Welcome to the official half of this book ð¤ð¤ The plan is 70 chapters and maybeeee some bonus chapters and an epilogue ð we've come such a long way, 3 votes away from 1k ð¥³ð¥³ that reminds me, I forgot to celebrate 2k reads in the last chapter ð¤ (siri play me top of the world by Dbanj)
1k votes at just 2k (2.15k actually) reads is a whole lot!!! My readers are activeeee and I'm so grateful ð©ð©
I declare this part OPENNNN
**
Third Person's POV
"Hey I was about to come get you, the coach is around" a slightly tipsy Justin relays
"Yeah I know" The swim captain folds the full scap sheet in his hand into two halves
"Is that the list you got there? Let me see it" the junior captain claps his hands giddily
"There's no time for that, he's probably in a hurry I need to get to him now" Erling side steps him
A frown forms on the other's face, 'no' isn't an answer he likes to hear. He takes two long strides, enough to stretch and snatch the paper out of his senior colleague's hands from behind him. He grins boyishly with pride as he unfolds the sheet
"Give it back Justin" Erling sighs tiredly
The latter ignores him totally, scanning through the list, his grin fades slowly. He belches in a rather uncouth manner
"Is it my eyes or I don't see your name?" He laughs a bit unsurely, scanning through it all over again
"What the heck is this man?" He bulges his eyes so he sees clearer, taking suspicious glances between Erling and the list in front of him
"You're not going for the decathlon?" He cocks his head to the side, staring him squarely
"I am actually, I'll be representing in the quiz competition"
His remark earns a scoff from Justin
"In the quiz competition" he mimics "are you even listening to yourself?" He raises his voice, attracting attention of those seated at the dinner
"Lower your voice Justin, give me my list" he stretches his hand out to receive it
Justin hands the list over to him then swats his arm painfully
"Does it hurt?" He asks
Erling doesn't reply, he massages his temple with the fingers of his other arm
"It doesn't, thought as much, then what the hell do you think you're doing?" He speaks, Erling wrinkles his nose slightly because of the mild stench of vodka
He doesn't reply still
"Have you seen our training lately? Or have you forgotten the way Bolton would have wiped you guys clean last year if not for you and Senior Ameen?
How on earth do you expect us to compete against those ones? What about Middleton and that new swim captain? We have got nothing on them!!"
"I made my decision" he says calmly
"Did you even try?" Justin yells, a crowd forming gradually
"Don't raise your voice at me" Erling says sternly "I'm still your senior and captain, know your place and stay there" he says, jabbing Justin's chest with his index finger at the last part
"Ohhhhh"
"Eiiiii"
"Justin sef don chop oh"
Members of the crowd exclaim to Erling's response
"Wahala for who no get school father" a junior girl dressed as an usher adds, one look from Erling and she scurries away in fright
****
AMANDA'S POV
"I don't think I can wait till Valentines to open this present" I shriek from my end of the line
"You have to wait, that's the rule of gifting" Nana laughs in reply
"But the box is so hugeee- did you hide a house in there or something?" I run my fingers through the ribbons tying the red wrap of my Valentine's package from Nana- and yes red gift wraps were permitted
"Actually" she whispers "I hid a body in there"
"No wonder, I think I saw some blood in my trunk" I whisper too, matching her energy
"Use the hydrogen peroxide we have in the attic to clean it so there's no trace"
"Which attic?"
We burst out laughing simultaneously
"Gosh Hollywood needs to recruit us" Nana drawls
"Seriously noww that was some grade A acting"
A knock on my door interrupts
"Mum?" I call out, no response
I get up from my bed slowly, shaking every thought of the horror movies Nana and I watched out of my head. I pull the door back gently, putting my head through
"Oh my- AARONNNN" I yell, jumping into the arms of my big brother
I hold on to him with every single strength I've got
"Aderinnnnn"
"I missed you so much" tears gradually begin to form in my eyes
"I missed you too twerp" he drops me down gently, I stylishly wipe my eyes with the back of my palm do he doesn't see my wet eyes
"Has mummy seen you?" I ask in excitement as I regard him, my eyes catching the stubble around his chin
"She picked me from the airport actually" he gestures to his suitcase
I go back in for another hug, inhaling the scent of his familiar cologne as he pats me on the back like a child
"Hey Nana sorry I'll call you back later muahh" I blow a kiss through the phone and hang up before her reply
"It's been what- six months since I came home?" He asks in his diluted American accent
"The last time you were home it was only for two weeks and that was cos of-" I pause mid sentence over the very sensitive topic we've never actually discussed before
"Well I'm home now, you have me for the next 2 months" he grins toothily
His reaction sends a jab straight to my heart- how does he wave if off so easily as if it were some minor issue?
