(047a - A Lesson on Closure Part 1.)

Who has missed #Jidela moments? I know I have 😌. Let's hope TK doesn't spoil out mood in this chapter 💀. I apologize in advance for any form of tackiness.

Dive in✨.

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𝐉𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐀
(Jidenna Leo Okojie)

"Set..."

"Hike!"

Kizito called out and the spherical ball was passed to him immediately by the center guard. Ola Davis and I took our turns, running across the field while expecting the ball to come to either of us. The guys playing on the defensive came after us, trying to catch up to us in other to hijack the ball from us.

"Davis!" Kizito yelled, aiming to throw the ball at Ola.

On cue, everyone on the defense ran toward Ola to hijack the ball before it gets to him, leaving me open to whatever tactic Kizito had. And because of that, the Sports prefect changed his course of action and lunged the ball at me. I leaped up, grabbing it effortlessly before running towards the end zone, winning a touchdown.

The whistle went off.

"Huddle Up," Kizito called, beckoning for me to throw the ball at him, which I did as I made my way towards him like the rest of the Junior Varsity Team. From the look on his face and the tone of his voice, I could tell Kizito was frustrated and I understood why.

He sighed.

"We have gone over this a thousand times, guys," He began, speaking to the JV team. "No matter what happens, you don't leave any of your opponents unmarked. If you do, it can cost you the whole game," He stated matter-of-factly, hitting the ball with his palm to emphasize every word he was saying.

There was absolutely quietness around the field, safe for distant chitchats by students that were seated in the bleachers, watching us play.

"I made a call to throw the ball at Ola," Kizito continued, nodding at Ola Davis who was standing at the end of the huddle with me. "And all of you rushed over to him to get the ball, no one was marking Jidenna," He was finally calling my name without throwing a glare my way.

I felt my lips twitch, but I bit the insides of my cheek to stop myself from smiling.

"At least two people should have been marking him in case my call was a decoy to confuse you, which in fact, it was," He went on explaining. "You don't leave your opponents unmarked for whatever reason. You MUST mark them, and always be ready to snatch the ball before it gets to them.-

Don't think because we play on the offensive most of the time, the ball is in our hands. One of these days, we might get to play on the defensive. That's what I'm trying to train you guys for so that you'll know every trick in the book. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Captain!" The team chorused.

"Kizito is talking to these guys like we have a game next week," Ola's voice rang in my ear, laughter in his voice. I turned to look at him. "Shey he knows we are not having any game till third term, right?" He asked, turning his head to meet my eyes.

I chuckled lightly.

"I think he's just concerned about the future of the team," I answered and Ola hummed. "You know we'll be graduating soon and Kizito won't be in charge anymore. I guess he just wants to leave the team in the best of sharp. He didn't work his ass off for years to build this team, only for it to fall apart as soon as he leaves Crestview." I stated pointedly. Ola hummed again.

"You have a point," He easily agreed with me. "It now makes perfect sense why we are the only ones on the field training with the JV team," He added and I nodded.

I knew Big Guy saddled the Captains of each sports team with the responsibility of training the junior team members in preparation for when we finally graduate. That's why every general sports day like this for the past weeks, Kizito has been training the American Football junior varsity team and new team members, trying to get them up to speed on every tactic in the book.

The other team members were in the stadium but not on the field, watching us from the designated team pavilion at the foot of the bleachers. Only I and Ola were on the field, helping Kizito train.

Yes, Kizito had walked up to me and told me I'd be helping him train the team.

Shocker.

At first, when he told me out of the blues that'd be assisting him with the training, I was surprised. Things between us have been so strained, so awkward, and difficult... at least on my end because it didn't seem like he was affected one bit. So imagine my shock when the offer to assist him came.

I started getting ahead of myself, thinking he had forgiven me for... everything.

But then I realized that Ola and I were the only wide receivers on the team and he only needed us... or rather, me because he had no choice. If he had a choice, it would have just been Ola on the field.

But Big Guy won't allow that, of course.

Truth be told, I couldn't really tell if Kizito still hated my guts or not. Kizito has been rather civil to me since we started this training, even though he would only speak to me when it had something to do with the training. But no stink eye, no glares, no insults of any sort. Just treated me like I was a normal classmate.

I wasn't sure whether I should feel elated about the improvement or I should feel terrible that I let my friendship with him come to this. I mean, he was friendlier to everyone on the team and had some sort of cordial relationship with them.

