DO NOT SKIP THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

DO NOT SKIP THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

DO NOT SKIP THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

DO NOT SKIP THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

DO NOT SKIP THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

DO NOT SKIP THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

DO NOT SKIP THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

DO NOT SKIP THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

Thank you!❤️

~DABI~

From what I heard, the set was organizing a Christmas Party in about a week, and the venue was rumoured to be in Marcus Acha's house.

I wouldn't lie. The thought of having to go back again to Marc's house was tempting. Very, very, incredibly, madly, indescribably, crazily tempting.

But, you know what was more dominant and stronger than my urge to be in Marc's house? Well, it was the dread of being in the midst of my classmates.

With all due respect, there was no competition.

I simply could not fathom the idea of being at this party. As much as it had been hyped right from time and anticipated with all energy and vigour, I could NOT be in the space of my classmates, right now. Especially as a time as sensitive time such as this, with all of them foaming in the mouth all in my name, making my family matter linger on at the tops of their tongues, throwing pitch forks in the air and knives to my throat. I wouldn't even dare.

So, I long made up my mind that that Christmas Party was not going to include Dabeluchi Orji.

And, there was absolutely nothing that would make me change my mind; No shit. I kid no one not when I say that I would rather chop grass.

"Dabz?" Chika waltzed into the room, right in the middle of my note to self, and I turned around to meet the light skinned girl face to face.

The first thing that I did was take in the entirety of her appearance: Effortless, yet eye catchy and stunning.

The second thing I did was wonder how she got all dressed up so fast.

I mean, the last I had seen of Chika, she was in still in her grey sports bra and joggers, and I could have sworn that it felt like it was just a few seconds since she had mentioned something about stepping out of the room to have lunch before we - in her words- 'bounced out of the premises'.

Me, I didn't want to 'bounce'.

And, as a matter of fact, I was happy to hear her leave me to a break, because, thanks to Aunty TemTem, Chika took her time with food and didn't rush, even if she wanted to, and I felt it bought me some time to ponder within myself if I was really feeling up to joining the Sisters today, on this their little 'outing'.

However, few seconds after Chika left the room, she was back.

And, dressed too.

I stared at the light skinned pretty girl in front of me who was as ready as she could be, and no matter how hard I tried, I could not get my eyes off what she was wearing because that shit literally slapped me in the face.

Chika Chioma went all out. One thing about the girl was that her sense of fashion was incredibly spontaneous, yet so predictable in one way I could not explain.

She had a collection of crop hoodies, loose joggers, fancy bralets, baggy camouflage trousers, baggier shorts, most of them khaki branded, and all those sorts of things. She was so random, yet so defined with her style of clothing, and well, what she wore in front of me, gave off that same effect.

Now, she wore this fancy, white crop shirt. One I had never seen before. Majorly white in colour, but possessing a rich blue that caught the eyes at first glance, lining the edges of the hands and neck of her crop shirt, and with the same shade of blue, sprawling across the middle of the crop shirt three letter words that I read out loud as, "Raw."

My mind went to WWE. I genuinely wondered it that was the concept for all this.

But, man, it was the shorts for me.

Chika's style; baggy, of course.

Considering it was that loose, and in turn, long enough to fall well below her knees, it looked good enough. The same shade of blue that lined the edges of the hands and neck of her crop shirt dominated, but this time, with lines of white, red, and blue lining the edges of it, and a white tightening string, dropping down from the very top of the shorts.

Chika looked great. No doubt. The entire look just slapped me in the face; it took me off guard, for some reason.

And considering that the words on her shorts spelt a bold, no-nonsense 'Do Not Disturb', I couldn't even figure out if it was a good slap or not.

Chi Mama😂😌🔥

Apparently so, as I had earlier said, The Christmas Party was around the corner, and the way I have seen it, Aaron and Casper seemed to think that the opinions of the Igbo Sisters were important enough for pending and anticipated parties, so never for once have they not failed to invite them into the Set's party planning Committee.

It was a big deal, apparently.

Way back, before Casper Bassey even became the official Social Prefect of Castron High, he practically carried the social life of the set in the palm of his hands, alongside with his overactive best friend, Aaron.

Casper was so 'notorious' for planning the biggest get-togethers, parties, school dances, mini prom in Junior School, and practically everything that made the set to be fun and interesting, and for this reason, in our SS2, when it was time for us to be given prefectship posts, the entire set came in one supportive accord and lifted Casper as the only successor for Social Prefect. No one contested with him.

And, I mean, it would have been the dumbest idea to even try to compete with him for the post, because the entire set and the school at large was screaming his name at the top of their lungs, showing it off in banners, posters, flyers, carving it into lockers, chairs, walls, vandalizing every school property all in the name of a person who was contesting alone. Anyone who decided to compete with Casper for that post was basically a joke.

