(052b - Who is Faking Part 2)

Omo! You guys don't even have joy o😂. If Semeeha was a real person and saw the way y'all bashed her in the last chapter, she'd have just gone to cry somewhere for two weeks straight 😂💔. She will still vex you in this chapter sha, just so you know🌚. But you'll still pity her small🤧.

P. S. I'm creating a cast list for Faceclaims of minor characters that have played, are playing and will play roles in this book and I'm so excited for you guys to see it. Don't worry, I'll post very soon.

Mind you, Collins has legit stepped up from minor-minor character to minor-major, but I can't fix him with the first cast list because I've passed the Wattpad limit for posting pictures on that page. So he's going to be heading this cast list and I can't wait for you to see all of them, Faceclaims, aesthetics, and all ✨.

BTW, I apologize in advance for any form of tackiness in this chapter😩.

Now, shall we? 😌.

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𝐒𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐇𝐀
(Semeeha Iris Malik)

It's been two days since I last spoke to Kizito.

Two days since he told me I needed to talk things out with Dawn and Hilary.

Two days since I started rehearsing my lines, what I should and shouldn't say to them when I'm apologizing, words I could use to stroke their ego, words that could portray me as repentant and apologetic.

I've been practicing for hours in front of my mirror, making several faces at my reflection to see which one made me look pitiable. I even tried to summon up tears a few times and tried to put up every act to make my apology as convincing as possible.

But all I've practiced haven't left the four walls of my room because I still haven't summoned up the courage to walk up to either of them and apologize for real.

It was hard, and that was a first. It has never been this hard cooking up an apology whenever we have a fallout.

Maybe it was because they were always the ones coming to me... and the aftermath of this fight was a lot longer than every other one we have had.

And truth be told, I can't keep waiting for them to come to me. I have to be the one to go to them this time. But I wasn't sure how to do that.

Should I go to our spot in the garden during break and sit down beside them? Or maybe I should go back to my seat beside Hilary.

"That seems like a good idea," I said to myself, nodding as I allowed my mind to cook up more plans.

I could use that opportunity to strike up a conversation with her. And knowing Hilary, she'll probably be happy I'm talking to her again since she has been trying to get my attention since I stopped sitting beside her. If I can get Hilary to start talking to me, She can help me convince Dawn. Dawn will not be able to say no to Hilary.

Problem solved.

My lips stretched in a wide grin at the fool-proof plan. It's literally the same way things have been going on. The only difference was that I had to be the one to go meet them this time, not the other way round like it has always been.

Now I just need to summon up the courage to...

My thoughts trailed off as my nose, having a mind of its own, caught a whiff of something.

Soon, it was no longer a whiff, but a strong smell. A strong, delicious smell. And no matter how much I tried to shake it off, it clouded every one of my sensory organs. Right from my nose, it moved to my tongue and I began to taste the small. On its own accord, my mouth began to water.

Jesus, what is that smell?

I allowed my nose to guide my eyes and ears, and they began to adjust to my surrounding. The chattering of my classmates began to fill my ear gradually, and my eyes starts forming images of the lives around me, reminding me that I was in class. And without wasting any more seconds, my eyes found the source of that mouth-watering smell.

It was right there, seated on a table in front of the class in between a cluster of my classmates.

Cake.

A big box of cupcakes, donuts, and treats.

And on cue, my tummy let out a loud and embarrassing growl, possibly loud enough to silence the entire class.

"Shit!"

I clutched my tummy, looking around the class to see if anyone heard that embarrassing sound coming from me. But most people were focused on the goodies in front of the class, trying to snag as many treats as they could in their hands to eat. And from the faint steam emitting from the box, it was obvious that everything in there was freshly baked.

Where did it come from? Who brought it to school?

And why does it smell so good?

My tummy growled again, painfully this time and I winced, clutching it.

I haven't had something good to eat in two days. My mother cut down even the fruits from my diet and left them as vegetables and water so that I can fit into the corset in tomorrow's endorsement photoshoot. Mama Marie wasn't around to bake any pastries and now that Mother was around, she wouldn't have any form of carbs lurking around in the house.

Everything I ate and later threw up two days ago was the last set of junks in the house. And I couldn't order anything because mother will know. It has been mildly bearable so far, but now, with the treats in front of the class staring right at me, I just realized how hungry I was.

No, that was an understatement. I was starving.

I was starving badly. And there was nothing I could do about it. I can't eat. The endorsement deal with Amy's Corsetry was tomorrow and I mustn't screw it up by eating carbs.

But I'm so hungry.

Get a grip, girl! I chided myself

"You okay?"

I blinked, turning my eyes away from the front to see Collins walking toward me. Realizing I was crouching slightly and holding my tummy, which might have given him the impression that something was wrong with me, I cleared my throat and quickly straightened up, mustering a poker face.

"Yeah, sure," I answered monotonously while opening my locker and pretending to search for something inside.

"Okay," He sounded unconvinced but Collins knew he wasn't in the position to bother me with questions. If I keep acting like I wasn't interested in having any conversation with him, he'll either walk away or sit down and not say a word to me.