Between us, it felt like business... too professional.

It only reminded me how I have done absolutely nothing to fix my strained relationship with everyone. Especially Hilary.

...You are dead to me, Jidenna Okojie...

That was the last thing she ever said to me... and the last time she ever looked me in the eye. Right now, she was acting on her every word, treating me like I didn't exist because to her, I didn't. She hasn't looked my way ever since or stayed in the same space with me. Like she said to me, I was DEAD to her.

DEAD.

NON-EXISTENT.

And I deserved everything. I deserved it all.

Maybe there was really nothing I could do to fix the relationship I destroyed with my own hands. And if Hilary wasn't going to forgive me, I'm not sure the others will... especially Kizito.

"Let's take that play one more time," Kizito's voice tore through my thoughts and I looked in time to see the team dispersing into different directions. "This time, no fück ups!" He yelled after them, fisting the ball in his hands as he went to his position. I started making my way to mine.

"ADELA!"

Ola's sudden shriek of excitement alerted all of my senses. I automatically halted in my steps, turning in the direction of his voice in time to see him run off the field in a direction. But it wasn't even his sudden girl-like scream that caught my attention. It was the name he called.

Adela.

On impulse, my heart picked up a speed.

My eyes followed Ola's running figure, turning in the direction he was running towards and I saw her. She was right there, and I could tell she was just coming, walking through the barb-wired gates into the stadium.

Adela saw Ola coming at her and I saw her eyes widen. She tried to make a detour to get away from him as fast as possible, but she wasn't fast enough. Ola got to her in no time. And as if she was a bag of rice, he picked her petite frame effortlessly and threw her over his shoulder.

What the...

Their action caught everyone's attention. Everyone on the field had stopped what they were doing, even Kizito, and was staring in awe as Ola started running around the field like a mad man with Adela still hung over his shoulder, ignoring her high-pitched screams of protest and punches she delivered to his back.

"Ola!" I could hear her screams from where I stood. "Put me down!" She commanded but the boy didn't pay her any heed.

"No!" He retorted, laughter in his voice.

This sparked an uproar across the field, especially from the teammates under the pavilion, most of which were our classmates.

"Ola, small o."

"Take it easy, Davis. You know Adela is fragile."

"Be careful o. Don't break our Adela!"

Our Adela?

They were telling Ola to take it easy but I could still hear the teasing and suggestive tone in their voices. And when I looked back at Ola still carrying Adela, I noticed that she wasn't even fighting him anymore, just weakly punching his back in a rather playful manner. The big smile I saw on her lips told me she was enjoying herself even.

I couldn't stop my brows from furrowing sightly.

At this point, I should have just looked away. But like an invisible force was holding me still, I stood on that spot and watched both of them against my better judgment.

Adela and Ola were close and I knew that. They have been that way eons before I started speaking to her. So I shouldn't be bothered by how he was holding her, or the fact that she was a lot responsive to him. It was a norm, right?

But I was bothered. And I couldn't find a good reason to justify why I was.

Maybe because they are disrupting the training? Yeah, that had to be it.

But Kizito wasn't complaining. In fact, he was watching them with a small smile playing on his lips. And that caused my frown to deepen.

Kizito wasn't one to play with training. No shenanigans of any sort when you are on the field, that was his number one rule. Yet, Ola ran off the field on his watch and was now playing around. Still, the strict Sports Prefect wasn't doing anything about it. If anything, he found the show just as funny as the rest of the team thought it was.

Nothing was funny about it.

I didn't find it funny at all.

"I think we should all get back to training!"

It took a moment for me to realize I was the one that yelled like that, especially since everyone had stopped to look at me. Thankfully, it wasn't a long awkward pause because Kizito indirectly backed me up by clapping to alert everyone back to their positions, calling Ola to come back to the field.

Going over to mine, I watched him finally drop Adela back to her feet. She playfully pushed against his chest, talking to him like she was reprimanding him for the stunt he pulled. But she was smiling at him, and Ola was laughing back.

That set me on edge, especially since I was certain she heard my voice but still didn't acknowledge my presence.

I thought we were past this.

Still frowning, I looked away from them. I shouldn't be bothered. I wasn't supposed to be bothered.

But why the hell was I?

"I didn't know you and Adela were so close," I couldn't stop myself from asking when Ola came to stand beside me. I don't know what prompted me to ask, or why that was the question I asked, but I did.

