First off, if any of you are awake, I go shock die. If you are, just wait till morning before you read the update. Please, rest abeg!😂❤️

Anyways....

I came here to Wattpad and saw that we were at 98K reads, I wanted to cry! Only to come back and see that we are at 99k plus reads, dangerously going towards 100k. And I blinked and boom, 100k! Too Many Broken Things is at freaking 100k reads, my babies!

Edit after I watched it enter 101k: WE ALREADY GOT A THOUSAND READS MORE!

Anyways, what I wanted to say was;

THANK YOU!!!❤️❤️

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE READING THIS BOOK! I appreciate everyone of you, both the active readers and the ghost readers that follow up, I actually love you all! Those of you that talk about my book and gather more people here, more crowd, God will answer all your prayers o! I LOVE YOU ALL! ❤️

Song for this chapter is in the Media. I listened to it while writing the Nana/Ebube part, so um, yeah.

The last chapter was a tear jerker. It hit me hard. Saw some comments that tore me up. In my opinion, that scene has to be the most heart breaking chapter in TMBT so far. I was just happy that enough people could relate enough to Chika. As for the Chika/Aaron thing, it's unfortunate things had to go that way. Let's just dive into the chapter and see what Casper has to say about it....

Are you ready?

~DABI~

"God forbid."

Casper stood there at the door and just watched us and like mannequins, like we were frozen in time, we stared right back at him, with eyes wide in shock.

"God forbid."

That was me, again.

If any of the Sisters heard me, they did not act as though. I mean, at this point, what could have been their priority? The fact that I was shaking into a near convulsion from panic and asking God to rebuke Satan...

Or, the fact that standing before us was Aaron's best friend, Casper who had heard from top to finish, every goddamn thing that we had said about Aaron, Chika, and the Dare.

Casper stood there, eyes boring into us, eyes that looked like he had been punched senselessly and had the breath knocked right out of him. Disbelief. Shock. Confusion. I could not even begin to place the emotion that I was reading in his eyes.

But, they were NOT good.

He might have as well shot laser rays at us. Or thrown syringe needles, or better still, rusted nails into our hearts. Because anything, and I meant anything would have been a better pain or misery than he look he forced us to hold in a lock gaze.

I couldn't even begin to explain the shock in his eyes. Or Fear? There was such a thin line.

"Casper, hey!" A high pitched voice from Soma called behind me, shaking in the slightest, and the fear in it was evident as day, "Hi, Cas. We, err, w-we didn't see you t-there!"

Suspicion laced subtly in his horrified gaze, but he said nothing still.

Not a single word.

And that was the worst part.

He just stood there, tortured us and said nothing and I felt I was going to die. It was so cutthroat.

No shit. Casper was not saying a single word. We were the ones stammering and stuttering on our words, like total idiots.

"It's not what it looks like," Chika spoke for the first time.

That one sentence seemed to hit Casper different.

He actually backed up slightly, in either realization or humourless amusement, or both? His thick brows etched, and searching eyes narrowed slightly at us like he wanted us to talk more and show him with every word just how much more stupid we could have sounded. Like he just wanted to observe our clownery.

Or was it just confusion? Was he just confused? Was our obvious stuttering even after being caught red handed just confusing him? What could have been making him confused? Gears were turning in my head like mad.

Meanwhile, the Sisters were a rambling mess.

"Uh, we..."

"You..."

"The thing is..."

"It's just..."

"We can explain..."

Oh, Dear God.

"Is everything alright?"

We stopped. Froze on the question Casper just asked us.

"Yoo..." He came again. He actually drawled that as he cocked his head to observe us, uncertainty of some sort defining his body language, "Is everything alright with you guys?"

We stared right back at him, discombobulated.

His brows were furrowed slightly and his voice had some hesitation in it. Like he was scared. Like he was... Confused.

Wait...

He...

He was confused?

"Hey..." He waved in the air to get our attention and bring us back from our reverie, "Are you girls okay or...?" Through the sound of his voice, I could hear it so that concern was mixing in with what I supposed was confusion.

He was confused.

He was both confused and concerned.

If he was confused and concerned, then there was a pretty high chance that-

"Bruh, I am here trying to understand why you girls look so scared. I'm worried as fuck."

-He did not hear us.

God.

I swallowed spit. But, it felt like stone.

The most silent sigh of relief was what I felt from the Sisters. I didn't hear it, I felt it. It was like, on queue, I felt the drop of tension in the air, so hard and so strong, like a weight had been lifted off our shoulders and relief, like a cooling breeze, literally passed into our bodies and transmitted through us one after the other like a wave.

"Oh." Soma brightened in realization, her voice coming out in one breath.

"Oh!" Ebere sounded more in realization, her smile brighter than usual.

"We are fine," I spoke, surprising myself. I didn't know that I could find it in me a voice after the kind of tension I just faced. "You don't need to worry about anything. The Sisters were just trying to be funny."

Casper chuckled lightly.

Did he buy our shit? Only God would know.

However, with that chuckle, it seemed to me like he was trying to adjust to the sudden new atmosphere where we didn't seem so scared anymore. As though, in the slightest way, there was the littlest bit of suspicion that still lingered in his heart on our behaviour.

Like even if he didn't know what was up, he still was not convinced that all of a sudden, we were 'okay'.

"Are you sure?" He asked us for clarity.

"Defs," Chika responded easily.

Casper was one of the smartest kids in our set, so I was not surprised that he was still a bit suspicious even still. Albeit, he did not particularly push anything. I thanked my stars.

"You girls don't know the kind of heart attack you gave me," He said to us, "I thought something really bad happened. I was literally holding my heart in my fucking hands."

Fake Laughter.

Fake laughter chorused amongst the Sisters.

I felt so awful.

I knew the Sisters felt so awful too.

How could we even be doing a thing like this?

"Alright na," Casper said, "I actually came here to lock up the Class, so I will need y'all to vacate, yeah?" We laughed at that again. I cringed at the low fake laugh and walked along with the Sisters, in a straight line that we had formed in all our awkwardness, heading for the door.

"Don't mean to chase you people out o," Casper was telling us, humour in his voice as the Class keys dangled in his hands, "But, I almost chop grass to beg these people to let us come here, and if I don't lock the classes back as I promised I would, they will literally have my head and use it to make Ewedu."

We couldn't even laugh again.

"We got you, my guy," Chika just raised the peace sign to him as he stepped out of the class with us, closing the door right behind him. A weird silence following us.

I thanked God for the kind of noise we stepped into, anyways. Classmates were already in the Hallways, many of them, in groups, laughing and talking at length as Under The Influence by Chris Brown blasted everywhere, and all in all, it did well to mask a little of our awkwardness.

