We are still on Baekhyun of Exo because dayummm, the man can SAAAANNNGGGGGGGGG!!!😭🔥

Song for the Chapter is Cry for Love by Baekhyun, and the media is up there, so check it out and be blessed by those ear sweeteners!!!! EXO GUYS SING LIKE THEY ARE GOING FOR WAR! I DON'T KNOW WHY ANYONE WOULD NOT STAN THESE VOCAL GODS!!!!!!

Okay, that's enough fan girling. Let's start with the chapter, Lmaooo! Peep the name of the chapter and comment if you get the inside joke!😂❤️ 

~DABI~

"Is our boyfriend man asking for some noodles?"

I believed I did not have hear Ebere Onuoha correctly.

Khalid vibes were all around the room, smooth and serene, yet loud enough to drown anyone's voice. So, I was not sure if I was to be alarmed by such unnecessarily loud music or the fact that the twin just asked me if the consistent and non-stop buzzing of my iPhone was my boyfriend asking me for Indomie.

"Eh?

That was me, to the Twin, who by the way, acted like she didn't realise that I was stupid confused. So, even when I stared at her with confusion slapped upon my face, a total idiot before her, her face was straight as a card board paper.

As a matter of fact, she seemed just as busy as everyone else in the room, paying half a mind to me, or maybe as little as a quarter, while the rest of her attention went into scavenging the huge travelling bag on Soma's Queen-sized bed for the perfect 'fit.

"Boyfriend man seems a bit too desperate, Chica," She stated, her tone matter of factly, "So..." She grabbed a pink tube top from the bag, frowned in disgust with one glance at it before carelessly flinging it onto the bed and moving to the next, "Send a tease. Like a thirst trap. Let the jig' suffer a little. I love stressing men!"

Was she...

Was she talking to me...?

Okay, maybe she wasn't.

So, I completely ignored her.

Frankly, I had other things plaguing my mind. For starters, the Christmas Party was tonight.

If someone told me that on this very night, I would be sitting there in Soma's room, half dressed in a little something that the tall girl had picked out herself, for me, and mixing in myself in the Sister's little dress up charade, or chaos, I wouldn't have believed them.

But here we were, here I was...

In the ins of Soma's magical Kingdom, surrounded by the ridiculous luxury of her large bedroom.

With bright hues of orange like rays of the sunset brightening the space around us, blending it into a fine shade of gold on our skin. The large spinning chandelier at the centre of the ceiling that dotted against our skin with shapes of fine beads, taking turns with colours of orange, gold and silver, even against the dozens and dozens of hand-drawn portrait pictures, hanging all around the walls of Soma's bedroom. The air around us, shaded with fine hues and particles of light that looked like fairy dust, filling the room with fine smokes of silver and orange.

The room was hot with preparation too. In its peak, really.

The Sisters were hurrying busy bodies; all of them, doing one thing or the other with some sort of urgency: talking at the same time, about different things, ranging from cries of frustration about misplaced make-up brushes that were literally just on Soma's teddy bears' golden tea table and suddenly just disappeared.

To the cringe worthiness of dozens of outfits that had been tried out, one after the other, for about one million times, and how they every gloss colour just did not match the colour of their skin, either looked too dark, dull, or too bright.

Even down to the most random talks and laughs about more cringe WhatsApp status updates of wannabe class girls who posted pre-party 'takes, doing the absolute most and thirst trapping the Internet into utter chaos.

Then, hyping up some others though, boys and girls alike, who were looking like a snack on their Instagram stories: showing teasers of their make up looks, outfit inspo, fancy jewellery and wristwatches from known and famously appraised and expensive brands, and generally, just really cool fashion aesthetics.

And with some cool RnB music in the air and a sweet scent of Vanilla and strawberry perfume lingering in the room, I just sat there by the carrousel in the middle of the room, intermediating between watching the stuffed animals that spun around it and the Sisters who were seriously moving down to business.

Ebere had spent the last half hour, throwing away every dress her hands picked out from the bag in rejection, flinging them onto the bed in utter disgust and frustration, while wearing nothing but a transparent lace bra and some nearly unseen G-string panties.

Chika had disappeared into Soma's dressing room, leaving her speaker to blast Khalid on shuffle and full volume, and she had refused to step out for even one second.

The last I looked to Soma and Ebube, she was applying some eye shadow to her eyes, and I saw Soma's mouth moving to a song I knew wasn't the one playing, screaming Bubble gum and rainbow monkeys over and over as she gleamed and grinned widely in excitement, painting the twin's face.

And through the mirror, Ebube who was like Soma, dressed in a bathing robe, already looked so gorgeous, with shades of blue blended at the top of her eye lids, highlighting her features brilliantly.

