DO NOT SKIP THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

DO NOT SKIP THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

DO NOT SKIP THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

DO NOT SKIP THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

DO NOT SKIP THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

DO NOT SKIP THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

DO NOT SKIP THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

DO NOT SKIP THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

Thank you!❤️

~DABI~

From what I heard, the set was organizing a Christmas Party in about a week, and the venue was rumoured to be in Marcus Acha's house.

I wouldn't lie. The thought of having to go back again to Marc's house was tempting. Very, very, incredibly, madly, indescribably, crazily tempting.

But, you know what was more dominant and stronger than my urge to be in Marc's house? Well, it was the dread of being in the midst of my classmates.

With all due respect, there was no competition.

I simply could not fathom the idea of being at this party. As much as it had been hyped right from time and anticipated with all energy and vigour, I could NOT be in the space of my classmates, right now. Especially as a time as sensitive time such as this, with all of them foaming in the mouth all in my name, making my family matter linger on at the tops of their tongues, throwing pitch forks in the air and knives to my throat. I wouldn't even dare.

So, I long made up my mind that that Christmas Party was not going to include Dabeluchi Orji.

And, there was absolutely nothing that would make me change my mind; No shit. I kid no one not when I say that I would rather chop grass.

"Dabz?" Chika waltzed into the room, right in the middle of my note to self, and I turned around to meet the light skinned girl face to face.

The first thing that I did was take in the entirety of her appearance: Effortless, yet eye catchy and stunning.

The second thing I did was wonder how she got all dressed up so fast.

I mean, the last I had seen of Chika, she was in still in her grey sports bra and joggers, and I could have sworn that it felt like it was just a few seconds since she had mentioned something about stepping out of the room to have lunch before we - in her words- 'bounced out of the premises'.

Me, I didn't want to 'bounce'.

And, as a matter of fact, I was happy to hear her leave me to a break, because, thanks to Aunty TemTem, Chika took her time with food and didn't rush, even if she wanted to, and I felt it bought me some time to ponder within myself if I was really feeling up to joining the Sisters today, on this their little 'outing'.

However, few seconds after Chika left the room, she was back.

And, dressed too.

I stared at the light skinned pretty girl in front of me who was as ready as she could be, and no matter how hard I tried, I could not get my eyes off what she was wearing because that shit literally slapped me in the face.

Chika Chioma went all out. One thing about the girl was that her sense of fashion was incredibly spontaneous, yet so predictable in one way I could not explain.

She had a collection of crop hoodies, loose joggers, fancy bralets, baggy camouflage trousers, baggier shorts, most of them khaki branded, and all those sorts of things. She was so random, yet so defined with her style of clothing, and well, what she wore in front of me, gave off that same effect.

Now, she wore this fancy, white crop shirt. One I had never seen before. Majorly white in colour, but possessing a rich blue that caught the eyes at first glance, lining the edges of the hands and neck of her crop shirt, and with the same shade of blue, sprawling across the middle of the crop shirt three letter words that I read out loud as, "Raw."

My mind went to WWE. I genuinely wondered it that was the concept for all this.

But, man, it was the shorts for me.

Chika's style; baggy, of course.

Considering it was that loose, and in turn, long enough to fall well below her knees, it looked good enough. The same shade of blue that lined the edges of the hands and neck of her crop shirt dominated, but this time, with lines of white, red, and blue lining the edges of it, and a white tightening string, dropping down from the very top of the shorts.

Chika looked great. No doubt. The entire look just slapped me in the face; it took me off guard, for some reason.

And considering that the words on her shorts spelt a bold, no-nonsense 'Do Not Disturb', I couldn't even figure out if it was a good slap or not.

Chi Mama😂😌🔥

Apparently so, as I had earlier said, The Christmas Party was around the corner, and the way I have seen it, Aaron and Casper seemed to think that the opinions of the Igbo Sisters were important enough for pending and anticipated parties, so never for once have they not failed to invite them into the Set's party planning Committee.

It was a big deal, apparently.

Way back, before Casper Bassey even became the official Social Prefect of Castron High, he practically carried the social life of the set in the palm of his hands, alongside with his overactive best friend, Aaron.

Casper was so 'notorious' for planning the biggest get-togethers, parties, school dances, mini prom in Junior School, and practically everything that made the set to be fun and interesting, and for this reason, in our SS2, when it was time for us to be given prefectship posts, the entire set came in one supportive accord and lifted Casper as the only successor for Social Prefect. No one contested with him.

And, I mean, it would have been the dumbest idea to even try to compete with him for the post, because the entire set and the school at large was screaming his name at the top of their lungs, showing it off in banners, posters, flyers, carving it into lockers, chairs, walls, vandalizing every school property all in the name of a person who was contesting alone. Anyone who decided to compete with Casper for that post was basically a joke.

