CHAPTER 9&10
🍒TIMI🍒
“No, you might as well do it the other way,” Atlas insisted, reclaiming his pen from my grasp.
“It’s like you should be the one teaching me because I don’t understand,” I countered, taking the pen back from him.
I couldn’t comprehend why his mom tasked me with teaching him, considering it seemed like Atlas already had a knew maths a lot.
“The best student, she says,” he muttered, displaying his ignorance once again.
“Maybe you should ask your dull girlfriend to teach you then,” I retorted.
“You can’t talk about her like that,” he fired back, abruptly rising from his chair. His sudden reaction caught me off guard.
“The truth always hurts,” I replied, turning my attention back to the books.
“You’re just pained,” he remarked, sinking back into his chair.
“Back to what I was saying.”
Two weeks since this jerk arrived in Nigeria, two weeks filled with disturbances. I even contemplated changing my room, but I loved it too much.
“Before I go, my mom wanted to see you,” he announced.
“Okay,” I replied.
“Now?” I inquired.
“Yes,” he confirmed. As we began to walk towards the door, I halted suddenly.
“You go first,” I insisted, forcing a fake smile.
“Why should I?” he questioned.
“Nothing, just go,” I replied, mustering another forced smile.
“O…kay,” he responded awkwardly. How many times had I caught him staring at my @zz? I’d lost count. But at every opportunity, he seemed to take a glance.
“Timi,” Mrs. Austin greeted warmly, enveloping me in a hug.
“Good evening, Aunt,” I reciprocated with a smile.
“How are you?” she inquired.
“I’m fine, what about you?” I replied with a smile.
“I’m great, as you can see,” she chuckled, before her attention shifted to Atlas.
“Oh, you,” she teased.
“I thought you didn’t remember I was standing here, you only saw her,” Atlas quipped, revealing his jealousy. Mrs. Austin laughed before turning back to me.
“I hope Atlas isn’t giving you a hard time?” she asked. Despite wanting to confess that her son was the most annoying person I’d ever met, I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
“No, he’s so sweet,” I said, $h00ting a glance at Atlas, who seemed taken aback by my remark.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Mrs. Austin sighed in relief.
“So, I wanted to ask you about something, and I really hope you accept,” she continued, making me nod.
“Me, Atlas, and Adam are going to a beach house this Friday and coming back Sunday,” she explained.
“Wow, that sounds nice,” I said, although inwardly, it didn’t appeal to me at all.
“I was wondering if you and your sister could come,” she added, causing my smile to falter.
“Me and Tiwa?” I questioned.
“Yes, please. I would really appreciate it, and since your parents aren’t always around,” she explained. There was no way I could agree to that. Absolutely no way. I needed to find a way to decline.
“Um, I’ll have to talk to my parents about it,” I hedged.
“Oh, about that, I already spoke to them, and they said they would meet us there on Saturday,” she revealed, her smile unwavering.
Okay, my plan is ruined.
**
“You’re lying,” Tiwa accused when I broke the news to her.
“I’m not lying, I’m very serious,” I insisted.
“Let me tell you why I won’t believe it. Reason number one: because you would never agree to that kind of thing, you introvert,” she reasoned.
“Do you think I would agree before? Mommy and daddy are coming, that’s why,” I explained.
“You’re joking even more now,” she retorted.
“Do I ever lie to you?” I challenged, prompting her to immediately stand up.
“Mommy and daddy are coming?” she asked, her face lighting up with joy.
“Yes,” I confirmed, and she burst into a happy dance.
“Yayyyyyy!” she squealed with delight. I couldn’t help but blame our parents for making my sister so ecstatic to see them every time. Ever since she was born, they hardly spent any time with her. Whenever she heard that our parents were coming, she was always overjoyed because that was the little time she got to spend with them.
“And Adam is going to be there too,” she exclaimed, resuming her happy dance.
“This is going to be the best weekend ever,” she declared.
And the worst week for me.
~~~
“I know girls all over the world, but it’s only you that I want, Timi, and you know that,” Kelvin said, and I nodded tiredly.
“Timi, please,” he pleaded, making me raise my head to look at him. To be honest, Kelvin was a really fine and cute boy, but he was not my type. I didn’t even have a type. I didn’t like anybody. Period.
“Even if I give you my number, who would you be chatting with? I’m hardly on my phone,” I remarked.
