Happy new year guys!

Wishing you all a great 2022. 

I'm supposed to do a double update to celebrate the new year but I'm not able to finish with the second chapter so you guys should manage this one.

Get ready for some Minthia moments. You guys will surely love it.

Happy reading!!!

Chapter Thirty

CYNTHIA

I pull Grace from where she's standing next to the window and when we have reached far enough, she removes her hand and gives me an unimpressed look.

"And what question did he ask other than the one where he asked about what we were talking about politely?" She asks with mild annoyance.

"He asked me what my relationship with John is."

"And?"

And I lied to him.

"And it's none of his business."

"Did you tell him that when he asked you?"

I couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth.

"No."

"Did you answer his question?"

My answer was incorrect.

"Yes."

"So why are you making a BIG DEAL out of it now?" She asks.

I don't know. Maybe because I am feeling guilty.

She raises an eyebrow expectantly. Still waiting for my response.

"It's just that his behavior changed after hearing my response. He was quiet throughout the whole class and when he spoke to me, it was with an attitude." I explain, trying to come up with something that isn't entirely a lie. Grace just gives me a dead look.

"So... you are trying to tell me that you're annoyed because he asked you a question, which you answered, and because of that he didn't speak to you like before."

"Yes?" I answer unsurely.

"Although this isn't the conversation I'd like to be having with you right now, I think there's something wrong with you."

"You don't understand!" I say with exasperation.

"Exactly. Kindly make me understand."

I'm beginning to have feelings for him, Grace. How do I tell him that when he is asking about someone else? About someone I'm supposed to like? About someone who just confessed to loving me?

"If he had never asked that question, he wouldn't have known the answer. And if he didn't know the answer which is that I like John, maybe he wouldn't be giving me the silent treatment. All this happened because he wasn't minding his business."

That's another lie. I'm not certain I even like John anymore.

Grace finally nods in understanding.

"I get you now but something is seriously wrong with you." She frowns and I scowl at her. "So the main reason you're annoyed is because he isn't talking to you like before?" She asks.

Now that she puts it that way, I seem desperate.

She doesn't say anything but just continues to stare at me and I start to become uncomfortable. Then she starts to smile like she knows something I don't.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask, feeling wary.

"Nothing." She replies, still smiling. "But you better get whatever problem you have with Michael fixed and apologise to him for the way you spoke to him." She adds and I raise an eyebrow in question which she ignores.

I guess he does deserve an apology.

"Now, tell me what is very important that we have to talk about." She reminds me.

"You won't believe it." I reply.

Well, maybe she can.

She gives me a suspecting look.

"Wait, is it about John?" She asks and I give her a look of disbelief.

How does she know?

Before I can respond, she squeals with excitement, "Are you guys dating?" She asks, clapping her hands with excitement.

"No." I answer quietly and her excitement fades but I continue quickly. "Just don't freak out with what I am about to tell you."

"Just tell me." She sounds impatient.

"John loves me." I announce.

I expect her to squeal again like she just did but she just stares at me.

"You might not believe me but I'm serious, he said so. When we were chatting yesterday, I told him I was sleepy and I wished him good night. He did the same too, only he ended it with an 'I love you'. I explain to get a reaction from her but she does nothing.

I mean she is supposed to be freaking out but she is just staring at me.

"How come you are not screaming?"

"Because what you said is no news, duh." She rolls her eyes.

"It's no news? He told me he loves me!" I say, almost shouting.

"So?"

"So?" I repeat. "So?!"

"Come on. You are over-reacting, it's very obvious that he loves you. He is always staring at you and he smiles whenever you smile. He even worries whenever you are worrying."

"How do you know all of this?" I ask, not believing her.

"Because anybody with two eyes, no, even an eye can see it."

"But- But you can't just assume it's love. He has a crush on me like I have on him too. Everyone with crushes do that." I counter, not ready to agree with her.

"That's true but there's a limit. It's no longer a crush when the person has been doing that for almost three years. It's either obsession or love and I think you know which it is."

I don't know what to say anymore. I thought Grace will clear the worry off my mind when I tell her but she just made it worse.

Grace notices that I'm not talking and groans. "You've got to stop thinking about this too much because thinking won't change anything."

"It's just- I don't love him back and if I tell him, I'm afraid he will be sad and I don't want to do that. He is so sweet and I'll feel bad."

Well, that is certainly true. He is someone I couldn't even bring myself to turn down for a whole month and chose to avoid him instead. And now that I'm not even sure what I feel for him?

