THEODORE

I leaned patiently against the doorframe of the female restroom. She had insisted I waited outside for her.

One minute....

Two minutes...

Three minutes... Passed and there was no trace of her. I waited a few more minutes but she didn't come out.

I had this feeling in my gut that things were not right and I started feeling lightheaded. Slowly, I turned the knob to the door and walked into the restroom.

Everything seemed to be in it's place but there was no trace of her. I walked to the mirror and watched my reflection forgetting the reason I was in the female restroom in the first place. Messy curls, tired eyes with large eye bags and several lines of worry on my forehead.

I was exhausted, been through a lot in the past few weeks and that made me look like a walking dead.

A shallow thud eroded me from my train of thoughts. I opened every stall in search of the uncomfortable sound and I stopped at the very last one as the door was locked.

My breath hitched as I ran over the possible things that might have happened. Without thinking twice, I grabbed a pin from one of the sinks and bugled open the door to the locked stall.

The sight before me made me freeze. Goosebumps crept up my skin and my hands shaking on their own accord.
She was laying on the floor in a pool of her own blood with a slit wrist.

I rushed to her and made several attempts to wake her up but she lay lifeless and I did what I should have done long ago. Call for help.

Watching the paramedics rush her into the ambulance with a stretcher, I winced my eyes closed trying to snap myself out of the dream but it was like my surreality suddenly became my reality.

Even while on the way to the hospital in the ambulance, my gaze lingered on the lifeless body before me. My insides were burning, in my head I was screaming but in reality, I sat very quiet as though nothing happened.

The whole situation was playing with my sanity. The ride to the hospital was a quiet one and as soon as she was rushed in, I took a seat on one of the bleachers not moving an inch till the doctor came out.

I shut everything else out as the words left the doctor's lips "We lost her."

I woke up and I kept hearing the doctor's voice from a distance. I got up and rushed to my adjoined bathroom and washed my face before proceeding back to my room.

I looked over at my wall clock to see that it was just some minutes after four in the morning. I decided not to sleep anymore and went over to my reading table to study.

My efforts to concentrate on the textbook I was reading seemed futile and I took a walk to the terrace that was connected to my room and sat on a bench there staring at the dark sky.

Little stars were twinkling and the cold breeze greeted my skin harshly. I sat there for along time basking myself in the ethereal feeling of joy. Something I'd never feel.

                                •••••

Two knocks on the door to his office and his voice came out saying "Come in." I had decided to pay Kazeem a visit as I wasn't sure of my sanity anymore. I stepped into his office and found him reading a magazine.

His gaze lifted and met mine. "Ah, Theodore. You're here." He said dropping the magazine he held in his hands on his table. "What brings you here kiddo? I mean, your parents didn't book an appointment."

I shrugged. "They don't know I'm here." I had left the house earlier than usual with the excuse of wanting to study before the school activities began.

He looked at me with concern. "You don't look okay. What is the matter?"
I sighed shutting my tired eyes for a while before speaking up. "The nightmares. And this time they feel more real. I even had coffee a few times to keep myself awake after the nightmare."

Kazeem gaze lingered on my tired figure and he sighed tapping gently on his large table with his index finger.
"I'll see a patient by seven-thirty and it's already some minutes after seven." he uttered glancing at his large wall clock.

I let out a frustrated groan. "Am I going to experience it all over again?" I asked Kazeem who just shook his head. "You won't. Just make sure you stay away from anything that reminds you of the incident and also take the drugs I'll be prescribing." he said scribbling down something on a piece of paper.

He handed it over to me and I took it thanking him. "We'll make time to see, we're not done with this session." he said and I nodded whilst getting up. "Take care T, And take the prescribed medication."

I thanked him and walked out of the spacious room and made my way to where my designated driver parked. I got in and he drove straight to school.

Pulling up in the school's driveway, I got down from the car and made my way to my the SS3 block.

"Theodore!" I heard a loud voice call out and I stopped right in my tracks.
I turned and a small smile graced my lips. "Osaze, what's up?" She gave me a brief hug "All good." she said as we pulled away.

She stared intently before voicing out her thoughts. "You don't look okay. Are you sure you're fine?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, just school stress." She didn't look convinced but she didn't push it further and for that, I was grateful.

