More Issues Than Crimson (Sequel)

Chapter One

••••

I walk into the famous 'Principal's Office' and sit on a chair with Mum.

"Good morning, Mrs. Hales! Brooklyn," he acknowledges. "It is not within my power anymore to keep Brooklyn in Royal Dawson High. She's violated school rules and vandalized school property, countless times. Her fight with the junior kid will have to bring an end to her unforgivable shenanigans," he says and Mum heaves a deep sigh with a worried look.

"He's making me look bad," I whisper under my breath to Mum.

"Shut up, Brook!" she halts with gritted teeth. "Principal Jones, please consider - "

"I am truly sorry Ma'am but she has been expelled already,"

Mum takes another deep breath and stands up. I stand up too. She walks out of the office. I immediately grab his pack of ball pens and stick my tongue at him.

"Dick head," I mutter before leaving.

"You have been expelled. What do you think about that, young lady? Do you know how disappointed in you I feel?" Mum thunders as we both get in her car.

"Do you know how disappointed we all feel?" Tyler asks annoyingly and I throw my water bottle at him in the backseat.

"Shut up, Tyler!" I order and turn back at Mum. "It's not my fault. Every kid deserved anything I gave. I can't help it," I say with a shrug and look out the window.

"As your punishment, you'll be going to Crimson High. At least you'll get some discipline there," she says and a smile lights up my face like Mr. Crab staring at a pile of money.

"Are you serious?" I ask in a happy tone. She looks at me in confusion before turning back at the road. "I mean, damn! Are you serious? That's a bummer!" I feign
annoyance with a sigh. Deep down, my heart thumps for joy.

"And Tris will be going with you," she says after some minutes. My heart shatters.

"What?" I scream with widened eyes.

"Yeah, Mum. What?" he screams too.

"I've made my decision. You two will be boarding in that luxury ride of a school. One point seven million. I had to bleed that money. Do you know how much I'm spending?" she yells. This could lead to a generational talk of how my generation is so lucky yet so ungrateful. To avoid that, I keep my mouth shut.

"But I can stay back here in Lagos... In Royal Dawson," Tyler begs.

"You'll be leaving for school on Monday. I don't care what you think or say. I've made my decision!" she says strictly and my body shrinks in the chair.

I'd love to go to Crimson but not as a boarding student. I'm sure as hell Tris would be a day student because he's a social media influencer and all. Both ways, I can't believe I'm going to Crimson High. I can't believe I'm meeting Tristan. This is literally the best punishment Mum could give.

Monday. 11:30 am.

Mum pulls over inside the gates of Crimson High. Ty and I wait in the car while she goes out to make a few inquiries.

"It's big and beautiful," I say in total awe, looking around. "I hear they have an underground swimming area," I add in amusement.

"That's a plus for me," Ty says with a smirk.

"Dork," I say with an eye roll. I look up to the building by my right. On the top floor, I see a guy looking through a window. Is he staring at me?

I pop my head back into the car and Mum approaches. "Grab your stuff. I'm done with your fees," she says and we both get down. We get our boxes from the trunk and Mum closes the trunk of the grey Lexus. I look around. It really is beautiful.

"Good morning. I am Abimbola Rosemary. You can call me Abim,"

"And I am Chikamso Onyekwulu. The girls' hostel prefect,"

"I am Raymond. The boys' hostel prefect. Follow me," he says as he helps Ty with his boxes. The other two girls help with mine and we head up to the first floor which is the SS2 girl's hostel. It's neat. Spotless. My corner is already prepared and they keep my boxes by the side.

"Thanks," I say. "I'm Brooklyn Hales," I add.

"Nice to meet you," Abim says but the other girl just walks away. "She's an SS3 student. They don't talk much," she says and it doesn't take long for me to remember the Almighty battle between SS3 students and the rest of the world.

•••

The refectory is neat. Just as I expected. The tables are grouped with a list by the entrance.

I'm in table twenty. Ty is in sixteen. I head towards my table and settle on it. Chikamso, the snobby girl from earlier, is our food sharer and she dumps the thick lines of spaghetti on my plate. She adds a hotdog beside it afterwards and moves to the next person.

It's quite noisy given the junior students. The SS2's and 3's seem to be professionals when it comes to minding their own business. I pull my hoodie in and grab the fork, about to dig in.

"Tristan is coming!" I hear someone whisper and the entire place goes silent. My heart pounds in my chest as my eyes move to the door of the refectory.

"Tristan," I whisper underneath my breath.

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