I know it is a late update. But it's better late than never, right?

Sorry for the length in advance.

Happy reading!!

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Chapter Twenty Six

CYNTHIA

The bell for lunch rings and the teacher leaves the class. I pack my books into my bag immediately and stand up to meet Grace.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Michael asks as I stand up.

"I was unable to talk to Grace this morning. I want to meet her quickly." I explain and then wonder why I'm even explaining to him.

"Let's go together." He suggests and I give him a grave look.

"I thought you decided that you won't be following us to the cafeteria anymore after last time." I remind him and he gives me an amused look.

"Of course not. I had to change my mind because of something that I needed to sort out that day but that doesn't mean I can't follow you another day." He explains with a smile.

I stare intently at him, not hiding my curiosity. He still hasn't mentioned anything about why he left like that and I'll be lying if I say I didn't want to know the reason.

"Did it have something to do with me running into Peter? The reason you left like that?" I ask without really expecting him to answer it.

He stops smiling but replies, "Yes, it had to do with him but thankfully, you didn't run into him today so there won't be any need to change my mind." I wonder if he added the last part as a joke.

I glare at him and he stares right back. I see the determined look on his face and know there is no way I'm going to persuade him to change his mind.

Suddenly, I get an idea.

I don't care if I end up looking silly after doing what I want to do but if it will help in changing his mind, I'm definitely giving it a try. He is staring at me with interest now, probably wondering what is going on in my mind and then I decide that catching him unaware might be a big aid to my plan.

I breathe in and out deeply and lift my lips in the widest smile I can muster and then with a very sweet voice, I speak, "Michael, please, can you not follow me and Grace to the cafeteria and just go with your friends?"

I wince after I'm done talking and realize with utter disgust that I had sounded so much like Dorcas when she is trying to speak in a sweet voice to him.

Which brings me to this question. Does she not hear herself when she talks?

I look down at Michael and see that he is grinning down at me and I blink confusingly at him, wondering if it worked or not. That's when he bursts into laughter.

The remainder of the students in the class is throwing us curious looks and I can't help noticing that John is one of them.

I try to make eye contact with him but he looks away and I realize with guilt that I had hardly thought of him over the weekend. I never returned his call or texted him back.

'You can't blame yourself for that, so much happened over the weekend.' I tell myself resolutely and nod. I was preoccupied and that was why I didn't think of him. I will definitely talk to him later.

"Nice try, Cynthia but acting all cute isn't going to stop me from coming to the cafeteria with you." Michael continues with an amused smile, bringing me out of my reverie and I frown. "And just so you know, Femi, Wole and Peter are probably making their way to our class so they can also come with us to the cafeteria." He adds.

My eyes widen in surprise, "No! What were you guys thinking?!" I ask with alarm and he chuckles.

"It's no big deal." He shrugs and I stare at him wide-eyed.

Before I can think of something to say, I hear surprised gasps and screams along the corridor and I know without doubt that the guys are almost here. I give Michael a resentful look but he only smiles.

"You remind me of how feisty you can be when you look like that." He teases.

I roll my eyes in response and walk out on him, determined to move as far away as possible from him. I walk out of the class just as Grace get out of hers, she is staring at me and I smile at her but she doesn't return it. She looks astonished and I look at her, confused, then I realize she isn't looking at me but ahead of me and I turn around to see what she is looking at.

Michael's friends are making their way down the corridor but their audience surprises seems to have been replaced with silent confusion as they stare at them trying to decipher what it is that they are doing here.

A question I discover unhappily that I know the answer to.

"Why are they here?" I hear Grace ask and realize she is now standing beside me.

"They are walking us to the cafeteria." I respond but she keeps mute, not saying anything. "Why aren't you surprised?" I turn to her.

"I had a feeling it had something to do with that." She replies and we both sigh.

"Let's pass the other staircase." I suggest immediately it comes to mind but she is quick to shake her head.

"That stairs is out of bounds to students." She reminds me.

"This is an emergency." I tell her with a note of urgency and she only groans in response.

"What's the emergency?" Femi asks and I squeal in surprise while Grace gives him a faint look. The three of them are standing in front of us and soon enough, Michael joins them.

