Chapter 42: Chapter 42

FOURTY TWO- FINALS

Dozie's

"Finally! We're so done with these exams!!" Sophie exclaimed with a look of relief settling on her facial features

"As in! No more Mr Ayodele, all those our evil teachers, mrs joy..gosh!!"Annette added and we all laughed mainly because she called the teachers evil

"But I'm sha going to miss them small!"sola said and priye snorted

"The only person worth missing amongst these teachers is sir mide"

"And sir Ahmed" I added to which she nodded in agreement

" but forget it. those mean teachers too, are fun"sola replied when I scoffed

"Those times they were busy annoying hell out of you I bet it wasn't close to fun" I said with humour

She chuckled "no naa! Lord knows I felt like strangling all of them one by one" she replied making us all to laugh

Today our last day of waec and on the norms, the nostalgic feelings were surely going to brew in..i mean it seemed like we just got into jss1 yesterday and today we're leaving as predecessors..

"We're even supposed to have a little party for finishing these exams still in one piece! "Annette squealed making Adam snort

"Why are you so excited when you haven't even seen your result?"

She scowled at him "excuse me!?"

"You're excused" he replied almost immediately, oblivious to the glare she shot him

"Not that. you fool! I know I'm going to ace it" she retorted when Adam sent her a cool smirk

"Courtesy of me" he replied making her snarl.he had been her reading partner throughout the exams tho

"go to hell!"

"With you babe!"he retorted again and this time he winked at her while Annette suddenly looked flustered.Priye, Ayo and the rest of us shot them a suspicious look before Sola voiced out

"Wait ooh..it's like there's something you guys are not telling us"she said suspiciously

"No!" Annette immediately snapped together same time adam

"Maybe!"

She glowered at him "will you just shut up"

He cocked his head to one side, wearing a lopsided grin as he retorted "make me!"

She scowled and glared and scowled again at him before letting out a groan in resignation

"I'm definitely suspecting something!!"sola sang out while Annette face-palmed herself

I sent Adam a knowing look which he replied with a peace sign...man has something he ain't telling us and by us I meant priye, Ayo and I

As in men things

I glanced at Meera who had been watching us quietly.she wasn't saying a thing infact, she hadn't talked much ever since the exams began and it bothered me like hell!! I tried alot of times to get her to talk and that was as futile as talking to a rock...she had been wearing this gloom look and had adopted quietness as her tag and trust me when I say her silence was worse than when she's angry at you.

I gently wrapped my hands around her, pulling her closer to me as I laid her head on my chest. A gesture which she silently welcomed.

We were all sitted together in the terribly noisy class since no teacher was present.all thanks to the waec exams.just soon, Esther walked in with an exuberant energy, looking around the class and wearing a huge satisfactory smile on her face before calling out

"Guys! We're playing game ooh..ten secrets! Who's in?"she asked with her hands up as all those interested indicated.

I stared at meera who looked alot like she wanted to be anywhere else than here. I bit my lips gently before tugging her

"I'm not playing!"she immediately said

"I know" I replied coolly

"We can leave here if you want to" I continued and she looked up at me with a small smile before standing up.I took that as my cue to get her out of there..

We walked abit far away from the classroom in silence. her hands were entwined in mine as she kept drawing imaginary circles on them

she seemed to be doing it unconsciously because her gaze seemed very far away from whatever she was looking. I was trying so hard not to turn into worried mess but I guess I couldn't take it any longer so I did the next thing instinctively!

I pulled her quickly into the hallroom that was left slightly open.it was so swift that even before I could say jack we were already facing each other closely

so close that I could I hear her heartbeat racing erratically as my eyes bored into her surprised gaze. slowly i let my eyes wander to her plump soft pink lips which were so small and enticing so much that it made me want to kiss every part of her

Yeeii..focus dozie mattew

I gulped down hard before bringing my gaze to bore into her eyes again.

"You okay?!"I asked the first questions that I've been meaning to ask since forever

She gave a small humorless chuckle before replying "if being dragged into a 'i don't even know the name of this place ' hall is the definition of okay..then I guess I am"

I slowly pulled back with a small smile playing on my lips "maybe being dragged here was worth it"

She raised her eyebrows at me "you literally kidnapped me!"

