Dear Jesus,

"And that is the complete catalogue of various local plant and animal species unique to this ecosystem," I said.

A slow clap began from my star-struck lecturer. Her male assistant—the geeky-looking one who always wore sweat pants and was almost always buried under a pile of files and books Mrs Zaria had ladened him with—followed suit, smiling as wide as a crescent moon.

The entire class, which normally stays graveyard silent, terrified of incurring Mrs Z's wrath, loosened up and began clapping along. It escalated into hoots and cheers.
Mrs Z didn't stop them, instead, she focused on me, spewing accolades and saying how impressed she was by the presentation.

I beamed till my cheeks hurt.

I knew the presentation was good, but still to have impressed the almighty Mrs Z?
That's not a feat any average homo-sapien under age 35 can achieve, so said our seniors.

It was you, my sweet Lord. You're my secret magic formula. Thank you so much.

I feel a speck of sadness though. I know I have not touched this diary for the past two weeks. Had to even dust specks of dust off it. Sigh. Please forgive me.

Time has raced so fast. Amid all the tests and classes and projects and fellowship activities, it was hard to keep up with journaling my daily life and thoughts to you.
But at least my spiritual inventory is intact, thanks to guidance from my wonderful mentor.

Uluir made me stick to my commitment by saying if I missed a day of concrete fellowship with you, I'd serve a 'punishment' of any one of a prayer vigil, rendering free service to her, or making a huge donation from my pocket-money to a ministry.
So far, I've served 'punishment' twice.

After the averted fire accident in my room, I went on to complete my fast, compelling my weak and tired self each day to GWW. But each time was worth it. The encounters always brought a fresh dose of life into my system.
Details into that might pop up in later entries as I strongly believe that your prophetic words will sooner or later play out.

I promise not to forget. It's etched in my spirit like scribbling made on wet mortar and then left to set to hard concrete.

Anyways, what happened today is something I mustn't skip.
Ooooh, it's hot-as in, SUPER HOT-gist.

It's a first.
I didn't expect it at all, so I'm still in a bit of shock.
And even as I write this, I can't stop chuckling and grinning silly.

Today was the day of our final BIO101 project presentation.
The tension was almost tangible as my mates filed into the Cave of Crooners early this morning.

While few groups weren't completely done with their projects, I watched as Shelly and her partner gingerly carried their album and props.

The clothes and mass of things others brought felt slightly intimidating.

Mike and I had worked tirelessly, in between trying to catch up with studying, on the project.

Working with him has pushed me beyond my boundaries.

I'd hear him drop hints of his all night reading sprees and I'd be gingered to also take up my book and read to keep up with the high competition.

Since Mike did a large chunk of the research and compilation, he made me agree to deliver the presentation.

I made such a fuss about it but he was insistent.

I was punctual, hoping to be among the first set to present because our group came on the top of the grouping list.

I made sure to put on a formal outfit. A magenta shirt and a free black skirt. A classy yet official appeal, I hoped.

I watched as Mike's face lit up—and then as he quickly hid it—as he approached my seat. I had just lifted my head from my desk after saying my habitual prayer.

"Hello, Cry Baby,"—I gave him a look. He smirked. "Why, I see you're all decked up for the presentation this morning. It's gonna be perfect! I'm sure you're ready."

I tried not to blush at his compliment and gave him a stiff smile.
I was nervous to my toes. His words only made things worse. God! I felt undressed and underprepared.

Mike and I had grown fairly close, so we could drop the formalities and call one another names.
Bits and pieces here and I raked a few facts about him.

Out of curiosity, I had casually asked him about his bracelet because, for one, I'd never seen him without it.

He mumbled something incoherent and dismissed it. We did the rest of the work that day in silence.
Weird, right?
It just makes me itch all the more to unravel the untold story behind that bracelet.

The presentation started on a neutral note, but it was evident that Mrs Zaria was in a haste.
I mean, what did she expect us to say in less than five minutes for a task that took us two whole weeks to complete?

Well, considering the sheer number of projects, I could only imagine the pressure and time constraint on her.

