< The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams >

- Eleanor Roosevelt

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Ivan
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"So, that Zion guy is just weird," Raymond concluded his gossip, while Segun and I ate our lunches quietly, listening to the latter rant.

"He's not as weird as that mad girl," Segun stated with a grimace.

"Who?"

"Joy Phillips of course," Segun answered Raymond's question like the answer was obvious.

"Why would you say that? Did y'all fight?" Segun chuckled, poking his grilled chicken that laid on his plate. I wasn't interested in their discussion at all, but I sat there just to be supportive.

"Shawty accused me of writing her a love letter, like, who would even write that girl a love letter?"

"You're talking like she's not beautiful," Raymond said, receiving an eye roll from Segun.

"Exactly," I said, looking up from my spaghetti. "Remember that day in class when you were like: I like this girl eh."

Segun scoffed, throwing his head backwards and resting his back comfortably on his chair. "Puhleez! Then, I thought she had sense. Now, I know she dosen't. So please, don't be bringing past matters into present situations, biko." I rolled my eyes at Segun's rude remark and sighted Damilola strolling towards our table, with her best friend - Joy.

Not who Segun wanted to see!

Joy trailed behind Damilola like she was being forced, while Damilola glared at her sternly. They got to our table and Damilola smiled at us.

"Um, hi," she sputtered shyly.

"Hey," Raymond waved at her, smiling, while Segun frowned when he noticed Joy. Joy hissed when she saw Segun frown, then she faced me.

"Hi Ivan, do you mind us sitting with you guys?" She asked politely. I shrugged and nodded my head.

"Of course," Raymond dragged, batting his lashes at both girls. "Please sit." He gestured his hand to the empty chairs near us.

"Thank you," Joy said, sitting down close to me because she didn't want to sit close to Segun. But then, she realized something, which I do not know. She stood up abruptly and asked Damilola to seat on her chair, because to her, the chair was uncomfortable.

"That's how all the chairs are, so what do you mean by uncomfortable?" Segun questioned her, as she sat next to him. While Damilola sat on the chair next to me, without looking at me. Probably because she felt shy.

I brushed her shoulder a little and she seemed shocked by my motion. She turned to face me with pouted lips, and I gazed back at her.

Is it just me, or is Damilola somewhat....cute?

"Oga, I'm not here for you at all. So please, keep your love interest to yourself," Joy retorted rudely interrupting my thoughts, chewing her gum while pressing her phone.

Segun laughed sarcastically before facing Joy. "Come o, who's talking about love interest? I only asked a question and you're bringing love into it because you have an undeniable crush on me!"

Everyone on the table groaned because they were getting into a heated argument.

"Eww," Joy flinched, scowling at him. "Sweetheart, I can't crush on you, you no get level."

"Ooouu," Raymond dragged, gesturing his clenched fist to his open mouth. "That's a low blow! Joy- 1, Segun- 0." Damilola and I glared at Raymond strictly, since he was adding fuel to fire.

Segun's face flushed with rage, sneering at Joy in resentment. "Too bad you aren't my spec."

"Daaamn!" Raymond's tone was pitched and he shifted his weight forward, leaning into the conversation. "Oya Joy, give am."

Joy yawned, stretching her arms before turning to Segun. "Boring. You keep talking about spec, do you even have one? Ewu! (fool)."

"Oh snap!" Raymond exclaimed. "Joy- 2, Segun-"

"It's enough," I cut Raymond off. Then I faced Joy and Segun. "Can you two please act mature?" They both scoffed at my question, eyeing each other.

"Seriously Joy," Damilola arched an eyebrow to Joy, and Joy sighed in defeat.

"Fine, I'm sorry everyone, except Segun." I groaned at her apology, but Iet it slide.

"Ivan," Damilola called me and I turned to her. "Um, well...we have literature this afternoon. So... maybe I can tutor you a bit before the class?" Her statement was more like a question, like she was unsure.

"That's fine by me," I responded bluntly. "Also -"

Bam!

Everyone twitched at the bang made on our table. Looking up, I half-expected to see Megan since she's fond of banging tables. Instead, it was Makayla.

"Makayla what -" She cut me off, facing Segun.

"Segun, I'm breaking up with you." Segun's brows furrowed at her statement, so did mine.

"Wh-what?" Segun questioned her, standing on his feet. "B-but why?"

Makayla rolled her eyes, folding her arms and avoiding eye contact with her boyfriend. "Makayla, what happened all of a sudden?"

"It's not me Segun, it's you," she responded agitatedly. "I can't do this anymore. You lack class, you attend this school on a scholarship and you don't have a profound level. You're just... useless." With that, she eyed Segun and stormed off.

Segun stood still, dumbfounded by Makayla's gesture. I could see the tears in his eyes and he blinked thrice to hold them back. "Excuse me," he stormed out of the cafeteria.

"Segun," I called out to him, but he didn't answer. What the heck was that? Why did Makayla behave like that?

