"Jola!",Mum called out in anger, and I snapped out of my dream. My alarm was going off in a frenzy and I reached to put it off. "Jolayemi, if I have to come meet you there", she threatened. "I'm up", I yelled back so she wouldn't yield to her threats.
I groaned as I rubbed my eyes, still feeling sleepy but I knew better than to go back to sleep. Today was the day I resume to my new school. I went to my desk to receive the brochure. 'Brown's Academy', it read in bold letters. My dad had said it was a prestigious school and they taught well.
"God help me, if you're not ready by the time I'm done with breakfast Jola", Mum called out. I gasped and made a beeline for the bathroom. I avoided looking at the mirror as I brushed my teeth. Mirrors haven't always spoken kind words to me so my reflection was almost a stranger to me. I didn't need another reminder that I was ugly.
I shook my head to disperse the thoughts as Mum's words replayed in my head. I stepped out of the bathroom to check out the clothes I'd arranged the night before. I didn't really have that many clothes seeing as my former school had a uniform and I don't go anywhere after school.
I wore the trousers and the blouse and grabbed my backpack and phone before going downstairs. Mum was setting the table alongside Jecintha who smirked at me. I rolled my eyes at her. "I thought you were going to sleep there, Jola. I don't know why you have an alarm clock if you won't wake up to it", Mum snapped. If there was one thing Mum hated the most, it was tardiness. Mum was very punctual in all she did as she had a calendar event that told her where she was supposed to be and the time she should be there.
"I'm sorry, Mum. It won't happen again", I said. "It better not", she replied. "Good morning, my beautiful family", Dad greeted. "Good morning dad", Jecintha and I echoed. "Good morning Pop", Dare greeted as he sat down. Dad smiled as he kissed Mum. "Morning beautiful", he said. Was Mum blushing? That was a very strange sight to see and Jecintha and I exchanged looks. Mum cleared her throat when she remembered we were present and she elbowed Dad softly "Take a seat", she said. "Yes ma'am", Dad said, obliging her. Mum dished out the food before taking a seat and we held our hands in prayer. "Jola, pray for us please", Mum said. "Amen", everyone echoed when I finished the prayer.
We sat in silence for a minute before Dad cleared his throat. "So, Jola, ready for your new school?". I shrugged, "I guess", I said. Dad held my hand "You're gonna do okay, princess. I mean, who wouldn't love you?", he asked. I scoffed. Everyone. But I nodded and smiled at him. Dad turned to Dare "What are your plans today?", he asked. Dare shrugged. " I was planning on doing some shopping later in the day for college", he said. "Me too. College's resuming in a few weeks and I want to be ready before then", J said. J was the nickname I gave to Jecintha as she also calls me J.
Dare was two years older than J in age as he was 20, while J was 18. I was 15. Dare was supposed to go to college last year but he had denied the letter of acceptance from a prestigious school mainly because of what happened and also because he said he just needed space. So, he'd deferred the application and said he'd go this year. J finished high school early this year and was accepted into Harvard university with my brother.
We were all very intelligent, something Mum and Dad were proud of. So, it was no surprise that both were accepted there. If all went well, I was planning on going there too. Dare wanted to become an Engineer, J a doctor and I wanted to become a lawyer. Our parents were very proud of our ambitions and have done nothing but support us every step of the way.
"Speaking of, your Dad and I have a surprise for you", Mum said.
"What is it?", Dare asked. "Its outside", Dad said. We all rushed outside to see the surprise and I gasped when I saw it. Now, I didn't know anything about cars but this was a beaut. It was a green Porsche and she was beautiful. Dare teared up a little as he stared at it. It was his dream car, as he had always wanted one during high school but Mum had refused him saying she didn't want him to be distracted with his studies.
"So, you like it?", Dad asked. Dare squealed in excitement. "Are you kidding, of course I love it", he said. I smiled, I haven't seen him this happy in a year. Dare hugged Dad and my jaw dropped alongside everyone's. I would have laughed at our reactions if I wasn't so shocked. Dare was hugging Dad, even Dad looked surprised. But just as he was about to hug him back, Dare stepped out of the hug and cleared his throat before bringing out his sanitizer and did what he does best.
I nodded, now that's the brother I know, and love. Dad cleared his throat and flipped the key to him. "It's yours", he said. But I knew better, Dad was both shocked and happy. Very very happy. I could tell that he wanted to cry but he held it in. Dare smiled as he entered the car to feel how she responded. He turned on the ignition on the purr she gave was satisfying even to me.
