No rant today, I declare this part OPENNNN
This chapter begins with Erling's Pov shortly before the end of last chapter
**
ERLING'S POV
(Erling Tobechukwu Kingston)
Amanda finally succeeds in opening her bottle water after hours of struggling and grunting
"Valentine is coming oh my fellow singlets" Idara yells hysterically as she settles her tray at her usual spot
"Wetin concern me concern Valentine" I retort lamely as I sip my half empty juice
I am NOT bitter about valentine and my relationship status, I just feel it is over hyped. I can't believe by this time last year I was planning the right words to say to break things off with some girl I met because I didn't want her to bill me for Valentine's. I'm not a stingy person really, actually not at all but the relationship was more like a testing ground. Neither of us actually had genuine feelings towards the other, at least I didn't
I went with the popular "it's not you, it's me" line and it totally went through- leaving out the fact that she dumped a bottle of cold water on my head that day- it was a piece of cake
"In my former school they always found a useless reason to throw a party, we could have like twelve parties in one session" Amanda says with an eye roll
"That one no be school na club" I reply her
"General parties? Or senior parties?" Idara asks
"Mainly senior parties but I always got invites cos the school owner's son was my classmate and very good friend" she replies
Of course, it's always them
If not for Aidan I'd probably be attending way less parties than I do, but having a best friend that is the obvious 'life of the party's you can't help but be in the party. Where is he sef?
I look over my shoulder for the frog face but I don't find him, Aidan might do every crazy thing in the world but he NEVER misses lunch time. He better be okay
I watch Edmond and Amir step into the cafeteria, drawing attention as usual. I know I draw a lot of attention too but at least I know I'm drawing attention- it's intentional people- but these ones, they act like they don't know they've got all the junior years staring at them in awe, fooling everyone with their 'good boy looks'
He walks closer to our table till he stands behind Amanda- if he puts his palms over her eyes I'm gonna puke- he shakes her chair rigorously instead- that's not totally disappointing
"Haaaa" Amanda yells in fright
He laughs, she laughs, Idara laughs, they keep laughing and that's all I hear. I roll my eyes in annoyance
"Uhm- I- uh-" he scratches the side of his head "I wanted to uh- how are you doing?" He says lamely
Okay this dude is so boring am I the only one that sees this??
I watch Amanda's features brighten as she speaks to him- is she blushing?
He returns the blush- on his hideous face by the way- while Idara goes on cheering them with her remarks and expressions
"See you later, gotta bounce" he says as he tucks the chair in
See you later? Do they meet somewhere after school? Or is it behind school?
"I don't think he came here to ask how you are doing" Idara says, earning her a jab in the ribs
Welcome to train obvious
My eyes don't leave Amanda for a second as she squeals and chats with my sister like I'm not even on the table
"It'll end in tears" I mutter mindlessly
"What did you say?" Amanda shoots back and for a second I'm actually worried that she heard me
"Nothing" I reply, matching her energy
She drops it immediately so I assume she didn't hear
**
"Bruh, you've been staring for like an hour" Aidan says as he clicks his fingers in front of my face
"W-what?" I recollect myself and direct my gaze to my notes instead
Aidan casts suspicious glances between my seat and Amanda's before plastering a knowing smirk on his lips
"Don't tell me-
"No! And you of all people should know my type" I cut in his question
"How did you know what I was gonna say?" He eyes me
"Because it's you Aidan, and that's how you are" I reply simply, trying to give the teacher my full attention
"I see something in your eyes" he whispers
"Why are you even sitting beside me, what happened to you desk?" I groan in annoyance
"I can't see from my seat so I came here" he stretches his long legs on the floor in front of him
"See what? The teacher is not even writing she's dictating" I almost yell as I throw my hands up in frustration
The teacher gives us a stern look to shut us up, it works for me but Aidan sure needs a stapler to shut up
"It's just two pages left" the teacher says as the final bell is rang
Aidan groans loudly, followed by other sounds expressing displeasure to her suggestion. She agrees to leave us and give us the note later this week
Amanda practically dumps every item on her desk into her little blue back pack. I take my phone out to call the driver and tell him that we've closed already
"Can you give this to Nana for me?" She asks, standing right above me
Edmond doesn't do delivery services abi
"Stop at her class on your way out" I reply without looking at her
She drops the bag on my desk noisily
"Just don't be a jerk for once? Please?" She slings her backpack over her shoulder
She seems in a hurry to go home today
I almost shun her request a second time but I change my mind when I look up- she left without as much as a wave or a 'see you tomorrow' or 'bye bye'
I pack my stuff from my desk right after, there's really nothing I'm still doing in school
"Hey Erling are you going home already? Wait for me" Aidan calls from his seat
I look towards his direction and I'm not a bit surprised to find his books still open across his desk, his feet on his desk and a can of malt in his hand- is it this one that wants to go home now?