The party planning committee things started some time in Junior School, and I believed that Aaron and Casper figured they needed more hands to run these things, so therefore, they called out 'men of good repute' to assist. It was a big deal because practically every classmate was willing to do anything to be a part of this little cut out group. Just because it seemed fancy to be hanging around people like that in the set, who had this 'cool reputation'.

You can imagine.

Aaron and Casper were genuinely trying to build a group of creative minds like them to make activities in the set something to look forward to, and foolish classmates thought they were trying to create some segregated group of 'worthy' classmates.

I genuinely hated the fact that they picked the Igbo Sisters to join the Committee.

Because that only meant that every time, like today, that Aaron and Casper called for an impromptu hang out, I was stuck in two awful dilemmas: Looking for a way to be the 'buzz kill' and tell the Igbo Sisters that I cannot come along with them or Suck it all up, and go there, against every will I had.

"So?" Chika raised a brow at me, as she awaited an answer. "It's a dangerous five minutes to 4pm, and we don't have much time left, Dabz."

Was I coming with them or Was I not?

Usually, Chika did not have to ask me things like this. She knew right off what I wanted, and according to her mood, she either lets me stay back or makes me come with.

In some way, I guess I knew why she insisted on asking.

It had been a few days since that anonymous blog had come out to talk about my family and she knew that I had deliberately stayed away from my phone since then.

Chika could not force me to open my phone to see what the public had to say about me, and she was well aware that I had not spoken to anyone over the phone, Marc included, since that day.

Marc was the one whose house this entire Party was going to be in, and it was for certainty that he would be there for the little hang out. That was a tempting offer to me. Even Chika knew. But, of course, she would not force me to do anything I was adamant on not doing.

"Are you coming?" She asked me.

I weighed my options down.

Having that I was going to definitely miss that Christmas Party, this little hang out with few classmates was the only chance that I had to see Marcus Acha, either till Second Term, or maybe -if he was still holding what happened in that class against me- I'd say forever.

So, which was worse? Having to never see Marc again in my life or being dragged by the throat by my insensitive, downfall craving classmates?

Easily, I had my answer.

"I'm coming." I told Chika.

A bright smile spread across her face.

It was contagious enough for me and in seconds, my lips were also stretching into a smile as I walked out of the room with her, relief and anxiety having a weird, contradictory mix inside of me.

Well, I was smiling until I walked into the corridor that led to the outside of the house only to jam with the bland, unimpressed faces of the Onuoha Twins.

"Chi Ma, no way you are letting Dabeluchi come for the Hang Out dressed like that," Ebere was the first one to say her mind, gum chewing paused in her mouth as she looked me down from head to toe in one quick, unimpressed glance.

"No fucking way," Her seconding twin cued as she stepped up, a perfect, sharp edged brow of hers arched in thorough distaste.

Reflexively, I looked down on what I was wearing and wondered it it was that bad.

"Dabeluchi looks great," Chika came in on my defence calmly, "Leave her to wear what she wants to wear. It's not like she is dressing to impress anyone."

I mean, I thought I looked 'okay'. I had not particularly had the time to ponder on what I looked like, considering the only person I was going to see there was Marc, so I threw in a black shirt and some black joggers, and called it a day.

Dabi is such a mood, abeg!😂🤲

Obviously, that was not enough for a 'hang-out' which I was aware was a mini party.

And, considering that Chika came in looking all flashy, and the twins had even turned the notch up hotter with the matching fits, both of them wearing a faux-fur coat jacket over a bralet, and showing off their thongs under their joggers, my outfit could have been termed to be the odd one out after all.

I almost wondered too, why Chika let me out like this.

I mean, if her outfit had slapped me, then, the Twins' 'fits gave me an uppercut.

To top it all, the both of them had a colour theme, I suppose. Ebere came in pink all through: Her coat, her bralette, her acrylic nails, and even her visible thong; her human hair however was a dark shade of red. The same way, Ebube came in blue all through, and her hair was a darker shade of blue too.

Both girls had on matching white shoes that I bet, with my future, were newly ordered.

The Onuoha Twins oo.🤬🔥

Ebere in Pink, Ebube in Blue.{A/N: I know you're wondering wtf that emoji there is, but Omoh, these girls are so intimidating sha, and they look so badassssssss😂✨}

"Dabi looks good the way she is," Chika said to the Twins, as she pulled my hand and attempted to pull me along with her in a bid to walk past them. "So, let's stop making a big deal out of this."

"Uh-uh, Chi. Don't misunderstand us. No one is saying she looks bad," Ebere quickly made it clear, "Dabeluchi is a fine girl, norms, and whoever thinks otherwise can suck my dick."

"Seconded," Ebube said, "We are particular about her choice of clothing; that's all."

"Dabi is already struggling under the brunt of our fucked up and deranged insensitive classmates. Why put her in a position where it will only gives them more leverage to pick on her? Makes absolutely no sense to me." Ebere said bluntly.

