Chapter seventeen is up😗♥️
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So this chapter is dedicated to every single reader of mine, thank you ✨

♠ Chetachi ♠
"Reuben and Denzel close up the gap," the sports master shouted.
They had been jogging round the massive field for almost an hour now, the sports master Mr Edikan called it warming up.

Chetachi's wheezed and coughed as they went on the last lap. His mouth felt dry and he desperately needed water.

Eniola had been leading the rest of the athletic society since the jogging commenced, she was a runner and the jogging was her own practice for the tryouts.
Chetachi tried to remain in his place beside her as the captain of the sports team, occasionally slipping to second place.

"Divide yourselves into factions, and start playing." Mr Edikan shouted, a vein popping out from the side of his neck due to his constant screaming.

Some of the boys snickered behind him, talking about how his head was likely to explode if he didn't sit down and keep quiet.

Chetachi rolled his eyes, Mr Edikan was a good sportsman, but he took it too far, especially when other schools were involved.

He proved Chetachi's thoughts when he shouted again,"I will cut my two testicles off before you people loose and disgrace me in this competition, now spread out into your various departments!"

The already sweaty team members tried to find their various places, mumbling and complaining as they did so.

Chetachi wondered if he should tell Mr Edikan to calm down, the athletic society was more than capable of taking almost any school down, but when he saw the way his nostrils flared as a junior boy took a sip of water, he decided to keep quiet.

Chetachi joined the football game that was about to begin, Tobiloba would handle the basketball players seeing as he was one of them, Chetachi thought to himself and waited for the game to begin.

He was grateful Tobiloba hadn't taken any of Chikamsi's comments at Rainforest Cafe the previous day to heart, he seemed to have forgiven her quite easily and assured Chetachi that he wasn't angry with him for bringing her along, neither was he holding a grudge against either of them.

To validate his claim, Tobiloba had continued helping Chetachi out as the assistant sports captain in any way he could.

"I don't think that boy is half as awful as his classmates painted him to be." Chetachi said to himself, stretching in his position with other midfielders in the football field.

During the ten minutes half time break, Chetachi walked into the locker room with his team, to discuss their new game strategy.

Jasper Athletic Society had been playing against the school's former champions, the set members of the Jasper High Athletic Society who had graduated three years before them, and were leading them 5-0.

James had almost scored a goal, Chetachi spoke up, wanting to swap him with another boy, and place him as a striker when he noticed he was missing.

"James, will be one of the strikers for the next round," he said, looking around for the brown skinned boy.

"He's absent" a teammate supplied, "Maybe he went to drink water," another one said. His eyes went to the cooler which lay open and half empty with bottles of water inside it.

Chetachi asked another team member to inform James when he saw him.

The game strategy revamped, they filed out of the locker room, determined to ace these tryouts.
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"Let's take this train, Orion station is its next stop." Gracious said, going to the counter to get them tickets.

Chetachi followed her closely behind, he had seen her after tryouts making her way home and had decided to join her.

It was past 6pm and the outfit she had on wasn't exactly what he would want her walking around in the evening with, they boarded a train, and sat next to each other in silence.

Soft music played from a hidden sound system in the subway, he knew this song, Real Thing, Pink Sweats and Tori Kelly sang this song.

This seemed to be the station's low hour, people were either already home or still at work. Subsequently, there weren't a lot of people in the subway they boarded.

"I was looking for you during tryouts," Chetachi said, Gracious was silent for a minute,he worried his lower lip, wondering what could be wrong with her.

"Did I do anything?" He asked, gently probing her.
Gracious shook her head and yawned.
"I'm too tired for this abeg," she explained adjusting her seating position so she could rest her head against the head rest, closing her honey brown eyes.

Chetachi watched her intently as she rested, her features worried, and her brows furrowed. He reached out to smoothen them when her eyelids fluttered, and she opened her eyes.

He swallowed hard, he had been caught,his hand hung in the air while Gracious gave him a quizzical look.

"I'm lonely," she said.

Chetachi shifted awkwardly in his position, placing an arm across her shoulder.

She rested her full head of hair on his shoulder, placed one of her hands in his, and wrapped the other one around him. They were enveloped in an awkward hug.
Chetachi relaxed, with his free hand, he held unto her shoulder and pulled her closer.
He rubbed her fingers softly with his hand and admired them, Gracious was beautiful.
"Amara," he whispered.He remembered when they had first become friends in their SS1,they spoke often, drifting apart from time to time but still had that easygoing vibe.

Ss3 had been pretty much the same, they had started off cold and drifted apart in first term, but at the end of last term, they had grown closer and his feelings for her had begun to grow.

His features contorted in a frown, when his fingers brushed something hard below her ribs cage,she was wearing something, this didn't feel like bulletproof, he thought to himself wondering if she was at it again.

Chetachi was almost certain she hadn't eaten at all that day.
He had confronted her in the ballet studio last week, and she had assured him it was harmless.

Gracious had put up a good act, and he had believed her.

He replayed their conversation in his head to see if he had missed out on any important detail.

"There's something I've wanted to ask you, I don't know," Chetachi stammered.

He had decided it was high time he asked Gracious about her increasingly reducing waistline and her frequent dizzy spells.

He found her in the auditorium, where she was waiting for Lumen to finish ballet practice so they could leave together.

He thought she hadn't heard him, her expression remained stoic, eyes remained trained on the group of ballerinas practicing infront of them.

He sat on the bleachers with her, took a deep breath before asking her what he had in mind.

"There's no proper way to say this, but I've noticed you are frequently dizzy, and your waistline seems to have reduced by a whole three inches if not more." He added,Gracious looked at him from the corner of her eyes and rolled them.

"Chetachi a waist trainer is something most women wear," she offered focusing her attention again on the dancing ballerinas before them.

He inched towards her,unsure of how to reply.
"But are you alright?" He had asked.
She had nodded and replied yes.

Being in her presence was hard sometimes, most times she didn't even spare him a passing glance, and other times, she didn't want him to leave.

He looked down at her sleeping figure and squeezed her hand a little, assuring her he was still there, Chikamsi's father had invited him over for dinner.

He was to pick her cousin from the train station where he would alight and spend the night with them.
Chetachi had informed his parents, telling them that he would be back the next evening after tryouts, they agreed.

The train stopped to let off a few passengers, and Gracious stirred and woke up.
She looked down at their hands interwined, Chetachi looked at them too, waiting for her next move.

She drew in a ragged breath, one that made his insides turn, he smiled down at her.

When most of the passengers had alighted, and two or three more had come on board, the train headed for Orion station.
He reluctantly let go of her hand, and sighed as she took it out of his hold and drifted back to sleep.

After seeing her off as far as she would allow him, Chetachi walked back to Chikamsi's, hoping he wasn't late for the dinner he had been invited for.

Chikamsi's cousin, Denise wearing green sweatpants and a black blouse, stood under the light at the front door.

"The sweatpants,Denise" he groaned, reaching out to hug the older lady.

She smacked him on his shoulder playfully, asking him how he had been.

She nodded slowly when he told her he had been okay, and announced

"Aunty brought me here to do something she says is long overdue." And even though she wouldn't say anything after that, Chetachi knew it was going to be something Chikamsi wouldn't like.

Authors Note
Purrrrrrr 😗🌚🌚🌚
Who likes mango?😗😗😗
I don't know how somebody can actively hate such a perfect fruit!😭😭😭✨
Don't ask me what happened in this chapter, me I'm not sure either 😂 q