"I thought you ran away." He mentions as he gets to us and I give him a dry look.

"Well, what are we waiting for? I'm famished." Femi speaks again and Grace and I exchange looks.

"We are not walking with you to the cafeteria." I announce and Grace nods her agreement. Wole frowns and Femi gives me a look of disbelief.

"This is the second time they are refusing to hang out with us. It fascinates me and at the same time, upsets me." Femi mutters, almost to himself.

"If you don't come down to the cafeteria with us, I will conclude it is because you don't want to be seen with us." Wole adds questioningly and I want to tell him that it is exactly because of that. But the tone he used in talking stops me from saying anything.

"If everything has been settled, then we can start going to the cafeteria." Michael ends with a small smile and before I can say another word, he puts his hands on my shoulder and stirs me towards the cafeteria. Femi is doing the same to Grace and soon we are all walking down to the cafeteria amidst surprised and curious looks from our school mates.

We are walking in complete silence until Grace decides to make conversation and asks Femi what sport team he is a member of.

"I'm a team member of St. Paul." He replies and Grace pouts.

"What team are you in?" He asks with a slight smile.

"St. Joseph."

"What?! I'm in the same team as her?" Michael asks with unhidden disappointment.

"That's no big deal. Peter is a member of St. Joseph too." Wole mentions and Michael rolls his eyes.

"Does that mean you won't be cheering for me in my yellow vest whenever I'm playing on the field?" Femi asks Grace who looks amazed.

"You are playing football for the team?"

"Yeah. Why do you look so surprised?" He asks her and she smiles.

"It's just that none of you has ever taken part in any sport activities. What changed this year?" She asks.

None of them replies but I catch the subtle glances that was directed at Michael. Only Peter seems to be in his own world.

"You become more of my type whenever I learn something new about you." She adds softly, casting her eyes downwards but Femi seems to have heard it as he tries not to smile.

"You know, there are still a lot of things you haven't learnt about me." Femi winks and Grace's face lit up. I roll my eyes, knowing perfectly well what he is trying to do.

"Really? That just makes me want to know you more." Grace replies excitedly, taking the bait.

"How about we meet up sometime so we can know more about each other?" Femi suggests and Grace quickly nods her agreement.

"Is tomorrow evening alright?" She asks him hopefully.

"Sure. It's a date." He replies and Grace is immediately grinning from ear to ear.

"I am not with my cell phone now but we'll exchange numbers later, okay?" He asks

"It's okay." She nods and he grins.

While there's a smile on both my face and Michael face, Peter seems uninterested in what is going on and Wole doesn't look too happy.

Does he not want them together? Or is there something I'm missing?

"So what sports will you be taking part in?" Femi asks Grace.

"I'll be trying out for the Long Jump." She replies, surprising me and before Femi can say anything, I beat him to it.

"Really? But you've also never taken part in any sports before?" I ask and she shrugs.

"You run for your team so I just thought, why can't I also do something for my team?"

"That's nice. You trying to actively participate in the sport when all you were always interested in was clapping for your team." I stifle a laugh and she hits me playfully while smiling too.

"It's a good thing you decided to jump, I also get to cheer you on." Femi says with a wink and Grace smiles shyly at him but he suddenly clears his throat. "Although that doesn't change the fact that my team will be winning this year's title of the school champion."

"You are mistaken. We are winning this year's title." Grace says firmly and I can see Michael subtle nod of agreement to her words.

"You are both mistaken. My team is winning this year's title as school champions." I tell them.

"We won last year and we are winning this year again." Michael says proudly and I give him an unimpressive look.

"You didn't even take part in the sports last year and you are excited that you won." I'm quick to tell him.

He shrugs, "Now, imagine I take part in the sports this year, we are definitely going to win." He insists and I roll my eyes.

"Enough!" Wole calls out suddenly, startling all of us to silence. Even Peter glances annoyedly at him. "You guys should stop saying unnecessary things." He continues and we all exchange looks.