"I'm in a bit of hurry, I can't wait" I reply him and rush out of the class before he talks me into hanging till later
I catch the sight of Amanda's back pack as she exists the hallway and for some reason, I follow her- Idara's purse can wait till we get home
She takes really fast, short strides in her short legs as she tries to make it to the school exit- one stride of mine is equivalent to four of hers- she uses her hands as a shield to block out the wicked, hot sun that decided to come out when we have to walk to the gate
I slow down my pace to check if the driver has replied the message I sent him when the bell was rung. Still unseen
She walks so fast that she trips over a stone then goes ahead to kick- and probably swear- at the stone while pumping her elbows angrily back and forth. I almost laugh at how silly she's being
A hand from behind the library building pulls her, causing her to yelp in shock. I'd recognize those blue hand bands anywhere
I subconsciously increase my pace to catch up with whatever is going on behind that building. I stay in front of the building, very close to the edge to spy at them as they are at the side of the building- this cow still pulls her behind the building
I'm usually not overly curious of anything at all, but I guess I decided to test my FBI skills today
He opens his mouth to speak
I know I've not liked the boy as a person for a very long time for reasons knowing to myself but seeing him talk this way- and seeing the reaction he gets from Amanda- makes me feel a little insecure
She literally met the both of us at the same time, on the same day so why does she act so differently when I'm the one talking?
"I want to ask you something, I need you to just listen to me" he tells her
Is he- does he actually want to-
"There's this girl-" he starts
I don't have to see her face to know the kind of expression she has on, it's probably the same one she has anytime he's speaking to her
I watch their exchange for a while
What the heck am I doing? I think to myself, leaning away from their conversation
I shouldn't even care about whatever he's about to say and what she's about to reply, but for a very weird reason, it bothers me
What is wrong with you Kingston? Since when did you give a shit about it things like this?
"Um I think you should tell her, maybe just maybe she feels the same" she tells him
Her voice draws me back to their conversation, I lean forward against the wall but this time their positions are switched, finally I can see Amanda's expressions
"Really?" He asks, his voice hitched up a little higher
Amanda's brown eyes glow so bright as they continue to speak, I swallow a huge lump in my throat
"It's Espn"
Wait- what?
"Hmm?" Amanda hums in question, I guess she also cannot believe her ears
"Espn, Espn Young" he says with a bright smile
I don't know why, but I almost burst out in laughter
Like seriously Espn? So he called her to tell her he likes another girl?
He pulls her into a hug which she partly returns, her face frozen
"Thanks for being so easy to talk to" he mutters beside her head then pulls out of the hug with his brightest smile
Amanda also smiles equally as bright to him, masking her pain expertly
"It's no big deal, what are friends for?" She asks with a shaky voice
Dayumm friend zoned
He gives her cheek a final pinch before scurrying away into he building through the back entrance on the other side. Now is my time to gloat
"You don cast las las na everybody go chop breakfast" I sing hysterically as I walk behind her
She stands there frozen in place, adjusting her bag strap, not moving forward, not turning to look at me
"Hey" I say quietly as I stand behind her
"What is it?" She snaps
Shit
Her eyes are red and filled with tears that have started flooding her cheeks
"Oh my God are you okay?" I ask, out of real concern this time
"I'm sure you heard everything, congratulations, now I need to go home" her voice breaks even more
"Hey" I hold both her shoulders back, preventing her from taking a step
"Leave me alone" her voice sounds more strained as the tears invade her face without caution
I planned to gloat, why am I feeling so bad about this?
"You can't go home like this now" I pull her with me "come"
I drag her along to sit down on the tiled floors behind the building, I settle down beside her and gently pat her back as she lets it out, that's what they do to babies and it seems to always work
"Hey it's okay, he's a jerk" I say, I've always wanted to say that
Her sobbing gets worse as she wipes her tears with the sleeve of her blazer. She pauses her tears, looks at her blazer then resumes her crying, even worse than before
"Hey hey it's not that bad" I try to make my voice sound as soothing as possible- this is ridiculous
"I just got it dry cleaned" she starts to sob even louder
Oh great she's just like Idara, they start crying because of one problem then they start crying about every thing they remember
I dip my hand in the pockets of my trousers and pull a white handkerchief out- it's a new one by the way- and hand it over to her to clean her tears. She gets the message immediately and uses it to wipe her tears
She reaches for my hand behind her- what is going on?- then gently removes it, giving me a nod
Oh she's telling me to stop with the back pat, had me a little confused for a minute
I withdraw my hand and give her a little space as she silences her sobs. She uses the hem of the handkerchief to dry her tears completely. She pulls her water bottle out of her bag cup holder and downs the content at once
I watch her actions the entire time- not in a creepy way though- as she stops crying and begins to stare into space. For a second I feel she's forgotten I'm here
"Thanks" she suddenly says
"For what?" I ask even though I know why she's thanking me
"For not being a jerk about it" she faces me with a small smile on her face
Me, A jerk about it, How could you say that? I'm an angel
"What are friends for" I say, mimicking her statement to Edmond from earlier
I don't get the reaction I expected her to give to that statement, she doesn't give any reaction or reply, instead she just keeps staring into space
I clear my throat
"So what are we doing, poisoning his drink?" I ask with a devious smile
She doesn't laugh, instead she just smiles a little then shakes her head
"Nah, he didn't lead me on in any way, I just saw what wasn't there" the last part comes out as a whisper, her voice cracked due to her previous crying
My phone's notification sounds, it's a message from Idara
My Daughter ðâ¤ï¸
Dude the driver is here, where tf are you?
