(011 - Triggers)

This chapter is dedicated TheOfficialSemiloore for the beautiful cover. Thanks babes ❤️.

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𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐘
(Hilary Idara Eghosa)

"Friday is the only day someone can have peace of mind in this school. No classes, no lectures, nothing. It's very refreshing by the way." Semeeha stated in a sing-song voice, adjusting her bum on where she sat on her desk, her legs swinging from the edge of the table.

We had just ended assembly and were in my class with a few of my other classmates, getting ready for Paragon practice to commence. Lase would ring the bell when it's time for us to go to the sports complex anyway, so there was no need for a rush.

"How can you sound so lazy all the time and then, come out in flying colors at the end of every term?" Dawn asked, looking at Semeeha in complete awe. The latter began to bask in the high praise, flipping her finger braids to the side.

"It's a gift and I'm not telling you the secret." She answered, putting her index over her lips when she said secret. Dawn in response rolled her eyes at the darker girl. I chuckled at their antics and continued to lace my kicks. I've always had a specific and calculative way of lacing them which takes time.

Friday has always been the day of the week most students of Crestview International Academy look forward to, especially the senior class because it's the one day we don't get to have any class or wear school uniform. It was Crestview's official sports day and as of now, it was the beginning of Paragon rehearsals.

The junior class were in the school customized sportswear that consisted of grey harmless jerseys and shorts. We had tracksuits as well but they were majorly for special occasions. The sports pros, however, all had customized varsity jackets that distinguished them directly from the other students.

It was meant to be worn just like the tracksuit, for special occasions. It was only Kizito I've seen that wears it as a second school uniform.

The senior class, especially SS3 students don't stick strictly to the school's sports dress code as well as the other classes did, spontaneously wearing mufti. Dawn was on hash joggers and black crop sweatshirt on. I, on the other hand, decided to stick with the school's sportswear, wearing the complete jersey top and shorts. There was no need to wear anything extra since I'd be by the pool all day, in trunks.

For Semeeha, this was the day she felt the need to remind everyone how financially loaded she was. Everything on her, from the black Gucci tank tops, to the red Louis Vuitton volleyball shorts to her white Maison Margiela kicks, were original... so, imagine how expensive they were all together. I didn't get why she was wearing something so flamboyant because of sports. Maybe because she wasn't doing any.

And Semeeha Malik hated to be caught unfresh. Her words, not mine.

She doesn't know she would look like a queen even with a sack on her body. Or maybe she did know.

"The school takes this competition so seriously every year. I still don't understand why we try so hard when in the end, we still win most of the games against LIC." Semeeha started again, the sipped water from her bottle.

"It's because we try so hard that we win, Semmy," I answered, trying to stick the lace into the hole.

"What's the point?" She asked again and I stopped what I was doing to look at her. Dawn stopped typing on her phone as well and turned to Semeeha who went on to further expatiate.

"We have been the raining champions in Swimming, both male and female category since I got to this school. The same thing applies to basketball. There is no excuse for American Football because we are the pioneer school for that game, we have more experience than them. I mean, look at Kizito. He is a standard one-man army that can murder the entire opposing team, abi?"

She was right. We have been ruling The Paragon for as long as I can remember. Even if we don't practice, the possibility of us winning it was still very high.

"Well..." I started to agree but Dawn shook her head, cutting me off.

"Doesn't mean they shouldn't practice." She countered and began to elaborate. "It's just like in dancing now. If we don't practice, we won't exercise our muscles and that can cause muscle cramps on stage.-

Same for the sports teams. If they don't practice, they will develop weak muscles and it can have bad effects when they begin to play. That's why it's good to exercise both inside and outside the field...and studio." She finished, leaving Semeeha and me staring at her in amazement.

Semeeha got over it before I did.

"Well, I'm still of the notion that we can still beat them even if we don't practice. All your talk on exercise and muscles wasn't necessary, Madam." She sassed and Dawn laughed.