"Where are the other guys?" I asked her and she pressed her palm to her forehead. "I was going to them when I saw you. Let's go." She said tugging gently at my hand. "They're at the love garden."

It was a Tuesday morning and we had no assembly and I walked side by side with Osaze as we made our way to the love garden.

"Osaze, Theodore!" Ola screeched as she walked up to us pulling each of us in a tight hug. I was thrilled at her free spirited person. The other guys said their good mornings and we took our seats in the little circle that had been formed earlier. When I mean the other guys, Irene was definitely excluded. We were back to acting like we didn't exist to each other. At least that's what I was thinking she does.

Zion was going on and on about the sneakers he saw online while TY chipped in one or two words.

"You guys, Daniel asked me out." Ola said and the little circle went silent. "Which Daniel?" That was Irene. She finally looked up from her phone that had all her attention the whole time.

"Daniel Peterson."

"I knew he had a thing for you. I mean do you see the way he looks at her?" Zion spoke up an amused look on his face. From what I had observed over the days I had spent at Claret High, Daniel was one of the boys who owned a high table in the seat of social hierarchy as a result of his connections.

"And what was your reply?" Osaze asked shoving her laptop into her black HP bag and turning to face the group. Ola shrugged "That I'm not interested. He's not my type abeg."

Desmond chuckled softly while TY and I remained silent listening to the small talks that followed. But unlike TY who had in his airpods listening to the latest jam as I was aware he had a great taste in music, I was lost in my own world. Reminiscing over the happenings of the past years and the years before. I shut my eyes slowly to wade away the headache that was slowly creeping in.

The bell went off to indicate the start of school activities for the day and I got up immediately and made my way to my classroom resting my head on the desk to stop the heavy banging taking place in my head.

The day went by in a flash and I found myself walking into my father's overly large mansion. The house seemed really empty and I just made my way up the flight of stairs to my room. The throbbing in my head distracting me from the hurried steps taken towards me.

"Master." I looked up to see one of the newly employed and extremely young servants. She had her hair in a tight bun and her uniform looked extremely neat. She had her head bowed slightly as that was the rules my dad put in place.

"Speak." I ordered still holding my head in my hands as the pain increased by the minute. "Madam and Master left for Ibadan this morning and they won't be back soon. They asked me to inform you that it was an impromptu arrangement." I nodded even though it wasn't certain she could see that as her head was still bowed.

"Look up." I ordered. Slowly her gaze met mine. Honey brown orbs which fitted perfectly with her large eyeballs. Sleek brown skin that complimented her petite figure. She reminded me of Irene but there was a clear difference. "Thanks." I muttered to her and staggered the rest of the way to my room.

Closing the door to my room, I stripped out of my uniform and walked into my adjoined bathroom for a warm shower.

Minutes later, I was done and I was cladded in a white shirt and gray sweatpants. I popped out two tablets from the medication Kazeem recommended and washed it down with a glass of water.

I lay gently on my bed and slowly I crept into my dreaded world.

I felt warm air against my nose and I slowly opened my eyes. I saw the servant from earlier on staring back at me. She stood up as soon as she noticed I had awoken.

I sat up on my bed and lucky enough, the headache was gone. I looked at the girl that was definitely in my age range. "And why are you still standing there." I said after a while when the traces of sleep had cleared from my face.

She hung her head low. "I was asked to wake you up and I didn't know how to." She said still looking down.

"I'm up now. You can leave." I said to her and she walked out of my room briskly as  Tony my immediate older brother walked in.

"Hey kiddo." he said plopping down on my bed beside me his elbow served as a support. "Tony." I called raking my hands through my curls. A habit I had taken up fully. "Why are you here?" I asked. Both my brothers didn't live with us anymore as they worked now. Tony was twenty six and Dayo was twenty nine.

Dayo was into business. He handled dad's business pretty well and Tony on the other hand who studied medicine and surgery didn't work in a hospital, he owned Club 24/7, one of the biggest and most expensive clubs in the country. He had a branch each at Abuja, Lagos, Portharcourt and Ibadan.

"Can't I come to my father's house?"

I shrugged. "So what's up." I asked. Tony was a lot like Kazeem, the reason they clicked very well. Like Kazeem, Tony had an undying affection for women and he had that goofy but witty aura around him. A very fun person to be with he was.

