AMBUSH.

"Ella, I don't stalk people," he laughs.

That's exactly what a stalker would say. "I don't believe you. Okay, how did you know that I was here?"

"I guessed?" He pauses, then laughs again, as though he's laughing at his bad excuse. 

My brother turns towards us and pinches David's nose. Pinching people's noses have become a sort of a habit for him, especially if he does it once and finds out that that person's nose is soft. After a while, David swats his hand away. He frowns, gives him a "don't interrupt me look" and pinches it again.

"Loser," I mutter. He hears it and replies with the usual. 

"Coconut head."

David shakes his head with a smile. We stay In the room for a while talking and laughing until the bell for the final exam rang. On the way down to the exam hall, I poke David who was walking ahead of me with my finger. 

"Just so you know, I don't plan on sitting On my own for this exam, and I fully expect you to help me." I don't know how a person can snort, scoff and laugh in a 'you're on your own' kind of way all at the same time but he does perfectly making me frown. I should have been expecting that because he's too innocent. A few minutes later, we were seated in the hall and the papers were handed out. Due to the intense bad luck I've been blessed with, the hall was scanty. Scanty enough that every single person taking an elective language could have a bench all to themselves, without a seating partner. No cheating for me, yay.

Despite the little bump in my plans, the exam was quite okay, at least for the little I could translate. It wasn't like it was in secondary school, where if you had a language exam, one of the invigilators who actually TAUGHT the subject would read and translate each question, making it more than easy enough to write. When I finally left the exam hall, outside, the school compound was a mess. Exam question papers and torn notebooks were littered all across the compound, accompanied with biscuit and snack wrappers.

"Beautiful sight huh?" My brother said, suddenly beside me. 

I laughed, "It's beautiful alright. Good thing we aren't the ones that are going to clean it," I say, wholly relieved. We walked to our classes to gather our things and came back outside. Now everyone else was done with exams so the interlock was teaming with students. I'm about to say something to my brother when Favour suddenly appears beside me and loops her arm through mine, pulling me away slightly before stopping to greet my brother.

"Emmanuel, what's up?"

 He replies with a nod and a weirdly forced smile. I laugh at the awkward response as she resumes leading me to wherever she's going.

"You've been hanging out with those boys too much. You've abandoned me." She complained, referring to David and Tobi. I actually haven't been hanging out with them that much, but it's not like she would notice. She has her hands full with her many admirers. 

"My popularity is FINALLY at its peak. Now I have to be stolen just so someone can get a taste of my attention." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I burst out laughing. Favour not far behind.

"Emma, you're not serious."

"So where are you taking me to?" I finally ask, because I don' think I cam keep my lazy ass walking any longer. She shushes me and keeps walking. After a while, we stop at the door of one the classes on the ground floor of the junior class blocks. Three people were seated inside. I immediately recognized them as the friends that dragged Favour out of the class on sports day and surprise surprise, Edith was one of them. I haven't really seem much of her since she almost fucked me over, shockingly. I don't mind anyways. How could i?

I take a deep breath and turn to Favour, who is standing there smiling like she's seeing flowers everywhere. "What is this?" She burst out laughing for a whole minute before she calms down and replies.

"So you know how I told you that I told my friends to try talking to you? Well, that is happening now."

I'm full on frowning at this point. I want to SCREAM at her, but I don't. I should have stopped and demanded to know where she was taking me. "And you couldn't have warned me?" I sigh heavily, dragging my hand down my face.

"If I had told you, you'd have run away." She states simply. 

I smile, knowing it's completely true. My socially awkward self does not like being forced into things. SOCIAL things. Let's get this crap over with already. I grab her by the shoulder and push her inside the classroom, then walk in after. Putting on a fake, bright smile that could rival actors in a toothpaste commercial, I yell. "HI!"

The class is quiet for 60 long seconds. Could have been shorter but it seemed like that long, before Edith -bless her dark soul- throws both hands up and yells my name with a smile. 

"So you're the person that Favour was coming with. She didn't want to tell us who."

 "Atleast you were TOLD something. She didn't tell me anything." 

"Don't mind her. It's her forehead that's controlling her." One of the other two girls says with mock annoyance in her voice. 

I force a laugh because I'm trying to be sociable. Honestly, I don't see what I'm doing here. I mean, if they already have an image of me in -the one they want- in their head, then what's the point of all this? It's not like they're going to change it.

Favour claps her hands, halting anymore forehead comments😂 "Okay, let's leave my forehead alone. Emma, this is Esther," she gestures to a big -I'm being polite and not calling her fat- light skinned girl. She smiles. "And this is Dami." She does the same to the slim dark girl sitting beside her. She smiles too.

When she's done, the atmosphere becomes awkward. I don't know what else I'm supposed to do or what I'm actually supposed to talk about with them. I'd take talking to Ruth over this situation in a heartbeat. After a while, the three friends start talking about different things. No need for me to be actively involved so I make comments when necessary and laugh when necessary. I feel like I'm in a fancy formal business party like in movies.

By the time I finally make an excuse and leave, something about how my brother must be looking for me, knowing fully well that I'm the last thing on his mind, I'm completely drained. whoever thinks that socializing isn't a chore must be stupid. I wander back to my class to rest when Tobi walk in. It's just me and him now and i could do with REAL company right now.

"Fine girl, what are you doing here. Where's Favour?"

"She's somewhere in the junior class block, and I'm here because I'm tired. Socializing isn't easy."

He laughs. "Why do you say so?"

"Favour forced- no let's not say forced. She ambushed me with her close friends, Esther, Dami and Edith and made me talk to them or made them talk to me, either way, just cause their opinion of me isn't good."

Tobi looses it and after a while I loose it too. Saying it out loud makes the whole thing sound absurd and funny. I wonder how we look like to people passing outside the class. A boy and girl in an empty class, laughing hysterically. When our laughter subsided to giggles, he replies.

"Why does she care what they think about you. I know she should but at the same time, she shouldn't. If you're her friend, she should have just told them that they were wrong or something and leave it at that if they don't agree, instead of forcing you guys to talk. That's just strange."

I could kiss this boy right now. "You have no idea how strange it was. The Esther girl, I could feel her dislike." And that was true. She acted like I wasn't worth her time. 

"That's how she is sometimes. She feels above everyone." 

"Well whatever. I'm not forcing friendship with anyone."

"Yeah, I can see. You already have your circle." He's quiet for a minute before he says what he's been thinking about. "So what's with you and David and Ruth?"

For the second time in an hour, I'm laughing hysterically again. New record.