Chapter 32: Chapter 32

: ice Witch and Red Queen

→Narrator: Kam

Asa Dooshima and Giwa Falade

The tale of the Ice Witch and Red Queen was as old as time.

....

Ha! Just kidding.

The whole controversy started just last year, during the Dynamis Trip.

The Dynamis Trip is an annual Inter-school educational programme, where students from different schools in the country go on a grand tour around Africa for purely educational purposes.

Well, last year, the entire tour had been a little different. A bit more interesting. The organizers decided to organize a competition for the students as part of our extra-curricular activities while we were on the tour and it would have been fun if the heads of the different schools hadn't turned competitive and made the whole thing more serious than it should have been.

Cristan Prep has always been our rivals when it came to competitions of any kind but they had been disqualified early from the programme last year due to bad behaviour from some of their students.

That's where Castron Highschool came in.

Castron Highschool was well known in the country but we'd never had a reason to be worried about them... Until last year.

And it was all because of one person. Giwa Falade.

No, I'm serious. Rumour has it that Giwa ordered her schoolmates who were contestants to not even bother coming back to the school if they didn't win against their contenders.

I had overheard her 'prep-talking' her schoolmates.

"Castron is a school for winners." She had proclaimed, her voice, loud and clear, without the need for a microphone. "We are not weak winners. Second place is not an option. Do NOT even bother showing up for your competition if you're not sure of completely annihilating the other school. You have been warned. Failure to do so will put you in my bad book... And trust me, you do NOT want to be in my bad book."

"W... What's going t... To happen if... f... we end up in your bad book,  s... Senior Giwa?" One particular junior had asked, shaking in her shoes.

Giwa had stopped and looked at the Junior's direction for a second too long. The entire hall was quiet and everyone looked like they were holding their breaths.

"Well, honey." She had said easily,  walking to the junior and facing her directly. If the poor girl had pissed herself, I wouldn't be surprised. "I will simply make the rest of your highschool-life very VERY miserable."

If that sounded like a threat, it's because it was!

She had said all that while checking her nails and acting nonchalantly, like it was no big deal while her voice made it clear she was the kind of person that meant what she said and would make do on every promise... Every threat.

Her schoolmates were so scared of her, during the games contest, I contemplated losing on purpose. I didn't have to, though, when I saw how good they were, even in sports, putting up a struggle against our school and ending things in a tie.

It wasn't a win... But it wasn't defeat either.

In the final contest, the tiebreaker that was going to decide the overall winner, Asa and Giwa had faced off... And Asa had lost.

Trinity lost to Castron. It was a slap in our face especially when our school had bragged about being an all time winner in every competition they faced and was always shortlisted as one of the top ten schools in the entire West African Region.

I didn't know Asa on a personal level then, but I got the gist. She had received so much hate for losing in the end and I think that was one of the things that fueled the hatred of the entire school towards her.

They must have made quite an impression on each other for Giwa to have reached out to her on her birthday.

She didn't look like the type that texted people out of the blue... But then again, she didn't look like the type that followed rules at all... Infact... She looked like the type that made the rules.

"If this isn't a diss at me, I don't know what it is!" Asa spat angrily, her body shaking as she ripped the letter to shreds.

I sucked in a nervous breath. "Asa, maybe you should calm down."

She glared at me, bittersweet shots of coffee, boring into mine.

One more thing about Asa was her cold, competitive streak. Only God knew how badly she had wanted a rematch.

I sighed, placing my hands in her tense shoulders and massaging softly. "Baby, it's just a birthday wish."

"Exactly!" She snarled, stepping away from my grasp. "No 'hi!' or 'hey!' Just 'happy birthday'. The fuck! She's just trying to get on my fucking nerves and remind me of how she kicked my ass at the tour."

Oh man!

She took a trembling breath, heaving heavily. "How did she even know that today was my birthday?"

"Uh... I think that's my fault." Kosi laughed nervously at Asa's question. She was scrolling through her phone. "Shade Onam..."

Wow... Big names we're hearing today.

There were commercial models like Kosi, who only got asked to model for big brands because of how popular and successful they already were.... And there were high-fashion models like Shade Onam who are extensively trained to strike a pose and capture an audience with just the look in her eyes.

Shade Onam was probably the most talked about teenager in continent... And if I'm being real, the entire world. She was a teenage celebrity and at her age, she has already dined with royals and attended parties and galas with international A-list celebs. She was everywhere on the internet and that was why I even knew about her.

"Shade is her classmate and close friend and we follow each other on IG... Giwa may have heard from her."

Asa looked like she was about to pop a vein, her golden brown skin, turning an unhealthy shade of red.

Damn, this was affecting her so much.

Sighing, I pulled her to me, engulfing her in a hug.

"Shh..." I murmured softly, communicating peace and comfort to her. I rubbed her back gently until I felt her erratic heartbeat stop its accelerated racing. "It was just a game, Asa. Let it go."

"I can't let it go if she's deciding to rub it in my fucking face."

"Asa..." I groaned, pulling away from her to look into her eyes. Into those eyes that were oceans of black black coffee.

"She literally just wished you a happy birthday." I reasoned with her, speaking softly, so that i wouldn't get her upset again. "Accept the truth for what it is."

She sighed, relenting, her eyes, losing their initial anger.

Until Jordan just had to bring it up again. "But, who the hell writes letters these days? Why go through all that stress? I mean, hasn't she heard of text messages? Email... Uh... Snapchat? Fucking WhatsApp? Why would anyone go through all that stress for a simple birthday message?"

Everyone laughed at the baffled expression on his face.

But, it was Asa that answered his question. "She isn't just 'anyone'. She's Giwa." And for the first time since this entire thing started, she wasn't angry. Eerily calm. Grudging respect, lacing her voice.

"But we'll be touring again, next year, right?" Jordan asked, excitedly. "I think it's compulsory for finals."

"It is." Osahon told him.

"Good good!" Jordan grimned, rubbing his palms. "I have unfinished business with some Castron chicks from last year."

"Ewww!" Lola groaned, squeezing her face. "Can you not talk about your exploits in front of me?"

Everyone laughed.

Asa was so calm, I draped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her to me. "Are you okay?" Kissed her temple.

"Yeah." She sighed, leaning into me. "Just thinking about meeting her again next year. In a weird way, I think of her as a friend. A scary, annoying friend? Yes. But a good friend, nonetheless."

"Oh, that's good then. I hope Castron makes it to Dynamis again, next year."

"Oh, they better. I have unfinished business with their queen."

It was a quiet declaration. Warning the universe not to go against her wishes.

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