"At least, I'm not the only one who noticed he's leveless." Joy laughed, but received a sharp glare from everyone, causing her smile to rotate. Damilola stood up and grabbed Joy's wrist.

"We should go," Damilola said, pulling Joy out of our table. Raymond and I glanced at each other, wondering how our friend was feeling.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Raymond and I searched round the school, looking for Segun, but he was nowhere to be found.

"I have a class soon," I said to Raymond, glancing at my wrist watch. "Maybe we'll continue the search later." Raymond nodded and we split ways.

I was already five minutes late for my tutorial with Damilola, at the library, so I fastened my pace.

"Hey," Someone said, pulling my shoulder aggressively. Turning, my vision landed on Ramson Jay. I rolled my eyes because I knew the encounter would just be a waste of time. I turned to leave, but he pulled me back, shoving me against a wall.

"Yo man, what's your problem?" I growled at him, hitting him back on his chest, while he grinned.

"You're my problem," He spat, taking a step closer to my face. "What's your deal with Damilola?"

I chuckled, backing up and directing my vision anywhere else but him, before facing him with a dry stare. "What's it to you?"

"Everything!" He snapped. "Damilola belongs to me, so back off bitch."

"I guess I need to remind you that she's your ex. You're in her past, so you should move on."

"Shut the hell up!" He grabbed my shirt. I glared at him boredly, slowly getting pissed. "Stay away from Damilola, otherwise I'll need to take care of you."

I glared at him with a smirk before letting out an assertive and blunt, "No."

He furrowed his brows in anger, attempting to throw a punch at me, but I held his hand and flung it aside. Pushing him away from me, he landed on his butt. I bent down to his level with a grin dancing on my lips, while he frowned angrily.

"Grow up." I step sided him, walking away from the scene.

What a loser.

I rushed into the library, and saw Damilola already packing up her books. I ran towards her, panting and apologizing for my tardiness. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to arrive late. Something came up and I needed to take care of it, I'm sorry I kept you waiting."

She stared at me with a puzzled expression, while folding her arms and tapping her feet impatiently.

"Hey girl hey," I joked, giving her a jazz hand and she let out a bit of laughter, while shaking her head.

"You're late, so you'll be punished," she teased.

I grinned playfully, "What's my punishment? I'm ready to do it." Her face flushed with embarrassment and she playfully shoved me aside.

"The next time you're late, you'll be punished," she warned with humour in her tone, while sitting back down.

"Aye captain," I said with seriousness, standing straight with my hand raised to my forehead, forming a salute.

"Just sit," she said in-between laughs. I smiled, seeing her smile, then I took a chair and sat close to her.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

"Instead of submitting your assignments, I have a better idea," Mrs Toyosin said, peering at us in the art room. "You all are to come up here, and read your write-up in front of everyone."

What?!

I didn't want to read my sad write-up in front of the class, everyone will get the wrong idea of the right thing! What I mean is, everyone will think I'm depressed, which is only partly true.

"Let's start with you two," Mrs Toyosin forgot her gaze on me. "Ivan and Damilola."

I groaned inwardly, does she really need to start with me? Mrs Toyosin really gets on my last nerves, even though she only wants the best for me.

I walked up to the front of the class with my write-up, staring at only Damilola. She got up from her seat and came up to the front, standing next to me.

Damilola recited hers first, and I listened attentively. "Okay, first things first, this might sound cringe, but try to bear with me, it's an assignment." She winked and everyone let out a little laugh, so did I.

She's weird...in a good way.

"Life is from the inside out. When you shift on the inside, life shifts on the outside. Some say it's short but it's has no length. The only thing that matters is that you have breath.

"Life isn't easy, but it's very simple. And as every day goes by, make it count, life is short lived. Don't hope for things that you can't get.
Don't worry about things that you can't expect. Just live life as you see it.
Don't waste your life feeling depressed, make the best moments out of it. There's nothing worth killing yourself for. Life is vanity upon vanity!"

Damilola's speech ended with a round of applause. Her write-up was amazing, I honestly felt like she was talking to me.

"Good job Damilola," Mrs Toyosin beamed. After all, Damilola is her best student. "Ivan let's hear yours."

First time in forever, my heartbeat raced in dread. I have never been this nervous about anything in my life. What if the writeup isn't good enough? What if Mrs Toyosin dosen't like it?

I felt a sudden impact in my hand. I looked down to see Damilola interlocking her fingers with mine. My gaze traced to her face, she demonstrated an exhale, so I took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Life for me, is a never-ending journey to self-discovery," I started.

"It's a never ending journey of adventure. We hurt people even though it's not our intention. Things happen above our expectation. Life is sad. We meet different people every day, some stay while some disappear. Life is a movie, a horror movie in some aspects. We feel afraid to take certain steps.

"For me, life is a crazy rollercoaster ride filled with pain and agony. Every breath of life hurts to the core. Sometimes, I wish to just end it, but for some certain reasons....I can't."

