Life Of Jiji

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©2021 Tena Ifiemi

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antidote - nao & adekunle gold ♪

sweet creature - harry styles ♪

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ТHΞ ΛUÐłТФЯłUM ŁФФКS ΛMΛZłЛG, the decoration team really outdid themselves on this one. There were white and gold balloons at different corners and the chairs were arranged in a more stylish pattern, far from usual. Just like everyone else, I was dressed in white and had a red flower tied to my wrist. The red flower was a girl thing, by the way.

I came in with Ayo. Khadi wasn't here and neither was her incarnate, Hadiza, thank God. I scanned the place, looking for a place to sit, we had spent a lot of time getting here and so the place was quite full. Sighing, when I noticed that it was just the front row left at the Year 11 seating area, Ayo and I made for it. We passed Mide on our way and he smiled at us waving.

"I like your dress." He says.

"Thanks." That's when I notice Damian sitting beside him. He had his back to me at first but unfortunately, before I could make a run for it, he turned and it was as if he willed me to stay still.

He looked good tonight, unlike most boys who came in casual shirts and tees, Damian was actually wearing a dress shirt. The top four buttons were undone and I could even see a hint of the singlet he was wearing underneath, as well as the single gold chain resting just atop it. I swallowed, not able to resist thinking about the fact that I've laid on that chest.

Then just when I think that I might say something, Damian turned away and as though my heart was being held up in the air all this time, I felt it plummet down into my stomach. That's when I began to notice every other thing around me again, from the sorry look on Mide's face to Ayo telling me that we should go.

Was he still angry then? Was he really never going to speak to me again? How do I feel about that?

"Welcome to this year's Carol night!" The Chapel Prefect said into the mic and that seemed to be everyone's cue to shut up. The place was literally, pin drop silent until the boy Chapel Prefect took the mic from Chidera and laughed,

"Chidera, oh my God are you really that scary?"

Chidera, who was also the Chapel Prefect as well as Amarachi's sister, jokingly slapped her partner on his shoulder before taking the mic from him.

"May we rise for the opening prayer."

Everyone stood and then she called one boy from Year 8 to do the honours. After that we sat down again and moved straight to the order of events. There were lots of amazing presentations. There was an actual drama about the birth if Jesus which was set in actual Bible times, unlike the rip off Mr Zaki wants us to do for parents tomorrow.

There was even a pair, where the girl sang while the boy played the violin. It was so beautiful, some people cried. A lot of people, who I never even imagined singing really shocked me but not as much as Chisom. She came on stage saying she wanted to do a mash up of Christmas songs. She was wearing a really nice dress, it was short and flare but Chisom being Chisom decided that she would not wear white like everyone else so she wore gold.

Sidelining how I felt about the girl, I acknowledged the fact that she had a nice voice. Although she was the only one singing, there were two chairs on stage. She started with 'O come, o ye faithful' and as she was bringing the song to an end, she walked down the stage and made for the audience. The same time she switched to 'little drummer boy' she was directly in front of Damian and when she grabbed his hand and pulled him up, with the way I jerked forward, you'd think it was me she had pulled. Ayo placed her hand on mine and I noticed I was gripping the edge of my seat.

Damian looked shocked, but he laughed casually and ran his fingers through his hair as Chisom pulled him towards the stage. Someone threw him a mic and although he didn't start right away, Damian began to sing and it was surprising how amazing he sounded. Until I noticed the way him and Chisom were seated facing each other and the way it looked like they were singing to each other. Chisom, leaning forward with her cleavage in display directly in front of him.

Then he got up from the chair and began 'Mary did you know?'. The way he was flowing with the whole thing, it was hard to believe that him and Chisom really didn't plan it together. When Chisom got up and placed a hand on his shoulder was when I decided I really couldn't watch anymore. I leaned into the chair and picked up the novel Ayo brought with her. I was still randomly flipping through it when Ayo began to tap me,

"He's looking this way."

"What?"

"It's you. He's looking at you."

I sat up to see Damian's eyes indeed on me. He was singing, 'All I Want For Christmas Is You'.

"You're being absurd."

"You're being absurd. What's up with both of you anyway?" She asked, just as she and the other girls have been asking for days now.

"Forget about it." I said and picked up the book again.

This boy is confusing me.

"Alright, that's all for today!" The guy Chapel Prefect says when Damian and Chisom's presentation came to an end.

"Yeah, thank you everyone who presented and the wonderful audience as well. As you all know, this would be my last Carol in this school and I enjoyed it, thank you!" Chidera expressed and everyone cheered.

