Chapter 5

Elena Sergio.

"Dinner is ready. Elena come downstairs!" Mom exclaimed.

I groaned. The moment where I was enjoying my own company without any disturbance but she just had to ruin it. Before I heard my name loudly, I was caught up on searching for KJ on IG, probably I could find some cute ass pictures and stare at it all night

It felt like I was being too extra. That feeling where you could imagine butterflies in your belly, dancing to the sound of your heartbeat which makes your stomach tickle a bit. That joy your mind gets and it just emptied itself and allowed your imagination to take over you to another dimension.

I felt high, I felt intoxicated. The last time I had this feeling ever was in ninth grade. He was Jackson. We got close when we were appointed as partners for a school presentation. He was charming and so supportive. At that moment, everything seemed beautiful and sweet. The thought of it ending as my feelings were nurtured like a baby never occurred to me.

He lost his dad and it broke him down. Jackson and his parents were involved in a fatal accident, leaving his dad dead with him and his mom alive with slight injuries. He was absent from school for weeks and no one noticed anything was wrong till it was known to us by our class teacher.

I felt sorry for him. Losing his dad at that tender age could be disheartening. Not that I could relate but if I was in his shoes, I'd have probably loosed my mind. The thought of him being absent affected my presentation. My focus was all gone and no support kept coming. I had my best friend all along but someone about Jackson made things differently.

They got to make a change due to his absence. I was partnered with Anabel, someone I couldn't even call an enemy or a friend. She was just a figurehead I had to deal with at that point in time. Not to be a hater, she was good with what she was asked to do. She never topped the class but she delivered academically.

We were both to talk about the impact of social media on teenagers today. It sounded pretty simple but we had to be as direct as possible. Anabel, being the queen thought she was trying to overshadow the hard work I put into this presentation. She made a few changes which made her take most of the credit for my work.

She decided to divide the topic into two parts, the positive and the negative impact of social media. It was an interactive time on that day we were asked to present. Every teenager in the hall was well aware of social media and its doings. The majority of us had phones and we also contributed to the number of people in the world who engaged on social media based on different levels, mostly business and relationships.

We both agreed on us taking each of the impacts according to how it was divided. She takes the positive impact and I end it all with the negative impacts but she had a plan B. Finally for me to continue from where she stopped after the positive impacts were stated, I was cut off by the same person who made the whole plan all along. No one noticed but it was like spit on my face. She turned back at looked at me slightly with a smirk and at that moment, I knew she fucked me up.

After a while of Jackson not being around, I heard he moved to another country, his hometown precisely. He moved to Gavle in Sweden where his dad was from. They had nothing left to do in the state other than to spend the rest of their life in a land where they felt safe.

"Elena! Dinner! Downstairs! Now!" Karen yelled from the dining room. She just got back a few hours ago and she was already turning the house into something else. What elder sisters do!

"I'm coming, sis. I'm coming!" I replied with the same tone used to call my attention. I hurried downstairs, causing my foot to hit the ground so hard it echoed.

"Can't you walk like you don't wanna get the house down?" Karen said to me with a frown. She sat by the dining table waiting to be served. Gone were the days when she'd stand up and bring the food from the kitchen to serve us. I wasn't gonna do her job after all, even though they gave birth to her first.

I left her without words, I greeted my dad who sat opposite me and got myself a seat

"So no one can go to the kitchen and help your mother out?" Dad asked. This used to be Karen's job but she thought it was over since she entered college.

"Dad I don't know why Karen stopped her job. So much for entering college," I rolled my eyes as I said and focused back on my phone.

"Are you even hearing yourself? Dad don't tell me you support the rubbish she's saying?" Karen is all defensive. "You should be doing the helping. Even the serving."

"Alright settle down! Let's just drop the topic," Dad raised his hands as he backed off from the conversation. We both murmured and continued our businesses. We don't always fight all the time I've missed this so much. The house was pretty quiet without her around and I need to make use of it.

Mom finally came into the dining with a tray in her hand. It consisted of the meal we were going to have for dinner. I stood up quietly to give a helping hand only to hear what I didn't expect later.

"Someone's trying to be the good child here," Karen said and laughed loudly, passing the syndrome to my dad. He practically laughed louder than Karen which got my mom a bit confused and pissed.

"I spent my night making dinner and y'all don't respect that huh?" Mom's feelings got messed up a bit. "I guess I have to change my mind." She turned back to the kitchen to return the meal but we all lamented and apologized for our misbehaviors.

"Well it was Karen who started it," I was defensive as I added. I needed to get myself off the hook.

"Elena!" Dad and Big sis said in unison. Glaring at me like I stole a lump of meat from their meal. I mellowed my head down, staring at my phone and then relaxing my back a bit.

Mom had made a delicious delicacy that evening. We were all going to have rice with beef stew and a glass of juice. I preferred my meal with water most but today cause for a change.

We served ourselves taking turns, from Mom to dad to Karen and finally to me. Yeah, since I was the last born. I took my glass of juice first. My apple juice is the first thing I always do before I eat my meal. It wasn't that bad.

We dug into our meal and the pace attached to it, it showed we enjoyed what was prepared.

"Mom this is tasty," Karen complimented.

"I'm sure it's better than the food you eat when you're on a diet," I chipped in and chuckled. I didn't mean to sound offensive but we all got into each other's skin. She turned to me and frowned, also complaining to mum about my doings.

Karen used to be on a diet when she was on a road to pageantry. Back when we were kids, which we are now, we always played pretense queen. She would be the queen, ruler of the kingdom and I'll be the loving princess on her side.

