Serendipity [BoyxBoy]

Chapter Five

There was nothing Naomi loved more than being up on stage. She loved initial rush of adrenaline, the beat of the drums thumping in time with her own heart, the energy of the crowd; theirs and their reaction to the energy she gave them. Every bit of it was special to her. Sacred.

Her grandfather had always said she was made for an audience- a wild child with a penchant for doing the most nonsensical, in-your-face thing she could think of. He was her very first fan, always ready to listen when she rushed to him with her crappy, second hand guitar in her hands and half formed lyrics in her head.

She played every show with him in mind, so she gave performing her 100% all the time. Nothing less.

Music healed. It brought people together like nothing else. Whenever the band got fan mail saying shit like 'I proposed to my girlfriend to your music' or 'I was suicidal but discovering you guys has given me something to look forward to', she couldn't help but think 'I- we did that.' Once upon a time, her world had been so small- overbearing parents, teachers who hated her, the constant feeling of emptiness weighing down on her chest like an anvil in her lungs- now she was part of something bigger. Something better. She finally had purpose.

Even if all she could offer was momentary bliss, even if reality reared it's ugly head again once the set was over and the adrenaline rush had worn off, even if the glamour stopped once the song ended, she'd make the escape worth it.

Because music made her forget all her problems.

And she wanted everyone to forget theirs and just dance.

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By the time Wednesday rolled in, everything was back to normal.

Eghosa acted like she wasn't acting weird on Sunday, Ehi acted like she didn't receive a drink from a stranger (and gulped it down without checking if it was expired) and Nosa acted like he wasn't at all bothered by both those things... and Irekanmi.

It was one of those rare days where assembly ended early so everyone in class was fooling around before first period. Nosa's head was down on his desk and he was trying to take a quick nap. Last night was one of those night's where his mind had defied the will of his tired body and kept him up. Even when he had stopped playing Plants VS Zombies, turned off his phone and turned onto his side, sleep remained out of reach.

He tucked his head in his folded arms, shut his eyes and tried to imagine that the rough school desk was a pillow. All around him, students gossiped and laughed. Half his classmates were gathered around the class captain's desk, which was unfortunately only a desk down from his. They were talking about some party (a bash, they called it) she was going to throw on Friday when her parents went on a weekend long business trip. Their noise grated at his ear drums.

"Will you hire that DJ you hired last time?"

"Omo, guy, the price of Smirnoff has gone up oh. How many crates will you now buy?"

"Will your brother be there?"

Nosa had to bite down on his teeth to keep from snapping at them. Did they always have to be so loud? So... banal?

There was always some party at someone's place when their rich parents weren't around. Or a stroll around the park to take pictures at the fountain that hadn't ejected water since 2015. Or get together at Kada Cinema where they whiled away the time by eating overpriced popcorn and making out in the back seats.

The same things. Every time. All the time.

It's not like they really had much of a choice. Benin was a small city, there was only so much you could do. Still, Nosa got bored listening to them make the same plans. Someone should have hosted a fucking Ludo tournament. That would have been fun.