None of it was in her head.

Not the feeling of someone behind her, not being held in a spot with an object pressed to her neck, definitely not the pain she felt as the object inched down her neck.

What was in her head was the aftermath of the incident. The sudden disappearance of the unknown attacker. Perhaps even the sense of relief that arrived with Chikaima's appearance.

She knew then that she was missing something and three days later as she sat staring at her reflection she was certain that that was one thought she hadn't gotten wrong.

Then the question came snaking into her mind, crippling all her thoughts and leaving her to question reality.

What did she miss?

Other than Chikaima's sudden appearance saving her, it served one more purpose. A distraction.

The perfect distraction for the attacker to flee.

Maybe she was overthinking the situation but there was definitely a link.

No matter how she tried to look at it, if Chikaima hadn't appeared the attacker wouldn't have fled. But that would have meant her end... Or would it?

As far as she knew if the person wanted to kill her, they'd have done it straight away. In retrospect it felt more like whoever it was tried to scare her.

Several questions surged through her mind at the same time, each competing to find answers which inched further away from her grasp as the questions kept cropping up until her head began to hurt.

Her thoughts ended when she caught someone's reflection behind her.

She turned around and watched as Chikaima entered the room.

"Hey. Are you done?" she asked Chidiogo stopping a couple inches away from her.

"Almost," Chidiogo said turning back and picking up a straightener from the top of the white vanity dressing table.

"That can damage your hair!" Chikaima said just as the metal tongs clasped around Chidiogo's hair.

Chidiogo shrugged running the straightener down a section of her hair. "I know but it's just this once."

Chikaima stared at her as she continued the act for a while before she called out, "Chidiogo?"

"Yeah?"

"Oh. I thought you were—"

"Of course"—she held her gaze through the mirror—"What changed your mind?"

"Neme would rather burn than let anything happen to her hair."

"What?" Chidiogo said chuckling, "You guys noticed too?"

"Yeah. She's freaking obsessed with her hair. It's creepy sometimes."

Chidiogo's voice was enthusiastic, a grin present on her face as she spoke.

"Right? I thought it was just me because she..."

Her smile faltered as trailed off.

"She did what?"

Chidiogo could see Chikaima's raised brows from the mirror. She shook her head a bit giving a small smile before she continued working on her hair.

"Weird," she heard Chikaima say before shuffling sounds took over.

She took her time straightening out the rest of her hair, letting the silence lull her. When she was done, she stared at her reflection for a while until a voice caused her head to snap to the right.

"You look lovely!"

She stared at Chikaima, who pouted at her, with widened eyes.

"You're still here?"

"Yeah."

"But you..." She couldn't think of what to say.

"Relax, this is my room too," Chikaima said stretching out on her bed, "I just decided to wait for you. Getting to the hall isn't as easy as the guide makes it look and I figured you wouldn't want to get lost again."

Chidiogo sighed, smiling a bit.

"By the way, you look stunning."

"Thanks," Chidiogo muttered, "You too."

"You're returning the compliment? Okay, let me really hear what you think."

Chikaima stood from her bed and did a small spin. She looked expectantly at Chidiogo.

For the first time Chidiogo noticed her attire. A big white round neck tshirt which was a bit tight around her bust area, despite the size of the shirt. The letters 'PEACE' were printed in black across the front.

She also had on black jeggings which sort of emphasized her (lack of) hips. She finished it off with a pair of white converse which had golden chains across the latch.

In all, she looked extremely casual. There was nothing spectacular about the dressing but she still managed to look as pretty as she always did.

"I think you look really nice."

"Are you sure? Maybe the jeggings was a bad idea. I should try a bigger top, or maybe a gown. I think-"

"Aren't you overthinking this?"

Chikaima's mouth hung open for a second before she bit down on her lower lip, looking at the tiled floor. Chidiogo stood up, causing the white stool to screech behind her as she walked to where Chikaima stood.

She could understand why Chikaima made a fuss. She wanted to suggest something about wearing stripes but then waved it aside.

Nothing was wrong with what she wore and besides she didn't need to change her clothes just because she was scared of people's opinions. Wearing a shirt three times her size was already enough body shaming.

"Relax okay?" Chidiogo said placing a hand on her shoulder. "You look absolutely stunning!"