At this point, Chika just stood there, with a hand on akimbo and the other holding me like I was her child, and with a blank stare, she watched the Onuoha Twins who only went on and on.

Unfortunately, I was seeing the sense in what the Twins were saying.

"Not everything hovers around what people think of you," Chika said to them.

"You can stand a multitude of haters, but we all know that Dabi is no Wonder fucking Woman in that aspect," Ebere countered easily, "Like, no shit, look at her and look at us."

That.... Stung.

What pained me was the amused undertone in Ebere's voice as she went on to continue talking, throwing jabs at me in a bid to defend her point to Chika.

"Dabeluchi is way too simple for the event. The fact that her outfit is not giving is clear as crystal. Wanna know the vibe I get from it? It's giving under privileged, Chi boo. Oh-I-am-so wretched and poor. Can't afford a freaking toothpick."

Ebube did not waste time coming in, and in seconds, she was rapping her equally blunt opinion.

"Like, Come the fuck on, we are going to a High School hang out, and not a Salvation for the Cross Army. That plain look is begging for the wrong sorts of attention. Keep up, biatch."

I felt attacked.

I felt so, so attacked.

Chika, rather, stood her ground. Firmly.

"I think we should keep our baseless opinions on Dabeluchi's looks to ourselves." She warned the two girls.

"You can shut us up, but hell, get ready to stick safety pins as stoppers to the mouths of the multitudes of Classmates that will come at Dabeluchi. Left to me, she should just stay back." Ebere's mouth was as sharp as a razor as she replied Chika.

Maybe, I should...?

"We are barely 15 Classmates meeting up, and none of these people are the kind of people that would want to do anything to make Dabi feel bad. Half of the members of the Planning Committee helped to save Dabi's face when the set was firing at her; they are nice people. You know that," Chika said to Ebere, eyes narrowed in question, "So, babe, what's the basis of all of this fear, really? Just be straight with me here."

Maybe it was just me, but that last question seemed to have the Twins speechless.

Like they suddenly were not so sure of how to answer it.

"Dabeluchi is just being casual, and there is nothing wrong with that. So, please, stop overthinking more than you should and let us leave this place and head on outside, before Soma realizes that we have been in here for too long and starts blasting her Car Horn like a fucking mad woman.-"

HONK! HONK! HOOOONKKKKKKK!

Too Late.

HONK! HONK! HOOOONKKKKKKK!

"Chim Church." Chika lamented an Igbo exclamation as she ran her hands through her hair in frustration of Soma's screaming and horning, and we were quickly scurrying out of the corridor and to the outside of the house.

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN THERE, SISTERS?!-"

Soma was blaring the Car Horn and screaming at all of us like it was do or die, and I rushed out with the Sisters, trying to shake off the unnecessary feeling of Anxiety that was rushing through my blood streams because of the loud, alarming horning.

"-MUST I COME OUT TO DRAG YOU ALL OUT?! SHOULD I COME?!!!! I WILL COME O AND I WILL COME WITH THUNDER AND LIGHTENING!"

"Oh, God," I heard one of the twins groan in frustration, but Soma's screaming and horning couldn't care less. At that point, I envisioned the tall girl, slapping her hands, legs, and possibly her head too, against the steering of her car in her attempt to hit the horn louder for us.

We were outside in no time, with the Twins shrieking at Soma to stop with the noise, and poor Chika nearly ripping her hair out for the fear that we would wake Aunty TemTem from her beauty sleep, and get ourselves into some serious, irrevocable trouble with extremely hard consequences to pay.

Soma, on the other hand, seemed to be on a cruise when we finally met her.

"I wouldn't have to scream and force people to be early to places if you just stick to the time schedule; it is as easy as ABCs, Sisters," She said to the fuming Sisters with the brightest and most unbothered smile on her chocolate brown face, waved a finger to Ebube's face and got her hand swatted away like it was a fly.

Soma only laughed at us and said.

"You are just very lucky that I did not bring the Bell."

And people would wonder why Junior Students found their Utility and Bell Prefect, Somadina Best, to be the most annoying living creature on the planet.

Somadina Best seemed to have only started with us. This girl was on a roll this evening.

"Oya, enter inside. Be fast! All of you! Osisor!" She made sure to smack each and everyone of us as she shoved us into the car like rag dolls, without regard to what anyone felt about it or how many collective voices groaned in absolute displeasure.

"Ow." I winced when her hands hit against my skin, and even if I was aware that she was playing around, it did not make her hand less painful.

Promptly, she shut the door once we all were inside, nearly deafening me with the loud, and may I add, unnecessary noise the bang made.

"See?" She flipped her long, long hair as she looked at all the scowling faces of the Sisters through the rear view mirror, a pretty glint in her big brown eyes as though she were in a land of magic and wonders, completely unbothered by the fact that we were annoyed by her.

