Dedicated to Benzita13 because she's a very supportive reader🤗

The weekends flew much to Ifechi's happiness. Monday morning came almost as if it was the day after Saturday.

Emmanuella greeted her first.

"Ify!!!!!!!"

She giggled in response. "Emmanuella hi"

"OMG Girl you are so awesome!"

"Ah ah, what did I do?"

"what did I do?" The head girl mimicked eyeing her playfully. "Be acting as if you did not break world record on Saturday"

She blinked twice before the realization hit her.

Oh

"How did you know?" Ifechi asked genuinely surprised. She had anticipated the look of admiration and perhaps shock on the faces of her classmates when the principal announced their victory on Saturday.

"Temi told me, she was so excited and the principal is going to announce it this morning anyway, Girl you're gonna be the talk of the school" she said dramatically as they ascended the stairs.

"Can I make a confession?"

She turned to her. "About what?"

Emmanuella let out a breathe "ok to be honest, I was kinda jealous at first"

"Jealous?"

"Yes, I mean if you didn't come in, it would have been me, Grace and Temi"

"Oh"

"I had actually been anticipating this year's competition since August break, I even started taking extra lessons"

Ifechi couldn't help but feel bad but Ella's sullen look vanished in a wink and revealed white teeth.

"Well I'm glad I didn't! I mean, look at you, you scored 100 in the tests of one of the strictest teachers, I couldn't have beat those maths whiz if it were me that went"

"Oh come on, don't look down on yourself"

"Hey I'm just being honest"

They hurried to the assembly minutes later with Emmanuella avoiding her duty post so she could hang out with Ifechi and "cheer" her on when they went to receive the award. She gloomily went to the hall gate where a sea of latecomers were being punished some minutes later.

"Why was our head girl clinging to you like house fly?" Dami snorted as soon as she left. Ifechi tossed her head back in laughter.

The assembly prefect came on stage and led the chorus.

Ifechi's heart tensed up when Mr Powers stepped on the podium.

It was time.

Even if his smiling face did not give anything away, the giant gold trophy that was placed on the high table by two prefects spoke tons. Loud murmurs soon filled the hall.

"Good morning staff and students."

"Good morning Principal Powers"

"It gladdens me this morning, to share a wonderful news with the rest of the school. Our students have made us proud once again. Three of our students represented us in the intra state maths competition on Saturday and obviously, as you can see from the brilliant trophy, the claimed the first position."

The crowd erupted in cheers and applauses.

"Before I call these three wonderful students, allow me to highlight that this is the first time that D.C.A is relieving the gold trophy from our earnest competitors, Royal College, and it is all thanks to a particular brilliant girl"

Her classmates began to turn back in her direction. She wondered if Temi had told everyone. She tried to mask the look of pride that flew through her veins but an intense stare by the girl in front at something behind her caused her to turn too. She was met with Grace who sat pretty confident glancing through her purple watch and that was when she knew that it wasn't her who was receiving the acknowledging stares.

She felt a pang of hurt.

"Please give a deafening round of applause for Temiola Angel Adelaide, Grace Williams and Ifechi Stephanie Okereke"

Her world felt illuminated and for a moment she decided to bask in that joy from her seat until she saw Grace walking towards the stage.

She hurried after her and soon she was standing behind a shy Temi. She wondered if the goosebumps on her skin was from the standing AC or her excitement.

"Congratulations, the three of you, you have represented D champions academy well."

He handed them their medals and three envelopes.

"We also wish to recognise an exceptionally outstanding performance of one of our three champions. A girl who joined us just two months ago and she is already doing great things. Ifechi Okereke, the entire school honours you today, we are are proud of you"

The hall was silent for a second. Then a girl screamed, followed by a clap and two more claps and soon, the whole hall was clapping and the sound was like thunder hitting the roof.

She couldn't keep her cheeks from smiling even if she wanted to. This felt so good to be true. This was heaven.

~

"I told you that you'll become famous" Emmanuella told her later that morning, after Ifechi had been greeted and waved at by yet another junior student.

"Senior Ifechi, I like your hair" an SS1 student told her as she strolled casually returning from the canteen, her snacks in her hand.

She paused at first, and then the girl hopped off cheerfully, happy after Ifechi,with an uncertain smile, had replied 'Thank you'. There was nothing special about her hair, Ifechi knew this. It was just cornrows, no styling, no gel, just plain cornrows. It was even a week old.

Emmanuella had told her to get used to it because she was surely going to receive lots of compliment now that she was very popular.

But she wasn't sure she wanted to be popular, not if it meant being looked at everywhere she went.

Over the week, she started to gain even more popularity. Junior students greeting her as she passed, classmates waving and nodding at her, boys and even some junior girls offering to carry her school bag.

The attention from the male species was more irking than flattering.

Most of her set's guys were perverts, and she would have known earlier if she wasn't invisible. Someone once called out "dayumm... girl why you hiding that booty in dem ugly long ass skirt."

It was Gabriel from class C. A tall, dark hottie with a horribly fake American accent. He was one of the school's 'male ashawos' as Anita had called him and he had been shamelessly ogling her back side.

When their eyes met and she gave him a stern look, his nasty response was to lick his lips in mocking satisfaction and wink at her.

Ew

But there was one person she didn't mind his advances.

"Wifey!"

She turned. He had started to call her that now.

"Who is your wife?" She snickered at his new nickname. As much as she hated to admit it, she actually liked the nickname or better liked the person who gave it to her.