"And now, it's time for the fireworks display!" Her very enthusiastic partner, shouted into the mic and the cheering got even louder.

"Fireworks?"

"Yes, don't tell me you're afraid." Ayo laughed.

I smiled, "I'm actually quite excited."

"Good," she stood up, pulling me up with her, "Let's go and get a good spot."

Ayo was wearing a palazzo jumpsuit that swished as she walked in comparison to my stiff short dress. We followed the crowd as everybody ran outside, the hostel staff and prefects trying their best to maintain order. I sighted Mercy, Tolani and Katherine and pulled Ayo with me to go and stand with them.

"Ejiro! Ayo!" Mercy hollered as we started towards them. She had a big smile on her face as well as every other person, me included; I couldn't help it.

Thinking I sighted Mide, I turned to wave at him, my surprising burst of happiness taking over. He waved back and that's when I saw Amarachi beside him, absentmindedly holding his arm tightly to herself. I gave him a sly smile and tilted my head towards Amarachi. Although I couldn't see him clearly from the distance, the slightest ducking of his head was enough to tell me that he was blushing.

It took a while to realize that almost everyone was standing in pairs... and I don't mean same gender. I even caught Ayo looking around for Kene. Speaking of which, I did finally get ballsy enough to ask Ayo about what Kene said. She admitted that they both had a weird relationship.

According to her, she once misunderstood something and was so blinded by rage that she went ahead to make out with someone else just to spite him. She said things had gone on like that for some time but that him cheating on her with Chisom finally made her realize that what they were both doing wasn't right and that it was time for them both to move on.

Ayo could get so serious when she's talking, I was afraid she was about to break up with me at some point of the discussion. Anyway, I really hope she gets over him soon, all this is taking a very obvious toll on her. God, relationships are scary!

Speaking of which, I still haven't seen Damian. We're vacating tomorrow and according to Khadi, if we don't end whatever this silence is in person, there's no way it's going to happen over the phone or text. So, like three weeks more? I sighed, accepting the caprisonne they were passing round as part of the refreshments. I had already eaten the cake they had shared first. It was chocolate and really good, not as good as my mom's but fair enough.

•••

The next day I woke up feeling very tensed.

"Ejiro what's wrong with you? Where is this coming from?" Khadi demanded.

"I can't do it. I can't... What if... What if something happens? I might fall of the stage!"

"You better get over this rubbish in the next two seconds—"

"Khadijah shut up!" Ayo shouted at her and Khadi huffed, raising her hands in the air as she walked away.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked. Mercy shrugged and Tolani said she didn't know.

"She's right though, you have to pull yourself together." Ayo addressed seriously, "You're playing Mary! Mr Zaki would kill you if you eff this up."

"I know, I know. I'm just tensed, I'm sure I'll get over it."

The whole morning went by quickly until I got on stage and it seemed like I was going to grow old and die there. The drama was longer than I remembered and it didn't help that I had to see Damian at such close proximity since he was the MC. I searched in vain amongst the audience for my mom until Mr Zaki shot me an annoyed glare that made me realize I was being obvious.

It would hurt if my mom couldn't make it on time; I kinda really wanted her to see me doing something for once. Granted, I didn't really inform her prior to this day, but I did tell her to come early because I wanted to surprise her. The play being the surprise, by the way.

When the play was over and we took our bow, I rushed backstage and hurried out of my costume in the female changing room. I heard one of my classmates taunt me for being the only one to actually make use of the stalls to change when all the girls just changed in the free space but as usual I just shook my head, ignoring them.

When I got out, Reya was there waiting for me, she went on to tell me that Mom couldn't make it because she had to go to US for a funeral. It was so shocking and unusual that I didn't take her seriously until she said that Dad came to pick us up.

"Dad...?" I decided it was best not to mention that I didn't believe that Dad would be here even if he had to.

"Yeah. He's being quite impatient, so we'd better get going." She said, her eyes darting to the large tote bag on my shoulder before turning, wordlessly commanding me to follow her.

"Um... Well.." I started, not knowing how I was going to say what I wanted to say.

"What?" Reya wanted to know. We were out of the hall already and making our way to the parking lot.

"I wanted to talk to someone before we go." I said, hoping my resolve was not dying already. I had made up my mind upstage after I caught myself looking at him regretfully one too many times.

Reya raised a brow but it was quickly replaced with a weird look which involved her eyes widening and then finally she just smirked, "And who could that be?"

"Jiji." I spun around immediately the name left his mouth and vibrated through the air. I almost couldn't believe he was standing behind me, or in front of me, rather since I had turned.

"Oh my God, he's even calling you Jiji now!" Reya cooed before skipping away.

