Anyeong my beautiful people❤.
How are we all doing?
The last chapter was a bit of a doozy, wasn't it?🤧💔
Don't worry, this one will be light and easy.....whatever that means😭😂💕.
Also, it's the first chapter of 2023!!!
Okay, let's go🤸🏽♀️🤸🏽♀️🤸🏽♀️.
~~~~~~~
" Story, story,
is what you give me always
I'm on a search for something real,"
~~~~~~~
- Tems ~ Show Dem Camp
(Tales by Moonlight)
PHINEAS
On Friday, the day after me and Chetachi's first date, Coach Sam and Coach Marene called Zik and I to their office.
"We've got news for you both," Coach Sam had started in his clear, no nonsense voice.
I glanced at Zik who stood with her arms folded beside me, dressed in a black tank top and school-issued basketball shorts with Nikes on her feet as usual.
"All preparations for next term's Inter-house Sports Competition are to be suspended for the time being," Coach Marene continued. "This is to enable us get ready for this year's Friendlies against Elysian Heights Academy slated for the last week of this month."
"What?" Zik and I chorused.
"But, ma, Friendlies are supposed to be in December after exams," Zik said.
Coach Marene nodded. "Yes, we normally hold it then, but Elysian called yesterday and suggested we move it forward a bit."
I scoffed. "Of course."
"So we answer to them now?" Zik seethed, annoyance clear in her tone.
"It was a suggestion and the school agreed to it," Coach Sam said with a shrug. "Besides, it's not as if we've ever had a fixed date for the Friendlies."
That bit was true.
The yearly Friendly Games against Elysian have been going on for years, even way before I joined Hillsong, and the timing for it had never been fixed.
It could be in either first, second or third term or even during the holidays, but we've been holding it in the middle of December for the past three years now.
"And since Elysian won three out of the four matches last year, they got to pick this year's sports," Coach Marene said.
Zik dragged a small hiss beside me, and when I glanced at her she rolled her eyes.
She was still sore about us losing to Elysian last December, although in our defence, last year's sports were Tennis and Swimming, and we had been equally matched till Elysian won the Male Swimming competition by 0.5 seconds.
"You'll be pleased to hear that they chose Football and Basketball; your individual specialties. Now, what I need from you two is to meet with your counterpart captains and come up with adequate teams that'll carry us through the competition. Sound good?"
With that, we left the office and went back to class.
Later that day, Laura Bidemi announced the news of the Friendlies over the P.A system and I'd called for a practice session on Saturday with the Football team.
It's Monday now and I've drafted out a suitable squad to take on Elysian's team.
Amarachi, the female Football captain sent me her own list yesterday and now I'm on my way to discuss and finalise with Zik before we go back to Coach Sam and Coach Marene.
Most of this morning was spent talking with Chetachi, until the bell for Break rang and she had to go to the library.
She looked so gorgeous this morning, with her hair in little micro-braids that she held in a ponytail, tied with a silky black ribbon.
She also got a cute, glazed manicure and her hands were even softer when I held them.
I can't seem to get Thursday night out of my head.
Every moment, every second of that perfect and the perfect girl I spent it with are etched into my mind, and I'm definitely not complaining.
Over the weekend, we had talked things out via video calls and established the already obvious fact that we like each other, and are both willing to see where fate takes us, and hopefully, she'll become mine.
Zik told me earlier on that she'd be at the Basketball court by Break, so that's where I'm headed.
A bit surprisingly, not many students were outside as I made my out of the academic building to the Sports Centre.
"Oh, Senior Phineas!" a shrill, high-pitched voice, or rather, shrill high-pitched voices called out suddenly.
I looked round, only to see three younger girls cat-walking towards me.
Confused, I looked backwards to see if possibly there was someone behind me also named Phineas.
There wasn't.
Before I knew it, the three girls were in front of me, completely blocking my path.
One had several purple braids in her hair, another was chewing gum and the last one was looking at me like I was birthday cake.