"We leave by 3:30 as we planned. Now, all you need do is stick to your time schedules and I won't come at anyone with knives and chainsaws to your throats. Simple as Making donuts!" The potentially psycho-crazy tall girl flashed us the brightest grin before she started the car engine, without waste of time, jerking us all with the force she used to start driving.

The faces of the Sisters were like rumpled paper.

Tight scowls knitted it together, and with one look at them, I stifled a potential laugh.

However, Ebere was the one who started it.

Like she could not find it in her to hold herself, she broke character. The scowl on her face loosened and disappeared in an instant as a laugh exploded off her, carelessly bursting through her lips and shaking her body recklessly.

Chika joined in, falling onto the Window of the car as she choked in laughter into her hands, and Ebube was giggling under her breath too, all of them finding it hard to even keep up with being mad at Soma for what she literally just did.

Truthfully, as annoying as it all was, Soma was fucking crazy, and even if my shoulder still hurt from that painful slap she gave it, I could not hold myself from laughing too, because it was absolutely ridiculous. Everything that had happened was too ridiculous.

Every second with these girls reminded me that they were only losing more and more screws in the head, daily, and honestly, it felt to me like I had not been with the Sisters for ages.

Having them come back, and come back with full force was great.

It....... seemed too good to be true.

I smiled as they all laughed, grateful that I had them back. And, hopefully, fingers crossed, this little hang out would not be as bad as I feared with them all by my side. I prayed it so.

'High' by Adekunle Gold and Davido blasted in the Car as all the Sisters broke into a whole chat, and it was almost as though the little thing that was supposed to be an altercation between Chika and the Twins was suddenly non-existent, and every frustration that Soma caused them was long forgotten and buried under the rug.

So, I let myself sip into the goodness of the atmosphere and lose myself in the mesmerizing world of music that was Afro Pop. And as the sound moved within me, my feet tapped against the floor of the car and my head nodded in rhythm with the song.

I stayed this way. Peaceful, for the first time in a long time. Without any worries.

For this short time that I could feel it, I let it prevail.

*****

Soma surprised me when she had driven into Castron High, and I had so many questions and worries swarming through my mind.

First off, there was something about entering the environment of CH that made me uncomfortable. Uncomfortable was the word. My heart beat seemed to speed up every time and this mysterious panic and anxiety from absolutely nowhere sprung up. Castron High had scarred me so much that even thinking about its colour scheme combination, Red and White, made me feel uncomfortable too. Gave me goosebumps.

I couldn't pin it down why, but when I thought of Castron High, so many things shook me up.

But, the thing that terrorized me the most was Classmates.

Classmates and their gra gra: Their wide eyed, fake smiles, faker compliments, toxic and low-key competition amongst each other: Everyone trying to be the one to bring the neatest and fanciest school uniforms, shoes that are in vogue, fancy hair styles and cuts that would garner attention, devices and jewellery that would drop jaws, and basically, making it hard for anyone who would have rather preferred to come to School to just 'be'.

It was hard to 'be'. That would mean, doing things the way you want and without stress. You just couldn't do things the way you want when there was so much high standards to be met. 'Letting loose' and 'doing things your own way' would be setting yourself to be 'just there': Mediocre.

There was no grounds for 'Mediocrity' when everyone was doing things on a high class level. You would just feel so odd and out of place. Like you didn't belong. It was inevitable. And that was the worst feeling ever.

So, in order to avoid that feeling, against your own will, you'd find yourself subconsciously taking part in the competition too. Taking part in that strive to be seen above others.

Or, at least, doing the basic things that will make you to not be seen as 'the odd one' or 'below standard' or 'unworthy', or 'weird'. So, subconsciously, you fear that your skirt is stuck in between the cheeks of your bum: Social Suicide. Or that there is an awful ink stain on your white uniform shirt that you'd have to walk with through out the rest of the School day: Social Suicide. Or, that your hair is noticeably too old and dull, while other girls in class are doing new fancier hair styles that are in vogue: Social Suicide.

Therefore, you will want all your uniforms to look sparkly clean and without blemish. Your whites' white as clouds, and your Sangria red skirt or trousers, fitted, ironed and perfect. Your braids, new and pretty. Hair cuts, on point. Because even if you are not particularly competing, you still don't want to be trolled for showing up looking less than the 'standard'.

So, in the end, everyone is fighting. Whether they like it or not. Conforming to all the Invisible standards and the rules of Social Hierarchy. Trying to 'fit in'.

Imagine joining Social Groups just because you don't want to feel left out or 'unwanted', so you force yourself to smile as hard as you can when someone talks to you, laugh even when nothing is funny, chat with as much people as you can, agree with people whose opinions are respected, have your opinions heard and validated - just something to make you feel just as 'important' too; basically, doing anything that would set you apart from the disadvantaged end of the cut-throat segregation system and make you be seen as 'less' by everyone else.