Damien scooped her hand in his. "I've been looking for you na...how is her highness and my future queen doing?"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine"

"Just fine? That's not good enough"

"Why? does his majesty have anything in mind on how to make thy queen better?" She replied with a fake bow. She had started to partake in his references.

He smiled at her, full smile with his teeth on display as he often did and all of a sudden she couldn't keep her eyes on his face so she tore them away and focused on the tree in front.

"Where are you going to now?"

"Physics lab"

"Why, isn't it a free period?"

"I know, I'm going to read"

"Oshey Einstein!!" He raised his hands in mock salute "I've becomes so blinded by your beauty that I sometimes forget what a nerd you are"

She rolled her eyes trying to ignore the heat creeping up her cheeks from his compliment.

"Get out joorh"

"get out joorh!" He mimicked her and laughed. "Come let's go" he said and started to pull her in the opposite direction, back to the class building.

"Where are you taking me to?"

"My class"

"Why?"

"I want you to meet my friends"

"Oh"

She was shocked to say the least. Sure she knew some of the people he hung out with but an official introduction like this meant something didn't it?

They arrived at his class which was in an uproar. The third arm was known to be the noisest. Most of the 'razz' people were in that class.

"D-man!" one of his classmates hailed as soon as they were noticed.

"U no see e boo by his side... forgive me our Maths Queen, you are welcome to our humble class" another of his classmate said to her, making her giggle at his funny gesture.

His classmates were not that bad. She'd only been there twice before. The guys were chill, some though. She heaved a sigh of relief when she didn't see Gabriel in the class.

The girls were not as welcoming as the boys. Though not hostile, they acted rather indifferent towards her. Some of them returned her acknowledgements, some did not, most did not.

"Guys pls meet my maths queen" Damien said once they were at his corner, the last row by the wall, where the 'cool' guys rolled. His four friends turned. Ifechi's was surprised when she saw one of them, but she did her best to mask the look of recognition that flashed her eyes.

"D-man! This your babe fine o, you no go introduce us", a chocolate skinned boy was the first to speak after they had all exchanged bro handshakes.

"Goat, you no see as na wetin I wan do" He retorted, then he turned. "Ifechi meet my friends, my friends Ifechi"

He motioned with his hands between they and she.

"Ah ah, D-man na so dem dey introduce person"

"Don't mind him, e no wan make the girl see us, maybe e dey fear say we go steal am"

Damien ignored them and turned to her "this is Charles" he pointed to the chocolate skinned guy that had spoken.

Charles extended a hand "nice to meet you mi lady, I finally get to behold the famous Math queen"

She giggled in response "nice to meet you too"

"I actually didn't expect you to be this fine o, you're gorgeous"

"Haha, thanks"

The fair boy beside her cleared his throat and Charles raised his hands "I no do o, I no dey follow her talk again", he turned to Ifechi "don't mind him, he's too jealous for his own good" he said causing her to laugh. Damien motioned to the next person, but the guy quickly cut him off.

"I can introduce myself bro..." He turned to Ifechi

"My name is Korede, Kods for short. I've seen you before" he said and Ifechi nodded having remembered the face. The chill guy who sat calmly beside her on the day they wrote the maths mid term exam. With his thinly framed glasses and cool demeanor, she felt he was brilliant. She wondered what he scored on the test.

She smiled "yes we were exam neighbors on maths day"

His eyes lit in recognition "oh, it's you, cool cool" he smiled in approval.

"This is Thomas, as his name implies, he likes doubting. He didn't believe me when I told them that it's my babe that was receiving gold trophy on that stage on Monday" Damien said refering to the last guy who stared at her weirdly the whole time. Finally he replied;

"I had to be certain, it's not everyday you find a girl who is an extremist in both beauty and brains. Asides Williams, its rare in this school.... it's a pleasure to meet you" he spoke with a low deep voice and it took Ifechi some seconds to fully comprehend what he had said.

Choosing to ignore the subtle jab at the female population of their school, she replied "Nice to meet you too"

Facing the last person of the group, she exhaled softly just as Damien was about to introduce her to someone she already knew.

"P.G!" He hailed the guy comfortably seated with his back pressed against the wall, a leg on the chair in front of him.

"Wassup" the darker boy replied before his eyes finally met Ifechi and Damien butted in "Pedro this is Ifechi, Ifechi, Pedro"

She forced herself to look him in the eye and they remained like that, boring holes into each other, both refusing to say a word until his eyes squinted and he said.

"Wait! Are you in my class?"

Ifechi was quick to scoff "you're joking right?"

His confused expression seemed too sudden to be fake.

"We are literally seat neighbors!" she nearly said taking them all by surprise including himself.

"Oh" he said when the realisation hit him. Ifechi rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"You're seriously going to pretend like you've never seen me before?"

His response was a shrug "You hadn't done anything remarkable to make you as famous as you think you are"

Ifechi shifted on one feet. The tension in the air was unmistakable. Fuming within her, she suddenly wished she had not agreed to come to his class.

Throwing one last look at the smug guy and his calm tone that infuriated her even more, she dropped her hands.

"I'm going to physics lab"

Luckily, Damien didn't object.

"Okay okay, em..lemme escort you" he said and made signals to his friends which she could neither comprehend, nor care for.

When they were outside, she told him.

"I like your friends, they're cool"

He smiled "Even P.G?" He asked with a cheesy smile.

"He will just be pretending, I wonder who he thinks he is" She hissed to Damien's amusement.

"You're laughing?"

"You look even cuter when you're angry"

Ah ah..

She looked away to prevent herself from smiling too much.

"Whatever"

Chapter done
Pls vote and comment
God bless you 😌❣️