Still, I could hear Chika clear her throat in discomfort.

And instantly, I deciphered that this was difficult for her. So, so difficult.

This having to pretend before Casper thing. It killed her. I knew dead on that it really killed her to have to do this. She wished she didn't have to, but she couldn't bring herself to just drop the bomb out of nowhere. But, I knew that Chika was no coward, and therefore, there and then, I knew what her decision was.

She was going to tell Aaron the truth.

My heart had stopped for a moment on that realization.

So many things were going through her mind. I knew that because Chika cleared her throat again, in even more discomfort. As if she were choking. Was she choking?

The fuck up was that I strongly believe that Casper heard.

I could have sworn. I was so certain that Casper heard Chika clear her throat. I knew he may have even attached an even deeper meaning to it because, for a moment, his hands on the classroom lock, paused. He had paused along with it, looked like a thought had flashed through his mind, like a realization had hit him. It looked like this had happened in the space of a split second.

He heard Chika.

Casper clearly heard Chika.

My only question was...

Why did he act like he didn't?

"All done!" The light skinned boy has beamed with a grin, twirling the key bunch coolly around a finger, before mock saluting and disappearing to join a group of set boys at the other side.

A/N: Calm down, the chapter has not finished. Small thing dey make una fear.

I just wanted to quickly ask you guys your take on what could be on Casper's mind, before you move on. (Since we will soon find out later in this chapter what is on Casper's mind), so before we get there, what do you think? Do you think Casper knows what's up and if he does, why is my guy acting otherwise? Or is Dabi just the one overthinking things again?

***

The Night was still very young, albeit the fact that it was already pitch black dark outside: Cool Afro Pop vibes, exotic outside lighting, luminous and radiant, from the dozens of street lights that were decorated all round the streets of Castron High, coupled with the excessive food and drinks, noisy and excited teenagers flexing, having their bit of fun: cruising with the cars in the Field, laughing with one another, jamming up crazily as they screamed along to Bank on it by Burna Boy with one another by the pavements outside the Classroom blocks, and just basically hanging around the area. Those were the Night's aesthetics.

Casper had mentioned that we were actually leaving this place. I thought we were supposed to be leaving, so I still could not understand why classmates only chose to change their location from the back of the classroom block to the front, carrying on with the exact same thing: Social gatherings and loud, noisy jeering, laughing, gisting, and playing.

I found it hard to understand how people spent so many hours doing this.

Overextended Social Interactions exhausted me.

No shit. I got tired. Normally, I would do anything else than involved myself in social gatherings, but when I do go out of my comfort zone - mostly because of the Sisters - it took me less than minutes to get tired. These kind of stuff were just not for people like me.

So, while everyone 'razzed up', I hung around like a sore thumb and either looked around my hara hara classmates, wondering how these people could be so social and confident or at intervals, finding myself counting how many fluorescent lamps made up the outside lightening of the Ss3 Block. Tales of an Introvert, yeah?

The Sisters suddenly looked like she would be anywhere else but here. Their social energy seemed to have died down to waving back at classmates, sitting together quietly at the pavements and waiting for everyone to be ready to move.

Chika was the most downcast. Still, she took the time to ask me if I wanted to leave, and as much as I wished I could, I was in the slightest, hesitant.

A dilemma would be a great way to put it. I was stuck in a dilemma. I wanted to leave this atmosphere.... But not quite, yet. I needed to talk to Marc, and not because I felt like we had not properly said our goodbyes, but because after the entire thing with Chika, I felt I needed to talk to him about something that had pressed me down since down.

Something that I could not get out of my mind, since Chika had talked about her mother.

I needed to talk to Marc about my Mum.

"Find me, Dabeluchi."

Her last words for some reason did not stop repeating itself in my head. No matter how much I tried to block it out, I felt it so strongly that this was something that needed urgent attention.

And, I couldn't do it alone. I needed help. I needed all the help I could get. I needed Marc.

Maybe seven times or 982 times, I had looked around the place, trying to survey and look for him and it was all to no avail. Instinctively, or maybe reflexively, I stood up from the pavement, causing the eyes of the Sisters to rise with me.

"Dabz...?" Chika called me.

I knew they were wondering if I was okay.

I almost wondered same. Because the way I jumped up from that pavement, I couldn't explain to them what all that hurried urgency was for.

"I am looking for Marc," I told them.

Believe me, I did not even realize how insensitive that must have sounded until I saw that flash of hurt in Chika's brown eyes.

"Oh," She responded, "Sure, b." It was gone almost as soon as it appeared, almost replaced with something that I hinted out as understanding. A brief, almost wistful smile was like the cherry on top.

I was confused for a moment, wondering what the reaction was for. Then, it hit me, out of the blue, that me telling that I am going to 'have fun with my boyfriend' in the heat of everything that just happened was not exactly the most ideal.

"It's important," I had to add, only to realize how much more wrong it still sounded.

So, Chika's meltdown and we, lying to Casper's face was not also important?

Oh, fuck. "Well, a-actually, the thing i-is, I-"

"It's okay, Dabz," Chika said to me, a bit of laughter in her voice. I couldn't decipher if she meant it or if she was just trying to make me feel less bad, even if it were to her expense.

"I am serious though," I said to her, "I wouldn't leave you at a time like this, if it wasn't life or death, Chi. Believe me..."

Chika actually chuckled. Her chuckle turned into a soft, sweet laugh, and her eyes showed me that she understood. She assured me of that.

"It's okay," She said, "Just make sure that you are back with him when it's tome to leave, yeah?"

I nodded vigorously, just before turning around to leave and stopping on my tracks again....

One one realization.

Turning around, my eyes squared Ebere and Soma who sat right there after the space I was previously on, next to Chika, and my brows furrowed in question.

"Where is Ebube?"

Chika looked confused at the question.

Ebube Onuoha was not sitting with us. That confused me. I remembered that we stepped out of the class with her, right before Casper locked it. We sat here with her too, and all of a sudden, she was not with us.

And with the look on Chika's face, it was evident that she did not even realize that Ebube was not with us anymore until I mentioned it. It got me wondering. Was she really that disoriented?

"Rest room," Ebere said out of the blue.

Huh?

"Ebube went to the Rest room," She repeated, "That girl has a bladder the size of a fucking peanut. She ran like a little green alien into that Girls' Bathroom."

"Oh." I said.

"She should be back by now. It has been a while," Ebere said, confused for a moment, "I wonder what's taking her so long."

"If you see her, Lulu, just bring her here, so we don't end up accidently forgetting her," Soma said.

She said that with a note of concern and it was as genuine as it could be.

However, it seemed to me, low-key, like 'accidentally forgetting Ebube' was almost a norm.