Soma was on fire tonight though. Especially on my matter. As a matter of fact, I had never seen her so jumpy and excited on my case. She was so sad and disappointed when I told her that I was not going to be there at the Christmas party at first, and when I told her that I had changed my mind, oh boy, she was high as a kite.

The girl spent a ridiculous amount of money looking for 'things she thinks Dabeluchi will like to wear' and browsing pinterest for 'Badass smoky eye make up', wasted over 500mb saving up dozens and dozens of pictures into her 'Things that will look good on Dabeluchi' collection on Instagram.

I insisted that all of that was all extra and unnecessary, but when I figured that she was relentless, I did not even have the strength to fight. So, I picked up the first set of clothes that she showed me and fake smiled until my cheeks started to hurt, assuring Soma that I was content with that outfit.

Honestly speaking, I cared little to nothing about what I wore.

I was only going to the Christmas party because I wanted to see Marcus Acha.

However, I had to praise Soma for all her diligence. I was a distance away from the vanity mirrors where she was, applying very thick lip liner over the gloss on Ebube Onuoha's pouty shaped lips, one that from the Vanity mirror, I could see, was bolding the outline of her lips while she quietly sat and closed her eyes softly. Tenderly so. Almost daintily.

For a moment, I was just sitting there and staring at how beautiful Ebube looked.

"So, you are ignoring me now, Dabeluchi?"

I was called back to Ebere's eyes that were direct on me, sharp at the edges with dark eyeliner and a lining of white that was hardly seen underneath, a combination that gave her a striking, almost painful-to-look-at beauty.

With hands on akimbo, left hip shooting out slightly in sass, and an lift of her perfectly carved brows, she stared at me and waited for an answer.

"Noodles," I started by repeating exactly what I had heard her say, "You asked me if Marc wants some noodles." Hopefully, I was able to communicate how that made no sense to me.

"Noodles?" Soma's thick brow quirked together and head tilted to the side in confusion, momentarily stopping on Ebube's make up to glance up at me and Ebere, "Did I just hear you say noodles?" The other twin had opened her eyes too, turning softly to stare at us as well.

A little chuckle escaped Ebere's lips, the corners crinkling as she seemingly tried to hold in the whole laugh.

"Yes, Soso, you heard me properly," She played along with the tall girl, while thriving some joy from my solid confusion, "I said send Acha some noodles, alright-

Huh?

"-Some notty noodles!"

Wtf.

The twin laughed at her own rubbish joke, nearly falling over the throw stool by the bed and crashing onto Soma's make up box, belting out massive laughter while I just sat there, watching her and wondering if she had gone mad.

"Nudes," Ebube's lips were twitching as she withheld a snicker; Soma who was supposed to be doing her make up was giggling non-stop at how silly Ebere looked kneeling by the bed and laughing so hard. "My sister means to say you should send Nudes."

Soma was quick to jump into objection.

"No!" She screamed, "Don't do that! Don't ever send a guy nudes. It never ends well!"

"Oh, relax!" Ebere waved Soma off, debunking, "If my girl wants to tease her man a lil', what's the worst that could happen?"

Soma was not clear if this was all jokes or not, and I was on the same plate.

"It could leak, though," Adamant, she still was.

"And who will leak it?" Ebere scoffed in disbelief.

She was all dramatic head rolls and facetious finger snaps, a clear evidence of mock sass rolling off her body language.

"Who, na?" She pressed on, still, "Lover boy Clyde?"

I frowned instinctively. "Marc would never do such a thing to me."

"I hate to second you, b, but through what I have seen so far, I guess your baby, Marc isn't quite the asshole I made him out to be, originally," Ebere said, agreeing with me.

That... Surprised me.

"Really?" I asked Ebere, slapped with surreality. "You... You trust Marcus Acha?"

She looked like she hated to admit it, but a warm smile married her stunningly gorgeous face.

It was a real smile. Her eyes, the corners crinkled with sincerity, and her shoulders shrugged like she couldn't have any other choice. It made me smile too, knowing that it was rare to see this smile off Ebere. It was so pure and true, and from the depth of her heart.

People only smiled at way when they were a hundred percent sincere about their feelings or if they cared a fuck lot about you. Or both.

"I trust him for you," She said to me, "I trust that he loves you genuinely and won't hurt you. I guess that's all that matters, right?"

I felt so understood. So supported. Warm and comforted too. I couldn't stop smiling in relief.

"I mean, I hate to admit it," She said with a smile, "But, boyfriend man is simping so hard, it's hard to not tell he is obsessed. It is kinda relieving, knowing he is a real one. So, yeah, I guess I trust him. For you, at least."

"Thank you," I told her.

I never knew that this day would come. I never knew that Ebere would ever look at Marcus as any less of a blood sucking demon. Right from start, he and his clan of Art guys from Class A, as well as the little group he associated himself with and the hype of classmates on his name, they saw him as nothing less than a vein attention seeker who would do psychotically anything to cause a 'commotion' on his name in front of his peers.

