She was stunning. The spotlight illuminated her perfectly as she gracefully moved across the stage, her long, flowing dress rippling with each movement. The sound of her feet tapping in perfect rhythm with the music echoed through the auditorium, and her smile was mesmerizing. I overheard Tom, my classmate, whispering about how he never knew Senior Diana could dance so perfectly, but I was too captivated by her performance to pay much attention. I could feel the anticipation building as the end of her performance drew near. I could practically see the effort and dedication she had put into practicing for this moment. As she gracefully took her final bow and left the stage, I felt a mix of excitement and nervousness. I was rooting for her to win, and I couldn't wait to see the judges' scores.

The performers were called up to receive certificates of participation. My eyes were fixed on Diana, and the way she collected her certificate was filled with desperation and anxiety. It wasn't her fault; she was scared and afraid. After all the practice, she fails. "No, I'd better stop thinking that", I reprimanded myself. Finally, it was time for the winners to be announced. The third place was called, and it wasn't her. I swallowed hard and looked in her direction. She seemed to conceal her anxiety behind a fake smile. "There's still hope anyway," I sighed with relief. The second place was called, and it still wasn't her. I couldn't help but sweat profusely. The prying eyes of my peers made me divert my attention from her for a few minutes. "Seems your crush, the dancer isn't making it this time," Sophie, who was sitting behind me, said while tapping me. I was still looking for words to tell her when Diana was called up for the first place. I smiled to myself and winked at Sophie. She looked away instantly, which made me smirk proudly.

Diana received her medal and trophy; truly, she deserved it. I could have run on stage and congratulated her but it would be weird. Not that I think it is weird but my set mates won't let me be. Later that day, I summoned enough courage to see her. Thanks to God, she was sitting alone romancing the medal on her neck. I could see the sparkle of pride in her eyes as she gently ran her fingers over the engraved surface of the medal. "Hi! Hope I'm not disturbing," I said, approaching her cautiously. "Sure you aren't," she said beckoning me to sit beside her. The soft evening breeze carried the scent of fresh flowers as we sat in silence for a moment. "What was that with you looking at me that way at the show?" she asked with a playful glint in her eyes. "Me, nothing. I was just watching as everyone was," I answered, feeling embarrassed. The distant sound of laughter and chatter from nearby filled the air as she continued to tease me, her warm laughter mingling with the fading evening light. "Don't worry, I was joking," she said softly."
 
I was about to say something when I felt a hard tap on my back. Grimacing in pain, I turned around to see that the bully had succeeded in distracting me. To my surprise, it was Andrew. I was stunned at the sight of him. "Oh God! I'm dead," I thought to myself.
          ***************************
Andrew was a playboy. Most renowned for his use and trashing of girls he had professed love to. He seemed to be at a loss after his breakup with Diana. She hadn't offended him, nor had she complained about his illicit behavior. She loved him with all her heart- the love that was beyond this generation. That night she wouldn't forget the night of their breakup. He hadn't let her down slowly but with a harsh tone released the bombshell to her ears. Of course, she knew. She knew that a day like this would come, her friend's advice and the red flags from his behavior. Are these not enough to reveal the upcoming future?
  No, she was blinded by love. "Love is blind, but it seems you were naturally blind before love added its own", her best friend, Isabella, told her one afternoon. But all these were memories, he had dragged her to the mud and had spit her like poison.
She had to move on, who could deny such a beauty of such happiness?
Her tear-soaked bed and red eyes weren't meant to keep her chained to her memories. It was to strengthen her, she consoled herself.
     ******************************
Diana turned to see who bounced her fan. She hissed when she realized it was Andrew. By then, I have already fled. "It was better to stay out of trouble", I thought. She looked at Andrew with mixed feelings of tenderness and betrayal. "What do you want this time? You have thrown me away from your life for good. What remains to take?", she asked with a cracked voice. Andrew without making a statement, knelt and tried reaching for her hand, but she let go. "I want you back", he finally spoke, his eyes filled with his pride. Diana laughed uncontrollably, tears fell from her eyes as she did so.
"You want me back? I have been tricked once, but I can't anymore let myself be deceived by your cheap words", she said, leaving him there on his knees. He immediately rose like an aroused dog and looked dangerously at her. "It's not as if you have a choice; it's either you are with me or no one else," he said, his dark gaze piercing through her heart. The reality that these words faced her with shook her with extreme fear. Had she forgotten so fast that he belonged to the strongest cult group in the school, THE BLACK DEVILS😈? She decided to conceive that as a mere threat but what was she thinking? How did she fall in love with a cultist at first? It was all her fault, now she will be doomed for the rest of her secondary life.

She quickly retired to her hostel without looking back. It was better to remain inside than to face that blatant Andrew. She lay down on her bed and looked up at the ceiling.
Her life was a horror movie. The medal she won was still lying carelessly around her neck. Now it had no value to her. She removed the medal from her neck and threw it away. It landed directly at the foot of her roommate who was just making an entrance into the room.

Kiara picked up the medal and forged ahead into the room. She was the envy of every girl. One could tell by merely looking at her that she wasn't ordinary. She was a fair girl endowed with the beauty of nature. She had a scent that smelled of roses arousing the senses of those around her. Nevertheless, her form-fitting dress matched her curved body and just exposed the beauty of her feminity. What's more? She seemed to have a charming smile that attracted boys of different sizes and classes. Despite these facts, she still held onto her morals, and her lack of interest in the male gender increased by the day.

She calmly cat-worked into the room and sat beside Diana. From day one, she had known Diana to be a cheerful and fun-loving person who valued her competition sincerely, but now she seemed to be a different person. "Hey! Diana, what's the problem? Why did you discard what you cherish the most? Don't tell me that son of a bitch is the cause of all this. I thought you'd gotten over him.", she said with concern. Diana, who was still gazing at the ceiling, diverted her gaze to Kiara. "Oh! Kiara, you're here", she said, trying to force a smile but it seemed not to work. "You have been my roommate for a long time now, don't think that would work on me. Would you tell me what's truly bothering you?", she finally asked, seeming her words to have made an impact on her.

Diana frowned as she narrated her ordeal with Andrew. Kiara listened attentively and sighed at intervals when her words threw her off balance. "I told you this before, that guy was only there to destroy you.
Let me give your deaf ears another piece of advice. Leave Greenville Academy for your own sake. That's the only way out", she finally said, giving Diana back her medal.
Diana considered Kiara's advice. "How can I leave when I'm already at the peak of my secondary school life? A year 11 student, for Christ's sake. I simply can do without falling in love with anyone till I leave this school", she assured herself.

Meanwhile, I was having a bad day at his hostel. "Did you see how that senior shoved him off? I heard he fell flat on his belly." Peter, the most annoying boy, could be heard gisting his fellow minions. I overheard him somehow but didn't bother. My thoughts were focused on Diana and that senior boy. All wasn't well at all, that guy wasn't good. That's what I could perceive in my spirit. "Maybe I could be a little nosy and peek into their affairs and for that senior, he had put my nose out of joint. I could get back at him somehow", I thought deeply.

As I was about to lie down, many of my set boys, with their instruments of mockery, came over to tease me.
"I didn't expect it to escalate this far", I said while retreating under my bed. "This will do for some time", I said heaving a sigh of relief when they looked effortlessly for me and didn't succeed in finding me.