No, seriously. I was not even joking sometimes when I said that I, 'accidentally forgot' that she was even with us.

And that's how we would have also 'accidently forgotten' her here in School too.

"Sure," I answered Soma, and from there, I disappeared into the Block for Marc.

The Hallways were quiet. Too quiet. Eerie, almost. It was so silent that I could even hear every step I took. I walked very slow, and my steps could be faintly heard on a norm, but with the silence of the Hallway, a pin could be as loud as a clap. My foot steps? They were like bangers.

Hearing my own footsteps were triggering. With each step I took, I got even more uncomfortable. It was semi-dark in here, with the only thing lighting the Hallways being the outside lighting of the Block, and having I was alone, the eerie feeling that came with it made it worse.

I...

I started to get afraid.

Suddenly, I started to feel like something was wrong.

Like...

Like I was being followed?

"Maybe I should just leave."

I couldn't have been sure if I said that out loud or in my head, but that thought was stronger than ever. I was probably half way in, and the feeling of being stalked was getting worse by every moment I stood there, deliberating on what to do in my head.

It was like someone, something was creeping slowly behind me, marking my frame through hooded eyes and quietly moving along with my beat, slowly trailing behind me like a predator to a prey. I felt it down my spine, and chills caused goosebumps to grow on my skin.

"I should leave."

Marc couldn't even be here. Why didn't I just call him? Why did that thought not come to me?

No, seriously. I could have just called or texted. Instead of having to waste my time and risk my life by coming here. It wasn't possible that he was here. It wasn't possible that anyone could be here; the only occupants of this Hallway were me and that thing following me.

I had heard some stories about CH, and having that it was a very old school that had been in existence for years and years, I had dreaded the thoughts of coming face to face with one of those creatures. Blackman? Window Man? Madam Koi koi?

Dabeluchi Orji wasn't ready for that, abeg.

So, I turned around to get ready to On my mark, get set, and-

BOOM!

Jesus!

I japa.

Whatever that sound was, I had no freaking idea, but what I know was that one second, I was standing in the middle of the Hallway, and the next second, I was leaning against a random wall, pressing hard against it as I panted like a fish out of water, holding a hand to my chest and feeling my heart beating out of control.

God forbid.

God forbid.

God forbid.

"I pray the Lord my soul to keep," I whispered this prayer in all my earnestness, over and over, as I held my breath as hard as I could, almost aggressively, looking for every measure I could to ensure that I was as silent as I could.

But no matter how much I tried, my body was hell bent on betraying me; my hands, sweaty, heart beating out of control, breathing, ragged and loud, my body, shaking like a broken down generator.

It only took me half another moment to realise where I was. My body had found a safe hiding spot from my predator pretty quickly.

There was a little corridor that led to the senior staff room, somewhere between Classes C and D. From there, no one in the Hallways could see you, but if you looked at a certain angle, you could see them. That was where I stood, with my heart in my hands and life, flashing before my eyes.

"I pray the Lord my soul to keep," I muttered again, breathing in hard and holding it.

So many things were running through my mind in the space of seconds. First off, it was me wondering who it was, and what on earth they were doing there and how they produced such a terrifying awful sound. I wanted to run. God knows, I wanted to. But, how could I run when they were just around the corner-

Klink Klink Klink KLINK!

I froze again. I stilled.

"Oh, God in heaven."

That sounded like Keys. Maybe in a bunch? If I was being correct, that was the sound of keys clanging in a bunch against one another, and the fact that there was indeed someone out there, with the keys, was enough to stop every thought and action from proceeding off me.

Who was that?

I wanted to look so bad, but I could not dare myself to take such a risk.

The clanging sounds of the keys got even louder, and more intense. More terrifying. Like someone was practically trying to shake off something off it. Juju charm? For me?

Who knows?

The sound was just practically resounding round the entire hallway. By each moment, it was raising my blood pressure to a dangerous degree.

It was no news that whoever it was was after me. Was the one following me. All I wanted to understand was... Why?

The temptation to look. Oh, God, the temptation to look. It was so strong. So damn strong.

What are the odds? What's the worst that could happen if I peeped in a little? They may put a sack over my head and kidnap me forever?

Or hit a brick on my head to knock me unconscious, then strangle the rest of me to death, so quietly that no one would even know that a girl was murdered in cold blood in the Senior Hallways of Castron High?

I mean... Was I ready to risk it all?

A realization suddenly hit me.

And no, it had nothing to do with death, this time around. I just got slammed with sudden sense, instead.

I had walked in here, and halfway into the Hallway, I started to fear strongly that I was being watched and followed from behind.

That was the keyword, behind.

My predator was supposed to be behind me, yeah?

So, if this 'predator' was really the same person who was playing with metal keys and slamming classroom doors, then, why did they sound like they were in front of me, instead of behind me?

That could only mean...

I peeped to look.

Sincerely, I couldn't even hold it in anymore.

It became clear as crystal to me that whoever it was slamming doors and playing with keys was not the same person that was following me behind, and I could not stop the curiosity in me from peeping in to look and see who it was doing all that.

And, when I looked...

"Oh."

I backed up. Relief washed over me on seeing him, every tension in my body leaving in an instant.

It was like magic, really.

I can't explain why or how that happened, but moment that I saw that boy, I felt all the fear, tension, and panic leave my body in an instant.

Seriously, it was like all the nervousness and horror suddenly disappeared on the moment that my eyes caught sight of that boy whom I hadn't known enough, but had equated to the ocean. Or maybe a dove. Something peaceful and sweet. Very calming. Soothing. Like a cool night breeze. Or a breath of fresh air.

I...

I became calm.

I became completely calm the second my eyes saw that boy, Nana Obi.

"Oh," I said again to myself, adjusting myself and getting my back off from the wall that I had been leaning dearly against, finally finding some air to breath.

For some reason, I found myself, quietly observing the boy.

Something about Nana's presence, even from afar, was very strong. He was so quiet and very peaceful, made sure to stay away from problems and confrontations, and yet, something about the aura he possessed managed to be a chokehold.

I couldn't pin down why, but there was a cool, somewhat mystifying energy to him. Even if his eyes glinted peace and hope, positivity and everything that encompassed meekness and gentleness, something about them still had a brooding silence in them; it was a kind of silence that was almost intimidating to test.

Nana was a very mysterious child.

Very unusual and different, but in a good way.

And as I could see, with the way that he gently handled the clanging noisy keys, switching from one to the other on the bunch, and picking the lock on the door, I quickly figured that he was testing them all out to find out which one of the keys in the bunch was the classroom key.

So, he would stick one of the keys into the lock while watching it with so much concentration. His eyes, narrowed and focused, as though he was trying to stick a thread into the eye of a thin needle.