"Okay then" I clear my throat slightly "I'll give you a few hours to sort all this out" I gesture to his suitcase and hand luggage
"In the evening we'll take a walk, let me show you around Abuja small" I say with pride
"You probably only know your way around the estate" he mocks
"At least that's more than you know" I retort triumphantly
He nods his head, impressed by my smooth comeback, does a silent applause
"So how's this new school treating you?" He asks as we walk in the evening breeze
I have a black hoodie on with grey track bottoms and a pair black Nike slides I took from his luggage- never to be returned even though its inches too big for me- while he has a sleeveless lakers basketball Jersey, not affected by the cold but deep down I know he just wants to show off his biceps
They seem to have grown from the last time I saw him sef- won't tell him that though
"My new school is cool, the people there are cool to an extent" I respond
"To an extent?" He raises a brow
"Cooler than the ones at my former school at least" I shrug
"How's their swimming?" He asks
A natural smile finds its way to my face, my happy place
"Gosh that's the best part of the school" I start
"The pool is very large and the locker rooms are so wide, we have literally everything in uniform
Our towels, trunks, customised team jackets oh my freaking days!" I gush at just the thought, my brother chuckles
"Isn't that how it is at Bolton?" He asks
"Yeah but we didn't have team jackets and matching towels" I say in a 'duh' tone
"Is this your friend uh-" he pauses, trying to recall the name "-Nancy the senior prefect, does she swim too?"
"No, she does track but Toke is our swim captain" I add leaving Erling's name intentionally to avoid further questions
"Toke- the one I spoke to when you were at her house right?" He asks
And his retentive memory kicks in as usual
"Yes that's the one, her house is even on the next street" I say with a sigh
I kinda miss her company
"You guys aren't speaking shey?" He asks knowingly
"Yep" trust him to sense that
"I noticed you've been excluding her name from our chats lately" he says pointedly
"Yeah, we kinda had a lil disagreement"
"Fall out?"
"No no no minor disagreement, everything will be back to normal soon" hopefully
It wasn't a fall out nau? Minor hiccup
"We can even pass the front of her house when we're coming back" I say as we exit the gates of Trinity Gardens City
"But now, suya time" I grin excitedly, pulling him by the arm to the famous suya spot at the junction
"There's something about the Abuja suya that I can't place my hand on" I mumble shamelessly with a suya filled mouth
"Different from the one in Lagos?" He questions
"Yeah somehow, it's drier than the one they sell at our former street" I chew on another piece
"I think I prefer the one there" he says, his arm tucked in his trouser pockets
"You've not even tasted it and you're already concluding, take one" I stretch my toothpick with the piece of meat at the edge
"I don't eat on the road, you know" he gently pushes my hand out of his face
"I don't know who you're forming for" I murmur as I stick the piece into my mouth
Eating my own now doesn't mean I won't still share your own with you later
My mind does the talking as I eye his own perfectly wrapped two thousand naira suya in the bag I'm carrying
"So the competition is next week?" He asks, breaking the comfortable silence
"Yeah, we're going to Lagos on Sunday" I belch, traces of onions and cabbage staining my breath "excuse me"
Thank God its just Aaron here because what's all this nonsense
My eyes lock with the amber lens of person ahead and as soon as the staring contest begins I know its too late to back down. Her emotions are unreadable as usual as her lips are stuck in their natural pout, I don't notice when I pause in my steps
"Why did you stop?" Aaron asks, shaking me out of my reverie
I walk some steps to catch up with him, now few feet from where Toke is -contrary to the usual- she is in a form fitting baby blue flower-patterned gown, flat sandals and her hair packed tightly in a doughnut it's either she is about to go somewhere with her mum or they just got back
I give her outfit a final glance and conclude mentally that Toke looks stunning in any style she chooses to wear- cos girl see the hour glass shapeeee
"Hey Trip" she says with a small smile
I almost let out a huge breath in relief that she did NOT just say my name like she meant murder
"Hey Toke" I wave slightly, not sure of what to do
Her gaze shifts to the side and up to where my brother is, pausing for a few seconds then gaining her composure, if my eyes don't deceive me I think I see her stand a few inches taller and straighter
"Good evening" she says politely, ducking her head slightly
"Uh-" he clears his throat "Good evening"
Did his voice go deeper or my ears are doing somehow
"I'm Adetoke, nice to meet you" she stretches her hand out for a shake, he responds smoothly, taking her hand gently
"I'm Aaron, her brother" he flashes one of his famous breathtaking smiles
Her eyes expand as if in realisation, her cheeks swelling up slightly
"Oh wow okay, didn't know" she retrieves her hand, brushing both palms on her hips nervously, shifting her gaze away quickly
"It's been a while, hope you're doing good?" She asks me with smile, although small, seems genuine
"Yeah, what about you?" I return the smile, mine a bit forced
"Good thanks"
"Adetoke" a voice which sounds like her mum's yells from inside the compound
"I'm coming" she responds "I have to go now"
"Yeah, tell Kaiden and Khloe I said hi" I tell her
"I will" she nods "bye" she waves, sparing my brother one lasting glance before going in