Chikaima smiled a bit. "Thanks. You're ready to go now, right?"

She nodded, taking one last glance at the mirror. She'd try to talk to her mother as soon as she could.

---††††---

Piano sounds welcomed the duo; the aroma of baked products and freshly made food ushered them in causing Chidiogo's stomach to rumble as they made their way into the ephemeral paradise which would, in a couple hours, metamorphosise into the regular hall it used to be.

The accent seemed to be on classy which felt a bit odd since it was just supposed to be a regular social night. The view, on the other hand, was breathtaking; almost hard to believe.

It came as a sort of surprise to Chidiogo. She'd heard that the decorations were to be handled by the members of the art club which naturally killed any expectations of meeting any thrilling sight.

She'd expected cardboard cutouts with fancy writing, at most tinsels hanging around at odd corners and perhaps a few ribbons.

What she hadn't expected was a total makeover of the hall. The dull cream walls were banished from sight, not at all remembered under the pretty silk curtains draping over them.

Circle tables lined corners of the hall- all draped in peach silk materials-their tops covered with scent candles on fancy candle stands, bouquet of flowers with distinct colors such as light pink and white, wine glasses, serviettes and cutleries.

A hint of lavender trailed along with them, becoming more distinct as they moved further into the hall. Their footsteps were muffled by something which had to be a carpet.

Even though it was hardly visible beneath the cloud that hovered around their feet, clutching and letting go of their ankles like shackles being latched and unlatched as they moved.

It was one more thing which had surprised Chidiogo since their arrival to the hall. Never did she ever think that they would also arrange for a fog machine.

One thing was for sure, the art club had really outdone themselves but definitely not without some help from the school.

As they got sucked into the hall, it struck her that only a few students were present. The large hall was sparsely occupied, not even a tenth of it in use.

She couldn't tell whether they were just a bit too early or the students were more interested in attending the prep.

She would have preferred attending the prep herself but it was somewhat compulsory for new students to be present for the social night whereas the old students had the option of attending prep.

But then knowing how students could be, it was a bit hard to believe that more than half the school would prefer studying to attending a pretty much authorized party. She made up her mind that they just arrived early and there was nothing more to it.

Chikaima continued walking ahead with Chidiogo trailing after her. Freed from the initial awe that had held her prisoner since she set foot in the hall, she soon became aware of the song playing in the background, the one which had the instrumentals she'd heard when they first arrived.

It didn't take long for her to recognize the song as Bird by Billie Marten.

"This song-"

"Is dreadfully dull right?" Chikaima tilted her head to the side so that she faced her while she spoke.

Her reply threw Chidiogo off, leaving her silent for a few seconds before she struggled to find words. She nodded when her lips betrayed her, a smile sealing the words in. She'd wanted to say it was one of her favorite songs.

Chikaima didn't miss a step as she continued talking, "I know. The event is still beginning. They'll play dead songs for another twenty to thirty minutes, just until all the nosy teachers get tired and leave. Then the main party starts. Lots of students would have arrived by then."

She stopped in front of one of the tables covered in a white chiffon fabric which could be spotted at intervals. The table was lined with all sorts of snacks, pastries, ice-cream and drink dispensers, bowls of punch and fruit drinks, even small quantities of staple foods in ceramic plates covered by transparent glass lids.

It was more or less a buffet.

"A lot of crazy shit happens then," Chikaima continued, taking the glass lid off one of the plates, "and there's no guarantee that any of this would still be around which is why it's always a lovely thing to arrive on time."

Chidiogo watched Chikaima heaping an outrageous amount of fried rice on a ceramic plate.

Could she really finish all that food?

Judging by how slim she was, Chidiogo doubted it.

"Want some?"

Chidiogo shook her head a bit, ignoring the rumbling in her stomach. She picked a pack of marshmallows when Chikaima insisted she had something causing her to frown while giving her a disapproving look which she easily waved off as her overdramatic nature.

She began popping marshmallows into her mouth, watching with a certain amount of unconcern as students trooped into the hall.

The hall had become quite packed with people when she sighted three figures heading in their direction right before Chikaima's exclamation confirmed their arrival.

It wasn't until Chikaima started waving frantically at them to come over that she realized that a sudden hush had fallen over the hall.

