Second part of the paragon collab with Iyanuoluwa-Temi✨

⊱𝙾𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚑𝚒⊰

"Now it's time to start the swimming competition. Are the swimmers ready?"

I twisted the rosary ring on my pinky as I muttered a quick prayer. Unlike every other day, I didn't forget to put on the ring today and I sure didn't escape the scolding mum gave me for that this morning.

"What you're doing is becoming close to God just to ask him for something and then forgetting all about him once that thing is given to you."

I glanced at Kanye who was busy with his breakfast or pretending to be so he wouldn't have to bail me out of this one.

He has his ring but always wears the chain rosary so he had no issue with my parents. And I can't exactly tell them that I misplaced one out of the two rosaries they got for me and have only my ring left which I don't wear often because I forget to put it back on after taking it off. After all, I tend to be quite forgetful.

"It's not right, Omasirichi. Do you even pray the rosary?"

I let out a sigh and dropped my fork on my plate.

"I do, Mum."

Adaora and Kanye never have to go through this. I'm always the only one who is given this rosary talk almost every day. I dread my Dad's talk the most because he sits me down to give me full-time lessons on being a faithful Catholic. Literally.

"Let's bring them out!" My mind came back to the present and my hands dropped to my sides as I exhaled.

"Good luck, Oma." I turned to see Umar standing beside me and even though it was hard, I had to stop myself from checking him out badly.

He was in nothing but his swimming trunks.

Dear Lord.

I cleared my throat, looked up at him, returning his smile.

"You too."

We began trooping out of the locker room in our team swimming suits as the crowd cheered and took our seats and waited for us to be called forward.

I had done a few breathing exercises earlier back in the locker room to ease the tension and anxiety I was feeling, but I still felt quite nervous. So I brought out my phone and began scrolling through my Pinterest page, saving and downloading images I found nice.

The app has always been therapeutic for me.

"You need to see this babe's collection, Oma..." Dami ranted on, not caring that she had been doing so since we left school. I'm not even sure she knew I wasn't paying her any attention because she kept on going.

Oh my God.

A WhatsApp notification popped up on my screen and it was a message from my brother.

Spongebob👫❤

Look up.🌚

That I did to see him and Adaora form the love symbol with their hands. It was something we always did to encourage each other when we were younger, and even till now.

I smiled as I felt a burden being lifted off my chest. My heart warmed and I didn't feel as nervous as before.

I love you guys so much!

"Oma," Dami tapped my thigh which drew my attention away from my siblings.

"It's time."

You can do this Oma.

Somehow, I had convinced Umar before now to find out if that girl would be participating today and his findings were very relieving. As we moved towards the pool, I couldn't help it as I scanned the Crestview representatives for her just to be sure, and she wasn't among us.

Thank God.

I glanced at Umar who was seated on the bleachers and he gave me a thumbs up. I gave a nod and smiled then focused on the large pool a few feets away from me.

"On your mark." The Referee called and we all moved to the starting block. I pulled my swimming goggles down to cover my eyes and so did the rest.

"Set." We took position and my eyes were fixed on the water and my lane.

Dear God, I'll really need your help here.

The buzzer went off and I dived in, swimming like my life depended on it. I caught sight of the girl from Crestview slightly ahead of me and I increased my pace, moving as fast as I could. 

It went like that for the second lap, third and the final where I tripled my effort as I saw that the Crestview girl was still ahead of me. I heard the loud sound of the buzzer and the cheers suddenly became louder which meant someone had won.

But I didn't care about that at the moment as my sights were set on getting to the finish before the Crestview girl. But the more I propelled myself, the more she pushed further and it went that way till she got to the end of the pool and hit the buzzer signifying her spot in second place, leaving me who hit the buzzer a few seconds later the third.

Third.

I didn't wait a second immediately I got out of the pool. I grabbed my jacket from the bench and stormed out of there to the locker room ignoring the calls of my teammates.

Third.

Not even second. Fucking third. I hurled my swim cap once I entered the locker room, not even caring where it landed, and burst out in tears.

My hands were on my face doing a good job of muffling my loud sobs. The last thing I need is for anyone to see me crying like a sore loser. I was angry, angry at myself for not putting in my best, and even angrier because I was sobbing over this.

I wasn't supposed to be shedding tears, we won, but here I was, weeping like a damn child all because I came third.