That was why I was more jittery that she began the group calling from the rear, disrupting the expectation balance of the entire class. In effect, we were among the last batch group. Great!

Mike noticed my apprehension and whispered that I should be calm. According to him, this was a good way to observe others, note both their weak and strong points, and then capitalize on that.

"Group A, come up for your presentation," Mrs Z finally said in an exhausted voice, wiping sweat from her face as she typed in the scores of the previous group in a spreadsheet on her tablet.

Palms sweaty, legs trembling inconspicuously and heart pumping like an oscillating hot air balloon, I stood and walked up the stage, praying to you in my spirit for strength.

As I took in the faces of the students and tried to steady my breath while Mike set up our project, you answered my prayers.
You brought sweet memories to mind.

My Dad's teary eyes when he watched me stand before the church to share the testimony of my being saved.
Dad hugging me on the stage on my VS day whispering prayers to my ears.

My Mom's nickname for me: Shining Star and Aura.
Mom singing me lullabies to sleep and tending to me when I was attacked, both physically in school and spiritually.

Warm memories from my childhood years slid through my mind and I smiled-the most sincere smile that crossed my lips since I heard I was adopted.

Oh yes, my healing was completing.

All these bolstered my courage and made me deliver the presentation on a soul level.

Using the pointer I explained our slides as fast as I could and showed her the album's prototype.
I went deeper and spoke on an emotional level about why this project is important to mankind and explained the extra mile my team had gone to do our best.

Yup, our presentation was exquisite. I saw as Mike was proudly watching me all through.

We got a high score. 89%. It was the highest and based on our seniors' info dump, was most probably the highest this woman has given anyone in decades.

The class ended later than usual. I was happy it was our only class for the day.

After the class was dispersed, a small crowd clustered around Mike and me, especially cheering me on, telling me how good I was up there.
Shelly was lamenting and wishing she was paired with me.

I shook all the clingy bees off and went outside to wait and grab some fresh air.
The students had already begun to scoot off in pairs and groups.

Today was Wednesday for Bible study, and John had promised to come to get me straight from class so I could follow him on his Harley to the fellowship instead of trekking all by myself there.
Who could say no to that kind of comfortable offer?

After some minutes of waiting and yet no sign of him, I brought out my phone and called him.
It rang, but he didn't pick. Once. Twice.

Has he come already and, seeing the class busy, left me behind? Has he forgotten our arrangement? Is he in danger?

Then I heard a now-familiar baritone call behind me.

"Radiance!"

I turned and saw it was Mike. I was surprised he didn't call me that annoying nickname he had given me-Cry Baby. I also wondered what he wanted to see me for.

Our deal was over. It was time to go our separate paths once more and pretend as if the other person didn't exist. We should go back to being just acquaintances, or you know, neck-to-neck competitors.

Why then was he giving me that soul-searching gaze with a small smile of intrigue playing at his lips as he drew nearer to me?

He hesitated a bit and for a moment I couldn't read his expression.

"Can I see you for a sec?"

"Umm, sure..."

"Are you expecting someone? I thought you'd be gone by now."

"Something like that," I said as I pocketed my phone and sat on the wide plinth of a fat column on the veranda outside the hall.
I picked my skirt carefully draping it over my knees.

Mike remained standing and I had to look up to watch him.

It was obvious he had something important, to say.

"Radiance, that was a beautiful rendition you gave back there. I couldn't have asked for a better partner," he started.

I chuckled and waved it off politely.

"Stop flattering me. You've said this already, like what, hundred times."

"Uh... I-, I uh-, wanted to tell you something..." He looked everywhere else but my eyes.

This was unusual. Mike seemed extremely nervous. He was normally cool and collected and hardly ever let his emotions show. But now, he was shifting from one foot to another and I could see his left fingers playing with the articles on his bracelet.

I quickly turned inward to you.

Lord, what's up with him? Should I make a run for it?

I thought I felt a small chuckle inside me from you.

At least I was at peace that you were aware of whatever was happening. That made me warm inside and relaxed.

