Novels by Linton

Maddie I stared at myself after I was done weaving my long chestnut hair into braids. Using my scrunchie I tag them at the end of the braid.Will Carlson love this? I found myself asking. Why do I have to do the things he loves? It should be Jamie dumpass.I corrected my backpack, and I locked up my door before leaving. It's been three days since I missed school, not after what happened at the party. Carlson has been a good friend not friends, tutor who has been helping to cheer me up and give me updates based on things taught in the class. Carlson asked me to have a coffee with him at my favorite coffee shop.It's so simple since an an A student missing a few classes isn't going to stop me from achieving my academic pursuit.The moment I stepped out I met Veronica with her squad who blocked my path. I cursed hoping she didn't come to cause trouble again. I'm already tired of her.“Going somewhere desperate virgin” I rolled my eyes and tried to walk out but she drags me back and ha

Maddie Footsteps stopped right in front of me, everyone continued to laugh. Carlson pulled away the helmet, took my hands and led me away to his dorm.I sat on the edge of the bed, he dragged a seat forward and sat right in front of me watching me cry. I felt so humiliated that Veronica will go to just an extent.I don’t have to worry anymore, it’s no news I threw myself at Jamie begging him to take my V-card. I have to live with that for the rest of my life bearing shame and humiliation.“I’m not too much of a crier” I wept the tears away with the back of my hands.“Wait, let me get you a tissue” I cried bitterly and couldn't get the memories off my head.“Here” I took the tissue from Carlson, wiping my tears dry, sniffing between.Carlson drew closer, raising my chin to look at him, the way his glassy grey eyes stared into my soul. Why does my heart beat so fast when he is close, so close to me? It feels like I lost my sense of purpose for a moment.“You have learned how to stand

Maddie“Is just eyes, I have the two of them”I walked over sitting at the edge of the bed, Carlson bent on one knee so close making my heart beat accelerate.There is something about him when he is so close to me and stares into my eyes like I’m the most special woman on earth.Just exaggerating. “You have the most beautiful eyes”I smiled again, this time not allowing his words to get to me. So needy to hear someone say those but assume it came from Jamie my day should be made then.“You’re flirting again”“Yeah but you have to flirt back”I thought for a while but no idea came to mind“I will do that with Jamie at the party”He shrugs making a face but doesn't discourage me but I hope he did. We got to the party which was filled with people talking in twos, the music was blasting and I thought I might get deaf any time soon.I’m more excited when I saw Jamie at the corner playing a poker game.“I will grab us a drink,” Carlson says.“Be cool”“Is there any time I haven’t been coo

Maddie I jambled down the hallway into the male's locker hoping it would be an escape to cry and never to see someone watch.Never thought someone might be there, not at this odd hour, I stumbled into the wall, not a wall, a breathing wall. A hand wrapped around my back preventing me from getting to the floor.My breath hinged, did his towel just fall. My eyes still kept on the air. I resisted the urge to look down on Carlson or have a sneak peak of what his length looks like.“Did your towel just fall?”“You don't want to take a look” instead I squinted my eyes and began to cry.“Wait, wait. What is wrong with you?”“I have thousands of people watching me and Veronica just had a life session of me wanting Jamie to take my virginity”“Hey you needy virgin. I know you're in there. Did you just get yourself a boy”“Come out” Veronica's voice resonated from outside, I could see her shadows from the faint transparent glass.She kept banging on them and I panicked at how quickly she caugh

Maddie My fault is loving so hard to ungrateful and undeserving people, same with my love life.Messy!Imagine giving my V- card to the guy who leaves my messages unread.Yes, I'm that girl.The girl who fell for his childhood friend and right here standing at the sidelines cheering I wish he could finally look at me and see me not just as an assistant.“Woohoo! You're really heating it hard Jamie. Go..go..go” I shouted from the sidelines taking every amazing shot I could use for the newsletter. Jamie is just one person who I had in mind to appear on the school homepage when the article is written.My big rimmed glasses shifted but I never cared to adjust it back but rather focused on getting more shots.I'm Maddie Malone, the team assistant nobody sees, took this job so I could get closer to Jamie hoping one day he will look my way. Planning on telling him about my feelings later today, took me so much time to make this bold step.The ball rolled over hitting me to my feet causing m

