Barka de Sallah to all Muslims ❣️❤️. Couldn't update yesterday because of preparations so I'm posting today to make up for it 😌. Hope you like it ☺️.

Dedicated to simply_mhee

Chapter Ten

CYNTHIA

We get to the cafeteria and I immediately notice that John is already seated at our usual table, eating his lunch.

I should probably tell him now before I change my mind.

Grace who has now left me behind realises that I'm no longer beside her and calls out.

"Girlfriend, why are you just standing there? Lunch will be over soon, come over to get your food."

"Get me snacks to take away." I respond to her then begin to approach John.

As I walk towards John, my head on its own accord decides to glance at Michael and his friend's table and I'm surprised to see that he isn't with them.

I find myself smirking. He's probably too embarrassed to face his friends.

Serves him right.

I continue to walk to our table until I finally get to John. He raises his head up to look at me and a smile immediately lightens his face.

I start to return his smile subconsciously but that's until he speaks.

"I thought you were avoiding me, that's why I didn't bother waiting with you in front of Grace's class."

Oh, shit. He knows.

"I was going to leave you with no choice when we close though but I guess you weren't even avoiding me after all." He adds.

I was avoiding you, alright. But not anymore.

"Let's talk." I tell him.

He looks surprised at my statement but his surprised expression soon changes into a happy one and he grins, looking excited.

"Sure." He replies immediately. "When do you-

The bell announcing the end of lunch rings just then and he groans.

"Let's just talk after school closes like you planned." I say, smiling at his eagerness.

"Alright." He replies but not as enthusiastic as before and I can't help chuckling lightly.

"Babe, I got you your snacks." Grace announces and I discover that she's now next to me. "And we should probably leave the cafeteria before the teachers come and try to punish us." She states before turning to John. "Are you not done with your food?"

"I am. Let me just drop the plate where the dishes are done and we will leave." He answers, standing up.

He comes back to meet us at the entrance of the cafeteria and the three of us walk back to the classroom together. Thankfully, Grace's constant babbling keeps me from having to contribute to whatever it is they are discussing but I couldn't stop thinking about how I'm to tell him what I want to.

And how he is going to react to it.

***

MICHAEL

The door to the classroom opens few minutes after the bell for lunchover rings and the guys step into the classroom, all three of them sauntering in.

"...but seriously, that girl is pretty." Femi is saying to Wole who doesn't look really interested in what he is talking about. Femi is also the first one who notices me and he immediately hoots, raising his hands in mock respect, "Oyaaaa, master planner. How did the first step of your plan go?" He asks as he walks towards me, the rest of them following behind him quietly.

Of course, I ignore his question and say nothing in response. I bet he doesn't know that I'm currently brooding, still in anger from the humiliation I had gone through again at the hands of that girl.

God, that girl.

"Did the plan fail ni?" Femi leans towards me and asks in a low voice, his voice sounding like he is planning a conspiracy with me.

"What was even the plan in the first place?" I identify the voice asking as Wole's this time around but I still say nothing.

How do I explain to them that I had planned to win her over by apologizing to her and that she had rejected my apology without thinking twice?

Knowing how they are, they will probably tease me about it whenever they get the chance. Imagining Peter's smug look after finding out is enough to rile me up again and to make me want to keep it buried inside.

"Whatever his plan is probably failed and that's why he is in a gloomy mood." Peter states as he flips through a book nonchalantly. He is the only one seated on his seat while Wole and Femi are standing in front of me, both of them looking confusedly from Peter to me.

"Michael, tell us what really happened na." Femi demands exasperatedly and even Wole nods in agreement, curiosity written all over both their faces.

The door to the classroom opens again and I let out a breath of relief, glad that the teacher for the next class has arrived and I will be safe from the guys' questions. But that sense of relief doesn't last long when I realize that the person who enters the classroom is no teacher.

A very pissed looking Dorcas glances around the class until her eyes fall on me and she instantly begins to take wide strides toward me.

The fact that I'm still alive and staring back at her is a miracle because the murderous glare she's giving me is enough to make me drop dead on the chair.

"Who called this witch here now?" I hear Femi mutter irritably under his breath and I find myself wondering the same.

Why is she here? And why does she look so angry?

But knowing the kind of person she is, it is probably something insignificant that had gotten her annoyed.

She comes in between Femi and Wole, roughly pushing both of them aside to stand directly in front of me.