They were all striking the same arm-folded pose and it didn't even surprise me when they spoke in unison.
"Heyyyyy, Senior Phineas," they chirped in unison smiling sheepishly and batting their lashes.
Oh boy.
"Hey, girls. Don't mean to be rude but I have somewhere I need to be right now," I said in a rush, wanting to side step them when all three shifted and blocked my path again.
"We just want to talk to you for a little bit," the first one said, still smiling.
As a senior and a Prefect, I could literally tell these three to disappear and go clean a toilet or something, but I decided to entertain them at least for a few minutes.
"You probably don't know us," Chewing gum girl said, blowing a bubble.
"Should I?"
"I'm Emma," Purple hair girl said.
"I'm Ella," Chewing gum girl added.
"And I'm Nuella," the last girl quipped, still looking at me with googly eyes.
I remembered Veronica telling me about three girls with those names and it suddenly clicked.
"So you're the Emmanuellas?" I asked to confirm.
"Oh my gosh, he knows us!" the last girl -Nuella- gushed in a lisp, jumping up and down slightly.
"Get a grip, Nuella!" Chewing gum girl -Ella- said, pulling her down.
Purple haired girl -Emma- cleared her throat and tilted her head flirtily. "You've heard of us?"
"My sister talks about you guys all the time," I said.
"T'speaking of your t'sister, we just wanted to say a huge congratulations to the two of you," Nuella said.
I frowned. "Congratulations?"
"Yeah. I mean, you and Senior Chetachi and her and Jovan," Emma continued.
"It's really cute," Ella added.
"Soooo cute," the other two gushed.
I blinked three times.
"Veronica and who?"
"Jovan Kodjovi in her class. Don't you know him?"
A scoff escaped my lips.
Of course I knew him.
Motherfucker was at Football try-outs last term when I was assistant captain and he was all kinds of unserious and disrespectful. Coach Sam even had to ban him from the team permanently.
And if I'd just heard correctly, he was my baby sister's.....boyfriend?!
I stayed quiet for a few seconds, pondering this, until one of the three cleared her throat.
"So you didn't know they're dating?"
I looked down at all three of them, blinking innocently and I felt anger begin to heat up within me.
Just where the fuck is that Kodjovi boy?
I pushed past the girls and started walking away when another thing they'd said came to mind, making me pause and turn around.
"Did you mention Chetachi and I?" I asked and they nodded in response.
"We know of your little rendezvous with her on Thursday last week at The Planetarium," Ella quipped.
Exhaling through my nose, I tried to speak calmly. "And just how do you know about that?"
Emma's eyes lit up and she brought out her phone, tapping away before brandishing the screen in front of my eyes.
"My sister's ex-boyfriend's roommate's cousin was there with a couple friends to watch the meteor shower that night," she explained.
I stared at the photo which was a screenshot of a Snapchat post. It was a group selfie of about five people, smiling happily with their sunglasses on as stars streaked across the sky above them.
But towards the far left of the photo were Chetachi and I, kissing with my hands around her waist and hers in my hair.
Our side profiles were visible, and anyone who knows us could easily recognise that it was us in the picture.
Emma retracted her phone, smiling triumphantly.
"We're making you guys our cover t'sory!" Nuella then said, clapping her hands.
A vein ticked in my forehead. "Your what?"
"Not a cover story exactly, but you guys are going to be our feature article this week," Ella corrected.
"In the school newspaper," came Emma. "The online version, though."
"And by 'you guys', you mean me, Chetachi, my sister and Jovan?"
"Precisely," Ella smiled.
" 'The Sullivan Siblings In Love'. Don't you just adore the title?" Emma asked no one in particular.
"It's so good!"
"T'soooo good!"
"Hold on!" I said, cutting their gushing short. "You're telling me you actually publish this news in the school paper?!"
Nuella blinked at me. "Well, we've already t'sent it to t'Sebastian for review."
I felt myself go pale.
"He'll upload it by Lunchtime," Ella said proudly.
I stared at all three of them in horror.