"Listen, I love how everyone's happy and stuff, but where's my car too?", J pouted. "You'll get yours soon okay?", Mum said. "Now, let's go before we get late", she finished. Mum and Dad had a company that had different branches worldwide and they named it "Jabita and co". Though they both work in the same company, they were in different branches where they were in charge of the whole operation.
Dad handed wads of cash to Dare and told him to buy whatever they needed. "But that's too much", Mum argued. Dad smiled and moved to hug her. "Let's spoil them just this once", he said. "Ready to go princess?", Dad asked. I nodded and hopped into his car. Dad kissed Mum bye as he entered alongside me. Mum entered her car also and Dare and J waved us bye.
"And we are here", Dad said, parking the car. I trembled a little and Dad saw it. "Princess, are you okay?", he said. I nodded. No. "Yes", I replied.
"You're shaking", he said. "I'm just a little bit nervous", I said. He sighed, then hugged me. "Its okay to be nervous kiddo, I mean, everything's new to you but you'll do okay, okay?"he asked. I nodded "Thanks, Dad", I said. "I love you", he said. "I love you too, Dad", I said as I alighted the car.
My head was down throughout as I tried to find the Admin's office, habit I guess. I could hear voices whispering, I felt the pointed fingers at me, the chuckles, God it was happening all over again. I didn't bring my head up though. I kept it down and still managed to find the office at the same time. I guess when you've spent as much time as I have with your head down, you learn how to navigate your way around even in strange places.
"Hi", I greeted the woman at the desk. "Hello, how may I help you", she asked kindly. I smiled, at least there was a kind person here. "I'm new here", I said. "Oh, you're the new student", she said. That's what I said. I nodded, she stood up and hugged me. Now I wasn't Dare but even for me, this was a little bit awkward. "Uh", I mumbled. She ended the hug and smiled. "Sorry, I thought you'll need the hug to get through your day", she said, while going back to her desk.
Uh, that wasn't weird or anything. She was still smiling at me as she dialed someone on the phone. Just then, the bell rang and I jumped a little. "Yes, Mr Ben. The new student is here", she said. I smiled as I tapped my foot, nervous as hell. Not too long, a man in his early forties came out of the office, and looked around. His eyes met mine before skipping, then he turned to the woman. "Susan, you said there's a new student here?", he asked.
Susan nodded before pointing at me. The man turned to me, jaw wide open. I rolled my eyes but I understood his shock. I didn't look my age cause I was too big. He collected himself before moving towards me. "Good morning, I'm Mr Ben and I'm the principal of this school. Its good to see you", he said. Just then, two boys entered the office laughing but quickly sobered up when they saw him.
"Good morning Sir", they greeted. "Good morning", he replied. The boys went to Susan's table to ask something from her but I saw them glancing at me and snickering. "So, as I was saying, you sure do look big for a student", Mr Ben said, and the boys bursted out laughing. Now I sure as hell wasn't white, but I was blushing furiously. I wanted to die of embarrassment and just like that, I hated this devil of a man. "My name is Jolayemi", I said gruffly. Susan looked at me with pity and I understood why she had hugged me. If the principal was this mean, how mean would the students be?
He cleared his throat before nodding."Yes yes, Jolayemi Jabita, right, the, uh, transfer student". No shit sherlock. I nodded stiffly. The boys exited the office still laughing. "Let me take you to your class", he said. I followed behind him stiffly, heads down as usual. He turned left before entering the class and just like that, I felt it all over again. The pause, the stares, the giggles, the murmurings, oh just the usual.
"Guys, this is Jolayemi and she's new. Welcome her", he said and just like that, left the classroom. Asshole. "I'm Miss Sarah and I teach English", a young woman who seemed to be in her mid twenties said. I smiled, and I took a liking to her immediately. There's was something about her appearance that reminded me of Jecintha and she looked nice. "Take a seat beside Innocent", she pointed. Innocent was one of the boys I'd seen in Miss Susan's office and I gulped.
"No, please. She can't sit here, she's too fat, I won't be able to concentrate", the boy said. And just like that, everyone bursted into laughter. I wanted the ground to swallow me whole as I tried to reel the tears in. The class was in disarray cause everyone was still laughing. Miss Sarah finally brought order to the class and when there was silence, she looked at Innocent pointedly. "I don't think you have anything to worry about, since you need to have a brain to concentrate on something", she piqued.