Even if it meant using me.

But, no, Marc was nothing like that. My Clyde was the sweetest.

"I have trusted him from day one too, remember?"

It was Soma who caught my attention, standing there and observing the entire thing like we were somewhat betraying her or something. Or maybe it was just concern that was heavy in her eyes, heavy enough to look that way.

"I know Acha wouldn't do anything to harm you," She said. "I am aware that he loves you, beyond all reasonable and unreasonable doubts..."

Certainly.

"... But, so many people hate that about the both of you," Soma continued, "So, don't give them any sort of leverage or opportunity to ruin you. The way the world works, at the end of the day, you're the one who suffers the consequences and not him."

"Oh," I backtracked slightly on that realization. She is right.

"Well, true," Ebere didn't argue with that, "That is why I always say fuck the World and do what you want."

"You do say that, but you also have a strong stance on being careful enough to not ruin your reputation or social status."

I almost said that.

Almost.

That fact didn't hit me until now.

But, this was just the way the Twins were built. They would push themselves or even you into doing things that will spark controversy, just to 'gain a name' and while getting the mixed reactions of good and bad, they assure you or themselves that 'they don't care'.

But, no, they do care.

As far as the mixed reviews are more of positive than negative, its an 'I don't care' façade.

But once it starts to backfire and take an unexpected turn and the negative starts to overshadow the positive, threading dangerously into the line of status quo defiance and social suicide, then that's when everything turns red.

It made sense. I always wondered why and how the twins seems to do dangerous things, like going nude on Social Media for example, even when they knew Classmates were judgemental as fuck, but I topped it all by assuming it was just immense confidence. I thought they just didn't care, but it confused me that they were the same people who constantly gave me do's and don'ts of how to keep a social status.

So, contrary to the 'I am dressing the way I want because I can or want to' or 'I am breaking social norms and cooking up mass conspiracies because I couldn't care less about what people say of me', I believed the Onuoha Twins did not do these things because, from the depth of their hearts, they wanted to do these things and didn't care what people thought...

The girls simply did it for Attention.

So, it made sense that they drew the line when that 'Attention' started to wildly backfire.

Because at the end of the day, the most important thing was keeping your rank in the Social Hierarchy System of Castron High.

"Marc doesn't even want me to send him nudes," I rather told them.

Ebere scoffed in disbelief.

"Girl, that kind of guy does not exist." She blankly made her statement, before dumping three rejected clothes at a stretch onto the bed.

I wanted to protest...

"No such thing. No such guy,"

She sounded very certain. Said what she was saying so easily and was back to what she was doing in no time, surfing for clothes.

I expected Soma to debunk for me, but when she didn't say anything, I started to think she believed that too.

"Well," I started by saying as I watched her quietly, "I don't think I agree though."

"Believe me, he is just good enough to be patient with you," She said, "Wanna bet? Send him some' and watch it become the norm."

Uh...

"Send him what?"

Manicured hands parted the curtains of Soma's dressing room immediately and out came, popping through from in between the orange curtains, Chika's head.

With face bare of make up, I could see ever expression on her naturally beautiful face and it screamed of Amebo.

"Send him what?"

I swear her ears may have been red with it, piqued in high interest, curiosity, and a bit of suspicion too as she looked around the room.

"Nothing.-"

"Ebere wants Lulu to send nudes to Marcus Acha!"

Soma ratted out in no time, cutting both me and the twin off before we utter a full word.

Ebere chortled to herself, mumbling, "Sneaky like bitch."

Meanwhile, Chika looked like a white ghost.

"Nudes?" She exclaimed.

Evidently, she was in horror. With a speed that shocked me, she whipped her head so fast to Ebere, eyes nearly popping out of it's sockets.

"Babe. Why would you tell Dabz to do such a dangerous thing?" She asked.

"Oh, relax," Ebere laughed, waving the girl off dismissively, "You girls get so shaken up so easily. It's just nudes."

"It's not 'just' if there are a dozen things that could go wrong o," Chika said to Ebere, "Hah. Don't put things into the girl's head, my gee."

"Fine, Chi, whatever," She playfully rolled her eyes and shook her head, "I ain't forcing anyone to do anything o. I'm just saying if Dabeluchi wants to do anything with her man. Who are we to stop her? Let her have her fun na." She winked jestingly at me, moving her shoulders teasingly as if giving me a jokingly silent 'go ahead and try it'.

Most definitely, Chika was about to come in and say something more, so I took the initiative to step in and speak.

"Actually, I am not thinking of sending him nudes though."

That seemed to calm Chika down a bit; she looked at me and I watched her shoulders visibly drop in relaxation.

"Oh," She said to me, quipping a quiet smile. "Good for you, Dabeluchi. That's a great decision."