So, when I thought of Castron High, I thought of Classmates and when I thought about Classmates, these kind of thoughts came with it. Absolute Horror. It was just suffocating at the end of the day.

But all these didn't matter right now, because as I thought about the entire thing, it did not stop Soma from further driving further into the school premises, and heading towards a route I so dreaded to be the Senior Classroom Blocks of the School.

"No one is in School asides the members of the Committee."

I only realized that Chika was holding my hands when she spoke to me.

I turned to her, and she had a warming look on her face, one that embraced me even without having her do so literally.

"Why?" I asked her, as though she would have had an answer. "Why exactly are we having the Hang out in School?"

She chuckled lightly, but Soma in the front row beat her to answer.

"We are not having the Hang Out in School, Lulu Bear!" She told me as she cornered the car towards the field space that was only a stone throw from the SS2 and SS3 Classroom blocks. "Aaron and Casper wanted a place for everyone to meet up, so we can all grab some food together, so they decided that we would invite everyone in the Committee to meet up in Class Block, before we move."

Soma was parking. She was parking the car in the field, and I looked towards the other cars that neighboured us, about five of them, and I swallowed thick saliva. Classmates were really here. Were already here. It wasn't even a damn joke.

"I thought School was closed," I didn't even know how I mustered the voice within me to say.

"Of course it is!" Soma answered me.

"And, yeah, by right, after School is closed, the authorities instruct all the security, staff, gate men to lock down the gates, and entry is forbidden," Chika only said what I already knew.

That only widened my confusion. Because, we shouldn't be here....

"But, you know, Casper is a play boy. Man's a hoe. Somehow, he was able to sweet talk all the female Staff into letting us come here to meet up," Ebere said.

"And what about the Male Staff?" I asked, as Soma turned off the Engine, "And, all the Security, the gate men? Aren't they all men?"

"Girl, the downfall of a man is a woman. Get the ladies on your sides and they work their charms on their men. Simple as clawing eyes out." Ebere answered.

"Either that, or Casper Bassey's charms aren't gender bound," Ebube came in.

I blinked, confused. "Huh?"

"Girl, we don't know how tf Casper did it. How t'hell are we supposed to know that? Just open the freaking door, let's go! It's stuffy in here!" Ebere suddenly nagged me, her voice whinny and snappy.

"Oh." I realised. Soma had already parked the car and turned off the Engine, and we were still in here. "Sorry." I reached out to open the car door, but Chika beat me to it, opened it for us, and we were trooping out one by one like grasshoppers.

WITH YOU by KHAID was blasting from somewhere, and I looked to the Large White and Red lined School Block that was the Ss3 Block, and knew head on that the Committee members were already there and turning the entire place into a Mad House.

You can imagine. We were not allowed to be in School at this time; it was forbidden by the Law of the School, and yet these people felt free enough to bring damn speakers in here and blast the entire SS3 block with KHAID?

Sigh. At least, looking at 'sense' from this angle, the Sisters had it.

"Yo! Soma bring my Loud Speaker before you lock the Car. It's in the Passengers Seat!"

Chika proved me absolutely.

Right before my eyes, Soma pulled out Chika's Bluetooth speaker, that loud thing that Chika wanted to use to blow my brains out every second I breathed in her house.

"But, there's already a speaker inside the Block na.-"

The Sisters were already pulling me into the Block along with them, drowning my complaints in their sudden excitement and vibrant energy.

My legs were walking at that point, and by themselves as we neared the Class Blocks, and WITH YOU got louder and louder by the second, as we neared the short steps of the front of the block. I was not even sure if I wanted to be here or not, but I didn't even know where I would rather have been. I was just simply existing with the Sisters.

Whatever willed me to look back, I had no idea. But, my head turned back on its own accord and with one look behind us, to the row of cool cars that parked there in the field space close to the Block, I spotted one car that slapped me with familiarity.

At one look, I was able to wrap up where I had seen that particular Honda Jeep, the pearly white colour it glared with rims of black on its edges, and even if it was far from me, merely looking at it made me warm up to the lovely strong scents of Cedar, and a pinch of Floral and Coco butter.

Only one person I knew smelt like that.

Only one person had that lovely scent on stuck everything that had to do with him. Even his Car.

That only meant he was here too.

Marc was here too.

That realization made me so

"THE IGBO SISTERS ARE HERE!"

I nearly had a heart attack the moment that we had walked into the block, only to have two classmates, Hassana Alfa- the set's beauty Queen and Giwa Falade's best friend, and Nova - the set's King of Charisma and Charm, standing at the end of the Hallway and announcing our presence like standard, paid fucking anchors.

I thought the announcement was horrifying enough.

What happened next scarred the life out of me.

Love in the Morning by Rema and Thutmose was playing at that moment and even if the song seemed to come from the other side of the Block, outside, it was loud enough to deafen me, but that wasn't the worst part. Like a Volcanic Eruption, I saw classmates, A BUNCH OF CLASSMATES, storming the fuck out of us.