Third.

That seemed to make fresh tears spring up.

"Oma?" I heard someone call and I recognized the voice to be my sister's.

"Oh, Oma,"

It seemed like she had found me because I heard the sound of a chair being pulled close to me and then her hands on mine, bringing them down from my face and holding them.

"I failed, Adaora." My voice broke.

"You didn't, you came third Oma."

I shook my head in disagreement. This third wasn't meant to happen, it wasn't supposed to be because I know how hard I trained. The numerous excruciatingly painful body cramps I had, going against my parents and dieting even more just for my body to get a bit lighter. I pushed myself to the brink of exhaustion.

And I couldn't even swim myself to second place.

"I could not beat the other Crestview girl and what if that Hilary girl competed? I wouldn't stand a damn chance, Adaora."

But my sister dearest wasn't having it with me.

"Who won your school's swimming championship?"

I shook my head, not wanting to go down this path with her. She was trying to console me and I didn't want any of it.

"Answer me, Oma, who won that trophy?"

I sniffed.

"I did."

"Who won the interschool swimming tournament?"

"Me."

"Who won the best swimmer on your team for three years in a row?"

"Me."

"Who has a box full of trophies, awards, and gold medals gotten from swimming competitions back home?"

"Me."

Being reminded of my accomplishments made me feel a tad better. I knew I wasn't going to be completely over the fact that I came third just soon, but I chose to just bask in this for the meantime.

"So you see, you're not a failure and nothing was in vain."

It's just third place.

"You did well, you made everyone proud. And I know you're going to win competitions bigger than this one." She gave my hands an assuring squeeze and I nodded.

"Now, stop crying. Your eyes are swollen already." She reached behind her and pulled out her handkerchief to gently wipe my face.

I got up to look at myself in the small mirror and man, I looked terrible. My face was slightly red and my eyes were worse. They looked like I had been itching them badly.

One single tear and my eyes would give me away, telling the entire world the tale of my misery. That's why I try to avoid things or situations that would make me cry in public.

I raked my hands through my hair and ruffled it a bit. I loosened my two weeks old braids, which is something I never do but had to because of this competition. My braids stayed on my head for at least a month, a month and two weeks at most so I made a mental note to make an appointment with the salon tomorrow.

I reached for my bag to bring out my purse and get out my concealer which I always had with me for cases like this. You never know when an incident or an idiot would make you shed tears.

"What are you doing?" Adaora asked, staring at me like I was about to perform a sacrificial ritual.

"I can't go out there with these eyes so the whole world will know I was crying," I replied her, dabbing a little concealer on the red areas around my eyes and making it blend in with my skin color.

"And where did you learn that from?"

"This is the 21st Century, Adaora. I know these things. Plus I see the hickeys you cover up. You should really do a better job with that." I teased, not missing the way her eyes widened slightly and how she legit turned pale.

Of course, she covers them well, I just get to see them before they get covered up. You don't want to be caught walking around with an exposed hickey when you have an African parent who is big on purity before marriage.

"Excuse me?"

A part of me wanted to go further and keep teasing her, but the other part of me warned me about the later consequences of what I wanted to do.

"I'm 17, not stupid."

"Give me that." She huffed and grabbed the blending foam from my hand then began dabbing on her collarbone.

"It's properly covered Adaora." I chuckled which earned me a glare and she threw my foam back at me then accessed her neck.

"By the way, tell Simon that he owes me 19k."

I and the giver of my older sister's numerous hickeys had a bet long ago on if ASAP Rocky and Rihanna were one day going to have a child together. He lost, and I was potentially nineteen thousand naira richer.

"What is Simon owing you 19k for?"

"That's between me and my future in-law." I placed the concealer into my purse and my purse into my sports bag. I got a scoff as a reply.

"I'm not marrying Simon."

It was my turn to scoff.

"Mummy that has already given Igbo names to you two's children. Your firstborn is Osinachim which still works even if you have a boy or girl."

Adaora's mouth went wide at that. I would be shocked too if mum did the same thing to me, which I'm certain she will when the time comes.

Mum had gotten calm about Adaora getting married, unlike before when a day will not go by without her lamenting about her 24 year old daughter still single. Adaora didn't have a breathing space concerning this marriage thing.

