Picture of Cynthia above. She's so cute 😩🥺🥰

Chapter Thirty Nine

CYNTHIA

After lunch, everyone at the table goes to change their clothes so they can go to the stadium. Grace and I go to the stadium together. She has to practice her jumping while I still have to try out for the female 100m and 200m race.

I get picked for the female 100m race and 200m race and I discover that John also got picked for the male 100m and 200m race. The students are still trying out for a lot of activities but I'm only interested in the running.

"Hi." I hear John's voice beside me and I glance to my left to see him there.

"Hey." I reply with a smile. I start to feel somewhat guilty that I had allow him eat alone but he actually doesn't seem bothered by that.

"So, the last time we spoke was over the phone and you sounded like you were in a hurry and even hung up. Then, I saw the pictures of Grace and Femi on the group chat and it looks like they went on a date."

"Yes, they went on a date and the truth is they are dating now." I respond and glance unsurely at him. "I know you don't like him and his friends but I just hope-

"I don't have a problem with Femi actually. He is the only manageable one out of the four of them." He replies, surprising me.

"Really?" I ask and he just shrugs.

I sigh with relief and then smile, "That was why I had to sit down at their table today because she is now his girlfriend and then there is that project Michael spoke about."

"Speaking of the project, why didn't I know about it until I heard from Michael like the other students? Nowadays, it's like I'm being left out from a lot of things." He complains jokingly but then I really don't know if he is really joking.

"Grace and I came to a decision just yesterday while she was at my place. I really didn't keep it from you on purpose." I explain guiltily but he says nothing.

I decide to change the topic, "So, you like Femi?" I ask again and he gives a small smile.

"I don't really like him. I'm just saying out of the four of them, I'm glad he is the one she is dating."

"Then I'm sure you won't have a problem if she had ended up dating Wole too. Wole and Femi is closer to each other than the rest of them so they are probably alike." I tell him and the smile on his face disappears.

"That's his one mistake. He is Wole's best friend." He answers coldly and I'm unable to come up with a reply.

"I'll contribute bags of rice, beans and garri for the project." He adds all of a sudden and I glance at him with glee.

"Really?" I ask and he nods. "That's so nice of you. It'll help a lot." I say, smiling at him.

He smiles at me too but it looks sad. His demeanor has definitely changed since I mentioned Wole.

We say nothing afterwards and watch the other students practice. I glance at the St. Joseph team members and see that they are practicing the high jump. When it's Grace's turn, I couldn't stop cheering and when she jumped and received a pat from her house master, I felt like a proud mother.

She jumped really well. I cheered for her than I did for my actual team members and of course, I earned glares from my housemaster and teammates.

After she is done jumping, she runs to me from her team and gives me a big hug.

"Did you see that? I'm actually representing our team for the long jump." She mentions proudly.

"I know and I'm so proud of you. You jump really well, I never knew you had a talent at high jumping."

She bursts into laughter.

"I didn't know I was this good too. I think training with the twins helped me out." She replies and I smile.

"It did pay." I agree.

"Congratulations Grace on representing your team in the high jump and on your new relationship status, I hear you are dating Femi now." John says joining in on the conversation. Grace glances at me with a questioning look.

"Thank you. I know you don't like the guys but I'll really appreciate it if you can accept Femi-

"It's okay. I already told Cynthia that I'm glad you chose Femi out of the four of them. He is better than the rest." He tells her. Grace throws me a curious look.

"I guess it's all good then." She responds and John smiles.

"I need to talk to someone." He suddenly declares and starts to move towards the other students.

When he is gone, Grace practically closes the distance between us and looks me in the eye. I lean back a little, giving her a dead look.

"What are you doing?" I ask warily.

"Was I the only one who felt goosebumps while talking to John right now? You know, I don't even get why I need his permission to date Femi. What does it matters if he likes him or not?" She whispers then stands straight. I'm glad for the decrease in proximity but I give her a disappointing look.

"Would it matter if I said I don't like Femi?" I ask her and she gives me an unsure look before nodding slowly.

"Why?" I ask.