"Look girls, he's speechless!"
"Wait till he reads the article then!"
Coughing slightly, I managed to ask if that was all they had to tell me.
They nodded in unison and before any of them could say another word, I walked away as fast as I could.
.......
"Thanks for keeping me waiting Sullivan," Zik intoned in her playfully sarcastic way as I entered the Basketball Court.
She was the only one there, shooting balls into the net closest to her, never missing one.
"Sorry," I said, still flustered from the news those three perky mice had just given me.
I made a mental note to go and see Sebastian immediately I was done here.
After throwing one final perfect three-pointer, Zik came to join me on the bleachers.
She sported her team jacket over her uniform and as always she had on Nikes.
"Are those the new Ja Morant shoes?" I asked, observing them.
"Yessir," she said proudly, smiling. "Got them just this Saturday."
I couldn't help but bare an impressed smile.
Once again, Zik had beat all the other boys in copping the latest sneakers.
Last semester, the boys had made the whole sneaker copping thing a contest and even bet money on it.
Long story short, at the end of third term, Zik walked away with almost half a mil.
When asked who her shoe plug was, she'd just smile and say something along the lines of 'a sneakerhead never reveals her sources'.
"So," I said, getting down to business, " I have my lists here."
I brought the physical copy of the drafted list and my phone which had the digital copy.
Zik took the former and peered at it carefully, saying nothing as she examined it.
I just sat there, watching her, and once again, I was taken aback at how pretty Zik actually was.
She was one of those girls naturally rolled with guys to the point that you actually didn't see her as a 'girl'.
I remember my first impression of her in JSS1. Even then, she was all low-cut hair and sassy, no nonsense attitude.
She made her mark in the school the day she beat up two SS1 boys who had made fun of her haircut.
The school went wild that day. Everyone wanted wanted to see the tiny JSS1 who had taken down not one but two senior boys.
From then on, nobody messed with her.
She was one of those people who never really had a fixed set of friends. She rolled with everybody; the boys especially.
They treat her with with respect and as an equal, primarily because she's a vibe, but mostly because majority of them are scared of her.
Zik isn't a spiteful or malicious person at all, but she has a deadly temper and is very, very strong physically.
Like, this girl has single-handedly defeated all the boys in our set at arm wrestling, myself included.
And besides that, her entire aura just screams 'fuck off'.
Woe betide anyone who tries to mess with her on the court. Her competitive streak is as deadly as it is cold.
With a personality so overwhelming, it's easy to look over the little things like the fact that she's quite simply a very pretty girl.
She ran over her eyes over the list one more time before looking up at me.
"Looks good, but there are some changes to be made."
"Like?"
"Like, Samuel Emefili can't be in the starting eleven. He's a good striker, I know, but he feels himself way too much when it comes to competitions and it makes him a liability to the rest of the team. Plus, I heard he still has beef with some of the guys on the Elysian squad and you know how that ended last year."
I grimaced, remembering the huge blow-out that had happened at last year's Friendlies when Elysian's 0.5 second win was announced.
There's always, always tension between Hillsongers and Elysianites, but last year the pot had boiled over.
"I know Sam isn't exactly the best player for matches like this, but who'll I replace him with? Terfa is injured and Gideon is on disciplinary probation."
"Maybe that'll teach him to keep his dick to himself," she muttered, before continuing. "The problem here is you have so much potential you're not tapping into. Take James Akigbe in SS1 for example; he's an amazing striker, and although he still needs some polishing, he's determined, full of team spirit, unproblematic and runs like fucking Flash."
I didn't even need to reason it too much to know Zik was right.
"This is why I need to have your opinion on these things," I said, gratitude in my tone.
"You'd be lost without me, Sullivan," Zik replied smugly.
Asides her obvious physical skill in sports, Zik was also skilled in the technical aspect and could make a great coach or team manager if she wanted to. She knew just how to combine the right people for a team and for particular events, and she also knew how to bring out the best in those she chose.
Suddenly, the door was opened and Darius bounced in.