"That's one huge house" he whispers in awe as she closes the gate
"The interior looks even huger" I respond as I start to walk away
"What are they? Some Arab royalty?" He continues in admiration
"You never know"
I'll wait till one day when he's food with a lot of pepper before I tell him that her dad owns the company that produces our toothpaste, tomato paste, salt and sugar
I grin at the thought
I catch a small smile on his face from the corner of my eye- I wonder what he's smiling about
"Is she smart?" He asks suddenly
"Yep, very she's the second best in the entire senior year"
He nods slowly at my reply, all traces of the smile from earlier gone
"And she swims too"
"Yeah she does" I reply without much thought, my mind drifting back to the encounter we just had
"Cool" I hear him mutter
**
"What is it with you and late coming?" Erling asks rhetorically as he takes long strides from the library building to where I am, coming from the gate
"I don't usually come late, I'm always early ask Nancy, today's case is a rare occurrence" I defend
"That's what you said last week too" he smirks
"Yeah last week was because I slept really late and I didn't hear my alarm" I remind him
"And this week?" He asks with a knowing smile
"I had some weekend cleaning carryover and my mum- look, you just happen to be on duty anytime I come late to school" I scoff, not entertaining him with more mishap stories
He grins widely at my response
Last week's case was a hundred times worse than this, at least he's the one who caught me this time. The week was mid in general but Thursday seemed to be my unlucky day
I had stayed up late the night before switching through tiktok and Instagram till about 3 am when my mum decided to seize my phone for the night, when I finally decided to fall asleep the rain also decided to pour heavily. It continued till about 6:30am in the morning and its only natural for me to twist and turn under the bed covers till the rain finally stops, in short I got up by 7:00am
I didn't think it'd be that late because my mum would have woken me up in a normal scenario, I completely forgot she worked till very late and wasn't planning to get up the following morning. With my haphazard preparing for school and ordering a ride, I got to school about 7:40am and was asked to stand at the back of the assembly with the defaulters, not because I came late but because I wore the white school sweater instead of the blue one meant for Thursdays- I left the blue one under the rain by mistake
It took a million eye signals and 'psps' to Erling before he finally noticed my plight but decided to ignore me till the end of the assembly when he simply walked up to me, grabbed my bag from the floor and muttered a 'let's go'
First instinct was to use my smart mouth and say something not in the line of 'thank you so much for saving my ass' but I decided to keep it till we got to class, knowing Erling could very much lead me back to the assembly hall to be punished by the staff on duty
"Did you style your hair by yourself?" He asks as we walk to the class, our paces slower than we started
"No, my mum helped" I reply
"No wonder, it looks to good to be done by you" he mocks
I roll my eyes, purposely not dwelling on the fact that he may have just complimented my hair style
"It's cute tho, makes you look like the child that you are" he throws in the last comment as he leaves me by my locker to drop my stuff, heading to class
My lips stretch into a smile as I punch in the code for my locker- of course it looks good, I watched her like a hawk while she packed it this morning
I pull out a medium sized hand mirror from the top compartment of my locker, giving myself a final look, content with the deep side part ponytail packed with a claw clip and the silver butterfly hairclip at the side
Mirror mirror on the wall tell me who's the-
"Don't come for Physics class oh, stay there and be smiling" Erling's voice from the door post of the class crashes through my self appraisal
He just had to ruin it
"Mind your business" I slam my locker shut, rolling my eyes extra hard
"Be careful so they don't roll all the way to your brain" he says mockingly, holding the door open as I walk closer "walk fast abeg the AC is on" he adds, shutting the door behind me
I was literally in the class already genius
**
"Why isn't Idara coming to eat?" Erling asks as we walk up to the head of the queue
"She has dance practice, she told me to get something for her when I'm going" I respond
"You're going there after here?" He asks as he places his order, the usuals
"Yep, we have a free period" I affirm
"Which you said you were going to use to study" he reminds me
"Uhhh- yeah that, I'll do that" I say lamely
"Have you even started studying for tests?" He stares at me squarely
I try to look everywhere but his questioning blue eyes
"Chicken and chips please, with Chapman thank you" I say to the lady behind the counter
"Amanda" he calls with the same tone as usual
"Erling"
"Don't wave my question" he picks his tray of the counter, I do too walking towards our table
'Our' table? Hmm sounds a bit weird
"Amanda" he calls again
Gosh how does he always call my name like I'm in some trouble or something
"Yeah- kinda- I dunno" I respond
"Is something wrong?" He asks as we get to the table, setting our trays at our usual opposite sides
"No- kinda- I dunno" I groan at the end of my response
"You've not started have you?" He asks, I don't give him a reply
"Amanda"
"Yesss" I groan tiredly "what is it with you and my name"
"What do you mean?" His face scrunches up in confusion
"You're the only one in the world that calls me Amanda you know that?"
