Chapter 44 RIVALS RISING
Godiva POV
“What!” I exclaimed, dragging the piece of paper dangling from Leo’s hands.
“What do we call this?” Dina asked in an unusually soft tone.
“When did you register for this competition?” I asked Leo, who was smiling uncontrollably.
“Last night,” he replied, smirking.
“There’s nothing power can’t do,” Lis’s voice rang from behind as she approached us with arms folded, wearing a satisfactory smile.
“We both know you have no need for the competition, so why?” Dina asked in the softest manner ever.
“Sit tight and watch Jerald cheer me on,” Lis replied, snatching the list from Leo and heading to the bulletin board.
“You just wanna take this competition because of Jerald?” I thundered.
“Yep,” she replied, opening the bulletin board.
“We just need to double our study,” I said, equally downcast.
“I guess you can now ask the meaning of Diva X,” Jerald attacked me the second we entered the class. Ignoring him, I brushed his shoulder and walked away. He attempted teasing Dina also, but she equally ignored him.
We sat facing the window, both dispirited.
“Why are you ignoring me?” Jerald whispered in my ear.
“Get the hell out of my front,” I thundered, hitting my desk hard and standing up, causing the class to stare at me.
“Why are you barking?” he said, making the class laugh hard.
“Just get lost,” I warned and took my seat. He kept on talking, but all he was saying was deliberately ignored by me.
All through classes, Dina and I remained mute, not saying a word to each other or to anyone.
“Why are you both quiet?” the phonetics teacher asked, noticing our silence because we were always active in class. We were either responding to questions or asking them.
“I heard they are down because the school registered Leo and Lis as a duo for the competition,” I heard someone whisper to Jerald as we walked out of the class with our bags.
“I’ll see you later, bro,” Dina said as we parted ways at the bridge that stood between the main city and the slum part of Mavick City, where the nurses’ quarters were located.
The bridge was a very large and beautiful one that clearly symbolized the distinction between the rich and poor in society. The view of the part of the bridge facing the city was beautifully designed and well maintained, while the side facing the slum carried worn-out paint and looked very rugged.
I headed for the ‘Youngs’ in an unusually quiet manner for my tutorial session with Jenny. If I had my way, I’d have simply decided not to go that day since my mood was already ruined.
“Divaaa!” Jenny exclaimed the moment I stepped into the compound and ran toward me, stretching her arms for a hug.
I didn’t know why Jenny was so different from other rich folks. She was simply humble to the core and didn’t think high and mighty of herself like the others. I hoped in my heart she continued in that manner, since many of them were humble as kids but transformed into being arrogant the second they grew and knew what wealth meant. I silently prayed for Jenny not to end up with that pompous attitude.
“My girl,” I exclaimed, picking Jenny, who was wearing a Chinese dress and putting on Chinese makeup, up from the ground.
“I’ve missed you, Div,” she said, wrapping her arms around my neck.
I couldn’t help but smile. That was the first time I was smiling all through that day.
“I missed you too, girlie,” I said, tickling her with my other hand as she screamed in an adorable manner. “So can Jenny tell me why she’s in Chinese clothes and makeup?” I teased as she smiled and dropped down.
I asked her the question that way because she was always referring to herself in third person.
“Jenny had a memorial for father,” she replied soberly.
“I guess they told her about her parents, alas,” I thought to myself. Her parents had died two weeks apart from each other when she was barely two years old, and all the while she had been living with Jerald, thinking ‘The Youngs’ were her parents.
Walking into the sitting room, I sighted Ben watching “Love and Divorce,” a reality show popular amongst the youths. I least expected Ben to be drawn to those kinds of programs.
“You watch this too!” I exclaimed, smiling from cheek to cheek.
“Yes, why?” he responded, smiling and waving at me.
“Well, just because,” I replied, smiling as I headed for the study.
“Hope you did all of my assignments?” I asked Jenny, who was smiling mischievously. She had barely answered me when the door swung open and Jerald was standing there with his hands in his pocket, looking. I ignored his presence and began flipping the pages of Jenny’s mathematics textbook.
“Remember all I taught you about percentage?” I asked Jenny, who was obviously distracted by Jerald’s presence.
“Jenny!” I whispered in her ear, making her jumpy.
“I’m sorry, I was being distracted by the figure at the door,” Jenny said, pointing at Jerald.
“Then you ignore the figure just like I did,” I said to Jenny, patting her silky hair.
“What party is happening here?” Lis said, swinging the door open, thereby announcing her presence.
“What do you think is happening?” I said, arrogantly responding to her dumb question.
“Dad calls for you,” she said to Jerald, locking arms with him and leading him out of the room.
“Hmph,” Jenny exclaimed, nodding from left to right. “I sometimes wonder if Lis has a house because the only moment she’s not here is at night,” Jenny announced, sounding pissed.
“You, my girl, are too young to worry about all these,” I jokingly teased, flicking her on the forehead.
She hated it the most when people said she was too young for anything.
“I’m a big girl,” she retorted, sounding even more angry.
“I know, girl,” I quickly responded, rubbing my palms on her head in a circular motion.
Not long after, the door swung open again. It was Jerald. This time around, he walked in and took a seat beside me at the table.
“Jerald, I am seriously going to tell your father you always distract our class if you don’t leave now,” I threatened.
“Chill, girl. I came here because I have a plan about the competition Leo and Lis signed in for,” he whispered, moving closer. The sound of that made my ears tingle.
“You say what?” I asked, pretending not to have heard what he said earlier.
“I have a plan,” he shouted, counting his words.