"Yo,yo,yo! I was told you'd be in here."
Zik's smile melted away and was replaced with a hard glare.
"What are you doing here, Akachi?" she asked icily.
"I'm here to give the Sports Prefect my list of course, you know, as captain of the male Basketball squad and all," he said slowly, like he was taking to a toddler.
"Couldn't you have just sent it in like Amarachi did?"
Darius chose to ignore the question and joined us on the bleachers instead, squeezing between the two of us, such that Zik had to shift away to avoid bodily contact with him.
Seemingly happy at her annoyance, he pulled out a folded piece of paper from the pocket of his slacks and handed it to me before to Zik again.
"So, Azikiwe, I heard of your little date night with Efe on Saturday and even your outing on Thursday evening at the skate park."
Zik gave him a purely acidic look. "Who the hell told you that?"
"So it's true then?"
"Even if it is, what's your business?"
"Oh, I don't give two shits about you, it's my guy Efe I'm worried for. I mean, if anything is actually happening between you guys, someone has to tell him to run to the nearest mountain."
She huffed and was about to give Darius a scatching reply when the doors opened again and a junior boy poked his head in.
"Senior Zik? Mr. Ogaga is calling you," the boy said then disappeared.
With a sigh, Zik got up and adjusted her skirt.
"Go through his list first, Sullivan, I'll be back soon."
"Go through his list first, Sullivan, bleh bleh bleh," Darius mimicked in a terrible sounding rendition of Zik's strong alto.
Darius wasn't exactly my favourite person in the world after the whole issue with Ola, but I had to say something at this point.
"Dude, what exactly is your beef with Zik?"
"She's just too full of herself, abeg. It irritates me. Plus, she knows what she did," he said gruffly.
"Okay, o," I replied, not exactly wanting to play therapist to Darius Akachi.
I looked through his list and nodded.
Elysian's Basketball team won't know what's coming for them.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"I think you picked the perfect people, as usual."
Darius smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Nice," he said, pronouncing the word with an Australian accent.
"Mmhm," was all I gave as a reply.
It was quiet after that as I sat there waiting for Zik, till he spoke again after a while.
"If you don't mind me asking Phineas, what's with the silent treatment lately? I know we're not exactly best buds, but we used to talk, didn't we?"
I spared him a glance and spoke monotonously. "My friend, Ola....you're aware he still hasn't resumed, right?"
He scowled, understanding where I was coming from. "Firstly, that dummy threw the first punch; I only defended myself. And secondly, I was suspended as well, but the punishment time has elapsed and I'm back at soon, so why isn't he?"
"You injured him."
"He injured me too!"
"You insulted his dad."
"He insulted mine too!"
At that moment, the door opened again and Zik walked in, pausing immediately when she sensed the tension in the air.
"Look, Darius, I don't have anything against you. Just maybe next time, stop to think about why someone who you considered a bro punched you out of the blue in the first place instead of jumping straight into self defense."
Although he was still scowling, I saw regret flash in his eyes for a brief moment.
"Maybe if you had done that, you would have seen that Ola was going through a very shitty period and your aimless bragging worsened it for him that day."
I stood up, glancing briefly at Zik who stood there, watching us wordlessly, her arms folded.
"I'm sorry for the cold shoulder, dude. I know you were just doing what you felt was right," I told him, clapping a hand on his shoulder twice.
I walked down from the bleachers and handed Zik the list of male Basketball players.
"It's perfect already, but maybe just go through it again?"
She nodded and took the piece of paper from me.
"Break's almost over; I've got somewhere to be," I explained quickly, and with that, I walked out the door, leaving them there.
......
I didn't bother going back to the SS3 block to find Sebastian; he was rarely there and always in the Press Room, or as he liked to call it, his headquarters.
I knocked on the door twice before hearing his voice; "Enter if you must."
I opened the door and walked in, immediately getting assaulted by the strong scent of citrus.
Sebastian sat at the head of the conference table in the centre of the room, tapping away at his laptop.