She looked around and found almost everyone staring at the approaching trio. Most girls seemed to be glaring at them, some observed passively while the rest stared in awe.

As for the boys, a majority of them gawked, some with jaws hanging low, a few not so subtly ogling at the girls while a very small fraction looked more or less disinterested.

Amelia, on a norms, was somewhat of an attention stealer but with the criss cross halter crop top she wore-which left most of parts her bust in display-and the almost non-existent leather skirt she had on, she couldn't have done a better job.

Mmachi on the other hand dressed a bit more moderately in a long sleeved short designer fur gown though it didn't quite help that the gown clung tightly to her body, outlining her large hips.

Finally Kamsi seemed to bask off the attention given to both Amelia and Mmachi though she did hold her own share with a sleeveless deep plunge jumpsuit she had on.

Their over-the-board dressing baffled Chidiogo a bit but she waved it off as they approached them.

Amelia gave Chikaima a hug on getting to where they were. Chidiogo watched the four girls exchanging small talks with Chikaima showering the three with compliments.

She tried to focus on their conversation-even though she obviously didn't fit in-in a bid to overcome the sudden self-consciousness she'd developed from having several eyes fixed in her direction.

"Have you eaten anything?" Kamsi asked out of the blue.

Chidiogo raised her brows not sure the question was directed to her until she saw Kamsi staring at her expectantly.

She raised the pack of half eaten marshmallows awkwardly managing a shrug.

"Oh. I love marshmallows. Can I have some?"

Chidiogo's eyes shifted, for a moment, to the several packs of marshmallow heaped on the table right in front of Kamsi before shifting back to her.

She handed her her own pack, nodding to her thanks while glancing around. She turned to find her still staring at her.

"Anything else?"

"No."

But she didn't leave.

"Right... Nice dress," Chidiogo said when she noticed how she kept readjusting her sleeve which was already in place.

Kamsi beamed at her, revealing a set of pearly white teeth with silver fangs-which Chidiogo found weird-initially hidden behind her red coated lips.

Chikaima soon joined them, carrying almost half the table on her plate. A few words were passed between her and Kamsi before something seemed to catch Kamsi's attention.

Kamsi went silent for a while before calling Chikaima's attention and gesturing to something. Out of curiosity, Chidiogo followed their gazes.

At first she couldn't find anything interesting-unless random students parading around the hall counted for some form of entertainment.

She was about looking away when she caught a glimpse of a sharp green color. She tried to take a proper look and finally made out Quinn's blinding white complexion in the midst of the crowd.

The color that had grabbed her attention was a neon green top Quinn wore. The color was extremely flashy, more so under the bright lightning of the room.

The black leather jacket she wore did little to dull the effect. Coupled with her blinding complexion and the neon green heels she wore to match; she stuck out like a sore thumb even without doing anything, worse so as she put on quite a show for everyone to watch.

She desperately tried to get the attention of some guy who looked like his jaw was going to snap at any moment. The way he glared at Quinn made it obvious to everyone watching that it would be better for her if she maintained her distance but for some reason she didn't seem to understand this.

Chidiogo could see Quinn's lips moving but couldn't make out a word she said in spite of the hush that had once again found it's reign over the hall.

She drew closer to the guy, still saying something while he just stared past her. On closer observation, her body seemed to be moving to the beat of the music which had gone several octaves lower and she was trying to get the guy to dance with her.

On drawing close to him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her body moving against his. He pushed off her hands but she didn't relent.

She moved closer, stopped in front of him before turning around and pressing her backside against him. She started guiding his hands to her waist when he not so subtly freed his hands from her grip and walked away.

It came as a surprise that he hadn't shoved her judging by the way his jaw ticked as he left her standing in the middle of the hall.

"Cow!" Amelia shouted, bursting into laughter before anyone else could process what just took place.

A couple others joined in while Chidiogo just stared at Quinn whose face had gone white. Her actions just seemed to be registering judging by the look on her face.

"Why drink if you can't handle it?"

Mmachi's voice lacked any trace of amusement. From the way she looked at Quinn, it was obvious that she was disappointed.

The audience had doubled over in laughter while Chidiogo just shook her head. Pathetic, she thought even though she couldn't help feeling a bit bad for Quinn.

