Decided to post this chapter today because by this week Wednesday I will be occupied with exams...*sips ink from a straw*

I'm here again sweeties.

It's Queency that's up in the media.

Please, please and please make an effort to check out Pearl-esque. Her book 'The Rare Ones' is a must read.

♥♥♥♥♥♥
"This is the part where
I tell you I'm fine but
I'm lying..." Wishing Well- Juice Wrld
♥♥♥♥♥♥

Vina's POV

It is already break time the next day and I am scrolling through Tiktok while eating my snacks of seedless grapes.

I guess Kiki has been trying to talk to me since I got to school but I made it impossible for her to do so. Her behaviour of the previous day doewn't sit well with me.

"Hey!" I shriek, turning towards Kiki in annoyance because she just snatched my phone from me.

"Great. I have your attention now, we need to talk." She states.

"I don't want to talk to you. Haven't I made that obvious?"

She gazes at me incredulously,"Would you stop being childish and let us work this out?"

"I'm not being childish!"

"I'm sorry." Kiki apologizes,“I shouldn't have walked out on you like that."

"You think?" I ask in a rhetorical manner but still expecting her to provide an answer. She only rolls her eyes which angers me even more,"You humiliated me in the middle of a freaking hallway because excuse me, I couldn't bare my life to someone I had known for only a few hours."

By now, the whole class has gone quiet and just watched us. Kiki only stares at me, her face devoid of any emotion.

The way she stares at me like I am stupid or something gets to me. I actually feel stupid for loosing my temper like that, only to be met with silence. I feel even worse when a few of my classmates snicker at my expense.

Sick of the embarrassment, I excuse myself. No one stops me as I storm out of the class.

I push my way through the students in the hallway and find myself in the school's basketball court. In my favour, no one is there. I go and sit on the bleachers and let my mind wander.

"Teddy bear, there's paint on your nose." Nine year old me called out to sixteen year old Xander while we were painting back at home.

“Clean it for me." He said, moving closer to where I stood.

Stretching my paint covered hand, I smeared it all over his face.

"Princess!"

I threw my head back in laughter then stuck my tongue at him. That was a wrong move because he reciprocated my grand gesture by rubbing paint on my tongue. I shrieked as I ran towards the bathroom to get the paint off.

"Hey!" I hear a masculine voice say while shaking me lightly.

I jump back a little before letting out a sigh, "I'm sorry. I zoned out there for a bit."

"It was more than a bit, honey. I've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes." He informs me,“Why are you crying?"

"Nothing serious. Just had a fallout with my friend?"

I'm not sure what she is to me.

"On the second day of resumption?" He does nothing to hide the tease in his tone.

"I know. It's crazy." I say, chuckling lightly.

"Want to talk about it?" He asks looking worried.

I shake my head, letting him know I really do not want to.

"Ok. If you say so." He accepts as he settles beside me on the bleachers.

"Yeah."

Then, we fall into an awkward silence until I clear my throat.

"What are you doing here anyways?" I ask, turning to face him.

"I'm actually stabbing a class."

"Oh my God!" I shriek, standing up immediately, "I totally forgot I have classes."

"Please stay, don't go." He begs, giving me cute puppy eyes. A childlike innocence filling his dazzling shade of brown eyes.

"Fine." I drawl out.

"Yay!" He claps excitedly.

He reminds me of Xander. Of course, they don't look alike but they both share a similar childish nature, from the little I have noticed about him.

I laugh at this action,"So, what's your name?"

"Silly me." He mutters, face palming himself,"I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Anthony Ojelade but I'll rather be called Tony."

"Okay, Tony. I am Davina Igwe." I chuckle, "What class are you in?"

"SS2 B. The other science class."

"Well that's nice. I'm in SS2 A."

"You have a pretty name by the way but can I call you Aphrodite? Aphie for short." Tony inquires, looking me straight in the eye.

"But why?"

"Aphrodite is the goddess of beauty and you are so beautiful. Our present day version of that beautiful goddess...her equal. Your skin literally has an ethereal golden glow to it."

By now, he is using the pad of his thumb to slowly draw circles on my cheek as he looks at me like he is caught in a trance, "So beautiful, so so beautiful."

My eyebrows furrow at how he is behaving like I am some angel or something.

Tony gently runs his thumb over my lips before he begins to lean in and thiw has my mind racing. I just met this guy, so there is absolutely no way I can indulge in such. With someone I barely know for that matter.

At the very last minute just as his lips brush mine, I push him away. He seems to have regained his senses because he starts apologising, "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I should probably leave now. I am really sorry."

He keeps on apologizing, not even giving me a chance to talk as he quickly makes his way out of the basketball court.

With a sigh, I rest my head on my laps.

"Vina."

Not this voice.

"What is it, Kiki?" My head remains rested on my laps and facing the floor.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have demanded for you to tell me about what happened to you like that."

