Chapter 31 SPOTLIGHT PRESSURE
Godiva's POV
Dina finally stopped and made us sit at a table away from where Jerald was seated, on the seat that directly faced Jerald and Hakeem. I locked eyes with Jerald the second I sat down.
We were served spring rolls with peanut sauce, accompanied by a strange Chinese tea. We had barely eaten up to half of our meal when Leo walked into the hall, locking arms with Amanda, a 12th grader.
I felt very shattered the moment I saw him walk in. It was as though salt was being poured on a fresh wound.
I couldn’t mask my pain, my eyes involuntarily narrowing at the sight of them. My laughter quickly turned to a frown.
I felt more devastated when they both sat on the seat right across mine, our eyes locking. I needed a miracle to happen, but I knew my only miracle was Jerald, who wasn’t talking to me.
I tried my best to hold up as tears welled up in my eyes. I was chewing my food but wasn’t tasting the flavor. I knew I had to do one thing, which was, I had to walk out so I wouldn’t burst out crying in the hall. People were obviously staring at us already.
The moment I saw him feed her steak, my heart began pounding even louder. From where I was sitting, I could sight Jerald and Hakeem mock me with their inaudible laughter.
As much as I was disappointed, something even more concerning lingered in my heart. Leo was trouble personified if you aren’t in his good graces. I knew this night was going to end badly.
I became even more pissed because Jerald was mocking my situation.
“This guy just had to spoil my plans,” Dina whispered in my ear, looking at Leo with every bit of disgust in her.
“I guess God saved me from your evil plans,” I managed to respond, smiling.
The second I finished eating, I stood up to leave. Just then, Leo equally stood up, holding his tray.
For some reason, my heart raced even faster than it was already racing, with lots of thoughts running through my mind. I knew he was full of surprises. I didn’t know what surprise he was planning for me. He was obviously up to something.
I quickly started walking very fast towards the exit door when I heard a loud bang, “boom,” accompanied by laughter.
I turned in a panic to see what had happened when I sighted Leo on the floor, with the rest of his food on the ground and some on his body as he lay.
He wasn’t so far from me. My guess was he was following behind to ridicule me or do something insane to me. Well, that was God sending his karma bit by bit.
Seeing him on the floor didn’t lighten my mood a bit. I simply nodded and left the hall.
The second I stepped out of the dinner hall, tears began to flow uncontrollably from my eyes. I hurriedly walked toward the hostel, sobbing. I didn’t want anyone leaving the hall and catching up with me in that state.
The controversy was that I didn’t know exactly why I was in tears. I guess a big part of me felt jealous and even more hurt seeing Leo in that position with another girl. It felt like he had moved on from what was never there, since it was all a trap.
I lay quietly on my bed, sobbing until I fell asleep. I was woken up shortly after by Dina, who patted me gradually on my shoulder.
“It’s time for the awards night,” Dina said, dragging me up.
“You should know I care less about any awards night,” I said, sounding drunk with sleep. “Moreover, I’m only going there to clap for those receiving awards.”
“Bro, get up. Who knows, we might just catch fun?” Dina said with so much optimism.
“Oww, the kind of fun we had during dinner, yeah?” I asked sarcastically.
I noticed Dina’s face turn sour, her hopes and enthusiasm crushed. I couldn’t help but laugh at the way and manner in which she put her face.
“What are you wearing?” I asked Dina as I got up from the bed.
Her face lit up the second I spoke those words. “Go, girl!” she cheered. “You’re a pretty girl, bro. Don’t let any man define your worth with his low standards.”
We did a fist bump as I continued dressing. I couldn’t help but smile at what Dina just said. It was as though I was hearing Jerald speak. It was exactly what he would have said to me.
We both wore an ash hoodie we got as a souvenir from Mama when she went for a pilgrim visit to Jerusalem. We wore the hoodie with a pair of baggy jeans. I put on a pair of Crocs while Dina wore Nike sneakers.
We arrived at the hall for the award ceremony a little later than others. They had already started with different performances.
I caught a glimpse of Jerald the second I walked in. He was seated right in front of me through the entrance door. A big part of me wanted to sit right beside him, while the smaller part of me wanted to sit far from him to avoid embarrassing situations.
It was as though Dina read my thoughts. She pointed to a vacant edge not so far from where Jerald was.
During the performance by a dance group, Dina went to the stage to join them. I sat still watching as my face lit up. Dina and I were very good at dancing, but we only danced for our parents and never around anybody, especially not our schoolmates.
Seeing her come out of her shell to dance before everybody got me happy for her, at least for a while. My happiness suddenly turned to a frown the second I sighted Dina with the microphone. I knew she was about to piss me off.
I was about crawling out of the hall when she shouted my name on the microphone. The hall became rowdy with people turning to search for me. The spotlight shone directly on me.
I looked up and caught Jerald giving me a piercing look. I quickly took my eyes off him and got up. Walking through the audience to the stage felt like a journey.
I could hear the loud whispers of people as I passed through. Someone said, “They definitely about going to ridicule themselves again.” Hearing those words, I had the urge to turn back, but I couldn’t leave Dina standing there.
I glared at her the moment I climbed up the stage.
“My friend and I will be dancing for y’all,” Dina announced on the microphone, dropping it, making the hall go loud with claps and cheers.
Oh God, Dina was about to embarrass me again.