The light-skinned boy turned to me, brows quirked in confusion.

"You didn't know kee?" There was slight laughter in his voice. "Adela and I have always been close. You've always known that naw," He said, taking his position. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

That's not what I'm asking, abeg.

"I mean," I drawled, looking ahead for a moment before glancing back at him. "You guys seem to be really close now, closer than before," I said and he bobbed his head to the side, the confusion on his face told me he was still very clueless about what I was talking about.

Do I really have to spell it out for this dude?

"Is there something going on between you two?" I blurted out before I could hold myself back. Ola paused, stood upright, and turned to look at me. I stood upright too, thinking he had nabbed me.

But I thought wrong because, from the expression on his face, I could tell he still had absolutely no idea what I was talking about.

And his next statement proved it.

"Something like what?" He asked. I had to restrain myself from groaning out in frustration.

For Heaven's sake, Ola! Why are you so clueless?

Or was he just playing dumb to get me riled up?

Wait first, get me riled up about what exactly? That there might be something going on between him and Adela?

If there was even something going on between them, why is it bothering me so much? It shouldn't be bothering me this much.

"Never mind," I whispered back to Ola, getting back in position. My guy hummed in response, mimicking my stance.

Kizito made the call and we started playing again, but I was already distracted. With Adela standing across the field from me, there was no way I could focus on the game. I kept glancing back to where she was, seated between the boys under the pavilion, gisting with them.

She looked like she was enjoying herself.

I was aware of Adela's closeness with the entire team, classmate or not. She has been our designated medic long before she became a health prefect. So this wouldn't be the first time I'd be noticing the aura of freeness and familiarity that always radiates around her when she's with the rest of the teammates.

That audacious and brassy demeanor I was very familiar with would drop as soon as she walks through the stadium gates and be replaced with playful, carefree Adela. She was always talking to them with a smile, joking with them, playing with them. It was a side of her I wasn't yet familiar with. A part of her that seemed only restricted to certain people.

Certain people that's not me.

It stung. Bad.

Yeah, she has warmed up to me compared to the first time we spoke. At least now, she was speaking to me in school even though it wasn't in the open. But she was still uptight in a way... like she was still walking on eggshells around me.

She was still unsure of me.

Contrary to what I've made myself believe, Adela didn't see me as her friend just yet. Not the way I saw her as mine.

Have I been wasting my time trying to do everything to impress her? I had to ask myself.

I think I've really been getting ahead of myself.

"Jidenna!"

Someone suddenly yelled my name, alerting me back to the present. But I couldn't focus on my surrounding in time to see the ball flying in my direction, and I wasn't fast enough to duck for cover. The ball hit me square in the middle of my face with a painful force that sent me falling to the floor with a very hard thud.

Fück! I groaned in pain

An excruciating wave of pain shot through my nose and traveled all the way to my head. When I started feeling a puddle of wetness forming and dripping down to my lips, I knew I was already bleeding. Taking a finger to the bridge of my nose was a bad idea because one tap scent another shocking wave of pain through my body, causing me to groan again.

It hurt like a bitch. But it was nothing compared to my bruised pride.

I had legit forgotten I was on the field, my mind far away from the training that I didn't see the ball flying towards me. I can't begin to imagine how stupid I looked, falling like a mango tree.

I sat up, pulled the sleeve of my jersey to my nose, and carefully dabbed the blood, wincing with every clean I made. In no time, shadows hovered above me, serving as shades from the sun.

"My guy," It was Ola that spoke first. "Are you okay?" He asked. I looked up, squinting a bit when a ray of sunlight shot into my eyes and shielded my face with my free hand.

"I'm fine. I'm fine," I quickly said, waving everyone away. Ola threw me a face towel and I caught it, muttering thanks before I pushed the thick cloth against my nose to stop the bleeding.

Instinctively, I looked in the direction of the pavilion where Adela has been sitting to see if she was looking this way and if she had noticed my fall.

But she wasn't there anymore.

Where did she go? My brows furrowed.

"How bad is it?" Kizito's voice made me look away from the pavilion to the huddle around me. He was now standing beside Ola, staring down at me with an unreadable expression. I looked away from him, pushing the towel further against my nose.

"Just a minor nose bleed," Ola was the one that answered him for me. "He'll live," He added and Kizito hummed. It wasn't a minor nose bleed. My nose felt like it was on fire. But I didn't correct Ola.