I really don't want to listen to anything she has to say so I dismiss her,“Yeah, whatever. You can go back to class now."

I sense her walk closer to me. She gently lifts my head to look at her.

"I'm sorry." She whispers. My earlier resolve melts at the sincerity that fills her eyes.

I exhale, "It's fine, Kiki. I'm sorry for being rude."

"I don't usually apologize so I really don't know why I felt the urge to apologize to you."

"I guess I'm special then." I said while giving my hair a dramatic flip and batting my eyelashes at her like crazy.

"Please stop doing that, you look like you're having a seizure." Kiki teased as she sat beside me, where Tony was minutes ago.

I flicked my hand in her direction with a laugh.

“Let me tell you about myself." She offered.

"Okay then."

"So uhm, I have two sisters. One is younger than me and the other is older than me, it's just the three of us. I'm not completely Nigerian though. My mum is Ghanian while my dad is Nigerian."

I nodded as she continued.

"My elder sister's name is Vivi Yihana Benson while my younger sister's name is Mimi Haniah Benson..."

(Vivi's pictures below⬇)

(Mimi's pictures below⬇)

"What's your Ghanian name? If theirs is Yihana and Haniah" I ask cutting her short.

"My Ghanian name is Afryea."

"Ooh...Afryea. I love it, what does it mean?"

She laughs,"It means one born during delightful times."

“Nice." I comment with a smile.

"So, my sisters are make-up brand ambassadors for RichMelanin cosmetics. They also model for Amethyst, Ravishing Beauty and other big makeup brands."

My mouth is on the floor by the time she finishes,"Oh my gosh! I have to meet your sisters!"

"You won't like them."

"Kiki!" I scream, hitting her,"They attend this school right? Take me to them."

"They are in Italy at the moment for a photoshoot."

"Wow. What class are they in and how old are they though?"

"Well, Vivi is in SS3, she is seventeen but she'll be eighteen in like a little over a week's time. Mimi is in JSS3, she is thirteen."

"Wait, first." I pause her,“Are you also a make-up brand ambassador?"

"Uhm, not actually. I do model some times but I'm not really interested in that kind of thing."

Just then, the bell signaling the beginning of lunch goes off. Kiki and I leave the court and make our way to the refectory. The refectory is a separate building on its own; located in between the juniors storey building and the seniors storey building.

As Kiki and I take our trays of fried spaghetti, chicken with a fruit choice of banana towards the table I sat at the previous day. My eyes catch those of the flawless beauty from yesterday.

I use my elbow to nudge Kiki causing her to turn to me,"What?"

"Who's that girl over there?" I ask, jutting my head a bit in the girl's direction.

"What girl?" By this time, we have already gotten to the table.

"The one with blonde weaves and icy blue contacts."

She freezes but it happens so quickly that I feel I had just imagined it. Without looking around, she responds dismissively,"That's Queency."

"Who's she?" I press on.

Kiki's eyes meet mine as she blankly tells me,“She's a student of this school."

I roll my eyes at this girl, "Of course, I know that. Tell me more about her."

"She wears contacts for fashion, she schools at–" She is cut short by me smacking her.

“What is the colour of your problem abeg?" I whine,“Tell me something reasonable nau."

"All you need to know is that she is bad news. Stay away from her." She says in a tone which signals the end of the conversation.

"You have no right to tell me who I should and should not mingle with." I retort.

She completely ignores me and just concentrates on her meal. I sigh and turn my attention to my food.

I catch a whiff of that mandarin scent before I see the human that owns it.

One...two...three...

"Hello beautiful."

I look up at him and smile.

"May I?"

"Of course." I readily agree.

He slides in beside me and to my surprise, Nasir kisses me lightly on my cheeks. Then he looks away somewhat shy,"I have always wanted to do that, sorry."

I blush a light shade of red, "Since when?"

"Since I set my eyes on you yesterday."

Clichè but I'll take it.

Kiki scoffs and that is when I remember she is here.

"Ehm...Nasir meet my friend, Kiki. Kiki meet Nasir."

"In case you forgot," Kiki begins,“I came to this school before you. So I happen to know who Nasir is..."

"...who doesn't." She adds quietly but I hear it. I make a mental note to ask her what she means by that later.

"I also happen to know Kiki over here but we are more of acquaintances." Nasir speaks up.

We fall into a strained silence. By we, I mean Nasir and I because Kiki continues with her food while thumbing at her phone. I turn to my food as well and continue to eat. Nasir came here with only a can of pure heaven and that's what he opens and drinks.

We spend the rest of lunch eating and making small talk.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Good afternoon, Onome." I greet the middle aged woman as I walk into the house after I return from school.

"Good afternoon, my dear. Go and freshen up and come down for your food."

"I'm not hungry, ma. I will just take fruit from the fridge when I come downstairs."

"Okay then." She agrees, letting me continue on my way.

