Chapter 9: Chapter 9

"This is the craziest week of my life," I mumble and Melody nods in agreement. We are currently seated on my bed and Melody is reading the latest gossips on WestWags.

"Oh my gosh! Arinze and Aisha are finally a couple," Melody squeals. I roll my eyes at her.

"So? It's not like my brother is getting married," I deadpan. I have never been interested in reading our school gossip. I think I have better things to do other than sit and know who is dating who. Melody gasps.

"What?" I ask.

Looking over her shoulder at me, she replies, "we're on the top ten gossips of the week." She does not need to mention it before I know the story. I can't believe this.

"Lots of comments too. Good and bad," she says.

"Well, I can at least bear that. It would have been worse if we were really suspended," I state, remembering the events of Wednesday.

Miss Edna had this terrible look on her face when she spoke but, in the end, we found ourselves cleaning the female toilets―which were clean by the way. When we got there, the janitor had cleaned it but since no one was interested in going back to her and getting another punishment, we spilled water and mopped the floor. At least we did something!

"Yeah. Hey, Nes is on here too," she announces. Say what?

Blinking, I utter in one breath, "what happened? Please don't tell me she got into a fight. If so, did the victim die?"

Utter shock registers on Melody's face as she gawks at me. "Would you be happy is I say yes?" She asks, sitting up and my eyes go wide. "She joined the communications department," she deadpans and I sigh in relief. But hey, Nes didn't tell me about it.

"And... There's a matchmaking going on for she and Etim." Who on earth is Etim?

"Who's that?"

"A boy?"

I scoff. "Of course, he's a boy. Let me see that." I collect the laptop from her to see his picture.

A grid of his picture and one of Nes smiling is on the screen. Is it true? Is she dating someone and hasn't even told me yet? And the internet had to tell me?

"Look, don't worry. We'll ask her about it. You know Nes will never be scared of telling you that," Melody assures me. Yeah, she's right. I know Nes.

A few minutes later, a thought pops up in my head. "Hey Mel, um... I have a question." I wait for her to give me a go ahead and she nods. "It's about Lima."

She simply stares at me, waiting for me to continue. "Why is she called the fascinator?"

Melody laughs and replies, "well, she practically likes every boy and is always trying to get their attention. And it's just us who sometimes call her that. Why?"

"Nothing. Alice told me but never explained," I say and she gives me an 'and?' look.

"Well..." I pause, not sure if I should tell her. "I think Lima is double dating," I confess. The silence that ensues lasts for about thirty seconds before Melody sighs.

"I know," she says, calmly. Er, what?

"You what?" I ask, shocked. How can she be aware of this and let it happen? She should at least tell one of the boys. Ayo in particular.

"What do you want me to do? It's her choice. Not my business," she enunciates.

"But she's your friend," I insist.

"Lima is an independent lady. Let her be. You don't want to worsen your status with her, do you?" she asks.

The question captures my attention. Worsen my status with her? What does that mean?

"I don't get it," I tell her. She only shakes her head and clicks on something on the laptop. ‘Science student’ by Olamide fills the room and she begins to move along with the beat. Unbelievable.

"Are you seriously leaving me hanging?" I ask but instead of replying me, she jumps off the bed and starts dancing shaku shaku. Alex makes sure we are updated on trending Nigerian songs.

Okay, I have to give it to this girl, she’s good. Makes dancing even more attractive.

"Join me. Let's kill this!" She shouts amidst laughter. I laugh at the funny faces she's making. Suddenly, my door flies open and Nes runs in.

"Woo! I love this song," she shouts, dancing along. Then someone peeps in and I know for sure that my room is officially the party hall for the day. Alex comes in, already making dance moves and Jason follows behind, laughing at what Nes is doing.

What a great way to spend your private time with your friend.

Once the song is over, Melody clicks on another one and raises the volume on the stereo. ‘Legbegbe’ by Mr. Real starts playing and I grin. I have no idea what the song is about but I like the beat. Alex pulls me off the bed and I join in. We dance and sing for about an hour and thirty minutes before the tiredness overcomes the excitement. We all sit on the floor and begin to chat.

During the conversation, I notice that whenever something funny is said, Melody places her hand on Alex's knee.

At first, I think, meh, that's Melody for you. Plus, he's the one beside her.

But then the fact that Alex always looks at her to see her expression gets my eyebrow raised. Is there something I should know about? Should I be worried?

***

"Be back on time," mum calls from the kitchen.

"Sure, mum," I call back. It’s a Saturday and I’m going to Alice's house for a chemistry project. I have never been there before so we have been texting each other constantly. I know Nes would have insisted on coming with me but she is not home at the moment. She went with her brothers to visit one of our aunts in Ikoyi in the morning.

