Welcome to my mid-week update. I declare this part OPENNNN
***
Amanda's POV
(Amanda Aderinsola Akinde)
"Buy what is on the list and nothing else, if I see any 'highlighters because they were just too cute' or an eraser that costs over one thousand naira because it's shaped like an ice cream, you will pay me back every extra dime you hear me?" My mum gives her final warning in the shopping mall car park
"Okay mum but that was ONE time" I gesture with my long index finger
"And don't spend the whole day there because you will walk home" she says sternly
"Okay ma" I exit the car and close the door lightly
My eyes trail along the shelf of toiletries as I look for the usual deodorant spray my mum and I buy when I notice a bubble gum bathing gel calling my name
'add me to your cart Aderin'
It echoes and who am I to ignore the pleas of a shower gel in the midst of soaps and deodorants, begging to be set free?
I add it to my cart
I take a glance at my list and check out the items already in my cart as I wheel my little bundle of joy to the next row. Sausages, salad cream, sardines, butter, spaghetti, kebabs...
"Hey" a voice calls from behind me
I turn around almost completely in the direction of the sound to find Espn staring back at me with her usual smile spread over her lips
"Hey" I reply as I duck my head slightly to acknowledge her since my both hands are occupied
She pulls out what appears to be Air pods pro out of her ears from beneath her hoodie
"It IS you!" She exclaims as she wheels her cart closer to me
"You shop here too?" I say awkwardly to keep up with the conversation
"Duh! Who doesn't?" She rolls her eyes playfully "Denny and her brother are here too, seems like everyone's shopping today"
She giggles, causing me to offer her a smile
Almost immediately I sight Denaya and her Fraternal twin walking from the second aisle to the aisle we are on
"Hello guysss" Denaya says cheerfully pulling Espn and I into a bro hug
"Hi Denny" Espn and I say simultaneously
Denola on the other hand smiles at Espn then throws a awkward wave/salute my way
"The entire school is here Omo, I even saw Amaka" Denaya states
Oh God
"Trip where are you going after here? Maybe all of us should hangout" the boyish girl says with a grin
They turn their gazes towards me, waiting for an answer
"Actually no um- I have an appointment today" I let out
I do have an appointment, with my bed
"Appointment for what?" Denny quirks an eyebrow
I can't tell them the appointment is to sleep
"Um- appointment yes uh- today-
"Dunno about you but I'm definitely down for a spa day" Espn replies gingerly
"Yesss and I need to get my nails polished and trimmed" Denny adds
Then buy a nail cutter
I slowly back away from their animated chatter muttering an almost silent 'gotta go, my mum is waiting for me' which they completely ignore. A huge sigh erupts from my lips as I escape their line of sight to another part of the supermarket
Still in my motion backwards I step on something and it takes a loud groan for me to realize it's a 'someone'. I wheel around quickly to apologize
"Are you blind?" Amaka shrieks angrily
My eyes fly to her toes peeking out of her black lace up high heels
"I'm so sorry I wasn't-
"You weren't looking and somehow that's my fault" she screams angrily
I know the pain must have been sharp given that I stepped on her toes with the heels of my sneakers but I don't think it was that painful
Her screaming succeeds in making a scene as some other teenagers look in our direction and whisper among themselves
"Sorry" I say quietly as I attempt to walk past her
She shoves my shoulder harshly
"Oh don't you dare! Have I accepted your apology?"
Her push is unexpected so it causes me to scrape my shoulder on the plastic rack and at the same time knock down a packet of seasoning. I bend down to pick the seasoning almost at the same time I feel three claws push the side of my head angrily
"I don't even have your time" she spits angrily as she walks away
I pick the pack of seasoning awkwardly as I feel three pairs of gawking eyes staring at me from the other end of the aisle hissing and making comments. Their anger is probably not directed at me but that doesn't make the shame any less, I hear tuts of pity coming out of their mouths as I stand up to my full height and continue to wheel my cart like nothing happened I've never felt the ground should swallow me more than now
My eyes almost brim up with tears as I maintain my 'cool girl face' and continue to shop. If I go outside without completing the list I'd definitely be coming back to get the remaining items so why don't I just complete it once and for all?