"There's nothing wrong with not telling him you love him anytime he says that. You can't force what you don't feel. Just do like you've been doing when you haven't found out and everything will be back to how it was."

"It's easier said than done. I can't just pretend like nothing happened. His face would always be a reminder that he loves me."

"I didn't know you can be so dramatic. You're treating this issue bigger than it actually is."

"And you're treating it like it's a small issue when it's actually a big issue." I retort.

"You know what? Let's change the topic. Tell me about that great idea you have."

"Alright." I sigh and begin to explain, "Since your Mum is cool with you going on the date, you can tell her that you're actually going on one but because your Dad won't allow it, you will tell him that you are coming to my house for a sleep-over so we can do an assignment that was given to us in school." She nods and I can tell she is thinking about it.

"And since your Dad knows who I am and knows you're coming over for an assignment, he won't have a reason to stop you. I'll talk to Nanny on your behalf and I'm also sure she won't have any problem in allowing you go." I continue and she doesn't say anything.

"You can bring your clothes and finish dressing up in my house or just wear my clothes since we use the same size." I finish and she smiles.

"You know I think your idea is going to work really well." She agrees, looking a bit relieved and somewhat happy.

I start to giggle and she looks at me like I've gone mad which only makes it funnier. "You know, I think it's actually a perfect idea that you're having a sleepover at my house and that's if it works." I mention with a big smile and she looks at me warily.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I won't have to wait till tomorrow before I know what happens on your date." I reply, still smiling widely.

"Oh, that's actually true." She smiles. "You know, I was actually starting to get scared when you giggled." She adds with a very serious tone and I burst out laughing.

"You don't have to get scared but just know we won't be sleeping early tonight, babe. You will be giving me all the details." I reply and we both grin.

There is no doubt that we are both very much excited about her date as we walk down to the cafeteria.

***

The final tryouts for running are to take place after lunch. When Michael and his friends come into the cafeteria like they always do, all of them except Michael greets us. Femi waves, Peter winks and Wole smiles at us, only Michael doesn't spare us a glance.

After eating lunch with only Grace since John is nowhere to be found - an advantage for me since I don't know how I'm supposed to behave around him - I go quickly into the restroom to change into my sportswear so I won't get scolded at when I get there.

"Good afternoon, sir." I greet our housemaster as I get to our normal spot in the stadium. He raises his head to look at me and glances back at the pieces of paper in his hand.

"Cynthia, you won't be having practice with us today." He announces and I stare at him with confusion and panic.

"But sir, did I get disqualified? I'm here early today and I haven't done anything wrong, you can't just tell me not to take part in the practice anymore." I say, devastated but he just gives me an impassive look.

"I never said you won't be practicing with us anymore, I only said you won't be practicing with us today and that is because I received a note from your class teacher telling me you aren't feeling too well and you should be allowed to rest for today." He explains monotonously and I stare at him like he is speaking in Greek.

"You are already guaranteed to run in the relay race, the final tryouts for the female race will hold tomorrow because of you. You can go back to the class to rest now." He finishes and I stare at him blankly, rooted to the spot.

I don't understand what just happened.

"What are you waiting for? Go." He dismisses me and that's when I feel my legs move and carry me towards the classroom.

I start wondering if there is another Cynthia in our class that I don't know about because there is surely nothing wrong with me.

And then it suddenly occurs to me that only one person can be responsible for this. He better have a reasonable answer for doing this.

I enter the classroom, hoping to find it empty since the sport activities are still going on in full swing in the stadium but I'm very surprised to see Michael sitting at our desk in the classroom. His head on the table, probably pressing his phone.

Why is he here? Shouldn't he be practising?

I walk towards him and my brain chooses that moment to remember how I have spoken to him a while ago. I start to feel bad, wondering if I should apologize.

I also need to know the reason why he had given our Housemaster a note saying I'm ill when I'm completely fine. He is probably up to something.

When I get to our desk, I'm unable to make a move. His head is still on the table but I'm sure he is aware that I'm in the classroom.

Is he very annoyed?

I open my mouth to talk and end up closing it, not knowing how to begin. I decide to just walk past him and get to my seat first.

As I proceed to do that, a hand abruptly grabs my arm and in the next moment, I'm being pulled to sit next to him on the chair.

My heart is beating erratically from the sudden movement and when he raises his head to look at me, I realise just how close we are to each other. I can feel my left thighs pressed against his right thighs and I can feel the warmth start to spread around my body from where my body is touching his.