I'm sure mum would have my head on a platter when she finds out that I'm not big on getting married early. That's even if I want to go down that road.

"Plus Kanye and I have accepted him as our in-law, so it's happening."

"Oh my God. You guys." She groaned and I laughed.

My face seemed quite presentable and I was satisfied with it. After Adaora had finished inspecting her neck for Simon's hickeys, she and I came out of the locker room and met Kanye on our way back to the hall. He was coming for me and the first thing he did was give me a tight hug.

If Adaora's words eased me a tiny bit, Kanye's action did more. I wrapped my arms around him and closed my eyes, relishing in this precious moment.

"You were great." He said, and I believed.

"Thanks."

He pulled away and we three went back into the hall together to see that the boys had just finished theirs. From the look of things, Crestview had won this category.

Shit.

At least we came second. The second place that I couldn't even manage to get.

I fell down in the dumps again.

If anything, I was envious of Umar who apparently didn't seem too happy about his second place. He left for the hall as I did and I almost got up to go after him but realized that Kanye had already left me to do that.

I just hope he'll be okay.

Looking around, I saw Lora in a tight embrace with  Leo after which she handed him her phone and from the way his lips slowly stretched into a wide smile, I'm guessing it's his mother who was on the screen. He sure loves that woman.

The swimming competition was over and there was going to be a one-hour break before the basketball game. Our basketball team had already left the hall and my brother along with them.

While I was splashing around in the water as a child, Kanye was running around the house with balls. Both footballs and basketballs, until he found love in throwing balls through hoops.

If he wasn't held down by this sickle cell disease, he would have been among the basketball team. But Kanye didn't let that deter him. He was there with them during every training, team meeting and every game they had in and outside school.

He practiced a few times at home, but had a limit so it wouldn't affect him. I just wished he didn't have the Goddamned disease so he could have a normal life doing one of the things he has great love for.

"You were great, Oma." A voice drew me from my thoughts to see Dami and the girls seated with me.

"Honestly." Idera added as she gave me a side embrace which made the rest of them do the same. I smiled at that.

"Thanks, guys."

As much as I wanted to remain here with them, I couldn't. So I got up to leave their midst.

"I'll be back. I have to meet up with my sister outside."

"Alright." Lora responded.

I left them to the sports complex. I wasn't meeting up with my sister. Adaora had left some minutes ago to sort out some things with the brand she's working with. I just needed to clear my head and take in the fresh air.

I came across a few of my schoolmates who were strolling around the school, taking pictures and all. They were having the time of their lives while I was busy sulking over third place.

It's just third place. I told myself again, before I would go into another round of brawling my eyes out.

It's just third place and not the end of the—

"Fuck!"

I had just gotten bumped into by an idiot, and hard.

"Watch where you're going. You almost tripped me!" I snapped as I looked up at the dark-skinned girl who just bumped into me.

"Then you shouldn't have been in my way." She fired back, and I scoffed and looked at her in utmost disbelief. I was in her way?

"You were walking with your head buried in your freaking phone. That's a rather stupid thing to do." I retorted and she looked rather stupefied.

"Did you just call me stupid? Do you know who I am?"

"Am I supposed to?"

Of course, I knew her. Semeeha Malik, the popular teen model. Now this is a reason to justify my dislike for most teen models and influencers. The stupid pride they carried with them, like they're freaking gods or something.

The lighter girl out of the three stepped in between the both of us before Semeeha could retort back. The girl shouldn't have, because I was so ready for Miss pompous.

"Okay," she drawled, letting out an awkward laugh as she put a bit of distance between the both of us. "Both of you need to chill."

"What's going on?" Another voice came and I turned back to see Dami making her way towards us. Once she did, she stopped, looking at me for only God knows what reason.

"Oma, what did you do?" She queried and I shot her a look. I knew this was coming. If there was a quarrel involving me and someone, I always had to be the one at fault or the cause.

There's never a possibility that it's the other person.

"Why do I have to be the one that did something, Dami?" I snarled, irritated by her words as I flipped back my hair from my shoulders with my eyes still on her.

"Because you are Oma," She retorted. What does that even mean? I rolled my eyes and chose not to say anything. Then Dami turned to look at them, her lips stretching into a wide smile.

"I'm sorry about my friend, Oma. Today is not her best day so her mood is pretty off."

