Chapter 10: Who Are You

Joanna's POV

Groaning and murmuring like a deranged monster I trudged as fast as I could which currently seems like a snail's pace along the hallway of doom which you all know as the school's hallway.

"Hunie pie!" I cringed inwardly as I heard Tenda say while she bounced energetically towards me. I love that bitch but sometimes her cheerful attitude can really get to me, especially at a time like this.

"Hey," I mumbled weakly, waving at her with the little strength left in me.

"Woah, Woah, Woah!" She exclaimed to which I just smiled.

"What the hell happened to you," She asked gazing at me with concern written all over her face.

"Mother nature happened," I replied, wincing as I felt another cramp pass through me.

"Awwwn, sorry babes." She sighed, before hugging me.

I hugged her back-patting her on the back as I heard her sniff.

"Let's get you to class," She spoke,

held my hand and pulled me in the direction of the class.

"I'm having cramps, not paralyzed." I scoffed.

"Shhh," she shushed me. "Don't ruin the moment, am trying to act as mother hen here".

***** 

Waving to the best girlfriend one could ever ask for, Aka Tenda. I slowly dragged my feet into the worst class ever being chemistry. Some might say maths is the worst but trust me I would choose maths a million times over this and the fvcking chemistry teacher in this my senior year doesn't help as she totally hates me.

I murmured something intelligible as a greeting to her and kept my head down before I spotted Harmony who tapped the empty seat beside him.

"Bitch, you seem to have no respect." The so-called teacher growled in response which pissed me off. On a normal day, I would have ignored her and kept quiet but not today of all days when am frustrated and currently trying to survive this pain.

"I know I hate u too," I smirked and flicked her the bird before settling down on the seat Harmony pulled out.

Getting comfortable in my seat, I heard the class erupt in laughter as they recovered from the shock of what I just did. I gave a weak wave before placing my head on the desk and groaned.

"Hey B, Is ur monthly visitor here?" Harmony questioned, placing his head on his desk and faced me.

"Yeap," I replied. "And it chose the wrong timing". I winced again as I felt another shock pass through me.

"Sorry bestie," He consoled before placing a palm on my back, starting to give me a massage.

"Yass." I smiled at him and gave a thumbs up. See? that's why he is my bestfriend. He knows me well enough to know the right thing to do at the right time to make me happy.

The bell rang signaling the end of class, which had me groaning again as I realized I had to get up and walk.

"Bestie let's go." Harmony said while pulling me up and hooked his hand with mine before he guiding me safely to the cafeteria so I don't fall.

Spotting our group of friends, as they waved us over. I slumped in the seat between Ifeanyi and Tony and gave tired sigh.

"Hey, partner." Ifeanyi smiled, giving an awkward pat  on my back as he saw the permanent scowl on my face."What happened?"

"Mother nature and you happened," I replied, glaring at him.

"What has mother nature got to do with me!" He whined and gave a pout as he noticed I was still giving him the harsh glare.

"Extreme dance rehearsals on Friday, does that ring a bell?" I questioned, raising my left eyebrow for emphasis.

"Awwn, I'm so so sorry baby, I'm  really sorry," He apologized. 

"I didn't know it would lead to this, I'm sorry, forgive me please, am too young to die".

"Dude." I sighed. "In case you haven't noticed, I can barely sit straight not to talk of killing you, which I wouldn't even do, that's except you steal my food". 

Speaking of food. Harmony dropped a tray of junk food in front of me with a plate of ice cream which made me give him an appreciative smile in return. Turning back my attention to Ifeanyi, I noticed he was having an argument with Blake which had me rolling my eyes at his low attention span.

"How's it going babe,"  Tenda smiled at me in greeting, to which I waved in return.

"Ptss," Someone whispered in my ear which had me turning to my left to see Tony staring at me with concern in his eyes.

"What!" I growled, tired of the pain within me. Can't this pain just stop? first thing I do when I get home is to ask mom to get me some painkillers because I don't think I can stand this shit any longer.

"Why the tired face," He questioned.

"Time of the month," I replied,  still scowling.

"Awwwn, does it hurt?" He asked looking into my eyes.

"Ha." I scoffed. It's delightful, very delightful, am in cloud nine at the moment," I replied, my voice dripping in sarcasm.

"Let me massage it for you," He said, giving me a soft smile as I felt his palm on my back and began to massage exactly where it's hurting, unknowingly sending sparks through my whole 206 bones.

Ha, am not even sure if we have 206 bones in our body or more or even less, so don't call me dumb.

"Thank GOD!" Ifeanyi exclaimed dramatically. At least I won't hear her hiss every minute".

"Idiot." I scowled. "Thank your stars am in pains, if not, trust me I would go back on my promise and kill you". 

"I might be an idiot, but you can't deny the love you have for me." He winked.

"I do not," I answered.

"You do," He replied.

"I do not".

"Trust me, dear, you do." He smirked.

