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AIDAN:
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It felt good finally coming back to Nigeria, away from all the doctors, nurses and medications, even though I had a few I had to take home with me.
I made sure to get to school before the time for the assembly. I didn't need the attention of people who hadn't seen me in weeks.
To my surprise though, Otamayomi was the first person I saw that morning, taking things out of her school bag.
I hadn't seen her in weeks, that was for sure. Seeing her there made me sincerely wish she actually cared enough to, at least, ask of me once. I instantly remembered what Samuel and Ayomide told me at the hospital and I smiled.
Otamayomi? Worried about me?
Just then, while I still stood by the door, staring at her, she turned around and spotted me. The look on her face was incredulous and I fought the urge to laugh.
She looked like she'd seen a ghost. I smiled instead, and subconsciously, rubbed the back of my neck with my palm.
"Hey, Otamayomi. Been long." I told her, still smiling. She didn't say anything afterwards, instead, she stood there and continued to look at me, the shocked looked still on her face. Then, to my greatest surprise and amusement, she hugged me.
The Otamayomi everyone knew had willingly hugged me.
I got shocked, I wasn't sure what to do. So, I just bent my head and stared at her instead, shocked.
We had a brief conversation after that, where I tried to confirm what Ayomide had said.
I had my fingers crossed that she cared and still didn't have a grudge against me. In the end, she claimed she was just being nice. I tried to hide the sadness I felt though as my hopes of hearing her say she was worried dropped.
Why did I care, anyways?
I groaned and creased my brows at the thoughts. First day of school after I came back from Europe and this was the first thing I had to think about? I tried to push those thoughts away as I told myself that I didn't care.
I planned to speak to her and convince her to come with me to the music studio. I knew she enjoyed music and I had a song I wanted to play for her on my phone but I hadn't gotten the time to speak to her throughout the periods.
Samuel and Ayomide were busy having a sort of eating contest while Ifeoluwa, Otamayomi's twin brother sat beside Ayo and watched, shaking his head and smiling occasionally. I just tried to make sure the food they ate in a rush didn't end up spilling onto mine.
I stole a glance at the cafeteria door after it was open and my eyes fell on Otamayomi who walked in cheerfully with Amorette.
I liked the way she walked. Always strutting in grandly. Her pretty face held up high, nose sometimes flared, moving graciously and confidently, like a damn Queen.
She stopped at the front of the snacks shack and continued to speak with Amorette, smiling and laughing occasionally at the topic they talked about.
She was pretty when she smiled. If only she did that more often.
"I won!"
I looked away from Otamayomi and rested my gaze on Samuel, who stood up triumphantly, cheering himself on and yelling excitedly at Ayomide's face.
Ifeoluwa stood by Samuel, holding and raising his hands up as if to show the declaration of his win.
"Winner!" He said.
Ayo had a pout, glaring playfully at his brother and looked at the food he hadn't been able to finish. "I didn't wear the right shoes today."
Samuel laughed. "What do you mean, you didn't wear the right shoes today?"
"Yes now." Ayo frowned. "My lucky shoe, the thing tore open so I had to give it to aboki to fix it. The one I'm wearing is new. It's not fair, guy, I declare a rematch."
Samuel laughed. "No way that's gonna happen. Not even in your next life."
Ayomide pouted and playfully glared at Samuel. "I'll get you sometime."
I smiled and looked away from the guys, my gaze fell on Otamayomi again.
It seemed Mandel and Amorette were having an argument. Poor Otamayomi seemed tired already and frustrated. As though she didn't want to be there at the moment.
That oddly brought a smile to my face and I had to admit that even though she wore a frown, it did nothing to hide her beauty. It was a unique sort of thing, the beauty she held. She had an innocent look to her and soft features. She looked gentle and completely harmless.
I, for one, thought these things when I first saw her at the school's stadium until I came across her encounters with a few students and paid attention to the way she handled the remarks some students threw at her, probably because she was friends with Mandel.
After I'd seen her break down at my place, the admiration I had for her heightened as it amazed me the way she had so much going on with her, her problems affected and broke her the same way other teenagers got affected but still never let people like Mandel and Amorette trample on her.
I was suprised when she told me this morning that she had been going to the music studio to play instruments and sing while I was away. It was nice to know she was putting efforts to build herself to be stronger and cope better.
Otamayomi to strangers could seem like a mild and softhearted teenage girl, but to me, she was like a shooting star. Beautiful and pleasing to the eyes deceiving people to be nothing but harmless, until it's studied closely and you see it's true form, a fireball.