I trudge carefully over to the check out counter making sure not to step on any more toes. I regard the three insanely long queues and mentally calculate how long I'd stay on each one. My eyes trail to the queue in the middle and I immediately sight Amaka's blue tipped braids so I decide immediately to join the one at the left. I notice a much taller male figure with his arm swung around her shoulders, his hand twirling strands of her hair. I almost assume it's her brother but by those annoying giggles- and silent leaning in to tell each other dry jokes- I come to a different conclusion
The guys looks much older than her, probably in his early twenties while Amaka is probably seventeen or eighteen years old max. Asides knowing her in school I would have probably thought she was older considering the strapped white crop top and high waisted jeans she's wearing making her look a little too mature for her age.
He leans in to give her a peck on her lips and I almost call social services but the disgusting grin on her face makes me cringe so bad that I avert my eyes from their PDA
"-bring them out from the basket please" the sales attendant says
I quickly recollect myself and start to place my items one by one on the counter. I sneak glances at Amaka and her 'date' as they walk to the front of the queue, copying my action from earlier and emptying her basket. She notices my gaze and pulls the guy closer to herself giving me a warning gaze
Who you epp? Even if you paid me to take him I'd decline
"Thank you" I say as the lady at the counter hands my shopping bags to me
I quickly exit the supermarket to the car park
**
"Sheffield flipping High" I say to myself as I walk through the silver gates
The school is bustling, giving the usual 'resumption vibe' some Christmas decorations are still hung up while the remaining have been removed, girls can't wait to tell their friends about how fun and expensive their holidays were, guys are not trying to be subtle with showing off their new Rolex watches and Jordans while I'm just praying to make it to the end of the day
There's no assembly today since technically we are just resuming and most people come in late, especially the boarding students that have to travel. I spot the huge 'welcome back' banner at the entrance of the senior hallway. I press my thumb into the fingerprint sensor to mark my attendance for the day
'welcome Amanda .A. Akinde' it spells out on the screen
I walk into the noisy hallways and make for my locker so that I can at least drop some of my books. I spot the 6'4 figure of Eddy with his back turned and his face buried in what appears to be a sheet of paper. I giddily walk over to him and immediately use my hands to ruffle his oily curls- and yeah I had to stretch my entire body even though I was wearing four inch high Doc Martens boots, the dude is so tall!
He quickly spins around with a half amused half annoyed expression on his face
"I put a lot of effort in that y'know" he tries to mimic me in his worst girly voice
I laugh at his expression and slightly swat his arms. He pulls me in for a hug- which I feel is a little sudden- but his signature cologne silently invades my senses causing me to return the hug with a giddy smile on my features
"You finally decided to grace us with your presence in school" he says as he pulls out of the hug
"I'm only an hour late" I say with a chuckle
"Only?" He asks with an amused expression
I giggle in response, my eyes catch a bit of what's on the paper
"What's that?" I ask, trying to get a proper glimpse
He pulls it out of my reach and holds it over his head
Haha very funny, rub it in that I'm short
"You'll know very soon, when I get back" he says as he stretches the sheet even higher when I try to reach it
I drop my hands, giving up. He side steps me
"I'm going to the principal's office, when I'm back I'll tell you everything"
"You better" I shoot him a pointing finger in warning
He offers a genuine smile as he walks away, I guess he's really happy to resume school.
That makes one of you bruh
I take quick short steps to my market-like classroom, it's like any seniors classroom on resumption day, noisy
The seating arrangements are scattered with some sitting on desks while some chairs are joined together in noisy discussions. My seat is occupied by what seems like Aidan having fun teasing his best friend who on the other hand is playing a car race game on this phone and at the same time not trying to burst out in laughter. Aidan notices me at the doorway and winks causing me to throw him a wave and a wink of my own
I stretch my hand out in an attempt to yank one of those curls
"If you touch my hair I will break your wrist" he says without looking up from his phone
Aidan laughs out as he springs up from my chair, patting my shoulder as he walks to his seat, still wheezing
"Yeesh what poked you in the butt today" I roll my eyes as I settle on my chair
He chuckles, pauses his game then lifts his head
"I assume you mean 'good morning, super happy to see you'" he drops his device on his desk and cross his arms, leaning back in his chair
"You want me to lie to you on a Monday morning?" I laugh hysterically
"Well I'm also not that excited to see you" he scoffs
I stick my tongue out at him, he replicates the action, scrunching his nose up in an annoying manner
"Have I ever told you your hair reminds me of poop?" I add lamely
"Oh my God, your poop is long and silky?" He gasps dramatically placing his palm on his chest
I almost gag at his remark
"You are disgusting!"
"You are annoying!"