But of course, he didn't.

"Would you like a donut?" He asked.

That question made me look up immediately. Collins was stretching out a small cubic box that had the same brand logo as the big box of treats in front of the class, and I didn't need anyone to tell me that that box contained one of the pastries that has been making my tummy growl and my mouth water in hunger.

I swallowed the saliva that had begun to gather in my mouth

"What?" I blinked, swallowing again.

"Donut," Collins repeated as he moved closer, oblivious to the kind of wahala the tantalizing smell of the doughnut was causing to my senses. I cursed inwardly, taking my eyes away from the delicious deep-fried goodness.

What kind of temptation is this for heaven's sake?

"Or is it cake you want?" He continued, not taking the hint. "There are also chocolate cookies if that's the one you want," I saw him point back to the box from my peripheral vision. "They are freshly baked, I just ordered them-"

"Not interested," I cut him off dismissively, hoping to get him off my back.

I wasn't looking at him, trying to busy myself with anything that would keep my eyes away from the donuts, but I could still feel his presence close to me, indicating that he didn't take the clear hint.

Either he was just too dumb to read the room, or he saw the hint and chose to ignore it.

"Are you sure?" He went on to ask, moving closer to me again, an action that made the smell of the goodies he had in his hands attack my senses in full force. I had to discreetly wipe my hand over my mouth just to make sure I wasn't drooling.

"Semeeha, there is more than enough to go around if that's why you don't want to take. Some of the guys and I got like five boxes so you can just help yourself to-"

Oh for the love of God!

"Collins I said I don't want! Wetin sef, na by force?" I snapped at him, cutting the rest of his words off.

The sound of my voice echoed through the class, alerting the attention of a few of our classmates that were still in class to our corner. I wasn't looking at them, but I could imagine the look of confusion ok their faces, wondering what was going on.

But unlike my classmates that reacted, Collins had nada. As usual, he wasn't startled by the intensity of my voice and he didn't react in any way to how I had yelled at him... publicly for that matter.

"I'm sorry," Was what he said, his lips tugged ok that ridiculous smile that always played on his lips when I attacked him like this. That ridiculous smile that made me wonder what was so funny.

That ridiculous smile that made me feel so angry because... why the hell is he smiling after I just embarrassed him?

The fact that Collins always acted so unaffected by me, my outbursts, my lash outs or insults that he seemed to be at the receiving end ever since I became his seat partner, vexed the hell out of me.

It vexed... and scared me at the same time.

"I'm sorry," He repeated, pulling me out of my thoughts. "I shouldn't have pressured you when you already said you weren't interested."

And he was always the one to apologize. Always. Like he never got tired of it.

"Yes, you shouldn't have!" I snapped at him again, but not loud enough to alert our classmates, who had already gone back to their business, again. Collins nodded, that smile still playing on his lips.

"I'm sorry, Semeeha," He apologized once again, calling my name as if to add more emphasis to the apology or prove that he meant it.

How can he even apologize so much in nothing less than a span of thirty seconds? Who does that?

Someone called his name from the front of the class and soon he was skipping away in his usual, cheery demeanor after flashing a smile at me and telling me he'd see me later. He didn't even know he was leaving me with more questions plaguing my mind about him.

How does he move on so fast?

I've always said that Dawn or Hilary cannot hold a grudge to save their lives, but Collins was on another level entirely. No matter how I snapped at him or talked anyhow to him, he won't stop talking with me.

One minute I'm yelling at him for being such a pain in my behind, and the other minute, he's acting like it never even happened, talking with me as per regular. He doesn't even retaliate to any verbal attack from me. He's always smiling, always the first to apologize, and he'll do it at that moment.

At this point, I don't think the guy can get angry at anyone for anything. And as much as I don't want to believe that he doesn't get angry, I've witnessed it first hand.

Collins smiles through it all.

But still, I don't think anyone could be that good at staying in control of their emotions. It's either Collins was an angel, or he was faking this whole cheery, carefree, set clown attitude.

And I vote the latter.

He has to be faking it, right? I asked myself rhetorically. That seemed like the only logical explanation for always acting so in control.

It was all an act. It cannot be real.

"Hey, Hilary!"

That was Collins' voice again, bringing me out of my thoughts with a start. This time, it wasn't his cheery voice that had called my attention, but the name he called. And I looked up just in time to see Hilary making her way into class, smiling at Collins who had called her.

"Do you want?" He picked up the entire box and showed her.

"Yes please," My best friend jumped right at the offer, picking up a tiny box from inside the box. "Hmmn," She inhaled after bringing out the chocolate-coated donut from the box. "This smells fresh. Did you guys just order it? " She asked.

"Yeah," Collins answered. "Some of the guys and I put money together to order it for the class." He said, and Hilary nodded, taking a big bite out of the pastry. She hummed in delight, commenting on how good it tasted.

Saliva began to form in my mouth again, and my tummy growled for the hundredth time. Tears started welling up in my eyes as hunger tortured the very depths of my tummy, clawing painfully on my insides. I clutched my tummy again.

God, I'm hungry. I'm so hungry.

