Picture of Michael above 😩😌😘. The amount of time I spent on this guy's IG page ehn 😂😂.

Chapter Thirty Eight

CYNTHIA

At the entrance of Grace's class is a group of four girls and one of them is holding... a bat! A baseball bat!

I really hope she isn't using it for what I'm thinking right now.

I look at the girl's face and immediately recognize her as the Chicken girl amongst Dorcas' friends. The one who is Demi's ex. If she is really here with a baseball bat and those girls, does that really mean she is here to fulfill her threats?

She didn't even bring Dorcas and the third girl, Cat or something.

Who the hell are those girls?

I try to sneak into the class just as the teacher in Grace's class starts to leave and breathe out a sigh of relief when I do so without Femi's ex noticing me. I see Grace where she sits in the front row and she looks a bit nervous.

When she sees me, she looks visibly relieved and waves me over. I turn backward to look for Michael but he is nowhere to be found.

Seriously?! He chose this moment to vanish!!

"I think they are really here for me. That's Femi's ex-girlfriend." She mutters nervously as soon as I get to her. I can only nod to let her know that she's right.

"What do I do?" She asks, all anxious and her nervousness begins to rub off on me. I glance at the girls that are now looking at us and realise that only Femi's ex-girlfriend is holding a bat. If I somehow collect the baseball bat from her, beating them up will be easy.

I'm still thinking of how I'll go about collecting the baseball bat from her when she and her girls enter the class and head straight towards us.

Grace and I stand up instinctively and the girl holding the stick smiles sweetly at Grace.

"So... you are Femi's new girlfriend." She says in a sweet tone to Grace, sizing her up. Grace and I exchange looks.

Why is she talking like we are friends?

Discovering that she has her eyes on Grace and isn't looking at me, I figure this might be the right moment to grab the baseball bat from her. I look at the bat and glances up at her, our eyes meeting.

It's like she knows what I have in mind.

"Grab her." She orders the girls and I'm momentarily confused because only one of them is standing beside her. It isn't until they hold me from behind that I realize they were already there, waiting for her instruction.

She looks at me straight in the eye, a sweet smile on her face, "I really don't trust you. You are a wild cat."

I return her gaze with disgust and it's at that particular moment that I understand these kinds of scenes in movies, where the main character who is being held hostage spits into the villain's face.

Because I am really holding myself back from doing the same thing.

She gives me a look of repulsion and tsks, 'It's so sad really that Dorcas isn't here. I'm sure she'll be very pleased with this sight."

"You are a coward. I'm not surprised since your name is Chicken. Why don't you tell these bimbos to release me and let us have a little chat." I say through clenched teeth and she looks at me with mock apprehension before bursting into laughter.

"Point of correction dear, my name is Chika and I'm not here for you, silly." She waves me aside, "I'm here for her." She points the baseball bat at Grace.

"You know, I was very disappointed when I found out he replaced me with you." She pouts. "I expected better."

"What do you want?" Grace asks calmly and I glance at her worriedly. She looks resigned and a little bit annoyed. She isn't nervous anymore, just irritated.

"Oh, you're a tough one, aren't you?" Chika asks sweetly, tapping her other hand with the stick.

The way she is talking is starting to make me vexed. Was she doing it on purpose so she could seem crazy? If it's that, she is doing a good job.

I think back to my past encounters with her and Dorcas and I remember how quiet she is, even compared to the Cat girl. They mostly leave me and Dorcas to do the talking only putting in snark comments once in a while.

I've always thought of them as people that do just as they are told but I'm really beginning to doubt it now. She seems actually scary unlike Dorcas who only whines.

I wonder how that Cat girl is really like.

"What do you want?" Grace asks again, her voice breaking through my thoughts.

She shrugs, "Well, I've come to teach you a lesson. A lesson you'll never forget."

"And who are you to do that?" I ask and she turns to me, narrowing her eyes.

"You know I'm really impressed with you." She replies, ignoring my question. "You succeeded in turning Michael's attention away from Dorcas."