When he successfully got it in, his face would visibly relax with relief. Only for him to realise it was the wrong key since it wouldn't open the door. Then, he would struggle with the key in the lock for about ten seconds, trying to get it out, a small scowl of discomfort on his face all the way. Before, finally, he would jut it out with medium force, then, try the entire procedure again with the next key.

Rinse and repeat, he did the same thing with the next key, and then, the next one after that, and the next one after the next after that.

It was adorable and all, but, Nana looked like he needed some help.

The most pressing issue, however, was; Why was I standing there watching him without an aim?

Truthfully, I couldn't tell. He was entertaining to watch, even if it meant giggling at his few minutes of suffering.

Nana Obi was just an interesting person to watch.

Furthermore, against my conscious will, I found myself analysing more than I should about him.

Like the fact that while other classmates showed up here with their designer outfits, sick chains and jewelry, making sure to drip as hard as they could, in respect of Social Competition, the only thing Nana showed respect to was the cold weather.

That explained why he was practically swallowed whole in that fur-hooded black coat jacket he wore.

The coat jacket practically swept the ground behind him, long and thick as it was. I could barely see well from where I stood, but I supposed that was a white tank top and dark trousers he wore beneath his overflowing coat jacket.

I respected him though, and why? Because I had to appreciate the fact that he showed up here as simple as he could, but still managed to look like somebody that you would most definitely look at twice.

Granted, he was one of the most admired guys in our set. It was not just because a number of girls agreed that he had to be the cutest little puppy every time that he smiled and showed his braces, but Nana sure knew how to pack a punch in the looks department. I would describe him as a perfect combination of manly and adorable, and with that dark full and curly hair, fair build, golden skin, and dreamy eyes, he could have been every CH girl's secret crush.

I knew not much about him - asides that the weird kid eats mayo and eggs -but, I liked the fact that his eyes, filled with hope, had the ability to somehow speak good things to my soul.

Even if, truth be told, half the time, Nana's eyes looked like he was about to go to sleep.

NANA❤️

A/N: Nana sha🥺❤️

{Imagine the coat jacket was longer, like reaching somewhere past the back of his knees. Then, also imagine that the rip on the trouser is not there too, and you've gotten the perfect picture😂❤️}

Nana's active membership in the Committee often raised question marks in my head.

The boy was no social butterfly, and neither was he some party animal, but in Ss1, when Aaron and Casper had come together to decide who and who to add as significant members of the party planning committee, the sweet, quiet church boy was a major nominee.

A strong one at that.

And truth be told, anyone would truly wonder why people like the meek and lowly Nana Obi would be part of the committee, when he seldom had any interests in things like High school wild parties, and for the life of me, I could not understand it too. All I knew was that for some unknown reason, Nana was highly valued in Castron High for things had to do with the Sound and Media.

Not just by Aaron and Casper who would love to employ the best kind of sound system available for every social event, but even by the School Authority of Castron High.

If there was anything like a Media/Sound prefect in Castron High, it would most definitely be Nana Obi, and his well able assistants would be his bud, Chido Ihenna, and that light skinned boy in our set who constantly followed every girl around, showering loads and loads of compliments - Nova Igwe.

Rethinking, I mean, every single morning of Assembly, Nana's humble abode was the Media room, and his job which he had seemed to swear righteously to abide by was to make sure that everything that had to do with the sound system for the Assembly as well as the Media was intact.

Theoretically, a bunch of boys in our set were occasionally taking part in the sound system and Media during the morning assemblies, but overall, Nana was just the most active. All the male prefects, once in a while, trooped up and down the stairways that led up there. Some trusted junior boys from Ss2, and a countable few from lower classes, often had the privilege to hibernate in there too, but Nana? Nah, he carried this sound system/Media job on his head.

He did so so thoroughly that some junior students did not even know his name, but chose to know him as the 'Mic Check Senior'.

Why? Because nobody would send him and out of nowhere, Nana would appear on the stage every morning assembly - just before Giwa Falade and Yure Adediji (The Head prefects) shut the entrance doors of the Hall - testing all the available microphones and going 'Sound Check, mic check' over and over again.

We always had those kind of Seniors. They always had deep voices and a dozen Jss2 girls swooning over them, and never left the microphones breathe. I guess Nana was that guy for our own set.

The point is, I didn't seem to understand the basis as to Nana's significance in the eyes of Castron High Scholl officials and authorities, but they seemed to trust him too much. To me, he did way too much for them. They not only put the sound system in his check, but also, practically entrusted Nana to have all their News outlets for the School, saved in his laptop.

It was rumoured that Nana handled the official Castron High page for the School Authority, with the help of his laptop, but there was no solidity to that claim.

Who would blame anyone for coming up with the theory when that laptop seemed so much in vogue? Castron High stored everything in Nana's laptop. Aaron and Casper borrowed it from time to time for reasons best known to them. The entirety of the Media room had an almost intimate relationship with the device. He was not the only one in the whole school that had a good laptop, but yet, everyone seemed obsessed with it. Why? I had no idea.

All I knew was that Nana's laptop was the most highly upheld item in the whole of Castron High.

And, ironically, the most abused as well.

As a matter of fact, I could see that laptop from where I stood, right there in Nana's large backpack, and it was on the floor, right next to the kid who had been fighting with that lock for what seemed like ages.

The bag looked messy. Scattered. It was opened, right there next to his feet, and I could see half the top of the laptop sticking out, along side its charger which was roughly stuffed into it. One look at the backpack again and a narrowing of my eyes upon the stains of dirt on its black, I was able to pick up some foot prints on the back pack.

Quickly, I understood what was happening. I could understand why the bag looked so dusty and messed up. Clearly, Nana's bag was manhandled. It was tossed around carelessly in dirt and most likely stepped on multiple times. And with the way that the laptop and charger was hazily thrown in, I didn't need a saint to tell me that Nana didn't find his laptop bag and his laptop and charger in one place.

"Oh Jeez," I realized.

Whoever he had given his things to must have been utterly unconcerned with being careful with it. He must have had an awful time finding everything and putting it together, and a closer look at his face, it was clear that the lock and the stubborn keys in the bunch were not the only thing amounting to his frustration.

Was that why he hit the door the way he did? The loud bang I heard the first time? The very one that scared me?

Was he pissed? Nana could be pissed? Anyone would be. Even someone as calm as Nana Obi. And to make matters worse, the door had to be so difficult to him. At this rate, our classmates were even going to forget that Nana came with them and leave him here in school.

I had to help him. I should help him. Making up my mind to do the right thing, I made up my mind to the help the boy. I made a step to move my foot forward in order to step out of my hiding place and-

"Shit."

