Welcome to the next part, no long story, DIVE INNNN
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TOKE'S POV
(Adetoke Karen McAnthony)
I take my travelling clothes off, hanging each one on the steel hangers that were provided in the wardrobes. I carefully take off the maroon claw clip that held my hair in place all day, immediately feeling lighter as I rake my hand through the ginger curls. I decided to tint my natural hair as a little change to the usual black I carry all the time since I didn't bother to braid it. My hair falls to my shoulders, quite long for African hair, a gift I got from my father's side of the family- one Khloe didn't snatch. As I strip down to my underwear, I put my huge black robe on, preparing for my skincare routine
Time has passed so slowly since this afternoon where I let my weak side show. I expected to feel regret and maybe some shame from pouring my thoughts out in the worst way but instead I feel some kind of relief that I finally got it off my chest. I didn't want to have to tell her what was wrong, I expected it to go away slowly, both of us forgetting that we once used to talk to each other. It happened before, it should have happened again
A dark-skinned average height girl saunters into the room, ears plugged in, she doesn't bother to give any attention to her surroundings, instead she lazily dumps on a black bean bag at the right corner of the room, still typing furiously on her keypad. I recognize her as the one Trip referred to as 'Muna' when she came in earlier to drop some toiletries for herself. I would have expected warm reception from the ones she described as her friends at least but even her supposed gymnast 'ex bestie' didn't seem a bit what she described back home
"Aren't you going for the dinner?" at first it doesn't occur to me that the voice came from the petite Fulani girl sitting across the room with her eye glued to her phone screen
"There's a dinner?" I ask, sounding the least bit interested
"Yep, at the cafeteria right now" she springs up to her feet "it's kinda a valentines/welcome party for you guys"
"oh I didn't know-
"you should come, don't get cooked up in this room all by yourself" she says casually, adjusting her face hat as she walks out of the room
I get a full view of her outfit as she pulls the door shut, flashing a small smile towards me showing of her one-sided cheek dimple. She has a black body suit on, army green combat pants, a white crocheted top and a green face cap to match. This tomboyish baddie style giving pinterest mood board inspo
I already discarded the idea of going for any gathering this evening but then; maybe it wouldn't be that hard. A party wouldn't hurt
****
After minutes and long moments of deciding what to wear, I settle with a black strapped top and a pair of washed ripped jeans. My back is completely bare apart from the strings holding the top together at the back, perfect for the weather, but I don't forget to grab my denim jacket; just in case the AC blows a little too much. I match it with a pair of white snickers, a silver watch and a pair of diamond earrings. In life, even if I lose every battle, I will never lose in the game of fashion
I push the double doors open with my head held high as usual, for moment it feels like the music was paused as heads turn in my direction, people pause their chewing, walking, talking as I stroll in through the glass doors. Nothing like the runway but I'll manage
I lock gazes with that Ketchup girl- sorry Kelly- for a moment before consciously disregarding her like her existence is worth a bag of expired chips then walk over to the end of the hall where my classmates are seated with their food, pulling out the chair beside Espn
"Is it possible for you to NOT drag attention?" She says with a sly smile on her lips
"well I guess not, that's just how we are in my family"
The entire table laughs as they go back to their loud discussions, Amir pouring me a drink and calling one of the student waiters at the same time. I watch Nancy from opposite her where I seat, she has her back straightened, cutlery in her hand and a smile that doesn't falter for even a second. She is easily the girl with the prettiest smile in the entire set, explains why she never runs short of admirers but how does she- is it possible for a person to have no problems at all?
Glass clinking from the table adjacent catches our attention, our heads turning towards them in sync
"Good evening everyone, as most of you know, I am Kelly; Senior Prefect Girl Bolton High School Lekki" her school mates and some of ours hoot and cheer for her as she moves to stand on the dining table- thank God she's wearing pants and not a skirt
"First I would like to say a very very big welcome to students all the way from the Federal Capital territory, welcome; Sheffield High School Abuja" She drawls on the pronunciation of Abuja, making the crowd erupt in cheers as she drums on the table
"Before we move on to the real deal, there's someone I'd like to talk about" She takes a dramatic pause, sipping through the straw of her chapman drink then continuing
"An athletic prodigy, a prolific swimmer, an ex-schoolmate and most importantly; my best friend"
My eyes immediately dart over to where Trip is seated with her fingers knitted together, her eyes are widened from what looks like shock and I almost feel bad for her. This girl that has anxiety on a norms, you now want to put her on the spot?