And then she continues, still tapping her other arm with the stick. "Dorcas... she can be really dumb sometimes, you know. You always get the better of her in every confrontation and it's really annoying." She rolls her eyes and sighs heavily, being all dramatic. "Anyways, she likes to talk but I, I like to act."

"I'm not here for you though. I'm here for her." She announces sweetly and points the stick at Grace, glaring at her then her voice suddenly turns bitter. "And by the time I'm done with you, you're going to hate yourself." She ends violently and drags Grace out from behind her table.

The class is now in complete silence, students in and out of the classroom have gathered to watch another show. No one even made a move to call a teacher or to stop what is about to happen.

Do we even have prefects in this school?!

Michael also seems to have disappeared and I'm left to watch helplessly as the last girl ties Grace's hands behind her back and Chika smiles with satisfaction.

I struggle to release myself from the other girls' hold but they only grip me tighter, both of them holding each of my arms like their lives depend on it. If I don't do something, this psycho is really going to hit Grace repeatedly with the stick.

She surprises me by suddenly giving Grace a resounding slap and my eyes widen in horror. "That's for going on a date with my boyfriend." She mentions bitterly and tighten her hold on the stick.

I start to struggle wildly now to get out of the grasp of the girls, I can't let her hit her with that. The slap was one thing, getting hit by a baseball bat is on another level.

Where the hell is Michael?!

She raises the stick, ready to hit Grace with it when we hear Femi's voice. I have never been so happy to hear his voice.

"Don't you dare hit her." Femi warns sternly and rushes to Grace.

Chika's eyes widen with surprise and she drops the stick. Femi doesn't even look at her as he unties the rope that was used to tie Grace. And when he tries to grab her face, she winces.

Femi's hand drops and he turns to Chika with an expression that I've never seen on his face before. He looks so annoyed that I actually think he might hit her. I also notice that his cheek is kind of swollen and he has cuts on his face, probably from the fight he got in yesterday with the thieves.

Wole comes to his side then and gently touches his shoulder and that's when I realize that he didn't come alone. Someone roughly push the girls that are still holding me and grab my arms gently.

"Are you hurt?" He asks quietly and I stare surprisingly at Peter who is looking at me with worry.

I don't get to answer as Michael also comes to me and nudges Peter aside, "Are you alright?" He also asks but I give him a hard glare. Everything that happened here wouldn't have happened if he was here.

I glance at Peter but his expression has turned blank and he isn't even looking at me anymore but at Grace.

Someone starts to sob all of a sudden and I look up to see that it is Chika.

Why the hell is she crying?

"Femi, it isn't what it looks like." She says amidst tears, her voice trembling. "She wanted to hit me, if I hadn't collected the stick from her in time, she would have hit me. I was only trying to defend myself."

My mouth falls open in shock and I stare at her disbelievingly. There is even a loud chorous of 'ahn ahn' from the students around because they also know she just told a very big lie.

She had her hands tied for crying out loud.

"And you think I'm going to believe that? You made her defenseless and even slapped her!" He shouts with fury and she sobs harder.

"She slapped me first. It was an act of self-defense. You know me, I won't dare to do that. I won't even hurt a fly, I-

Grace doesn't allow her finish her words as she slaps her across the face and I blink in surprise.

Wow.

I never thought I'll witness the day Grace will actually slap someone across the face.

"That is for slapping me when I did absolutely nothing wrong." Grace tells her and Chika holds her cheek, her eyes blazing with fury.

She turns to Femi, "Did you see that? Did you see what your ugly girlfriend just did to me? Why aren't you saying anything?!" She shouts angrily.

"Shut up! Enough of this bullshit!" He shouts too, startling everyone. "Chika, I know you and I know what you're capable of. It's this act of yours that made me break up with you in the first place."

"You're lucky I don't hit girls, if not, I would have been the one to slap you." He glares at her and continues, "Stay away from my girlfriend. It's a warning. If something like this happens again, I won't take it so lightly with you." He warns and then turns back to Grace.