**
"For all of you that didn't get the message, the decathlon is scheduled for the third week of February this year" Eddy says
Highschool juniors and seniors are seated in the common room, listening to an address by our sports prefect- Eddy- and our social prefect Amir. The sophomores aren't participating in the decathlon this year it appears
"We will be traveling on the 14th of February to Lagos for the competition that begins on the 15th"
A hand from the crowd interrupts
"Lagos? I thought Abuja is hosting this year" a junior girl states
"That's what we all thought till we got the letter of invite, it appears Lagos is hosting again for the fourth year in a row"
Murmurs travel round the room as people make snickering remarks about their dissatisfaction
"This year, the list of sports are
1. Basketball, as usual"
He says with a smirk, the basketball team hoot and cheer
"Track racing, swimming and volley ball- for the girls "
My ears perk up as I hear the last part. Swimming yay! Fourth decathlon I'm participating in anyway, no biggie
"Each sport team will have their coaches pick their representatives while for track racing that doesn't have a coach, the captains will choose whoever they deem fit"
"The social prefect will be briefing you on the remaining" Eddy says as he steps down from the elevated platform while Amir takes the mic
"Hello everyone" he says with a smile
The junior girls as usual squirm and blush as he speaks. Amir is one of those head-turning Hausa boys with that American accent blended with Hausa intonation and I can't blame the juniors that can't control themselves but stillll- this is a learning environment people!
"So there's going to be a quiz session, we will be picking two students per department to represent and it has been decided for these students to be Seniors since the questions are based on the entire highschool curriculum" he pauses to get a reaction from everyone
"Then for the non-competitive aspect, we will have the school dance team and the music team present, although it's not a competition-" his face turns serious "we will outshine them"
This earns cheers and hoots from throughout the room. I find the comment funny actually, though we are reminded each year that that part is just for entertainment purposes I'm sure every single school tells their students to sing or dance better than the next school. Bolton, always
"Lists for each category will be released within three weeks, emails will be sent to you for you to accept or decline the offer so that you will immediately sign into the decathlon competition for this year" he finishes
He concludes his speech and dismisses us, each person standing up from their seats while those who used plastic chairs are stacking them back up.
"Prefects please stay back for a brief meeting" Aidan announces
Some prefects groan as they stay back while the rest of us non prefects proceed to our classrooms
I notice Aidan lean over to tell Toks something in her ear while the other pays keen attention I've never seen Aidan that serious
She jots the things he's saying down as he continues to speak in a very professional manner very unusual. She looks in my direction so I sneak in a quick wave which she returns a little unnaturally, something has been off about that girl lately
Her wave didn't look natural the slightest bit, she even had to force the smile while she waved before going back to listening to Aidan. I walk out of the common room feeling a little odd- every single person I talk to is in there, having a prefects meeting
I've never valued a prefect position before though, even when I was in Bolton- which I'm sure I would have gotten sports prefect- but nowadays I feel it wouldn't actually be too bad to have just a few responsibilities added. The fact that nobody assigns any job to me- asides the swim coach who seems to prefer to talk to me over talking to Toke- makes me feel a little useless sometimes
I change my route and head to a different destination it's been a while since I've been in the library
Unknown person's POV
Dear diary
I have a feeling this year is going to have a lot of drama to be very honest. The trip to Lagos is on Valentine's? The whole plane is going to be all loved up and cringey, I pick the window seat please! The principal insisted Erling's name be added to the list for swimming this year even though he has not officially started swimming again, she thinks it's a good 'welcome back' gift. I don't care much for the dude in question but given the pressure and expectations of the staff members, he better be swimming the Atlantic by now.
The last holiday made me realize that;
I'm noticing so much but saying so little, seeing so much but deciding to avert my eyes and pretend like I didn't see. It saves you the stress right?
I feel I should speak up or do something about it but I don't know how to. Even the one who is the closest to me is suffering in silence and I'm not doing anything about it
One day, just one day maybe I'll be the saving grace, maybe I'll be the my friend's safe haven
Till then diary, we can only watch and pray for sustenance, till then
Still the observer
*****
Children of the most high we have come to the end 𥳠it's been so long since I wrote under 3k words but here you have it, next one will be longer pardon my 2900
⢠Who is your best character so far?
A lotta people have been making predictions ohhh ð I just want y'all to know that, I love the fact that you're imagining the future but nothing una fit talk wey go make me write something different
If you see your prediction it's cos that's what I had in mind since inception (all plot twists are pre-planned)
I love y'all as usual my over 1k fam, toodles
Vote people!!