Hmm so today is the day I scheduled for my update, a week from the last one. I forgot to type so I was thinking I'd postpone till later in the week but some readers have threatened to murder me so here it is ðð
This is dedicated to all my voting readers ð¥ºyou guys are the best. Thanks for all the encouragement. I declare this chapter OPENNNN
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AMANDA'S POV
(Amanda Aderinsola Akinde)
I pick my bag up knowing fully well that I didn't touch my assignments and walk downstairs groggily. I slide my phone into the smallest purse in my bag so my mum doesn't detect
"Aderin!! You look like you've been hit by a bus!" My mum shrieks as I walk down the stairs
African mums and their drama sha. The smell of pancakes invites me into the kitchen where she is
"Good morning mum, ouuu pancakes" I stretch my hand into the plate
She slaps my hand almost as soon as I stretch it to grab a bite. I wince in pain as I fetch my own plate.
"Strawberries or blueberries?"
"Blueberries"
"Syrup?"
"Chocolate pudding"
"Check that cupboard on top for the chocolate"
I walk over to the direction her hand points and open the shelf. I regard the almost empty bottle of chocolate and toss it on the counter
"Is that the only one there" she asks while fixing blueberries in my plate and strawberries in hers
"Yeah, I can go shopping this week, maybe after school on Wednesday"
"You have to see your therapist"
I drop my fork as I groan in frustration
"Really mum? I thought I didn't need that again, I'm fine now, really."
She sighs and faces me
"I stayed up till late last night, till about 2 am"
"And...."
"You were having those nightmares again calling Ashley's name in your sleep I was worried..."
"Just stop mum" I say cutting her short
"I came in and you were sweating under the fan and..."
"Mum! You heard what the psychologist said, it'll pass with time" I snap
"That's why you need this, this-
She gestures at my face and hair
-isn't good for you at all. You are attending whether you like it or not and that's final"
I lose my appetite immediately and leave the kitchen
"I'll be in the car" I don't wait for her reply as I go out through the door into the passenger seat of her Lexus
I catch a glimpse of my reflection on the side mirror and sigh. I have been avoiding the mirror for the major part of the day, seeing my almost dead face staring back at me, I can't really blame my mum for her how she reacted. I bring out my chapstick and swipe it a few times to at least moisturize my dry lips since the harmattan is starting early this year. I brush the edges of my hair slightly when my mum enters into the driver's seat. The ride to school is silent, my mum steals several glances at me while I stare at the buildings we pass on our way to school. She parks in front of the school's silver gates
"I'm sorry all this happened and I'm really sorry it seems like nobody has time anymore. I just- I don't know how to handle this also"
She sobs and sniffs. I look at her and see the pain in her eyes
"You can't forget your sister, we can't forget her even if we tried"
I wait for her to get to the point
"I'm not telling you to forget everything, even I can't do that, but please let us help heal together. We are a family Aderin let's deal with it like a family"
Guilt hits me harder than ever when she says the last part. We are a family yet I have a deep dark secret. The love will definitely not be the same if I'd told them what happened. They'd probably hate me for the rest of our lives. Lord Jesus I know I said I'd tell them one of these days but you'll have to forgive me.
A tear slips from my eye and I use my index finger to stop it. My mum drags me into a hug and places her chin on my head. We both sob silently and comfort each other. I pull out of the hug first
"I need to leave if I don't want to miss assembly" I dab my eyes with the tissue on the dashboard
I cut some and hand them over to her too as I leave the car
"I love you baby"
"I love you too mum"
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"Sooooo which one do you think fits my eyes between these two?" Nancy asks for the fourth time as she stretches two gem earrings, one green and one blue
"None fits you jump off a roof" says Aidan who's obviously trying to sleep
"Don't listen to him they both look good but the green one matches your eyes" Edmond says as he smacks Aidan behind his head
"Thanks Ed, Aidan shut up when you're not asked" Nancy retorts to the latter while he hisses and turns his head to the other side on the desk
Nancy has been in my half empty class with her entire jewelry box showing me pair by pair which accessory she should rock to their family reunion for the last 10 minutes
"Don't you have a class or something Nana?" I groan as she brings out her next set of jewelries for me to access
"No I'm not offering further math now" she places two necklaces on my desk
Holy ghost! I have further math, the teacher is probably in A class already for the combined class
"But I am!" I yell as I dash out of class with Eddy behind me. I guess he also forgot we have class
We wait at the door till the teacher acknowledges our presence
"You know I don't like unserious students, next time you will stay outside for the term" he gestures for us to go inside
"Thanks you sir" that was Eddy, sure couldn't be me. River Niger will have to dry up before I tell this yeye Mr Richards 'Thank you'
"Trip we forgot to bring our chairs" Eddy whisper yells
"Will the both of you sit down somewhere" Mr Richards yells
We both scamper for free seats. There's a table space near Erling and all I have to do is fix a chair but I'd rather not. Eddy slides two chairs to the spaces beside Amir for both of us to sit down, I quickly sit down, smiling at his kind gesture. Minutes into the lecture I feel a certain murderous glare so I look in the direction to find annoying pair of eyes staring, I scoff in disgust as he breaks eye contact.
