Chapter 65 ENCOUNTER AND UNSPOKEN TRUTHS
Godiva POV
All through the lecture, I kept checking my wristwatch as I patiently awaited the lunch break. It was as if the snack I ate only made me even more hungry. I jumped to my feet the second the bell rang.
"Are you that hungry?" Dina mocked, watching me hurry toward the dining hall.
"Next time, don’t go to bed after provoking your Mama," she teased as we settled down for lunch.
"Hey, girls." Ben slid into the seat beside Dina, and Jerald followed, taking the seat next to me without a word.
"Are you alright, Jerald? You don’t seem okay," Dina observed, concern lacing her voice.
"How can someone claim to love you and go for lunch without you?" Jerald shot back, his tone dripping with petty annoyance.
"The hell?" I burst out laughing, unable to stop myself. "You are so cute."
"Your girl was rushing to eat since she didn’t have breakfast at home before coming," Dina added, laughing harder.
"For real, Zhino?" he turned to me, a grumpy edge in his gaze.
"Yep." I stayed focused on my food.
"Zhino!" Dina and Ben chorused.
"Yep, Zhino," Jerald echoed, a smile tugging at his lips.
"You didn’t tell me you had a pet name already," Dina teased, nudging her leg against mine.
"How could I have possibly told you when you spent all your break with your so amor?" I retorted, pointing at Ben.
We were still eating and talking when my eyes spotted Lis my heart pounded faster as she approached.
Then suddenly she slammed her plates onto my table with a loud bang, drawing everyone’s attention.
"What’s the meaning of this?" Dina asked calmly.
"Why are you whispering?" Lis snapped, her voice rising. "You don’t want everyone to know how cheap your bestie is, blindly falling for both brothers."
"You should shut up if you don’t know anything," Ben cut in sharply.
"I’m not even talking to you. I’m talking to my man, so stay out of it," she fired back.
"And who is your man?" Jerald leaned forward, his voice edged with irritation. "You’re already acting crazy, so leave now before you further embarrass yourself."
"Thanks, Bling," I murmured into his ear with a smile.
"Disgusting. You should be ashamed of yourself," Lis barked. "Jerald rightly said it the other time, you’re just a gold-digging bitch."
"Hey, mind your language. I won’t sit here and let you call me names." I finally pointed at her.
"Then why don’t you stand and hear her call you names?"
Leo’s husky voice cut in as he approached.
"Always going where you’re not invited," Dina mocked, laughing.
"And who says he’s not invited? He’s a victim of your bitchy act," Lis thundered. "And if you, Jerald, ain’t careful, you’ll be the next victim."
"Thanks for the concern, but I’d love to be a victim if Div is the perpetrator." Jerald winked at me.
The hall erupted with cheers and laughter.
"Can someone pick on me too so Ben can defend me?" Dina called out, bursting into laughter.
"Not like you’re exempted, you cheap slut," Leo barked.
"Is this like a gang-up for losers?" I mocked, pointing at Lis and Leo. "Leo lost Dina, and Lis lost Jerald."
Laughter burst out again as I continued.
"You may think you’re dating Jerald, but his parents will never, ever give any of you piglets the slightest opportunity to be with their sons," Lis sneered, sticking out the tip of her tongue.
"Elite and paupers love only happens on TV, so stop dreaming, sluts," Leo added.
"Well, since you called me a piglet, oink oink." I mimicked a pig.
"Jokes on you, you let a pig snatch your man." I laughed, and the hall exploded again.
"Since we’re on the topic, the next time you run your mouth and feed my parents lies about my girl, I won’t let it slide." Jerald’s tone turned cold as he grabbed my hand and pulled me away, with Ben and Dina trailing behind us.
After the showdown, the boys left leaving me and Dina time to gossip.
"Someone tell me why they said it’s too early for us to get boyfriends," Dina said, blushing as we walked toward the library.
"Guy, it still feels surreal that Jerald stood up for me," I added, smiling uncontrollably.
We approached the school gate when Jerald and Ben blocked our paths.
"What! Why are you two here again?" I snapped the moment we spotted them at the school gate waiting for us.
"You don’t learn lessons?" Dina teased, wrapping her arms around Ben.
"We learn, which is why we attended our research school before coming here today." Jerald’s hand slid around my waist.
"That reminds me, I now know you both got your fierceness from your mothers," Ben said, laughing.
"You get the vibe. I thought Diva’s mum was worse, not until I heard Dina’s mum’s response," he added, still laughing.
"My mum?" I stared at him, shocked.
"Yes, your mum," Ben confirmed.
"See why we always say you both need phones? We wanted to call you and give you a heads-up about my mum’s plan to call your mothers, but there was no way we could do that," Jerald explained.
"What did my Mama say?" I asked, already smiling.
"Your Mama was like, ‘You warn your obsessed son to stay off my pretty damsel, and you also take your nosey self off teenage problems,’" Jerald said, imitating her.
"You don’t mean it?" I locked eyes with Dina in disbelief.
"Yes, I mean it. Remind me the last thing she said," Jerald prompted, glancing at Ben.
"She was like, ‘Piss off,’" Ben added, mimicking her tone.
I couldn’t stop smiling all through our walk back home. I never expected Mama to stand up for me. Deep down, I knew I owed her an apology.
"Well, we must part ways here." Jerald slowed to a stop at the foot of the bridge.
Dina and I exchanged a long look. We both knew what needed to be done.
"So, we will be escorting you home today," Dina finally announced.
"Yeah, to say hi to your parents and Jenny," I added.
"What!" they both exclaimed, stunned.