I tripped over myself, and was at the verge of falling face down onto the ground if I did not balance the very last minute.

Stupidly, I gave myself away.

The Hallway was so quiet and the littlest sound was as good as a bomb blast and with that clumsy almost fall, I knew I was doomed. I cringed and winced simultaneously at the thought of Nana whipping his head to the side to see who it was watching him all the way.

Here I was, crying about a stalker, only to be a stalker.

"Well, fuck me," I muttered as I tried to shake off the embarrassment off me and look to Nana whom I supposed his eyes were dead on me at this point.

I looked up to meet Nana's eyes.

But, his eyes were not even on me.

"Woah,"

As a matter of fact, I was the last thing Nana's eyes would even have wanted to be on, right now.

From where I stood, I saw his laptop bag and it looked like it had been pushed down, probably accidentally by him, and with all the contents - his laptop, the charger, some ear pods, and some other devices God knows what it was - on the floor, scattered, the boy was focused on trying to pick them up one after the other, picking up after the mess that he had created for himself.

But, you know, that was not what even made me exclaim the way I did.

A few steps ahead of Nana, I saw Ebube Onuoha.

Now, that was what took me off guard.

I could have sworn it that I was not being crazy and I was not seeing things. I know what I was seeing. Standing there, momentarily behind Nana, was my friend.

And, quietly, she just watched him.

...Just like I was doing.

But, unlike me, she did not seem like she had been standing there the entire time, but she looked like she was stepping out from somewhere and walked into him. My bet was the girls' bathroom, and not because her twin sister had mentioned it, but because she was not far off in distance from it, and with the hesitation I seemed to hint out in her behaviour, it was evident that she did not expect to step out and see Nana.

The boy that she was hopelessly, shamelessly, and almost dangerously in love with.

The twin moved from one foot to the other, subtly uncomfortably, and I hinted out quickly that she was stuck in a dilemma. Or probably suffering a silent heart attack, who knew? Her eyes said it all and she was sold. Completely irrevocably sold. I saw the little glow in them that seemed to twinkle at the sight of Nana. Her eyes told she was in love, but her body language showed some sort of... Hesitance?

I wasn't sure why. Ebube often gave off a more emotionless vibe than her sister. Maybe that was why it was always so difficult to understand her. Coupled with the fact that she seemed to be this duality around her too; she had a sassy side that was just like her sister, and then, she had a side that was almost dull. Almost dead. Like me. It was always like they were two sides to her, and these two sides conflicted each other so badly that it didn't make any sense. One couldn't even define what or who she was, really.

But, seeing Ebube, without Ebere...

Seeing her alone...

It was like seeing an independent individual. The identicalness of the twins and Ebere's more dominant behaviour somewhat made me forget that Ebube was a person of her own. She was not just a clone of her twin sister, with the same brown skin, the same almond shaped eyes, and the same pout shaped lips.

Neither was she a carbon copy of her sister with just a little bit of physical imperfections in appearance like weakly done edges, not-so-patiently winged eyeliners, a slightly slouchier posture, and generally, a seemingly darker colour hovering around her, as though she were a mere shadow of her twin sister.

No, none of that seemed to matter when she stood alone one individual. All those things that could have been conventionally seen as imperfect looked inexistent. Right now, she was not just the other twin. She was just herself.

She was Ebube Onuoha.

And, even if I didn't know how to describe the vibe I was getting from her, all I knew was that she looked significantly different.

Her eyes seemed to speak out more to me. They looked softer, almost brighter. Unlike the norm, they seemed to have more life and it was easier to read them.

Amidst that subtle look of freedom I saw in them, there was also a glow in her eyes. Love, admiration, adoration was in that glow. And most definitely, I knew that it was all attributed to that boy, Nana.

At this point, anyone would have said that Amebo was my middle name. Who cared? I made a resolution to myself to not move from this spot and see what this all turns into. I wanted to see where all of this was going.

So, without uttering a noise or a sound, I put my foot back and resumed my former position, hiding by the wall of the corridor and watching in silence.

Nana was just rounding up, apparently. His backpack seemed quite full again and I saw him picking up the last bit to gently put into it. Pretty much like he was done and like Ebube was practically invisible to his sight, he started to zip the bag close, looking like the next thing on his agenda afterwards was to walk away.

Seriously, it was like he didn't even noticed her standing there. In his defence, she stood a notable distance away from him, and with the bit of frustration that he was already dealing with, I guess the only thing on his mind was leaving the hell out of this place. And unknowingly, paying not much mind to his secret admirer, who stood there, unashamedly.

Well, I guess fate must be a sneaky bastard sha. Or a very creative mastermind in the art of match making, or it made up their mind that Nana must notice that girl, and you know why?

Because just as Nana finished zipping up and was hanging the backpack over one shoulder, an indicator that he was about leaving, I noticed there at the foot of Ebube's white sneakers, there was a single ear pods laying there, stray.

"Hah!" I whisper-chuckled in amusement.

The Bluetooth pod was just there, just one of it, shimmery white, and out of the case where I knew it was meant to be, and at the foot of the twin.

Ebube had looked down and when she caught sight of it, the realization hitting her as well.

It was one of the things that had fallen out of Nana's backpack.

And there he was, unknowingly leaving without it, while it lay by the twin's shoes.

"Go! Give it to him, Ebube! Go, girl!"

I wasn't a bastard to shout that out loud, of course, but my mind, soul, and spirit was literally screaming at Ebube to make a move. Luckily, she started with a quick, unplanned action.

Ebube picked up the pod.

Progress.

However, she stood with it in her hands, doing nothing.

I screamed in my head, calling out to her to act, and like she could somewhat hear me in the spirit, screaming at her to 'go get her man', the twin who I always knew to be more impassive, more in-control of her emotions, and occasionally dead in activity, was breaking character by the second.

Slowly, slowly, slowly, it was like the more Nana was walking away, the more she was loosening up and slowly crumbling into a fret of evident panic.

She was panicking. Ebube was actually panicking. Obviously, I was not in her mind to sound so certain, but it was evident that gears were turning in her head, left and right. I could see that.

For one, her entire body language hinted that out. Her eyes were everywhere it could be, moving like broken laser rays from the single ear pod on the floor, to Nana who walking away and getting father by the second, to the innocent walls of the hallway and even the air, earnestly searching every angle of the place for what to do. I knew she was caught up in a messy dilemma.

She had to alert Nana. She wanted to, almost desperately. But at the same time, she couldn't gather up the courage to talk to him. Or even make a sound.

"GO!" Internally, I kept screaming at Ebube.

Like an invisible, spiritual force shoved her from behind, she was almost falling forward face down all in the name of running up to Nana Obi.