Maybe it was in my head, but her voice when she spoke to me was calmer and softer. As though she were talking to a child that found it hard to cope or understand.

All I did was nod, and with that, she zapped the curtains back together and disappeared in through them.

I found myself staring there at the closed curtains where Chika was beneath, doing the exact same thing that Ebere had been doing all evening.

Looking for the perfect dress.

Just like Ebere, she had come here with a bag too, and she had been searching and dumping everything, one after the other, in dissatisfaction.

To be honest, it was unusual.

Very unusual.

Chika never surfed clothes for the perfect 'fit to wear. She was fast and efficient with these kind of things, dipping her hands into her closest and picking out the first or second choice, with little to no debate.

I mean, it wasn't that she didn't take care of herself or anything. She did. Remarkably, even. It just was not in her nature to go all out, picking and dumping clothes over and over and over all in the name of looking for what the perfect thing to wear and impress. She dressed for her own comfort, so I'd noticed, and while at it, rocked whatever she wore like a confirmed badass.

So, why was Chika suddenly so serious about picking out an outfit tonight?

"Alright, Lulu, it's time to finish you up!" Soma screamed out of nowhere, jolting me out of my thoughts and rushing from the Vanity Mirror towards me excitedly with some scissors, tweezers, and screw drivers.

I wanted to run away.

Had half the mind.

But, Somadina was holding me in her grip in no time and digging her weapons into the concoction she had already previously constructed on my head.

I don't know what it was, but Soma had done something to my head. She swore to me that it was in her agenda to break the curse on my head and after hours and hours of trying to detangle my forming dreads, she came to the realization that some things were more powerful than her.

So, she started to work with my dreads and braid them the way they were, and next thing, she whipped out some artificial hair and started to construct a whole fucking Minnie Mouse on my head.

I liked the theme she was going for. The Biker girl aesthetic. She went for something I would have done myself, but with hers came more drama, style, and bezazz. The entire outfit was leather-based from top to finish, and at first, I was scared that the halter neck top would be too revealing, having it had no hands, and only but some strings that extended from the neck line of the and crossed around my neck.

The fact that I was wearing some Biker shorts to complete the ashewo look did not even make matters any better.

So, Soma assured me that she wouldn't let me wear something I wasn't comfortable with and she had already accompanied the top with a thick leather jacket, and since I didn't like having my legs in total display, she got some dark leather matching boots that were high up to my knees to cover up.

Of course, Soma has to be a bit more extra, so the biker look and the hara hara on my head was not enough for her. She insisted that the large sunshades she got for me completed the look too. I had to remind her, second by the second, that it was a High school party I was going to, and not a A-List Celebrity hotspot.

Clyde❤️

{32 new messages}

I had been so absorbed in all these preparations that it hardly occurred to me to see why the barrages of messages from Marc kept coming, non-stop, and until Soma had brought it up that my phone was still buzzing every five minutes, it just stayed there on the throw stool that neighboured me.

Reluctant I was, because in all honesty, I could not stand the girls teasing the life out of me if I started texting Marc here. I couldn't control the sweet tingling feeling of excitement that it made me feel every time I knew that he had texted me, and how badly it always reddened my cheeks, against my wish. 

I guess some things were beyond our control anyway, because the moment that Soma had moved away from me, I grabbed my iPhone from the fluffy stool like I was on an urgent mission of dangerous priority—

"Okay, na! Secret Agent Aurora!"

Eh?

"Oh, e shock you? You think we did not notice you ever since? Chat with your man o!"

"Queen of discretion! See how her whole neck is red everywhere, as if we are blind!"

"See her head! She does not even know we know what she's been doing behind closed doors! Answer that boy abeg!"

"Don't answer us o. Who are we? Send Uncle Clyde noodles!"

My eyes were wide as saucers, shocked and stunned, as Soma and Ebere started to fire at me from all angles, left and right, attacking the absolute shit out of me.

The next second, my shock turned into a series of uncontrollable laughter and I was nearly falling over the stool, shrieking in laughter that was beyond me as the girls teased and teased and teased. I was brown skinned, but with the burning sensation on my cheeks, I was certain that I was as red as a tomato.

That was exactly what I was avoiding. Exactly that. Yet, somehow, these witches that were my sisters still found a way to catch me red-handed and ruin me nonetheless. 

"Come, Soso! Let us even show him how his babe is looking!" Ebere was summoning her partner in crime and the taller girl was running like a tarantula, creeping and sniggering along with the twin as they ran towards me with so much excitement.

"No, no, stop!—" I was dying, basically. Dying in laughter and dying in embarrassment, but it was none of their business. The two girls were pulling me to my feet and dragging me towards either the orange curtains or the Vanity mirror while I screamed in protest.