By the time, it was already too late to complain. Rema and Thutmose were resounding madly round the echoing hallway and like some forbidden spirit had possessed everyone, they cornered all around us, screaming the Lyrics Rema's part of Love in the morning all in the name of vibes, and when Aaron and Casper had somehow sneaked themselves in to pull us into a hug and shove their Camera into our faces, I realized exactly what was happening.

"....So, finally, the last batch of people to show their beautiful faces on our Party Planning Committee Video Documentary! Look how stunning and fly they all pulled up! These girls no dey carry last! BOW DOWN to the IGBO SISTERS OR GEDDIFOKKKKKKKK!"

Aaron was cuddling Chika a little bit more than the rest of us as he practically SCREAMED me into a shock, waving the video camera in our faces, excitement and an unmatched vibrancy in his body as the classmates around us were screaming like Lunatics.

Jesus Christ. What was this energy?

Aaron practically carried all of them, hyping us up as he and Casper videoed us, and practically, giving classmates more reasons to scream their heads off, and all I wanted to do was disappear.

"So, Chika, the Igbo Sisters must have been on an agenda to dress to kill, ba? You girls sure took your time to get ready, and it shows evidently with all your bling bling and drip drip.-"

Casper Bassey was the one talking now and as he did, he had a sleek arm around Soma and blood of Jesus, me.

"-So, tell us, 'the worthless peasants', what the secret is!" He was looking between all of us, from Chika to Soma to the Twins to me, huge grin, sharp like a dagger on his face.

Ziba, the Set's Social Prefect, and another potentially screw-loosing classmates nearly shoved a hairbrush into Chika's mouth in an attempt to give her the 'Microphone'.

The Onuoha Twins chose to steal the spotlight from Chi Mama.

"What do you want to know?" Ebere came with a playfully sassy attitude, as she pouted to the camera and showed her best angle, showing off her pretty face as Aaron held it, "Queens like us don't show and tell." She blew imaginary dust off her nails.

Ebube flipped her blue hair, posed to the camera and gave it a dead eyed model look. "Seconded."

Everyone wanted to die. These people were so excited by their reply and they showed with every way that they screamed in exaggeration, and the Twins, alongside the other Sisters were a laughing mess. I wasn't sure what this energy was all about, but everyone here had no chills.

"CH FINALS, WHAT IT DOOOOO!" Aaron was screaming, firing them up even more, and everyone was giving in to more energy, screaming a chant right after Aaron's call, and I wasn't even sure how to behave in the midst of all of this. This kind of fiery energy was not for me.

But who cared? People like Ziba and Hassana were acting like assistant Aaron and Casper, and they were doing their best to have an anchor contest with the boys, hyping the little crowd of boys and girls more and more, pouring more fuel into their fire.

And they were not talking about me and the issue with my family.

That made me question so many things.

I recalled Chika mentioning something about these people being 'supportive' of me and truthfully, judging through the likes of Aaron and Casper had stood up for me in the past, I guess that it was not a complete and total lie. Maybe the little number of classmates here now knew not to judge me. That made me feel so much better in their presence.

We reached outside and the classmates that ran to us in the Hallway mixed in with the countable number of classmates that were outside, having little fancy picnics on the grasses on the ground, taking selfies, laughing with one another and basically having fun.

I knew we were not more than 15 in the members of the Committee, and Chika had mentioned it so too. But as far as I was concerned, the number of Classmates all gathered here were at least 20. We had more company. Was this something to be worried about?

The Entire place looked prepped enough was here and I had half a mind to ask Chika is she really meant it so that the hang out was not supposed to be here. Outside the Block, the back of our block, was dominated with fresh green grass that was trimmed to make it neat and classmates made good use of it, arranging their table mats and fabric on it and putting fruit baskets filled with wine and snacks on it.

There were about two canopies mounted and it seemed to be like if nobody wanted to truly make use of it, because as Felony by Ckay played, my 'mates hung around practically everywhere but under the canopies; they were either standing around or sitting on the picnic mats, sipping from drinks in paper cups, eating snacks, gisting, laughing, playing with everyone else and doing so with all careless will.

"I thought you said we were not having the hang out here," I spoke.

I was not sure who I was speaking to, but either Ebere or Ebube answered me.

"Then, it'll be fun!" The twin had quipped, "Nothing is more exciting that trying risky things!"

Hm.

Ebere and Ebube were fast to join in with Prissy Waje and some other cool, pretty, and flamboyantly dressed girls from Class B who hovered around Hassana, and with their gushing hand gestures and mean girl eye rolls, it was clear that they were hyping each other's looks up and also, simultaneously, 'judging' something in distaste. I could see that from the energy that chic-lit group gave.