"Tripple A" She gets down from the desk with the help of a certain dark skinned boy's outstretched arms before gliding over to where Trip is, pulling her in for a hug
The crowd echoes 'awwws' and 'chais' as they hold on for a little while, anyone who saw this from far would think it was two long lost friends reuniting after a while of being separated by unavoidable circumstances. From the look on Nancy's face, you could tell that we were thinking the exact same thing and from the slight twitch in her left eye, she is also irritated by the charade
I mean; she may not mention it a lot but I know none of her friends reached out to her since she moved. She even said she and this Ketchup girl follow each other on Instagram so it's not like there wasn't any means to communicate, so why is she acting like she had a memory wipe? Abegi
They pull out of the hug at the same time but they still hold on to each other, their faces radiating with smiles
"that just gave me an idea, instead of sitting separately with our school mates, why not mingle? Everyone mix now!"
Just like soldiers on command, students from their table start to come towards us, likewise Sheffield students filtering through the newly emerging crowd with HI's and hellos to fill up empty seats on the other school's table
Trip gets dragged to sit at the other table in the midst of her former classmates, each bombarding her with their own set of questions. They treat her like a new celebrity in town and I almost feel excited for her, except I've seen this same thing countless times in Sheffield. It happens each time a new student joins us, except the very lowkey ones- like her for instance. Then in less than two weeks the fan base is completely dead and if the person is lucky, one or two stick as actual friends. A particular dark skinned boy who is now standing, the same one that assisted Ketchup when she tried to get down from table, moves in to pull Trip in for a hug. The girl from the room earlier- Muna- coos at the sight
"Awwwww, I should get this on camera" she flips her phone out, pointing the camera at them as the boy says some incoherent words in her ears
From the looks of it, these two probably had something going on. It never occurred to me before that this girl actually had a whole life before Sheffield. Seeing how well she flowed with them, probably better than she ever would with us, I can't help but take my eyes off the scene and scroll through my apps without purpose. The look on Nancy's face however is the usual pleasant, playful and forever jovial look she always has, laughing to whatever Noel says as she takes pictures and videos of everything and everyone. Her cousin on the other hand, looks like he wants to be anywhere but here as he sips on his drink mindlessly, his eyes lazy and uninterested. From the number of stink eyes he has exchanged with this seemingly popular Chris guy, they are going to have a lot of problems working together as senior prefects
Continued from the last chapter
AMANDA’S POV
(Amanda Aderinsola Akinde)
I bawl my eyes out for roughly twenty minutes till there aren’t any tears to shed anymore, shrug my arms out of the sleeves of my varsity jacket then hang it across my shoulders as I step out of the toilet stalls. I push the slightly parted door slowly with the little bit of strength left in me, taking note of the now put together room. My suitcase which was initially at the center of the room is now at my corner, my backpack placed neatly on my bed. My lips can’t help but curl up in a sad smile- even if the world was ending- Toke’s room would be in perfect order throughout the apocalypse. I flip out of my clothes in an instant, not wanting to spend another minute in this empty room with guilt eating up my insides. I grab my toiletries, wrap my towel around and head to the bathroom
I switch on the cold-water shower, carefully keeping my new braids out of the shower since I forgot to bring a shower cap. The strawberry scent of my body wash envelopes me and completely shuts out any negative thoughts threatening to tear down the walls of my sanity. A content smile plays on my lips as I rinse off with the cold water beating on me from the tiny holes of the shower head, suddenly wanting to disappear under the intoxicating rhythm.
Da da da dada dadada dadadadum🎶
My phone’s loud ringtone crashes my mental peace
Da da da dada dadada dadadadum🎶
It continues to ring, forcing me to stretch my hand over the stall divider to pick it up.