But I have to keep it together. I have to discipline myself.

I blinked away the tears, trying to comport myself. No one was even looking my way to notice my discomfort.

"Better don't let Sir Isaac find out that you guys are ordering things on school grounds. He will have your heads," I heard Hilary tell Collins, and the guy laughed in response, telling her that that could never happen and they were discreet as possible.

It felt somehow seeing them all buddy-buddy. I can't even remember the last time I shared a laugh with Hilary. She wasn't even looking at my corner anymore like she used to. Is that how fast she has forgotten that I even exist?

I need to salvage what was left of my friendship with these girls. I have to act on my plan now.

When She left Collins to go to her, no, our seat, I stood up from where I was seating and made my way to where she was. I tried my best to seem in control, pushing every negative thought down to the pit of my stomach and patting my face with the back of my palm to get rid of any sweat.

I stopped when I got closer to her, seeing that she was distracted by something. There was a full sheet of paper in her hand and she was reading from it, her other hand holding the donut she has half eaten. The deep frown that creased her forehead told me that she didn't like whatever she must be reading on that paper.

Made me wonder what was written there.

"Are people still writing love letters these days?"

It was when her head turned sharply to my corner that I realized I was the one that spoke up. And while my lips were stretched in a big smile, the only expression she had on her face was that of a mild surprise, just a little tug on one of her eyebrows and that was it. No response to what I said.

Nothing.

That didn't deter me though. I moved closer to her.

"Who is it from? A secret admirer?" I wiggled my brows teasingly, tip-toeing to peer that what was written inside that paper that got Hilary so angry.

Maybe if she sees that I care to know, she'll talk to me about whatever it was and everything will go back to normal.

Right?

Wrong.

Hilary folded the paper shut before I could even know the color of the pen used to write on the paper. Then she wordlessly tore it into two, right in my presence. She kept folding and tearing till once full paper became tiny pieces of paper. When she was satisfied with how tiny she had shredded it, she squeezed the pieces in her fist and went to throw them into the dust bin.

Wow.

"Wow," I repeated dumbly, blinking. "Uhm... that was-"

Hilary didn't pay attention to me, cutting off the rest of my words as she came back to the seat, picked up the box of donut Collins had given her, and made her way out of the class, much to my daze.

Simply put, she ignored the shit out of me.

What the...

I didn't think twice before going after her, following her as she made her way down the hallway that led to the library.

"Are you seriously going to keep ignoring me?" I called after her, thankful that there was no one on this side of the hallway and I had not yelled loud enough for the ones on the other side to hear me.

Hilary paused on her steps as soon as I said that, turning around to look at me. Her brows were tugged back up again, but this time with inquisition.

"Are you talking to me?" She asked as she pointed her index to herself, her question confusing me.

She drew me into even more confusion when she looked back as if to check if there was any other person I was talking to. I don't know why she'd do that when she clearly knew that she was the one I was talking to. I even called her name, so she knew it was her.

Was this punishment?

"You are certainly not talking to me," She scoffed out a humorless chuckle, before turning around to continue on her way.

"Hilary, you know it's you I'm talking to," I called after her again, stopping her from walking any further for the second time. I maintained a calm voice, knowing deep down that I wasn't even in the position to start raising my voice at her.

Not if I wanted to seem genuine.

"No, it can't be me you are talking to," She disagreed with me immediately, shaking her head. "You can't be talking to me about how I'm ignoring you when that's all you have been doing to me for the past month.-

Just because I decided not to indulge you any more to save myself from further embarrassments doesn't mean I'm ignoring you. It only means I cannot comman kee myself," She gave it back to me without mincing words, rendering me speechless for a moment.

It was hard to tell if she was angry. Her expression gave absolutely nothing away. But with the way she just spoke to me, I knew that trying to get back on the same page with her won't be as easy as I thought it would be.

Whenever I had fallouts like this with them, Hilary and Kizito were the easiest to get back with, so far I play my cards right and say the right things. Dawn will show a little bit of adamancy but she will have no other choice but to come around because every other person has.

But with what was going on right now, it showed that I might have to work a little harder to get back on the right terms with these girls. I didn't need anyone to tell me I'll have to hard a little bit of effort when putting everything I practiced to the test, because if Hilary was being this difficult, I can't begin to imagine how stubborn Dawn would be.

So help me God.

"I know I shouldn't have acted that way-" I started when I finally found my voice, trying to sound as solemn and as apologetic as possible. But Hilary wasn't having it.

"You shouldn't have," She cut me off again, her voice just as controlled as mine, if not more. I didn't like the way she was cutting me off but I couldn't say anything.

"You shouldn't have acted that way, yet you did Semeeha," She went on. "You didn't think twice before shutting me off, even after I told you that I was holding nothing against you... even with everything that happened with Dawn,"

Even though she was talking very calmly, I felt attacked because her words were throwing me off balance in ways I didn't expect. I didn't see her attacking me this way at all.

"It's not like that-" I began again.

"You still remained in Collins' seat after I told you to come back," She cut me off once more, continuing like she never stopped. "I'd