All the while, Chika seemed to never leave my side, no matter how many His and Heys were thrown at us, she never really let go, even with the massive attention that she effortlessly pulled to herself. She stayed right there by me, sat with me on the step and intermediated between eating the snacks from the baskets and waving a quick salute to classmates who greeted her.

Soma, on the other hand, was the first to betray all of us. Not long after we came here and mingled with the rest of the other classmates, Soma was jumping like a rabbit and out of excitement, pulling Aaron and Casper, and some unfortunate boys like Nomso and Gadhafi, and Daniel from the Sports Team along with her to take pictures of her.

She wanted over seven boys to take the pictures.

I didn't understand the logic, but with the way that Soma managed to be so free with everyone even after they all knew her 'big secret' left me in a puzzle. I wondered how she did it.

Acted so 'Soma' when she wasn't fine.

The girl still jumped around, played around, gave the craziest poses even if I knew she was not fully okay.

It almost made me wonder just how many times she must have put up an act for us, even when she was not okay.

No one seemed judgemental here. The boys Soma pulled to the other corner, close to the pathway and main road that leading to the SS2 block, they were all complying and taking her pictures.

Soma had showed up here in all brown, from her checked brown jacket to her brown trouser, and the only think that differed in her look was her black long hair, black and white shoes, and the black bra top she had on, under her jacket. She had sworn that she would not leave without having some pictures to keep.

So, as I watched her run from corner to corner, dragging the boys she forced with her to even as far down as the roadside that led out of the block, I tried to wrap my head around the carefreeness that this girl emitted; she was all over the place, posing for pictures with literally anything and anyone around, photo-bombing others too.

May I say, I could not count the number of times that she had duck faced into Prissy Waje's selfies and sang louder than the Chapel Prefect, Ella in her little cover videos, running around, slapping random guys on their asses and having people like Ayo and Jaja riled up on her name.

I simply had never seen anyone as free as Soma. She was like a bird. Spontaneous and free. I wanted that for myself too.

One of the Pictures that set boys took for Soma oo. And, also what she pulled up wearing that day!

So far, so good, this gathering had proved to be more good than harm.

I supposed.

None of tem were talking about me. I mean, it almost seemed deliberate. Like someone had specifically instructed everyone to not do anything to make me uncomfortable. I concluded on that because of how easily they seemed to even pull me into their charade; I could not count the number of times that Hassana Alfa had shoved ice cream, from nowhere, into my mouth, all in the name of making me put a smile on my face.

I smiled at her. Hoping that would make her believe I was happy and then, she'd go away.

But nope. Hassana did not take the hint.

I didn't hate it here, after all. Whether it was the ice cream that low-key did its magic or the warm and seemingly harmless atmosphere, I slowly started to ease up and become more comfortable.

However, that little 'comfort' was short-lived.

Of course, it would have been too good to be true. That I would really come here and feel that total peace that I had wished for. No part of my life could possibly be that peaceful.

The sight of her was enough to rile me up beyond words.

And, when I said 'beyond words', it was not a figure of speech. I simply could not explain the things this girl made me feel, the hate and resentment, but the moment that I caught sight of that large afro from the midst of those giant set boys that walked in on us, with her, I felt my blood boil so hot that it suddenly felt so toxic and poisonous to my own body.

Acid was in my bone marrows, rushing through every narrow space in my body and pulsating my veins. I got goosebumps, but I felt no chills. All I felt was hotness, redness, a burning sensation that threatened to knock me off my feet. With the rise of the heat in my body, the pores of my skin felt clogged and suffocated. I wanted to die from all this anger and hate.

The stupid girl was there, surrounded by a bunch of guys who clearly could not seem to get their eyes off her. They worshipped this girl, and all that was left was for them to bow at her feet and kiss it. She walked in here with that large Afro, gleaming dark, dark skin, eyes that glowed rubies and gold, and that air of regality all around her, stunning everyone with that impeccable aura, and dragging the guys along with her like puppets on invisible strings.

To me, she was a witch. A witch that stole all the beauty of the world to herself, hoarded it selfishly, and used it as a spell to bring men to their knees. And with that curt smile on her face, her polite one word responses to the guys that were mesmerized by her, and carefully dismissive head turns, she basically pretended like she could not fucking see that these guys adored her.

God, how much I hated Kelechi Uwa.

It came to me as a shock, nonetheless, when I saw one of the guys there distance himself from the group of guys around Kelechi.

I frowned in confusion.

How come I had not noticed him before?

It was a shock to me because the moment I did notice him, it slapped me like a breath of fresh air, loosening the rigidity in my closes fists and cooling the hotness in my blood, doing to me the complete opposite of what seeing Kelechi had done.

Seeing Marcus Acha was like immersing yourself into water, warm and sweet. The most relaxing thing that one could possibly feel, the sweetest thing one could taste, and the most lovely scent one could inhale.

And, damn it, he looked good. Like coco and fine wine.