It was all in vain. I was screaming, laughing, and protesting and these girls did not care. Sniggering, they sat me down on one of the stools and started to aggressively touch up every part of my hair, face, and clothes to get me set.

"Only Teasers though!" Soma was telling Ebere vibrantly, "Let's just send teasers. He will have to wait and see her tonight to get the full juice!"  

"Yes girl!" Ebere proposed the notion, snapping her fingers in sass as she aggressively seconded.

I was covering my face, shy and embarrassed as the two girls went on and on, and even though I wanted to co-operate, I was laughing too hard with face buried in my hands, too much to even be serious for any picture.

As though they were trying to make things even worse for me, Somadina grabbed my phone away from my hands, surprising me. I thought she was about to start making a video or something, but when she lingered on with my phone for too long, scrolling and looking for something, I knew she was up to something else.

Her left thumb suddenly pressed against the bottom right of the screen of my phone and the moment her mouth opened to speak, a strange accent I believed was an old British Accent started to roll off effortlessly from her tongue, causing my eyes to nearly pop out of my skull on realizing what she was doing.

"Hello, there, I believe I am speaking to Mr Clyde Acha, the man of Aurora's dreams—"

Somadina was sending a Whatssap voice note!

"No, no. noo! Jesus Christ, Soma! No!" I was shouting, jumping to my feet to grab my phone from Soma who started a whole marathon race with me. 

I started to chase her around the room, but I was only wasting my bloody time as she continued to do her thing, against my wish. Ebere, laughing, joined in the charade, running around in circled around the room, helping Soma to hide my phone away from me as she laughed, convulsed, and said nonsense in Marc's DMs.

"— We just wanted to tell you that you are NOT ready for the drip tonight, because boyfriend-man, your girlfriend is GIVING!"

By this time, I was reaching out hard to yank the phone from Soma's hand as Ebere used the opportunity to scream into it, and before we knew it, we were falling onto Soma's large fluffy bed, laughing so hard that I started seeing stars, my head rising with a migraine, and ribs threatening to burst open through my abdomen.

Soma made sure to hit the send button before I could even stop her, and my heart was beating inside my head. I was most certain that Marcus Acha would think that we were not normal people. Not even close.

And, in all sincerity, were we really?

"Okay, okay, Aurora, give me BADASS!" Ebere was the camera woman, and with her new self appointed career came pride. 

Me? I hardly knew what I was doing, but I let them take the pictures. I hardly had to do anything other than sit there while they took the pictures. I had not much of a choice, really.

And after opening the new messages that counted up to about eleven, all responding in laughter emojis and voice notes reactions to the voice note that Soma had sent him through my phone things I knew I was not going to publicly respond to, to avoid another world war here — I forwarded some of the pictures to him and turned off my phone completely, from there to avoid more drama.

A/N: Aurora's Noodles oo!😭❤️

FIRST POSITION IN BEAUTY!🔥

Who can guess what Marc's reaction would be like when he sees this???? Omoh sha!!

MORE A/N; I could send more, but I will leave it to my page. I will post the VN Soma sent, and all of Marc's reactions there too! For now, feel free to leave it all to your imagination!😂❤️

Um, Okay, fine. One more!😂🤝

And, well, in case you want to see the full thing...

{Dabi Haters will choke on Jealousy this night, and I can't WAIT for you guys to see!😂🤝)

Apparently so, the Sisters extra preparations were not in vain. I had insisted I wanted no make up, since it was one of the major things taking up all the time and Soma's make up routine was a typical example of 'trust the process'. You would have no idea where she was going and how it was going to turn out alright until you were patient enough to wait for the end.

In other words, the girls were slaying!

On a regular, the Sisters were gorgeous. Tonight, their beauty was even more highlighted, pronounced and jaw dropping. I could proudly say that all of this tonight, from the throwing away of clothes to the over extended hours of make up, was not a waste of time.

Speaking of throwing away clothes, Ebere had finally settled with an outfit choice. A dress that was bright orange in colour, just like the entire theme of the room, with finely tied rope dress knots at the lower parts of the body con dress, drooping down past the short length of the dress.

Just like the halter neck top I wore, it was practically handless too, but with the cross design of the straps around their neck, it was a stunning fit. The strap heels she wore matched the exact colour of her dress. Of course, Ebere cared little to nil about body hugging dresses or short ones, so that gown was as comfortable as it could be for her. 

Ebube seemed to have no other option. She wore the exact same thing Ebere wore, and the only thing telling the both dresses apart was the colour distinction. Ebube preferred to come in blue.

COMMENT SLAY IN YOUR NATIVE LANGUAGE!💃💃💃💃🔥🔥🔥

PS: I couldn't find a picture with the kind of make up I wanted, so imagine them wearing this, but with the make up looks that I described earlier in this chapter.