I'm unable to look away from him. Whatever he must be thinking about was probably sad because I can still see those sadness in his eyes. I start to feel sad myself, unable to understand why I'm feeling this way.

I'm suddenly transported into a car, he is looking at me exactly like this in the car and I was saying something to him. Then the distance between us in the car began to close and we are almost kissing.

I blink back to the present, very aware that this is the second time I'm remembering that moment. I'm certainly sure that is a memory now and I look at him, seeing as he is the only one who can give me answers to what exactly I was doing in a car with him. And how and when it happened.

"Were we at any point in time in a car together and I tried to kiss you?" I ask quietly. I might have said it too quietly because he says nothing. There's no indication that he even heard what I said.

I wait for him to say something before he finally breaks eye contact and sighs.

"I thought I was going to get an apology." He reminds me.

Oh yeah, the apology.

I begin to feel remorseful and start to play with my hands, "I'm sorry, Michael. I should never have spoken to you that way."

"Make it up to me."

I glance up at him, not understanding what he just said.

"Make it up to you?" I repeat and he nods. "How?"

"Go out with me." 

My eyes almost bulge out of its socket as his words surprised me.

Did he just- did he just ask me to be his girlfriend? That too all of a sudden?

He chuckles at my reaction, "It's definitely not what you are thinking."

My face falls. "Oh."

I hate that I sound disappointed.

"What do you mean then?" I try to seem unaffected.

"Follow me out of the school. I want us to go somewhere together."

"You want us to go out of the school to somewhere?" I ask unsurely and he nods. "When?"

"Now."

Now? That was definitely not what I was thinking.

I raise an eyebrow in question, "Where are we going?"

"You'll see." He replies with a shrug and I give him a wary look.

"Why now? You do realize school isn't closed yet."

"Bodyguards." He answers and I understand at once. I've actually begun to forget that he is the son of a reputable figure in the country.

"Was that why you had our class teacher write a fake note to my housemaster?" I ask and he smiles but doesn't deny it.

Well, then. At least I got my reason. Even though it's not what I was expecting. 

What was I even expecting?

"Well, I'm not going. There's no way I'm leaving the school during school hours. I doubt we will be leaving the school through the gate because we definitely won't be allowed."

"Of course we aren't going through the school gate, there won't be any thrill in that. We will be using the school fence." He explains, earning himself a dead look.

"Thanks for the offer but I'm definitely not going." I reply and try to scoot over to my seat but my hand brushes his leg and I start to feel tingles again. I'm sure he felt it too because he jerks his leg away from me but he holds my hand and pulls me up.

"What are you doing?" I ask him, alarmed.

"We are going out of the classroom."

I remove my hand from his grasp, "I told you I'm not interested in going anywhere with you. You can't force me to do what I don't want to."

"I thought you wanted me to accept your apology."

I give him a skeptical look, "What has that got to do with this?"

"I'm only going to accept your apology if you go out with me."

I almost let out a frustrated sigh.

"This is not practical, Michael. How do you even suggest we leave the school without going through the school gate?"

"Oh, that's easy. Trust me."

I let out a groan, not knowing what else to put out as an argument.

"Fine." I end up agreeing. "But where are we going?"

"We are going to see someone."

"Who?"

"I promised the person I won't tell you." He replies and I roll my eyes.

"So we are really going over the fence?" I ask. 

"Not really over the fence. The guys and I made an entrance in one of the fences." He explains and begins to walk out of the classroom, pulling me with him. I don't stop him.

"Why did you guys make an entrance out of the fences?" I ask, genuinely curious.

"It's our secret route out of the school." He replies and I shake my head discouragingly at their antics.

"Even Peter?" 

He chuckles at my question, "You will be surprised to know that he is the most adventurous among us." He responds but I find it hard to believe. I can't just imagine Peter breaking the rules, he seems too quiet.

"The quiet ones are the most dangerous." He adds as if he can read my mind and I scoff.

I didn't know how big our school is until today as we make our way to the said fence. It is located at the far end of the school and there are no cameras or students in sight. I'm not surprised about that because it will be very difficult to find the place. It makes me wonder just how adventurous the guys are to have been able to find it in the first place.

"We are here." He announces as we get to the fence. I can't really tell if there is supposed to be an entrance in the fence because I can't see any difference in it compared to the other fences.

He gently bends over and pushes a block out of the fence, creating a pathway that leads to the other side. My mouth falls open - more impressed than surprised - at the sight in front of me and he looks at me with a smile.

"Yeah, I know. Pretty creative." He mentions proudly. "I'm going to crawl outside first so I can pull you up when you do so too." 