"A party! That's what's up." He declared earning an arched brow from me. "Sorry?"

He sighed softly. "Gori and Jade Adams are celebrating their wedding anniversary and we're going." he said. Goriola and Jadesola Adams were the trending couple in town.

Goriola Adams, son to the former president of the country and Jadesola Adams daughter to one of the prominent lawyers in the country. Jadesola and her father had always been my role model as I was an aspiring lawyer.

"I don't know what to wear." I declared unlocking my phone and putting on my mobile data as messages started flooding in.

"Apart from being a Medical doctor and a wealthy business man, I'm also a fashionista." he said with a grin. "And that's why I'll be dressing you up." he did a little dramatic squeal and walked to my closet.

In minutes, I was dressed in a black tuxedo with a blue packet shirt underneath. I didn't have a tie on and the first button on my shirt was undone. I combed my curls and applied few shots of my perfume before walking out of my room, my phone in my pocket.

Walking down the flight of neon lighted stairway, I found my older brother draped in a similar outfit as mine. He's buzz cut neatly combed and his small diamond studded earrings complimenting his chocolatey look.

He gave instructions to the chief of staff and we walked out and into his sleek Lexus and he sped out of the massive compound the looming darkness enveloping us.

                               •••••

The party was lively as every single person was in high spirits. That was what it appeared to be. The couple  addressed the crowd and the party went into full swing. People were seen discussing in different cliques. High pitched laughter filled the large hall and the waiters passed with different small chops and expensive drinks.

Tony was busy talking with Mr Adams. They had known each other for years now and to add to that, our fathers were friends. I sat at a corner reading the previous chat from the group the guys had added me to.

I got a message from Osaze and immediately transported myself to her DM.

Hey Teo 🖐

I immediately typed my reply and sent it to her.

Hi Osaze, what's up?

She replied immediately

All good. There?

I shrugged lightly even though she couldn't see me.

Good too. I'm at a party though.

My phone dinged as her reply came in

Oh cool, have fun.

A low chuckle left my lips. Yeah right. Fun.

Okay.

I texted back.

So, I wanted to tell you about this two weeks course I'll be taking on web programming in December. You could attend too.

A notification came in from Instagram and I texted back as soon as I wiped off the notification.

Sure, I'll come if I'm free.

I played a mobile game for a while as her reply didn't come in. Realizing I was thirsty, I walked to the bar at the far end of the hall and took a seat on one of the bar stools beside a feminine figure.

Her scent filled my nostrils. She had an exquisite aura around her. She had her head buried in her phone and I couldn't see her features. She had a nice green evening dress that stopped just above her knee and her hair, or her hair extension I thought was styled beautifully.

I opened my phone to check if Osaze's reply had come in but it hadn't.

"Tequila sunrise please" I heard a voice. That voice belonged to the lady sitting beside me and that voice sounded awfully familiar.

I turned to her and this time she didn't have her face in her phone, she looked straight up at the bartender who was working on her order.

Irene!?!

IRENE

Just like a regular Tuesday, today we had no assembly and the guys and I were seated in the love garden without Osaze and Theodore though.

Desmond sat beside me and we were in a warming conversation. "So I'll come over when they leave for the airport." he said.

He had informed me earlier that he'll be spending the night and probably a few more days at my house since his parents will be out of the country for two weeks.

Not that he couldn't stay home alone, he just wanted us to spend quality time together as work, school and his love life seemed to have driven us apart for a while.

On the other hand, I hadn't spoken to Theodore after the incident of the previous day. I wanted to apologize for how I behaved with him earlier but I couldn't bring myself to so I went with the usuals, acting like he didn't exist.

It was going to be a sleepover with Desmond and I looked toward to it as much as he did.

Osaze and Theodore arrived and Ola had told us about Daniel Peterson who asked her out. Daniel felt like he was on top of the whole world just because he was cousins with Jide peterson who was one of the Triple-J.

The triple-J was a group of teen singers and they were very famous just like myself and Desmond. Jamal, Jerry and Jide. Daniel's pride knew no bound as he felt the whole world would fall at his feet just because her was cousins with Jide.

