Chapter 54 AVOIDANCE AND SPARKS
Godiva POV
“Di, is it my eyes or is Jerald sitting over there?” I asked, pointing my head in his direction.
“Where?” she asked in a panic.
“There,” I replied, still pointing my head in his direction. I didn’t want to use my finger in order not to arouse suspicions.
“That’s him for real,” Dina replied, pretending to be shocked.
“Di, what did you do? How did Jerald get here?” I asked aggressively.
“I rea… really have no idea,” she muttered, stuttering and licking her lips. That was what she did whenever she was lying or being mischievous.
“Bro, cut with the fake act. How did Jerald know about this program?” I pressed, sounding even more angry.
“Maybe he saw the flier or something like that,” she answered, still licking her lips and looking around.
“You realize you’re licking your lips now, yeah? You’re a liar,” I snapped, walking away from where we were to where the other members were standing.
“I’m sorry, girl. I’m not giving an excuse, but I had no option,” Dina said, looking very humble, which almost made me laugh.
When I ignored her, she continued, “Yesterday at the skatepark, I met with Jerald and Ben coincidentally. I guess they thought we were going to skate since it was the weekend, so they waited there. They insisted on following me home to see you. I knew that was going to mean hell, so I had to tell them this was the only place they could see you. I think they wanted to apologize about what happened,” she explained seriously.
“Was that why you didn’t stay long at the skatepark and came back acting weird?” I asked.
“Hell yeah, bro. I rushed back to tell you, but I knew it was going to lead to something different, which was why I kept quiet,” she laughed.
“I guess they can keep their apologies to themselves,” I said, joining Dina in laughing.
The big moment was finally here. It was time for us to sing. Thankfully, our song got many in the crowd emotional. While I was singing the last verse, I did my best taking my eyes off Jerald, but it was almost impossible since he stood on his feet and cheered the whole time I was singing.
I heaved a deep sigh of relief when we got off the stage after singing for almost thirty minutes.
“My legs were shaky the whole while, babe,” Riley said to Dan, wrapping her hands around his neck.
Dina and I looked at each other and burst out laughing very loudly. The cold glare that came from Riley sent both of us laughing again as we walked down from the backstage.
“I’m going home,” I told Dina as we came out of the door leading to the stage.
“What? Why? But the program is far from over,” Dina protested, looking lost.
“I don’t care. I don’t want to say anything to Jerald,” I replied, extending my hands to her for a handshake.
“Then I guess we move together,” Dina decided, ignoring my hands as we turned to leave.
“So how do you think you’ll react if you see Jerald in school tomorrow?” Dina suddenly popped up a question.
“I guess I’ll pretend, because honestly I’ve never been looked down upon in that manner,” I answered, sounding distraught.
“Or are you just hurt Jerald didn’t try to make the situation better?” Dina teased, raising her brows at me.
“Get lost, bro,” I laughed, hitting her face with the throw pillow I was cuddling.
All through the night, I kept turning restlessly. I didn’t want to go to school because I had to look for ways to avoid Jerald.
“Why did he see me crying!” I screamed inaudibly in my room.
I woke up the next morning energized, but the thought of seeing Jerald at school made me dispirited.
“Don’t worry, girl. I won’t give him the slightest opportunity to speak to you,” Dina assured me as we walked to school.
“I don’t fully trust you, snitch,” I shot back, running as she chased after me.
We arrived in class the same time as our homeroom teacher. I felt very excited because it meant I was a step closer to avoiding Jerald. I just had to do my best avoiding him during the long break, lunch, and closing.
“You can do it,” I whispered to myself almost audibly.
“Care to share your thoughts on family, Godiva?” the citizenship education staff spoke, making me jumpy.
“I have no comments,” I responded, giving her a fake smile.
“What does a child raised by a single mother know about family?” Jerald remarked in loud whispers which were heard by almost everyone in class, including the teacher.
In no time, the class went wild with laughter and murmurs as the staff did her best silencing the class.
“I guess a child raised by a single mother learns about family more than an abused child with no parental care,” I thundered back aggressively, making the class go even wilder.
I noticed Hakeem laughing and giving me a thumbs up, which I found weird. At that point, I couldn’t help but think if what Dina said about him developing feelings for me were true.
I was about leaving the class when Ben suddenly walked into the class, followed by Lis. Lis stopped at Jerald’s desk while Ben sat on Harris’ seat.
“Hello, Ben,” Dina and I chorused simultaneously.
“Hey, we were at the park to see you days back, but someone wouldn’t let us,” he noted, glaring at Dina, who laughed.
“If she had brought you guys over to the house, I’d probably not even be here talking to any of you,” I replied, letting out my signature evil smile.
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing hard for over ten minutes non-stop as Ben kept giving us entertaining gist about their childhood. I never knew Ben had a chatty and interesting side of him.
“Tell us more,” Dina urged enthusiastically when he paused for a while.
“Don’t you need to buy snacks today?” Ben teased.
“Forget about snacks or—” Dina was saying when she was cut rudely by Jerald.
“I need to talk to you now,” he cut in, holding my hands.
“What’s wrong with you?” I snapped, breaking free from his grip after struggling.
“We are having a conversation and don’t need no distraction,” Jerald threw out of the blues, making Dina and me look shocked.