CHAPTER TWO

Trina was of mixed race; born of a yoruba brazillian mother and a latin-american father. She was so bubbly and funny. She immediately clicked with Kaffy, especially since Kaffy was also yoruba, though from Nigeria.

We hung out after school, talked about different things, ranging from life,fashion, ideologies,boys, everything and anything. Trina was so loud and bold, which was quite different and refreshing. Kaffy wasn’t quiet, she was sassy and savage, in a way different from Trina.

School was more bearable as I had two besties by my side. Mindy became the prey, instead of the predator as Trina kept paying her back in her own coin It was quite fun.

Lest I forgot, the school was ruled by four hot guys…well…they didn’t have a cliche name or something or a gang with a leader. They just hung out a lot, and looked like God created them on a Saturday.

They were Nick Turners, Jay Wright, Cole Alfred and Leo Sanders. Nick was a photographer, he was nice and reserved, ready to help whenever he could. Rumours had it that he was also a bad ass painter. I would have dismissed it as a huge lie but mother nature could be so unfair with the distribution of talents.

Jay was the typical bad boy, well… not so typical as the toxic dude who’d break your heart and wring it out to dry. He was a huge flirt however, loved sports and showed off his muscles whenever he could, so egoistic and damn playful.

Cole was a music prodigy, could play whatever instrument you could imagine or maybe I was exaggerating but he was excellent. He was quite the deep philosophical thinker, a little melancholic and dark.

Leo was the intellectual guy who never smiled, always serious and high achieving. He hardly spoke unless it was necessary.

Honestly, the combination of these four guys was a literal bomb. They complemented one another and amassed lots of envy and admiration. Guys wanted to be them and of course, Mindy found ways to hover round them.

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Besties and I held a sleep-over at Kaffy’s. It was so exhilarating. We made some muffins, had a little food fight, played some games and of course, what would a sleep-over be without a pillow fight?

Trina was a great make-up artist, we had learned earlier, however she wouldn’t budge until I’d be used as a dummy. She opted for a nude look. I was quite nervous because I would definitely be discovered.

“Do you use make-up to alter your looks?” I ignored the question until Kaffy sighed, “Yes, she does. I kinda knew since, I have sisters but I did broach the topic since you didn’t mention it”

“I still don’t want to talk about it” I stood up, walking to the balcony. Suddenly, I felt arms around me. It was Trina, “Chica, you don’t have to talk about it. What matters is that you have us and we immensely love you. When you are ready, we are.”

Thankfully, it was all fun and light, nothing deep, after Trina gave unsolicited fashion tips and a long lecture on how to embrace the inner me, whatever that meant but I did learn that well defined curls made my face pop.

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Fliers were being distributed about a music concert headed by Cole obviously. An extremely hyper Trina literally flung herself at me,her face inches from mine “Chica, guess what???!” She screamed like a lunatic.

“Boundaries, sweetheart”, I chuckled and pulled away from her. “I signed you up for the concert,”Trina smiled.

My face, suddenly red and hot, I screamed, “You did what?! You ever heard of consent”

She suddenly turned morose, giving me the puppy eyes, “I am sorry. I noticed the looks you kept giving the fliers. You obviously wanted to participate. I just wanted to give you the boost I could.”

Sighing, I drew her in, “It’s alright. I’ll just opt out or something” She was about to protest when Cole appeared from nowhere.

“I saw the video you uploaded on your Insta, Trina. It’s amazing. I am so happy you three have signed up for the choir. I look forward to seeing you at the auditions after school.”

Speechless, I watched him walk away. “He’s a work of art, yeah but stop ogling him,” Trina scoffed.

Stuttering, I started to object, “No, I was just shocked and what video was he talking about?”

Smiling sheepishly, she tried to run but I firmly held her collar. Reluctantly, she played a video of us singing along to FRED ASTAIRE by JUKEBOX THE GHOST.

I was appalled as we were dressed like crazy popstars in the sixties, decked in heavy make-up, holding make-believe microphones. I’d be rolling on the ground in laughter if

I weren't one of those in the video; the butt of the joke. Like…what the hell was Trina thinking recording and uploading that video for the whole school to see! My already wrecked reputation was now in shambles.

Boiling in fury, I turned to Trina, who had started to run. I ran after her like a lunatic, screaming like a banshee.

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After berating Trina to my satisfaction, Kaffy literally dragged our asses to the audition. Miss Smith, the old music teacher who was in charge, kept making awkward jokes about our video, and made us sing FRED ASTAIRE by JUKEBOX THE GHOST.

Okay…it wasn’t so bad, I did enjoy myself a teeny little bit. We got into the choir and of course, Mindy kept giving me the stink eye but I didn’t care anymore. Cole was actually quite kind, making sure we weren’t so uncomfortable.

Mindy was called out to sing and I gotta admit she was quite good actually. She was an amazing soprano. Who knew how much time she spent taking singing lessons? She was quite the perfectionist.

I had no idea how the voting happened but somehow, Mindy and I were a tie and we would have a music battle for the lead soprano in three days time. I had a feeling Miss Smith was actually bored with her life and wanted a little spice and Mindy and I were the unfortunate guinea pigs.

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