Chapter 36 AVOIDING JERALD
Godiva POV
Hissing, I turned back. The sight of Hakeem smiling stupidly behind me irked every bit of my being. “What on earth is wrong with you, dude?” I asked rudely.
“Nothing, I just want to be here with you now,” he said sarcastically, sitting beside me.
“You can’t sit here, Dina was about to switch seats,” I said, winking at Dina.
“Oh yes, I was about to go there,” Dina replied from the opposite side of the table.
“You heard her!” I said mockingly to Hakeem. I had barely finished talking when I heard Dina’s voice echo, “Heyy,” in a sweet manner.
I quickly turned to see who it was. I wasn’t surprised when I saw Ben standing at the edge of our table, still in a handshake with Dina.
“Hello,” I said, waving at Ben.
“Can I join the party?” he asked in his usual soft manner.
“Oh yes, you can!” Dina exclaimed. “You can sit right here, beside me,” she added, tapping the empty space beside her.
I knew the time would come when Dina would betray me because of a man. I just didn’t know how soon it would be. Anyways, it finally happened, just when I needed her the most.
“Dina!” I called out to her. “You were just about to switch seats,” I said, signaling with my eyes.
“Was I?” she asked. “Anyways, Hakeem is already there,” she added, smiling.
I didn’t have the courage to look at Hakeem, but I could hear him laughing at me. I felt like walking up to Dina and snapping her neck. I didn’t dwell on it because, deep down, I knew I was going to revenge.
“Well, at this point, I think it’s impossible to avoid Jerald, because he’s approaching you right now,” Dina whispered, drawing my head closer to hers from the opposite side of the table.
“What! He’s coming here?” I asked in panic.
“Oh yes, girl,” Dina exclaimed.
I noticed Hakeem raising his brows, looking at us awkwardly, trying to decipher what we were talking about. “What is it? Gossip?” I snapped angrily at Hakeem, who was trying to eavesdrop.
“Stop projecting, dude. Who is obviously gossiping here?” he asked, glaring at me fiercely.
“What’s the celebration about?” Jerald asked, sitting right beside Hakeem.
Oh crap, my table is officially congested with the very people I was trying to avoid.
Ignoring him, I faced Hakeem and continued, “Then why were you obviously trying to eavesdrop on our conversation?”
“Why are you guys never at peace with each other?” Jerald asked, tilting his head to look at both of us.
“You mind your business,” I snapped at him.
“Don’t transfer your frustration on me, old woman,” Jerald retorted aggressively.
The way everyone, including me, burst out laughing surprised me. Nobody expected that reply.
The hall went quiet, and only echoes of our laughter lingered.
“I wasn’t kidding when I said that,” Jerald continued, still sounding aggressive. “You love nagging.”
I struggled with Hakeem all through breakfast without saying a word to Jerald. On several occasions, I noticed him staring, but for my sanity, I let the sleeping dog lie. Dina, on the other hand, kept having meaningless conversations with Ben, and they both seemed to be enjoying it.
I rushed my breakfast so I could leave the dining hall early and avoid any conversation with Jerald.
While leaving, I could feel his cold gaze escorting me to the exit. I tripped while trying to rush out.
“Div, Div,” Dina called out, trying to imitate Jerald’s voice. The first time she called, my heart skipped. I almost thought it was Jerald.
She laughed at me as we walked back to the terminal where our bus was parked. A few students were already queuing up, waiting for departure.
Dina and I quickly joined the queue. I kept turning back to make sure Jerald wasn’t coming. If he was, there was a huge possibility we would be paired to sit together. On the other hand, Dina kept turning back, anxiously hoping for Ben to show up so they could be paired.
My prayers were answered when a couple of guys joined the queue and neither Jerald nor Ben was in sight.
We were about to get into the bus when I turned, looking around. “Where’s Jerald and Ben?” I asked Hakeem, but he ignored me. I grew more anxious when we were already in the bus and they were still nowhere in sight.
Our staff was about to step down from the bus to look for them when we suddenly sighted both of them running from a distance, each holding a traditional Chinese bag.
I felt relieved when they both settled. I was even more relieved when a nerdy guy in the 12th grade ended up sitting beside me.
“I’m about ditching you, bro,” Dina said, turning to look at me from the seat in front.
“What do you even mean…” I hadn’t finished talking when Dina stood up and headed straight to where Ben was seated.
I didn’t need a prophet to tell me she was about to swap seats with Lucy, a 12th grader who was seated beside Ben. Unlike other 12th graders, Lucy was lowkey and nice, almost to a fault, since she let people walk all over her.
It wasn’t long after Dina left that Lucy walked over and replaced her. I let out a smirk at my accuracy in guessing.
We had just started our journey when Kaestrings, one of the most cunning boys in my class, took out his guitar and began playing.
At first, he played hymns and gospel songs, which made the atmosphere lighter. Virtually everyone in the bus sang along as he played. Ben took us all by surprise the moment he began rapping. Everyone began cheering him on, some hitting their chairs and anything around to form a beat for him.
After his rapping, it took a few seconds for everywhere to go quiet again.
I was staring blankly through the window, admiring the beautiful scenery, while everyone else was either busy chatting on their phones or talking with their partners.
I felt a bit too comfortable as I slept. That was when I realized I had accidentally fallen asleep, worse, on the shoulder of the nerd sitting beside me.
In my heart, I was excited that I didn’t drool on his shoulder. Still closing my eyes, I began to strategize, trying to find the perfect way to take my head off his shoulder while avoiding any awkwardness.
I resorted to lifting my head from his shoulder and slamming it lightly against the window, still pretending to be asleep.
I tried again to take my head off his shoulder, but he aggressively pressed my head back onto his shoulder.
After two failed attempts, I got pissed. I stopped the act and opened my eyes.
“What the!?” I exclaimed, raising my head to freedom. I was about to scold him, only to be met with a shocker.