Daddy ❤️
Oh my days I forgot to call him when we landed
I wrap my grey fluffy towel around me hurriedly, dry my fingers fairly and tap the receive icon
“Hello daddy good afternoon sir”
“Hello my princess, how are you doing?” his cheery voice rings through the speakers
“I’m doing well, we are at the hostels now” I tuck the end of the towel in place so it doesn’t fall as I try to gather the excess bottles of soaps and scrubs I brought with me
“I would have loved to come watch your game but I can’t leave work till the end of this week, my team is working on a new project”
“it’s okay, mummy said you’d be coming home next week, I’ll tell you how we destroyed the other schools then” I say with a cocky grin, my friends seem to be rubbing off on me with their cockiness
“Definitely” he says with pride “I’ll look forward to that”
We both share a laugh
“I think I still have your account number, let me send you a little something” my ears expand as he mentions money- what? I’m a shameless money loving little demon
“Yes sir, thank you”
I wait on the call as he punches buttons on his other phone, doing a mime celebratory jiggle as I await the credit notification
CREDIT ALERT
SENDER DETAILS: Adeleke Aina Akinde
AMOUNT: Fifty thousand naira
DESCRIPTION: Bring that trophy home
I almost scream when the alert comes in, all my present worries instantly forgotten by a single notification sound. I echo my appreciation through the phone’s mic as he concludes the call, giving usual adult advice and ‘love yous’
After moments of going through my entire suitcase, I settle on a two-piece grey crop hoodie and bottoms, socks and white slides. I swipe my lip gloss wand over my lips three times over then replace the cap, dumping it in my trouser pocket. Toke doesn’t return throughout the entire time, even if she did, I don’t think I’d even have the right words to say to mend what has been broken
“there’s my girl” Nana shrieks as she runs towards me, jumping in the air and landing on my belly causing me to grunt
“ouchhh” I groan in pain as I push her to the floor
She sits on the floor and crosses her legs, a look of mischief in her eyes
“What is it?” she remains silent, maintaining the child-like smile on her lips
“what?” I ask, growing impatient
“this was your school before right?”
“yeah, it was” I reply, sounding unsure
“show me around” she pulls me up by my two arms
I cross my arms across my chest, observing the girl in front of me with keen interest. She is dressed in camouflage combat pants, a skintight white cropped top with matching silver jewelry hanging down her neck and ears if you asked me I’d say she was going to see someone
“why are you all dressed up?”
“uhm- I- uh” she clears her throat “nothing, I took a shower and decided to throw on some clothes”
I smile, knowing what she just said is a complete lie, her outfit doesn’t look ‘thrown on’. I shake my head at her silliness but agree to go with her anyway, turning around to find my air pods in my back pack
“ehh you have bumbum oh” she slaps my butt as if to see if it is real or plastic
“ouch” I exclaim loudly, glaring saucers at her
“seriously tho” her eyes look shock as she studies it like some piece of art “it’s obvious in school uniform but damn they don’t do justice”
I cringe from her crude words, particularly despising this topic especially when it’s my mum that talks about it. I hold her hand to prevent it from assaulting me one more time and lead her out of my room
“all these slim girls with backside eh-
“if you mention this again, I’m not following you anywhere” I say sternly
She drags a virtual zip over her mouth to keep it shut although I still notice her trying to sneak glances
Of course I know I have quite the big ass for a small person, most of my friends say it, my mum says it even my cousins won’t shut up. It isn’t in excess like Amaka and some of the girls in humanities department but it is the kind that finds it difficult fitting in the backseat with other passengers in a taxi- yunno what I mean?
Nana on the other hand isn’t particularly blessed with assets, but she has that model figure with a tiny waist, flat tummy and hips with a fair-sized back side. I guess God spent too much time molding her fine face that he thought she didn’t need too much of that so as to not give her undue advantage over the rest of us spoons
We step out of the hostel into the cool breeze of the evening, the street lights are still turned off so the area is starting to look dark. We let go of each other’s hands as I fix mine in my pocket while she embraces herself from the cold
“why is it cold in February?” she shudders as she speaks
“you still follow the weather calendar” I chortle “should we go back for you to get a jacket or something?”