Soma surprised me so much with how efficient her multi tasking skill was. She took it upon herself to do everyone's hair and make up, leaving herself undone. It was barely a few minutes from when Casper had called us to start making our way down to the Venue, having committee members were supposed to be there, earlier than the rest of the set, and Soma was hoarding a mirror and a brush to herself, powdering her face as fast as she could.

The girl must have been a wizard. I saw her dip fake eye lashes in glue and stick it onto her lids without flinching, she applied Mascara on the lashes without fretting or tearing up, and I knew only psychopaths could do that. To make matters worse, in one quick effort, drew a perfect line of eye liner for herself, before mixing some pretty umbrae colours of brown and nude on her lips. She barely spent more than ten minutes, this entire procedure.

The rest of her dress up was a cakewalk. 

Soma wore her long natural hair in a bun, wrapping it deliberately messily, in a way that looked stylish, and leaving some strands to fall like coils by the sides, and the edges, perfectly done with little pretty and artsy curly shapes she drew at those sides of her hair. Her make up was bold, with dark liner and a brown/nude umbrae combination, but her dress was an adorable short ball gown - one with thin cute spaghetti hands and flowers designed on the lace material that dressed the ball of the gown. It was a remarkable contrast that was stunning in its own new way.

Princess Somadina Best!🥺✨

Chika, surprisingly, was the last one to turn up. 

I still had many questions in my head regarding this new attribute she showed tonight, but by the time I saw what she had finally settled with, I was rather struck with awe, all inquisitiveness, leaving me. 

Everything, and I mean, everything about her was goals! Down from her neatly done weaves with perfect edges, to neatly done brows, hoop earrings, and a blinding gold on her long, long dress. Her make up was simple, but stunning, and her skin, shone like fine wine. Chika also seldom wore stilettos because she felt they were uncomfortable, but her stilettos were shimmery gold and new, surprising me pleasantly.

Chi Mama!!!!! 😭❤️🔥

Exhibit B🥺🤲

It was roughly a few minutes to 7 that night when we were done, and while Breathing by Ariana Grande blasted around the room, Soma made sure to take as many videos of each and everyone of us, one after the other, and even though I heard her say something about showing them off all over her Whatssap Status, I hoped I misheard her. 

For a split second, I wouldn't lie, the thought of having my pictures and videos spread all over multiple Whatssap status scared me a little. Okay, maybe a lot. Having that Soma was pretty relevant in school, I needed no Einstein to tell me that anything that she put up on her Status - especially if it had to do with us looking fly and fabulous for a party - was going to blow up.

And the thought of sparking topic tonight with my classmates scared me.

Especially since shit about me, all the rumours and folk tales on my name, had not tones down.

However, something came to my mind the moment that fear sipped in to me, seemingly building up by every second my realization got worse. It was a feeling that was new, a sort of anger toward them, my classmates, for even making me feel this way.

Anger that was almost directed to myself even. For letting them make me feel this way.

That anger came with some sort of mental rebellion too.

I reasoned it so; why did I let these people have so much control over how I felt?

It felt unfair. To myself in a sort of way. I felt I was being unfair to myself. Letting other people take away whatever little joy I may have had. 

For another moment, I questioned myself what reason I had to be scared of these people anyway. I mean... What was the worst thing they could possibly do to me?

"I want you to walk in there like the Queen that you are..." 

Marc's words from yesterday replayed in my head in that moment of self realization, and it had more depth to it than ever before. It was a sweet reminder of something that I was almost forgetting to do.

A queen, he called me. Was I really one?

I had made myself believe that Marc just thought too highly of me, and so, I did not want to let most of the things he said get into my head. You know when the world sees you as one thing and then that one special person sees you as another, and you know that their view of you is based more on bias than realism, so as much as it is sweet, somewhere deep in you, you just know that it's a sad case of 'Love is Blind'.

But, I guess it was hard to ignore sweet words when they are being repeated to you over and over again. Subconsciously, the words that we hear again and again about ourselves have a way of eventually sticking in and forming the way you eventually see yourself, even if it starts in bits and pieces. So, I would loved to admit that every time I looked at the mirror, I guess I looked better. 

It was gradual. Started from me liking the way that nose rings made me look bolder and had nice fit to my face. Then, proceeded to me liking the way the hair dos that Soma did on my hair complimented my features. And, even if it was hard to ever like any outfit I wore, having my body structure, I guess I cringed less these days.

And truthfully, as I stared at the emotionless eyes that looked at me through the vanity mirror, I saw a glow in them. A glow so warm, a glow so healthy. It was little, glinting seemingly brighter and deeper every time that I looked in harder. It was hard to see it at first glance; it was nearly impossible even, to see though all the impassive, zombie-dead eyes. I wondered how many people had seen that glow in them.

They fascinated me, impeccably. 