"NNAEMEKA!-"

Nana, alarmed, turned around immediately on the sharp cry of his name.

Ebube, on having him face her that directly, retreated like she was about crashing into a wall of sharp pins, and before I could exhale the air I inhaled, the girl had tripped over herself-

PLAP! PLAKATA! POOM!

"I'm finished." I threw my hands in the air, as I felt the second hand embarrassment for Ebube who was sprawled across the floors of the Hallway, fallen face fucking flat.

Oh, shit.

I literally stayed in a face palm and I couldn't even look to see the humiliation that was this. What a bloody mess! How, just how, could Ebube let herself fall that terribly in front of her crush? And, why, bloody why was she refusing to stand up from that floor? Was she dead?

"Oh my God!" Nana exclaimed, shock laced in his stone and it was clear that he was startled by Ebube's fall.

As a matter of fact, he looked frightened even; his eyes grew wide as saucers at the potentially dead girl on the floor, and before I knew it, this boy whom I could bet with my last card probably did not even know Ebube's name started to race towards her, running with a speed that my brain could not even come to terms with.

The Flash, who? He was no match for Nana Obi. The speed in which he got to Ebube with caught me thoroughly off guard.

"Hey," The calm kid had crouched down to the girl on the floor, squatting on one knee as he hung that heavy backpack over a shoulder and looked the twin on the ground over in thought.

The boy looked genuinely worried and it warmed my heart. Until today, I didn't believe that Nana nor Ebube had ever spoken to each other ever, and yet, the look of concern and worry on his face was heavy. It spoke volumes of the goodness of his heart... Even towards Strangers.

Meanwhile, Ebube was still there on the floor and I was starting to get very worried.

Nana, troubled as fuck, didn't get up. The boy stayed on one knee, watching Ebube with worry on his face, tilting his head to the side to observe her face more clearly, checking if all was alright with her.

If Ebube was alive, I could only bet that she was having a brutal heart attack at that moment, with such close proximity between her and that boy.

Slowly, Nana reached towards Ebube's face with his hands, hesitantly, but gradually. "Hey.-"

Ebube sprouted from the ground.

Like a fucking plant.

Suddenly, without the littlest warning, the twin literally jumped to her feet like she was catapulted to do so, and forcefully jerked herself away from Nana, so suddenly that even he had backed up, startled.

I was no Banshee, but it was clear that Ebube was deliberate with the distance she wanted to keep from Nana. Fortunately for her, he knew how to respect those physical boundaries. Just as much as he knew how to show so much concern.

"You've got to be careful next time," He said to her.

His voice was so deep, yet so silk. Gentle, like his entire aura. Just like how I remembered it from last time, sweet to listen to, like ASMR. How did he even do that? Even I swooned for Ebube at the sound of Nana's voice, so I could only imagine what she must have been going through.

"Yeah, thanks," I finally heard Ebube speak.

Nana was sure a very generous person with his smiles because he blessed Ebube with one. Bear in mind that it didn't matter that they were in a set together, those two were strangers, and yet, he didn't mind warming her up with a sweet and genuine smile.

I wasn't even the one he was smiling at and yet, I felt blessed by an angel. Something holy, pure, and sweet comforted me and all he had to do was smile at Ebube.

Again, only God knows how much beautiful damage he was doing to the poor girl.

Like he had no idea that he was wrecking the absolute shit out of her and tearing her apart with that killer smile, he bade her a farewell with a polite salute, before turning back around to leave again.

It was as Nana was walking that I remembered that Ebube had still not given him back his ear pod.

Needless to say, the realization hit Ebube too, and twice as hard.

"Oh my God! Hey, I actually wanted to give you back your-"

Nana turned around again, and Ebube's words seemed to die down in her throat, again.

"Uhh..." She fidgeted again, took another step back, swallowed, her words drowning down her throat and her body shutting down from nervousness.

He looked at her with eyebrows raised, patiently, kindly even, waiting for her to finish what she started saying, but Ebube was just mute. She refused to speak again.

That's how it became a staring competition.

Nana looked at Ebube.

Ebube looked at Nana.

Nana looked at Ebube.

Ebube looked at Nana.

The both of them were just standing there and looking at each other.

"Sorry, I'll just go..."

"Sorry, I disturbed you..."

They spoke at the same time, talking over each other and the awkwardness in the air was so strong that I even felt it for the both of them. With Ebere fumbling on her words and Nana, unaware of how to handle the awkward situation, but considerate enough to just be kind and polite to her nonetheless.

"Sorry," Ebube muttered again, tore her look away from him and nervously rubbed the back of her neck, breaking eye contact first as she looked onto the ground, awkward and embarrassed.

"Yeah, um," Nana ran a hand through his hair as he laughed again, awkwardly still, "Bye," He added, "Again."

"Sure," The twin mumbled, closed in Nana's pods into her hands, hiding it in her fist, while smiling uncomfortably, "Sure, go."

"You're okay, right?" He asked to be sure, courtesy rolling off him easily.

"Positive," She said to Nana, covering the pods she was hiding with her other hands as she stepped away, shaking her head at him and assuring no issues, "Don't worry."

Was she planning on keeping his ear pods? Why wasn't she giving it back?

"Bye," He said again, and he must have said that a hundred times already, and he knew. His lack of words and awkward behaviour may have even been cringe for him.

His body language told so. Without having much more to say to Ebube, in that fiddly atmosphere, he nodded her a smile and turned around to walk away the third time yet.

There was a lot of hesitance in Ebube as she watched Nana leave and she fondled what rightfully belonged to him in her, looking from it to him, and once again, fighting that dilemma hard and strong.

She was fighting the dilemma.

And fighting the dilemma.

And fighting the dilemma.

And fighting the-

"-Your ear pods fell, Nnaemeka!"

Gbam!

Nana was walking when Ebube announced that to his back and immediately, he stopped for a second, looked over his shoulder to the the backpack hung there, a confused frown on his face.

"You dropped it," She further said to him.

He turned around to her, eyes lightening in comprehension, and for the first time, Ebube didn't actually falter or step back away from him.

Clearly, his gaze had quite an effect on her. It was so obvious with the way she seemed to do be caught off guard every time he pinned her in eye contact. It wasn't hard for him to look her directly in the eyes, but to Ebube, it was like her world was beautifully crashing before her. With the way she backed up slightly, every time, and how she seemed to swallow hard again and again, it was clear how much of an effect he had on her.

Nonetheless, I was so proud of her for standing her ground nonetheless. That was the Onuoha twin I knew. She further even impressed me by taking a few steps towards him; they were hesitant, like she counted each step and rethought the consequences for each of them, before taking another. Hesitantly, but gradually.

