Sisi was a year older than her. She was seventeen, Sisi was eighteen but they were both in the same grade, grade 12. Also Keisha and Selena, who were also eighteen.
They were in the cafeteria after having the first half of their classes.The cafeteria, as expected, was crowded and noisy. She and her friends sat on their table at the far end of the cafeteria."I love your braids" Selena said to her and she gave her a look."Girl, I've been on this braids for two weeks now"Keisha snickered while Sisi typed away on her phone."It looks new to me" Selena shrugged."Madeline is just an attention seeker" Keisha commented and they all looked to the group that was making the most noise."You're a cheat! You hear me! A cheat! I can't believe I fell for you, you liar!" Madeline, the ever pompous girl of their set shouted at her boyfriend, Niel, now ex-boyfriend.Niel was sitted on his table with his friends, a bored look on his face as he twirled his car keys in his fingers while Madeline shouted and screamed."I'll make your life a living hell in this school, you hear me! East wood high, hear me now!" Madeline shouted, turning to face the rest of the students, "I'll make this two lives a living hell! Mark my words!"With that, she stomped out of the cafeteria."Epic!" Sisi laughed."Who's the second cheat?" she asked, turning to face her friends."Lady beside Niel" Selena smirked.She turned and noticed Pen, Penelope Chopra; the Asian girl with the extremely long hair and doll- like beauty; sitting beside Niel on his right. There was no one on his left. She widened her eyes then chuckled, turning back to her friends."I didn't expect that. I thought she was decent"Sisi clicked her tongue while Selena and Keisha made funny faces."She is..." Sisi started then laughed."Ok, she is decent but I heard she is like head over heels in love with Niel and she did what most people blinded by love would do, cheat with him" Selena explained."So they are like dating now?" she asked."No, still friends. I actually don't think Niel likes her much. I think he's just having the fun of his life" Keisha answered.She turned to look at them again, to see them already laughing and chatting like the drama that had just played out didn't happen. As she turned back to her table, she caught eyes staring at her from across the cafeteria. She smiled at him, Koty, short for Colton. He smiled back at her and she looked away."He's very much single and searching" Sisi wriggled her brows.She gave a sarcastic look."I don't know why you guys think it's important to date in high school. I mean, why would you even date? You still have a whole life ahead of you and you're rushing into relationships that would end up collapsing""Teach" Keisha rolled her eyes."I'm going for my sixth boyfriend soon" Sisi said.Selena said nothing. Of course, she knew they wouldn't listen to her and they always ended up paying the price. Sisi had experienced two heartbreaks already, Keisha had been seduced to give up her virginity, after which she regretted it and had suffered depression for months; and Selena,well Selena had not joined the boyfriend game but she was already being initiated. Initiated being that she had something going on with Kennedy McCarthy which she refused to let them in on, claiming it was her personal business."We have a short time before school ends. Like high school ends completely" Sisi deadpanned, demonstrating with her hands."Like I don't know that" she gave Sisi a look.Sisi rolled her eyes, “High schooldoesn't happen twice. Just date Koty, even if its just a week.""I won't.""He likes you. I mean, girls, isn't it obvious?" Sisi asked, looking at Keisha and Selena for affirmation."Yeah" they affirmed."He's always looking at you" Selena added."So is Ken" Keisha added drily.Selena turned around and immediately turned back, blushing heavily."Are you guys like dating?" Sisi asked curiously."Na" Selena answered , her mood dropping."You can just ask him out yourself." she suggested. They stared at her and then bursted into laughter."What happened to no relationships?" Sisi mocked."I'm just saying that so you'll get embarrassed and then learn your lesson."She joined them this time in laughing."Savage." Selena muttered."Wait! Aren't we getting food?" Keisha asked suddenly.It was then they noticed that their table was empty. They had not bought any food.They bursted into another round of laughter.*Classes had ended for the day. She needed to get home quickly so she could do all the things she had to do quickly and then settle down to read. Exams were fast approaching and waiting for Sisi was impossible.She bade Sisi bye at her locker then made her way through the Sea of people out of the hallway. Someone tapped her from behind and she turned seeing Koty."Hey" he greeted."Hi, good afternoon" she smiled, stopping to listen to him.He opened his mouth to say something then closed it, shaking his head. He handed her a paper bag. She raised a brow."I saw you and your friends didn't get anything today and I figured you must be hungry." he explained."Oh." her smile widened as she looked down at the bag."But..." She looked back up at him, "I'm sorry. I can't accept this"He stepped back as she stretched the bag out to him."I'm sorry also. I can't accept it back."She laughed and he laughed with her. He had a cute laugh and his dimples peeked out through them. She liked it. She liked hat he kept his black and curly hair neat and smooth and that he was tall, two inches above her and that he worked out and that he dressed neat and cool and that he was nice and