Chapter 2

mates "Hey."Hesaid."Canyoulendmeyournoteforthiscourse?Imissedthepreviousclass." "Surething.Makesureyoureturnitontimesha." "Thanks."Thedudewalkedaway. Topecheckedherphoneforthetime.Itwas4:22.ShestartedexpectingJustin'scall. Almostimmediately,hecalledher. "Hey,"hesaid."I'mtakingacabnow.Comingtoyourfaculty." "Okay.I'mwaiting." "You'regonnahelpmethough.I'veliterallyneverbeentoFSS." "Really?"Sheasked. "Yeah.SowhenIdropatFSS,I'llcallyoufordirections" "Sure." MercywalkeduptoTope. "Okay.Bye."Hehungup. Mercyshookherhead,laughing. "God,what'sfunnyagain?"Topefrowned. "You'regoingtogetobsessedwiththisboyoo." Toperolledhereyes."Hejustcalledtotellmehe'sonhisway." "Okay.PretendIsaidnothing."Shesmiledthiswickedkindofsmile. "Whyareyousmilinglikethat?" "Nothing.Actuallynothing." "Itbetterbenothing." Mercyhissed."He'scomingabi?" "Yeah.Ijusttoldyou." "Endon'teatmena!" Topegrinned.Herphonerang.Shepickeditupimmediately. "Youhere?" "Yes.Sodirectmetowhereyou'reat." "HowaboutIjustmeetyouatthegate?"Topesuggested. "Nah.Justtellmehowtogettoyou." "Okay,ifyouinsist."Shewentaheadtogivehimthedirections. "He'llsoonbehere."ShetoldMercy. "Who?"Theyheardbehindthem.Topegroaned.NotAjayiagain. "It'snoneofyourbusiness."Shelashedout. "Calmdownna.I'mnotfightingwithyou."Ajayisaid."Howareyou?"Hetriedtohugher frombehind.Topeshovedhimaway. "I'mokay.I'mexpectingsomeone.Whatdoyouwant?" AjayiwasTope'sannoyingcoursemate.Topealmostthrewupwhenhecameoneday andsaidhelikesher.Sheturnedhimdownonthespot.Buttheduderefusedtogiveit up.Heleftherforawhileandonlystarteddisturbingherrecently. "Whoareyouexpecting?"Heaskedagain. "Ajayi,"Mercystarted."Don'tyouknowwhentoknowyou'renotwanted?" "Idon'tunderstand."Hereplied. "Whatshe'stryingtosayisthatIwantyoutoleavemealone."Topetoldhim. "Why?"Heasked "Isn'titclearenough?" "Shedoesn'tlikeyou!" Theguylaughed."Stopplayingna." TopelookedatMercyandthebothofthemstartedlaughing. "Whoisjoking?Isitbecausewe'relaughing?"Mercysaid. TopelookedattheentranceandsawJustinlookingaroundforher. "Abegshift,thepersonthatI'mexpectingishere."TopewavedandJustinsightedher. Hecameovertothem. "HeyJustin."Topecrooned.Shehuggedhim.Justinfelthisstomachflutterwhenshe huggedhim. "Hey."Hereplied. MercylookedatJustin.Wow,thisguy'shot. "Justin,I'lllikeyoutomeetmybestie,Mercy." "Hey.MynameisJustin.Nicetomeetyou." Ajayislippedaway. "Nicetomeetyoutoo.MynameisMercylikeTopesaid." "Whowasthatguy?"JustinreferredtoAjayi. "Ohhe'snotreallyimportant.Justaregularcoursemate." "Okay.Youready?" "Yeah." "Mercy,youcomingwithus?"Justinasked. "Ohno.ButI'mgoingtowardsthatdirection.SoI'llprobablytagalong."Sheanswered. Justin'sphonestartedringing.HebroughtitoutofhispocketandMercy'seyeswidened. ShepulledTopecloser. "Youdidn'tsayhe'susinganiPhonex."Shewhispered. "Ididn'tthinkitwasnecessary." "Woah." Justinfinishedhiscall.Hewasfewfeetaheadofthegirls.Heglancedback.Thegirls walkedfastertomeetupwithhim. "ThatwasfromSportscenter."Hesaid. "Ithoughtthematchwon'tstartuntil5." "Yeah.ButlikeIsaid,todayisthelastdayofthecompetition.Therearealotofthingsto dobeforethemainmatch."Justinexplained. "Oh."Topeexclaimed. "Awwn,IwishIcouldcomewithyouguys."Mercychippedin. "Whydon'tyoucomewithus?Trustme,it'sfun."Justintoldher. "WellasmuchasIwantto,Ican't.Maybesomeothertime."Mercyreplied.Shewanted