Lord please let this lecture be over if this Erling can't keep his eyes to himself
"I'm sorry tripp, I'm just not used to having family gatherings and my uncle and aunties are not really the nicest people to be around all day" Nana chatters as we eat
"What about your parents" I ask. I notice her drop in demeanor as she picks up her apple
"They um well my mum left 5 years ago and uh my dad is on a vacation" she says while staring at her apple like she's speaking to it
"Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't know"
"No don't worry, it's okay I'm pretty used to it"
She drags a third chair beside her
"Who's the chair for?" I ask with my eyebrows raised
"My cousin"
"Your cousin is-"
"Oh here he comes"
"Idara thank God you finally remembered to save a space for me" I don't need to look up to know who just took his sit opposite me
"Hey Amanda"
"Erling is your cousin" I say staring at her trying not to meet his gaze
"Yeah, you two are in the same class now" she replies with her usual bubbly voice
Omo so these two are related, sorry wahhh?? Aren't they supposed to share blood? Like two stuck up relatives or two purely lovable siblings but here we have two polar opposites?! I wouldn't have imagined in the next world. I mean I wouldn't be surprised if he was Adetoke's twin or something but Nana? He's probably the black sheep of the family though, I'll be counting on that.
I look up to find his signature smug look with his annoying curls dropping on his forehead. On a different person I'd have said the hairstyle looked cute but on this moron it looks like poop!
"Senior Nancy good afternoon" a junior girl bends her knees slightly as she comes close to the table. She notices Erling almost at the same time
"Good afternoon senior Erling" she blushes slightly as he smiles back. How disgusting can this sight be!
"Yes what is it?" Nana says shaking the girl out of her reverie
"Yes the principal said I should call Senior Amanda, I don't know her please can you-"
"That's me" I say pulling her attention towards me
She walks closer to my seat, more like wobbles actually. She repeats the same demonstration bowing her head and almost hitting the table in the process
"Good afternoon senior, the principal said I should call you" she waits for my answer. I simply give her a nod so she can leave. She looks at Erling who is now picking at his food, smiles but runs away in fright when she notices my glare
They give this dude too much credit in this school sha
I walk to the principal's office in agitation, she's never requested for me before
"Good afternoon ma'am"
"Good afternoon dear"
I walk to the front of her desk without leaning too close, etiquettes in an office thank me later
"So the school body ensures that students perform well in all grounds. Academics being the most important"
Father lord I know where this woman is going to
"So the students are divided into study groups and tutoring classes as decided by the prefects. You have missed all three of these classes since you came"
She waits to get a reaction from me, I don't give her any
"Therefore we have decided to take other measures"
Ewooo here comes the big news. God I didn't know it would be this soon
"I was informed by one of your classmates that it seems you don't like general tutor classes so I've arranged a personal tutor for you which is one of your classmates"
Phew! I wasn't expecting that. At least this tutor will just quit when he/she sees that my brain is as penetrable as a stone and I won't have to disgrace myself in front of the whole class
"Okay ma thank you ma, when do we start?" I say pretending to be eager. On a second thought I'm actually eager to see the person fail in a kinda way, sick right?
"That will be for you and your new tutor to decide"
She gives me a tight smile as I make for the door.
Sorry why didn't I ask this woman who the tutor is? Oh well so far it's not Erling I think I'm okay
I walk into class and see a note placed on my desk. A cursive handwriting reads
'Meet me at the library seat 26 by 4:10pm sharp not a minute later
~your tutor'
Oh well, start quick, end quicker.
When I hear the closing bell I pack my books in my bag while sighing a billion times as I walk through the hallway. I put my remaining books in my locker, slam it shut and continue walking down towards the library which is in a different building. I use my hand as a visor to shield my eyes from the burning sun
I step into the library while checking the little piece of paper to confirm the seat number I'm supposed to meet my 'tutor'. I check my time to see I got to the library 5 minutes before our meeting time. Well I might as well just rest till the person comes
"Hello, did you come here to sleep" a low voice says. I've definitely heard that voice before
I raise my head up slowly while yawning and stretching. I rub my eyes to focus on the person in front of me.
Holy ghost fire! Please who did this to me!!
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ð End of the chapter, did y'all like it? Well I did
Who do you think the tutor is?? Drop comments I wanna see speculations before you move to the next chapter
Isn't Edmond a sweetheart ð¥ºhe had to arrange classes for our baby Trip. My heart is burning from all this cuteness
We all had seniors in school with Junior girls always drooling over right?? Erling and Famzðð
Vote and comment guys
See you next time ð