The party planning committee things started some time in Junior School, and I believed that Aaron and Casper figured they needed more hands to run these things, so therefore, they called out 'men of good repute' to assist. It was a big deal because practically every classmate was willing to do anything to be a part of this little cut out group. Just because it seemed fancy to be hanging around people like that in the set, who had this 'cool reputation'.

You can imagine.

Aaron and Casper were genuinely trying to build a group of creative minds like them to make activities in the set something to look forward to, and foolish classmates thought they were trying to create some segregated group of 'worthy' classmates.

I genuinely hated the fact that they picked the Igbo Sisters to join the Committee.

Because that only meant that every time, like today, that Aaron and Casper called for an impromptu hang out, I was stuck in two awful dilemmas: Looking for a way to be the 'buzz kill' and tell the Igbo Sisters that I cannot come along with them or Suck it all up, and go there, against every will I had.

"So?" Chika raised a brow at me, as she awaited an answer. "It's a dangerous five minutes to 4pm, and we don't have much time left, Dabz."

Was I coming with them or Was I not?

Usually, Chika did not have to ask me things like this. She knew right off what I wanted, and according to her mood, she either lets me stay back or makes me come with.

In some way, I guess I knew why she insisted on asking.

It had been a few days since that anonymous blog had come out to talk about my family and she knew that I had deliberately stayed away from my phone since then.

Chika could not force me to open my phone to see what the public had to say about me, and she was well aware that I had not spoken to anyone over the phone, Marc included, since that day.

Marc was the one whose house this entire Party was going to be in, and it was for certainty that he would be there for the little hang out. That was a tempting offer to me. Even Chika knew. But, of course, she would not force me to do anything I was adamant on not doing.

"Are you coming?" She asked me.

I weighed my options down.

Having that I was going to definitely miss that Christmas Party, this little hang out with few classmates was the only chance that I had to see Marcus Acha, either till Second Term, or maybe -if he was still holding what happened in that class against me- I'd say forever.

So, which was worse? Having to never see Marc again in my life or being dragged by the throat by my insensitive, downfall craving classmates?

Easily, I had my answer.

"I'm coming." I told Chika.

A bright smile spread across her face.

It was contagious enough for me and in seconds, my lips were also stretching into a smile as I walked out of the room with her, relief and anxiety having a weird, contradictory mix inside of me.

Well, I was smiling until I walked into the corridor that led to the outside of the house only to jam with the bland, unimpressed faces of the Onuoha Twins.

"Chi Ma, no way you are letting Dabeluchi come for the Hang Out dressed like that," Ebere was the first one to say her mind, gum chewing paused in her mouth as she looked me down from head to toe in one quick, unimpressed glance.

"No fucking way," Her seconding twin cued as she stepped up, a perfect, sharp edged brow of hers arched in thorough distaste.

Reflexively, I looked down on what I was wearing and wondered it it was that bad.

"Dabeluchi looks great," Chika came in on my defence calmly, "Leave her to wear what she wants to wear. It's not like she is dressing to impress anyone."

I mean, I thought I looked 'okay'. I had not particularly had the time to ponder on what I looked like, considering the only person I was going to see there was Marc, so I threw in a black shirt and some black joggers, and called it a day.

Dabi is such a mood, abeg!😂🤲

Obviously, that was not enough for a 'hang-out' which I was aware was a mini party.

And, considering that Chika came in looking all flashy, and the twins had even turned the notch up hotter with the matching fits, both of them wearing a faux-fur coat jacket over a bralet, and showing off their thongs under their joggers, my outfit could have been termed to be the odd one out after all.

I almost wondered too, why Chika let me out like this.

I mean, if her outfit had slapped me, then, the Twins' 'fits gave me an uppercut.

To top it all, the both of them had a colour theme, I suppose. Ebere came in pink all through: Her coat, her bralette, her acrylic nails, and even her visible thong; her human hair however was a dark shade of red. The same way, Ebube came in blue all through, and her hair was a darker shade of blue too.

Both girls had on matching white shoes that I bet, with my future, were newly ordered.

The Onuoha Twins oo.🤬🔥

Ebere in Pink, Ebube in Blue.{A/N: I know you're wondering wtf that emoji there is, but Omoh, these girls are so intimidating sha, and they look so badassssssss😂✨}

"Dabi looks good the way she is," Chika said to the Twins, as she pulled my hand and attempted to pull me along with her in a bid to walk past them. "So, let's stop making a big deal out of this."

"Uh-uh, Chi. Don't misunderstand us. No one is saying she looks bad," Ebere quickly made it clear, "Dabeluchi is a fine girl, norms, and whoever thinks otherwise can suck my dick."

"Seconded," Ebube said, "We are particular about her choice of clothing; that's all."

"Dabi is already struggling under the brunt of our fucked up and deranged insensitive classmates. Why put her in a position where it will only gives them more leverage to pick on her? Makes absolutely no sense to me." Ebere said bluntly.

At this point, Chika just stood there, with a hand on akimbo and the other holding me like I was her child, and with a blank stare, she watched the Onuoha Twins who only went on and on.