totakeacab.Shegottothebusstop.Topehuggedher. "What'sallthesefor?It'snotlikeI'mtraveling."Mercyjoked. "Seeyoulaterjare."Topeanswered. "ByeMercy.Nicemeetingyou.Again." "Bye." JustinandTopecontinuedtowardsSportscenter.Theysoongotthereandtheywalked in.Thewholeplacewasfilledwithdifferentactivities.JustingrabbedTope'shandand theywalkedtowherehisfacultywas.Topeimmediatelyrecognizedthefacesshesaw thepreviousdayandshealsosawnewfaces.Mostofwhichweregirls.Justinledher towhereagroupofpeoplewereseated. "Heyguys,wassup?"Hegreeted. "YoJustin!Whereyoubeenbrother?"Samuelsaid. "IhadtogogetTope."Herepliedandheldherlikehewasshowingheroff."Guysthisis Tope.Tope,law21" "Hi"Topesaidtothefacesthatwerestaring. "Heyhaveaseat."ItwasChris.Hestoodupforhertosit. "Thanks."Topemanagedtosay.Itwasobviousthatshewasshy.Shesatdown.She lookedatJustin.Hesmiledather. "Yougood?"Hemouthed.Shenodded.Henoddedback. Somehow,Topefeltuneasy.Shedecidedtolookaround.Sheregrettedthatshedidso almostimmediately.Asshelookedsideways,shesawthisgirlstaringintenselyather. Infact,shewasglaring.Topeshuddered. Whyisshestaringlikethat?Topethought.Thereandthen,shedecidedthatthegirlwas goingtobethefewpeopleshe'lltrytoavoidinJustin'sclass.Justincameovertoher. Hebentdowninfrontofher. "Hey,um,thematchwillstartsoonsoIwanttogetsomesnacksforustoeatwhileit's on." "OhI'llfollowyou."Shesaid. "Nah.Juststayhere.It'llonlybeaminute."Topenodded.Shewatchedhimasheleft withChrisandSamuel.Shewatchedtheracesandotherattractions.Sheheardlaughter comefrombehindher.Shestrainedherearstohearwhatthegirlsweresaying. "Where'sshefrom?"Oneasked. "Yabatech.Shelookslikeoneofthem."anotherreplied.Theylaughed. "Idon'tthinkso.Ithinkshe'sfromUnilagtoo." "Ugh!" "IssheJustin'sgirlfriend?"Anotheroneasked. "Ofcoursenot!"Thisvoicewaslouder. "WeallknowthatJustinbelongstoSilvia." Tope'sheartskippedabeat.Shepretendedtoconcentrateontheeventsgoingonthe field. "Sadeisright."Anothersaid.Everyoneagreed.TheirgossipdieddownwhenJustinand hisfriendsreturned.Topedecidedtogetbackatthelousygirls. "Heyyou."Topesaid."Iwasfamished."Shesawthathebroughtcoke."Oooh,coke." Hepassedittoher."Youcouldhavesaidyouwerehungryyouknow." "Girlsdon'tactuallysaywhattheywant.Theyexpecttheguystoknowitalready."She smiled. Hesmiledback.Hesatdownbesideher. "Poopcorn?"Heasked. "Sure."Topesaidandpaused."Wait,Ididn'thearright.Yousaidpoopcorn?" Justinlaughed."Ididn'tthinkyou'dnotice." "Ididand,ew.Idonotwantpoopcorn.Butifyou'vegotpopcorn,I'llgladlyaccept"Tope said,laughing. "Hereyougo."Hepassedthepackofpopcornintoheropenhands. Theplayersstormedthefield. "GoLaw21!"Justinyelled. "Woooo!"Topeyelledback. Thetwoofthemlaughed.Topemadeherselfcomfortable.Sheputherheadonhis shoulderandimmediatelynoticedthatshecouldn'tseethematchwell. "Canyouseethefieldlikethat?"Justinasked. "Yeahsure."Shelied.Topewasprettysurethelousygirlswereburningwithannoyance. Shesmiled. Justin'sheartwasthumpingslightly.Hethoughtaboutputtinghisarmaroundherback sohecouldbemorecomfortable.Hesummonedcourageandwrappedherwithhis