Mrs Toyosin's hands collided in an applause, making everyone else clap along with her. "Wow, Ivan. Did you write that yourself?"

I smirked, directing my gaze to Damilola, she was grinning from ear to ear.

"I got a little help from my tutor." Mrs Toyosin averted her vision to Damilola, then directed it back to me with a smile. She gave me a friendly pat on my back, before I strolled back to my seat with Damilola.

Others recited theirs and everyone did well, which made Mrs Toyosin super glad. We all scored a TEN! First time in a lifetime in literature, I scored a TEN!

As a gift, she released us earlier today, though she still had like twenty minutes with us.

We turned into a noisy bunch of exuberant youngsters, as we bounced out of the art class.

"Free period!"

Damilola and I walked side to side and I couldn't help but thank her for all her help. "I really appreciate it, no cap." She brushed my shoulder with hers playfully.

Where was this confidence coming from?

The Damilola I know is a really shy and weird girl, who keeps sputtering and stammering when she speaks. So, who was this girl? Hanging out with this version of Damilola, has made me realize she isn't what I thought she was. I thought all the girls at this school were insane, but Damilola is...

She's.... different.

I know I've only gotten to know her well in like, two days, and I surprisingly feel comfortable around her. I haven't even thought about my stepmom situation since I've been hanging with her. She's fun to be with.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," she said to me with a playful grin. "Why are you just quietly staring at me?" I blinked in surprise.

I've been staring at her all these while?

"Sorry."

"Hey, why are you always apologizing for staring? I don't mind it at all, trust me." I shook my head with a small smile.

"You have a math tutorial, tomorrow." A beatific smile appeared on her lips, reaching her eyes. That indicates, she was extremely happy.

So was I.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

I spent extra minutes dressing up before school, which is unlikely. I found myself feeling conscious of my looks, since I have a tutorial sesh with Damilola today. I shaved the outgrown corners of my hair, then I waxed and conditioned my hair.

After doing my skincare routine, I applied lip balm and shoved the balm in my bag, just in case I need it later. I choked myself with all my expensive perfumes. I wheezed and coughed for a while, then I shoved a perfume inside my bag, just in case I need it later.

Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I realized something changed drastically in me. I was acting so fucking weird! Since when did I start caring about my looks? And also, when have I ever carried accessories like perfume and lip balm, to school?

I scattered my waxed hair, then I threw out the perfume and lip balm from my bag. That's so not me, wtf?

I bounced downstairs and saw my mom leaving the house already. Before I could speak to her, she already drove out. I shrugged that off, and summoned Makayla. When Makayla came downstairs, we left the house and hopped into our Maybach.

"Why did you break up with Segun?" I asked Makayla inside the car, but she feigned ignorance and gazed outside the window. "Makayla, I asked you a question. Why did you break up with Segun?"

"Because I don't need him anymore, he's useless now," she responded sharply. I creased my brows at her in astonishment.

"Useless?" I questioned her and she nodded. "Mak, I don't find it normal for someone to just breakup with their partner for no reason."

"There is a reason, he's useless to me."

"Stop calling him useless. Since when did you become so heartless? You also insulted his scholarship yesterday, which is wrong! I need to figure out the companies your keeping, they're really influencing you." She scoffed at my scolding and continued gazing out the window.

Arriving at school, I walked down to the class, shaking a few people here and there.

It's the popular boy privilege.

Suddenly, Daisy Oliver stopped me just to confess her undying love for me. "I love you so much, but you ignore it, why?!"

"Why are you disgracing yourself?" I questioned her, scrolling through my phone.

She blinked in surprise, "Here I am professing my love, and you're calling it a disgrace?"

"You're not even making a point," I retorted dryly.

"But Ivan, I'm the one for you. I heard you and Megan are no longer together, which is why I'm pulling my shot. Accept me Ivan." She attempted to touch me, but I refrained from her touch by taking a step back.

"I have things to do, get out of my way," I shoved her aside and walked to the library.

Stupid girl.

Entering the library, there was no Damilola in sight. I waited patiently for her for about thirty minutes, before getting annoyed. We were supposed to have a tutorial sesh first thing in the morning, and she didn't show up.

I stormed back to the class to look for her, but I met Joy instead. "Hey."

Joy looked up from her phone and smiled on seeing me. "Hey Ivan, what's up?"

"Where's Damilola?" I asked impatiently.

"Oh, she's not coming to school today. Her dad has an election." I furrowed my brows in a baffled manner, wondering why she didn't just say so yesterday. She didn't mention this to me, does she not consider me a... friend?

If not a friend, at least I'm her tutor, I have every right to know this, but she didn't say anything!

"Are you okay?" Joy asked me. "Didn't Damilola tell you?"

"Never mind, thanks for the info," I said, then I walked to my seat.

----
A/N

Hmmm, Ivan 🌚

Who and who do you ship in this story sef?

What are the ship names you have in mind? I'm dying to know 😩

Please vote, share, and comment ♥️

CiCi 🌹