Outside, I see Jasper walking towards our house. What does he want? My expression suddenly turns sour.

"There's my fighter," he teases and I glare daggers at him. He grins, shoving his hands in his pant pockets. We have hardly said a word to each other since last week when my friends and I were almost suspended but of course he knows the full story about our cat fight.

"That's old news. Since last Wednesday."

He stops. "Wait, you're going out?"

"Wait, your business?" I ask in return and he shakes his head.

"Rude. You should stay home and do your assignment," he advises. More like mocks.

"Well, unlike you, I've done mine," I fire and he smirks.

"Anyway, my mum wants to know if yours is still up for the baking tonight," he states. Ugh.

"She is. She got the ingredients yesterday. Now go away," I state and he chuckles, turning to leave. But then a thought crosses my mind. Shit, how do I say this now?

"Uh, Jasper?" I call with a slightly lowered voice. He turns around. "Um, have you done your math assignment?" I say, hoping he does not give me a comeback that will kill me.

With a brow raised, he responds, "were you asked to collect the books for marking?" Oh gosh.

"N-no, I was just asking."

"I've done it with extra," he says with pride. Oh gosh. How do I ask him to help me with mine? But he's the math whiz in our class. In West’s high!

"Could you help me with mine?" I finally let it out. He is silent.

"I don't have the time. More important things need my attention," he states leisurely. My heart drops. Did he just say that? "I'll give you my book."

"I was hoping you could teach me. I should be able to answer questions on my own." Now my voice comes out real low. I cannot say what I feel. Embarrassment, anger, disappointment, name it.

With a sigh, he says, "fine. 6p.m. My house." Although I am not very comfortable with the idea, I nod. Surely, Mary will be home to make the mood better and it's good that that dog of theirs is no longer in the house because the last thing I need is to get abused by an animal. Again.

With a nod, he walks away. I just stand there, not sure what to do next. A light breeze brings me out of my reverie and I make my way to the road to get a cab.

***

"You made it," Alice says as she opens the gate for me. "Pretty easy right?"

Easy? "You do not want to know what happened," I say as we walk to the door. The house is extravagant. The Fabian's are pretty rich, I must say.

Alice laughs, holding the door for me to pass before closing it behind me. The interior is a thousand times better than the exterior.

Golden brown and black are the major colours of the furnishings. The walls are a cool shade of golden brown and the house smells like vanilla. Impressive.

"Tell me about it," she says, leading me up a grand staircase. My hand trails the golden balustrade as we march up.

"I missed my way. The weird cab driver acted like he knew the place but ended up dumping me three streets away from here. I had to walk," I narrate and we both laugh. We get to the landing and I'm shocked to see Simon sprawled out on a lemon couch.

This sitting room appears to have been built for a girl because of all the colour. There are two pink winged chairs and one lemon couch. A lemon beanbag is lying in between the winged chairs. The wall behind the lemon couch is completely glass and is overlooking a beautiful back area. The concrete walls are painted white and are dotted with framed pencil drawings and colourful paintings. A white furry centre rug encompasses the middle of the sitting room. This is amazing.

"Simon," I start. "Did not know you were here." That is my greeting. He laughs and sits up.

"Don't mind him. He's been loitering around here like he has no house," Alice mocks and I'd think he might get offended but he laughs and picks up a laptop that is probably his.

"Next time, if you invite me, I won't come," he states, making her roll her eyes. I take a seat on one of the pink couches and she goes to carry her book.

Kicking his leg out of the way, she squats to retrieve the book and I realize something. She's been wearing shorts all this while. Bum shorts. Wow, these two.

She brings the book and we begin the project. After a few minutes, she drags Simon off his laptop and forces him to join us.

An hour later...

"You and Simon...closer than I thought," I observe and Alice clears her throat. He left to meet a friend so that they can go somewhere, leaving his laptop behind. He said he would stop by before going home.

"Me and Simon. Yeah, we are close," she begins. "Simon is my best friend asides you guys." I adjust on the floor, listening. "As you can see, this house is empty. He keeps me company," she explains. That's sweet.

"But, you know, you're wearing shorts. Don't you think..." She stares at me, looking lost at first before realizing what I am insinuating.

She chuckles and shuffles on the spot. "No. No such thing," she assures. "Yes, temptations come but Simon made a promise. We tell each other everything. In fact, he tells me when he's feeling...you know, and...point is, we trust each other. So, we're fine."

I smile, happy she trusts me enough to tell me all of that. I mean she owes me no explanation as to how she lives her life.

"Thanks," she says genuinely and I nod.

"Thanks," I say and she scrunches her nose, conveying her confusion. I go on, "for trusting me enough to explain that to me." We both smile and continue to chat about random stuff. We finished the project about twenty minutes ago.