Nana just stood there, watching her with such incredible patience.

"Here," She reached out her hand to him, ear pod extended towards him.

He took it from her, a warm smile of gratitude on his face, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," She said, her lips stretching into a smile that I had never seen from her, her cheeks reddening heavily.

My eyes were wide as saucers, as I understood what was happening to her.

Ebube was blushing. Ebube was actually blushing?

What blasphemy was this?

Nana's smile back at her was just plain courtesy, and I didn't need a saint to tell me that he did not understand what was going on with the girl. He was such a sweet person. His awkward smile was the most adorable thing ever.

"Er... Thank you," He repeated again.

"You're welcome," She said again, hands playing shyly with the tips of her blue hair, her smile never fading for a moment.

The both of them were so adorable, I could cry. Nana with his natural awkwardness and Ebube who was a totally different person, smiling and playing with her hair like a six year old.

"Yeah.. So, err..." He actually scratched the back of his head in laughter, looking for what to say, and Ebube giggled so adorably, started to play with her fingers now, also tongue-tied.

"Pixel 6 pro, yeah?" She said out of the blue, confusing me and Nana.

"Excuse me?" He raised an inquisitive brow.

"Your ear pods," She said, "They are from the Google Pixel brand and are only exclusive to people who patronize them. I'd know, because I did some research myself."

"Well," He didn't mind the fact that she was talking off point, but just looked to the ear pod in his hand and half smiled, responded, "Yeah, you're right."

"Yeah, well, it was because of you I did my research," She told him easily, the rush in her tone made it clear to me that she was fidgeting, "I noticed in school that you use a Pixel pro 6 phone."

"You noticed," He repeated her words, sincerely listening to her talk at random.

"Not that I watch you in School or anything!" She quickly defended herself, "I promise I don't watch you at all. That would be so creepy, and I am not a creep. I don't watch anyone, I swear! I just kind of noticed you used Pixel because it is a rare brand, and it's not like I see it everyday, because you don't come to School with your phone on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and sometimes, Saturday Lessons. You only bring the Laptop, which you lock up in the Media room upstairs afterwards.-"

God of mercy.

"But some days sports days, you bring it to School sha. But it is usually on Thursdays because it's sort of close to the end of the School Week, and since you usually get called to meetings in the School Disciplinary Building, you like to keep yourself busy too. Those Sports Days you have those meetings, you don't come to school with those your fancy Lakers jerseys; you usually wear the regular school sports wears, but with grey sweat pants, and occasionally, a hoodie too, and I'm sorry, can we start this conversation all over again?"

She looked like the ground should just open and swallow her up already, and Nana, adamant on making her feel more comfortable and less tensed, laughed warmly, just to lighten the atmosphere a little.

"It's okay," He told her kindly, "I didn't accuse you of watching me though."

Ebube was aggressively biting on her nails, when she said, "Really?"

"I just didn't think that anyone cared enough to take note of the type of phone I use," He said to her, "Or, when I do and don't bring it to School. Or the meetings I attend. Or the clothes I wear."

Omoh.

"Hehe," Was what came out of Ebube's mouth and I wasn't even joking with you. "I guess that's my beauty pleasure."

God, she sounded more like a creep by the moment. Even she realized.

"Not watching people!" She immediately defended, "Just randomly picking up the most insignificant things and occupying my time getting all the information I can about it."

"Oh," He nodded in understanding.

"Not that you're insignificant!" Ebube suddenly shouted, startling Nana, "I mean, like, it's not that you are insignificant, but me, spotting out your phone brand and researching on it is not really something I should be doing with my time, because I should have better things to do, and no, I am not saying that you are a waste of time, I am just trying to say that-"

She was caught off by Nana's laugh.

That stopped her in mid-rant. She stopped talking and watched the boy who chuckled at the mess that was her.

"Hey," He said to her, "Calm down, okay? It's fine, really. I get you completely."

"I am calm," She said, laughed too. "Now, I am."

"Good for you," He assured her lovingly.

She laughed again, and I knew she was trying to shake the nervousness off her.

"Nice coat jacket by the way," Ebube told him, and the way she looked at him, I was certain that they were a lot of things that looked nice about him, outside just that jacket, "It suits you."

"Thanks," Nana said, blushed at the compliment. He seemed so easily swayed by nice words, the way compliments got to him. "It was actually a gift from my Mum."

"Oh," Ebube smiled shyly like she didn't know what next to say, "You have a nice Mum."

Nana's brows furrowed in amusement at the odd compliment and I put a hand over my mouth to stop me from laughing out loud.

"Thank you," He said to her, "I am sure you have a nice Mum too."

Oh the God of Self control. I was at the verge of bursting out in laughter, so badly.

I had never seen Ebube so awkward before. And could Nana get any nicer? Just standing there as she took his time, took both their times, talking a bunch of nothings and embarrassing herself. All he did was try to make her feel less stupid with his sweet smiles and politeness.

"You look nice too," He said to Ebube, "Blue looks good on you. And, it's my favourite colour."

Her eyes glinted with so much hope and happiness.

"Mine too," She said.

I guess it was a good start that they had one thing in common. Even if it was as little as a mutual favourite colour. Cheers to Progress!

"Bye, Nnaemeka," Ebube finally said, hands busy again with her hair and hands, playing with them turn by turn, and Nana's chuckle was the warmest things to the ears.

For a second, there was a softness in his eyes in his eyes as he smiled at her. A softness that was almost a glow. I wasn't sure if I should add any meaning to that.

"Bye," He said back to her, smile sweet brightening his face as he added, "Ebube."

Eh?

Ebube looked like she was about to pass out when Nana said her name.

The twin could not even hold back the look of shock on her face.

And needless to say, neither could I.

For Nana to have known it was Ebube talking to him all along, it was a massive deal. Till this very day, 99.99% of the population of Castron High could not spot the difference between the Onuoha twins because they looked devilishly identical. The 0.01% who could tell between the twins was us ; the Igbo Sisters.

So, how on bloody earth, did Nnaemeka Obi know?

"-What are you doing there, Dabi?"

I jumped, startled, nearly punched Casper Bassey in the throat.

God knows where he had appeared from, and why he chose to pull my soul out of my body without warning, but the colour haired light skin boy was looking at me with question.

Quickly, I realized that he was not the one who looked out of place.

It was me.

Me, hiding in the little corridor of the Class Hallway, alone, at night.

"Is everything alright?" He asked me, genuinely concerned and a little scared too.

"Yes," I answered, "I just came here to look for Marc..."

"That's super and all, but I highly doubt it that Acha is in going to be in there, boss." He said to me, pointing towards the little corridor where I was hiding.