"I do not".

"You do not".

"I do," I replied unknowingly and growled when I realized he got me.

"See, you admit it," He grinned.

"I love you too dear".

"Hey, guys," Blake said, calling the attention of everyone at our table which did wonders as everyone stopped their conversation. Even Tenda stopped drooling at Tony. Yeah I know, she was actually drooling.

"Whatsup," Tony spoke.

"Yeah dude what's it," Harmony, questioned

"What could be so important to make me stop arguing with this shit bag here," Ifeanyi said glaring at Harmony.

"Boys," I called, as Tenda rolled her eyes at their childish behavior. "Let's hear what Blake has to say".

"There's this new guy in town," Blake started.

"Do we know him?" Tony asked.

"I don't think so," Blake replied shaking his head. "But news floating around says he's hot.

"Oooh meat," Tenda said wiggling her eyes at me as I winked back.

"Girls," Harmony spoke, throwing our words back at us.

"I also heard he lived here a few years back before moving away with his parents," Blake continued.

"He's about our age and got registered in our rival school".

"Hmmm," Ifeanyi murmured with a serious expression, which is weird because he hardly gets serious.

"What's his name?" Harmony questioned.

"Francis James, but he prefers to be called Frank," Blake answered with a nod.

"Hey, that's my cousin's name, he's my cousin," Ifeanyi said, earning him shocked looks from everyone.

"Wait, why didn't you say so sooner?" Tony asked, still in shock.

"I wasn't sure till I heard his name," He replied with a shrug and continued munching on his half-eaten burger until Harmony gave him a slap upside the head.

I just sat there staring at him as I was still contemplating if he could be this dumb. "I never knew you could be this dumb".

"Y'all are dumb too, especially you Blake," He spoke, as Blake gave him a look that screamed <How>. "Yes Blake, you are dumb for not realizing we have the same surname".

"Bravo Ifeanyi." I clapped, "For the second time today, you succeeded in rendering me speechless".

Tenda looked at us all in shock with her mouth hanging open and eyes wide. "How, on earth do you guys get this kind of information!"

Tony shrugged, Ifeanyi gave a shy smile that had me awwwning internally. *I don't even know if that's a word* Harmony just laughed.

*Francis James, Francis James* I kept repeating to myself. Why does that name give me goosebumps and sound so familiar at the same time?.

"Ifeanyi, you said this guy is your cousin," I spoke, giving him a questioning look to which he nodded. 

"And Blake said he'd lived here before with his family?"

"Yeah," He replied, before giving me a weird look. "Any problem?"

"No, the name just sounds familiar that's all." I shook my head, acting nonchalant but inside I was going haywire.

******

I unlocked the front door while I rolled my waist, trying to balance the heavy school bag on my shoulder which I was surprised I could do all at the same time.

I heard a loud noise coming from within as I succeeded.

*I guess Elvis is home*. I thought as I stepped into the living room and sighted the said brother hopping up and down on the couch and singing loudly with the music blaring through the speakers at full blast.

I began wondering what his numerous lines of one-night stands and all those girls swooning over him would think if they saw him that way.

"Hey bro." I huffed, in a bid to catch his attention.

"Hy sisi," He replied after he turned down the music. "How you?"

I shrugged, not saying a word before I slumped on the couch in a sigh.

"That bad huh?" He implored as he sagged beside me.

"Yup, mother nature visited me today, plus there's this new guy Blake was talking about," I answered, a small smile on my lips.

"Sorry, I understand the Mother Nature part but what has the new guy got to do with you?" He interrogated, while he ruffled my hair.

"I don't know," I spoke, uncertainty in my voice. "By the way you are home early."

"Yep, classes ended quickly today, thank GOD!" He exclaimed in joy.

"Haha." I chuckled at his enthusiasm. "I'm gonna go up to my room and get some homework done."

"Good luck with that," He mumbled over his shoulder.

"I need it because I have to fight with chemistry," I pronounced, and heaved my lazy ass up the stairs afterward.

Halfway through the chemistry assignment that I was loving, by the way, note the sarcasm.

I was seriously considering committing suicide or conducting gender surgeries to become a boy because of the incessant cramps that ran through me.

Lastly, I presumed that being a boy would still mean doing chemistry homework. So suicide might have been the best option, as I would have killed two birds with one stone.

In a sigh, I stood from my bed, hence it served me little solace due to the cramps I was having.

I stretched, thankful it caused me some little relief and headed to the bathroom where I splashed water on my face.

I shuffled out when I heard my phone ring, and rushed to see who was calling.

<Tony> It indicated.

With a huge smile on my face, I picked it up.

"Hello deaf," I greeted.

"Hy dumb," He replied.

*weird I know, that was how we greeted each other*

"How's it going?" He questioned

"Really bad," I sighed.

"Wanna party?" He inquired.

"No thanks," I answered.

"Come on, it's gonna be fun!" He whined.