"Ah, Phineas," he said, looking up briefly. "To what do I owe this August visit in November?"
In true Sebastian fashion, he wasn't wearing the correct uniform. The white top he wore was more of a blouse, with frills and slightly puffy sleeves, and he had a silk ribbon round his collar, tied up in a little bow. His hair was tinted blonde and he had on tiny Vivienne Westwood logo studs in his ears.
Sebastian had always been like this; bold, confident and effervescent.
He came to Hillsong in the third term of JSS1 and caused quite a stir. That was because he chose to his uniform with a pink cardigan and platform loafers, complete with sunglasses perched on his nose.
I'll never forget the look on Mrs. Efuru's face when he walked into the classroom for the first time. She stared at him open-mouthedly and he had taken off his sunglasses and blinked back at her, before asking Ralia, the girl sitting closest to him if he was in the right classroom.
From that day, people couldn't get enough of Seb. He became almost like an attraction at a fair, like a spectacle for everyone else's entertainment. People would always be on the look out, wondering what he'd wear next.
The girls loved him because he had a sense of style and was into self-care and fashion, but most of the guys didn't understand him, and as a result, hated him.
Seb and I weren't close at all back then, but I heard stories about him being bullied by wicked Senior boys.
No, rather it was one story, featuring five guys from SS1 and JSS3.
Apparently, they had come up with a plan to humiliate and publicly shame Sebastian by covering him in pink paint...and they succeeded, managing to pour the paint on him while he was in one of the showers after P.E class. They also turned off the water system so he couldn't wash it off. And then they handed him his towel and made him walk out like that, covered in pink paint.
Naturally, you'd have expected Seb to be mad as hell or even upset enough to cry and go report to a teacher or something.
But, no. He simply waited till they had had their fill of laughter and went back in to shower when they turned the water system back on.
When he came into the classroom that day, he had a sickly sweet smile on his face that I should have known spelt trouble.
And it did, because the very next day, by mysterious circumstances, scandalous news articles were released about the parents of each of the five boys by SSBC Newspaper and on the SSBC News station, both of which are owned by Silas Soyinka, Seb's dad.
The news flew around school like wildfire, as well as the whole state and possibly the country.
Investigations were made into the allegations, and each and every one of them turned out to be true, leading ultimately to the arrests of the parents and all five guys being pulled out of Hillsong, never to be seen again.
Even though he never openly admitted to it, we all knew Sebastian was behind the newspaper propaganda, and from then on, nobody openly messed with him again.
Then, in JSS3, he joined the Press team and began working for the school newspaper.
If you were Seb's enemy? A story about you would be posted or printed for reading.
If he didn't like you? Pray you told no one your secrets.
But even if you didn't, Sebastian always had a way of finding out everything about everyone, from students to teachers to even auxiliary staff and quite possibly everyone in the whole South Side area of Lagos Island.
Need dirt on your ex? Seb's your guy.
Want to know more about your family's shady history? He's the one to meet.
Even if your slate was clean, he'd find the sponge you used to wash it and he'd use it against you.
Don't get me wrong, he's a nice guy and he won't just deliberately write articles about just anybody or leak information anyhow, he's just not someone to mess with....like, ever.
"I came to ask you something, actually," I said, moving forwards.
"Oh, sure. Come, come, sit." He signalled me over with his hands, and I noticed they were neatly manicured and painted in different pastel colours.
I walked to the chair just in front of his and sat.
"So sorry we have to meet out here, I just had my office repainted," he said, pointing to a door by his left which had a gold plate on it, bearing the words; SEBASTIAN J. SOYINKA, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.
"That old slate-grey colour was sooo last month," he added, rolling his eyes. "Pastels are much more in style, am I right?"
I vaguely remembered Veronica saying something similar last week and I nodded. "Right."
"So, how may I be of assistance?" he asked, closing his laptop.
"Well, I, uh, I bumped into those Emmanuella girls earlier and-"
"- Oh,my little protégés," he interrupted me. "They're so darling, aren't they?"