"Ejiro." Damian scratched his head, "Now that I'm here, I don't know what to say." He laughed nervously.

"Well, me neither..."

"But I heard you tell your sister that you had to talk to someone. Who was it?"

I shot him an unimpressed look, "You know it's you, do you have to ask? I couldn't help thinking that if we didn't end this now, we'd have to wait about three more weeks before we talked again and ah... well..."

Damian looked amused, "I have your contact though, and you have mine."

"Yeah, but Khadi said that if we didn't make up in person, we won't do it over phone."

"Khadijah, of course." Damian muttered under his breath and I tilted my head in confusion. "So, is this us making up?"

"Look, Damian, I'm sorry about that night. I didn't—"

"No." He cut me off, looking a bit annoyed, "Don't apologize just because you didn't give the the reaction I wished for. You are entitled to your own feelings and I don't want you to feel forced to say anything." He seemed calmer when he added, "I was being a big baby over the whole thing and I'm sorry."

I let out a strangled cough, "Damian..."

"Yeah?" He asked when I didn't continue. But I couldn't continue instead, I let my resolve break and tried to escape. I told him that we'd chat later on WhatsApp when I get home and then I left to find my Dad and Reya.

Although I had come to terms with how I felt about Damian, I wasn't ready to let him know that I liked him.

Much more than as just friends...

My Dad looked angry when he saw me and I did a double take when he opened his mouth to speak. You see, I was used to my dad looking at me with indifference but for some reason, him angry just scared me. It's like I've reduced myself even more in his eyes. We boarded a pre-booked flight immediately we left school to the airport. Dad and Reya sat side by side while I sat alone with some random stranger. I didn't even get the window seat!

I couldn't help thinking that me and mom always sat together when we were travelling. The flight didn't take long, it wasn't even up to an hour, thankfully and we were in Port Harcourt before I knew it. It was already evening, though and I was hungry and tired when we landed and that's when I remembered that due to how tense I was this morning, I didn't even have breakfast.

Luckily, before I could stress about how to go about it, Reya complained to my dad and minutes later I was sitting at a restaurant table with my dad while Reya went to the counter to place our orders. When she was gone for some minutes, and I had been suffering in very awkward silence, Dad surprisingly leaned forward into his chair making eye contact.

"How are you?" He asked me and I felt my heart rate increase as I looked around stupidly, checking if perhaps he was talking to someone else.

"Fine." I finally replied.

"I saw you talking to that boy in your school." He started and I might have not told you this before but my Dad speaks in this very low tone. The chilling type that makes it feel like you're being threatened.

Not to make him sound scary or anything! Maybe it's just me that feels this way.

"Oh, um... That was my classmate."

"Of course." He paused, his eyes momentarily darting to his phone screen. "Do you know why you've always gone to an 'all girls' school before now?"

I didn't reply.

"Because I don't trust you around boys. Personally, I'd prefer to keep you away from the male specie entirely. So please, can you eliminate anything that has been going on in your mind concerning that boy? I'd hate for him to find out our secret." He finished, and with the exact same tone with which he had started.

My hands where at the sides of my chair by now, gripping the life out of the metal frame while my heart struggled in its cage. I wanted to cry.

"I'm sure we have an understanding, Ejiro."

I nodded swiftly like I'd been waiting for him to speak. He was right though, it would be a mess if Damian ever found out. Dad was just trying to protect me from the heartbreak that will surely ensue if Damian knew about my dirty past. He would want nothing to do with me. My lip quivered and I knew that no matter how hard I bit my lip and took deep breaths, I really needed to let this one out.

"I need to use the bathroom." I croaked before noisily pushing my chair backwards.

It was frustrating trying to stop the tears; they just kept coming. Finally, I gave in and placed my hand on the sink and my shoulders shook as I let everything out. When I calmed down and started to think again, I realized that anyone could walk in and I really didn't want anyone to see me like this. Opening the tap, I put my hands under the water and that itself distracted me for like two minutes before I finally began to wash my face.

Dabbing my face with paper towels, I hoped I looked quite normal as I kept my head down and made my way to our table. Dad and Reya had already started eating and I saw him laugh as she said something to him. They hadn't noticed me yet and I couldn't help remembering that the last time my dad smiled at something I said had to be like six years ago.

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I'd like to ask a question.

What did you think about getting to read Damian's POV in the previous chapter. It was quite unexpected, even for me, lol.

And no, I don't think you might be seeing it again except maybe I decide to be generous or something or add it as a bonus. It was never in the initial plan after all.

Anyway, thank you for 2.03k reads and,

곧 뵙겠습니다 !

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