Daniella💟💖
#Episode_20
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My day at school ended on a bad note. First reason was that the Literature exam was tough. Not even Adam who happened to be good at Literature could tackle the questions well. For me, I did the ones I could do and copied some answers from Adam. Second reason was that Peter and I didn’t leave school together like we usually did. I left immediately school closed because I was angry with Peter for not having time for me and spending most of his time with Prudence. I just nee-ded him to know that he hurt me by doing that.
Once done with most of my house chores, I went to my room and shut the door behind me. I took out my phone from my luggage where I hid it and sat on my be-d, legs crossed. I switched the phone on and immediately opened my Facebook app to see if I had gotten any message from Peter. As soon as I turned on the phone data connection, I received gazillion of messages. I was so curious to see if Peter was one of those who s£nt a message. My heart lurched when I saw five unre-ad messages from Peter Martins.
✏Peter Martins: Hey Bae!
✏Peter Martins: Why did you go home without me?
✏Peter Martins: Come online, I’m missing you.
✏Peter Martins: Hope you’re not mad at me.
✏Peter Martins: Hello!
I smiled as I re-ad the text. I was mad at Peter but he just always had his way of putting a smile on my face.
Me: Hey I’m here now.
✏Peter replied almost immediately.
Peter Martins: Just when I got to your house.
I scrunched my brows in confusion as I re-ad the text. I didn’t un-derstand what he typed.
Me: What do you mean?
Peter Martins: Come outside.
Me: plea-se don’t tell me you’re at my house.
Peter Martins: Okay I won’t. Now can you come outside.
📩I re-ad the message thrice before realisation hit me that Peter was really in front of my house. Oh my!
Immediately, I kept the phone un-der my pillow, jumped out of the be-d and scrambled out of the room. I searched the down section of the house to see if anyone was near, but nob©dy was. Aunt Caro and her twin daughters were all upstairs in their rooms.
I quietly made my way outside the gate and I saw Peter sitting on a bicycle. He was on a casual wear—a purple Jersey, a black jean trou-sers and a black beanie on his head.
I moved closer towards him. “What are you doing here Peter?” I asked, sounding surprised.
He sm-irked. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”
I folded my arms around my che-st. “Not exactly. If my aunt catches you here, she’ll use my head to cook stew this evening.”
Peter threw his head back as he laughed. The sound of his laughter melted my heart. “Didn’t know you had this great s-en-se of humour.” He said.
“I’m being serious Peter.” I rolled my eyes at him.
There was a brief silence between us before Peter spoke up. “I
really missed you today. Why did you leave school without me?”
“I thought you didn’t have time for me?”
He c@m£ down from his bicycle, dropped it carefully on the floor and moved closer to me. “I always have time for you babe.”
“No you didn’t today. You spent the whole break hour with Prudence. I guess she has stolen more of your time now.” I rolled my eyes and looked away from him.
Peter reached for my hands. “Don’t get it twisted. The only reason I was with Prudence was because of you.”
I looked at him with puzzlement. “How do you mean?”
“Okay listen to this sound record.” Peter said, retrieving his phone from his trou-ser pocket. He fiddled with it for some moment before muffled voice notes c@m£ on from the phone.
“Look Prudence, ever since I found out you had interest in me, I’d been stalking you and I know full well that you were the one who kept Ayo’s wristwatch in Daniella’s bag just to frame her.” That was Peter’s voice.
“What are you talking about? I didn’t do no such thing.” Prudence voice was heard.
“There’s no point denying it. I know alre-ady. I saw you.”
“You did?”
“Uh-huh.”
“But how?”
“Just confess you did it and it would forever be our little secret.”
“Err well, since you saw me, what’s the point denying it. I did it, I did it. But plea-se don’t tell anyone.”
“So you actually were the one who framed Daniella and allowed Mr Nnamdi punish her. You disgust me.”
“I thought you said you saw me when I did it.”