Well, you got that right.

"I'm Dami by the way."  It seemed like Semeeha wanted to say something but her friend quickly nudged her to keep her mouth shut and spoke instead.

"I'm Dawn, and this is Semeeha and Hilary."

Hilary.

I was standing in front of the Hilary, the girl who singlehandedly beat Marion last year and the girl I was killing myself over. She looked well, not sick or anything, so I wondered why she didn't compete. I wanted to ask, but decided not to.

Hilary waved and Semeeha's expression remained stoic, but Dawn continued. "And, It's fine. Semeeha is also sorry for bumping into your friend."

She should better be.

"I'm not sorry." She muttered.

Bitch.

Suddenly Dami screamed.

"OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD! YOU ARE SEMEEHA MALIK! THE SEMEEHA MALIK! TEEN FASHION MODEL SEMEEHA MALIK!"

Oh my God!

I should have remembered that Dami is a crazed number one fan of Semeeha Malik. There was no day I wouldn't see Semeeha Malik's post on Dami's Instagram story and I had to stop viewing her stories as a result of that.

It was really annoying.

Semeeha was definitely feeling herself with the way her lips were quirked in a smirk, enjoying the attention that was coming from my friend.

"I see you are a fan," she stated, her smirk never leaving her lips.

"ARE YOU KIDDING! I'M A HUGE FAN! I'M A SUPER FAN!" The screaming and bouncing continued and on a normal basis, I won't even be bothered because it's Dami. She could be this and then sober the next minute. It's almost like she's bipolar.

But this, this wasn't normal, it was way too much. I was beginning to think she had taken something this morning.

"Dami, are you okay?" I asked but she straight up ignored me, busy bringing out her phone from the pocket of her joggers. I was so close to taking that phone from her and flinging it away.

"Can I get a picture please?" She asked.

"Of course," Semeeha replied, butt-pushing me out of her way. Heaven knows I was this close to dragging her stupid hair and ruining it.

Dami beagn taking pictures and videos and even had the audacity to try and include me in her silly videos.

"Be sure to tag me if you post," Semeeha told Dami as she ended the video and immediately, a thought crossed my mind. Taking Dami's phone to delete all the selfies and videos.

Then begin world war three with her?

I'll just give that a pass.

"OF COURSE!" She screamed again and I winced.

"Dami, you are shouting." I chided, looking around to see if people were looking at us. What sort of embarrassment is this girl bringing upon LIC today?

"UMAR! LEO!" She began waving and I wasn't fazed this time. I only turned back to see the two boys who stopped and turned at the sound of her voice. Leo returned her gesture enthusiastically and Umar just gave a mock salute and kept walking, leaving Leo to catch up with him.

All I wanted was to just go and talk with him. He seemed calm, so I don't why I hadn't even done that.

"That Umar guy," Semeeha started. "Is he single?"

"Excuse me?" I turned back abruptly to look at Semeeha, my eyes narrowed in slits.

She did not just—this damn bitch!

"What?" Semeeha shrugged nonchalantly. "Are you his girlfriend?" She asked, sarcasm dripping from her tone. I was ready to give her a piece of my mind, but Dami quickly gave me a look.

"Wow, look at the time!" She drawled, checking an imaginary watch on her wrist. "We need to get going. It was nice meeting you guys." She grabbed onto my hand and dragged me away with her, successfully drawing a bit of attention to us.

"What's your problem, Oma? We're not in our school for crying out loud."

"That was clearly not my fault. She bumped into me—" I stopped talking, realizing it was just a complete waste of my time. Dami wouldn't even listen.

"Why am I even trying to explain myself? You so much adore her, so I'm just going to be wasting my time and saliva talking to you."

I yanked my hand away from her hold and walked off. I sighted a bench in the far corner of the complex and went to sit there. All I wanted was for this day to be over and I back in my bed. I needed a break from every single thing and every one today.

Not long after I sat, I felt a presence beside me and didn't bother raising my head up to see who it was. It could probably be a random person who just needed to chill or something.

"Hi." The person said, and that familiar voice had me raising my head up a bit to see that it was Hugo. Now I get to be with one non-annoying and reasonable human.

I replied him. "Hi."

"You seem pissed." He stated.

I sat up fully.

"I am pissed." Not as much as before, but I definitely was.

