He said to me. "What's all these, Aurora? What's going on? Why were you so agitated back there?"

"Nothing." I grumbled. Stubbornly folded my arms.

"It's gotta be something," He calmly countered, "And the sooner we talk about it, the better."

"Nothing fucking happened." I said to him.

"Why do you always feel the need to hide things from me?" He asked me.

That question caught me off guard.

It attacked me actually, but I kept my composure.

"There is nothing to talk about, Marcus Acha." I said to him.

"Aurora.-"

"You can call me Dabeluchi." I quietly retorted. Gestured to the door in one quick motion, lips puckered in arrogance and anger, "And, you can go after Kelechi now. Don't deceive the both of us. She is the real reason you came here after all."

I saw Marcus actually shut down.

I mean, it's not possible for human beings to shut down that way, like they pulled a plug right out of them, but that was what it looked like watching him. It was like they slapped the batteries out of him. Shoulders dropped. So did his spirit apparently.

I felt bad. Doing this. I questioned what I was really doing in a space of seconds. Seeing him feel bad made me feel bad. Why did I even say that?

"Excuse me?" Marc said quietly.

So quietly. There was an undertone to his voice that made me uncomfortable. I didn't like it. Not one bit. He sounded so offended. I became agitated and frustrated. Angry too. But who was I angry at? Kelechi? Or my needy stupid self that was pushing him away with my own hands?

"I didn't mean that," I started by clearing it up.

I didn't want this. I didn't want this happening. I didn't want us fighting. Not because of Kelechi. I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't.

"I didn't mean it," I repeated because he just kept staring at me like he was hard of hearing. "I am going through a lot right now and I don't even understand what I am doing. I don't want us to fight. Let's just dead this, please."

Honestly, I was ready to let it all go. Every single thing. The last thing I wanted to do was fight with Marc because of Kelechi. Neither me and Marc were in headspaces to have a fight. He had a lot going on and so did I. We did not need a fight right now.

However, Marc's silence did nothing much more to flip me off more than I was already getting.

"Can we just- CAN YOU FUCKING SAY SOMETHING!" My own outburst was a shock to me, and I was mortified at how fast I went from trying to talk things out to screaming like a maniac.

It surprised him too apparently. I wasn't sure if it was in my head or not, but I think I saw his mouth moving, but since I could not make sense out of his words or decode them into understanding - granted that I was spiralling out of control- my body and mind spoke at length and will, blowing up everything that I had been keeping in for so long.

"Why are you looking at me like everyone else?! Like I am crazy or something?! You know it's not all in my head! I see how she clings onto you every chance she gets, but somehow you pretend like you don't notice shit and now you're standing here staring at me as if I said something wrong! As if I am being delusional! As if I am making shit up or being extra! Why THE FUCK is everyone suddenly trying to antagonize me?! Even you?!"

I wasn't even having it. Not one bit.

"Kelechi doesn't like me! She doesn't. And she knows what she is doing to gather people to her side, and YOU ARE FALLING FOR HER TRAP! The girl is so fucking clingy and needy, and NEVER gets her hands off you, but YOU don't seem to have a single problem with that!

So, why are you here pretending like you came here because you gave a shit about me?! Why are you still deceiving the both of us! Go after the real person you came for! Go after Kelechi! Fuck off with her! Marry her if you like and go make gorgeous 'prim and fucking proper' babies that look like her for all I care! Because if you expect me to stay here and buy that bullshit that you came here because 'you care about me', then you must be out of your goddamn mind!"

I was breathing so hard by the time I was done and contrary to what I had thought, I did not feel better. Not even in the slightest. If anything, I felt even worse. More awful, even.

And I wasn't sure why. Whether it was because all the adrenaline had left me with the realization that maybe I should have put my words better or the fact that he just stood there, stared at me like I was a completely different person.

There was a thin line between shock and a torn look of lack of recognition in his eyes. He really looked at me like I was a totally different person.

It broke me. Shattered me.

God knows, I just wanted to leave this place, go somewhere else and cry.

"Please, can you move from the door?" I said to him. Tried my hardest to hide every bit of shakiness in my voice, but it betrayed me.

At least Marc hated seeing me cry. He would stay back. He would hold me and tell me that everything was alright. Then, things would get back to how they were. Kelechi wouldn't win.

However, he did something entirely different from what I had expected.

Marcus quietly turned to the door and without a single word, he unbolted it.

"What are you doing?" I asked his back.

He had turned back to me, quipped me with a smile that I could see right through as wistful and painful, and he took a few more steps to the louvres, opened them too, only to have some stupid classmates that had been eavesdropping all the while, run away like little cockroaches.

"Marcus, what are you doing?" I asked him again, fear lingering in my tone.

I half expected him to walk out on me now.

But...

He didn't.

Much to my surprise, he walked towards me.

Then, past me.

He was now walking behind me.

Instinctively, curiously, and god, scared and nervous as fuck, literally on the verge of tears, I looked behind me to watch him and saw him walking towards the back row.

Again, I asked him.

"Marcus, what are you doing?"

He pulled out a chair, sat on it, and finally, answered me, "The door," He gestured to it with a hand, "It's open now."

"And?" I asked him.

He looked away from me and eyes traced their way to the desk he sat on, and only then did I see the muscles in the sides of his cheek clench. That made me understand that he was not happy.

We were fighting. God, we were fucking fighting. Exactly what I wanted to avoid. It was happening.

"You said you wanted to leave," He said to me. He didn't even look at me as he talked.

"So, you want me to leave." I wanted to clarify.

He just sat there and stared at the desk so coldly.

It was so painful to watch him like this. To watch us like this. I felt needles pinning my heart. It was beyond unbearable.

I actually started crying there and then.

"Fine." I forced firmness into my voice.

With that, I walked out of the classroom and never looked back.

And, I spent the entire day in the Girls bathroom bawling out my eyes in tears.

I felt so much frustration for Dabi writing this chapter, but guy, I wish there was a way to tell her to slow down a little!😭 What are you guys thoughts on the whole thing?

What's your opinion or view on the fight Dacha just had??

What do you have to say about Dabi's thoughts of Kelechi?

What about the way Kelechi handled her confrontation???

Tell me EVERYTHING!!!

SEE YOU FOR NOW!!😌🍷