"See, Dorcas they don't use to push me anyhow o." Femi grumbles with a scowl but there is no indication that he is heard by Dorcas whose gaze is solely on me. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Wole roll his eyes at her and go to take his seat - the one next to me - saying nothing. He only seems interested in knowing what is happening.

"Dorcas, why-" I start to ask but she raises a palm up and I immediately fall silent.

She closes her eyes like she is remembering something painful but when she opens her eyes, she looks considerably calmer.

"Michael, I just want you to give me answers to whatever questions I ask you because I refuse to believe what that stupid orphan girl had told me."

I furrow my brows in confusion at her words, knowing that she's referring to Cynthia as the orphan girl but not quite understanding why she needs my answers to questions concerning her.

Unless...

My eyes widen when I realize what she must be referring to and I start to feel anxious. I do not want the guys to find out about what had happened this way.

I hurriedly stand from my seat and give her a pleading look, "Dorcas, let's talk outside please."

I say with a note of urgency but she shakes her head almost immediately.

"No!" She shouts. "I want my answers here and now."

"Dorcas, please-

"Is it true that you apologized to that foolish girl? The same one that slapped you in the cafeteria yesterday? The same one that embarrassed you by saying you were not her type?" She asks, interrupting my plea and giving me a 'you-had-better-not-lie-to-me' look.

I groan, slumping helplessly on my chair and realizing that the whole class has fallen silent at her question, even Peter's constant page flips can no longer be heard.

Femi gazes incredulously at me and Wole looks like he can't comprehend her question.

This is exactly what I was trying to avoid.

"Michael, what is she saying?"

"Was that the master plan?"

Femi and Wole both ask at the same time with disbelief and I bury my head into my palm, wishing I had the power to disappear from the class and appear in my room where I can curl beneath my bed sheets and there will be no probing eyes looking at me like they are right now.

If only she had not rejected my apology. If only everything had gone as planned, I won't find myself in this tight situation.

Damn you, Cynthia William. Damn you!

Dorcas removes my hands from my face and tips my head up so I'm staring at her. With the way she is looking at me right now, I know it's probably only a matter of time before she explodes.

"Michael, answer my question. Did you apologize to that ugly thing?" She asks, her eyes daring me to actually say yes.

Fuck it. I've had enough of this shit.

I hold her gaze, "Yeah, I did. So?"

Her eyes widen at my response and she takes a step back, giving me a look that is a mixture of astonishment and despair.

"You really did." She murmurs quietly to herself and closes her eyes resignedly, looking very dejected.

Why is she acting like she always does when I remind her that we can't actually be a couple?

"Michael, so you went to apologize to her? Your plan was to apologize to her?" Femi asks with amazement and I heave out a sigh, hating how they all look so surprised.

Wole looks utterly speechless and isn't even looking at me and Peter is watching Dorcas intently, a blank expression on his face.

"What happened after that?" Femi questions again and I turn my attention to him. He looks very interested in knowing the answer and he is only going to get disappointed.

"Nothing." I shrug indifferently, trying to play it out as nothing serious when in fact there are lots of emotions in me fighting to come to the surface. "She rejected my apology."

"What?!"

"Wow."

Femi and Wole respond together once again and this time they both exchange looks.

"Exactly!" Dorcas screams unexpectedly and we all turn to look at her. That's when I notice that she's crying. "You apologized to her and she even rejected it. You made a fool out of me."

What's she saying?

"I was the one who was humiliated, Dorcas, not you." I say, not understanding how she is suddenly the victim.

"No, I was humiliated and it was all because of your actions. I approached her as your girlfriend-" She starts to say and I exhale loudly, using two of my fingers to rub at my temple. I'm beginning to feel a headache.

"Dorcas, I already told you that we aren't actually a couple."

"That's beside the point, Michael." She responds sternly, almost coldly like she doesn't want to be reminded of that. "Everyone thinks we are one so I decided to act the role of your girlfriend but I didn't know I was only going to make a fool of myself."

She wipes the tears that roll down her cheeks angrily and continues, "I told her to apologize to you and to never cross paths with you but she made me realize that you already apologized instead."

"I don't get why-

She doesn't allow me finish before she yells in my face, "She embarrassed me in front of those students, Michael! She humiliated me! Disgraced me!"

Well, welcome to the club.

"But you know what hurts?" She asks in a low voice, her voice cracking in between. It's a complete opposite to how she was screaming just now. "The fact that you apologized to her in the first place."

So this is where she was heading to. I should have known.