4:32pm
My eyes expand in shock, I've been here thirty two minutes?- If we take away the time I used to pack my books and walk here that's about twenty something minutes
"The driver is here, I'm going home" I get up from the floor, dusting my trousers
I offer my hand to pull her up from her spot which she surprisingly accepts I think I like this Amanda better
"Don't tell anyone about this if you don't want me to kill you" she says with a mean glare
"Not even Idara?"
"Nah, I'll tell her myself" she sighs
I pick my backpack off the floor and join her in step
"Is your mum around?" I ask her
"No she said she'll be working late so I should order a ride" she replies while rolling her ponytail up into a doughnut
"You can just come with us, the driver can take you to your house first" I offer
"Our houses are very far apart, there's no need for the stress, let me order an Uber"
I don't ask again so I don't sound a little too pushy with the offer
She sits on the wooden bench before the school gate and brings her phone out of her blazer pockets, probably to order a ride. She gives a final wave as I step out through the gate to the other side
**
"Are you ready?" Idara asks
"I don't know" I say in shaky breaths
"Do you want me to push you in?" She walks closer to me
I back away in fright
"No please don't"
"It's no big dealll, your dad says you were a water baby, what's the big deal nowww?" Idara groans
Idara is the only one that knows I've not started swimming again, everyone probably thinks I'm bussing my ass out for the competition. The coach says I have to practice from next week since he had given me enough time and he needs to see me in action with my teammates.
My dad doesn't have a clue what's going on, he thinks it was only about the injury and nothing more. If that was the case, I wouldn't be standing at the edge of the pool in my swimming trunks for over thirty minutes without diving in
"What are you scared of exactly? This is the shallow part of the pool!" She throws her hands up
"I-I don't know" I mutter
"Then jump inside the god damned pool" she yells
"Just leave me alone okay? Thanks for trying but you're not really helping" I reply with a hiss
"Welp, didn't want to be here in the first place" she shrugs then walks away, into the house
Leaving me outside, in the cold, feeling like a complete loser
If I was scared of getting into the water while she was here, that fear climbed up as soon as she left
"You're lucky the cut isn't that deep, if not you would be saying bye bye to swimming" the doctor said
"Okay so he'll definitely be able to continue swimming after his arm is healed right?" My dad asked
"Yes, definitely"
I didn't feel anything at that point asides the look of disappointment on my dad's face. He had to rush his child to the hospital drunk and with a badly grazed arm
He had told the school authorities that I had an accident while swimming- which wasn't technically a lie- and that I'll be resuming with them the next term fully healed and ready
The cast was taken off some days before the beginning of the term even though I couldn't still move it in 360â°, couple of weeks later it became completely healed. The doctor mentioned that my arm would be totally healed and ready for action, but he never mentioned that my mind might be facing its own injury
"What exactly are you scared of?" Is a question I've had to ask myself along with Idara for the past few months
Am I scared something might go wrong again, or am I scared because it just might not be the same?
"Tobe" mama Freda's voice calls
I look up to find her standing at the doorpost
"Your food is ready, come in it's already getting cold" she beckons
"Okay ma'am" i reply
She walks into the house as I get up extra slowly and tread after her
Things don't stay the same, something is always bound to change
End of chapter peeps ð the end of the last chapter had some people screaming and me laughing ð
Before you leave, there's a survey I must conduct, please don't leave without dropping your comments
1. Who is your favorite character?
2. Your least favorite character?
3. Your favorite Duo? (Not gender based, it could be your favorite friendship duo)
Things are bout to get pretty interesting ð for the shippers, you're going to have a very bumpy ride I can assure you ðthis ocean is a very turbulent one
Thank y'all for sticking this far, I love all of you ð¥º