“Nah, I’m good” she puts her hands down, already getting used to the cold “so, where are you showing me first”
“There’s my former classroom” I point to the door with the label ‘Year 11B’
“oh wow” she says out of unmasked boredom
There wasn’t really anything to show her, the school is literally just like Sheffield. Same building structures but with different colors, same facilities, everything. The population of Sheffield is just not as high as here since Bolton was built several years before Sheffield
“let’s visit the sports arena, it’s pretty lit” I pull her along with me as we skid towards the largest architectural structure in Bolton
The double doors to the building don’t have a padlock over it so we conclude that we aren’t the first ones to get here. I subconsciously take in a deep breath of my used to be favorite place in the world, my eyes tearing up from how much I’ve missed almost everything about this place. My eyes dart over to the glass trophy case that has the names of the greatest sportsmen and their achievements. I find my name in the midst of the pool of the other names and my heart can’t help but swell in pride as I point it out with my index finger
“Oh my God this is so nice” she coos “just like we have in school” she squeals in excitement as she flips her phone out to take a picture
The one we had in school was even more decorated, Sheffield had bigger sports achievement than Bolton- when you have people like Eddy and Erling
“what’s on your mind?” I didn’t notice when she turned around to face me squarely
“Hmm?” I ask in confusion as her question brings me back to the present
“You’re thinking about something, what is it?” she tucks her phone in her back pocket
“Nothing, nothing really”
“You know you can tell me anything right?” she crosses her arms
I heave a deep sigh
“Something is wrong with Edmond, something serious”
Her arms unfold themselves as she looks at me more keenly, obviously not expecting me to drop a bomb like that
“Something like what?” she says with her voice lowered
“I don’t know, but can’t you see how off he’s been lately?”
She looks lost, obviously she didn’t take any of such into notice
“Is it Espn?” she whispers like she says something diabolical
“That’s what I was thinking, because if you notice, ever since they started dating-
The girl in front of me bursts into a fit of laughter, clapping her hands to make it more hysterical and mocking. I feel a little bit embarrassed by the stunt she’s pulling even though there’s no one else around, I hiss and walk out in annoyance
“Baby girl wait up” she catches up with me easily with her quick steps, holding me back by my elbow
“calm down calm down” she tries to control her laughter as she holds me in place, still wheezing from earlier
“Are you sure something is actually wrong or you just despise their relationship?” she smirks at me, her eyes still wet from laughing too hard
“I don’t despise their relationship” she side-eyes me “okay maybe I did and maybe I still do but I’m serious, something is wrong with Eddy”
“wrong as in how?” she rolls her eyes, obviously not believing the words coming out of my mouth
“he might be going through emotional stress with the competition here and maybe he and Espn are having a minor hiccup but didn’t you see how she didn’t hug him back outside? Maybe you should be concerned about Espn too. He probably did something to anger her” she says, sounding like the only reasonable one
“did you notice his walking step has changed? Almost like he can’t walk properly again or something”
“He’s an athlete for crying out loud” she throws her arms up in the air “maybe he practiced too much or something, NOTHING is wrong with Eddy”
“okay” I say, totally not convinced
I contemplate asking him for a while but I haven’t even really spoken to him one on one for a week or so now
We continue our tour slowly, further into the building
“why is the swim captain not swimming?” I ask, sounding as detached as possible
“My brother?” She takes a look at my face, notices its completely stoic expression then goes back to walking “He can’t”
“that was the same thing he said, what do you mean ‘he can’t’ ” my voice betrays how irritated I feel
She pauses for a while, leaning back on the wall to the entrance of the gymnasium. I copy her stance on the opposite wall so we face each other, holding myself up with my feet planted at the bottom of the wall
“you know he had an accident?” she asks carefully
“Yeah, he told me”
“okay that was last year before the end of third term ending when he went swimming then he slipped and cut his shoulder”
I nod my head slowly, suddenly remembering that Erling had mentioned that this was the version of the story Idara knows, she doesn’t know anything about him drinking or taking a stupid dare to jump from the edge of a roof into the pool
“I didn’t see it when it happened and I wasn’t at the hospital either but my uncle said it was really really bad” she shudders probably from the memory
“He had to wear casts for a while, and even when they were removed he still couldn’t rotate them properly till about the second week of last term” my mind darts back to the first time I heard anything about it, it was from the swim coach at the pool area
“Everyone expected him to go back into the water immediately and continue being a natural at what he does” she pauses “he hasn’t swam since then”
My jaw drops open in shock- what? What about all those times he said he was busy practicing at home and he couldn’t wait to get back in action?