"I caught you in bed with another girl, Michael and you never said you were sorry." She adds sadly, the tears flowing freely on her face now. She looks so sad and heartbroken that I actually begin to feel bad.

"I explained it was a mistake." I defend and she scoffs, wiping the tears from her face again.

But I was saying the truth, it was really a mistake. I had met the girl in a bar and she had slipped a drug in my drink. Till now, I can only hazily remember Dorcas barging into my room and storming off few moments later. By the time the effect of the drug had worn off, I discovered that my watch and wallet had gone missing along with the girl.

"I didn't want your silly excuses in form of an explanation. I had only wanted an apology but you never gave me one." She says then bursts into a humorless laughter. "But it was easy for you to say those words to someone who had slapped you."

"Dorcas, you don't understand. I did that because-

She raises a palm up again, cutting my sentence short again, "I don't want to know why you did that and honestly, I don't care."

"Then what do you want?" I ask, feeling totally helpless. I've never seen Dorcas act like this in the two years we had started whatever relationship it is we have between us and I don't even know what to do.

"I want an apology." She says and I freeze on my seat.

No, not that. Anything but that.

"You can't?" She asks disappointingly, probably sensing my reluctance.

"Dorcas..." I trail off, feeling like I should say something to appease her but nothing comes to mind.

"Fuck you, Michael!" She raises both her middle finger at me. "I hate you! I fucking hate you!" She screams, her voice resonating in the classroom and then she leaves, almost running into the teacher whose class we are having next.

Femi who is still standing walks to his seat in a daze after realizing the presence of the teacher and whatever it is that anyone of us has to say - which I'm sure is a lot especially from Femi and Wole could no longer be said - because of the teacher that is now in class.

The teacher herself must have sensed that there is something wrong as she doesn't announce herself and greets us like she always does. She only writes the topic on the board and begins to teach.

And as the lesson progresses, there is only one thing on my mind.

Cynthia Williams.

She had caused everything that happened today and I'll make sure she pays dearly for it.

***

CYNTHIA

The bell for closing finally rings and I pack my books into my bags, ready to get out of the class any moment. I glance at John and sure enough, he is looking at me, a smile appearing on his face as soon as our eyes meet. He signals for me to wait and I nod, he then immediately packs his books into his bag and walks towards me.

There's no running anymore. We are going to talk it out now and I'm going to tell him what I really feel.

"Hi." He greets with a small smile as soon as he gets to me, scratching the back of his neck and looking totally clueless.

I smile at how cute he is suddenly acting, "Hi." I respond and we both stay like that, smiling at each other. He then glances around the classroom and I do so too, noticing that only few people are making attempts to leave the classroom.

"I don't think we can talk here." He states and I nod in agreement. He then holds my hand and starts to pull me out of the class, "I know somewhere we can talk." 

I follow him out of the classroom without arguing and I immediately notice that we are heading to the empty classroom that is just down the corridor.

It is a class that is used to keep extra chairs and desks and also students that are not interested in listening to lessons. It is also a much known make-out venue amongst students and I'm sure anyone who sees us going to that class might have some misconception. But he doesn't seem to care. He closes the door and I quickly scan the class to see if there are any students in it. Thankfully, the class is empty.

He leaves my hand and comes to stand in front of me, his attention focused solely on me and I'm immediately enveloped by the scent of his cologne, a fruit-punch smell that I've come to love a lot.

The same one I had perceived on the leather jacket and had convinced me he was really the one that had rescued me that night.

"You said we are going to talk." He says and I can only nod. My voice seems to have disappeared, the confidence with which I had told him that I wanted to talk to him clearly gone.

I really hope I'm about to do the right thing.

"Fine, I'll make this easy for you. Last term, I had confessed to you and asked you to go out with me but I had failed to ask one important question." He announces, gaining my attention. 

What's the important question?

"Do you like me?" He asks and my eyes widen at the question, quite taken aback. I really wasn't expecting that question.

'Then what were you expecting? That he just asks you to be his girlfriend without knowing how you feel about him?'  My subconscious mocks and I ignore it, swallowing loudly.

I stare at the ground, unable to look at his face. I'm not comfortable with the intensity with which he is looking at me.

So I think about the question.

Do I like him? Yes.

Do I want to be in a relationship with him? No.

Why? Because I don't think he is my soulmate.

I know that reason doesn't really sound plausible and as simple as it sounds, it is also complicated and I don't think he is going to understand. But my mind also goes to the discussion I had with Grace and the conclusion I reached, it shouldn't  be so hard.