I nod and make my way up the spiral stairs. After having my bath, I throw on a sweatshirt twice my size and wear biker shorts underneath. I head downstairs with my phone in hand. But, once I step out of my room, it pings.

I jump for joy when I discover that the notification I have received is for a story update on Wattpad from this popular author I follow.

My eyes are still glued to my phone as I walk down the passage. At the turn I am meant to make to go down the stairs, I bump into someone. As I am about to apologise, I am met with a heavy slap. An intense ringing occurs in my ear, making me stagger a bit.

"Bitch!" Nadia spits.

"What is the meaning of what you just did?" I seethe in a demanding tone, cradling my left cheek.

"Are you blind?" The unfortunate thing I call my cousin asks,“Why would you bump your stupid self into me‽"

"I was about to apologize when you slapped me."

"I don't have the time or energy to banter words with you. Excuse me!" Nadia exclaims as she roughly pushes me to the ground and walks away.

My cheek stings and my behind hurts because of the impact it makes with the floor. My eyes burn with unshed tears. I pick myself and my phone from the floor. No longer having the appetite for anything, I go back to my room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wake up to the sound of a message coming into my phone. Stretching my hand to my bedside table, I double tap the screen to wake the phone and the time displayed on it is 9:11pm.

I face palm myself for leaving my data on before I slept off. As a result of my mistake, I have thousands of notifications from WhatsApp mostly from group chats though but one message attracts me. It is from an unknown number but from the message I already know who it is but I decide to play dumb.

+234 807 116 3945 ~🔥Dõn🔥

Unknown Number

Hello beautiful.

-8:56pm

Me
Who is this please?

-9:12pm

Unknown Number
My poor fragile heart😪

How can you ask such
a question??? When I'm
sure you know who is speaking. Anyway,
it's me the hottest guy you
have ever met. The love of
your life!

-9:13pm

I scoff when I read that message. He is hot but definitely not the hottest guy I have ever met – Xander is.

Me
Love of my life ke...abeg o.

-9:13pm

Unknown Number
It's Nasir joor.

-9:14pm

Me
I knew that😂

-9:15pm

We chat some more till he has to go offline. When he goes offline, I plug my phone and head downstairs for a snack.

"Vina dear." My aunt coos once she sights me,“How are you?"

"I'm fine, Auntie Nenye." I respond, trying to be as cheerful as possible,“Good evening, Ma."

"Evening, my dear. How was school?"

"School was fine, Auntie."

The expression she gives me after I answer shows that she doesn't believe me for a minute. And I am right because of what she says next.

"Spare me that, Vee."

I laugh when she says this, "I'm serious, Auntie. School has been good and I have two friends already."

"That's good. It's nice to see you are moving on." She says as she gives me a sad smile.

Moving on.

Moving on from my past life in Port Harcourt.

Moving on from Xander.

Moving on from Steve.

Moving on from my mother.

Moving on from that man.

Moving on from Violet.

My aunt wraps me in her arms and gently pats my back. I don't even realize I am crying until she does this.

"It's okay, honey. Let it all out." My aunt's soothing voice comes to my ears as she continues to pat my back.

"I didn't do it." I say in between sobs."I don't know why he would tell everyone that I did such a thing."

She listens silently as I cry and struggle to speak. She doesn't have to talk to let me know that she is here for me, that she will always be here for me. My aunt has always been this loving for as long as I can remember. So, I know this wasn't a trick or a phase. It is real.

All she has to do is make gentle circular motions on my scalp and whisper comforting words to reduce my loud cries to quiet sobs.

"Let's sit down, sweetie." She tells me as we have been standing all this while.

I nod and we move towards the large, silky double settee.

My aunt stays quiet as she observes me cautiously, then she speaks up,"I know that you have endured so much, too much infact but I must say that even after all this you still came out strong."

I stare at her wordlessly but digest what she said bit by bit. Did I really emerge strong? Because I feel weaker not stronger. I know how I was when I was much younger. This isn't me. I'm basically a shadow of my past self.

"I'm proud of you for moving on, my dear. Don't let your past tie you down. Always remember that your past doesn't define who you are as a person. You are made for great things, Vee. Keep telling yourself that till you believe it."

I can never forget Xander and Violet they were my world. They still are. I miss my mum too, even though she couldn't help me when I needed her the most.

Sadly, I still love her to the point that it hurts. I want to hate her! I want to hate her so much! Because she deserted me when I needed someone. When I needed a saviour, she was nowhere to be found.

I burst into tears again. My aunt holds me so close to herself and each time I inhale deeply, I breathe in her hypnotic jasmine scent.

So much for wanting to have a snack...

A/N

TomiGrace_xx the 'Kivina' ship sailed o💃💃💃

We had a peek into Vina's old life. What do you guys think is going on with her?

Word count: 3060 words

Love,
Riri🌹