Maybe, also an Angel from above, considering that he was dressed from head to toe in all white. His hoodie and joggers were white, and even his sneakers were unstained, sparkling a blinding, shining white too. It warmed my heart to see that his hair was still in those tiny twists that I had done for him a while ago. I actually smiled.

I almost forgot why I got angry for a moment.

Until it occurred to me that he was in those midst of guys around Kelechi, to begin with.

However, in his defence, he looked uncomfortable.

Yes, 'Uncomfortable' was the perfect word.

When we first came here to mix in with the rest of the Classmates, I had overheard Ziba talking about how they were waiting for 'the guys' to bring the rest of the snacks, and giving one brief look at the Class A and Class C boys in that circle around Kelechi, holding the snack baskets and wine, I figured they were 'the guys' Ziba had been talking about, and Marc was one of them.

I was happy that he had quickly disassociated himself from them, and in turn, Kelechi.

I only wondered why he seemed to look uncomfortable while at it. Almost as though he was repulsed to be anywhere close to Kelechi. But.... All of a sudden?

So many questions swarmed through my mind.

I noticed Kelechi's eyes following Marc's back, and there was a lingering look in them. One that infuriated me. Her friend, Chido, was by her side, and with the wistful, somewhat downcast look he exchanged between Marc and Kelechi, so many things ran through my mind.

So many questions. Like, what the fuck was going on?

It actually infuriated me.

However, much to my relief, Marc didn't look back at all. Not even for a second. He did not even look to me like he had an after thought of looking back at Kelechi or Chido.

Still, I couldn't stop watching him. And, like he figured that 'someone' was hopelessly staring like a creep, he paused in realization for a second, before shooting his eyes up in my direction, landing them directly on me.

Like Bull's-eye, Marc pinned me down with direct and unwavering eye contact.

I knew that he wanted to see who it was staring at him like a stalker, but, as soon as those dreamy, big brown eyes of honey squared mine, wrapping me up with warmth and holding me in a madly intense look that I couldn't break free from, my breath actually seized.

It took less than a second for recognition to fill his eyes, on seeing that it was just me, and following suite with mad adoration, obsession, sweetness, and undying love, I watched his lips stretch out into the prettiest and most genuine smile that I had ever seen on him.

I nearly cried out of joy.

He was smiling so sweetly. That meant he wasn't mad at me anymore.

I was not the only one filled with joy, I figured. Because Classmates all around us were whispering amongst each other in excitement, and exchanging 'Ouuu's' and 'Ahhhh's' amongst each other, giggling like they were watching some romance movie and me and Marc were the lead star characters.

Even Chika beside me smiled and I heard her laughing softly under her breath.

I hated that I blushed. God, this was so embarrassing.

Well, Marcus Acha must have lived for Embarrassment. Because in the midst of this gra gra, this jigga started to make his way towards me, smiling from ear to ear like a happy child who had everything he ever wanted from life. Reflexively, I stood up from the step.

"ACHA'S WIFE!" Some goat had shouted and classmates were a loud, laughing, rolling mess of excitement, and I felt my cheeks getting so red like they were about to explode.

Marc was in front of me in no time, that smile on his face never seizing as he wrapped arms around my waist like they were the tiniest and most fragile thing he's ever touched, tilting his head to stare at me like I was literal gold.

I knew what he was doing. I knew he was only trying to rile our Classmates even more.

And damn it, it was working.

"SEE COUPLE GOALS, NA. LOVE NA YOUR MATE?????!"

"LOVE IN TOKYO OO!"

"MR AND MRS ACHA! OKAY OOO!"

"WE SEE YOU O! RIDE ON O!"

I broke into a laughter so hard and my head fell onto Marc's chest, face buried in his scent of Cedar and Coco as I held onto his shirt and laughed my ass off into it.

He laughed too, and with my body so close to his', I felt sweet vibrations resonating from him to me. It was the sweetest feeling ever.

Marc crouched his head down to my size, and in soft, whispers, he whispered to my ears, causing sweet chills to rush through me like a breeze. "Wanna get a room, babe?"

I giggled into his scent-filled shirt, agreeing. "Please."

DO NOT SKIP THIS ANNOUNCEMENT OOOOOO!

See you guys during the Week o. I had to cut this chapter into two! Bye for now!!!

Okay, the announcement I wanted to let you guys in on is that YOUR GIRL IS A JUDGE IN PROJECT PEN OO!! So, if by now, you happen to be living under a rock and you don't know what Project Pen is, check out OfficialProjectPen. It is a contest and it's already begun, and so far I know, this shit is HOTTTT!!!!!😭😭🔥🔥

There's more asides the contest, and there are fun activities like Diary/Confession Nights, Giveaways, fun time/Games, and so many other stuff. Y'all should check out Project Pen oo!!!! Oya bye bye!

Wait, before I go, how did this Chapter make you feel??