"Care to share?"

I tucked strands of my hair behind my ear and sighed. "First off, third place isn't the outcome I expected, then that stupid teen model happened."

"Teen model?" He asked, confused.

"Semeeha Malik."

"Ohhh." He nodded. "So I take it that you're not a fan of hers."

"Not even in my next life."

I'd rather shave my hair than like anything related to that rude and bitchy model.

"Aren't you supposed to be with your boys?" I asked aware that the basketball game was next and that the team was supposed to be prepping or something.

"Yeah. But I just need some time alone to myself first."

"I guess I'm interrupting that alone time." I made to get up from the bench but his sudden hold on my wrist stopped me.

"Oh, no. You're not," I glanced down at his hand holding my wrist and then up at him. His eyes widened slightly like he just realized something and then he let go of my wrist and immediately slipped his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

"Sorry about that. I could actually use some company now."

I wondered what just happened, but I shrugged it off.

"Okay then."

The silence was awkward. I and Hugo didn't really talk much, so I wondered if we were going to stay this way till one of us was ready to leave. I could see a few of our students mingling and making acquaintances with Crestview students. Nice, but not quite my forte.

I'm sociable, but not much of a people person due to the fact that most people irritate me and I don't fail to show it. I've had my share of being called rude and snobbish and even a bitch.

And if being a bitch is what would keep stupid people away, then I'm proudly a bitch.

"You were flawless by the way." He spoke, breaking the silence and I was thankful for that. But a scoff left my lips at his “compliment”.

"More like I flopped."

Hugo scooted closer to me. "Believe me, Oma. You were incredible."

Why was everyone trying to convince me that my performance was that good? Either that or someone is pissing me off. What was it with every single person today?

"Hugo, stop trying to make me feel better. Cause that's what you do. Make people feel better even though they suck big time."

"And that's a good thing, isn't it?" He looked at me. "You know, you've always been my favorite swimmer on the swim team. The best to me infact." His lips curled up into a fond smile which showcased his dimples.

Charming, but I wasn't having any of his good guy talk.

"Look—"

"I'm not saying this to make you feel better, Oma. I'm just..." He paused and seemed as though he couldn't find his words or was looking for the right thing to say. Then there was a look in his eyes which I couldn't decipher.

What is it with you, Hugo?

"I'm just letting you know." He finally got out and with that he placed a hand on mine and gently squeezed then stood up and walked away.

I watched him until he was out of the complex. As much I wouldn't want to admit it, in some way, Hugo had made me feel even better than before.

Maybe I wasn't that bad after all.

Vibrations from my pocket had me bringing out my phone to see a notification of a text from Idera and I opened it.

Island gyal😗❤

Where tf are youuuu????

I was about to type in a reply when a figure caught my eyes. It was Ik and he was making his way towards me. Well, more like storming towards me, and the look on his face wasn't quite pleasing.

Shit!

It was long overdue, and I hadn't even met up with him. I'm surprised that he had not done something stupid already, like yelling my name for entire Crestview and Victoria Island to hear.

And even if he couldn’t do anything to me here, I was still wary of him and would be a fool not to. The boy is one crazy fellow.

I slipped my phone back into my pocket and got up from the bench immediately, looking around for a way to escape him while trying my best not to panic.

Not today Satan, not today.

Everyone in the complex were either Crestview students or a few of LIC students who were not my classmates. If I should leave here alone, there was no doubt that Ik would follow me.

"Oma!" I turned to the direction where I heard my name being called and to my greatest relief saw a classmate of mine, Mmasi George waving me over. I didn't waste a second and went over to her.

"Your friends have been looking for you." She said giving me a worried look.

"I know. Idera just texted me."

She gave a nod and we took another way out of the sports complex. I escaped Ik now, but I'm sure I wouldn't later. Preparing myself was the only thing I could do.

While Mmasi kept on talking about how great I and Dami were, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket and as I fished it out, it stopped. It was a missed voice call from Idera, so I replied her previous text.

I'm with Mmasi. I'm on my way.

───────•••───────

Second update of the day. 😗*Twerks.*

How are we all doing today?

What do you all think about Oma's reaction towards her third place?

Hugo, ay?🌚

And what does Ik want from our baby?😩

Spam this chapter with love, comments and votes❤