Darling isn't exactly the word I'd use.
"Carry on," he prompted when I didn't reply.
"So, yeah, I bumped into them earlier and they told they submitted an article about me, my sister, Chetachi and Jovan Kodjovi. Is this true?"
"But of course it is," Sebastian said. "And it's a damn good article as well. Nuella came through with the descriptions and Emma and Ella absolutely slayed the commentary."
I blinked.
My goodness, he's talking like a proud father.
"I just finished reviewing the piece now. The digital copy of the newspaper drops by Lunchtime and it's the feature story."
"Uh, Seb...I'm here to ask you to take that article down. To scrap the whole story in fact."
He stared at me like I just spoke Portuguese.
"And you want me to do this, why? I mean, the information is true, isn't it?"
"Not entirely, no," I said and one of his brows shot up. "I'm not completely sure of what's going on between my sister and Jovan, but I do know that she doesn't need her business posted for the whole school to read. And as for me and Chetachi...well, we're not official at the moment and this is most definitely not how I want people to find out about us. So can you please do me a solid and not release the article, bro?"
Seb squinted his eyes and rested his back on the chair, spinning round in it two times before facing me again.
"Considering the fact that you want me to get rid of a whole feature article, what do I get as compensation?"
I shrugged, slightly relieved that he was even contemplating it. "Consider it a redeemable favour."
"Hmmm."
He was still squinting at me, tapping his manicured fingers against the desk, till he smiled.
"I adore redeemable favours," he said and I heaved an internal sigh.
"But, you know what?" he continued and my stomach sank.
Oh boy.
"I'm gonna do this for you as a friendly favour; no need for you to do anything for me in return."
Huh?
Sebastian Soyinka...willing to do something for another human being without expecting anything in return?
I almost looked out the window, just to see if any pigs were flying.
"Sheraton, in her ever annoying agenda to make me a 'better person', said I should start being 'more considerate' and 'willing to help others'," Sebastian explained, rolling his eyes and making air quotes.
I chuckled, understanding where he was coming from.
Sheraton was Seb's best friend, the peanut butter to his jelly, and if anyone could make him suddenly switch up his usual tactics, it was her.
"So, you'll kill the story?" I asked, just to make sure.
He sighed. "Yes, yes. And when you and Chetachi are ready to go public, make sure y'all come to me first, okay?"
"Something tells me you'll know even without us telling you anything."
He shrugged, examining his nails.
"Just don't waste too much time, Phineas. Ricardo seems very interested in her and you know that boy can rizz for the whole Africa."
"Chetachi and I will be fine-," I began to say, but Sebastian cut me off again, this time soliloquising.
"-Then again, who doesn't love a love triangle? Especially the messy ones, they're my favourite."
Once again, I had nothing to say in response, so I just sat there, silent and slightly peeved.
He flipped his laptop back open and began typing at a furiously fast rate, never once glancing at the keyboard.
"Okay, so your story is out, and Amy Ifoghale's examination malpractice story is up. Not quite as juicy, but still capable of shaking some tables, so a win-win. Yay!"
"Thanks, Seb," I told him gratefully.
"No problem," he replied, closing his laptop again and flashing me a smile. "I'm such a gracious soul, am I not?"
"The most gracious of them all," I said, humouring him, pushing myself off the chair.
I extended a hand and he took it, shaking it cordially.
"I'll see you around, yeah?" I asked, opening the door.
He shrugged, cracking his knuckles. "Maybe, maybe not. I'm like the wind; you can't catch me even if you try."
"Of course you are. Bye, Seb and thanks again."
"Bye."
.......
Leaving the Press Room, I knew it was already almost ten minutes after the ending of Break, but luckily, I was free for the period.
I also knew that Chetachi was free for the period, so instead of heading to the classroom, I went straight to the Library.
The Library was quiet and deserted when I walked in, only a handful of students there, reading or browsing through shelves.
I moved inwards, keeping my eyes peeled for Chetachi.