Otamayomi seemed like she needed someone's comfort, a friend. She seemed like she'd endured so much, she showed that in heavy sobs of sadness that burst out of her the first time she broke down but never seized to be the girl that fought and stood for herself. I really did admire her, Otamayomi. She had the strength of a Queen.
I laughed at my thoughts and shook my head. I was acting like I had known her for years.
Otamayomi shot her head to my direction suddenly and her eyes found mine. My breath hitched as she locked eyes with me. I was suprised at the fact that she looked back, never giving me the chance to look away and act like I hadn't just been watching her since she stepped into the cafeteria.
I could see the curiosity dancing in her eyes as she stared back at me, I couldn't resist the urge to smile. She narrowed her eyes and scoffed and my grin grew wider. Then, she rolled her eyes and looked away. I chuckled at her act.
"Aidan, bro." I looked away and saw the guys smiling sheepishly at me. I raised a brow at them.
"What?"
Ayo's smile widened and nudged his head to the direction behind me. "What were you doing just now?"
I rolled my eyes and dropped my gaze to the box of donuts, picking one up to eat. "Nothing."
"So, you weren't just staring at Tammy just now?" Samuel laughed. A smile played at my lips which I tried to hide.
"Of course not... I was staring at that new painting they put on the wall of the cafeteria. It's really fascinating." I said.
"So is Tammy." Ayo chuckled. I rolled my eyes at them and shook my head.
"I can't do this with you guys."
Ifeoluwa who hadn't said a thing the entire time, jerked his head up and exclaimed.
"Oh no!"
I turned around just as the others jerked their heads upward. Otamayomi wasn't looking frustrated or tired any longer. She had on a deep frown and looked quiet pissed, whereas, Mandel looked happy and had a smirk on her face. And Amorette, who had been the one arguing with Mandel previously, stood quietly at a side and watched the both of them.
For a moment, Mandel and Otamayomi just stood there, staring at each other and holding up a glare. I knew, at that moment, that things were about to get ugly.
"Mistaking a human for a fly now, is it Mandel? I knew you had issues but I never knew you were blind, why didn't you tell me?"
I had no idea when my lips parted and a 'Whoa!' escaped my lips at the insult, just as everyone else in the cafeteria who had stopped to watch the fight oohed at her words.
Mandel stopped smiling and now, she was the one who did the glaring while Otamayomi had a corner of her lips tugged up, showing Mandel her wicked smile.
I chuckled at Mandel's expression, at least knew how it felt to be insulted. It was nice having someone put Mandel in her place for once.
"Because your face scares me, Tammy, always reminding me of a vulture." Mandel said, and by this time the cafeteria had become so silent, a pin could be heard if it was dropped.
People let out exclamations of 'Yee!' and 'Oh My Gosh'.
I shook my head at her remark and laughed, because I knew how wrong her statement was.
I turned to look at the guys. Samuel and Ayomide looked like they were enjoying themselves, watching the fight go on between a friend and a foe instead of trying to stop them. Ifeoluwa, on the other hand, looked quiet conflicted and, fleetingly, I wondered why.
Otamayomi smiled wickedly and I raised a brow at her act. She had just been insulted, I didn't see the reason to smile. Then, she began to stalk towards Mandel, slowly, with her eyes holding up Mandel's glare.
She stopped smiling now as she continued to walk slowly towards Mandel refusing to tear her gaze away from her or make Mandel do so. With each step she took, her gaze hardened. With each step she took, her jaw tightened.
I wondered if all that was because of what Mandel started or something else that had pushed her away from ignorance when offended.
I was sure I had never seen Otamayomi like that before. I knew she could be tough sometimes, I'd seen her handle the remarks of a few people but right then, her looks could kill and her body movements would intimidate.
"If I'm a reminder of a vulture, then you're something a vulture would eat. You know, dead, decaying animals with flies perching all over them. You're not dead, vultures still find you attractive. Your foul mouth's one reason."
I wore a small smile and rested the side of my head on the upright fist I placed on the table. She knew just what to say for every rude thing a person would utter to her.
I wondered again, fleetingly, whether things wouldn't have played out the way it did, if she had been this way to Joel and his friends.
Mandel looked like she was holding on to the tiniest bit of self-control she had left, as the cafeteria erupted in another round of 'Oohs'.
"You had an argument with Amorette and I tried to end it, I didn't see the need to insult me. Don't ever try that again!" Otamayomi exclaimed, taking a few steps closer to where Mandel stood and I was amazed at Mandel who still held her ground and watched Otamayomi stalk nearer to her.
She grabbed Mandel by the collar, making them just few inches apart from each other and exclaimed;
"No one messes with Otamayomi Ilori and gets away with it!"