“He let everyone believe he was doing well and nothing was off because he actually believed everything would be back to normal before this competition and he wouldn’t have to disappoint anybody”
“So even the school thought he was doing okay until now” my mouth starts to feel dry
“what’s even worse is when my uncle finds out” she laughs mirthlessly, obviously dreading when that would happen
“He doesn’t know?” I whisper yell
“He’s probably telling his employees at work how his son is busy winning medals and at the same time bagging academic awards, his all-rounder son” she says
The smile she gives confuses me even more than her statement, hidden sadness in her big brown eyes. I thought she adored her uncle? Her expression is starting to give away something entirely different
“you’re also an all-rounder, even more sef” I chuckle a bit to lighten up the mood “running, dancing and also a scholar what more is there to want in life?”
“no one calls me an all rounder though” she laughs, a completely dead laugh
I want to ask the question I said I’d never ask so badly, now is my only chance to ask but one look at her face and I take the thought back. I can’t use my best friend’s emotions to satisfy my curiosity
“enough of all this, let’s see what inside” without warning she pulls me through the doors of the gym
I take in the sight and the first thing that comes to my mind is- has the gym always been this small?
The Gymnasium at Sheffield is much bigger than the one here making it look like Bolton gym had shrunk to a much smaller size. We don’t drag much attention as we come in- grateful to God for that- the boys are playing basketball.
Eddy dunks a moment after we come in, doing the LeBron James celebration then taking off the other side of the court that’s closer to us. He looks my way then waves, I can’t help but wave back at him even though it’s a little rushed and short. He looks much better than he did this morning, maybe my eyes were actually playing tricks on me. His laughter booms through the entire hall as he scores a three pointer, doing a little penguin dance then a high five with Kylian who assisted. My eyes dart over to where Nana is standing, having a conversation with a guy whose back is facing me so I don’t pick his face.
A message comes in on the 2023DECATHLON REPS group
Poop face 💩
Here is a list of the events that would be taking place in the 2023 Interschool Decathlon
Day 1
Boys 100m and 200m sprint race
Girls 100m and 200m sprint race
Boys relay
Girls relay
Boys Tennis
Girls Tennis
My heart’s racing immediately calms down with no swimming on day 1. Sheffield doesn’t take relay and Tennis so we only have one competition tomorrow and that is the sprint. I get up from my seat hastily to show Nana the news I just discovered. I skittle over to the corner of the room where she is, unintentionally bumping into the guy speaking with her. I mumble a little sorry then drag her out of the conversation, shoving my phone in her face
“oh chim” she says as she collects the phone from me
DAY 2
Basketball competition round of eight
Art exhibition
DAY 3
Girls volleyball round of 8
Boys table tennis round of 8
Girls swimming competition
DAY 4
Basketball competition semi finals
Boys swimming competition
Girls table tennis round of eight
DAY 5
Basketball competition Final
Boys table tennis semi final
Girls table tennis semi final
We don’t pay attention to the other days since our school’s activity list stops at the fifth day. Nana squeals loudly from excitement and adrenaline rush, shaking me in the process
“Who is that?” Nana’s eyes are fixed on the entrance of the building towards whoever she’s referring to
I whip my head around in an instant to see Kelly saunter in with Aidan by her side, saying something he laughs at as they walk in
“That is Kelly” she looks at me as if to ask if it is the same Kelly she knows about, I nod my head to confirm her suspicion
“wow, she’s- hot” she says truthfully
Truth be told, Kelly is one of the prettiest girls I’ve met too
“she’s not into guys like him, no need to worry” I say to tease
“what’s my business” she says, feigning nonchalance
I chuckle at her expense, not missing the way she sneaks glances at the boy in question as he does his own thing, probably not realizing we are there. This girl may deny from now till tomorrow but she definitely still has her eyes on this brown skinned boy
Kelly looks in my direction then takes her eyes away so casually almost like there was nothing to see, this is the second time she does something like this, aren’t we supposed to be excited to see each other after such a long time?
“She acts like she doesn’t see me” I say, my voice giving out nothing but confusion
“Maybe she hasn’t realized it’s you yet?”
The expression I have on my face conveys the message ‘are you being serious right now’ because- does she think she’s talking to a baby?
“okay sorry, maybe she doesn’t know how to say hi after a long time apart?” she shrugs, looking for something else to say to make the situation better
“you know what, let’s get out of here there’s somewhere I’d like to show you” her eyes widen in excitement as she latches onto my arm as we run out of the hall
She bumps slightly into Aidan and from the looks of it, he did it on purpose
“we need to talk” he says to her
Her lips are pursed in surprise, her face mirroring that of a deer caught in headlights
“uhm about what?”