But my nose found her before my eyes did, her sweet scent of strawberries and cinnamon announcing her presence in the isolated west wing of the Library.
She was there rearranging books back into their shelves from the cart by her side.
I stood there at first, just watching her. There was something so enchanting about her; her willowy figure in her neat uniform, her pretty hazel eyes scanning each book cover before placing it carefully in the correct position, her hauntingly beautiful face, so calm, so serene.
Seeing her like this, in fact seeing her at all, it made me happy, made me smile. And there was this feeling in my chest, this feeling like I could do any and everything for her. This feeling like I wanted her to be mine and no one else's.
"Hey," I said as quietly as I could.
Chetachi looked up at me and smiled.
In that moment, I was dead certain that this girl had my heart.
"Hey," she replied, wheeling her book-laden cart a bit forward.
I walked over to her side, closing the distance between us.
"You just finished with Zik?" she asked, practically whispering as she continued stacking books.
"Not exactly," I said smiling wryly. "Long story short, Sebastian nearly published a story detailing our date on Thursday."
Chetachi's face turned into a literal question mark. "What?"
Chuckling, I went round to hug her from behind, holding her by the waist and resting my head on her shoulder.
I breathed in her sweet, sweet scent that smelt like freshly-baked cookies.
And gawd, she felt so good.
"Phineas," she whined a little when I pressed my lips to her neck. "What if someone sees us?"
"I don't care," I said against her skin.
"Didn't you just say Sebastian wanted to publish a story about us?"
"Yeah, but I stopped him and saved the day."
She snorted. "Oshey Superman."
Somehow, she managed to wriggle herself out of my hold and turned to face me directly.
Before I could protest, she leaned in and planted a very soft kiss on my lips, effectively putting an end to whatever I wanted to say.
Pleased with the effect she had on me, she smirked and kissed me again, but this time I returned the favour, kissing her back.
When we pulled apart, she wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me in for a hug.
I hugged her back, holding her soft body against mine and we stayed like that for a while.
"We've become one of them," Chetachi whispered while we were still hugging.
"One of who?"
"Those people who come to kiss and canoodle in the Library."
I nearly laughed at loud. "Canoodle?"
I felt her nod and laughed quietly.
"Well," I said, "if you're interested in canoodling outside of school, I have the perfect place picked out for our second date."
"And where exactly is this perfect place?"
I smiled. "It's a surprise, but I promise, you'll love it, and I'll tell you all the gist from today."
"Okay, then. I'll clear my schedule," she said, laughter in her voice.
We broke the hug and Chetachi pointed to the book cart.
"I still have all these to stack before next period, so bye-bye."
I laughed at her feeble attempt to get rid of me. "Can't I help you? If I do it'll be faster."
I flashed her a charming smile, one I knew she wouldn't be able to resist and she rolled her eyes, smiling back.
She picked three books from the cart and handed them to me.
"All the books here are under the same subject, so just place them alphabetically," she said. Then added; "No canoodling."
"Yes ma'am," I chuckled.
And so we spent the rest of the period rearranging books in the Library. We didn't even talk much, and as per Chetachi's request, there was no more 'canoodling'.
But, even still, I was by her side, and that was enough for me.
This chapter gave me so much as I wrote it, especially the scene with The Emmanuellas and the ones with Zik and Sebastian.
The two of them are dear to my heart, fr, and I added both of them into this chapter for a reason and that was to show the two perspectives from which they stand.
Zik, being more assertive, domineering and overall 'masculine', and Seb being more eccentric, fashion-forward and overall 'feminine', and both being made fun of because of it.
I hope society sees one day that it's okay and perfectly normal for a girl to be strong and for a boy to embrace his softer side without tagging stereotypes on them.
Anywayyyy, Phineas and Chetachi will not finish me🥲.
I refuse to be oppressed by my own characters.
I love them sha, and we'll get to see them grow closer as their relationship deepens🤭.
That's all for today, folks.
Don't forget to vote, leave a comment and share.
Y'all know I love you❤.