"I wish I could but I can barely walk on my own at the moment, and even if I could am stuck with chemistry," I spoke with a sigh.

"But I would have loved to see you there," I heard him sigh.

"Awwwn, really?"I doubted, feeling my cheeks heat up.

"Of course Jo," He admitted.

"Don't worry next time," I said, as my lips twitched into a grin.

"I would hold you to that babe," He uttered before the line went dead.

*Awwwn, he called me babe* I thought, blushing. I was currently fangirling at that moment though sadly we weren't dating.

My smile dropped slightly as I recalled Tenda had a crush on him and from the look of things, he might be into her.

Thankful for the brief distraction, (the phone call) I focused my attention back on the task in front of me.

"Why the hell am I stuck with this question?" I mused. *Isotope, Isotope*.

"What is an Isotope?" I swore I could remember hearing the definition somewhere, however, I couldn't quite get my hands on where.

*Idiot you probably heard it in class, where else could you have heard it?* My subconscious taunted.

"Dang it!" I growled and banged my head and fists on the bed in frustration. "Why can't this woman allow us to google the answer?" I hissed, sensing a small but strong cramp dash through me.

I know you might be asking yourself why I couldn't copy from my textbook or as I said earlier, google it.

Well, let me tell you a secret. In my school, <Never> and I mean, <Never> ever copy the answer to  homework from a textbook or try to google it, because the punishment is bad, trust me it's really bad.

I don't even know how they find out it got googled or copied, but the last time someone was caught doing that, she was signed to toilet duty for a week. A whole freaking week! I like to keep my lungs in good working order thank you very much.

So I was stuck, really stuck. I could opt to ask Harmony though that would put him in trouble because he might've ended up telling me exactly what he wrote and both of us would end up with toilet duty.

*Why Lord Why* I internally cried. Bemoaning my phone dinged.

"Thank GOD." I cried, grateful for another distraction. I peeked at the device and immediately concluded I would have rather been left with chemistry than seeing a text from the same unknown number that messaged me the previous day.

<Hey Babe> it read

<Hy> I replied hesitantly.

<How are you doing?>

<Arrgh..don't even ask> I replied.

Why was I replying to this dude's messages? I don't think I know the answer to that.

<Haha, why?>

<shit happens>

<I know but what's the shit?>

<Like you wanna know>

<Try me>

<Should I really?>

<Yeah baby>

<Okay, am stuck with chemistry homework, and I kind of missed a fun party because of that even though I don't like parties but heck I would choose a party over this>

<Well that kinda sucks>

<Yeah it does>

<I'm at a party but would prefer to be home right now>

<You are at a party?>

<Yup>

<Texting?>

<Correct>

<Wow..is the party that lame?>

<Nah, but for me it kinda is, would rather be with you>

<Lol, you don't even know me>

<Who said I don't, because I didn't say anything of the sort>

<So, you do know me>

<More than you can imagine>

*Great Joanna, you are currently texting a stalker or a cultist, even a murderer* I speculated while I freaked out a fraction.

<Are you a stalker, murderer, or a cultist? > I had to ask, despite the fact I knew it was a stupid question, hence not even a cultist would accept he is.

<Trust me I ain't a murderer or a stalker, I've known you all my life>

<But you didn't deny being a cultist>

<I didn't admit it either>

<Since you said you know me, can I ask you a few questions to know how?>

<Shoot baby>

<Sorry?> I quizzed, confused.

<I meant you are free to ask anything>

<Alright. What's my name?>

<Joanna>

<Wow, Age?>

<Currently 18, Elvis is your senior brother>

<OMG, you are making me scared, how do you know all this?>

<Don't be, your full name is Joanna Alex. Joanna Gore Alex to be precise>

<Who are You?>

<You know me>

<I don't>

<I know>

<What the-- Just tell me>

<In due time hun, In due time>

<No, tell me now>

<Bye> He replied and went offline.

*Who the hell could he be?* I wondered, as the chemistry homework was now long forgotten.

Unknown POV

Clasped in the middle of a high school party which was the first party I'd attended since I returned to this town, I was bored out of my mind.

Elvis who literally convinced me to come said it would be fun and would help me socialize, but the damn idiot didn't even show up.

So yeah I was sort of glued with drunk teenagers grinding themselves and having their version of fun.

Glancing around, I thought back to when I was like them, getting high to be happy. Ever since I failed a grade because of all that, I swore never to get high again, drunk? yeah high? nope.

I recognized some faces here, like Tony and Blake, whom I wasn't sure I could talk to because of my new fake reputation of a fuckboy as they could assume I was there to steal their show.

I guess in need of something to clear the boredom, I decided to text her. The only girl who could get me high more than any drug.

Why I didn't tell her my name or who I was, was beyond me. Well, I suppose it was still because of the fake reputation and the fear of rejection, because which good girl like Ana could date a fuckboy? None apparently, hence this was real life and not some cliche teen fic.

Freshy❤