“Don’t worry about that, because of me, you’ll change,” he assured me confidently.
“The pride you have, sha,” I commented, then wrote down my number on a piece of paper.
“Don’t disturb me again,” I instructed, handing the paper over to him.
“Thank you so much, Timi, my love,” he said, then stood up. Can you imagine this boy pecked my cheek before walking away? The audacity.
Turning back to my book, I suddenly saw Atlas looking at me. Why was he looking at me? Did I win a trophy?
“What?” I mouthed, but instead, he turned away. Wow. He snubbed me.
Returning my attention to my book, I suddenly felt a presence beside me. I turned to see Dera sitting beside me, smiling.
“Timi,” she called, but instead, I turned back to my book.
“You think I don’t know the reason why you’re ignoring me, huh?” she asked, smiling. What was wrong with this girl? I always ignored her.
“I know it’s because of Atlas. You like him too,” she said, making me turn to look at her.
“Who wants your white boyfriend?” I retorted, already feeling irritated.
“You can’t even deny it. We all know that everybody wants Atlas, including you,” she insisted.
“It’s like you are mad or something is wrong with your brain. See, Dera, I don’t have your time. Carry your nonsense and go and spit it out to your boyfriend. You think everybody is a wh-_-re like you?” I snapped, really pissed off.
“Well, you’re not wrong. Atlas is good in bed and all, but you know I can’t just be with one guy. It’s really hard,” she said, smiling provocatively.
“You are so shameless,” I spat.
“But it’s not my business whether you want to sleep with all the guys in the whole school. I don’t care. Now, leave me alone,” I said firmly.
“Wh@ťěver,” she said before standing up and leaving.
The day I come to this school without anybody disturbing me, I will do Thanksgiving in church.
~~
After school ended, I returned home, feeling exhausted. Once in my room, I followed my routine: undressing, taking a quick bath, and grabbing something to eat.
“Hi,” Atlas’s voice interrupted my solitude, but I chose to ignore him. He had snubbed me in school, so why bother acknowledging him now?
“Why are you ignoring me?” he persisted, his tone laced with curiosity, but I remained silent, continuing to ignore him.
“I saw you and Dera talking. You must be really close,” he observed, prompting me to finally turn and face him.
“Well, your little girlfriend was just telling me how she sleeps with other guys apart from you,” I retorted, unable to contain my frustration, which unexpectedly elicited a laugh from him.
“You joke too much,” he replied, a smile playing on his lips, which only fueled my irritation.
“You think I would even want to joke with you in the first place? You don’t know Dera. I have literally known her all my life, and you just came two weeks ago. Once you enter a relationship,” I countered, skepticism dripping from my words.
“Is that how it’s done in the US?” I added sarcastically, to which he scoffed dismissively.
“See, you don’t know Dera. You don’t even like her, and besides, yes, she slept with guys and all that before, and I did too. But now she has changed. Don’t let someone’s past decide the label you would put on them,” he reasoned, surprising me with his defense of Dera.
“I would laugh when you find out that she cheated on you one day,” I shot back, my words laced with a mix of mockery and resentment.
“Ɓîtçh,” he muttered under his breath before abruptly shutting his window, leaving me seething with frustration and confusion.
No, he didn’t just do that.
Okay, he did.
The weekend had finally arrived, signaling our trip to the beach house. Atlas had noticeably stopped talking to me after our confrontation. It was a relief in some ways, but it also left me feeling a bit unsettled.
Nevertheless, he still showed up for our tutorial sessions, although without the usual disruptions.
“Are you ready?” Tiwa asked as she rolled her luggage into the hallway.
“We’re only going for two days,” I reminded her, amused by The two luggages she was carrying.
“I need to slay and take pictures for my Instagram,” she declared with a grin. “And you better help me upload them well,” she added, nudging me playfully.
I called for the security guard to help us with the luggage as we made our way to Mrs. Austin’s house.
—
“We’re all ready,” Mrs. Austin announced with a smile, making some last-minute adjustments to Adam’s hair.
“Oh, we have to wait for someone,” Atlas mentioned, catching everyone’s attention.
“Who?” his mom inquired, puzzled by the delay.
“I’m so sorry I’m late. I got held up on the way here,” Dera apologized as she wheeled her luggage into view.
Wait, what?
TBC