"St. Matthew which is my team is definitely going to win this year." He adds with a wide grin and we all give him an indignant look to which he quickly raises his hands in an 'I surrender' move. Femi tries to hide his laugh as a cough but we all know he's laughing.

We get to the cafeteria and the silence that normally accompanies their presence is immediately replaced by murmurs. I smile satisfactorily as I have always wanted it to be this way but my satisfaction is cut short when I realize that Grace and I are the reason for the small talks. Femi wonders aloud about the reason the cafeteria is murmuring but Wole nudges him in the stomach and he falls silent.

We go to get our food and turn to go to our usual table then find that John is already sitting there. I smile sadly and realize this is a perfect chance to finally talk to him but as I start to make my way towards our table, I'm suddenly grabbed and pulled from the direction I'm headed to.

"Where are you going?" Michael asks.

"Our table." I reply in a duh tone but he shakes his head.

"No, you are not sitting there. You are eating with us today." He tells me.

"And Grace too." Femi adds.

I give both of them an 'are-you-serious' look before talking, "We've had it your way until this moment and that is why we came down to the cafeteria with you but that's where it ends. I'm eating at our usual table and that is final."

It's no surprise that the cafeteria is quiet and all eyes are on both of us. They are listening attentively to what I'm saying and what Michael's response will be.

"Fine then." He shrugs and although I'm surprised he agreed immediately to my words, I'm glad that he did. I give him a grateful smile and head to our table where John is already seated.

John is staring at me with a look I can't decipher but I'm sure he is not happy with me. I hope I'm finally able to talk things out with him because I dislike how things are between us.

Grace being there with us will probably help ease the tension. Hopefully.

Only as I get to the table and sit down to eat with him, he stands up and leaves the table. I watch him get up in surprise, wondering if he is angry to the extent that he doesn't even want to share the same lunch table with me. But I soon realize the reason he stood up isn't because of me but because of the annoying male that has just taken the seat next to me.

I should have known he was up to something when he had agreed readily.

"What are you doing?" I ask with annoyance.

"I'm eating with you." Michael replies and before I can say anything, he calls out to the rest of the guys. "Come over here." He gestures with his hand for them to move closer and they do.

I groan and cover my face with my palm, wondering what it is that I could have done wrong to have been cursed with a mental someone that is Michael.

I stand up to take my food to another table but he pulls me back immediately and keeps his hands on mine to prevent me from standing up again. I stare at his hand that is resting on mine and glance at him. He looks at me too and gives me a small smile then turns to his friends and Grace that have already made their way to our table.

Immediately they all sit around us, the silence that surrounds us turns to hushed whispers and I can make out some of the things they are saying.

"Wasn't she the one that slapped Michael?"

"Why are they even sitting with those girls?"

"She slapped him like she was not interested in him and she ends up sitting with them."

"I hate girls like her. They are so fake and pretentious. I knew she was just pretending so Michael could get close to her."

"What's up with the friend too?"

"So the slap was an act to get close to him, typical."

I try to tune them out and I'm still getting accustomed to the whispers when the worst thing happens.

Dorcas, the girlfriend, arrives.

She seems reluctant to come over at first since it's clearly not their table but she does all the same, leaving her bimbos to watch at a distance.

She pretends not to see me and just sits on Michael's lap and kisses him on the cheek. The look of disgust on his face controls my desire to push her off him even though I'm surprised at myself for thinking like that.

Then as if she has just seen me, she turns to me with a sneer.

"What's that thing doing here?" She asks and nobody answers. Judging by the looks on all their faces, none of them is really happy that she's here.

"Why are you here?" She directs to me when no one answers. I stare at her like she is an annoying fly and ignore her.

"Why are you here?" She asks again and I roll my eyes.

"I think the question should be 'why are YOU here?'" I retort and she raises her eyebrow.

"What do you mean? I have every right to be here."

"Really now." I respond with a bored expression and ask again, "Who invited you here?" She stares at me like I don't know what I'm saying.

"Why am I even having this conversation with you?" She asks.

"Because you are dumb." Grace mumbles beside me and I snicker.

"My boyfriend is here and that gives me the right to be here." She announces a little too loud. The cafeteria is quiet again, everyone is watching, waiting for what will happen.