rightarm.Silviahadhadenough.Outraged,shestoodupandwalkeduptothem. "HeyJustin,canIspeaktoyou?" "Yeahsure.Spill."Hemunchedpopcorn. "Um."SheglaredatTope."Privately." Topereturnedtheglare. "Idon'tthinkthisisthebesttimeSilvia."Justinexplained."Clearly,I'mwithsomeone." "OhI'msureshewouldn'tmind."Shegaveafakesmile."Wouldyou?"SheaskedTope. "It'llbeaminute." "Nonotatall.Sinceit'ssoimportantIreallydon'tmind."Topesaid,returningthefake smile.Justinwasoblivioustowhatwasgoingonbetweenthetwogirls.Hestoodup. Heledherfewfeetaway. "Sowhat'ssourgentthatyoucouldn'twait?" "Howcanyousayyou'renotdatingthatgirl?"Silviablurted. "What?"Justinwasshocked."That'swhyyoucalledme?"Hestartedlaughing. "Justin!Whyareyouactinglikethis?" "Whyareyoujealous?Thebothofusaren'tevendating." "Yet.Wearen'tdatingyet."Silviapointedout. "WhathascomeoveryouSilvia?"Justinasked."You'vebecomesoobsessed.It'snot healthy." "WhosaidI'mobsessed?" "Comeongirl.Everyoneknowsyou'reobsessedwithme." "Whywon'tyoudateme?" "You'renotgivingmeanyreasonto." "Whatdoyoumean?"Sheasked. "Seewhatyou'redoingnow.Iamnotyourboyfriendandstillyouactlikethisjealous wife.You'realwaystextingme,callingme,youdon'tevengivemespacetobreathe." Herfacehadchangedtremendously.Hewenton."LookSilvia,you'reaverybeautifulgirl. You'resupposedtobechased.Nottheotherwayaround.Lookatyou,you'restressed. Tired.Maybeifyougiveitachill,youmightgetwhatyouwant." "Ididn'trealize." "Iknow." "Youlikeherright?"SheaskedandhalfpointedtoTope. "Youknowwhat,I'mnotgonnalietoyou,Idonotknow.LikeIsaidshewasmyfriendin secondaryschool.Butitwasmorethanthat.Ilikedheralot.ButthenIchangedschool. Andnowheresheisagain,Iguesstheoldfeelingsareresurfacing." Silviasighed."I'msorryforreactingthatway.IguessI'mobsessed." Justintouchedhershoulder."Howaboutyouactuallygivemetimetofallforyou?And seeifitactuallyhappens." Shenodded."That'llbenice."Shesmiled. "We'regood?" "Yeah." "Comeon,we'remissingthematch." Silviahuggedhim.IttookJustinbysurprise.Shereleasedhimandwenttoherfriends. JustinwalkedbacktoTope. "Hey."Hesaidashesatdownbesideher. "Hey,youweregonelong.Wasthereanyproblem?"Sheasked. "Uhnotreally." Topewantedtoask,butsomehow,sheknewwhattheytalkedabout.Noonehadtotell herthattheSilviagirllikedJustin. "Thematchisreallytoughright?"Heasked. "Yes.Itreallyisthough." TherewasanawkwardmomentofsilenceuntilLaw21foundthenet.Everyone stormedthefield.Theyearonestudentsweretough. Afteralongbattle,theLaw21clinchedthevictorywith2goalsto1.Itwasahard earnedvictory.Theplayerscrowdedthecupastheytookpictures.Somehow,Justin andTopegotintooneofthepictures.Later,JustinwalkedTopetoherhostel. "Woah.Whataday."Justinexclaimed. "Iknowright" "Ican'tstillbelievethatyoulovefootball." "Well,mybrothersmademelikethesport." "Ohyeah."Hesmiled."Nowonder." "Sincetheywereolder,Igrewuplikingthesport." "Nice.Wherearetheynow?" "ToyosiisinOAU,finalyearmechanicalengineering.WhileTadeisservinginEkiti." Justinnodded.Theygottoherhostel.Itwasdarkalready.Justinlookedathiswatch.It wasalready7:30. "Thanks."Topesmiled."Ihadaswelltime." Justingrinned."Youdon'thavetothankme.It'swhatIdo." "Bye.We'lltalk." "Sure." Topewavedandwalkedtotheentranceofherhostel.Sheturnedaround.Hewasstill waiting.Shewavedagain.Hewavedback.Sheenteredherhostel.Justinturnedandleft.