"Fine! Do whatever you want!" Chika responds angrily, finally dropping the act. "But just know this, you are mine and you'll always be mine. We are both destined together and the sooner you know it, the better for you." She declares, staring at him.

"And one more thing, I can't really promise you that I will stay away from her-" she looks pointedly at Grace then continues "-but then there are other ways I can get to her." She finishes and glances at me with a sly smile.

I raise an eyebrow in question and she rolls her eyes and finally walks away. The rest of the girls follow her and it isn't until then that I breathe out a sigh of relief.

"Are you alright?" Michael asks again and I give him a dirty look.

"I thought you were behind me but I looked back and found you gone."

"I had to make Femi aware. She is his girlfriend, not mine." He replies and I stare at him like he has grown two heads.

"So you wouldn't have done anything if Femi wasn't around?" I ask with astonishment.

"Of course not." He replies with a chuckle. "Have you forgotten that guys like to be knights in shining armor? And in this situation, it will only be right for Femi to be Grace's knight in shining armor." He finishes.

I roll my eyes at him, not bothering to come up with a reply.q

"Grace, are you okay?" Femi asks Grace and she nods. He then hugs her and kisses her head.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here on time and everything was my fault, if I hadn't dated someone like her-"

"It's okay, what matters is everything is okay now and no one got hurt." Grace says, interrupting him and he glances at her cheek.

"Are you sure?" He asks and she nods, giving him a reassuring look.

"I'd totally kiss you if we didn't have an audience." He smiles and Grace chuckles.

"There is plenty of time to do that."

"Well, I've got to admit that was really entertaining but I'm really hungry. Who's with me?" Wole says in an attempt to lighten the mood and we all murmur our agreement.

We head outside and I'm grateful for the fresh air. I glance at Femi and Grace and they both seem to be in their own little world, whispering things that are meant for only each other to hear.

I smile at them and then remember what Nanny said:

"She's your only friend and once she's in a relationship, she might not have time for you like before. She will start thinking about her boyfriend and become more forgetful. Sometimes, she might not even be listening to what you're saying because she is thinking about what her boyfriend said to her the previous day or night."

"Look, dear. The only way you won't feel out of sync is if you also start dating. Once both of you have boyfriends, you'll be able to balance it out with each other."

"What are you thinking about?" Michael asks but I only smile in response.

I'll have a boyfriend when I'm totally sure about it.

We continue to make our way to the cafeteria and I remember what Grace and I had planned for the children in Tayo's neighbourhood, I turn to Michael to ask for his help.

"Michael, do you remember the children we saw at Tayo's neighborhood yesterday?" I ask and he nods, all his attention towards me. "Well, I'm planning on helping them with food, money, clothes and anything for them to get by for a while but the thing is they are quite a lot and we need more funds to buy it."

"Let me help then, I can ask the others too." He replies and I shake my head a little.

"You already helped Tayo and her mother a lot yesterday and I'm sure it involves a lot of money. And I don't want to burden you guys with this out of the blue."

"It won't be a burden though. We are wealthy enough to take care of whatever cost you have." He replies and I roll my eyes.

"Grace and I thought it will be a good idea to involve our classmates. That way, they won't have to spend a lot and can contribute whatever they are capable of." I explain.

"Alright then." He responds and starts to go but I stop him. Wole and Peter are now long ahead of us.

"I wasn't done talking." I tell him and he raises an eyebrow.

"We need you guys to help us gain the students' interest. If they know you are involved, they will want to be involved too."

He smiles brightly, "Of course, I can do that much for my Cynthia." He says and although I give him a dry look pretending that I'm unaffected by his words but I just can't shake off the tingling I felt when he referred to me as 'my Cynthia'.

He chuckles at my express, totally unaware of how he is making me feel. "When do you want to take the materials to them?"

I remember the looks on the children's face and I immediately know it's something I have to do as soon as possible.

"Saturday. Today is Wednesday and if everything goes as planned, we should have enough to give them by Saturday."