"You don't get it, do you? Nobody wants you here, not even YOUR boyfriend." I tell her.

She stares at me for a while and then burst into laughter. A bitter, sardonic laughter. She laughs like her life depends on it and when she finally stops laughing, she turns to Michael.

"Baby, did you hear what that thing just said?" She asks but he says nothing.

"I know you want me here, right?" She asks again.

No response.

"Baby, why aren't you answering?"

Still, no response.

Now, all I feel for her is pity. She looks really pathetic.

"The answer is staring right in your face. Next time, know you are in a better position before criticizing others." I mock her. She doesn't say a word and you can easily guess that she is annoyed.

She stands up and points at me, "You are not right. He just didn't answer me because he felt I already know the answer to the question. And the answer is that he wants me here, so get your facts straight." She explains and I roll my eyes.

"Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night." I reply with disinterest.

"There is also no way I'm eating with that thing on the same table so I'll like to excuse myself." She adds. She gives Michael a loud kiss on the cheek and glares at me before leaving and with the way everybody breathes out a sigh of relief once she is gone, I knew they really didn't want her here.

Grace gives me a hi-five while Femi suddenly stands and we all look at him curiously, not sure what he wants to do.

"And the winner is Cynthia!" He announces and surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, everyone in the cafeteria cheers. Wole pulls him down and hit him on the head but the cheering continues and I come to the realization that although they are whispering about me now, they dislike Dorcas more than they dislike me.

"Hey, what was that for?" Femi asks Wole while rubbing his head.

"For causing unnecessary noise." Wole replies and Femi pouts. "But I have to agree, that was pretty awesome!" Wole tells me and I smile.

"Yeah, it was cool." Peter says.

"You know it's cool if Peter says so." Grace jokes and everyone laughs. All of us except Michael.

"Cynthia, I'm sorry for what happened. She gets like that when she's jealous." He apologizes, looking remorseful.

"You don't even like her, why do you allow her do things like that?" I ask but he doesn't reply.

But I won't deny that I like the fact that he didn't deny not liking her.

There is silence as nobody speaks and I realize none of us has touched our food except for Femi who seem to have almost finished his and is now trying to eat Wole's share.

When did he even start eating?

Wole taps his hands away and moves his plate farther from him and luckily, we finish our food just in time for sports practice to begin.

After the bell indicating the end of lunch and the beginning of sports practice rings, everyone in the cafeteria starts dispersing one by one.

We all take our plates and drop them where the dishes are done and we head outside.

"I'm going to the restroom to change to my sportswear now." I tell them.

"Alright." Grace replies.

"How about you? Aren't you changing your clothes?"

"Nope. Today's tryouts are for those who are running. I'll just watch them." She explains.

"How about you guys?" I ask, turning to them.

"The tryouts for the football team are after school closes. Only Peter and Michael are running so they will be the ones changing." Femi replies.

I smile slightly at the thought of seeing Michael and Peter run, I bet they are good.

"Well, then. I'll meet you guys at the stadium."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Grace asks.

"There's no need for that. We'll meet later." I respond, knowing she will rather follow the guys to the stadium so she can be with Femi than come with me.

"Good luck on your tryouts, I'll be watching you from our team's side of the stadium." Grace wishes me cheerfully and I smile.

"Thanks."

"Good luck." Wole also says.

"Thank you." I reply with a smile.

"Break a leg." Femi adds and I chuckle.

"Thanks."

Peter gives me a thumb-up and I smile in return knowing that is all I will be getting from him then I turn to Michael expectantly and he raises an eyebrow in question.

"Won't you wish me luck?" I ask and he only shrugs.

"What will that change?" He asks and I glare at him.

"You're still going to get picked whether I wish you good luck or not." He finishes but my glare only softens a little.

"You should have just wished me good luck in a straightforward way." I chide him and he rolls his eyes.

"Anyways, thanks guys for the encouragement and I hope Peter and Michael get picked to run for their team." I say with an appreciative smile.

Michael scoffs but I can see him hiding a smile while Peter rolls his eyes.