The last thing I wanted was to make a fuss over my present embarrassing predicament.

"That's it for today, guys," Kizito called out, and the huddle around me started dispersing, including. I wasn't sure if he did it intentionally for me to save face, or if it was really the end of training.

Either way, I was thankful.

"And please," Kizito went on. "Hit the showers before you go back to class. That's why we have a locker room. No one wants to smell you stupid manly musk!" He yelled, and that elicited rounds of laughter from the guys. I couldn't stop my lips from twitching in a small smile too as I watched the crowd disperse.

It was when everyone had gone that I realized that Kizito and I were the only ones left on the field, safe for the students scattered across the bleachers, paying us no heed. I kept my eyes fixated on the floor, busying myself with my bleeding nose though I was quite aware of the hunk's eyes boring holes into me.

"You are not wearing your contacts anymore," He spoke, voice devoid of any form of emotion. I glanced up to look at him, holding his gaze for a moment before looking away.

"I switched back to my glasses," I answered. Since that day at Greenland, when Adela specifically told me she preferred me wearing glasses to contacts, I haven't picked up my contacts. Kizito hummed again in response, stretching his hands out in a gesture that said he wanted to help me up.

Trying to mask my shock, I took his hand and he hoisted me to a standing position in one effortless pull.

"Thanks," I muttered.

"You know you can't wear glasses on the field right? It can get destroyed when you are playing." He went on like he didn't hear me thank him. "Besides your vision is not exactly the best so you can't do without a recommended optic lens. I don't mind you using your glasses, but not just on the field. It is not advisable. Am I making sense?" He asked me and I nodded.

What did I say about him talking to me too professionally?

But on the bright side, this is actually the most he has said to me in a long while. The first time he'd be saying this much directly to me. It's something, right?

"Yeah, I get you," I answered.

"Go get that checked up," He gestured to my nose. "You don't have a very high pain tolerance, Jidenna so stop trying to be subtle." I knew he was talking about my occasionally wincing as I cleaned my still bloody nose. It felt like the blood wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

Or the pain.

Before I couldn't reply to him, he was already walking away, an indication that he was done talking to me. But it didn't feel right, letting him walk away like that without asking him the question that has been bugging me for a while now. Not after he just sounded like he still cared. His face might not show it, but his actions from moments ago said it all.

"Kizito," I called him before I had the time to change my mind. He halted on his steps immediately, turning his head to look at me over his shoulder. His face was expressionless, but he's right brow was tugged up slightly in question.

I took a deep breath.

"Are you..." I started, but trailed off, trying to gather my thought and form it into the right words. The hunk looked on, waiting for me to tell him why I had stopped him.

Here goes nothing.

"Are you ever going to forgive me?" I said in one breath, so fast I wasn't sure he picked my words. But the slight furrowing of his brows told me he heard loud and clear.

"For what I did?" I added as an afterthought.

I knew I didn't have to spell it out for Kizito before he knew what I was talking about. But even with the slight frown creased over his forehead, I could still see a tad bit of surprise in his eyes as he looked back at me, probably bit expecting the question out of the blues.

But as quick as the surprise appeared in his features, it was gone. And so was the frown. He now looked impassive.

"Maybe when Hilary decides to forgive you," Was his simple answer, punctuated with a very nonchalant shrug.

But as simple as his answer was, it caused a truckload of tremors to run through my mind. I was able to tell Kizito knew exactly what he was doing when he gave that answer. He sure knew how simple, yet heavily weighted that answer was. He knew the exact implication that followed that answer.

"You and I know she might never forgive me, Kizito," I said.

"Then you have your answer, Jidenna,"

He answered monotonously, with another nonchalant shrug. I sighed in dejection and resignation, not knowing what else to say or do. This is it. It's finally over. I ruined everything beyond repair. I'm never getting these guys back.

I'm never getting my best friends back.

"You know what," Kizito started, and I looked up to see he was still standing on that spot. I thought he'd have walked away by now, so it was surprising seeing him there. It was even more surprising that he was still speaking to me.

I looked at him, watching the conflicted expressions flash through his face. He wanted to say something to me but he was thinking against it, I could see that. But it made me only more curious to know what he wanted to say.

What I didn't expect was the dime he dropped on me.

"I honestly hope she forgives you," He finally said, and my eyes widened in automatic shock.

What?