I stop staring at the ground and look at him deciding the least I can do is to be honest with him, especially when he is looking at me like I'm the most important thing to him in the world.

"I like you". I tell him, not beating around the bush and for a moment, he looks surprised by my answer. That reaction doesn't last long as a grin soon materializes on his face but he still looks speechless.

"I- I wasn't expecting you to tell me just like that." He says, still smiling and I raise an eyebrow in question, wondering what he means as I watch him with amusement. "I knew you like me but I thought I would have to seduce the confession out of you." He confesses almost shyly and I hide a smile.

"Really? Then maybe I shouldn't have replied quickly so you could carry out your plan." I blurt out without thinking and then press my lips tightly together, realizing what had just escaped them.

God, I can't believe I just said that.

He also looks surprised by my outburst, blinking once then twice like he is at loss of what to say.

Well, he started it.

He moves closer to me after the surprise wears off, a witty smile on his face, "I can still seduce the next answer to my question out of you though." He says and I chuckle, slightly pushing him back but he doesn't move and instead he holds my arms on his chest, preventing them from falling back to my side.

I smile teasingly at him, trying not to think too much of our close proximity, "I don't even know the question. Who knows? You might not really have to seduce the answer out of me again."

His face suddenly grows serious and my smile slowly disappears as I realize what his next question probably is.

I stifle a sigh, knowing it's inevitable. I have been expecting the question already and he deserves an answer.

He removes his hand from one of mine and caresses my face, "Cynthia, you don't know how happy you've made me by liking me in return. Because I like you very much, Cynthia. You probably have no idea on how much I really like you." He begins quietly and I can feel my stomach turn nervously, my heartbeat increasing.

I can see everything he is saying in his eyes. He is being sincere, his feelings are sincere.

"Cynthia, do you know how often I have thought about this? How often I've played this moment in my mind." He says, smiling like he still doesn't believe that the moment is actually happening. "I've thought about this numerous times that I have lost count of it and finally, finally, my thoughts are coming to pass." He continues, his eyes sparkling.

I look away from him, not able to bear the fact that the sparkle in his eyes might not be there anymore when we are done in the classroom. But then he cups my face so that I'm looking directly in his eyes, a feeling of guilt washing over me as I stare at the truth in them.

Have I ever mentioned that he can really portray his emotions with his eyes?

"Cynthia, I confessed my feelings for you before school vacated and I just confessed them again and now that I know you feel the same way, I want to use this opportunity to ask you this final question."

Here comes the dreaded question.

"Please be my girlfriend."

Okay, that wasn't how I had thought it was going to sound.

I had expected a question but he wasn't really 'asking' me to be his girlfriend. He was begging me, pleading with me. I can hear the appeal in that sentence and it breaks me because I know I'm about to turn down his plea.

I remove his hands from my face and stare at the walls behind him. I don't want to see his demeanor change when I tell him no but I guess my hesitation and reaction has answered him.

"You can't be my girlfriend?" He asks, his voice sounds broken and my heart breaks along with it.

All I can do is nod in response.

"Why? Did I surprise you? Do you need more time? Did I do something wrong?" He repeats the questions one after the other, his voice growing more desperate as he asks the following one.

I sigh helplessly and finally look at him but I wasn't prepared for the intensity of the hurt in his eyes so I stare at my hands instead.

"John." I call quietly, at loss of words. I want to say something to erase the hurt look in his eyes and replace them with the sparkle that was in them just now, to bring back the smile on his face. But I also don't want to give him false hope and to hurt us even more in the process.

"Don't just say my name, dammit." He snaps. "Give me a reason for refusing to date me so I can understand your decision." I raise my head to look at him and he looks on edge, like it only requires a push for him to tip over and have him falling.

Telling him now that I'm refusing to date him because he isn't my soulmate sounds even more wrong. It'll only cause more damage.

He grabs my face so I have no choice but to look at him again, to stare into his yearning eyes, "I want you to tell me why you can't be mine. I want to know what's stopping you from saying yes to me."

"I-

"You what?"

God, how do I tell him without hurting him too much?

'Just tell him the truth'

I exhale loudly and decide to do just that.

"I- I don't think you're the one for me."

***

She said she was going to say the truth and she did just that. How do you think John is going to react?

What do you think about Dorcas accusations of Michael? Are they valid or not?

Don't forget to vote and comment. And share!

Eid Mubarak once again 😘❣️.

Love you guys 🤍.