"Pretty," I smiled softly to myself, mesmerized by how easily that glow brightened up when my face beamed; it was like staring at an angel of light, with stars in its eyes and the purest form of joy on its face.

Harder, I smiled, and softly, my hands lifted up and reached towards the glass of the mirror, attempting to touch the beautiful face of the girl that looked back at me. 

"Are you okay?"

I stopped, fingers literally inches dangerously close, instinctively freezing on the new voice.

"You seem lost, Dabz..." Fine manicured fingers caressed my shoulders softly, massaging lightly and shifting closer to me to join me at the mirror. "You like what you see?"

Chika and I looked like goddesses, standing together, side by side. 

She stood, a half inch taller than me, with hands around my shoulder, and an upright posture of stance, beaming gold and bronze, and a blinding exotism to behold. While I stood there by her, a version of myself that was too beautiful than I have ever remembered myself to be, beauty so delicate and fragile, yet so rare and precious. Like a rough uncut diamond.

For the first time in my life, I stood close to a beautiful girl as Chika and I didn't compare to my detriment. I appreciated.  

I appreciated beautiful shades of black that was a sight for the sore eyes. Or a healing medicine. Or eye candy, sweet and pleasant to look at, heavenly to lose yourself in.

"I do," I answered with a smile, "I do like what I see."

That earned me a sweet smile from Chika, a smile that resembled my smile. Just like my eyes had glowed, I saw the same glow in hers. And with what I had learned about Chika these past few days, it was easy to understand that that glow was a ray of hope, a ray of hope that shined like a star in her eyes, and my eyes every time that we felt sincere joy.

The kind of joy that assured us peace in the midst of storm. Told us that we would be alright at the end of the day. And, I needed this reminder once again. This reminder that Chika Chioma and I, Dabeluchi Orji, were very much alike. 

It was comforting.

"I am glad you finally see it," She said to me. Her voice was warm, as always, she spoke in a tone that always calmed me down. "You are beautiful, Dabeluchi. Own it, baby girl."

And 'own it' I most definitely did. 

Maybe this was the beginning of a change for me. 

But, what about Chika...?

I was about to turn to her and ask about Aaron. Ask what was happening and what her plan was. If Chika was planning on telling him the truth. Or if she already told him. I wanted to know.

However, I barely had a chance to say much soon after.

"WE ARE LATE O! CAS HAS BEEN CALLING O! CHI MAMA AND LULU BEAR, LET'S START GOING O!"

Soma had burst right through our middle, yanking her arm painfully under me and Chika's arms and pulling us away from the mirror. Chills, she had none, because like a mad woman, she was dragging us along with her and running towards the door of her bedroom, the both of us - me and Chika - laughing all the way through it all. 

Tonight, I guaranteed, was going to be one hell of a ride.

And boy was I ready for it!

*****

Our ride down to Chambers Estate where the Acha Residence was absolutely terrific. 

The Night was young and so were the streets of Lekki Crown. Full as it was on most days, it still had people, big, small, and of all sizes, clouded in warm sweaters and big jackets, roaming the pedestrian walks of the Estate, up with one business or the other, and cars moving to and fro their destination; the Streets was a combination of people, noise, and a coloured street lights.

Nonetheless, it was not anything I hated. I always had a thing for Night time because I saw beauty in the lights that shone like stars in darkness. It gave me a sense of hope. Like there was something good to look forward to, in a way.

Sort of like how I was feeling tonight.

So, even if the streets were blasting with rough afro pop music, loud car horns, and blinding, high car beams, I still found solace in the beauty that was around me: The Street lights, assorted and exotic, the large board commercial boards that glowed with new faces and fancy products every time every new video started on it, and in some way, the flashiness of the car beams, all mashing in one, seemed to almost give a pretty feel to the atmosphere. 

So, as the Sisters went crazy in the car: Screaming at the top of their lungs as they sang along to Meghan Thee Stallion, having the most fun they could and almost like I was watching them in slow motion, I thought to myself just how much these girls made me happy too.

With everything that was going on in my life right now, from the leaking of my family issues to the uncomfortable mystery of my Mum and brother's whereabouts, that last thing I thought I was going to do was be here for this party.

Talk less of feeling anticipation for it.

The kind of anticipation I was feeling.

Soma was shouting the loudest and slamming her entire face and head into her video record, screaming 'CAN YOUR SISTERS EVER?' like an uncontrolled animal, and while the air filled with the mad laughter of the Sisters at her energy, I smiled to myself and shook my head, right before leaning in to gently rest it against the window.

I was at complete and utter peace.

Too much peace.

"We are here!" 

A scream had jerked me out of my rest, nearly jolting me with electricity.

The Sisters may have been high on something because like we were about to enter the throne of Heaven, they were hysterically screaming as Soma drove in through the large gates of the Mansion that sent all sorts of sweet memories into my heart and soul.

