CHAPTER 19

Mindy and Bianca were left in a face-off. The gym was thick with

tension I could almost use a knife to cut it.

The room was as silent as a graveyard. Trixie, for the first time

since I’ve known her, was nervous.

Coach Harper had her hands crossed, excited at the suspense. I

prayed that Bianca won. She was my friend and I wanted to see her

happy. I also wanted to see Mindy and Trixie lose. I was that petty.

They both held their balls and started to fire and dodge. Mindy

was agile but I had to give in to Bianca. She was perfect. Her

acrobatic skills were on point. She definitely was an acrobat.

Bianca threw a ball at Mindy. Mindy back flipped to dodge the

ball.

Unfortunately, she was vulnerable for a split second. Bianca took advantage of that and made a kill. She hit Mindy.

Everyone cheered for Bianca. Coach Harper screamed,

“Brilliant!”. There was whistling and clapping.

Trixie was boiling in fury and gave Mindy the stink eye. She

rushed outside the gym afterwards.

Anya and Leah went to give Bianca hugs while I smiled at her

whispering, “congratulations”. She acknowledge me with a nod.

It was time for group B and C to battle. We were assembled and

armed with our balls, waiting for coach Harper to blow her whistle.

“Pffft!!!”, coach Harper's whistle was blown. We proceeded to

attack and defend. It was exciting, though not as much as the first

one.

Group B won the round and we jumped in excitement. Coach Harper blew her whistle and moved to the centre of the

gym, “Listen, ladies. This is the end of the tournament. The winner

of each round gets five point while the losers don't. That is all. No

more brittle. I need to go now.”

She looked at Bianca's tag, “42, you are quite something. That

was impressive. Are you an athlete?”

Bianca sighed, “No, ma'am.” Coach Harper looked at her, eyes

squinted like she was looking into her soul.

“Okay! See me later today.”, she ordered.

We all dispersed to our rooms. I took a shower and rested for a

while. I gave Trina and kaffy the gist of how today went on our

telegram group chat.

Anya was getting prepared for an outing. Leah was lost in

whatever she was writing. Bianca had gone to see coach Harper. I

was a little bored so I decided to take a walk in one of the garden.

I heard two familiar female voices. I was curious so I walked

towards the voices.

“You are such a loser! You are the reason fifteen of us lost five

freaking points!”, the first voice screamed.

The second voice retorted, “Oh! Cut me that crap! You are just a

bully with issues that tries to lord over everyone else.”

The former clapped back, “Bully?! You are a pot calling a kettle

black. Look at me, bitch! There is no difference between you and

me. We are both girls, bad bitches who know what we want and go

for it. We bulldoze whoever stand in our way. I am you and you are

me. Therefore, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay the hell

away from my path or I’ll bulldoze you!”

I walked closer to the voices, to see Trixie brush past Mindy, who

nervously rubbed her hands together. I chose to ignore them and find a quiet place to sit. I was texting

Nick who recommended a good Nigerian series, “Blood sisters.”

I downloaded the series and started to watch. Mindy sat beside

me while I chose to ignore her. She began to speak, “That’s a good

series, you know?”

She was met with silence and took a deep breath.

“You did great today. I know I have not been...”

At that point, I cut her off, “Mindy, I know everything must have

been intense for you. You probably have your story and all that but

that is not going to change a thing. We are competitors who are

acquainted through a school. We don't have a peachy history. You

have been bullying me for years. My real identity is out one day

and you are suddenly being not cruel. Whatever crookery is going

on here, I want no part in it. Stay away!”

I sat back, relaxing into the mood, ignoring a shocked Mindy. She

left a few minutes later.

I looked at my inbox to see a message from Leo, “Hey, wanna hang

out?”

Me: sure!

Leo: I am coming to the TPO. What do you want me to bring?

Me: Cookies, chocolate, marshmallows and pie would be great.

Leo: Tf?? That’s quite a lot. Have you been starved of sugar?

Me: Nah! It's a test.

Leo: Fr?? Okay! I’ll be there in ten.

Leo: Wait! What type of pie should I bring? Drink?

Me: Anything but soda. It's a test.

Leo: Okay, princess. Will be with you soon. I was smiling when I got to my room.

“You talked to your boyfriend”, Bianca remarked.

I rolled my eyes, ignoring her. I took a simple blue gown from my

luggage, and removed my hair from the threads.

I applied some shea-butter and leave-in conditioner to my hair

and combed it in gentle strokes. I made my hair into two loose

cornrows. I applied gel to the brush and edges. I applied some

powder, lip gloss and a little mascara.

Bianca hooted, “Girrlll, you definitely going to see a boy. You look

hot, babe.”

I smiled at the compliment, “Thanks, babe.” I sprayed some

perfume, took my tote bag and walked out of the door