Watching, never holding

~ TOBI'S POV ~

There was something about seeing that one person that seemed to make you happy.

Something unexplainable, but you would always feel it whenever you set eyes on that person. It didn't matter whether you had that person to hold and call your own or if you were always watching, and never holding. As long as you could see that person, your whole day could be just right.

That was how I felt when I set my eyes on Matilda Olusegun. She was in her seat, looking a bit restless for some reason.

But you know what made me happy the most? She...had worn the hair band I had gotten for her.

"Seriously..." I found myself grinning like some lunatic as I stared at her unblinkingly.

"Afar! Why you stand for door dey smile like fool ehn?" It was Chinedu. Eric was with him.

"Mm?" I snapped out of my daze and realized that I had been in front of the class door the whole time while daydreaming of a girl who had rejected me twice.

"Oh don't mind me," I tapped his shoulder.

"We have basketball practice. Did you forget?" Eric playfully slapped me across the shoulder.

"Ah yeah," I slowly nodded.

Truly, I had forgotten in my little moment of staring at Tilda.

"Let's go nau," Chinedu hissed and threw his arm around my shoulder, directing me back out of the classroom.

We all got changed into our basketball vests and headed straight for the school's indoor court. Though there was also an outdoor one, we mostly made use of the indoor court.

There was a match coming up soon against the senior boys from another school, Beverly High. As such, our coach ensured that we trained almost every day as he was a man who "could never accept failure."

"Tobi remain the star that you are. Luke and Chinedu you need to buckle up. Eric and Samson keep your heads up and lastly, all eyes on the ball," Our basketball coach, Mr. Ebi said before the start of practice.

The first whistle was blown by him and the game started.

As we played, a few students came into the court to watch us practice. One of those few students were Lola and Kiki. Lola was a regular visitor at the basketball court whenever we had practices, being that her boyfriend was on our team.

"Go my sugar pie!" She would scream like a teenage girl at the concert of a boy band she was obsessed with.

Eric would blow her a kiss in return and do some muscle poses during break intervals.

"To get babe sweet o," Chinedu playfully slapped him on the back with a pained smile on his face.

Poor Chinedu, he was so bad at making out with girls. Every girl he had ever liked was quick to slip through his fingers even before he could hold her properly.

Practice had started around 1:30pm and ended at about 3:00pm. School closed by 4:30pm so we still had an hour and thirty minutes before we would be dismissed from the premises.

All sweaty and tired, I moved to join the others who sat down on the seats meant for spectators. Chinedu, Eric, Luke, Samson, Emeka, Kiki, and Lola were all there while some of our classmates who were also on the basketball team had left for class or the restroom.

"Hey guys," I greeted as I wiped my face with the napkin from my left shoulder and took a few gulps out of my bottle water.

"Hey," They all responded.

I looked at the girl I had sat next to. It was Kiki. She was quiet and calm - something I had never seen in her before.

During the basketball game, she simply watched us with a smile on her face and never really screamed like Lola.

I looked elsewhere and sighed. Kiki and I were both on the same boat. I liked Tilda but Tilda didn't feel the same way about me.

Kiki liked me but I just couldn't like her back. I mean, she was a great girl and all of that. She was beautiful, smart, nice, and just alright, but I didn't feel anything other than what friends could feel for each other.

She fiddled with her entwined fingers and twisted her lips, trying so hard not to glance at me as she sat next to me.

I bet she had felt too uncomfortable that she finally decided to make it known.

"Catch you guys later. I'm going back to class," She suddenly stood up to leave.

"Me too," I quickly said.

She hurriedly left and I went after her. Maybe I needed to do more than apologize to her for not accepting her feelings?

"Hey Kiki!" I jogged my way to stand beside her.

"H-hey," She stole a quick glance at me and returned her gaze ahead.

"I thought we were friends," I frantically threw my arms as I spoke.

"We...we are," She answered. "What made you ask that?"

"You didn't seem too comfortable around me," I sighed. "I know how it feels to....to not get liked by someone you like but, it's...I don't even know what to say anymore."

She stopped walking and I followed suit.

She turned to face me and smiled.

"Why bother yourself so much to make things right? It's not your fault please. As long as we're friends it's just fine for me."

I was speechless for a moment. Did she really mean it?

"Catch you some other time?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah...sure," I managed on a smile. "Wanna meet up for ice cream later this evening after school?"

She pursed her lips for a moment.

"Friends, remember?" I spread my arms apart and shrugged.

"Fine," She let out a small laugh. "See you then."

"Bye," I waved and she went off.

I sighed.

*.*.*.

~ MILES' POV ~

The boys had left for practice for some time now so I was the only one in our seat. There was nothing to do during that time of the day and the lot of the class were busy making noise.

Bored and a little tired, I scribbled drawings onto my notepad.

As I drew, my eyes wandered off, till they fell on her.

She looked restless, swaying her head from side to side. After some time, she opened her friend's bag and took out a small mirror.

She lifted the mirror to her face and proceeded to touch her forehead.

A small laugh escaped my lips. This girl was just too funny.

She frowned as she gazed at her reflection while moving the mirror into different angles.

I continued laughing and returned my gaze to my notepad while sketching more drawings.

A few minutes passed and I stood up from my seat. I walked down to hers and sat next to her. Luckily for me, none of her seatmates were around so that was a good thing.

"What?" She quickly put the mirror away and sent me a glare.

I laughed. "Why are you so...I don't even know how to put it."

"This isn't geography class. Go back to your seat," She snapped.

"I will," I nodded. "Just a moment."

Then, I handed my notepad over to her.

"What is this?" She looked at the notepad but her expression soon twisted into one of disappointment.

"Are you ok?" She thundered, showing me the page on my notepad where there were three drawings of a supposed Tilda with extremely large foreheads. "What is the meaning of this?" She added, her face scrunched up in annoyance.

"The mirror wasn't helping you see it right so I had to help," I shrugged and took the notepad from her.

"W-what mirror?" She eyed me. "Abeg go away!"

"Omo, this your forehead is big sha," I laughed and poked at her forehead with my index finger.

She didn't resist this time and only glared at me.

After poking her forehead for a good number of five times, I finally decided to take me leave.

"You should have at least said thank you for drawing the real version of you," I smirked as I walked back to my seat.

And trust me when I say that her eyes followed my every movement with a death glare.

I swallowed hard.

Omo looks like she's planning payback already o.