friendly and that he didn't behave like the other football picks even if he was a member of the team."Well Mr. Koty, I'm afraid I'll have to refuse you" she said after they stopped laughing, her hand still stretched out. They looked funny; standing in the middle of the hall way, laughing with her hand stretched out like a scarecrow .She was hungry but she just didn't feel comfortable accepting things from him especially when she knew he had a crush on her. She didn't want to lead him on or any of that stuff."And I'll also have to refuse you" he spoke, taking slow steps away from her, laughing slightly, his eyes bright and happy. She chuckled, watching helplessly as he disappeared round the corner.She sighed, putting her hands down at her side. She would just have to accept it then.Getting home, the house was empty as expected. Her mother wouldn't be back from work until about 8pm and her father was non-existent. Her mother had never spoken about him and she had never botheted to ask her about his whereabouts, if he was alive. She was beginning to get curious now.An hour and a half later, shevwas done with the house chores she had avoided that morning and also had her bath and changed clothes. She just had to get a few groceries from the grocery store a few streets away and then make dinner. She glanced at Sisi's bungalow as she came out of her duplex. Sisi was not back home yet; if she was, music would be blasting heavily from her room.Sisi was one girl.They had been neighbors for as long as she could remember but they had become friends at the end of middle school. They weren't close. Though they she rode in Sisi's car almost everyday to school and they spent a good quality of time together, she was never totally free with her.Sisi was far too different from her. She was loud, crazy, boy crazy, short tempered and she, Joan was more in tune with her behaviour than Sisi would ever be. Despite all that, she still valued Sisi as a friend, Sisi was irreplaceable.She smiled, remembering when the nickname Sisi had stuck. Sisi's real name was Susan but she told anyone who cared to ask that she was Susie. Of course, everyone knew it was short for Susan but she had misheard wrongly when Sisi had told her. Sisi didn't mind and now the nickname had stuck and virtually everyone called her Sisi.She flung her braids behind her neck and began humming to a song as she walked along. She would have to make fewer braids next time. She didn't like hair being a nuisance as much as she loved fashion. Better still, she would go natural until she was ready to braid her hair again. She glanced at her wristwatch, it was almost 6pm. Perhaps King would be home.She sighed, that was highly unlikely. She worried about him. It seemed like lately he was becoming more closed off, more distant and she didn't like thatHe was the only person she was ever totally free with and so his recent withdrawals made her feel lonely.She considered going over to his house but discarded the thought as soon as it came. He had warned her not to and she didn't even know his address; she only knew the name of the location; there was a huge probability he would not be home.Besides he lived faraway, she would have to make two stops to get there if she took a train and if she decided to use a cab, it was too expensive.She wished he lived closer, she wished he attended the same school with her. He was her best friend yet they were so far apart in everything that she wondered how their relationship had lasted this long."Hey, watch it!""Sorry" she quickly apologized to the teenage boy she had bumped into absentmindedly. He didn't respond, he just walked on. She shrugged, entering into the grocery store.In a few minutes, she had bought all she needed and made her way out and hastened her steps home. She had to make dinner before she could settle down to read and she had to give King a call before hand. It was a habit, to check up on him everyday.She brought out the keys to her home as she made her way up the porch unaware of the hooded figure coming up behind her.She fitted in the keys and pushed the door open just as a hand closed in on hers. She jumped. Her heart leaping in her chest, the bag of groceries and her keys falling to the ground; as she turned around to see who it was."King!" She exclaimed in relief and annoyance.He bent and picked up the fallen groceries and keys while she calmed her racing heart and then he led he inside the house, locking the door after."How many times have I told you to stop sneaking up on me!? I could have had a heart attack!" She shouted at him as he dissapeared into the kitchen."And why are you looking like a gangster with your face covered that way!? ... King!"She huffed, following after him when he did not respond. She paused, noticing his stance. His hands were placed on the kitchen counter, his head bowed; the bag of groceries was kept carelessly at a corner."King?""Why are you covering your face?" She asked. She walked up to him when he still did not reply and turned him to face her. He was surprisingly receptive and then she threw the hoodie of his face."King!" Was what she could utter, anger boiling in her chest. He hugged her, burying his face in her neck.She stood stiff and rigid, even her breathing was controlled. His hand ran through her straightened hair."I'm sorry, Bernadette, I'm sorry. I'm here, you can lean on me. I'm sorry."She tried to pull away but he held her back so she stayed cold. Vincent and Frederico watched with narrowed eyes.*"The PDA can be saved for later. We have a brother in surgery." A cold voice cut through the moment. She jumped away from Merlione, looking guilty and nervous as a drenched fish."Vincent," She called in greeting, trying to match his cold look. He eyed her up, also Merlione who came to stand protectively by her side.She wondered why she felt so nervous and guilty. Perhaps because she knew she needed the approval of King's family.Frederico stepped forward, looking unbothered. "We heard the news. What happened?""He called me," she answered smartly, "he called me just before he lost consciousness.""How did you know where he stays?""He told me." She was less nervous now but there was someth