I roll my eyes but say nothing.

He then begins to crawl and when he does so successfully, he calls out to me. 

"You can come out now!"

I begin to crawl out of the fence too, my bare knees slightly scraping the grounds as I am still in my sport shorts. When I'm out in the open, I look up to see his hand in my face and he gestures for me to grab it but I ignore it and stand to my feet myself. I check my knees to see if it is bleeding but it is not so I just clean the few sand and dust that is there.

 "Ouch!" He suddenly exclaims and places his hand over his chest. "My poor heart is broken. You just showed that you don't trust me."

"Can we go now?" I ask, ignoring him but he doesn't reply. Instead, he looks at me with a certain intensity.

"Now, what?" I ask, trying to act unaffected by his stare when in truth, it is doing things to my stomach.

He steps closer to me and tuck a braid gently into the ponytail that it has managed to slip out from. 

"The braid might get in your face." He comments silently, his hand still resting on my head.

My breath catches in my throat as his hand grazes my cheek and he takes another step towards me so now we are standing toe to toe and there are only inches between us.

I'm leveled with his chin and it takes all of my willpower to not raise my head to look at him because I'm anxious of what I'll see in his eyes.

But he raises my head gently so I have no choice than to look at him and I realize from how he is watching me that he might kiss me.

And I also realize that I want him to.

A finger is beneath my chin as my head is tilted towards him and we are both staring directly at each other. He places another hand on my waist and pulls me so we are flushed against each other.

My heart is literally hammering in my chest and I'm almost certain that his is also doing the same.

I only have to raise my head a little and our lips will be touching and I want to. 

I really want to.

He pulls back all of a sudden and head back towards the fence. He then pushes the block back into where it was removed so the entrance is blocked and it's now a whole fence again.

But I notice the short pause he did after pushing it back into the wall and how he slowly turns around with a smile on his face.

"Are you feeling hot?" He asks but I'm still feeling speechless so I say nothing. "I know an ice-cream place that isn't far from here. Let's go get some." He ends and then starts to walk away.

I stare after him as he does, feeling confused about what happened just now.

Is he also attracted to me?

He glances back at me and raises an eyebrow when he see that I'm still rooted to the spot. Then he comes back to me and without saying a word, grabs me by my arm and begins to run.

I run with him to keep up and then all too soon, he stops. He points to an ice-cream truck at the other side of the road and with my hand still in his, we cross the road to the ice-cream truck.

I can't help glancing at our hands that is still joined together and a small smile crosses my lips.

Cynthia, what the hell are you doing? Snap out of it!

I remove my hand from his just as the ice-cream man addresses us and I notice the subtle glance he gives our hands that are no longer intertwined and me before turning to the man.

Should I not have done that?

"Hello, what do you want to get?" He begins to ask and beams when he sees us or rather, Michael.

"Hey, Michael. I haven't seen you and the boys in a while." He comments and Michael smiles, then clears his throat.

"Hi, Joe. Yeah, you haven't seen us because we are trying to be more responsible individuals." He replies with a serious tone. I raise an eyebrow in amusement and watch as Michael and the ice-cream man exchange looks before they burst into laughter.

"You almost got me." Joe says amidst laughter and Michael grins.

"Oh, I know you didn't believe it." He replies. Joe gives Michael a fond smile.

"I actually missed you guys. You all have earned me a lot of customers. I think the last time you and the guys were here was the first week of resumption. You kept going on and on about how a girl in school really pissed you off during lunch and-

Michael clears his throat really loudly to interrupt him and gestures with his hand towards me.

Joe's eyes widen in realization and he whispers, "She's the one?"

Michael nods in response and the man gives a dramatic gasp. I roll my eyes at their exchange, not really bothered by the fact that I was at a point a subject of discussion for Joe, Michael and his friends.

"I thought we are here to get ice-cream not reminisce on the good old times." I glare at Michael who is scratching the back of his neck.

"Yeah, we were just getting to that." He coughs and drops his hands. "What flavor would you like to get?"

"Vanilla and Strawberry. Not mixed together, just separate scoops. I want it on a cone not in a plastic." I say and Joe nods.

"Michael, what would you have?" He asks as he begins to make my own.

"Anything in chocolate." Michael replies and Joe chuckles.

"Of course." He says as he gives me my ice-cream.

"Thanks." I murmur and immediately begin to lick it while he attends to Michael.

"You might want to get some ice-cream in a plastic, preferably chocolate." Michael says and I look at him with confusion.

