IRENE

Seated beside Theodore amongst hundreds of students, I rubbed my sweaty palms on my dress for the umpteenth time.

"You don't have to be so nervous, you know?"

I shot him a glare and he chuckled at my expense.

"You think this is funny. Don't you?" I asked him.

"C'mon you'll do great." He said nudging me with his pearly whites on full display.

We were at the school's Christmas party and Theodore had persuaded me to render a special number. I had accepted but thinking of it as I was seated in the hall, goosebumps crept up my skin.

I was going to sing in front of the entire school!

I was not a shy person, I had never been but this was way different and for some reason I just wanted to go back home to my room and curl into a ball.

The sound of applause had my attention and I watched as the entirety of the school's choir walked to the stage to sing.

They sang a freestyle version of Deck the Halls and wow did they blow my mind. "How on earth will I beat that?" I whispered to Theodore.

"It's not a competition Irene but I believe you'd do great. I trust you Irene." He whispered back.

I took calming breathes to help with my racing heart. "Uh Irene, I think we should be backstage." Theodore immediately said and my eyes went wide like saucers.

"What have we been doing seated here then?" I question my patience at its peak. The anxiety was just too much for me to handle.

He simply shrugged and stood up. I took that as a cue to follow him. When we got to the door of the hall, the voices I heard caused me to stop right in my tracks. I had to turn.

And yes, my assumptions were correct. Sam and Pearl the choir coordinators and the school's power couple were standing on the stage singing a Christmas Medley.

Those two had been together since God knows when and they even got matching outfits for the Christmas party. I joined Claret High in SS1 and they had already started dating. Rumors had it that they started dating in JSS2 and may I add that they just seemed inseparable. The bond they shared was beyond me.

Watching both of them sing so beautifully whilst looking each other in the eyes, I had to give it up. I wouldn't do half as good as them.

"Irene let's go." Theodore beckoned to me and I shook my head.

He creased his brows. "Don't tell me you're bailing out?"

"I can't do this,"

He pulled me out the door and turned to face me once we were outside. "You're not doing this for the school, for me or to win an award Irene. Just think of your God when you sing, think of your sister and your dad and then let your voice work it's wonders."

I was still trying to digest what he had said when a voice came booming through the speakers. "Up next we have Dorcas and Debra. Can we usher them in with a round of applause!"

"You're up after them. Make your decision now."

I bit my button lip nervously.

"No mater what your choice is, I want to let you know that God believes in you, Your dad and your sister believe in you, Your mum and her fiancé believe in you, Ivy and Rowland believe in you, all the guys believe in you, your fans believe in you, I believe you and the whole school believes in you."

After a few minutes of thought, I walked ahead of him mouthing the words that brought a warm smile to Theodore's face. "Let's do this."

We made our way to the other entrance of the hall that led us backstage. "God you two are here, you're up next." One of the backstage coordinators said.

The deafening round of applause had me knowing that the girls were done and I was up next. I tensed up a bit for a minute until I felt large warm hands envelope mine. "You'll do great Irene."

The stage lights were put off and we were ushered to the stage. Our entrance was quite different from the rest and I concluded it was all Theodore's doing.

By the time the lights came back on, we were introduced and Theodore's fingers started doing what they were best at.

You sure that's what they're best at? My dumb subconscious asked and I facepalmed myself mentally.

Get lost bitch!

I surveyed the hall with my eyes and my gaze flickered over Mayowa and Rowland who were seated together and the encouraging looks on their face melted my heart.

Mum and Ivy weren't able to make it to the Christmas party because they had to go attend to some work at Irene's essence.

My eyes darted over the guys, Ola, TY, Kiki, Zion and Desmond. Yes Desmond had returned as the first season of the movie he was starring in with April was over. The smile he gave me boosted my confidence. Ola waved at me enthusiastically and Kiki winked, I almost laughed. TY gave me a thumbs up and Zion, he gave me a small smile. One you'd hardly notice but I didn't miss it.

I took in a breath as the prelude ended thereby ushering me into the song.