I was very sure he felt pissed when Ola rejected him as he would have thought no girl would dare reject him.
I had a feeling TY was glad that Ola rejected him because I knew he couldn't bear to see her with anyone else and why he doesn't want to tell her about his feelings for her is still a mystery to me.

The school day went in a flash and I couldn't help but think about the next day. It was going to be a Wednesday and on Wednesday was sports day for all students at Claret High. Two hours allocated for sports activities and I'll be on my toes throughout being the sports prefect.

                              •••••

Watching myself in my lighted mirror as the make up artist and hair stylist worked wonders on me, I couldn't help but think about how achieved I was but there was something I couldn't quite place. Why was there an empty void that felt like it needed to be filled urgently!

After my make up and hair was done, I slipped into my lemon green evening dress and wore my emerald stiletto heels and for real there were emeralds on the shoe.

I made my way down the stairs with a small purse in my hands and to the car where my mum was already waiting for me. My bodyguards were in the car with us and they looked as professional as ever. I had always gone everywhere with my bodyguards but that changed when I got into the senior school when I had non-celeb friends and I had to blend in with them. I felt so safe around them and I didn't bother with the bodyguards when going to school but I went to my work stations with them. Perks of being a celebrity.

Desmond also had always gone everywhere with his bodyguards except school. He drove himself to school as he liked having his peace and personal space at intervals. He went alone most times when he was hanging out with his girlfriend Ayomide.

"You look great my dear." My mum said beside me with a bright smile and I rolled my eyes at her totally ignoring her compliment. The driver and seemed to notice the awkward tension in the air and as if on cue, Don't say no by Fireboy DML boomed from the stereo and I was grateful to him for putting it on.

The drive was silent. I looked outside the window at the dark sky and the street lights that brightened the highway.

I dreaded being anywhere near my mother but I had to be with her because we were attending the wedding anniversary of my cousin Jadesola Coker-Adams who got married to the ever tall son of the former president, Goriola Adams.

My dad was a younger brother to her dad who was a prominent lawyer in the country.

The car came to a halt indicating that we had arrived at our destination. The body guards opened the doors to the car and we got out and made our way into the large building still accompanied by them.

The party was already in full swing and we made our way to where the couple for the day were seated. Exchanging pleasantries took a minute or two and I was out of there mostly because being around my mum irked me.

I wandered round the hall in search for a quiet place where know one would notice me.

I sighted that bar area that seemed empty and made my way towards it. But before I got there, I collided with someone. I looked up as soon as he apologized and my eyes met his brown orbs, it reminded me of chocolate coated in honey dropping.

"It's okay." I shrugged it off as soon as I found my voice. On a normal day, I would've lashed out mean words at him but I had no time for such. I had so much to think about.

"Heyyy" he dragged. "You look familiar. Really familiar." he paused and squinted his eyes in attempt to remember where he had seen me.

"You're the lady in the new nivea commercial. Irene Coker the award winning teen model." he said with a soft chuckle

"Yeah, too bad some people know nothing about me." I replied a small smile tugging at my lips. "What? No way! You're like one of the most famous teenagers on this continent."

I smiled getting warmed up by his presence. "Right?" I replied with an eye roll my mind drifting to the first day I met Theodore.

"I'm KayCee by the way" he said and stretched forth a hand which I took. "And I'm a fan." I giggled softly my hands still in his. His hands were warm and the way his lips morphed into a smile showing forth his beautiful dimple got me staring for longer than I should.

Someone cleared their throat and that snapped us out of our little world. Kaycee rubbing his nape nervously. "See you around." Kaycee said and walked away in all his honey coated glory. Skin and eyes with his jet black hair standing neat on his head.

I turned to the person that had cleared their throat earlier. It was little Arabella my cousin Jadesola's daughter. She was about nine years old and she was definitely too smart for her age. She had always been.

"So..." She started and I groaned. She was definitely going to ask something I didn't want to answer. "Who's the cutie?". I shrugged nonchalantly "A fan." I stated.

"Just a fan?" She asked wiggling her neatly arched brows. "Yeah. Arabella don't start again tonight. I'm really tired."

"Why are you tired? What did you do?" She asked looking at me intently and I looked away. "Bella!" I heard from a distance. It was definitely her mum.