"Because you are my bestfriend, obviously. I wouldn't want to do something that you won't like." She explains and I smile at her.

"Exactly. John is our friend too, he might not be close to us like he used to but he is still our friend so we should also put his opinions into consideration."

The only indication that she heard me is her now narrow eyes.

"Did you just friend zone John?" A hint of disbelief present in her voice.

"Of course not. Saying he is our friend is the truth and doesn't necessarily mean I put him in the friend zone. I have a crush on him, remember?"

"But you don't put his opinions into considerations though." She states and without waiting for my reply, continues. "Because if you do, you will no longer be talking to Michael and the boys since a long time now." She continues.

"That's totally different." I reply in defense and she nods enthusiastically.

"Yeah, it is." She says but I know she's being sarcastic.

"Anyways, he said he would donate a bag of rice, beans and garri." I change the topic. Grace looks pleasantly surprised.

"Wow! That's really nice of him." She smiles. He is a sweet being after all, so I'm not surprised that he is actually donating that much.

"But now that I think of it, I think someone volunteered to donate something like that too." She adds and I raise an eyebrow.

"Really?" I ask and she nods.

"But I can't remember right now. I'll check my list later."

"Nanny will be so happy and impressed when she finds out about this. I'm so excited." I clap giddily and Grace smiles.

"Then call her. Let her know already." She replies and brings out her phone from her pocket.

"There's actually no need to call her, I'm going home to her afterwards." I wave my hands but she's already dialing her number and putting her phone to her ear.

I let out a very loud groan.

"Good afternoon, Nanny... I'm fine... Cynthia has something important to tell you... Yes, I'll give the phone to her." She says into the phone and gestures for me to collect the phone. I give her an unimpressed look but she only shrugs and puts the phone in my hand.

"Good afternoon, Nanny."

"Good afternoon, what's the important thing you have to tell me?"

"Nanny, don't mind Grace. It's not really that important. It's just I've found a way to gather supplies for those children."

"Oh, really. That's great then."

"It is, isn't it?" I reply, smiling and feeling proud of myself.

"But Cynthia, there's something I forgot to tell you yesterday."

"What's that, Nanny?"

"That neighborhood has a head, the chief. And you absolutely have to seek his permission before you take those things to them because he definitely won't allow it if you don't." She explains and I blink in confusion.

A chief? Why the hell do they have a chief?

This has turn out to be complicated.

"So I think it'll be best if you visit the chief and ask for permission because that way you can also find out about the number of households that are there and you can know how large the things you are taking there should be." She advices and I sigh.

"I guess calling you isn't a waste of time after all. I was planning on taking the supplies to them this Saturday but I guess it won't work out anymore."

"Why won't it? Get someone to follow you to his place today and it'll be done and out of your way." She responds.

Why didn't I think of that?

"Thanks Nanny. You're the best." I tell her and give her a huge kiss. I hear her giggle into the phone.

"I'm glad I can be of help. Just let me know how it goes when you get back."

"Alright, Nanny. Bye."

She hangs up.

I return Grace's phone back to her and she gives me an expectant look.

"What?"

"Shouldn't you be telling me how I'm the most wonderful best friend in the world for just calling Nanny when you were grumbling against it?" She raises an eyebrow and I smile.

"Oh, Grace. The most wonderful best friend in the world. What would I be without you-

"A loner."

"A loner." I repeat before realizing what she just said. "Hey, what do you mean by that?" I say and give her a fake look of offense.

"I'm just saying." She shrugs.

"Grace, we actually have a serious issue on ground. Nanny just told me that there's a chief that we have to seek permission from before bringing the food items."

"I'm not surprised. I told you it is a village and a village will surely have a head." She replies nonchalantly.

I give her a dead look, "It is not a village. It's a neighborhood on the outskirts of town."

"Yeah, whatever. How do you plan on getting his permission?" She asks.

"I think we'll have to involve one of our teachers. We need an adult supervision anyways."

"Do you think they'll agree?"

"I just hope they do. Let's go talk to my classteacher. I have a feeling she won't be hard to deal with."