CALEBI hadn’t seen Clara smile in weeks.Not the polite one she gave Brenda when thanking her for tea, not the tight one she used on people she couldn’t stand. I meant the real one — the kind that made her eyes turn into two soft crescents.Now, whenever I passed her in the hallway, she walked as though I didn’t exist. And the worst part was that I deserved it.Elena’s laughter still echoed in my head sometimes — cruel, cutting, directed at Clara while I stood by and did nothing. Actually, worse than nothing. I’d laughed too. The memory burned like acid.Brenda brushed past me that morning with a tray of toast. “She’s in the kitchen,” she said in her usual brisk tone, not even looking at me. Everyone had taken Clara’s side.I lingered in the doorway, watching Clara stir something on the stove. She’d tied her hair up, strands escaping around her face. There was flour on her wrist and sunlight catching on her collarbone. I almost said her name, but my throat tightened.She noticed me b

CLARAWhile all of it was happening, I stood at a corner. Waiting. I would have gone into that office with them, but I didn't. Not when I wasn't a witness to anything. Aaron was, according to what they said. He was the right person to be there. “Rowan?” I called when everything looked like it was over, wondering at the same time what was about to—What was I saying? I wondered what had happened. Now, the person I was waiting for all this while, was on his way to my side. The look on his countenance told me a lot—more than a lot. I moped at him, not taking my face. Not for a moment. “Tell me what happened.” I took his hand when he caught up with me. “I know you didn't do it. You don't have to explain a thing to me, you know.” I managed a smile when our gazes met. “Let's go to a quiet place. I can skip my classes for today. Already did.” “Clara, I didn't do it.” Why did he act like he didn't hear what I said just now? Sighs threatened to escape from my mouth. “I believe you. I kno

ROWANWhat the fuck was happening? Why would she tell such a lie against me? In public, at that. I stood in an office. One that belonged to a teacher. The head teacher at that. We were waiting for him to make it here so that judgment could be passed. And I hoped deep down inside of me that the truth would be seen. I looked up from the ground, glanced at Elena. She was smiling. Only I could see it. What was she up to now? What did I do to deserve such an act from her? I asked myself this question, so many thoughts running around. Right inside of my head. “He's here—” Aaron, the accomplice, sounded and I looked to the door. Only to see it opening with two men walking into the space. One of them was the head teacher and the other was a man I knew I had seen once—long before my final year. Who was he? “Take a seat, sir.” The head teacher urged. Then the man took a seat and glanced at me. There was hate in his tone—in the way he looked at me. Even though he didn't speak, I could

AARONBefore the discharge of Clara, I was out of the clinic, staring at my watch, sweat pouring from my forehead. The AC in the clinic was fully working, but I knew that what I was supposed to do in the next few minutes, what I was about to do, in fact, was a great deal and a burden on me. That was the reason I was perspiring, the sweat of an extremely guilty man, a man who was about to do something that was out of the box. I went into the clinic one more time, where I saw Clara getting ready to remove the clinic uniform which was meant for patients. Knowing that this was my chance, I left the clinic, walking as fast as my legs could carry me. If there was anything, it was the fact that I didn't want Clara to know what I was doing. In all of this, she deserved to be innocent. She wasn't supposed to know the kind of man I was, or the extent at which I could go for her. That was supposed to be for my thoughts alone. Dumping the lab coat that I had worn when I entered the clinic,

AARON I stared at her in disbelief. I knew Clara very well. I also knew, even though I wasn't entirely sure that she was involved with a guy called Rowan. The Clara I knew saw me as a friend and nothing else. Women knew how to gatekeep their feelings, but with Clara, it was different. She was so open, so laid-back and inviting. That was what made me love her in the first place, that warmth and the way she seemed to welcome everyone into her life with open arms. It was a part of her I loved and cherished so much. “You can't make someone love you, Elena.”Elena shook her head at me firmly. “You see, that's where you're wrong. You can make someone love you. If only you have the right tools and materials to do so. If only you plan well, efficiently and effortlessly. You see, I have those tools, Aaron, and I know you'll love to know what those tools are.”My heart clattered in my chest again. How was it possible that Elena, who barely even knew me knew so much about me? I didn't tru

AARON “Come on, man, it's morning already. Get up.”The sun shone brightly through the parted blinds. I woke up, my hair slightly getting in the way, which was now slowly becoming a normal occurrence. I stared at Donovan, my cousin and my roommate for the time I was going to be working as the falconets doctor. He was the first person to receive me since I had come into the city, and was still the only person to have offered me an apartment. In a city filled with strangers and foreigners, he was the only one I looked up to, a real source of friendship. “Are you going to college today?”The question stared me in the face, welcoming me back to life, back to reality, in fact. The events of the night before roared in my mind, a memory that couldn't be forgotten. The party. The three women who had jointly attacked Clara. The fact that I was the only one who had tried to save her, who had shouted nonstop that the cops be called. It was insane, a total mess, the way they handled their d