"Your mum needs you, get going kiddo." I said to her literally pushing her. "I'll be back." she yelled walking away. I let out a sigh and headed for the bar that I had wanted to go to earlier and got seated on one of the bar stools.

Taking out my phone and going through my news feed, I felt a presence beside me. One you'd know commanded authority. I was cocooned in the masculine cologne the person had on but I didn't look up.

I suddenly felt the need for a drink and decided to place my order.

I looked up at the young bartender and he immediately stood up as though he recognized me. Of course he did.

"What would you like ma'am?" He said wearing a plastic smile. The grin was just too wide to be true.

"Tequila sunrise please."

I watched as he put my order in place and that moment I felt a pair of eyes watching me intently, I looked up to meet the pair of eyes watching me and it happened to be a certain boy with rich brown curls, light skinned and a witty aura around him.

He stared like he was reading me, like he could see through me. Seated before me was the one and only Theodore Oyedele-Thompson.

We didn't say a word to each other for a while basking ourselves in the comforting silence. I was not surprised he was at the party, his father was a politician anyway and one way or the other would have been connected to the former president.

"You look stressed. What is the matter?" He asked in a calm and comforting voice. "I'm fine." I said to him as I received my drink from the bartender.

He nodded and turned to me still staring intently. His stare did things to me. It made me feel exposed, naked, bothered even. "It's not polite to stare." I said and his lips morphed into a lopsided smile. It was the longest I had seen him smile. "I'm sorry." he said.

The comforting air around our silence became toxic. I couldn't take it anymore and starting a conversation was not an option. After the incident with Banji the previous day, I hadn't said a word to Theodore and I wasn't planning to just yet.

I dawned the entire glass of my drink and walked away from the bar area.
"Where have you been Demilade?" A scowl appeared on my face as I watched my mum take quickened steps towards me.

"None of your business." I spat out. She still walked to me and placed her hands on my shoulders nonetheless.
"Honey, I care." And that enough made me snap. "Fucking shut it! You don't care one bit. All you care about is money, fame and your sick ass reputation. Stop saying you care." Thankfully, the area we were was as good as empty.

I watched as my mum moved back as if hurt by my words. The tears at the brim of my eyes threatened to flow down my cheeks. "Irene..." She called softly touching my cheeks.

"Don't touch me." I hissed. "Just stay away from me." I said and walked out of the empty hallway we were at. I had planned on being in my best behavior for the night but I lost my shit when she decided to cross her boundaries. I paused as I saw Theodore standing at a far end. He had been watching us all along. He had seen me in a vulnerable state and for the second time. His eyes held no emotions making it harder for me to tell if he had truly seen it all or not.

The tears in my eyes drew closer to the edge and I walked away. Out of the mansion and took a seat by the side of the water fountain furiously typing my phone in attempt to dial Desmond's number.

"Hello?" He said as soon as he picked up. "Please come and pick me up." I said and I heard his voice tense up a bit. "Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm still at the party." I said placing my hands into the flowing water at the base of the water fountain. "Okay, I'll be there soon. Take care." he said and hung up.

I took one last glance at the building. I couldn't say goodbye to the family and I felt a bit guilty for deciding to leave. My mum would tell a lie to cover up anyway. That's what she always does. I thought.

My mind drifted back to Kaycee in all his chocolate dripping and Theodore in all his curly glory. A short sigh left my lips as a hand grabbed mine. Soft, warm and comforting hand. I knew who it belonged to, and I let him lead me to his car that was parked outside.

He didn't say  a word as he put in the ignition and his beast of a car roared to life.

______________________________________

Woah! This is the longest chapter I have ever written and it's probably going to be the longest chapter I will ever write. This is not even the end of the chapter, I decided to cut it short as I noticed I was exceeding my word limit.

I mentioned a few characters from other Nigerian books if you noticed. Gori, Arabella and Jade from Meeting with the president's son by yewandejoseph and the triple-J from Shattered heartstrings by I_am_Jazzy. These books are really good. Do check them out.

Anyways, what do you think about this chapter?

Don't forget to leave your thought in the comment section and also do well to share with your friends.

Click that little star button 🌟 for clear skin today! Lol.

Next update in a bit. Bye! ❤

Word count: 4688