We look around and see that the sports practice is still going on. This can actually be to our advantage, there won't be many students in the school.

We start to make our way to the school and the girls we meet on the way throws us not so subtle glares. When we start to climb the stairs, one actually pushes Grace on the pretense of tripping and scurries off.

"Am I the only one feeling something is not right?" I ask Grace but she only sighs.

When we get to our floor, we meet two girls on the way. I watch them carefully because they seem up to something and I'm proven to be right when one of them pushed the other in Grace's direction making her stumble and almost falling.

The girl that was pushed says a quick sorry but I catch the smile on her face.

Okay, I need to know what's going on.

They start to walk away but I don't let them as I stand in front of them, blocking their way. Grace follows me reluctantly and tugs at my clothes to let us go but I shrug it off.

The girl that pushed the other girl looks annoyed that I stood in her way and glares at me. She also shoots Grace a hard glare but I notice hers is longer.

"Get out of our way." She turns to me and says. She tries to walk around me but I prevent her from doing that and stand in her way again.

"Why did you do that? Push your friend towards Grace? Don't tell me it was a mistake because I know you did it on purpose." I ask in a demanding tone.

She folds her hands and look at me scornfully.

"And why should I be standing in front of you to answer your foolish questions?" She asks.

I smile. So this is how it's going to be?

This girl doesn't know who she is dealing with.

"Would you rather be on your knees when you answer? I assure you it can be arranged within seconds with my feet." I reply sternly and her eyes widen a little.

"You can't harass just the two of us when almost all the female population in school is annoyed with her because she is dating Femi." The girl that was pushed finally says and I blink at them in surprise.

So this is what everything has been all about?

I turn to Grace with a questioning look and she sighs, "You know about this already?"

"Yes. Let's go and I'll explain better." She responds and pulls me from where I'm standing.

I turn back to the girls to warn them about doing this again but they are already gone.

"That was totally unnecessary, Cynthia. Like she said, you can't harass almost all the female population in school for me." Grace says and I raise an eyebrow.

"What are you saying? They are maltreating you when you've done absolutely nothing wrong."

"Let me show you something." She pulls me towards her classroom. I follow her and she stops in front of her desk in the front row. She opens her locker and brings out two folded papers and hands them to me.

"Open it." She says and I do.

My eyes bulge at what I read.

STAY AWAY FROM FEMI. DON'T INFECT HIM WITH YOUR WRETCHEDNESS. HE DESERVES BETTER!!

The fuck?!!

I open the second one too and I find my eyes twitching in annoyance.

YOU UGLY THING, BREAK UP WITH FEMI THIS INSTANCE OR BE PREPARED TO FACE WHATEVER COMES YOUR WAY.

"I met those in my locker this morning." She explains and I give her an accusing look. She sweeps under the locker with her hands and pulls out three more papers.

"I think they have added more." She adds with a smile.

"When were you planning on telling me?" I ask, still very much annoyed. She gives me a guilty look but doesn't say anything.

"Forget that, I'm reporting this." I tell her and head out of the classroom.

Grace follows after me and comes to stand in front of me. She removes the papers from my hands, adds them with the ones in her hands and shreds them into pieces.

My eyes widen at her action, "Why the hell did you do that?" I ask but she surprises me by hugging me.

"Thank you for worrying this much about me." She says quietly then releases me,."But Cynthia, I know what I was getting into when I agreed to become Femi's girlfriend and it'll pass soon. They'll forget about it and focus on new things that will soon grab their attention."

"So we do nothing and just wait until something else have their attention?" I ask incredulously, not ready to understand her and she nods.

"I don't like this." I tell her.

She smiles, "I know you don't but I am not making a big deal out of it. We were going to meet your class teacher to ask for her help, remember?" She reminds me.

I take in a huge breath and exhale slowly, "Fine, I won't do anything. We'll get through this together."

She smiles a grateful smile at me and starts to pull me towards the staff room, "Let's go to your class teacher."

We walk towards the staff room in silence and just when we are about to enter, Grace asks, "What do you think will happen if you end up dating Michael? Will all the girls in school attack you or will they be too scared?"