"Don't worry then, I'll make sure to announce that too." He assures me and I allow myself to breathe a sigh of relief.

With Michael and his friends involved, I think everything might actually work out.

"Thank you." I smile gratefully at him

"Thank me when everything is over." He replies and I nod. "I'll have to tell the guys though so they won't be surprised when I suddenly start to announce at the table."

"I'm sure Grace is already telling Femi."

He shrugs, "Let's just go."

***

We finally get to the cafeteria and I see the guys and Grace already seated at their table. I go to get my food so I can also join them but after getting my food and turning to do just that, I catch John's eyes. He is sitting alone at our table and he is looking at me with a smile.

He gestures to Grace who is sitting at Michael's table with a raised eyebrow and I realize he probably doesn't even know that Grace and Femi are dating now.

I decide to go over to our table instead so he won't be the only one eating and so I can tell him about Grace's relationship.

I take two steps towards him but I get pulled back and I turn to face Michael who gives me a questioning look.

"Why are you going over to loverboy's table?" He asks and I cringe at the name he just called John, givinv him a dirty look.

"Stop calling him loverboy."

He shrugs, "I can call him whatever I want."

"Well, in case you've forgotten, that's actually our table." I remind him and start to head towards it again.

He holds my hand and stops me from going, "And in case you've forgotten, you told me to make an announcement and you need to be at our table so I can easily refer to you."

I frown at him, "Just refer to me while I'm at my table."

"Why can't you just come to sit at our table? Besides, your friend is in a relationship with my friend, isn't it natural for us to all sit down together as one big family." He ends dramatically and I glance at their table. I see Grace staring at me and when she sees that I'm looking her way, she waves me over with a smile.

I sigh and decide to just go to her. I can talk to John during sport's practice.

I reach their table and sit next to Grace and across Peter. Our eyes meet and I give him a small smile which he returns.

We start to eat and while we eat, Michael tells the guys about my plan to help the children and they all offer to just contribute instead. I tell them the same thing I told Michael and ask him to just announce it to the other students before they start to leave the cafeteria.

Femi is the first person to finish his food and when he does, he stands up with his plate and spoon and hit them together making a very loud sound that makes everyone at the table wince and to get everyone's attention.

"You should have told me before you did that. I'm still eating." Michael scowls.

"Not everyone is a slow eater like the rest of you and if I don't call their attention now, most of them will be out of the cafeteria before you are done." He defends himself.

Michael rolls his eyes at his statement but stands up to address the students all the same.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Sorry for disrupting your lunch but I only want to make an announcement. My friends and I have decided to embark on this project to help some children at a neighborhood we came across just yesterday. It's something we can do by ourselves obviously, but due to the insistence of someone, we have decided that the more, the merrier."

I throw him a dirty look at this and he sees it and winks. I roll my eyes and continue to eat my food.

"So the bottom line is, if you feel you are interested in donating something, whether foodstuff, money, clothes or any other thing you think will benefit these people, you can put your name down with Cynthia or Grace with what you will be giving out-"

There is a slight murmur from the students at the mention of me and Grace's name but he continues "-the deadline for this is Friday as we will be going to the neighborhood on Saturday with whatever things we have gathered. Please note that this isn't compulsory but we'll be very happy if you guys contribute." He finishes with a grin and then asks, "Any question?"

One of the students raises his hand and Michael gestures for him to ask. "Will those that are contributing go with you to give these items to the people at the neighborhood?"

Michael turns to me at that and I mouth to him, "It can be arranged."

"It can be arranged." He repeats. "If you are interested in following us to deliver these items, you can also leave your name with Cynthia, that way, we can arrange for the proper mode of transportation. Oh, and my friends and I will also be going, don't forget that." He adds and I roll my eyes.

He is so full of himself.

"Any other question?" He asks and there is silence.

"Well, I guess that's it then. Any other information will be passed at lunch tomorrow. I hope by then, we've already begun to receive the items. Thank you all for listening." He ends with a wide smile.