I raise an eyebrow at Peter's actions and wonder if he is even interested in taking part in the sports? He seems like someone who can't be bothered if his team loses or wins.

"Cynthia, I think you should go change out of your clothes now." Grace reminds me and I nod.

"Yeah, I should. See you guys later." I reply and wave to them before heading for the restroom.

By the time I'm done changing, the school is almost empty. I quickly go back to the class to drop my uniform in my bag and head downstairs.

I go straight to the stadium and see where the students putting on green are gathered. They are standing on the race tracks and our housemaster frowns as soon as he sees me. He is the same housemaster as last year so he recognizes me.

"Cynthia, why are you just arriving?" He asks.

"I'm sorry sir. I went to change my clothes."

"Everyone present here had a change of clothes and they were here early. Next time, get dressed quickly." He scolds and I can only nod.

He starts to call out the names of the students that wrote down their names for the races to check if everyone is present. I hear him call my name and also John's.

John is also in my team but I haven't seen him since I've arrived. I glance around, trying to look for him when I suddenly hear his voice, causing me to slightly jump.

"Hi." He greets.

I look to my right and find him there, looking at the students that are gathered round the housemaster.

"Hey." I reply and there is silence.

Speaking to me first must mean that he is no longer annoyed with me.

But I should still apologize, right?

The only problem is I don't know how to start explaining or how to apologise.

What exactly would I be apologizing for? Neglecting his calls and not returning them? Or for bringing Michael and his friends to our lunch table?

Before I can put my mind on something to say, he breaks the silence.

"Don't mind the housemaster, he's just being grumpy." He mentions and I stare at him with confusion before realizing he is referring to the housemaster scolding me for arriving late.

I decide to seize the opportunity that he is making conversation to get my way round into apologizing.

"It was actually my fault. We didn't leave the cafeteria on time." I explain but regret it immediately. I probably just made a mistake by referring to the guys when they are part of the reasons things are currently strained between us.

"I called you during the weekends but you never answered and you weren't online on WhatsApp." He starts again and I exhale briefly, grateful for a chance to make amends.

"John, I'm really sorry about everything that has happened since Friday. I had to deal with family issues over the weekend." I explain.

He doesn't reply at first and then asks, "Hope everything is fine now?"

I stare at him cluelessly, not getting what he is asking about, "I- I don't understand."

"I mean with your family."

"Oh, yes. Everything is fine now."

He starts to talk again but is interrupted by our housemaster who is dividing the males and females into groups. Each group will run and he will then choose the runners in first and second places from the four groups.

He is going to pick representatives for the 100m, 200m and the 100m X 4 relay race. The final eight students will have to run and he will then choose the best four. These four will be certified to run the relay race and then he will choose the students that will be representing the team for 100m and 200m race.

John is a rather good sportsman as he plays football and runs for our team. He has always taken first place in every race he took part in even though our team has failed to win the gold cup for the last two years.

There are five students in each group and I'm in the third group for females while John is in the fourth group for males.

We suddenly hear people chanting Michael's name and everyone, including our housemaster turn to look at the St. Joseph's boys who have already begun their tryouts. Five boys are running on the field and Michael is in the lead. In fact, he is leading the boy who is in second place by quite a large margin and there are still three boys running behind them.

I watch them rather surprisingly, stunned that Michael turned out to be quite a good runner. If he ends up running for St. Joseph, maybe, just maybe, John might not come first in this year's competition.

I feel John tense beside me as he watches Michael win the race and then our housemaster turns to him.

"John, it seems like you have a very strong contender to deal with this year. You have always been a very good representative of this team and have continuously made the team proud by coming first in the male races since you have been participating. I hope you continue to make us proud by winning this year's race too."

"Yes sir." John replies but I notice that his hand is clenched as he watches Michael's teammates who are still chanting his name.

"They are just practicing. The real game won't be as easy as that especially since you will be running for our team." I try to cheer him up but he just looks at me.

"What does he mean to you?" He asks all of a sudden.

"What?" I reply, surprised.