My head was already hot. Embarrassed, I stepped out of my hiding spot.

"I just got distracted, so I-" I stopped in midsentence when I looked ahead to find that neither Nana nor Ebube were there anymore. Sigh. "Never mind. Have you seen Marc?"

"He left not long ago," Casper told me.

I frowned in confusion, "Without saying good bye?"

"Men are scum," He shrugged.

"Tch." I hissed as I laughed. "I'm serious, guy."

"He didn't actually say anything to me or Aaron, he just left like that," Casper told me seriously, putting all jokes aside.

Hearing Aaron's name hit me hard. I recalled everything that had gone down with Chika, and I sunk into depression again.

"You could call him," Casper suggested.

"Yeah... Sure," I sounded rather dry as I answered, a part of me feeling weird to even talk to Casper, so I waved him off and started walking away.

With everything that had gone down, he seemed clueless. Or at least, that was what he gave off. Joking with me still and everything. I felt like I shouldn't even be speaking to him or laughing with him when we were doing such a terrible thing to his friend.

Casper had no idea what was going on. Or at least, I hoped dearly.

But, I knew I should have been asking myself one question.

Was he really clueless?

"Aaron has been missing his sister a lot, lately especially..."

I stopped walking, wondering why Casper was suddenly telling me this.

"And, I know he doesn't show it with the way that he jokes and laughs and shit, but for years now, he's been very closed off, more than usual. He doesn't easily let people into his life. Call it boundaries, if you may, but he is so not keen on easily getting anyone into his personal space. Because he knows that when he gets attached, he gets too attached, and that as been the genesis of all the heart ache that he has ever tried to heal from."

I turned around to meet Casper's face, moping at him.

His eyes had lost the humour and playfulness that were in them just previously, and he looked serious. Much more serious. Almost scared. The kind of fear that was so low-key, resembling the one I saw in his eyes for a moment back there, when he had walked in on us in that classroom.

"Don't be angry, but why are you telling me all these?" I asked him.

"Because my guy is not in a state to get his heart fucked up, Dabi," He answered.

The fear in his voice...

It scared the shit out of me.

"I want to ask you something," Casper said to me, "And I am asking you because I know you are the only one that could tell me what I need to know..."

I had no idea what he meant by that, but I nodded for him to go on.

"Promise me you will say the truth," He said. "Promise?"

Hard, I swallowed. "Promise."

My dear heart was in my hands, beating out of control, but I stood and looked at Casper, waiting for him to ask me his big question.

"Is Chika playing with Aaron?"

I swallowed Lions, tigers, and bears.

"Excuse me?" I choked on my words, coughed to get myself back.

So, he did suspect something. Casper was just acting like he didn't all along?

"Why would you..." I said, the weight in my throat blocking audibility from my words. "Why would you ask me that?"

"Something about the two of them doesn't sit right with me," Easily, he said his mind, "And, I don't know why, but it's not just a strong gut feeling, it's also certain observations too."

How could he be so smart though?

"I trust my logic more than I trust my emotions, and something is definitely not right," Casper said, "And, then, today, when I walked into the classroom, I knew you girls were hiding something from me."

And he acted like he bought it when we insisted we weren't?

"I didn't bother asking because I weighed the tension in the room, and knew dead on that none of you were going to tell me the truth even if I asked," He was blank with me.

Woah.

"So, please also clarify me on one thing. Did that drama back there, everything, did it have anything to do with Aaron?" He asked me.

My palms were sweaty. I was a wreck at the moment.

"Please don't lie to me," He said, he sounded like he was pleading almost. Or warning. I heard the silent 'I will know if you do' after his words and my heart raced like a bastard.

What had I gotten myself into?

"Casper, I..."

Jesus, I couldn't rat out my own friend. I couldn't betray Chika like that. If Aaron should find out the truth, it couldn't be because I told Casper. That would just be awful.

Chika was going to tell him herself. She was supposed to, and I knew she would. A part of me felt relief that she was not playing Aaron along anymore, and she was planning to speak up. Truthfully, I dreaded the thought of letting Aaron know that his potential relationship with Chika was all a scam. A dare. I wished he didn't have to ever know that.

But, most especially, I wished there was a way I could get out of hot seat that Casper was placing me on, without particularly having to lie to him nor expose my friend.

However, Chika hadn't even given her word yet. Or said it with her mouth that her plan was to say the truth. I couldn't even be certain that was her decision. I just supposed it would be, since she was always the Moral Police. So, so many gears were turning in my head. Aaron couldn't be left in the dark. Still, this shit couldn't leave my mouth. I couldn't do that to Chika. What do I do?

"No..."

That was me, to Casper.

And, he looked at me, unconvinced. "No?"

Of course, he wasn't convinced. Casper wasn't that easy to fool. He had made that bit clear.

So, maybe, that was the solution. I could just lie to him. He would figure it all out on his own. That way, it didn't have to look like I took matters into my hands and exposed Chika. That way, Aaron would still know the truth. Right?

As much I hated to lie, one fact was that my friendship with the Sisters meant more to me than Aaron and Casper ever did. I could lose Aaron and Casper, but not Chika.

I would just lie to him and hope he figured it out himself. That was all I had to do. Casper was a smart kid. One of the most intelligent students in the whole set. He should be able to detect that I was telling him a lie. He would be able to look into my eyes and tell right off that every word that slipped out of it was deceit.

That way, I was not only saving Aaron from an unfair situation of unrequited love, but I wouldn't have to feel bad for ratting out my friend too. The story would be that 'He asked me to tell him the truth' and after 'I lied for Chika', he just simply 'did not believe me'.

"Chika is not playing with Aaron. Everything between them is real."

I lied to Casper's face, and he just stood there and stared at me for an awful lot of time.

"Believe me," I said to him. I'm lying.

It was like those two letter words were repeating over and over in my head, wishing he would somehow get the message, but Casper just stared at me, an emotion I couldn't read in his eyes.

He was searching.

He was searching for my lie.

And, I was shocked at how much I could stand my ground and look someone straight in the eyes, even when blatantly telling a lie.

Casper's mouth opened to speak and my heart stopped.

"Okay."

Eh?

I watched in 'horror' as his lips stretched, cracking onto his face what I feared the most.

A smile of Relief.

"Thank you," Casper said to me, and I was holding my breath.

Sincerely, I hoped he would take a second to look deeper into my eyes and have a second thought. But no. He didn't.

Casper believed me.

He completely believed me.

And, I felt like shit.

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR 100K OO. NOW 101K OO!!✨

One more chapter before the Christmas party. I'm somehow scared sha. Because omoh, shit's not going to be funny. But, we will survive it. Amen?

See you later!❤️