“You were gamed Prudence. I alre-ady have the sound record of this conversation on my phone, so lemme just warn you, stay the hell away from Daniella and I, unless this recording is going to get to Mr Nnamdi and I’m sure you don’t want that.”
“B-but, I really like you Peter.”
“You heard what I said bit-ch!”
“Don’t call me that!”
“Just steer clear of Daniella and me and Mr Nnamdi wouldn’t get to hear the sound record.”
“Whatever.”
💞
The sound recording ended and a broad smile danced on my face. I pu-ll-ed Peter in a bone crushing hvg. “You’re such a genius.” I said.
“I know, right!” He said smugly.
I withdrew from him and punched his arm.
“Ow!” He yelped.
“How could you have hatched such a brilliant plan without telling me?”
He moved closer to me and spre-ad his arm for a hvg. “I’m sorry babe. I just wanted to surprise you.”
“You did more than surprise me. I’m amazed.” I said as we both embr@ced each other I cleared my throat and pu-ll-ed away from him sheepishly. “Peter you have to be going now. I don’t want my cousin and aunt to see you here. plea-se try to un-derstand.”
“No wahala. See you on social media. Be online o.” He said as he raised his bicycle from the floor and position himself on it.
I smiled. “Go and study for tomorrow’s exam.”
“I won’t be able to study if I don’t see you online.”
“Aww, Peter’s obsessed with me.”
“You can say that again.”
“All right, I would be online this night. Bye hubby.”
“Bye.” He said and rode off. After watching him ride away, I walked back to the gate. As I got in, the person I saw made my heart skip two beats.
🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠
“Hey Annabelle.” I tried to compose myself seeing her. If she had seen Peter and me together, that would simply be a disaster.
“Don’t Annabelle me!” She snarled. “What was Peter doing here?”
Her question s£nt shivers down my spine. She saw us. She saw both Peter and me together. This was terrible! What could I say to cover up for myself?
“Uh…” Words failed me completely. There was really nothing to say.
“So now you’ve turned dumb? You have nothing to say right?”
“I’m really sorry Annabelle for lying to you.” I apologised in surrender.
Annabelle shook her head in disgust. “So it’s true after all. I can’t even believe that you lied to me about Peter. I mean, you could have easily just told me he was your b©yfri£ndinstead of lying. If Gbemi hadn’t…” She trailed off and I sh0t a quic-k look at her after she mentioned Gbemi’s name.
💖
“Gbemi? Which Gbemi?” I narrowed my eyes quizzically.
“Doesn’t matter. The point is you betrayed me. To think I was even getting to like you.” That said, she spun around and walked off into the house.
A de-ep s-en-se of embarras-sment flu-shed throu-gh me knowing that Annabelle had caught me with Peter after lying to her that he wasn’t the kind of guy I could crush on. But in the midst of that, I also was curious to know which Gbemi Annabelle was going to talk about. With the way Annabelle sounded, someone apparently told her about Peter and me. Could it have been Gbemi? I doubt! Gbemi couldn’t have done such a thing. Or could she? I made a mental note to confront her tomorrow to find out.
Judging from the deadly glare I got from Amanda when I entered into the house, it was obvious that Annabelle had told her about Peter and me. When I attem-pted to utter a word to her, at least to apologise, she hushed me flat out and walked out on me.
They were both mad at me and their anger was justifiable. I deserved every reaction I got from them. I should have simply just told them that Peter was my b©yfri£ndwhen Annabelle asked for details of him, instead of pretending not to have anything to do with him. Now that I think about it, what was the worst that could have happened if I had told them he was my b©yfri£nd? They wouldn’t have been mad at me the way they were now. Look at where my stupidity has landed me. I could only hope they both forgive me and accept my relationsh!pwith Peter.
💞💞💞
The next day at school after our first exam, I walked up to Gbemi to find out if she was the one who told Annabelle about my relationsh!pwith Peter.
“Hey Gbemi, how could you do that?” I stood in front of her, looking grim. It was all an act to get her to own up—that’s if she was the Gbemi Annabelle mentioned.
