Brown Skinned Bet

Chapter XLV

          I could understand,Jade had only started getting better when we'd been called back for the NECO exams and that had us all in quite a state,Yomi the most. I'd never seen him so shattered,so bleak,so uninterested in whatever the world had to offer.

         His worries were same as ours,we were scared we were going to lose her but it affected him much more than any of us. To think such a playboy could be brought to the level of tears,for the sake of his heart.

         Yomi had treated her like an egg which would shatter with a mere touch,keeping everyone away from here,at some calculated distance. Even we,her friends.

         "Yomi,I'm not going to eat her na. I just want to give her the eraser she borrowed me inside the hall" Onome sneered as we walked back from the examination hall later that afternoon,Chemistry being the first paper we'd concluded.

         "Ehn,don't worry. I'll hold it for her" he'd retorted,reaching out to take the eraser from Onome. It had a fit of laughter surging through us,Onome included. Jade had only chuckled,a blush gracing her cheek bones as she watched her overly protective boyfriend.

         But I'd read something else from her gaze. It was that of longing,yearning,missing. I wondered why she would have to look at him that way. She almost looked apologetic and it bothered me. But I preferred to not give it further thought.

          It had only been a week into our NECO exams when our JAMB results started to surface. Compared to the complaints which had emanated from my classmates after the exam sometime in second term,the results were actually quite good.

         The least score that had come to my knowledge was a ten and two hundred. It was ten marks past the midpoint so I still considered it a pass.

          I'd been extremely nervous when it was finally my turn to check mine. It wasn't exactly what I'd hoped I'd get,but I'd bagged a sixteen and three hundred. Of course,I hadn't come out on top.

         Temi did the fine job of topping the class with a score of a thirty and three hundred. I'd come in second place and Yomi had,quite shockingly,come in third with a score of a ten and three hundred.

         Oghale and Onome had hit a few points over a ninety and two hundred,Jade had hit the exact square of seventeen. Daryl came in fourth place with an accuracy of three hundred. We'd done quite well and I knew we were elated at the results. Perhaps we weren't content,but we were happy nevertheless.

          With our results now published,talks of college became the next big thing admist us. The more the topic was brought up,the more I realised I wasn't in any rush to leave secondary school. Don't get me wrong,I did want to graduate. It had been my life dream since the very first day I set foot in Pacific Crest. But,I'd started to realise.

          To realise that I would be leaving much more than just the school and its buildings. I'd be leaving my family,the new friendships I'd been able to bud and grow in my final year,the old ones which had stood the test of time,people who my life had revolved around for some six good years,I'd be leaving them all.

         "I think Abuad(Afe Babalola University) is nice sha. My mum has been stuck on the school since I picked JAMB form" Onome stated as we slumped into the chairs on the sides of the badminton court.

          My girlfriends and I had taken a bit more interested in the sport and the boys had delighted in the fact. They took every chance they got to get us to practice and we'd really gotten better. After about seven rounds of the game,our hard breathing had us in search of where to settle our butts.