"Radiance... How do I do this?" he whispered to himself but I caught it. "I just wanted to... to... Ugh..."
He sighed, exasperated, pushing his spare hand through his hair.

I placed my jaw in my palms and leaned on my knees, gazing up at him, enjoying his circus-worthy display.
Mr Bossy Man was all scaredy. Wonders shall never end.

He took one wary look at my mocking attention, shut his eyes and said, "The thing is, I-, I like you, Radiance. A lot."

My mouth slowly unhinged and my eyebrows lifted almost to my temple.
A million scenes flee through my mind, of the past, present and future.

I closed my mouth and opened it and tried to speak again. no sound came out.

"Don't give me an answer yet. I know it's impulsively and you probably have a million reasons why you should say no. Heck, I didn't even plan it this way. But... I just had to let it out. I hope you'll consider my request. I want you to be my girlfriend. We'll be awesome together."

Okay. Wait, what?

Now I was stumped and didn't care that my mouth hung wide open.

The next thing I knew, I burst into incredible, sporadic laughter. I'm sure I sounded like a crazed hyena. I espied a few students glancing my way—you know, to make sure I hadn't turned crazy or something.

Mike stood, trying to disguise his embarrassment.

Poor boy. I just couldn't help myself. The scene was hilarious, I couldn't resist.

I was getting my first love confession from a guy and here I was laughing my guts out with tears leaking from my goggled eyes, in a bid to hide my glee, shock, and internal panic.

So, I was appealing to look upon and not some old plain Jane, which I must admit I had been feeling secretly down about. I mean, come on, in less than two weeks of coming to campus, love birds had already paired off and started their erratic flights, great thanks to the Freshers parties that littered the early weeks.

Mayday! Mayday! Lord save me from this!

"Ray!" I heard a more-than-welcome familiar voice say.

John.

Talk about guardian angel.
Uh-oh! Talk about trouble brewing.

John came walking towards us, eyeing the scene suspiciously. I collected myself and stood from where I sat.

"Is everything alright?" he said, looking between a confused Mike and a still-trying-to-stifle-my-laughs me.

I nodded.
"I was just about calling you again."

John looked at Mike and gave a brief nod/grunt of greeting. Ditto.
It was a staring and accessing standoff between two alpha males.

I broke the tense moment but tapping John's shoulder.

"Let's go, or we'll be late," I whispered.

He grabbed my hand.
I was shocked.

"Yes, let's go," he said.

"Uh-huh?" I stammered. His grip on my hand was so warm yet possessive.

Are you thinking what I was thinking? Was John jealous? Never thought I'd see the day.

Mike slowly recovered and smirked.
He said quietly as we turned to walk away, "See you later, Baby."

I felt John stiffen and tighten his grip on me.

Baby? What happened to the 'Cry' part?

I pretended not to have heard him and followed John.
But I felt that same sensation of his leer on my back.

John and I mounted the bike.

I could swear John glared holes at Mike as he kicked his motorcycle to a start.

⋋✿ ✿⋌⋋✿ ✿⋌

Author's note:
He he he..😆😆😆

I've been itching to write about the silent clash for the titans.
John meets his rival. Ha!🥴

What think ye, my peeps? If you were in Ray's shoes, what would you have done? 🤭
This Mike of a guy just gets more and more unpredictable. Why is he swooning over Radiance when he is supposed to hate her kind?🤔☹️

To all of my Ray lovers who have come to secretly pester me that I should speed up this story, especially cos you want to understand the mystery behind her adoption (yup, you know thyself😏), all good things come to those who wait. 🌝

Truth is, I also know not where this will lead, only God does. 🙌

Also, join me to pray so that NEPA💡 (only fellow Nigerian can feel my pain) can have mercy upon my soul and give me a chance to actually write.😩

I dedicate this chapter to Gift_OfGod, my wonderful sister in Christ and yet another PK. God bless you, sis. 🤗🤗🤗

Please vote, share and comment, my lovelies. ✨

Alright, till the next update. 🥰
Buh-bye! 👋