She pushed her away and forced her onto the ground. The students in the cafeteria exclaimed again and my brows shut up at her act.
She wasn't even done.
She put a feet on Mandel's back and pressed her shoes onto it, leaving an ugly stain when she brought it down.
She smirked and looked up at the students in the cafeteria as if just realizing we had been watching them the entire time.
Nevertheless, she ignored the stares people threw her way and began to strut out of the cafeteria.
I stood up immediately and strode after her.
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Moments after she stepped out of the cafeteria, I walked out also. Eventually, I caught up with her and held her by her wrist to halt her movements. Thankfully, I succeeded.
She stopped and turned around. Immediately, she locked eyes with me but didn't say anything for a while. I smiled at her.
"Come with me to the music studio, please? I have something I want to show—"
"And why would I do that?" She asked, raising a brow and looking at me skeptically, shrugging her hands off mine. I stared at our hands briefly, moving apart from each other and slowly, brought my hand down.
I put my hands in my trouser pocket and flashed her a small smile, tilting my head a little to the side. "Well, Why not?"
With her brows still raised, she wore an amused smile. "I have somewhere else to be." She said. "Besides, the period after lunch break is that of clubs. You're going to be busy with club activities."
Then, she turned around and began to walk away.
"I can spare a few minutes... If you come with." I said quickly.
She stopped and turned around. I saw it as a go ahead and continued. "There's the old assembly hall. We could go there if you don't want to be in the music studio that would probably be full of students soon."
She stood there and thought for a while, then, looked towards the direction she was headed. My smile dropped, having the feeling that she would turn down my offer but she shrugged.
"Sure. I guess my plans can wait."
A smile slowly crept it's way to my lips again as we began to walk further away from the cafeteria door.
When we got to the old assembly hall, Otamayomi suggested we stay outside instead of indoors because she had, apparently, been there before and the inside was really dark and dirty.
We sat quietly under the tree closest to the old building, where there was enough cool breeze to enjoy. Otamayomi turned to my side and looked at me expectantly.
I took out my phone from my pocket and unlocked it. Then, scrolled down to the YouTube app and tapped on it. When all the contents in the app were fully displayed, I went to my downloads and was about tapping on a particular video when I paused.
I just realized what I was about to do. It was a thing of her past, and bringing up topics about it would break her. My heart twisted painfully in my chest for her as I stared back at the phone.
I was stupid to want to show her that.
I looked up at Otamayomi who was now staring ahead. The wind picked up and tousled her black box braids around but she seemed unbothered by it.
I traced her gaze to where she was looking at but all I could see were trees and green grasses. A small smile grazed her lips and she tore her gaze from whatever she was looking at and rested it on me.
It amazed me how happy and innocent looking she looked each time she smiled or laughed, really, genuinely smiled or laughed.
And her eyes, I could not miss how bright it got the times I'd seen her smile and laugh, and the swirls of unrestrained delight and positive emotions that showed through them.
It was a complete contrast to the Otamayomi who wasn't tolerant enough to let other people step on her, even in the littlest ways and had great inner strength but believed herself to be weak and unacceptable.
I wished I could see more of the happier side of her.
"What were you gonna show me?" She smiled.
I blinked at her for a while, not saying anything as I was slightly confused, forgetting why we were there, temporarily.
She sighed. "You brought me here because you said you had something to show me."
"Oh." I said. I glanced at my phone, then, back at her and shook my head, putting my phone back in the pocket.
"It's..." I trailed off, looking around the place quickly to find a sort of excuse to give but all of a sudden, I felt my trouser pocket drop loose.
I looked back at it to see that my phone wasn't there, so I averted my gaze to Otamayomi who held it up proudly and smiled cheekily at me.
She swept her hands over the screen and turned it on. Then, looked back at me. "It still looks the same."
I raised a brow at her as I watched her keenly, resting my back on the bark of the tree and placing my elbow on one upright knee.
"That time we switched phones." She said, then, laughed at herself. "I started going through your phone and freaked out about finding mine when I could've just called my number."
I nodded and smiled helpless. She really was pretty when she was happy. "I remember you giving it to me." I said calmly.
She swiped up at the screen, unlocking it in the process and I remembered I didn't go out of the YouTube app, neither did I leave my downloads.
She boned her face all of a sudden and furrowed her brows. "Here, show me what you wanted to. I didn't come here to waste the time I sacrificed."
I stared down at the phone and back to her. I sighed and took the phone from her loose grip, brushing my hands on hers in the process.
I moved the phone away from her, trying to ignore the fact that I had the urge to feel the rest of her hand and know if it felt just as soft as it did when we brushed hands.
I cleared my throat and my thoughts. "Otamayomi.. " I trailed off, unsure of what to say.