She would practice on her walk, aiming for perfection, and also on her wave. She would sneak my mom's gown out of her closet and put it on to wear. When walking, she would carry her dress by its side like they do in Cinderella's movie and walk majestically. She was good at it.

When she turned 13, she represented the school in a beauty contest and we all hoped for her to win. She got a lot of attention from the school board, a lot of treatment, and her favorite dressings. All hopes were on her to win fair and square and she did. Everyone celebrated her in school and she was gifted a scholarship personally by the school together with the ones she won from the contest.

The celebration didn't end there. At night, dad and mom decided to through a mini-party to celebrate their daughter's win. They prepared a big feast and invited neighbors around. I sat there in the corner watching, thinking how it'd have been perfect if I attained perfection like my little sis.

"Well, Elena I'm carrying my food upstairs. Good night guys," She gave up at last. She carried her meal in one hand and her glass in another, walking up the stairs careful not to spill the drink or trip on the stairs.

"So meanie," My mom teased while she ate. "How was school today? Any bullying?" She was being protective again. I wished I never told her about the worst bullying scenario I had in eighth grade because she had been on my neck ever since. Always wanting to know that I'm safe or press charges when necessary.

"Mom come on. I'm a grown woman," I replied as I picked up my fork and knife to slice a part of my beef. "School was fine though."

"A grown-ass woman can be beaten down to the ground. Age isn't a restriction," Dad also added. These two were like five and six. When one says something, the other was there to back it all up.

"Mom! Dad! I'm serious. I don't experience it anymore. I'm fine," I lied. I didn't experience it like before but I needed to tell them what they wanted to hear. I could take a break from their protection. They both looked at each other and made a face of the agreement.

"So you have a boyfriend already?" Dad's next question followed. Another night to be interrogated. I nearly choked on my glass when I took my next sip.

"Dad! Not the time!" They were asking too much already. I knew they cared but hello! A girl never opens up to her parents about her love life that way.

"Sweetie we have never seen you bring a boy to this place to visit except Matthews. Or are you guys dating?" Mom dropped her cutlery and clapped her hands in excitement she was waiting for me to concur.

"Eww! When you date your best friend, you lose the friendship and the relationship. It's part of the girl's code." I just had to make something up. They got the message and decided to quit the questions asked. I was left with little appetite. I ate half of my meal, finished my juice, and headed upstairs to my room.

I laid down on my bed staring at the ceiling. The thought of KJ came into my head. I picked up my phone to text him at least but I forgot to collect his contacts. My stomach began to tickle, couldn't tell if I was hungry again. I needed some advice on what to do to get my man but no name came to my head except Karen.

With the way I teased her at dinner, she'd be least expectant of my presence in her room. With a little bit of confidence, I fastened my steps from my room to hers to seek for big sister's advice.

"Do not come in!" She yelled behind the door when I knocked. She was too good to tell it was me.

"Come on Karen. I want to talk to you. Please."

"No! We will probably talk when I'm back on my diet," she replied with her voice emphasizing the last word.

"I'm sorry Karen. Please I need your help with something!" The door clicked open after my last plead. I walked in watching Karen glued to her phone while I sit beside her reading table.

"What do you need my help with?" She dropped her phone beside her and folded her legs on her bed. "Don't come. Stay there, baby girl. Still mad at you," She put her palm in my face asking me to stop as I planned to sit next to her on her bed. With no problem at all, I concurred.

"Karen, how do I get a boy to notice me?" I asked feeling embarrassed. I placed my head on the reading table in shame, waiting for her to say something mean.

"Oh my god!" She exclaimed, something I didn't expect her to say. "I've been waiting for this my entire life and I never thought I would but now it's finally here," She said fast. I raised my head from the desk wondering what could have happened.

"You've been waiting for what?" I looked really confused.

"The day you'll come to your big sister and ask her for help about Love," Her last words got high-pitched. "The day you finally embrace yourself as a woman and also," her face got squeezed at this point, "to stop dressing, no offense like a bad boy."

"So are you gonna help me or not?" I was close to taking it personally but I couldn't.

"I'm gonna help the crap out of you. Extremely,' She gave a big smile. "So who's he?"

"He's–" I paused a bit and blushed. This was so hard to say. "He's the international student from Nigeria I told you about, and he's so amazing-"

Her excitement began to fade. I couldn't tell if she was mad or happy but I decided to stop talking.

"What did you just say?" She asked again. In my thought, it looked like she wanted to confirm what I said before.

"Erm- he's the international student, KJ, and–"

"This isn't good!" She sounded so firm.

"Excuse me?"

"This isn't good at all," she reconfirmed her statement. I couldn't help but ask why.

"There are so many factors working against you. You meet, he becomes very visible, girls begin to circle him like flies on poop, and so on. I also fell in love with an international student once," Now she was gazing at the window with her eyes all dreamy.

"Who was he?" I giggled a bit. We never talked about any of our love stories before.

"Daniel was his name. Charming, sweet, long hair, good dentition. He was practically everything but it was war. Girls wanted him. They wanted to be with him. It was like a tug of war where we had to pull him close to us from each end."

I laughed, then she frowned.

"The point is, to get a boy's attention you must be willing to go all the way. Are you ready to go all the way?" She asked walking closer to me with her face close to mine. "Because I don't think you're ready to go all the way."

"I don't even know what you're talking about," I became tensed and nervous. What could she mean by 'all the way'?

"I guess you just answered your question."