"Sorry, ma'am." She threw Semeeha a mock salute. I looked between the both of them before I finally went back to finish up with lacing my kicks.

How Dawn and Semeeha's conversation always seems like they are arguing makes me feel somehow.

Or maybe I'm just the one overthinking it.

While I was finishing off with my kicks, I heard a high-pitched giggle, followed by shuffles and then laughter from some of my classmates. I didn't pay so much mind to it, totally ignoring it when I heard Semeeha cuss...

Until I heard someone class his name.

"Jidenna, give me na..."

I froze on hearing his name, sitting straight up immediately to look out where the voice had come from.

Jidenna was in front of the class alright and he wasn't the only one anyway. He was with Affiong Edikan who was the one that had giggled earlier. They were walking into class together, Affiong clinging on to Jidenna's arm as she kept stretching out to reach something in Jidenna's arm.

It was his varsity jacket and he kept pulling it out of her reach so that she won't hijack it from him. I couldn't tell his expression. He was neither laughing, smiling nor frowning, but he wasn't also trying to get away from her.

That made the scene even more irritating to watch.

"Jidenna na. Please, just give me. I swear, I'll return it to you before the day ends. I'm feeling really cold." The girl was saying, giving off a faux shiver to drive home her point.

"Heh...ehh Affiong!" Dawn called out, drawing everyone's attention to our corner including Jidenna's while clapping her hands together in surprise. "Cold in the middle of September? What kind of cold is doing you?"

"Why don't you mind your business, Dawn." Affiong spat back and Dawn shook her head, muttering some incoherent words.

Semeeha was whispering something to me but I wasn't paying attention. My eyes were on Jidenna and as if he knew I was looking at him, he looked at me. At that moment, I could feel everyone's gaze on me, like they were waiting patiently for something gist worthy to happen. Jidenna held my gaze for a moment before he looked away.

Then, he flashed Affiong one of his most dazzling smiles.

"Here, take." That was all he said, handing the varsity jacket to her. She squealed, grabbed it and cat walked out of the class. Not without throwing me a sinister look.

"Yehh! Did you see what he did!"

"Direct shade at Hilary! Med o.

"That serves her right! She should have thought twice before cheating on him."

Those were the things that began to ring through the class, shades directed at me just because of him.

And what did Jidenna do?

He walked further into the class like he wasn't hearing all the not-so-subtle insults being thrown at me, went to the seat of one of his guys at the corner of the class, traded high fives with the dude and, began to converse with him like nothing was happening.

Then someone had the balls to open their mouth and say...

"Jidenna is a King! No arguments!" The person shouted I couldn't even decipher if it was a guy or a girl, and every one replied with a scream of agreement.

"God have mercy," Dawn muttered, looking around the class in utter shock.

"Did he just do that?!" Semeeha whisper-yelled, the pure irritation in her voice so obvious." I kept my eyes on Jidenna, though a lot of things were going on in my mind.

The fact that he shows absolutely no remorse for everything he has done to me, everything he is doing to me makes me wonder how much of a lie our friendship... our relationship was. How much of a sham and a scam everything was.

I can't count the number of times I have been outrightly embarrassed because of him this week. The strong font I've been trying to hold up since these all started was faltering little by little.

I didn't know how much I could take again.

So, I did what I knew was the best thing for me. I can't be in the same space with Jidenna Okojie so, I stood up abruptly, picked up the things I'd need on the field, and put them in my bag. I could feel the eyes of my friends on me as I swung my bag over my shoulder.

"Let's go," I told them.

Semeeha opened her mouth to speak but Dawn tapped her and shook her head, indirectly telling her not to say anything. Then she got up from the seat, Semeeha following closely behind and the three of us left the class, closing my ears to all the snaky comments that wouldn't stop coming.

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I was still trying to get over what just happened in the class as Semeeha and I waited in the hallway for Dawn, who had gone into her class to get her things.