"Let's just sit here and enjoy the breeze." I told her calmly.
She narrowed her brows, her smile long gone which caused me to frown. "You wanted to show me something. It's a video, isn't it? After bringing me here, you don't want to show me anything, are you kidding me?"
I sighed and moved my hands through my face. "I'm sorry, okay. It's just... Your reaction to it might not be so... Positive. You might not be happy with it."
Her lips fell agape and she stood up at once, glaring down at me. "Are you implying that I would get weak and cry again or feel sad if I watched what, A common video?"
I fell silent and sighed, my hands still moving through the sides of my face. "No, I'm just being cautious." I replied gently.
"Why?" She said, and I creased my brows and looked up at her.
"I said it once and I'm going to repeat myself. I'm not a shattered piece of glass, I know I'm not the strongest but can you guys not rub it in my face?" She said, her voice almost coming out as a plea but her expression was a mix of anger and sadness.
"It hurts." She muttered. My heart twisted painfully and the jab I felt at my heart hurt hearing her say those things. I sighed and looked up at her again, I didn't want her like this. I wanted her to be happy, to smile and to laugh. I had only seen her do those things today but I already loved seeing her when she was that way.
I stood up and walked nearer to her, slipping my arms around her small waist to pull her in for a hug. She didn't squirm or try to move away, she relaxed in my arms. She seemed like she needed it.
"I'm sorry, Otamayomi. I didn't mean to make you upset. I never mean to." I told her quietly, moving my hands up and down her head soothingly and running my fingers through her braids. "Don't frown, don't stop smiling. You're really pretty when you're happy."
I didn't say anything afterwards, we both were quiet standing there hugging each other. For about a minute, we did so until Otamayomi pulled away from the hug.
"Thank you." She smiled warmly refusing to look at me as she tucked a braid behind her ear, and I swear, that warmth tugged at my heart and melted it. "I needed that."
I lifted a corner of my lip and put my hands in the pocket of my hoodie. "Like I said, anytime."
I brought a hand out and put it in my trouser pocket to bring out my phone so that I could show her the video.
"Aidan, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at music period now. I need you."
I looked up from my phone and saw Mandel standing few feet away from me. She walked up to me happily and looped her arms around mine. "C'mon, who leaves a partner on their own."
I saw her gaze flicker to Otamayomi and back to me. "What's she doing here?"
I raised a brow at her and looked back at Otamayomi who stood beside me. "None of your business."
"Go ahead." I told her. "I'll meet you there."
Her gaze flickered to Otamayomi again and shrugged. "Okay."
Then, she began to skip away happily. When she was out of sight, I turned to Otamayomi and sighed sadly.
"I have to go for the music period." I said, looked at the direction to the senior block building and back to her.
"It's a club, you can come with if you want to." I suggested. She shook her head and smiled.
"No thanks." She said. "I'm goo—"
I heard a loud screech, I furrowed my brows and Otamayomi and I moved to the direction of the sound.
Mandel sat up on the ground, holding her right foot and groaning loudly. "Oh my gosh, Aidan. I think I just broke a toe nail."
"What happened?" I asked.
"I fell." She replied.
I didn't like Mandel much, never did but she looked helpless at the moment and I had to help her. That was what I did. I helped her stand up with her wincing occasionally.
She leaned closer to me and placed a hand round my neck to support herself but just as we were about to leave, I turned around and smiled at Otamayomi.
"See you later, Otamayomi. Maybe we can catch up—"
"Ouch!" Mandel yelped and I tried to hold her in place to reduce the pain.
I turned to Otamayomi who just smiled and waved. "Bye.
"Aidan." Mandel groaned loudly and after a last glance, I looked away from her and began walking Mandel to the school's infirmary.
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I enjoyed writing this chapter. It's nice to know that Tammy isn't hating on Aidan anymore.
Aidan says Tammy's prettier when she smiles. Cute😏 Seems like Aidan's starting like Tammy... Or is it just me😂 I'm bad at this romance stuff. Can't wait to be through with this book and start with the next one, the sub genre of that is mystery... 😏
Something in this book is going to lead to that next book being a teen fiction and mystery. I wanted to let you all know, you all should take notes of the things that happen in this book and the few characters stated that aren't the main characters like Mandel's mad display towards the end of Amorette's party. Others too.
Y'all are going to remember those things some other time in the future 😌
Mandel fell... 😏Who believes her?
I just imagined Mandel and Ayomide falling in love and becoming a thing 😂super wierd to me.
Lemme know your thoughts on the things in this author's note and this chapter.
I'm going now. Love y'all.
Benzita13 ❤️