"He means a lot to you, doesn't he? Because you seem to always be by his side nowadays, in the class, at the restaurant and even on your way home." He accuses and I start to feel guilty.

"John, it isn't-

He ignores me and continues, "And I no longer mean anything, right? We hardly ever talk nowadays and I can no longer spend time with you. He is slowly taking you away from me and you are allowing it."

"No, John. I'm not allowing anything. You seem to be misunderstanding how things are between Michael and I. I can promise you that he means n-nothing to me."

Why did my voice break when I was saying Michael meant nothing?

"You can't even say that he means nothing to you with certainty." He says sadly and I shake my head to tell him that he is still misunderstanding but he continues anyway. "I told you that it will break me to see you choose him over me again and that's what you've been doing. You continuously choose him over me, whether knowingly or not." He ends with hurt and I can't think of anything to say to him... because he is right.

He had told me outside the laboratory the day I had gone to help Michael instead that he doesn't want me to choose Michael over him whenever I had to make a choice but that's exactly what I have been doing even though it was indirectly.

I had chosen Michael over him when I decided to go with him to lunch on Friday while John went back to the classroom. I had also chosen Michael over him when I had let him come over to our table at lunch today and watched John walk away.

"Tell me one more thing." He says quietly and I look at him expectantly. The hurt and sadness in his eyes is really unsettling, I want them gone.

"Are you falling for him?" He asks with such a quiet voice that I don't think it is possible to have heard correctly.

"Cynthia, answer me, do you have feelings for him?" He asks again and the shock wears off then I burst out laughing, startling him.

I laugh for what feels like minutes and John watches me without saying anything. When I'm no longer feeling breathless from laughing and I start to compose myself, he asks again.

"Are you falling for Michael?" My laughter obviously not deterring him.

He searches my eyes, checking to see if I'm going to lie to him and I give him the most serious face that I can muster and stare right back in his eyes to reply him.

"No, I'm definitely not falling for him." I reply with much conviction but he says nothing and continues to search my eyes. We stay there looking at each other until he finally lets out a huge sigh and smiles a little.

"Then that must mean you still like me, right?" He asks in a shaky voice and it affects me to hear the hint of fear in his voice.

His voice didn't sound fearful when he was asking if I liked Michael but he is scared, afraid, that even if I don't like Michael, I might not like him anymore too.

His eyes are pleading with mine, begging me to say yes.

And I do.

"Yes, I still like you." I reply him and he grins and pulls me in a hug.

"Thank you." He says and kisses my hair. "As long as it stays that way." He adds and releases me. He then places a rose flower in my hand before leaving to join his group members.

I don't know why but I begin to feel bad. I stare at the flower he had given to me and the feeling that I'm lying to him starts to nag at me.

'I still like John, right?' I ask myself as I watch him join his group members.

My eyes wander to the St. Joseph boys and I see Michael in the midst of some other students with Peter. They are all listening to what one of them is saying and he might have said something funny because they all start laughing and unconsciously, my lips pull up into a smile as I watch the wide grin on his face.

I turn back to face our team and glance at John who is looking at me. He gives me a small smile and I smile back at him.

That's when I notice the difference between the smiles I had for both of them.

It is soon my turn to run and all five of us from our group go to the starting line. The whistle goes off and I run, easily overtaking the rest from the group and coming back first. The housemaster gives me a thumb-up and John gives me an encouraging smile and I smile back.

John's group run next since it is arranged with a male group first and then a female group, and he also comes back first. After all the running, and the last four are finally picked which I and John are included in the female and male finalists respectively, the housemaster leaves some instructions for us and tells us to prepare since he will be picking the representatives for the 100m and 200m race tomorrow.

While walking back to the class, I come to the conclusion that I had really lied to John. When he asked me if I was falling for Michael, I had only told him what he wanted to hear and not the truth.

And the truth is that, I'm beginning to like Michael.

***

It's a pretty long chapter so I hope you like it.

I'm still going to thank you guys for your patience, I will update as soon as I can.

We will be seeing more into the lives of Grace and Femi in the following chapters. I'm excited already.

Don't forget to share, vote and comment.

Until next time,

See ya ❤️❤️.