“I’ll text you” he says, his eyes not leaving hers the entire time
He walks away after Nana offers him a small nod, throwing a brief salute my way
Her face and ears are as red as a tomato as she looks down at her feet to gain back her composure
“what’s my business” I say, trying to imitate her voice from earlier “that’s how both of you will be deceiving yourselves let’s go abeg”
I roll my eyes playfully as I pick up my pace, trudging out the hall
I take her to school’s swimming arena flooded with aesthetic lights both in the pool and outside it. I don’t miss her look of awe as she dips her hand into the water, splashing it on herself a little
“do you know I swim?” she asks
“yeah Erling has mentioned before”
“what? It almost feels like he tells you everything”
I get a little jittery from her comment, breaking eye contact and turning around to sit by the bleachers instead
“You guys are great friends Amanda, you shouldn’t be fighting because of something so little” she says, offering me a tight smile
I nod my head at her words, starting to feel tired from the day’s stress. I don’t bother telling her about what went on with Toke and I, Toke would probably not appreciate that. Instead we spend moments simply catching up and telling each other the most random rubbish
We got invited to the school’s valentine’s dinner and welcome party on such a short notice we don’t bother going back to the hostels first.
The cafeteria is nicely decorated in white and red, trust Bolton not to miss a chance to throw a party. For the first time since I got here, I finally see the squad together; Chris, Kelly and Rukevwe. Rukevwe is the first one who sees me enter, he rushes towards me and gives me the most bone crushing hug, lifting me off the ground in the process followed by Chris who stands back, his mouth parted as he checks me out- from top to bottom. He gives a much lighter hug, only for a few seconds before pulling back with a large smile dancing on his face
“God look at this girl!” Rukevwe says as he holds my hand up, making me do a 360
“it’s been ages, I didn’t even know you were coming” Chris says with equal excitement, dropping his hand on my shoulde
r
“Hey Mandy” Kelly says with a little too much excitement as she pulls me in for a hug
I’m a bit confused, for starters didn’t Kelly and I already see twice? I know the boys are probably shocked because this is the first time I’m seeing either of them since I came but Kelly?
“Hey Kelly, I missed you” I say genuinely
“I missed you too” I can’t help but feel the slight withdrawal in her voice
Rukwevwe whistles and I’m not surprised to see the ashawo boy openly gawking at Idara standing behind
“who be this hot babe abeg” he licks his lips
I roll my eyes at him as I tug Nana’s arm
“Nana these are my friends from here; Chris, Kelly and Rukevwe, guys meet Nancy” she holds her hand out confidently with her usual sweet smile Rukevwe can’t seem to get over
“I’m Oghenerukevwe, the man you’ve been searching for” he says as he holds her hand a little while longer while she giggles at his antics
“Chris, Christopher” Chris says casually as he takes her hand
“Kelly, just Kelly” Kelly says, not bothering to shake hands
“well now that most of us are here, I guess the party can start, DJ give us some music”
Just as Chris orders, the Dj starts to play some tunes from his computer as everyone sorts themselves out with food and drinks
“I’ll see you around” Nana says as she pulls me into a side hug then walks over to the table where out mates are seated while I catch up with my former classmates
“where’s Moon?” I ask, she’s usually part of the crew
“she’s in the hostel, she’ll soon be here” Kelly replies, intertwining our fingers together as she beams with smiles
“I’m so happy you’re here” she tells me
“Yeah, me too” I say half heartedly
That is on the list of the most confusing things done by Kelly tonight, what topped her list was when she called me out in front of the entire crowd and introduced me to everyone as her best friend. I didn’t expect it at all, I even almost tripped as I stood from my seat
What is it with acting all unbothered and completely ignoring me for the first part of the evening then suddenly acting so warm and cozy towards me in front of everyone?
If there was anything I knew about Kelly, it’s that she sees everything that happens and notices everyone so there’s no probability that she saw me the first-time moments ago but why would she pretend though?
***
*Coughs*
I'm in a bit of a hurry, if there are typos I'll be back to edit 🥹love you all, thank you for the patience guys 🦋