CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER TEN

Chloe’s point of view

Trina was right. Kaffy was very stubborn and independent. She hardly talked about her issues yet she stood up for us even though she wasn’t the most emotionally attuned person I know.

‘My uncle in Nigeria died and two of his daughters would be staying over,’ Kaffy whispered. She looked crestfallen and sad. She continued, ‘I feel so sorry for his daughters. The eldest is my playmate that I talked to you about. I remember the last time we played together in Nigeria. I promised to convince her father to let her come over to keep me company. Who would have known that she’d come over but not under kind circumstances’

Trina smiled at her and whispered some soothing words in Yoruba which made Kaffy smile. We didn’t try to say something too philosophical. Kaffy hated anything mushy or sentimental and preferred practical solutions.

‘Take a deep breath and have some ice cream sundae. The delivery would get to you soon. I know it’s gonna be a huge change but we’ll go through it, a step at a time,’ I advised.

Looking at their expectant faces, I sighed, ‘Ann is stirring up trouble again. She came over and I realized that I am being kept in the dark about several things.’

My voice started to break, ‘Tim has always been there for me. In a way, I think I expected him to be this strong man for me but I have been selfish. He started parenting from a young age. He should have been partying with his friends but instead, he was stuck babysitting his sister.’

‘It is not your fault, okay? Do not blame yourself. What you should do now is to just be a better sister to him,’ Kaffy opined.

I nodded, wiping my tears. I smiled at them. We were really fortunate to have one another in the midst of all the storms.

After an hour of talking on the phone with the girls, I decided to take a walk. I changed into a tank top and shorts and picked my airpods from the table. I smiled, feeling hopeful and light.

I set the music on shuffle. ‘Like you’ by Tatiana Manaois began to play. I walked for about thirty minutes until I saw a dessert shop. I walked in, enjoying the aroma of the sugar and sweets.

I really missed sweets. Mom never let me have them. She was always talking about how they weren’t classy and they’d make me fat.She only gave me one sweet whenever I did something that really pleased her which was rare as her expectations were really high. Even after she left, I found it hard to eat sweets except I was super stressed. I felt that I didn’t deserve it and her voice always nagged me in my head. She really had a strong hold on me.

I walked to the counter and ordered the sumptuous bowl of ice cream and a box of chocolates. I held it gingerly and sat at the extreme end of the shop where people rarely paid attention to. I took a deep breath, taking the scent in.

I took a spoon of the icecream but I was scared to eat it. I dropped the spoon into the bowl. I felt someone sit at my table. I looked up to see Leo. He had a tentative smile on his face.

‘Hi,’ he whispered. I literally froze. He wore a green tank top and black joggers. ‘You having issues eating that?’ he continued and reached for my bowl of icecream. He scooped a spoon into his mouth.

I laughed heartily, ‘Okay. Who the hell are you and what have you done to the ever serious Leo?’ He chuckled, ‘I saw that you seemed… well… upset and I wanted you to feel better.’

He gestured towards the ice cream. I smiled and took a spoon of the ice cream.

It was heavenly.I moaned at the delight, having a foodgasm. He chuckled, ‘You really must have been starved of your sweets.’

I ignored him and that made him laugh even harder.

‘You really are cute,’ he muttered. ‘Do you wanna hang out with me next wednesday?’ I gasped in surprise, my eyes widening. He rubbed his hands nervously. I t was kinda cute seeing him nervous.I smiled, ‘I’ll think about it.’ He smiled back.

Spending time with Leo was nice. He was an attentive listener that made you just want to spill your guts to him which was a sharp contrast to the tough always frowning head boy persona he displayed in school.

I didn’t know when we got to my house. It was like time had just sped by without us realizing. He let go of my hand and hugged me goodbye. He watched me go inside before leaving. As soon as I got to my room, my phone dinged. It was a text from Leo. I went to bed that night with a smile.

The next day at lunch, I was seated with Trina and Kaffy when the boys: Leo, Jay, Nick and Cole, came to our table to say hi. It was weird at first but the girls soon warmed up to them and we were all laughing our asses out.

Mindy was seething and glaring at our table. If looks could kill, we’d all be dead by now. When she could not take it anymore, she walked up to us with her minions.

‘Well, well, well. Look what we have here. Don’t think you’ll become famous by rubbing off the boys,’ she drawled.

Kaffy, who had had enough of her crap, stood up and dragged Mindy away from us. Nobody heard what she said to her but Mindy seemed so angrier and tried to slap Kaffy. Kaffy held her hand and said something we couldn’t figure out and left Mindy teary eyed.

We were all speechless when Kaffy came back to the table.

‘What did you do?’ Jay asked. Kaffy sighed, ‘I just put her in her place. She cannot keep on going around and bullying others.’ She rubbed her temples tired but she smiled as Cole handed her a cup of coffee.