Gbemi looked away from her seat p@rtner with whom she was chatting animatedly and faced me squarely. She c0cked one of her brows. “Do what Daniella?” She sounded befuddled.
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about.” I almost shouted.
Gbemi exchanged looks with her seat p@rtner and gave me a puzzled look again. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about Daniella. I’m confused.”
“What did you tell Annabelle?”
Immediately I asked, Gbemi squirmed in her seat, scratching her temple. “Excuse me Bose.” She said to her seat p@rtner, stood up and walked me out of the clas-s to the corridor.
“Why did you excuse yourself?” I folded my arms across my che-st once we got to the corridor.
“Some things are not meant to be heard by some people, especially not a gossip monger like Bose.”
“Whatever. So can you now answer my question?”
“Well, yes I told Annabelle about you and Peter.” She confessed like she was scared, after which she added immediately, “But I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to tell her, I promise.”
“Oh why! Why would you do such a thing?”
“I’m sorry.”
“I actually didn’t want Annabelle or her sister to find out that I’m d@t!ngPeter because Annabelle has a crush on him.”
Gbemi g@sped. “Oh my! I didn’t know that. You should have told me. I wouldn’t have said yes when she asked if you both were d@t!ng.”
💞💞💞
“Was that how she asked? If Peter and I were d@t!ng?”
“Yeah.”
“That means she suspected we were d@t!ngand just decided to use you to confirm her suspicion.”
“I guess.” Gbemi shrugged. “But Daniella, you messed up big time. Why didn’t you tell me Annabelle had a crush on Peter?”
“That’s not the issue now. The issue is that Annabelle and Amanda know about Peter and me and they’ve both refused to talk to me. They’ve been giving me the cold shoulder since they found out. And the painful thing is that we were just getting close. Oh my life!”
“I’m really so sorry.” Gbemi apologised for the second time.
“No problem. It’s not your fault. I was so stupid to have lied to them in the first place. But wait a moment. How does Annabelle know you and how does she know that you’re my friend?”
“You know I once told you that I kinda liked she and her sister before I knew they were both related to you. So let’s just say we’ve been acquaintances for some time now.”
“Oh I see.”
⭐⭐⭐
The week pas-sed away quic-kly and birthed the vacation week. Exams were over and it was Monday—the day of the school’s Christmas Carol. All the students looked so cheery and in the festive mood. Most, if not all, of the students were putting on their school uniform with Christmas cap on their head. I didn’t have a cap of my own, but Adam got one for me from the vendors in front of the school. Such a sweetheart!
Most of the committee members for the Christmas Carol were up and doing trying to arrange the school hall in preparation for the programme. I wasn’t a member of the committee. I was way too busy at home for that. However almost all my friends were, even Adam who I thought had little or no energy for those kind of things.
Gbemi and Peter were also members of the committee. They were p@rt of the choristers performing Christmas hymns. The programme commenced and the choir were the ones performing on stage at the moment. The females were dressed in a white blouse and Sk-irt and the males were in white shi-t and trou-sers. Each of them wore a Christmas cap. They all looked so…
Andcoish. That’s my word for uniformed.
Some specific choristers c@m£ out to solo each Christmas hymn, while the mas-s sang after the soloist. Gbemi and Peter were one of those that sang a solo. Gbemi had a rich and husky Alto voice that almost sounded like the voice of the popular soul singer, Adele. While Peter had a sweet tenor voice. I felt goosebu-mps in my whole b©dy as he sang and I couldn’t st©p blu-shing.
When the choir performance was over, Adam went on stage to perform his spoken words. He was amazing on stage, and his voice… So heavenly!
“Hey!” Someone called from behind me as I was sitting all by myself on a bench, watching the stage performances.
I turned back and saw Peter smiling toothily as he towered over me. “Hey.” I said.
“You’re the only one sitting here, yeah?” He gestured at the bench.
I looked at the empty space on the bench. “Oh yeah.”
“Can I sit beside you?”