The sounds of 'oohs', and 'burn' filled the class as everyone stared at Innocent. Did I mention I liked this woman, I take it back. I loved this woman. Sighing, she pointed at a girl. "Go sit with Starr", she said. I moved my feet towards the girl she pointed to. She seemed nice as she was smiling at me. I smiled back relieved to see someone smiling at me. I removed my backpack and sat down. I heard it before I felt it, the laughter and the chair giving way and breaking. I'd broken the chair bringing the poor girl down with me.
Starr sighed, before getting up, adjusted her skirt and helped me up. I was too embarrassed for words and this time I couldn't hold back my tears. Starr shook her head gently as she wiped my tears and I gave her a look of gratitude. She smiled and I took that time to look at her very well. Beautiful was an understatement to describe her. Starr was gorgeous and curvy, a young Nicki Minaj. Her hair was brown and curly and she had hazel eyes, with an oval face, pointed nose and pink lips. Standing beside her made me feel like Shrek standing beside Fiona or the beast standing beside Belle. She was the exact opposite of me, beautiful and curvy and I heard my already low self plunge down the river.
She spotted another empty chair and brought it and I thanked her. She nodded and pointed at me to sit, which I did, gingerly, testing the strength of the chair. When I was sure it would hold my weight, I put my full weight on it. Starr smiled before taking her seat. "Okay, now let's continue", Miss Sarah said.
The bell rang and she left the class, making the class loud and in frenzy as everyone was talking about their weekend. Starr turned to me "Hi, my name's Starr with two Rs", she said. I smiled "My name's Jola, its nice to meet you", I replied. Just then, I noticed a couple of boys moving towards us, which made me scared a little but their focus wasn't on me, it was on Starr.
She traced my sight to them and rolled her eyes before turning back to me. "Ignore them", she said. It was hard to, considering they were still walking towards us but I nodded. "So how come you moved here late in the semester", she asked. I shrugged "We had to move, so we changed both places and schools", I replied not wanting to go into details. She nodded "So where are you from?", she asked. "I-". "Hey, Starr", someone interrupted.
Starr ignored him "You were saying?", she asked me. "Uh, I-". "Starr", the boy interrupted again. Starr sighed and turned to him. "Yes?", she said. I used that opportunity to scout the class. To my surprise, most of them were looking at the exchange between Starr and the boy. The boys were looking at them with interest and a little bit of envy but when they saw my gaze, it changed to disgust. I didn't mind, as long as their focus wasn't on me.
The girls on the other hand, were full of jealousy and their heated gaze was on Starr. I shrunk a little at the hate they were giving her, which Starr didn't even notice or did but didn't care. But what caught my attention the most was this boy at the far end looking bored as the scene didn't even interest him. I couldn't see him clearly but from his side profile, he was gorgeous and I couldn't take my eyes off him. He sighed before going out of the classroom, my eyes trailing him until I could see him no more. I'd have to ask Starr about him.
Speaking of, I tuned in to their conversation. "Jason, how many times am I gonna have to tell you, I am not in any way interested in you. Not yesterday, not now, not ever", she said. "And how many times am I gonna tell you, I always get what I want", Jason quipped, smirking. Now I get it, the boys were envious of Jason cause he was the big dog among them and he was talking to the most beautiful girl in the class. Maybe he'd call dibs on her or something and no one was allowed to talk to her except him. Seeing Innocent's expression, I'd confirm it. He seemed to like her obviously but wouldn't dare act on it, since he was Jason's lapdog.
The girls on the other hand were jealous cause of a whole different reason. If I were to be so bold, it'd seem like they were jealous of Starr because Jason seemed to show interest to her and not them. So they'd target Starr for being too beautiful. I inclined my head a little, staring at Jason. I see why they'd be jealous he was paying attention to only Starr. He was also handsome with brown hair and blue eyes, he seemed like everyone's taste except mine and Starr's. God, everyone was so cliché.
"What are you looking at, freak?", Jason asked before turning away. He was handsome alright, but his personality was shit. Starr sighed before turning to me "Ignore him", she said. I shrugged. "Why are the girls looking at you like they want to kill you?", I asked. She giggled, "I'm sure they want to alright", she said. "It's because the boys are interested in me, even their boyfriends. So they see me as a threat. I wonder what they find in me though, seeing as I'm just like any other girl", she shrugged.
And that's how modesty was founded y'all. Starr was too beautiful to be true. "Hey Starr", someone said. Starr turned and smiled. "What's up Mark?", she asked. Mark smiled. "I'm good", he sighed. "She's not here, is she?", he asked. Starr beamed "No, she's not. She's being a lazy ass but she'll be here next week", she said. Mark rolled his eyes before turning towards me. He smiled, "Hey". I nodded. "Tell her to call me, okay?", he said before turning away.