I laughed this time around "and I got you to speak. c'mon these words are the longest conversation you've had so far!"I pointed out

She shrugged "I guess"

"Tell me about it" I said. Pulling a chair which was within an arms length, then offered it to her to which she declined with a sigh

"I'm fine..it's not something serious"her left eye twitched as she waved off her reply

Yep..it's not something serious!!!was she having cramps again? Nah! Even if it was, it was still serious

I stared at her inquisitivly..she ran her eyes through the building, successfully trying to avoid my stare and woefully failing hard at it

"Look at me,Meera." I ordered.my voice came out a bit husky and I could swear I saw her stiffen abit before bringing her gaze to meet mine

"You look amazing!" She sassed nervously still not looking at me.I made my way towards her again, inching closer to her

"And how about you..." i replied giving her a smug smile I gently ran my fingers through her arms which her shudder

"I'm..I'm good too" she stuttered with a hard gulp still fixing her eyes at a into the blank air.i used my index finger placed them beneath her chin and slowly brought her face to meet mine.

"You think so.." I asked leaning closer to her and she stuttered with her eyes twitching again

"I..I..know..so!"

I pulled back immediately with a small smile stretched on my lips while her eyebrows shot up in confusion

"Why are you smiling?" She asked curiously

"Give it up already..you've been trying so hard to lie" I replied and she snarls

"I'm not lying!" She says flatly. I cocked my eyebrows at her questionably

"Really!? I could see through your twitch and stutters"I deadpan

Her shoulders slack in resignation as she brought her face to meet mine.her eyes were misty and when she opened her mouth to speak, it came out in a throaty tone

She wanted to cry, yet she was holding it in and I admired the fact that she was strong but I didn't want whatever it was to weigh her down..I just wanted her to let it all out.

"Fine!" She said in resignation "I'm not okay..I mean how do you feel okay when you see a supposed ghost come back in reality?!" She vented

For a minute I stared at her in confusion?! Was there a ghost bothering her or was it something else.

I decided not to ask instead keep shut and listen to her.she pulled away from the wall, holding one of her hands on her waist as she paced around the room while talking

"I just found out that my dad whom I thought to be dead was well alive and mum never deemed it necessary to tell me! She says she didn't want me to have anything to do with him cause he's an ex-con...I mean how could she lie to me all these years and wow! I get to find out through an eavesdrop yet Uju thinks I'm being judgemental and irrational when fact is that all of them are!!.." she spat.not stopping for a second to catch some air

she was using the back of her palms to clean up her eyes as she paced about.slowly yet gently I make my way towards her, pulling her into a hug,panting slowly and sniffing into my shirt but that was of no use now..I just wanted her to be okay, I knew she was clearly hurt and I couldn't just imagine my mum showing up at my doorstep when I had been told that she was dead..

Infact, thinking about the possibility of that made me shudder

"I know my dad wasn't the best of people in this world..I mean he and my mum never got along, he landed in jail for drunk driving and ended a lady's life..but...but..." her voice broke down just in time for my whole body to stiffen

I slowly pulled her away to look at her "your.. dad.." I crooked out, hardly finding the words while she nodded

"Yea..I know he's a murderer and all but I think he's sorry for what he did and..."she trailed off

I clenched my jaws tightly, silently hoping it wasn't what I was thinking..I remembered dad's words when he said the drunk driver who killed mum was imprisoned..a part of me feared that I if it was what i thought i wouldn't know how to handle it.

lord knows if how much I was willing to punch the daylights out of careless fool yet what if that careless fool turned out to be Meera's dad??

I didn't want to hurt her yet I just couldn't help but feel like letting him go through hell like my mum did cause of his careless and inconsiderate actions besides, I wasn't even sure yet.

Argh!

This is so fucked up!!

I didn't even realize that I was tensed up already untill I heard meera say softly

"I'm sorry..I'm sorry for boring you out..just don't mind me" she said trying to wipe her eyes clean from the tears.I brought down her indexes, using mine to brush the tears off.

"You're not!..maybe we could go and visit your dad!"I said suggestively

She shot me a disapproving look as she replied "noo..I mean what am I even going to tell?!"

I sighed "you'll tell him whatever comes out from your heart" I replied,clenching and unclenching my fist yea like how the fuck is he feeling after killing my mum..

What if he didn't kill her afterall - a part of my subconscious reasoned

Well admit! I still needed to find out about this.

Okay maybe I was sounding so selfish here but trust me when I say it's hard to just let things like this go

"Dozie..I'm not going to see him! Please don't make me to" she begged.