"Really?" He asks in disbelief
"Our classmates call me Trip, the teachers call me by my last name Akinde, those in my former school call me Trip, my family members call me Aderin or Aderinsola" I spell out to him
"Even when I called you the other day you didn't say 'hello' like a normal person you just kept calling 'Amanda, Amanda' to ask if I could hear you"
His face dissolves into a cynical smile, he lounges in his chair, sticking one fork of plantain into his mouth
"Wow, you noticed all that"
"Hmm-mm" I nod in affirmation as I sip from my slushee
"You're obsessed with me" he says
The drink in my mouth immediately runs through the wrong channels, causing me to cough violently and hit my chest
"Are you alright?" He leans forward, passing his bottle of water to me
I unscrew the cap of my own bottle of water instead, downing some of the content to calm make the discomfort subside
"You say the weirdest things" I say finally at the end of the fit of coughs
He chuckles, going on with his meal like he didn't just utter absolute rubbish
Again you have managed to skip the question, well done Amanda, remember to skip questions you're too dumb to attempt in the tests and exams
A memory comes to my head and I almost start to gush over the records of medals and trophies I saw in the the Principal's office with his name attached to it but I don't, his head will only grow bigger at this point
"Seventeen medals plus trophies, six national recognitions and one international recognition
At only sixteen he has won every single competition possible, he's living any teenage boy's dream"
The words of the commentator come flooding into my memory, a small smile spreads to my cheeks- gosh I can't wait till the competition
"Why are you smiling?" He asks suddenly
"Nothing" I say shaking my head
I lift my gaze up to his face, his eyebrows scrunched up together like his mind us somewhere else as he eats- he has been doing this a lot lately
-if I could just reach out and straighten those hedgehogs on his face he'd look so much better
"If you keep staring at me that way then I'd be convinced you actually have a thing for me" he says without looking up
I almost gag
"Eww" I reply, chewing the remaining pieces of my chicken
He chuckles a bit but doesn't stop eating till his plate is cleared
**
I walk slowly from the cafeteria to the academic building after my second round of lunch, the chicken and chips didn't do too well to satisfy my hunger so I ordered a second course, rice. It'd have been better if I just managed the first meal cos now I feel so bloated I think I won't be able to button my blazers
I take a look at my reflection on the hallway mirror and draw some confidence from the inscription that reminds us 'you are wonderfully and beautifully made', a wide smile creeps to my face as I notice my hair is still in perfect order since morning- for the first time- reaching into my pocket for my strawberry lip gloss
My eyes catch Eddy by his locker which is three spaces from mine and I almost bolt into some hole like I've been doing for the past two week- but something is different
His eyes look dead- lifeless- colourless- I don't even know how to properly put what I see into words, his shoulders are a bit too slouched for him and he his literally burying his head in his locker. He stands there for a minute, his view blocked at the other side by the locker door but his other side fully visible to me- to see how broken he looks
Espn walks from the other side, causing me to shield myself more by the lockers. I don't catch what she says but I see him groan and say something in the lines of 'not in the mood'. She says something that appears to soothe him a little bit, shuts his locker for him and leads him away by the hand
What the hell is up with him? Could it be something- he has a girlfriend Amanda, she'll worry about him
I sigh deeply then continue towards my own locker to grab stuff to read. A particular black hard cover journal catches my eye, not because its black or the fact that its probably the only one of that kind in the world- but because it's Toke's!