"I'm not going to end up dating with Michael."

But I won't deny that the thought has crossed my mind.

More times than I can admit.

***

MICHAEL

Everything about this sports practice is annoying.

And I don't even know what I'm still doing here.

It has already been decided that I would be running the 100m and 200m race for the team - although I feel it isn't fair that I have to run both races when Peter is also a good runner like I am.

He probably didn't put in much efforts because he doesn't want to run for the team. I also don't think he is happy that he is running in the relay race and that's not my problem.

But since all these have been decided and the only thing that requires me being in the stadium is the football practice that is happening after school, I don't know why I still haven't returned to my class yet.

Okay, maybe I know why I haven't returned to my class.

And maybe it has to do with a certain coffee eyes girl who is presently talking to that despicable human being.

I have been trying my best to stop them from being together but right now, I can only watch helplessly as they talk.

Ever since I've seen him destroy the flower he had given her himself, I have even been more suspicious of him. I had guessed that his intention towards her was not good and that has only seemed to help me confirm that something is fishy.

'It's not like you approached her with good intentions too.' My stupid subconscious chooses that moment to remind me.

Fuck off. I groan, waving the stupid reminder away.

I don't want them talking together. I want them separated forever.

I should stop holding back and tell her the truth about what had really gone down two years ago.

But would she believe me?

What if she doesn't?

I shift uncomfortable where I stand as I watch him smile down at her. Ugh, even his smile is so unsettling.

I don't think I can ever be okay with them together.

Ever.

Grace runs over to them and throws her arms around Cynthia, both of them excited. I breathe out a sigh of relief.

At least, they are no longer alone.

I watch them talk animatedly for a while until I feel someone's presence next to me.

The last person I want to be in my company right now.

"What do you want?" I groan, not hiding my distaste for him.

He says nothing and I glance at his stupid face. He is staring at me and he is... smiling.

What the hell?

"What is going on?" I eye him very warily.

He shrugs, still smiling.

"I guess I just like what I'm seeing." He responds.

I blink repeatedly, not understanding what he just said.

"Do you like me?!" I almost scream out the question because of it's absurdity and the look of blatant shock on his face gives me the answer I was hoping it is.

"Of course not." He replies with utmost disgust and then shakes his head like he can't even begin to imagine it.

Okay, I get the point.

I roll my eyes and turn back to Cynthia who is now talking on the phone with someone. Thankfully, John has disappeared.

"You have fallen for her, don't you?"

I can hear the amusement in his voice and I really just want to grab him by his vest and ask him how that is supposed to be funny.

"Why do you care if I have fallen for her or not?" I ask irritably.

"It's just funny, seeing you acting like this to a girl who you just weeks ago, absolutely despised."

"Well, I'm glad I could bring some sort of amusement into your boring life." I reply snarkily.

He chuckles loudly, "Oh, you have no idea."

I clench my fist tightly and turn to him, "Isn't it common sense that you end this thing you brought up now that you know that I'm beginning to like her?"

His face is unreadable for a moment and then he gives an exaggerated shrug.

"Like you said earlier, I find all these way too amusing. How else would I find entertainment for my otherwise boring life?" He smiles and my God, I really, really want to throw him a punch.

"Is this all a game to you?" I ask with so much annoyance and when he gives me a look like I have just asked a very stupid question, I take a step towards him. Only stopping when I notice that the Housemaster is standing just ten feets away.

Taking in a huge breath and releasing it slowly, I try to calm myself.

I won't let him get to me.

"Anyways, goodluck. You know it isn't over until it's over right?" He winks at me and then turns away, leaving me rooted to the spot.

Why am I just realising how twisted Peter is?

And why am I feeling like I might have made a huge mistake when I agreed to his proposition all those weeks ago?

***

This is a pretty short chapter. I'm sorry for that. I hope you enjoyed it though.

I need your opinions on something. Do you think Michael should tell Cynthia what had gone down two years ago or he should keep waiting for the right time?

Don't forget to share, vote, comment.

Until next time.

Bye 😘.