"Why?"

"It's for the person we will be seeing."

"Who are we even going to see?" I ask as Joe hands him his ice-cream cone which has up to five scoops of different kinds of brown.

Joe is getting other customers so we eat our ice-cream in silence while he attends to them.

"You might want to be quick with that." He says and I realize with surprise that he is already done with his ice-cream.

"How were you able to finish it that quick?" I ask but he shrugs. I hurry as best as I can without getting a brain-freeze and watch as he orders the ice-cream in a plastic. It makes me wonder who it is that we are going to see.

After I'm done eating the ice-cream, I reach into my pocket to get some money and realize with disappointment that I have no money on me and it is all Michael's fault. I didn't get to take my purse from the class because I was pulled from it.

Michael on the other hand brings out his wallet to pay but Joe clears his throat very loudly.

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you won't allow me pay for these too." Michael complains. 

"You still have two months to eat ice-cream for free in my truck for the help you and the guys rendered for me."

"I thought that was over." Michael replies.

"No, it is not." Joe insists and Michael sighs but returns his wallet into his pocket.

"Thank you so much." I tell him.

"It was nice meeting you...

"...Cynthia." I add for him.

"It was nice meeting you, Cynthia." He completes and I smile.

"We have to get going now, see you soon, Joe." Michael says.

He grins, "Come back soon with Cynthia and the guys." 

"Sure." Michael replies and turns to go.

Soon, we are walking down an unfamiliar street and I can't stand being kept in the dark any longer.

"Just where are we going? And how far is it?" I ask with frustration and he smiles.

"Not to worry. I know a shortcut, if we just turn to the left- He says and points to it – we will get to where we are going within five minutes."

"Fine." I reply and we continue walking. 

We get to the left turn and I immediately notice a young girl who is probably eight or nine years old and is crying.

I'm torn between wanting to talk to her and getting to where we are going as soon as possible but Michael on the other hand seems to be in no such dilemma as he surprises me by approaching her before I can even come to a decision.

I follow behind him and watch as he is going to interact with the girl, "Hey, what's wrong?" He asks gently as he gets to her.

She seems reluctant to speak at first but Michael gives her an encouraging smile and she begins to sniffle.

"It's okay. Don't cry." He pets her and uses his handkerchief to wipe her tears. "You can tell me what's wrong."

"My mummy asked me to sell some bread so I can buy drugs for her but my brother collected the money from me." She explains and Michael and I exchange looks.

"Your brother?" He asks again and she nods.

"Mummy said he is my step brother and that is why he is very wicked." She replies, looking like she is about to burst into fresh tears.

"She probably gets maltreated by her stepbrother." I deduce sadly and he nods his agreement.

"Is your mother very ill?" Michael asks.

"Yes, she doesn't eat and she keeps vomiting." She replies.

"How much were you going to use to buy the drugs?"

"One thousand, five hundred naira." She replies. He immediately brings out his wallet and removes five one thousand naira notes and gives it to her. He also removes a card and writes down his number.

"What's your name?" He asks her.

"Tayo." She sniffles again.

"Tayo, get your mother some drugs with this money and tell her to call me on this number when she is feeling better." He says and gives the money and card to her which she collects with a huge grin.

"Thank you so much sir."

"Make sure you don't lose it and keep it carefully." I add and she nods.

"Yes ma. Thank you so much." She replies and holds the money and the card tight. With one last smile to us, she skips away and I watch her with a smile.

Michael is doing the same thing and I nudge him in the arm.

"I never knew you had a soft spot for children." I say, genuinely impressed with him.

Who knew the egoistic Michael who beat innocent people just because he feels like can care for a young girl like that?

I watch his smile turn into a sad one and the smile on my face slowly. He begins to walk again and I follow.

"If my younger sister was alive, she will probably be the same age as her." He announces.

***

I hope you guys liked the chapter.

I want to use this moment to thank all my readers. The ones who engage and the ghost readers. Thank you so much for sticking with this book till now even with my irregularities and late updates. Your responses and supports go a long way in encouraging an update from me and I really, really appreciate that.

My goal is to finish this book this year and maybe even start the sequel this year too, so help me God. Cynthia and Michael's story still have a very long way to go and I want you all to keep supporting and loving this book as you are doing. I promise not to disappoint.

I wish you all a very prosperous new year. May all your wishes come into fulfillment this year.

Thank you so, so much for a wonderful 2021. Hopefully, 2022 is a better year for all of us.

Don't forget to share, vote and comment.

I love you guys so much, xoxo.