I almost feel scared to touch it- what the hell is this doing here- but I flip the cover open
"You have till after the decathlon to return it, maximize the time you have" her neat cursive spells out on a yellow sticky note pasted on the inner cover of the note- I can almost hear her say the words
I flip through the pages of the note and a huge smile creeps to my face, I chuckle a bit at how she still managed to be my saving grace even with all that has happened. Every single subject is organised separately from the others, key point highlighted in sticky notes, references written at the edges of the pages. I told her before on one of our days at the library at the beginning of this term that a person can pass WAEC just by reading her jotter- and now she just lent it to me, just like that
A sad thought evades my mind- all Toke has been is accommodating and tolerant towards my shitty behaviour, she didn't even have to continue tutoring me after our first tests last term but she decided to, because of that we became more than just tutor and student, we became friends. I just HAD to mess it up
I need to talk to that girl
I drop the journal carefully with my other books and slam my locker shut, walking past my class to the A arm. I crane my head around but I don't see her anywhere, I see Idara instead so I go over to her
"Look who's decided to honor us with her presence" she says playfully as I walk towards her
She has only her white shirt and tie on, her blazer hanging on the chair, her eyes looking stressed as usual
"Is there something wrong? You look awful" I ask out of genuine concern
"Nothing is wrong, just a little stressed by stuff"
"Like what, tests? The competition?" I lower my voice a hitch and whisper "Aidan?"
"Yeah" she replies
"Yeah like the last one or all of them?" I ask
"All of them but majorly the competition, it's wearing my ass out" she groans, sinking into her chair
"What's up with Aidan?" I lean forward with my elbow on her desk
"I don't know really, he's been acting really weird, he called the next day after the Valentine's to ask if my brother told me anything"
"Told you what?" I ask, curiosity threatening to chew my insides out
"I don't even know and when I asked 'the brother' in question he said he didn't know what I was talking about" she rolls her eyes
"Something has been off between both of them since morning, they didn't even speak throughout in class and Aidan usually can't stop talking Erling's ears off" my mind goes back to class, something is definitely off about those two
"You can ask Erling" she says suddenly
"What makes you think he'll tell me?" I ask in confusion
"I dunno, who knows"
I wave her suggestion off- as much as I am curious, I don't think I'm ready to involve myself in their trio mess
"I have a class in a few minutes, I don't want him to lock me out byeee" I blow kisses to her as I hurry off the chair and out if her classroom
"Hey Denny" I say to the girl coming out of my class
"Hi trip" she side steps me to walk to her class, I catch her arm to stop her
"I'm sorry" I say simply, actually feeling sorry
"For?" She asks, prompting Mr to go on
"Uh you know, everything last week" I say guiltily
"Oh you mean for the sick attitude? You're completely forgiven" she says, not sounding sincere
"I know I know" I sigh deeply "I'm sorry for dissing you last week, I really am" I say sincerely, meeting her eyes
Her stoic expression finally breaks after moments of holding it in
"So are you going to apologise to the entire swim team or what?" She asks sarcastically
"Actually yeah, I'm doing it one by one" her eyes expand a bit, she grins
"So are we cool now?" I ask, hoping for the best
"Yeah sure" she nods her head
"A hug?" I stretch my hands out till she accepts
"It's good it's good" she says as she walks in for the hug, patting my back till we both pull out of the hug at the same time
"See you at practice tomorrow" she says as she walks away, throwing a salute my way, I return the gesture
"See ya"
See, that wasn't so hard now was it?
Welcome my people, to the end of the first part of chapter 35ð¤ this part is A because the original end of chapter 35 couldn't fit in with all these activities so everything doesn't look rushed, there's a B part and it'll be coming in soon
Sooooo
ð Erling isn't swimming this year, he made his decision and at the same time made it clear to Justin that they aren't age mates
Aaron is backkkð¤ð¤ for those that don't remember, check Aaron's face in the 'meet my beautiful characters' part of the book- and yes he's a charmer (at least Toke thinks so ð)
Something is definitely wrong with Eddy, we don't know yet let's leave it to Amanda to pick between her conscience to find out or ignore because of her jealousy
And finallyyyy Aidan hmmmm Amaka Hmm-mmm Idara hmmmmmmmm no comments ðð
Vote and comment everyoneeeeð¥ºð¥º
See y'all in part B