chapter 4

Zaria's POV

Immediately we got out of the class, Lyla attacked me. 

"What the fuck was all that about?!" She snapped. She was ten months older than I was and sometimes exercised that power. 

In an effort to justify myself, I answered coolly, "I just decided to give him a piece of my mind that's all."

"Zee, he is a new student for God's sake! Give him a breathing space, In fact what did he even do to warrant such attitude from you?" She asked me. 

"He told the whole class that he is way better than me at everything." I blurted. Lyla stopped abruptly and stared at me like I had grown horns on my head. 

"He didn't even know you before now, Zee! How come he suddenly told the whole class that he was better than you? What exactly did he say? Truth, now!" She yelled and snapped her fingers, warning me to start talking. 

"He didn't exactly say it that way. He said he has been a straight-A student since he started school and he hopes to continue that trend here!" I yelled back at her. 

She just raised her brows. "And so? What Is bad about that?" She asked. 

"Lyla, I have always been the best student. I am definitely not ready to give that up now, not for anyone." I said as a matter-of-factly. 

"Do you have an idea how conceited you sound like right now? There is always room for everyone to be the best. You can't be the only one taking all the credit every time you know." She said but I really wasn't listening. 

This conversation had occurred severally and I knew exactly what she was going to say. My mind was already made up; I had aiming towards being the valedictorian of my set, I was not planning to lose that now or even share the spot with anyone. 

"I don't want to talk about this, let's just go and eat abeg. Ebi n pa mi (I am hungry)." I told her, changing the topic entirely. Lyla sighed in frustration, but followed me anyway.

The frown on her face made me chuckle, her chubby cheeks made her funnier than angry. I wondered how we had managed to put up with each other for almost ten years. 

☆☆☆☆

Joel's POV

What an attitude! I thought as I made my way to the tuck shop to get a snack.

I couldn't stop thinking about the exchange between Zaria and I. How selfish can a person be? All because her record had never been beaten. 

I didn’t have a problem with her though. Like I had told her earlier; she just landed herself in a huge competition. It was honestly the most stupid rivalry I had ever had with someone, it seemed like our dear Zaria couldn’t handle change. She needs to learn that she can't always get what she wants. 

I saw Charles from afar, talking to a group of boys. I walked up to them with my snacks in my hand. 

"Charles, thanks for disappearing on me." I scowled at him. 

"Sorry man, it won’t happen again." Charles replied and patted my back. 

"Oh, this is the new dude. Joel, right? Nice to meet you buddy, I'm Tyler." One of the guys stretched his hand to give me a shake. I smiled as I took it.

"Nice to meet you, Tyler." I said. 

"Omo, na your accent o. (Your accent is too dope.)" One of the guys said. 

"Bro, it's not my fault na. You fit hear me sha, that one is the koko (At least you can hear me, that's the most important thing)" I said in broken English, it sounded weird with my accent. 

Their mouths hung open in surprise that I could speak pidgin (Broken English). I chuckled slightly at their expression. 

"You can speak pidgin?!" Another one of the guys exclaimed. 

"Just a little. Being in Nigeria for almost five years has taught me a lot." I replied him. 

"Baddest nigga!" We shook hands and hugged slightly. "I'm Taju, that's Kelvin." He nodded towards the guy that had spoken first. 

I got to know a lot about them; Taju was in Art class while Kelvin and Tyler were in commercial.

Taju's focus diverted to someone behind me. Then he nudged Kelvin in the side, wiggling his brows at him. 

"Here comes your forever crush." Taju teased. Kelvin rolled his eyes and looked behind me too. 

"Hi." 

I turned back to see the owner of the small voice. I saw the girl that had called Zaria's name after our "show down" in class. 

Damn, she is so small. I thought as she moved closer to the group.

"Hello." I smiled down at her, literally. She acknowledged the guys with a wave before turning back to me. 

"Can I speak with you for a moment?" She asked me. I nodded and walked few feet away from the guys to talk to her.

"My name is Lyla, I'm Zaria's friend." She introduced herself. 

I scoffed, "If you have also come to tell me how fantastic your result has been since JSS1, I don't want to hear it." I turned to walk away. 

"Wait." I heard her and I turned back to her. "I have not come here to brag or insult you, I came to apologize on her behalf. Zaria can be a little... what's the word?" She stroked her chin. 

"Conceited, arrogant, selfish?" I helped her. 

"That didn't come out from my mouth o, but sometimes yes. She's a really sweet girl though, once you get to know her." Lyla smiled. 

"Well, she made it clear that she doesn't like me or want to get to know me." I countered. 

"Okay, fine. But you and I can be friends, right?" She grinned at me. 

"Of course, you look like a cute little baby. I can’t resist" I cooed like she was a five-year-old.

"Hey! I'm 18. Do not let my height deceive you." She poked my arm with her finger and although I laughed, it really did hurt. "I gotta head back. I will see you around." She smiled at me and walked away. 

I turned back to the guys, the huge grin still on my face. 

"What was all that about?" Charles asked. 

"Just some stuff, nothing really important." I dismissed with a wave of my hand. 

"Don't tell me she told you she likes you." Kelvin stated, looking a bit dejected. 

"What?! No! Of course not. We just met, officially." I smiled. 

"Phew! Thank goodness." He heaved a sigh of relief. 

"Dude, you have got to man up and tell her how your feel. Soon we will be in SS3 then we would graduate and you might not see her again." I heard Charles tell Kelvin. 

"She difficult to get. Trust me, I think it's better to admire her from afar." Kelvin said. 

I turned to Kelvin, "You like her?" I asked. 

"Since JSS1." Tyler answered for him. My eyes widened on their own accord. 

"Guy, what are you waiting for now?" I asked him. 

"Lyla is really difficult to get, no guy has ever won her over. I repeat, Ever! I am kinda scared she will say no." Kelvin replied with a sad tone. 

"He has it bad for this girl mehn. She is the only girl that has ever made Kelvin this vulnerable." Charles told me. 

"Are you even her friend?" I asked Kelvin who was now sulking.

"Not exactly. It’s more like a class-mate relationship. Just a ‘hi’ here and a ‘hello’ there." He replied. 

"That's the beginning. Establish a friendship with her, a strong one. Then from there we will know what to do.” I said, my teaching abilities taking over instantly. “Go talk to her, right now." I said sternly. 

"What?! No, I will embarrass myself!" He whispered as he shifted awkwardly on his feet. 

"Be a man my friend, go talk to her." Tyler pushed Kelvin forward as if to give him a head start. 

"Okay, okay. I’ll go." He walked slowly to where Lyla was sitting. 

He sat beside her and soon enough, they started talking but we couldn't hear anything. Few minutes later, they both stood up and Lyla smiled as she waved at him, leaving the table. 

"Do you think he said something stupid?" Tyler asked no one in particular. 

"Let's find out." Taju replied. 

Kelvin walked towards us with a huge grin on his face. 

"How did it go?" I asked. 

"Fantastic! She gave me her phone number." He showed us his palm, numbers were scrawled across it in blue ink. 

"Nice. Now go and write it down somewhere because that ink is going to fade." Charles told him. 

"Good idea." Kelvin chuckled. 

The bell rang indicating the end of break, everyone rushed to class. 

So far so good, my first day had not been so bad. If we scratch Zaria out of it, that is.