“Is that even a question? Sure, of course!” I adjusted a bit for him to sit. I caught a whiff of his mild perfume as he sat beside me and it s£nt tingles throu-gh my b©dy.
“How are you?” He asked, snaking his arm around my shoulder.
“Don’t forget we have students around.” I said sheepishly.
“I don’t care. At least, everyone alre-ady knows we’re d@t!ng.”
“Not every—”
Peter hushed me with his index f!nger placed on myl-ips. “Just keep shut and let’s enjoy the performance.”
I nudged him and we both chuckled. “Did I mention you were amazing on stage? I didn’t know you could sing.”
“I can?” He quizzed, raising one of his brow.
“Silly question! Of course you can.”
“Aww!” He cooed and placed his left hand on his che-st.
“St©p acting like a girl and let’s watch the stage performances.” That said, I rested my head on his shoulder as I watched each performer come on stage with their different displa-y. nee-dless to say that I was entertained.
✨✨
The programme ended on a clean note and the following day, all the students were asked to come to school to collect our dossiers. I was a tad bit nervous about seeing my grades because I knew quite alright that I didn’t really do well.
While waiting for the teachers to be re-ady with our dossiers, some of the ss2A students, including Charles, gathered in our clas-s, ss2B to pl@ya game called spin the bottle.
✨✨
The chairs and tables in our clas-s were arranged in circles for the game. Initially I felt reluctant to pl@ybecause I had no idea of how the game worked and for the most p@rt, because I was shy. But then Prudence, who brou-ght up the game gave a rule that anyone who wasn’t interested in pla-ying the game shouldn’t be allowed in the clas-s to watch. The few that weren’t interested protested, but the majority that were agreed with Prudence and they s£nt the uninterested ones out of the clas-s. I would have left the clas-s too but Gbemi persuaded, more like f0rç£d, me to pla-y. She promised me that the game was going to be fun, so I eventually gave in. I gave in mainly because Peter was one of the many people who was interested in the game.
For the record, Adam was p@rt of those that left the clas-s.
The game started and Prudence was the first to spin the bottle. When the bottle st©pped spinning, the bo-ttomof the bottle pointed in the direction of Ayo, while the t©p sh0t at Prudence, which means Ayo was to either dare Prudence or ask her a question.
“Truth or dare?” Ayo asked Prudence.
“I’m not a bore.” Prudence said, after b!owing air on her f!ngernails. “So I’m gonna start off the game by choosing dare.”
“Ooh!” and “Oya!” were the sounds that emanated from the students. Prudence gave me a smug look and I rolled my eyes at her.
“Okay I dare you to k!ssme.” Ayo said.
“What! Ew!” Prudence grimaced. A loud noise erupted from the student.
“Which one kon be ew? ” Gbemi said in pidgin English. “I thought you weren’t a bore. Better do it or eat pepper.” She sniggered.
“Abeg do fast and don’t waste our time.” Someone else said.
“Can’t I k!ssanother guy asides from Ayo ?” Prudence emphasised the name with disgust.
To be honest, I would also have felt disgusted if I were in her shoes. Ayo was literally the ugliest guy in the clas-s, if not the whole school. Asides from his dark skin and fat b©dy, his face housed a mighty nose and a soft bigl-ips which made him look like a complete beast. Maybe beast was too severe a word, but you get the gist. He was really hideous.
“No!” Almost all the students shouted, including me. “k!ssAyo!”
“Well, I’d rather chew pepper than k!sshim.” Prudence said and made her way towards the pepper on the table. A keg of milk and two plastic cu-ps were also on the table. The milk was to relieve the effect of the pepper in one’s b©dy. One of the rule of the game was that: anyone who didn’t meet up to the demands of the game was to chew pepper. Brutal right?
Prudence sl@pped her head as she chewed on the pepper. Most of the students laughed. I didn’t. Not that I couldn’t have easily laughed that my enemy was suffering, but I didn’t laugh because I found the whole thing dangerous. What if she choked on the pepper and probably died? The game was sure too dangerous. I wonder how I got myself involved in such a game in the first place. Oh yeah, Gbemi f0rç£d me into it.