Unfortunately, I was seeing the sense in what the Twins were saying.

"Not everything hovers around what people think of you," Chika said to them.

"You can stand a multitude of haters, but we all know that Dabi is no Wonder fucking Woman in that aspect," Ebere countered easily, "Like, no shit, look at her and look at us."

That.... Stung.

What pained me was the amused undertone in Ebere's voice as she went on to continue talking, throwing jabs at me in a bid to defend her point to Chika.

"Dabeluchi is way too simple for the event. The fact that her outfit is not giving is clear as crystal. Wanna know the vibe I get from it? It's giving under privileged, Chi boo. Oh-I-am-so wretched and poor. Can't afford a freaking toothpick."

Ebube did not waste time coming in, and in seconds, she was rapping her equally blunt opinion.

"Like, Come the fuck on, we are going to a High School hang out, and not a Salvation for the Cross Army. That plain look is begging for the wrong sorts of attention. Keep up, biatch."

I felt attacked.

I felt so, so attacked.

Chika, rather, stood her ground. Firmly.

"I think we should keep our baseless opinions on Dabeluchi's looks to ourselves." She warned the two girls.

"You can shut us up, but hell, get ready to stick safety pins as stoppers to the mouths of the multitudes of Classmates that will come at Dabeluchi. Left to me, she should just stay back." Ebere's mouth was as sharp as a razor as she replied Chika.

Maybe, I should...?

"We are barely 15 Classmates meeting up, and none of these people are the kind of people that would want to do anything to make Dabi feel bad. Half of the members of the Planning Committee helped to save Dabi's face when the set was firing at her; they are nice people. You know that," Chika said to Ebere, eyes narrowed in question, "So, babe, what's the basis of all of this fear, really? Just be straight with me here."

Maybe it was just me, but that last question seemed to have the Twins speechless.

Like they suddenly were not so sure of how to answer it.

"Dabeluchi is just being casual, and there is nothing wrong with that. So, please, stop overthinking more than you should and let us leave this place and head on outside, before Soma realizes that we have been in here for too long and starts blasting her Car Horn like a fucking mad woman.-"

HONK! HONK! HOOOONKKKKKKK!

Too Late.

HONK! HONK! HOOOONKKKKKKK!

"Chim Church." Chika lamented an Igbo exclamation as she ran her hands through her hair in frustration of Soma's screaming and horning, and we were quickly scurrying out of the corridor and to the outside of the house.

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN THERE, SISTERS?!-"

Soma was blaring the Car Horn and screaming at all of us like it was do or die, and I rushed out with the Sisters, trying to shake off the unnecessary feeling of Anxiety that was rushing through my blood streams because of the loud, alarming horning.

"-MUST I COME OUT TO DRAG YOU ALL OUT?! SHOULD I COME?!!!! I WILL COME O AND I WILL COME WITH THUNDER AND LIGHTENING!"

"Oh, God," I heard one of the twins groan in frustration, but Soma's screaming and horning couldn't care less. At that point, I envisioned the tall girl, slapping her hands, legs, and possibly her head too, against the steering of her car in her attempt to hit the horn louder for us.

We were outside in no time, with the Twins shrieking at Soma to stop with the noise, and poor Chika nearly ripping her hair out for the fear that we would wake Aunty TemTem from her beauty sleep, and get ourselves into some serious, irrevocable trouble with extremely hard consequences to pay.

Soma, on the other hand, seemed to be on a cruise when we finally met her.

"I wouldn't have to scream and force people to be early to places if you just stick to the time schedule; it is as easy as ABCs, Sisters," She said to the fuming Sisters with the brightest and most unbothered smile on her chocolate brown face, waved a finger to Ebube's face and got her hand swatted away like it was a fly.

Soma only laughed at us and said.

"You are just very lucky that I did not bring the Bell."

And people would wonder why Junior Students found their Utility and Bell Prefect, Somadina Best, to be the most annoying living creature on the planet.

Somadina Best seemed to have only started with us. This girl was on a roll this evening.

"Oya, enter inside. Be fast! All of you! Osisor!" She made sure to smack each and everyone of us as she shoved us into the car like rag dolls, without regard to what anyone felt about it or how many collective voices groaned in absolute displeasure.

"Ow." I winced when her hands hit against my skin, and even if I was aware that she was playing around, it did not make her hand less painful.

Promptly, she shut the door once we all were inside, nearly deafening me with the loud, and may I add, unnecessary noise the bang made.

"See?" She flipped her long, long hair as she looked at all the scowling faces of the Sisters through the rear view mirror, a pretty glint in her big brown eyes as though she were in a land of magic and wonders, completely unbothered by the fact that we were annoyed by her.

"We leave by 3:30 as we planned. Now, all you need do is stick to your time schedules and I won't come at anyone with knives and chainsaws to your throats. Simple as Making donuts!" The potentially psycho-crazy tall girl flashed us the brightest grin before she started the car engine,