Maybe I had become too obsessed with this place so much that even viewing just the gates hit different for me. They had automatically opened and we were driving into the compound, my eyes lighting up with wild desire like I was seeing a fortune or a pot of gold in a treasure box, as the Sisters shouted and screamed and we got in and into the interiors of this home that had become a sweet line of beautiful memories for me. 

I smiled to myself. Harder than I wanted to even.

"Marc," I whispered softly to myself, cheeks burning and heart flustering from too much joy, as my anticipation to see him yet again grew. 

His house reminded me of literal gold. Hues of shades of gold were all around the air, and even if I knew it was just because of the unique lighting system they employed, it didn't make me feel less like I was in a home of royalty and elegance. I was quiet in the car, a contrast to the Sisters, as my heartbeat seemed to increase its beat and tempo, by every second we got in more.

That sweet, tickling feeling was upon me once more. The one that made my heart tingle and fluster, and made its beat faster, and made my body hotter. The smell of the Acha residence, its sweet smelling sensation, and its exotic view. Everything felt like Heaven, both physically and emotionally.

Cars filled the compound. Usually, it was two or three cars in here, but now, it was at least seven of them. I knew that it was the members of the Committee - considering that other classmates would not be here so early - but the crowdedness felt odd. Albeit, it did not make me feel any less willing to be here. I could feel a warmth within me, a comfort of some sort, and I was just smiling non-stop.

Love Me Harder by Ariana Grande was playing inside the House, loudly and nearly shaking the grounds with its bass drops. I knew that because I could hear it all the way from outside, when we started to open the doors and step out, an action that almost seemed like it was happening in slow motion for me.

Have you ever been so overwhelmed by something that it feels like time slows down? It feels like all your actions are in 2x less speed, and every second is savoured, every moment is felt in twice its intensity, and it was just hitting different. That was how I felt, as I stepped out of the Car, overwhelmed, because being here meant so much for me.

Being here in the Acha Residence, I mean.

This place, I realized, was a home to me. 

"...THE IGBO SISTERS! HOW FAR NA?!"

Startled, though laughing from it, I turned to the voice that screamed out to us, only to see a number of Committee Members, headed by Aaron and Casper, grinning joyfully, beaming, as they made their way to us, all of this, seemingly slowing down in speed still as they made their way towards us in excitement.

There was Jubilation in the air, one would think that it was our Graduation. There were smiles and laughs, as people pleasantly welcomes each other. Bodies slammed into hugs, hands slammed together in handshakes and bro hugs, and a scattered number of assorted classmates, mixed into a group, welcoming each other, accepting each other. A togetherness I had never seen before fuelling the air.

I was not sure if it was the Excitement, but the few Committee members here and the number of Classmates who joined in early were being so nice. Even to Me. Complimenting me just as hard as they complimented the Sisters too, engaging me in little chit chats as they walked us all into the house, and whatever it was that came into me, I don't know, but I smiled back a few times and said more than just two words. Blending in without really trying.

Tonight was the Christmas Party that I had been dreading for a while.

And it was turning out to be this good for me. Free of Anxiety. Free of discomfort. Free of everything negative I would have felt on a regular school party night.

I just wanted to know...

Do you believe all of this seemed too good to be true?

What do you think?

Before I say any other thing, I would like for all of you to comment how you felt reading this. 

I won't lie, this chapter was difficult to write. I have not been okay sha and some things are, yunno, being shitty in my life, but I enjoyed writing this chapter. Even if it was difficult. All in all, lemme just apologise for taking so long to update. I didn't intend to go MIA for this long, I guess I got caught up in 'Life' and it just, well, kinda happened.

So, I hope I delivered this chapter perfectly. Do well to let me know in the comments how your reading experience was. And thank you guys for being here, supporting me and reading my book. Sometimes when I feel drained your comments uplift me. Like, I could be down and when I see some comments, I just get so happy and in some cases, have this unbelievable urge to even start writing another chapter! It's insane like that!

So, yeah, thank you!

I feel kinda happy for Dabi in this chapter. One of my favourite parts was the scene with Chika and Dabi at the mirror. Such beautiful girls! I wish I could get a little painting or drawing of the scene. What was your favourite part?

TMBT has reached the Christmas Party o, and as I have been resounding it, the Book One ends in the Christmas Party side, so we are literally a few chapters away to the end of this book!

You guys are going to find out so many things in this Party that may throw you a little off your feet. Or maybe a lot. But, we stand strong in Christ!

BYE FOR NOW! You are meant to see me again on Friday, so biko, pray for me wella o. Prayer works. Pray I have strength and motivation everyday to write! I LOVE YOU ALL!

Oh, and before I go, I will share a little cute video that calms and sweetens me and Dabi in our moments of distress!  

https://youtu.be/aSsc046tcxU

GOODNIGHT!❤️