Part II Chapter VII: Digging Deep

Kyrie looked closely at the event taking place in front of her. She looked at her dad who was also watching intently and said, "Was your marriage with mom arranged?"

He turned to her and said, "It was."

"Did you love her?" She asked.

"Why do you ask?" He questioned.

"Nothing…remember that initiative you funded?"

"What about it?"

"One of the winners attends Notre Dame, she was my seatmate."

"Are you being serious?" said the intrigued Julian.

"I sure am!" She said excitedly.

"What's her name?" He asked.

"Julianne…"

He chuckled and said, "I see why she won in the first place."

Kyrie paused and said, "Is our surname really popular in Africa?"

"I have no idea, although I don't think so," He said, holding his chin.

"She bears our surname…isn't it weird?"

"This is some kind of joke," He said in a surprised tone.

"It's true!"

"I'd like to meet this friend of yours…"

After a while, the engagement ceremony was over. Lori introduced Kyrie to a guy named Steve, apparently he was her friend's son. They both made them talk to each other. He appeared nice and polite in public, but he was actually spoilt and rude. She was sure she'd never like him, so she ended the conversation. In an hour, they went home. The rest of the day went on normally with her parents' barks and screams echoing off the walls of the manor. In her room, she covered her ears with a pillow. She hated her parents arguing. She sobbed softly on the bed and soon fell asleep.

Three weeks passed. Julie got accustomed to her new life on Spring Day, although she spent most of the time at school. She knew Rachel meant no harm, but she was just Jake's little puppet. She woke up each day by 7 a.m. enjoying the fact that she wouldn't listen to her grandmother's whines and her nagging. She couldn't however, forget about them. She missed her grandparents, Doreen, her old classmates, her neighbors, and her friends. She talked with them every day and held the memories they had close to her heart.

Staring at the door of her classroom, she thought of going back home. She hated Biology and didn't want to attend school that day. However, she had to choose between school and staying with Jake at home, since he was unemployed. After a minute of pondering, she finally walked into class and headed for her seat.

"Good morning beautiful."

She scoffed and said, "Don't you have better things to do?"

"I only have one job and that is to annoy you," Jacques said jokingly.

She looked at the biology teacher as he walked into the class. She could recognize those emotionless black eyes anywhere. He always had his black hair gelled backward, and his old-fashioned glasses made him look more strict. His tall height made him stand out from the crowd. He walked cautiously into the classroom and stared at the students in the class. He shortly began his lecture, which she couldn't understand. She felt he was either blabbing or speaking in Spanish, she couldn't decipher the information he was passing across. His lecture was surprisingly brief, as he wanted to pair the students up for an assignment. However, they weren't going to pick their teammates. Since Biology was done by both science and engineering classes, they were going to pick partners from the other class. A basket containing folded sheets of paper was passed around the class. Julianne unfolded hers and found out that her partner was none other than Kyrie. She smiled when she saw her name. Turning towards a downcast Jacques, she asked, "Who did you pick?"

"Dylan," He cried. She couldn't control her laughter. Dylan was gay and tried to hit on Jacques multiple times. He was repulsed by him and had said it to his face a million times, but he wouldn't listen. Now, he was stuck with him for a week. Lessons continued after the class but she was lost in thought. She pulled out her mother's locket and wore it on her neck. The bell for recess rang and soon, the students swarmed out of the class. Julianne walked to the cafeteria but felt someone hug her from behind. She turned and saw it was Kyrie. Seeing her, she said, "It's so nice to see you Kyrie. How are you?"

"I've never been better. I haven't seen you since forever! I can't believe we're project partners!" She said joyfully. Julianne laughed and they walked back to their classes together.

The school was soon over. She hurriedly packed her book into her bag. She paused when she saw her green-eyed Adonis walk into the classroom. She shook the thought away, he wasn't hers and resumed her activity. She looked up and saw Jacques smirking at her. She shoved a book at him and said, "Why do you like teasing me so much?"

He simply laughed. She hissed and turned to look at Laurent, who was talking with one of the guys on the basketball team. Once he was done, he walked towards her seat. She was about to pass out from excitement seeing him walk towards her direction. Her face fell when he walked towards Jacques and slapped him on the back. She scoffed and continued packing her bag.

"I heard you got paired with Dylan," he laughed.

"How did you…"

"He's only been blabbing about it."

She felt so invisible and decided to leave. She flung her bag across her shoulder and stood up from the seat.

"Hi Julianne," he said, suddenly noticing her presence. She felt her heart skip a beat when she heard him call her name. She shook her head and concealed her emotions. "Hi there,"

She saw Dylan walk into the classroom, looking for someone. When he sighted Jacques, he smiled widely. He stealthily walked behind Jacques and hugged him from behind. He looked back and saw Dylan, his wide grin changed into a frown.

"Hi bestie, heard we're partners now, isn't that awesome?"

Laurent and Julianne doubled over in laughter. Jacques unamused, shoved Dylan away and said, "If we are going to be partners, we'll have to draw a few boundaries…one, don't touch me, ever…"

He nodded his head in affirmation, before shooting a wink at him.

"Two, don't do that, understood?"

He stood straight and nodded his head. "Good, let's go,"

Laurent, Dylan, and Jacques left the classroom. Julianne received a text from Kyrie telling her to meet her outside. Going outside, she saw Kyrie standing next to a black Mercedes-Maybach. A driver was seated in the car. She ran towards Julie and hugged her.

"I've thought about the project and think we should get started," Julie said calmly.

"I thought so too! That was why I brought you here. We should go to my grandpa's hotel, it's serene. What do you think?"

She shrugged. Kyrie grabbed her hand and they walked into the car.