I bit my lips, running my hands through my hair as i let out a sigh

"Fine!" I said and she gave me a faint smile

A shrill cry of an alarm-like rang out in interruption..i pulled the phone out of my pocket, it was dad calling talk about timing

As usual dad's call was curt and precise and as much as I didn't want to leave Meera here..I still wanted to know really more details about meera's dad and I could only get that info from dad.

******

"Your flight is a week from now dozie so get ready to..."

"Why is that too soon!?" I asked, cutting him off

He glared at me obviously not wanting to reply that question "you are leaving in a weeks time!I hope that's clear enough for you?" He said flatly

I grimaced a reply before taking my leave out of his study room, I halted im my steps as I turned to look at him again

"The man that killed mum in the accident!do you know who he is?!" I asked

He raised his head up from the laptop which he had been typing on since as he fixed me a pointed look

"Why do you ask?"

"Cause I need to know!"

He twitched his lips into a small mocking smile as he retorted "you need to know because you may have found out that your girlfriend's dad is responsible for it huh?"

The words hit me hard! My fears were confirmed!!! I felt every of my limbs go weak as I stared into utter shock

"What are you talking about?"I asked

He drew himself back from his laptop, as he entwine his palms with each other before fixing me a scowl

"I'm saying that you're girlfriend's dad is responsible for your mum's death!"he retort

"...and It will be better for you to keep off from that family" he concluded making me shoot him a deep glare

"Are you planning on doing something to them cause of her father?" I asked and he retort

"Maybe a little!"

If I didn't know better, I'd say that his 'maybe a little' was something insignificant but I knew dad and he'd make sure to crumble their lives without even laying a finger on them.he was other things worse but killing someone wasn't one of who he was yet I needed to ask

"You are going to kill them?!" I asked in a strangled voice as he shrugged.

"I will do the world a favor if I do that! But I'm not going to make that happen..I know just how to handle them to pay till they breath their last" his voice was dangerously low yet he managed to let out a growl as he spoke

I didn't know what he was planning and I don't care how long he knew about this but I wasn't going to just let dad have all his wishes.so I made sure to match the tone of my voice with his

"You wouldn't dare to do anything to them!! Don't you even try thinking of it cause I swear, I'll be the one to make you crumble!!!" I warned

Was that a warning or a threat?!

Dad stared at me wide-eyed and he sure wouldn't have believed that I stood up to him but then i meant every single thing I told him and I wouldn't mind taking up actions if he dared to make my life more complicated..this wasn't about meera! But then she was my everything and if he made things hard for her and her family then automatically, it affects me and my life gets more jeopardized.

I didn't want that to happen and I wasn't going to let anyone make that happen

*********

"So wait ooh! You are suppose to leave for university of California in a weeks time!??" Priye asked for the umpteenth time

Yea..I was just telling the guys about me leaving and just as I thought, they weren't quite taking the news well

"Figures!" I answered priye who bit his lower lips in reply

"Did you tell meera?!" Adam asked

"No! She's going to be mad at me"

" but you'll still leave anyway!!! And how do you plan on doing that without telling her anything?" Adam asked again

"I'm not...I mean I bought jamb form and I took the exams what did you think I was going to do?!"

"And your dad?! How do you plan on schooling here "priye asked in confusion

"I'm going to ditch the flight..he wouldn't let me stay a year at home doing nothing so I guess i'lldefinitely enroll into a school here"

"This doesn't make sense!! Fuck! This is bullshit!"priye exclaimed

I ran my hands through my face then resting my palms on my mouth asI said nothing

"Just tell her man!"Adam suggested and I shrugged

"I agree..like you also found out that her dad killed your mum and you're keeping it to yourself..."

The guys were actually making sense in what they were saying but the thing is how do I get to break it down to her.

Meera's mood kinda felt relieved after the day i had that talk with her and honestly I too felt relieved and happy but now this whole issue was like hell!!!

"I know right...not a wise thing to do"

We were sitting around the visual arts studio since sir Ahmed wasn't around, besides school was almost over besides we were doing nothing since we we're already done with our exams.

Adam replied "of course that's not the wisest thing right now to do..you just need to tell her so you guys can talk it through and...."

"Tell me what?!" A familiar voice cuts into our conversation and immediately we all tense up at the possibility of the outcome of what this is, as slow yet confident strides approaches us.