THEODORE

After so much persuasion, Irene finally agreed to sing at the School's Christmas party. She almost gave up at the last minute but she rose up even more courageous.

Running my fingers over the keys on the piano, I watched her stand tall in her green and red dress with stiletto heels looking ever confident and ever so gorgeous. I ended the prelude and her voice came calm and clean.

O holy night
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear saviour's birth

The cheering from the crowd alone had her knowing that her voice was doing things.

Long lay the world
In sin and error pining
Till he appeared and the soul felt his worth

She said the words one after the other, letting it register and leaving the sound of her voice to linger.

The thrill of hope
The weary world rejoices
For younger breaks a new and glorious morn

The vibrato that followed was amazing.

Fall on your knees!

She hit high notes and I drew in a breath hoping her voice doesn't break and surprisingly it didn't.

O hear the angel voices!

Skimming my eyes through the crowd, I saw a look on their faces. I wasn't sure if I'd call it awe, shock or astonishment but I was certain it was a good thing.

O night divine
O night,
When Christ was born.

O night, divine!
O night,
O night divine!

She took a pause and I went in with the interlude feeling proud of Irene. When I played the last note in the interlude, I took a quick glance at her as she gripped the mic tightly.

She sang the verse again but this time with more emotion, intensity, conviction and most of all confidence.

When she was about to go in for the third time, she took to modulation and sang her voice echoing through the very silent hall. I was awestruck. I had heard her sing before but it was nothing like this.

She never sang with the confidence with which she was singing with.

O night, divine!
O night
When Christ was born.

She was about singing the last part when she tilted the mic stand and held it even more firmly.

O night, divine!
O night,
O night divine!

The round of applause that followed almost had me wondering if it was just the people seated or they were more. It was loud and resounding throughout the length and breath of the hall. She was given a standing ovation.

I was certain that those watching the Christmas party from home would also be a part of the applause. It would be very hard not to be.

After a bow from both of us, we exited the stage and headed backstage.

The moment we were out of eyeshot from the camera, Irene jumped into my arms. "Oh my God, did you hear them clap? It blew my mind!"

"No you blew our minds." I replied her and my eyes trailed her arms that were wrapped around my neck. She immediately dropped her hands to her side and tucked a stray strand of her weave behind her ear giving me a detailed view of the earring she had on.

It was small yet flashy. I let my hand move on it gently and only pulled away when Irene drew in a sharp breathe.

My eyes flickered up and down Irene's form and from that singular act, I could tell she had dressed to kill because with the way she was dressed, she could pass off as a queen. A very dignified one for that matter.

"Oh my God! Babes that was mahhhhd!" I heard Ola exclaim and I turned towards the guys who were already hovering around us. I didn't notice when they walked in. She pulled Irene into a hug and so did Kiki. TY and Zion stood by them while Desmond walked to me, gave me a quick once over before embracing me in a bro hug before walking to an elated Irene a trapping her in a big bear hug but not without dropping a kiss on her head. He whispered something to her and she did same.

Those two reminded me so much of Lucia and I back in the days and I felt my eyes burn. "Hey Theodore." I looked up to Desmond who was back beside me.

I pushed back the tears that threatened to spill out and did my very best to push away any form of agony away from my mind.

"You good?"

My lips stretched into a smile. "Of course." I relied him.

We ended up outside and he had me narrate what went down with Osaze. After our little chat, we returned back to the hall where the guys were already at. The silent night procession began with all the lights in the hall being switched off and everyone holding a burning candle whilst singing the song.

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.

*
Another chapter for just because I love y'all. Thank you so much for 7k reads on Resolutions, I appreciate.

If you haven't read resolutions, you better go and read it now because you'd be seeing characters from there in the later chapters of this book. I'm telling you this just so you don't get confused in the long run.

That's by the way though, what do you think of this chapter? Kindly tell me your opinion in the comment section below.

By the way this is the last chapter in 2020. My babies will be in 2021 in the next chapter 😊

Alright then, see y'all in the next chapter. Bye boo bears🐻‍❄️

Word Count: 1767