"Not for you, but for her," He stated as if to clarify what was going on in my mind. But that clarification didn't make it any less shocking that he was actually rooting for Hilary to forgive me.

"She deserves the closure, Jidenna. You know that," He went on, his voice calmer than I thought it would be, the most gentle he has ever spoken to me. "And you owe her that much for everything you did," He finished, looking at me square in the eyes as he said every word.

Somehow, he sounded like he was exhausted with everything going on. In another way, he sounded like he was pleading with me. It wasn't evident but I could sense the undertone in his words.

My heart clenched in my chest.

Kizito didn't wait for me to speak before finally walking away and out of the stadium, leaving me on the spot. Leaving me to think about his words, to digest everything he said. But there wasn't much to digest or think about because everything he said was the truth. Hilary deserved closure. I owed her that much for everything I made her go through, everything she went through because of my stupid, insecure ass.

But how do I do any of that when she doesn't even want to see me? Not to talk of speak to me?

How do I get her to forgive me?

At this point, I honestly didn't know what to do.

After packing my things, I began to make my way toward to locker room to freshen up. But then I remembered TK was still on the basketball court, also helping to train the new intakes. So I made a detour and started heading towards the general sports complex where the court was located.

Hopefully, by the time I get there, he'll almost be done.

I could hear noise emitting from the court before I got close. At first, I thought it was just the game because B-Ballers tend to be extremely loud and rowdy when they are playing, but when I got close, I realized it wasn't rowdiness or noise that came from playing.

An argument was going on. A very heated one at that

Though I couldn't pick up the words that were being exchanged between the arguing parties, I was able to pick up TK's voice loud and clear. That was enough for me to rush in, bursting through the double doors and into the court.

"DON'T FUCKING PISS ME OFF GUY!"

TK yelling at the top of his voice, his entire body vibrating with so much anger, that I feared he was going to combust. I didn't know who he was talking to, but I feared for the person. But when I got closer to the little crowd that had gathered in the middle of the court and saw Sochima Johnson standing right in front of TK, I didn't need anyone to tell me he was the one getting on TK's nerves.

I got to the middle and the other team members, mostly juniors cleared the way for me to see what was going on. TK and Sochima were standing head to head against each other. But while TK was sizing the darker guy up, glaring daggers and lasers at him, Sochima stared back at him with a direct look.

That simple look oozed ripples of pride that irritated me to the core. But I honestly didn't have time for Sochima's showboating right now.

"TK,"

I called my friend, trying to alert his attention to me. But it was futile because he seemed rather fixed on Sochima. Like he was waiting for the guy to say something that would set him over the edge so he'd throw a punch into his face. And from the look of things, TK was already at a tipping point.

"Back off, Tekena," It was Sochima that spoke, his voice calm and collected but I could hear the undertone of anger sipping through. "I'm not taking back what I said," He added, his gaze on TK unwavering.

My friend was shaking in anger.

"YOU HAVE NO FUCKING RIGHT RELEASING A JUNIOR I PUNISHED!" TK's voice came out in a hoarse yell compared to Sochima's calm one, his furiosity very evident.

It was after he spoke I noticed the junior, probably in SS1, kneeling a little distance away from the both of them, tears streaming down his eyes in beads. I noticed a fresh bruise on the corner of his lips coated with dry blood and a cut close to his eyes that was still dripping in blood

No soothsayer needed to tell me TK had done that. Even if I didn't know my friend, the belt he held in his hand was a dead giveaway.

This was no punishment. TK had beaten the boy, and maybe would have done a lot more damage but I'm sure he was stopped before he got the chance to inflict more slashes on the kid. If there was anyone that took his prefect-ship position a little too seriously, it was TK being the disciplinary prefect.

"On this court, you have absolutely no right punishing a junior without my consent, not to talk off lashing him with your belt!" Chima countered, still keeping up with his composure even though his voice rose a tad bit.

That definitely riled TK up.

"Is this fucker kidding me?" He scoffed out humorless, finally turning to look at me as if he wanted me to back him up.

"He's the disciplinary prefect," I stepped in, trying to sound as firm as I could and exude as much authority as I carried as the head boy of this school. Sochima turned to me, one bushy brow quirked question but low-key looked like he was mocking me.

I didn't let that deter me.

"He has every right to punish whoever he wants to punish, Sochima Johnson. That's his job and you have no right stopping him, especially a non-prefect like you," If he was going to embarrass my friend in front of juniors, I might as well return the favor.

