I entered the school's premises and all eyes were on me. I attempted to prance with my shoulders high and show everyone that my status was being altered by my sudden sense of prestigious superiority, but I was afraid that my friends might realize my recent dealings with Nicole and judge me.
Arthur passed by and he said casually, "Good morning."
"Tell that to Delaney," I snapped and slammed my locker angrily.
"What?"
"Oh yes."
"Dude, I've been texting you and you never responded to any of my texts. And what's with the attitude?" We looked at each other for a moment then he went soft on me, "What is going on with you, Steph? You know you can tell me anything."
I sighed and equally turned meek. "There's been a lot going on in my mind lately, most of which you'd never acknowledge. We've got so much to talk about."
Arthur's phone made a loud beep. "Hold on," he said. He opened his phone and viewed some information. Then he looked at me confoundedly, then back into his phone again. His eyes were moist and his face looked tensed. He looked intently at me like he was trying to see through me, through my heart perhaps.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
Suddenly, I received a beep too. I opened my phone and mysteriously, on the screen were pictures and videos of me from Haidée's party. I was shocked and anxious.
I looked at Arthur in the eyes, "just allow me explain." His face displayed many emotions, I just couldn't identify what he was feeling at that moment but it wasn't good. After staring at me for a few seconds, he walked away without uttering one word.
At this distress, I remembered God—where I had last forsaken Him in inquiring for a sign and direction. I called out to Him during what seemed like my darkest moment and asked Him to comfort me and reveal to me what I had to do next.
What I was beginning to feel was greatly disturbing. I had only a thousand questions for him and I wrote them down in class that day
Q: Can I and Nicole be good friends?
A:
Q: Is Nicole going to connect me with my dreams and destiny?
A:
Q: Can I talk her out of immorality, can I change her?
A:
Q: Is it wrong to have fun?
A:
Q: Are you cool with my ways so far?
A:
All through at school, Crystal kept hitting my phone up with texts. Emlyn almost found out about him. Not like I care, but...
I wasn't sure Emlyn had seen my pictures online or that he was aware that I and Nicole were buddies now.
Yeah, about that... I packed my stuff after school, waiting for the right moment to approach Arthur and pour my heart out to him to free myself from every guilt then spend the rest of my day rehearsing the school play at the theater.
Nicole suddenly summoned me into the Den of the Tycoons and I appeared there.
"What are you doing?"
"Rehearsing the school play, why?"
"School play? No, no, no. You cannot underplay your potentials this way. School plays are for losers."
"Look, Nicole. I have to go now. What do you want?"
"Well, I want you to join this club and be a part of our crew."
"No, thanks. I think I like it at the Drama Club," I said. I grabbed my bag from a chair and turned to leave.
I was utterly worried and overwhelmed by too many things that I took a brief rest on the stairs, on my way up to the theater.
Andrew and Richard came to me and leaned on the railings.
"Why the blue face?" Asked Andrew.
"Is it a coincidence that we spotted Arthur looking the exact same way?"
"Nah, I doubt it," Andrew answered. "You know, things like this happen in friendships when one of 'em is gonna leave the other."
"Yeah, like how Arthur is leaving for China... With Delaney."
I rose my head up from my phone below and stared at the boys.
"I feel bad for Steph." Andrew then faced me, "Steph, I feel bad for you. I don't know what I'd do if Ricky here were leaving me for a trip to a foreign country with a childhood friend that he shares some dumb childhood scientific dream with."
"Wait, what?!" I exclaimed in sudden shock. "Who is travelling to China?"
"Uh, Arthur with Delaney?" Puzzled, Richard answered.
"He's definitely gonna miss so much during summer camp," Andrew said heartily, "Remember last year when..."
"Guys!"
"What's up?" Said Andrew.
"Who is going to China?!"
"I don't get it," replied Richard. "Didn't your BFF tell you about his trip to China real soon for some project to boost his career?"
"What?!"
"Drew, I don't know, you read facial expressions better. Is that a brokenhearted one or just shocked?"
Richard motioned at my face in a silly way and both of them tried to study my appearance.
"Definitely both."
Immediately, Delaney approached us with greetings that I didn't answer to.
"When are you and Arthur leaving for China?"
"Uh... We're not supposed to talk about that," she said to my uttermost shock. "Steph, I wanted to ask you if you've seen Arthur."
"I haven't. Not even his loyalty."
"Okayyyyyy?"
I received a text from Crystal saying, "Hey, beautiful princess. I hope to see you at the party this weekend. I miss you so much already. I can't wait to see your adorable face. Side note: I stopped by at your house to drop a package. Love, Crys."
Things took an aggravated turn on my mental health. I was thinking about too many things simultaneously; I felt like my head would soon explode.
How could Arthur be doing this? How could he not have told me? Could this be true? I thought.
Emlyn came around and sat next to me on the stairs but I got up to leave.
"Yo, where you goin'?"
I ignored his voice and I left to find Nicole where she was, preparing to go home.
"You're back."
"I just thought I needed to focus on what's important right now, without any distractions."
"Stephanie, school plays are a distraction! I mean, look at you. You should be busy practicing scripts for lead roles in top productions. Don't you want that?" I wanted to answer but the words just weren't coming out. "Now, listen to me. My father has connections. By hanging out with me, you're gonna prove to him that I've changed for good. Then when he sees your skills, I know my father, he's going to invest in you and introduce you to people that matter."
"Are you serious?" I wasn't sure of what I heard. I could sense light slowly peeking into my dark state.
"It is high time you stopped rolling around with people whose company will not profit you. It's time to look at the bigger picture. Stop all this nonsense trying to be perfect and to please everyone. Hold on to what you desire."
Immediately, Lucas, the driver, showed up to pick Nicole and to drop me off at my house as well. I held the strap of my bag and with leaden wings, followed behind Nicole, bailing on Drama Club.
"Stephanie?" I heard a voice call from behind. It was Arthur. Nicole was already in the car waiting. "What are you doing?"
"I'm leaving... I mean you are leaving. Have a wonderful trip to China, Arthur."
"Just let me explain."
"How long were you planning on keeping this away from me? I thought we were best friends and... I can't believe you're actually leaving... With her. You're just gonna chase after your dreams and leave me behind and then lie to me."
"I never lied to you. Look, I was gonna tell you but I was just waiting for the right time."
"At least she's more transparent. Bye Arthur."
"After everything we've talked about, you're just gonna follow her?"
"We're actually on the same page here."
"That's a different case! This is Nicole we are talking about!"
"I thought we were friends. Don't paint me out to be the bad guy, Arthur. I just realized that there's life outside that bubble I live in. I wanna explore. I want to find opportunities to fulfill my dreams just as you have. I can't keep letting time run off leaving me on a spot."
"Steph..."
"Have a nice time in China."
"Steph, come back!"
Immediately, as I turned to leave, I heard Delaney and Emlyn step into the scene.
"Where's she going? Yo, Steph!"
I ignored the voice of Emlyn.