She was about looking away when Quinn's bloodshot eyes met hers. Recognition immediately flashed across her face as her stare turned lethal.

Chidiogo couldn't help the chills that ran through her as Quinn maintained her glare. She was forced to look away after some time, pretending to be interested in Kamsi who gave a rerun of the incident which just took place.

The hall had regained it's initial vibes, bustling with activities again. She glanced in the direction Quinn had been in, when she no longer felt like she was being watched, to find her gone.

She sighed turning back to Kamsi and Chikaima.

The more time she spent with the both of them, the more she became relaxed in their company.

Chikaima turned out to be quite the comedian, retelling stories she'd heard with heightened exaggeration, humor and such a level of description, you'd think she was present during the incident.

Chidiogo clutched her stomach, laughing hard at something she said when a voice caused her laughter to seize.

Amelia and Mmachi, who were also lost in their conversation, turned to see Justin. He didn't spare Chidiogo or Chikaima a glance but beamed at Mmachi and Amelia.

"You look lovely," he said to Amelia who rolled her eyes, giving her head a small shake as she tried to hide the smile forming on her face.

"You're wasting your compliments on the wrong person," she said waving him off as she joined Chikaima and the rest, leaving him and Mmachi alone.

Justin's lips began moving but Chidiogo couldn't make out what he was telling Mmachi. She got so engrossed in trying to figure out what they were talking about that Amelia's voice made her jump.

She turned, surprised to find her standing next to her.

"How are you?"

"I-I'm... good."

"Nice dress."

She couldn't tell if the compliment was genuine or not since there was nothing particularly special about her white chiffon top or her leather trousers but she accepted it all the same, commenting on Amelia's ring in return.

Not particularly comfortable with Amelia's presence, she tried to get Chikaima to continue talking only to find her staring at Mmachi and Justin.

She glanced at the duo for a brief moment. Mmachi leaned back on Justin who had his hands wrapped around her waist. He whispered something to her which caused a smile to break out on her face every once in a while, one that lit up her eyes.

It almost felt like a new sight to Chidiogo who'd become so used to her smiles accompanying snide remarks or masking the rage which burned within her.

She tried to remember a time before the pair of reflective surfaces became shells-filled with life just like the ones which lit up with her current smile. But the memory felt surreal, a bit too far fetched to be called reality.

The last real emotion she ever saw in them-the hurt, the fragment left from shattered hope and trust, vanishing with the realization of loosing everything once held dear.

She stared wistfully at the both of them, trapped in their own world, a smile finding it's way to her face.

Turning back to Chikaima, she found her still staring at them. She nudged her slightly causing her to jerk her head to the side. Her eyes looked glossy, her face lacking the usual playfulness.

Chidiogo couldn't help the fear creeping up her chest as she let the questions rush out.

"Are you okay? What happened? Anything wrong?"

Chikaima blinked, shaking her head a bit while dabbing the edges of her eyes with her fingers, a smile appearing on her face.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"But you wer-"

"I think something got into my eyes. Can you help me check?" Chikaima said, interrupting her.

Chidiogo got distracted with trying to find what floated into her eyes before giving up minutes later when it proved fruitless.

"I didn't see anything."

"Okay. I think it's gone sef. Thanks."

Chidiogo wanted to say something but decided against it.

For a moment, the song playing in the background mixed with inaudible voices filled her ears, reinstating their current location. She found herself swaying to the beats of Bandana as she glanced around.

Very few people still watched them while the rest seemed engrossed in themselves.

"Who else is hungry?"

She snapped her head back to Chikaima, staring at her with widened eyes. Even Amelia and Kamsi turned to stare at Chikaima, all bearing the same expression.

"We've been eating since we arrived," Amelia said, echoing everyone's thoughts.

"Oh... Well I'm hungry," Chikaima said, "I'm going to find some more food."

Chidiogo started telling her that there was still a lot of food left on their table but she had already gone far, leaving Chidiogo befuddled.

What was wrong with her? Chidiogo wondered.

Chidiogo turned to find Amelia staring at Chikaima's retreating figure but there was a different emotion on her face.

Concern.

Chidiogo took one last glance at Chikaima before she got lost in the current of swarming bodies. Once again she was certain that she was missing something but this time, she wasn't so thrilled to find out what it was.