"Who's that?", I asked. "Oh, that's Skyy's boyfriend", she said. "Who's Skyy?", I asked. Starr face palmed "Sorry, Skyy's my twin sister", she said. "You have a twin", I asked. She nodded. "Are you guys identical?", I asked. "Yes, you can't really tell the difference until we smile", she replied. I nodded, still surprised she was a twin.
I felt someone staring at me and I looked up. It was a girl, and she was stunning. I blinked, not sure why she was looking at me. Did I have something on my face? Was she making fun of me? But the strangest thing happened. She smiled at me, and it was so beautiful. For a minute, all I could do was blink. Starr traced my eyes to the girl but she had gone back to do what she was doing. I couldn't see that far.
"That's Gabriela", she said. "Wow, she's beautiful", I said. Starr nodded furiously, "I know right? But you need to see her brother. He. Is. Gorgeous", she emphasized each words. She turned around, trying to locate him. "Hmm, he doesn't seem to be in class", she said. Just then, the guy I'd noticed earlier came in, and Starr gasped alongside me, and if I was to be honest, pretty much all the girls did.
If I thought his side profile was gorgeous, there was really no words to describe his whole face. Starr's adjective to describe him earlier was a big understatement, as it didn't do him justice at all. I closed my jaw, as I stared at him. Now in my life, I had never had a crush before, that was because I was busy avoiding bullies and crying my eyes out every day but seeing this boy now, made me feel things I haven't felt in my life.
His chiseled face held a brown eyes, a pointed nose, a stubbled chin and lips so kissable, my hand ached to touch it. He was tall, and gorgeous. I shut my jaw and I cleared my throat. What the hell was I thinking? "Speak of the devil", Starr said. "That's him, Gabriela's twin. His name is Gabriel Brown and his father is the owner of this school. I've been in love with him since middle school but he hasn't even noticed me till now",she said.
"Why's that?", I asked, confused. He was fine as hell, so was Starr, I was actually convinced they'd be the perfect couple. She sighed, reading my mind. "I know right. But the thing is Gabriel doesn't talk to people. I think its safe to say he hates people in general but he wasn't always like that. He was fun in middle school but all of a sudden when we were sophomores, he changed. And since then, the only other person he'd talk to was his sister", she said. "Believe me when I say that all the girls here has tried their luck, including me but he doesn't give us the time of the day. Still that doesn't mean we can't stare at him all day", she smiled.
I nodded, taking all these information in. So much drama for a high school. If the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen didn't appeal to him, then I think it was safe to say I wouldn't even come near a chance of gaining his attention. He was talking to his sister and he was smiling at something she said but like he knew we were talking about him, Gabriel turned his gaze towards us. I heard Starr gulp as he stared at us.
Just like his sister, he stared at us, well me inquisitively, his eyes thinking. And just like that, he smiled. I turned back, maybe someone was staying behind me. Nobody was, so I turned back to him. He was still beaming, then took his hands out of his pocket and waved at me before turning back to his sister. Starr turned to me, just like the rest of the class did, and all had different emotions. But I focused on Starr. She seemed frozen, her eyes not blinking and I was a little bit scared cause that was way too long for someone not to blink. So I moved my hands across her face, still no emotion. I had to shake her before she blinked.
"What just happened?", she asked. "You tell me. You completely froze", I said. "The. Gabriel. Smiled. At. You", she squealed. "Uh", I said, confused. "Don't you know what this means?", she said. I shook my head, I'm just a new student, remember? She read my thoughts. "The last time Gabriel smiled at someone that wasn't his sister was in sophomore year. Anytime you see him not with his sister, either he's angry or he has his poker face on. There's no other emotion. But, you, he smiled at you", she squealed in excitement.
I frowned st the information. Why though? I mean, the only emotions I've been able to draw from boys are that of contempt and disgust. Nothing else. So why was this different? Maybe, I'd imagined it all, but when I looked up, though he was talking to his sister, our eyes met and he smiled again. I removed my gaze so I wouldn't do or say anything stupid. Starr was still staring at me, so was the entire class. That seemed to be a big deal to them and if I was to be honest, it was a huge deal to me too even if I didn't know the boy from Adam.
The bell rang for lunch, and in the hallway accompanied by Starr, everyone stared at me. I'd even heard a group of girls calling me 'the girl Gabriel Brown acknowledged'.
So I think it was safe to say that that night, I slept with a boy's face in mind.