"I still don't think we should have left the class for anyone. You are giving them what they want, Hilary." Semeeha was saying and I looked at her incredulously.

"You expect me to stay in that place while they insult me? Really Semeeha?" I'm not even getting what she means. I should stay in an environment that's toxic for me?

"Get my point." She began and I folded my hand, "You leaving the class shows that Jidenna is winning. He can see that he is getting to you and it is fuelling all the nonsense that he is doing now. It's giving him the morale to keep doing more stupid things. You shouldn't allow him to get to you, or anyone. I keep telling you this."

"So, I'm supposed to pretend like these things are not getting to me?" I asked her and she shrugged. I scoffed, shaking my head.

"I am allergic to embarrassment, Semeeha. I can't take it, no matter how much I try. There is so much a human being can take. It will finally get to a breaking point when I can't deal anymore and if I keep acting like these things don't get to me, I'll be getting to that point very soon and I'll spiral... Bad! So let me just do what I know how to do best, for my sanity." I told her and she sighed, resting her hand on my shoulder.

"I'm just trying to help you the best way I can. I hate seeing you the way you are, allowing so many irrelevant people to get to you. But if you want to do this at your own pace, then I'm with you on that." She said and I gave her a look of appreciation.

I have never been one to pretend to be okay when I wasn't. I don't know how people do it, but I was an open book when it comes to my emotions that you'll know there is something wrong with me just by looking at me. Pretense, to me, was a silent killer.

"What did I miss?" Dawn's chirpy voice filled my ears and she came beside me.

"Nothing much." I answered, "Let's go to the sports complex before Lase rings the bell." I added, and we resumed walking through the long balcony, trying to find our way through the pack of students on the corridor. The hallway was rowdy, as the whole school, most people of the class and standing in the balcony in front of their classes.

"What in the world is this girl wearing?" Dawn suddenly said, stopping abruptly. We stopped with her and followed her gaze to where... or rather, who she was looking at.

Ahhh...

"The length at which people go to look like clowns," Semeeha muttered and I tried not to laugh.

What has got us all shocked was Beauty Idoma, the self-acclaimed most beautiful girl in the set. I don't understand why she would think wearing something like this was sexy or in any way fashionable. It wasn't, not even in the slightest. And by the way every other person at that part of the hallway gave her looks, it seemed like they agreed too.

She was wearing a crop top with shorts. Shorts that barely made it down her big bum. Then she decided to top it with knee-high socks and kicks, packing her hair in a high bun. What even shocked us the most was the makeup on her face.

Why was she wearing makeup? For sports?

The thing was that she didn't seem to understand the looks everyone was giving her. She was probably misinterpreting it as looks of admiration because she just wouldn't stop walking the length and breadth of that corner. Her friends that were with her were mean people. They can't tell her the truth.

"I kinda feel bad for her," I said.

"Let's go, please. My eyes cannot handle this fashion blunder." Semeeha urged on, and we kept walking,

Even with how school allowed us to bend the rules to an extent, a lot of people still went unnecessarily overboard with their dressing. The guys were better, sticking to joggers or jersey shorts and vests, but the girls... this was the day they saw it fit to wear extremely short shorts and rather revealing tops.

And those were the same girls that couldn't do any sport to save their life.

We made a turn and began to descend the stairs, walked out of the building, and made our way to where the sports complex was. A lot of the students were already making their way there, so we weren't the only ones on that lane.

Soon, we were in the sports complex. Some guys, most likely the ones that were neither on the American football team or the basketball team, were on the soccer pitch. Some of the girls were playing volleyball at the end of the complex. Some of the students that weren't doing anything sat under the pavilion, watching.

"Is that not Kizito?" Semeeha called our attention, nudging our attention towards a direction. Dawn and I looked and sure, it was Kizito.

Kizito who had cannons for arms.