She laid her head on his shoulder and let him tell her about work and his life for the past nine years while sharing one large can of soda then they ran around and played like little children, using the swings and involving in a sand castle competition with the other children.It was exactly what they needed in their too-careful world.*Frederico puffed on a cigarette, lost in thought. He was surrounded by loud music and intoxicated people but none of the senseless activities going on around him registered in his head. Only one thought did.He had to get rid of King Johannson.Either he did that or he risked being killed. Who else would have the audacity to kill Luca? And motive? There was also Vincent. He sure as hell was a suspect but all fingers pointed to King. It wasn't a coincidence that Luca was murdered during the same period the girl King loved was getting hooked.He took another long drag and stubbed out the rest. It was Luca first, soon it would be him. It was Luca's fault
The problem was that he just couldn't accept the reality that she wasn't his any longer. It felt unreal.He clicked the call icon. Still, he wouldn't leave her. If he ever left her, it would be because she asked him to.Switched off. He dialed her line again. Switched off. Third time. Switched off. He ran a hand down his face.*Isla knocked on Vincent's front door."Tommy, Tommy" She cooed when Thomas answered the door."Thomas, how many times have I warned you to stop answering the door!?" Charlene shouted from somewhere inside."Calm down, Char," She chuckled, entering the lavender-scented home."Nice morning, Aunt Isla," Thomas greeted respectfully, seemingly oblivious to his mum's worries. She laughed, ruffling his hair then stuffed a hundred-dollar bill in his hand. He beamed."Buy as many chocolates as you want, ok?" She whispered, ruffling his hair one last time before going into the kitchen where Charlene was."Oh, my love," She cooed, seeing the five-month-old baby in a movi
She threw her phone aside with a satisfied smirk, "he asked for it. Imagine telling me to apologize after openly stating he didn't take it to heart. A hypocrite, that's what he is."Joan didn't know whether to laugh or cry."Yes, he said he doesn't mind but it is only normal for you to apologize when you do something wrong to show you are truly sorry.""Well, that should be my choice, not his." She stubbornly refused.Joan raised her hands and dropped them in resignation."Good riddance," Isla whispered.*"You were out all day."Were the first words she heard upon entering the house at about 7 pm."Yes. I'm home early. Is there a problem?" He was at the foot of the stairs. He looked sad and beaten but he was one hell of a good actor."Sorry," She changed tactics, putting on a smile, forcing ill feelings out of her heart, "good evening. How was your day?""It was trashy and boring without you," He replied in a monotone, "I went out to see my family when you left for Church and I got
"Thank God, he's gone." Isla sighed with contagious relief."Nah," Joan shook her head, "you get his phone number and talk to him."Isla's eyes widened, "How am I supposed to do that? He's obviously in a rush. Why else will he get takeout?""I'll get it for you.""How?"*Just nice, she was called three days later."It has been confirmed," James spoke, the smiling man she met at the restaurant gone, "Fr. Greg wasn't the chief celebrant at your wedding."She wasn't surprised. "Then who was?"They were all present as three days before, including James' secretary and the Priest who had never uttered a word other than a quiet greeting.He showed her a photo."After going through the footage of that day, the day before, and the day after, we suspect this man as the culprit. He has never been seen in the Church before that day. He was seen entering the Sacristy just seconds after Fr. Greg did but he was never seen coming out. Upon closer inspection..." He showed her another photo. It was a
She thought of going to see King but the memory of Vincent's cold face crossed out the thought. She visited Isla instead.*"Surprise, surprise." Isla's eyes were wide as she ushered her into her modest penthouse in the early afternoon of a Monday. The house was pretty small but comfy. A set of mismatched couches in the middle, an eating area to the right, a TV at the center, a few flowers in antique vases kept at strategic corners, and a treadmill close to a door she assumed led to the room."I checked you at work but I was told you wouldn't be at work for the rest of the week. Is there a problem?"Isla laughed, passing her a glass of water after she sat on one of the couches, "Must there be a problem?""No, but one doesn't just take a leave from work, do they?"Isla wrinkled her nose. She looked pretty. Her long red hair was now shoulder length and she looked very relaxed at home in pajama shorts and a too baggy T-shirt."Ok," She plopped down beside her and tucked her legs in, "I