But my guy didn't look affected in the slightest by my jab.

"Well, this non-prefect," He pointed to himself. "Is the captain of this team and according to the sporting rule books of this school, I and I alone call the shots on this court!" He debunked everything I said in one breath, catching me unawares while plunging the entire court into silence.

He got me there. The sporting rule book of Crestview made that particular rule very loud and clear.

"You don't exert your head boy privileges when you are on the field with Kizito," He went on, looking right at me now. "That's because he's the captain of the AF team and not you. At the end of the day, you still get to answer to him whether you like it or not because he's your captain.-

That's exactly the same way Tekena has no right exerting his disciplinary prefect privileges on this court. I'm the only one that has a right to punish a junior, no one else, not even him!" Sochima stabbed his finger in TK's direction while he still kept his eyes on me.

TK lunged forward to attack Sochima but I was quick enough to stop him, standing between them immediately.

"FÜCK YOU, GUY!" My friend spat out in undiluted hate, eyes blazing fierily in anger aimed at Sochima.

"See, you can decide to punish a junior outside this court," The kinky fro boy went on speaking, undeterred by TK's outburst. "Kill them if you want to, I don't give a flying jersey," He shrugged in nonchalance.

"But on this court, you answer to me whether you like it or not," His tone was firm, no-nonsense like. TK jerked against me but I held him back. "Your disciplinary prefect-ship is on a pause as soon as you walk in through that door," He nodded to the door. "If you have a problem with that rule, you can set up a meeting with Big Guy, it doesn't concern me."

"What concerns me, however, is you brutally punishing my teammates for no reason," He stated pointedly, making a move towards TK and I instinctively moved away from between them, still holding TK's forearm because he might jump this guy any second. He was seething, I could see it everywhere

But Sochima didn't look the least bit scared of TK.

"I'm not going to take it again, Tekena," He held TK's gaze as he spelled every word loud and clear. "If this happens one more time, then we're going to have a real problem,"

I gulped involuntarily

It didn't sound like he was threatening TK. No... it sounded a lot more like a Promise. A Promise he, Sochima Johnson, was so eager to fulfill.

"This bastard is threatening me sha," TK chuckled, but there was nothing amusing about that laugh because I could sense the fury that burned through his body in ripples.

"Call it whatever you like," Sochima shrugged, his tone holding dismissal as if to tell TK he was done talking to him. He turned to the kneeling junior.

"Get up," He gestured to him. "Take him to the health center to get him cleaned up."

That second instruction was meant for the juniors that were still standing around, spectating the exchange. They heeded in a flash, rushing to the guy to help him while Sochima bypassed TK, brushing past him with so much insignificantly, walking out of the court after announcing that training had ended.

I turned to TK, watching him shake on the spot with so much anger. I could tell he was angrier that he couldn't do anything to Sochima than he was angry about the guy undermining him in front of juniors.

I was ashamed myself, just stood there and did nothing while Sochima indirectly insulted and demeaned TK.

"TK," I called gently.

"I'm going to kill him," He growled out in return, hands vibrating furiously. I exhaled, carefully placing my hand on his quaking shoulder.

"Don't let him get to..." I started to say, but TK swerved suddenly, slapping my hands off his shoulder in a painful shove that had me veering back on impact.

"NO DEY TELL ME THAT KAIN THING, ABEG!" He thundered, his voice echoing through the now empty court. "DON'T TELL ME I SHOULDN'T LET HIM GET TO ME WHEN HE IS ALREADY UNDER MY SKIN! ABEG! ABEG!! ABEG!!!"

He snapped at me, stomping away from me to where his things were on one of the chairs. I followed him, subtly massaging the arm he had hit away aggressively.

"TK, chill," I called for him, trying to appease him. But he stopped what he was doing and abruptly turned to me, eyes flaming with anger.

Telling him to chill was a bad call.

"You are telling me to chill?!" He asked incredulously, like he couldn't believe what I was saying. "Are you seriously asking me to chill after seeing what he did to me! After he humiliated and demeaned me in front of juniors! Jidenna, are you fucking with me right now?" He was staring at me in utmost disbelief.

"You know that's not what I meant," I tried to clarify, trying to make my voice as calm as possible. "Sochima Johnson has a knack for pissing us off and you know that. Someone like that isn't supposed to get to you," I tried to explain.