***

I hesitantly knock on the Lawrence's door. No response. Don't tell me no one is home. I raise my hand to knock again but the door opens before it makes impact and I almost hit Jasper.

"Come in," he says, moving away from the door to let me in. The scent of his cologne fills my nostrils as I pass him. Boys and their strong scents. I walk towards the sitting room, eyeing the works of art on the walls as I pass but he stops me.

"Upstairs," he states, ascending the stairs. Why is everyone leading me upstairs today?

Unlike Alice's house, cream is the major colour of the furnishings and the walls are painted peacock blue with a few touches of white, giving the room a dark shade. When we get to the landing, I observe my surroundings. This one has the same wall colours as the first one but the furnishings are more of garnet and black.

He plops down on a two-seaters couch and pulls the centre table closer. The table is bordering on beanbag because of the cushion and fabric sewn around it. Walking around it, I sit beside him. Wait, where's Mary?

"She went out with my dad," he says. Of course, I said that out loud.

But if Mary is not home, that means we are alone. His mum is at my house, baking with mum. That's when I remember that I did not tell mum about this. Oh gosh, I'm in trouble.

Getting up, he says, "I need to go get my book and phone."

"Okay," I say. Looking around, a framed drawing on the wall catches my attention. I get up and walk closer to it.

Why do I feel like I've seen this somewhere? And then it clicks. Alice's house. The drawing is of a guy and a girl almost kissing.

Get a room, weirdos. Above them is written in fine calligraphy: always. At the bottom left of the frame is written: J ♥ A. What?

"What are you doing?" Jasper asks, startling me.

"Nothing. Just looking at this drawing. Good job," I commend.

"Thanks." There's a pained look in his eyes as he stares at the picture.

Oh my God. Were Jasper and Alice dating?

"I saw the same frame in Alice's house. You made it for her?" I ask and his eyes flit to mine.

"No," he replies. I am confused but choose to shut up. A few seconds pass before I realize that we have been staring at each other. Blinking, I turn to go back to my seat and he goes and takes a bottle of wine from the small fridge in the room. He comes back with two wine glasses and sets them down on the ground.

Thirty minutes later...

"I don't get it. How come we have a four now? " Jasper sighs in exasperation. He has been trying to help me solve one question but I'm not getting it. Don't blame me, I keep getting distracted. Don't ask me what.

"Look, just leave it that way, okay?" he says.

"No. You have to teach me," I press on.

"And what are you? The best thing that's ever happened to me? I've got somewhere to be, okay? So just use my book." His words hit me like a punch. Don't let him get to you, Bee.

Clearing my throat, I say, "you know what? Thanks, but no. I'll just try to do it myself. Bye." And with that, I stand up to leave. I should have known this would happen.

He scoffs, "what, now you're upset?" I remain silent as I gather my books to go.

"I've been the one taking my time to put all these in your head, you know? I'm the one who should be upset," he protests and I turn around.

With a calm expression, I reply, "well, I'm sorry for bothering you and delaying your important mission. Thanks for your patience." My anger is boiling inside but I suppress it and start going downstairs.

I hear him sigh and say, "fine. Wait." When he realizes that I'm not going to stop, he gets up and follows me.

"Audrey―sorry. Look, I'm sorry, okay? Let's continue," he says, grabbing my arm to prevent me from going further. I yank my arm away from him and continue going but just before I reach the door, he appears in front of me with a straight face.

"You're not going anywhere, Bella," he states. Idiot. Now you know my name.

"Let me pass, Jasper." He gives me the same look he did the day he lifted me and almost gave me a heart attack. Okay, now I'm a little scared.

"Let's finish it. I'm serious." That statement is enough to push me upstairs.

Fifteen minutes later, we're done with the assignment and he forces me to do 'extra'.

"Why won't you have a drink?" he asks for the umpteenth time and I sigh. He's been trying to convince me to drink but I've been refusing.

"Fine. I'll drink just a tiny bit." He smirks, hands me the other glass and pours a little into it. Alcoholic wine. Nes is going to freak if she hears this.

My face scrunches when the liquid touches my tongue but it's surprisingly nice. It doesn't taste as bad as I thought it would. Jasper grins when my facial expression normalises.

"Good, right?" he asks and I nod. He brings the bottle close to my glass and somehow, I don't withdraw it. He's going to get you drunk, a voice says in my head as I sip my wine and I stop to look at his face for any suspicious act but there is nothing. He's just drinking and talking.

"Thanks for helping me," I say at the door.

"Nah, it's nothing. Just a little peanut," he says with a shrug and my face drops. Cocky brat. Without another word, I walk back to my house.

"Where were you?" That's the first question that greets me. I almost run back out of the house to avoid the interrogation. Dad.