Prudence took milk after she had swallowed the pepper. Then she spun the bottle again and the bo-ttompointed in the direction of Gbemi while the t©p was to Charles.
“Hmm…” I mumbled un-der my breath.
“Truth or dare?” Gbemi asked Charles.
“Truth.”
“Boring!” Prudence said in a singsong voice.
“Who amongst the girls in this room would you rather d@t£?” Gbemi asked.
“That’s easy.” Charles sm-irked and looked at me. “Daniella.”
All heads turned to look at me and the only person I could look at was Peter. Jealousy was written all over his face even though he was trying to mask it.
It was Charles’s turn to spin the bottle. When the bottle st©pped spinning, it landed on Gbemi and some fair girl, whose name was Tobechi.
“Truth or dare?” Tobechi asked Gbemi.
“Truth.” Gbemi answered quic-kly.
“Why do we have cowards pla-ying this game ?” Prudence asked.
“You’re the coward bit-ch!” Gbemi cussed.
“Prudence can you just shut the hell up!” Peter said for the first time since the game started. A loud rumbling sound erupted in the clas-s, most of the people complaining about Prudence behaviour.
Prudence rolled her eyes. ” Abeg, abeg e don do.
Boring people!”
“Leave us that way.” I was the only one that spoke, causing Prudence to scowl at me.
“Who the hell is this one?” Prudence sneered.
“Can we just move on with the game alre-ady.” Someb©dy suggested.
“Here in our midst, who would you prefer to kill, marry and k!ss?” Charles asked Gbemi.
“Sorry Prudence, but I can’t stand you. You annoy me, so I’d kill you. I would marry Charles and I’d k!ss…” She trailed off, her eyes searching the students in the clas-s. “I’d k!ssuh… Peter, yes Peter.”
I c0cked one of my brows at Gbemi quizzically and she sneaked a look at me.
“What?” She shrugged. “The fact that he’s your b©yfri£nddoesn’t mean I can’t k!sshim.”
“I didn’t say anything. Now can you spin the bottle.” I said.
Gbemi spun the bottle and it landed on Charles and Prudence. Not Prudence again!
“Truth or—” Charles was cut off by Prudence quic-k reply.
“Dare!”
“I dare you to give any guy in the clas-s a l@p dance for one minute.”
“Thank you darling.” Prudence said and sashayed directly to Peter. I rolled my eyes as she sat on Peter’s l@ps and started to do her thing. Peter then raised both his hands and placed it on his head. It was a gesture that showed he was enjoying what Prudence was doing to him. Anger and jealousy eat throu-gh my blood and veins and bone marrow and all my b©dy system. I couldn’t even stand the mere sight of them, so I looked away.
“Bad guy!” Some boys hailed Peter and it got me the more upset.
When one minute el@psed, Prudence got off Peter’s b©dy and walked back to her seat, looking at me with a victorious smile. I rolled my eyes at her. The only thought on my mind now was to get Peter jealous just the same way he got me jealous. I was that petty.
The game went on like that for minutes, but the bottle never for once landed on me. I watched as students kept giving students l@p dance. Students kept k!ss!ngeach other. Girls kept twer-king. Guys kept demonstrating their best S-x position, as if they’ve even had S-x before. In a nutshell, the game was dirty.
Ayo spun the bottle and it kept spinning until it finally landed on a guy called Michael and me. Though I had been waiting for this, my heart skipped a beat.
“Do the necessary.” Michael demanded.
“Dare.”
“Ooh feisty!” Prudence said sultrily. I rolled my eyes at her.
“I dare you to k!ssany guy in the room for a minute.” Micheal said.
💖
“That would be easy for her. She can easily just k!ssher b©yfri£ndPeter.” Prudence whined.
💟💟
Everyb©dy ignored her and watched as I gave them the surprise of their life. I walked up to Charles, lifted him up and k!$$£d him.
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