"Oh, so that's why you didn't back me up bah?" He attacked, catching me off guard.

What?

"Jesus! TK, I had your back!" I countered immediately, knowing that by God, I tried my best to hit Sochima back the best way I could until he brought up the rules. "He brought up the rules in the sporting rule books. A rule you and I are very much familiar with as the truth. What was I supposed to say at that point?"

"FUCKING ROUGH HIM UP!" He yelled, his sudden ballistic snap startling me.

"YOU ARE THE HEAD BOY FOR FUCK SAKE, JIDENNA! YOU MAKE THE RULES, YOU CAN AS WELL BREAK THEM! CHRIST, GROW A FUCKING PAIR, WILL YOU!"

Wow!

I was dumbfounded to say the least. A wild rush of emotions swept through me in that instant, but the only one I could pinpoint was utmost shock.

Did Tekena just say that to me?

And it looked like he wasn't done yet.

"IT'S YOU AND DAWN THAT'S GIVING THAT STUPID BASTARD LIVER TO TALK TO ME ANYHOW!"

What the...

Now I was confused. How did Dawn's name come in?

"BECAUSE DAWN DECIDED TO LET HIM FÜCK HER, HE'S NOW FEELING HIMSELF BAH? HE FEELS HE'S ALL THAT, ABI?!"

He laughed hysterically like there was something funny about the statement he made. He was speaking more to himself as if he had completely forgotten I was standing right beside him. At this point, I was almost certain he had forgotten I was in the court with him.

I was aghast, staring at TK like he had lost his marbles because honestly, he was talking and acting like he has.

And it was freaky. Too Freaky.

"I'll deal with him,"

TK chanted to himself, his voice more controlled but still sipping with concentrated rage. Concerned, I moved closer to him, consciously reaching out to touch him, to remind him that I was still beside him.

But he seemed to not have forgotten like I thought he did because he caught my hand in a tight grip before they touched him, turning to me with his eyes still blazing. That action caused my breath to hang in my throat and a cold, unpleasant chill to run down my spine.

I tried to speak but couldn't.

"Don't fucking touch me,"

He sounded very angry with me, almost disappointed even, throwing my hand off. Without saying anymore, he grabbed his things and walked out of the court, leaving me standing there in the most confused, yet horrified state I've ever been in.

What the fück just happened?

I was trying to wrap my head around the events of the last minute, trying to make sense of TK's unfathomable anger, anger that was blazing enough to set the entire school ablaze if he had the chance. I tried to wrap my head around the way it all escalated, and how it seemed like everything was suddenly my fault.

But as much as I tried, I couldn't make sense of it. Couldn't make sense of the intensity of TK's anger. It wasn't just about what happened today. That anger was a pent-up one.

There was more, a lot more. But I didn't know where they came from.

Maybe I should have had his back more with Chima, instead of allowing the guy to talk to him anyhow in my presence. But then, what was I supposed to do that won't get me into trouble?

I tried my best. I did. But maybe my best wasn't enough.

The continuous vibration of my phone against my skin interrupted my thoughts and jerked me back to the present. I fished my phone out of the pocket of my joggers, putting it on to see the influx of messages on Whatsapp, especially on the class group chat. But out of all the messages, just one caught my eyes.

I quickly tapped on the chat, opening the DM.

Her🖤.

Heard you took quite the hit during your training. Are you okay? You should come and get your nose checked out in the health center. I'm waiting for you.

01:49 pm.

𝐀/𝐍

I want the kind of self-control Chima has because I don't think I'd be okay standing in the same space with a guy that harassed my girlfriend and not want to throw a punch! I WILL KILL YOU!

But he's so hot! Gosh🔥🥵. I don't think I can ever get over how hot Chima is. His hotness is not restricted to Dawn's POV, trust me 😌.

Jidenna can be so dense tho💀! I love that boy with all my heart and soul... and my bum bum, but he can be so stupid! See how TK legit washed him and he couldn't level the guy back! Ahn Ahn! Best Friends Isonu.

And that pettiness🤣. Jidenna will not kill me.

I apologize for the very short chapter. I know you are already used to my long chapters. Don't worry, this chapter is divided into two, so the second one will come... hopefully soon. There you'll see a full-on Jidela interaction 😌✨.

The way he saved her name tho🥺.

Till then, let's pray Jidenna learns how to use his head once in a while.

See you when I see you. Kisses 😘😚.