"When I tell this boy that he likes to show off, he will try to act humble and modest," Dawn said, a teasing smile playing on her lips and I chuckled, watching Kizito make his way towards us.

It was the fact that he wasn't conscious of all the attention he was attracting just by looking the way he was looking for me. Or maybe he was conscious but just didn't pay any mind to it.

"Hey, girls..." He called to us as he got to us, then subconsciously wiped off the sweat from his forehead. Every single gesture that this guy made was hot, not gonna lie.

"You know you are a proud person, Kizi." Dawn fired immediately and Kizito's face scrunched up in a slight frown.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Why do you have to wear armless jerseys every single time?" When she spoke, Kizito's face relaxed and a knowing smile stretched across his lips. "Who are you trying to intimidate with these canyons?" She stretched her hand to touch his bulging biceps.

"Oh, these small things." He brushed it away like it was nothing and at the same time, he was flexing the muscles, consciously showing off. The girls that were walking had to stop to look, clearly mesmerized. I was too, but I can never hype Kizito like that.

I scoffed, "You are such a show-off." I told him, slapping his arm and he chuckled. It was at that moment I realized that Semeeha had not spoken since Kizi got to us. I looked at her, saw her staring at Kizito. Though I couldn't decipher the emotion behind her look, it was intense.

Very intense.

Then, the look vanished from her face like it wasn't there before, replaced with her usual brassy and sassy look.

Oh wow...

"You people are just hyping Kizito too much." She deadpan and Kizi laughed. Dawn looked at her and shook her head, but me, I was so confused.

"I've seen better." She added bashfully and Kizito let out a dramatic gasp, placing his hand on his chest.

"You hurt me, Semeeha." He told her with a pout, reaching over to pull her cheeks but Semeeha slapped his hand away, quite hard and Kizito rubbed the spot.

"How are your hands so tiny and so painful at the same time." He wondered out loud and Semeeha smirked.

Dawn asked Kizito something about the Paragon, and he pulled us in, or at least pulled Dawn and Semeeha in, telling them something I wasn't paying attention to. My eyes were on Semeeha, wondering how her expression had changed so quickly. The look in her eyes, while she was staring at Kizito, was something I have seen before. The look was very familiar.

I just didn't know how to describe it.

Before I could dwell on that thought, I faintly heard the bell go off in the class area.

"It's showtime, so I have to go. Duty calls." Kizito said, drawing me back to reality and I remembered we were having a conversation, a conversation I didn't focus on. "Will you guys come and watch us practice?" He asked.

"I will come o." Dawn immediately chirped. "I'm even bored." She added. Kizito looked at Semeeha as if to ask her if she also wanted to come and watch his team practice.

"Sure, whatever." Semeeha drawled nonchalantly and Kizito chuckled, shaking his head at her antics. He finally looked at me, his eyebrows raised in question.

"You know I'm going to be by the pool with the other members of the swim team," I answered his unasked question. Kizito's face contorted into an expression of concern.

"I thought you said you were taking a break." Kizi inquired, his voice calm but I shook my head in negation.

True, I had told Kizito that I would take a break from the swim team when we spoke on Sunday. But with everything that has been going on, I needed to get my mind off the bad and focus my energy on something I loved to do. Swimming was one of them.

"I decided to get back into it," I told him, shrugging. He noodles, his eyes still trained on me like he was trying to read me.

"Are you okay though?" He asked me, his eyes searching mine. I didn't know what to tell him. If I told him anything, he will eat even more angry with Jidenna than he already was and there was already so much bad blood between them. I didn't want to cause more damage.

"I'm good," I told him instead but from the way he looked at me, he didn't buy that lie. I also didn't want to drag it further so I just muster a small smile, looking at the three of them.

"I'll see you guys later. If we are done before you guys finish, I'll come and join y'all in the stadium." I said, didn't wait for any reply before I made my turn and began to make my way to where the pool was located.

Anything to get my mind off all the "bad".

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Taking a deep