Jolayemi

Chapter 13: The Sleepover I

"You gonna help me up?", he asked. I scoffed, walking away from him. Man, now I wished I'd kicked him. "Wait up", he called. I didn't answer, neither did I slow down, instead, I urged my legs to walk faster, but he caught up to me in seconds. "Hey, I'm sorry", he said, stepping in front of me. I moved to the right, he echoed my movement. I slid to the left, he did the same. "What?", I snapped, mad. He hugged me. "I'm truly sorry if I took things far", he said. He released me. "Forgive me?", he said. I sighed. "Fine", I said. "Thank you, I promise to make it up to you", he said. He was going to regret saying those words.

I smirked, he took a step back, and frowned. I blinked innocently. "When you smirk, either you are being really smug about something, or you are up to something", he said, staring at me carefully. I batted my eyelashes. "Me?", I asked. "Uh uh, you", he studied me. I shrugged. "I mean, you did promise to make it to to me, didn't you?", I asked. He sighed. "I knew I shouldn't have down that", he said. "Fine what is it? Hit me", he said. "Henceforth, I won't have to force you to go for class, do your homework, and study. You'd do it willingly, without any complaint, in any form, whatsoever", I smirked.

He groaned. "You should have just hit me", he said. I beamed. "C'mon, let's get to class", I said. He muttered what I assumed to be curses under his breath, and I smiled, happy I'd just saved myself a whole lot of work. Forcing Jer to do what he didn't wanna do, was work in itself, and boy, he definitely didn't wanna study. "Psst. Psst, Jola", Jer called, for the twentieth time, and I groaned. Art and Drawing was the last class for the day, and Jer didn't give me peace of mind. Jessica was explaining how creativity could be created, and I was enjoying her lecture but I couldn't keep up because of Jer's constant pestering.

Gabby smiled at me, then patted my hand. "I know what you are going through. Hang in there", she said. I felt a paper hit me at the back of my head, before falling to the piles of papers pooled at my feet. I sighed, before turning to look at him. "Yes, Jer?", I answered, through gritted teeth, making sure Jessica didn't hear me. Jer smiled, before making a funny face, one eye going up, the other down, and he moved his hand clockwise around his head. Normally, I would have giggled, but right now, it was all I could do not to hit him.

"Really? That's why you've been pestering me?", I asked, voice rising. "A problem, Jola?", Jessica asked, offended. She hated distractions in her class. "No, I'm sorry", I said. She nodded, before turning back to what she was saying. "I'm going to kill your cousin", I whispered to Gabby. "I'll help you", she smiled. Taking the cue, we both turned to Jer, who looked at us warily. I pointed at him, before moving my hand slowly across my neck, Gabby doing the same. Jer gulped, before turning to Jessica. Gabby smiled. "Trust me, he won't disturb you anymore", she said. "Thank you", I said.

"Is it me or is Jer avoiding us?", Gabby asked. I laughed, when the bell rang, Jer was nowhere to be seen. Normally, he would have waited for me, before following me to my locker. But Jessica had barely finished her last words, before Jer ran out of the class. "Did we scare him too much?", I asked. "Apparently we didn't", Gabby said, nodding at something. Jer was leaning against my locker, glancing at us warily. "Hello, cousin", Gabby teased. Jer took a step back, Gabby crowded him. "What's wrong?", she asked. He glanced at me, but I ignored him. "That's what you get for disturbing me", I said.

"What are you doing?", Skyy approached us. Jer immediately clung to her. "Save me from this mad woman", he said, looking genuinely scared. Skyy looked so confused, as she glanced wildly, Jer mirroring her. "Hey", Starr said. Jer held her, after deciding that Skyy was not a good protection from Gabby. He repeated his cry for help, looking at Gabby, who still looked at him in a scary way. I sighed, as I folded my arms. "Will you disturb me in class again?", I asked. He started to protest, but one look at Gabby, and he shut up, then shook his head. "No, never", he said. I nodded. "Will you pay attention in class?", I asked. I knew I was pushing my luck, and Jer looked torn. "Fine", he said. I moved closer. "Will you study and ace every test?", I asked. I really was pushing it this time, and Jer didn't reply.

Gabby took a step closer, Jer gulped as he looked like a haunted animal. I repeated the question, and urged him to answer. He answered alright, by running towards the opposite direction, screaming like an animal before he tripped. I laughed do hard my cheeks hurt. "Okay, that was hilarious, but you went too far, not gonna lie", Gabby wiped a tear. I shrugged. "I had to try", I said. Skyy giggled. "That was a good one, alright, and as much as I love this moment, we have a sleepover to go to guys", she squealed. We all joined in the excitement, as we walked to Gabby's car, our stuff were already packed inside.

Gabby turned in the ignition, and my heart flipped, knowing I was this close to seeing Gabriel again. I was so looking forward to it. "So, how was your lunch date?", Starr asked. "What lunch date?", I asked, confused. She rolled her eyes, like I'd said something stupid."Your lunch date with Jer", she said. "It wasn't a lunch date", I rolled my eyes. "Are you telling me you don't know that Jer likes you?", she asked. "That's ridiculous. Trust me, we're just friends", I said. Starr crossed her legs, before eyeing me. I sighed, knowing she wasn't gonna let this one go.

"I bet he wants to be more than friends", she said. I snorted. "Are you saying he wants to be more than friends with somebody like me?", I asked, looking at her like she just said the stupidest thing I'd ever heard. They all groaned, including Gabby. They knew about my extremely low self esteem, and are always trying to caution me on that. "Really, Jola?",Skyy asked. I shrugged. "How many times we gotta say this? You are not ugly", Gabby said. I nodded, not bothering to argue with them.

"We are here", Gabby said. "I know I've been here before, but this view still takes my breath away", I said. Gabby smiled, while the twins echoed their agreement. "Good evening, Ma'am", a man said, before bowing slightly in our direction. "Hey, Alfred", Gabby said, then hugged him. "These are my friends. Jola, Skyy, and Starr", she said, pointing at us. "Hey, Mr Alfred", I said, shyly. He laughed. "Please, call me Alfred", he said, before going to get our things, and we thanked him.

"My parents are not around, so its just us. Come let me show you guys where you'll be staying", she said. We followed her, still admiring the house. She pointed at a room. "That's my room, you'll all come here when you're freshened up", she said. Her room smelt of lavender, and strawberry. "Let me take you to your rooms", Gabby said. "We aren't gonna stay in one room?", I asked. "No, do you mind?", she asked. I shrugged. "Okay, Skyy, that's yours", she said. "I love it", Skyy said, jumping on the bed, and I smiled. "Starr, here's yours", she said. It was the same as Skyy's but different colours.

"And this right here is yours, Jola", she said, opening a door, and I loved it instantly, I smiled. "Your rooms are right next to each other, so you don't get lost or confused or something", Gabby said. "See you in a few hours. Freshen up, take a nap, and meet in my room 7pm", she said. I was tired, my stuff was already by my bed, and I sighed in contentment as I laid down, exhausted.

I had to call Dare and J to tell them I was okay, and settling well. J was online, Dare wasn't. "Hey there. How's sleepover going?", J asked. I launched into it, and we talked for some time before I slept off, completely beat.