He sits and turns to me, "Now you'll see just how influential we can be." He wiggles
his eyebrows and I shrug.

"We'll see." I add, taking the last spoon of my food.

Michael turns out to be really influential because by the time lunch is over, I already have nineteen names promising to bring things ranging from money to foodstuff. Grace already has ten names.

"This is going well than I expected." She says just as the bell rings.

"I know, right?" I reply excitedly.

"Well, what can we say. It's good to be famous." Wole says this time around and I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Even you?!" I ask and he shrugs as he taps Femi's hand away from his food.

I glance at Peter and see him playing with his food, a bored expression on his face. He hasn't said a word since we arrived as usual.

"Baby! Baby!!"

I cringe at the voice of the very unwelcome female and control myself from just standing and leaving.

"Why didn't you tell me about this? Why did I have to hear like the other students?" Dorcas continues with her irritating voice as she approaches us and Michael expression darkens.

I look around for her friends and I see them sitting at the table next to us. My eyes meet those of Chika's, Femi's ex-girlfriend and her glare hardens. If looks could kill, I'll be dead right now.

I glance at Cat and see her playing with her food, a bored expression on her face. I realize I've just seen someone do that and I look at Peter and see him still playing with his food, the same expression on his face.

Wait, is she imitating him?

She glances at Peter just then and even though he has his back to her, she smiles sweetly at him while taking a spoon of rice to her mouth.

So she likes Peter?

I'm forced to look at Dorcas as she bends and throws her hands across Michael's neck as she is standing behind him and Michael subtly removes it. She pretends she didn't notice and does it again and kisses him on his cheek.

"What do you think I can contribute?" She asks Michael. He shrugs and removes her hands from around his neck again.

She turns to me instead and shoots me a dirty look, "What's the highest money someone has volunteered to donate? I'll make sure to donate more than that." She says and I immediately smile.

Oh, really now? I won't make it easy for you.

"Hundred thousand naira." I reply without looking at the list that's with me. The highest amount someone has agreed to donate is thirty thousand naira but she doesn't have to know.

Her eyes widen slightly at this and she raises an eyebrow, "Are- Are you sure?" She asks and I nod, not trusting myself to speak so I won't burst into laughter.

Grace looks surprised because we've obviously not gotten such amount and she glances at my list. When she sees that it is indeed not there, she realizes what I'm doing and also hides her laughter.

"Well, if that's the case. I'll volunteer a hundred and fifty thousand." She says and I grin.

"Wow! That's impressive." I mock as I write her name with the amount she just promised on my list. She doesn't seem to notice that I'm mocking as she smiles at Michael.

"Impressive, isn't it?" She asks him and he nods.

"Yeah, it is." He replies monotonously and removes her hands from his neck again.

"I have to go practice now. I'm the queen for our team's march parade." She announces and Michael nods.

"Bye." She pecks him on the cheek again. When she finally leaves, Grace and I burst into laughter and Michael uses his handkerchief to wipe his cheek.

"I already feel sorry for her team. They are surely going to come last in that march parade." Femi says.

"I heard her team is St. Paul." Wole tells him and Femi's eyes widen.

"My team?!" He asks with incredulity and Wole nods.

"I'm guessing your team is losing the march parade." He adds and Femi whimpers. "Congratulations bro for coming last in the match parade." Wole continues and Grace glares at him.

"The competition hasn't even started yet. You can't be so sure." She tells and he shrugs.

"Well, I'm only congratulating him in advance."

"Shut up!" Both Femi and Grace shout at the same time and everyone at the table jumps.

"You are actually wrong, Wole. She is a team member of St. Matthew." Michael finally announces and Wole bursts into laughter.

"I know you are joking." He says after a while but Michael only gives him a serious look.

"She is a team member of my team?" He asks again with a pained expression. Michael nods slowly.

Femi pats him on the back then and grins at him, "Congratulations bro for coming last in the match parade."

Wole groans at this and places his head on the table and everyone at the table burst into laughter.

Well, everyone except Peter who has only a slight smile on his face.

***

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