chapter nine

Adaora's pov

The holidays went by really fast. Chuka had been a pain in the butt, as usual, but I had learned to ignore him.

But today?

Today was special.

I was finally a senior! A big girl now. I couldn't wait to get to school and see my friends.

When I got to the car, my mum slid in beside me. She took one look at me and raised her brows.

"Is that wet lips? Really?" she asked, eyeing my glossy lips.

I just smiled and shrugged.

She rolled her eyes. "Just don't let your father see you, or he'll cut your lips out."

I burst into laughter as Chuka snickered from the backseat.

"I heard that!" he shouted. "Daddy, Adaora is wearing lipstick!"

"Chuka, I will end you!" I spun around, ready to strangle him.

My mum just sighed. "Here we go again..."

When I got to school, I rushed to find my friends.

As soon as I saw them, we screamed in excitement and ran into a group hug.

"Senior girls!" Ifeoma shouted.

"Untouchable babes!" Stella added.

"No competition!" Zainab grinned.

And together, we all shouted our best friend slang:

"Four queens, one throne!"

We cheered, laughed, and danced, soaking in the excitement of our first day as seniors. It felt so good to be back together.

After that, we headed to class.

Time moved slowly.

Classes, assignments, boring lessons, and never-ending school drama. The term crawled by.

Then, before we knew it, Christmas break came and went.

And just like that, I was 13.

---

When we resumed things went smoothly.

One afternoon Ifeoma slid into the seat beside me.

"So, which of the competitions are you joining?" she asked.

"Me?" I frowned. "I haven't thought about it yet."

"Ah, me I'm doing music!" Ifeoma announced proudly. "You know I got the voice!"

Stella came over and dropped her bag. "I'm doing dancing!"

I looked at her and smirked. "Dancing too."

"No joor!" Stella objected immediately. "You dance too much, competing against you will be hard!"

I laughed and picked up the form. What else should I do?

"Pageantry!" Zainab said.

"What?" I gasped. "No way! I can't do that."

"Come on!" Zainab insisted. "You'll be Evercrest Academy's Most Beautiful Girl for the next term. It will be fun!"

"But Anita is competing," Ifeoma said, lowering her voice. "And you know how highly she carries herself. It might get dirty. The teachers really support her."

"It's majority vote that wins," Zainab argued. "We will all vote for you! Besides, the juniors don't even like her. Since she got to SS2, she has been too proud. But you, Adaora, everybody loves you!"

I hesitated.

Then we all turned to Zainab.

"And you, Madam Adviser?" Stella folded her arms. "What are you competing for?"

"Oh, nothing," Zainab said quickly. "I will be in the cheering squad, cheering for my best friends." She clapped her hands dramatically.

We all stared at her.

"See this one o!" I scoffed. "My friend, pick something! We must all compete. Pick before we pick for you!"

"But I don't know anything!" Zainab whined.

Stella snapped her fingers. "But you love to cook!"

"Yes!" Ifeoma nodded. "Then do the cooking competition. You will surely win!"

We all looked at each other.

"So we all agree?" I asked.

"Yes!" we all chorused.

I sighed. "Fine. I'll do it."

My friends cheered loudly.

And just like that, we were ready to take on the competitions together.

The next day, during lunch break, I filled out my form carefully, double-checking my details before we all walked together to submit them.

As we approached the desk, a group of girls was already gathered, waiting to submit theirs. Just as I handed mine over, a voice rang out behind us.

"Really?"

We turned.

There stood Anita, her arms crossed, her perfectly styled hair bouncing as she lifted her chin and looked down at the rest of us like we were beneath her.

She slowly scanned the girls who had signed up for the pageant, her sharp eyes narrowing in amusement.

"I will eat you all," she said with a smirk. "You do not stand a chance against me. I am a queen."

Then, with a dramatic flip of her hair, she walked off like she had already won.

More like a drama queen, I thought.

A girl beside me let out a small laugh. "More like a drama queen," she muttered, echoing my thoughts.

I turned to look at her. She had warm brown eyes and a friendly smile.

"Hi, I'm Ana."

"Hi, I'm Adaora," I replied.

"Don't let Anita get to you," Ana said, rolling her eyes. "She's in my class. I have to deal with her every single day."

I sighed. "She's really something."

"Yeah, but she's not unbeatable." Ana winked.

I smiled at that.

"So, what number did they give you?" she asked.

I glanced down at my form. "Twelve. You?"

"Eight! Wow, nice. So you're in SS1, right?"

"Yeah."

"Ooooh, that makes me your senior," Ana teased playfully.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please, that doesn't mean anything."

She laughed. "Fair enough. Hey, I'll show you some basic steps when practice starts."

"Really?"

"Of course! Practice starts next week Monday. You'll come, right?"

I nodded. "Definitely."

I could already tell that Ana was going to be a good friend.

Even with Anita in the competition, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

As soon as the final bell rang, we grabbed our bags and rushed out of class, eager to head home. The sun hung low in the sky, casting a golden glow over Evercrest Academy as we walked out of the gate together.

"I swear, if Mr. Okoro gives us one more assignment, I will cry," Ifeoma groaned, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.

"Ah, that man doesn't rest," Stella agreed. "He thinks we don't have lives outside school!"

Zainab chuckled. "Ifeoma, just sing your sorrows away."

We all laughed as Ifeoma dramatically clutched her chest and sang, "Why me, Lord? Why must I suffer in the hands of this wicked teacher?"

I shook my head. "You and your music."

We turned a corner, our feet kicking up little clouds of dust as we strolled down the quiet street.

"So Adaora," Zainab nudged me, "are you ready for pageantry practice on Monday?"

I let out a deep sigh. "Honestly? I don't know. I've never done anything like this before."

"That's why you have us!" Stella grinned. "We'll be your biggest fans."

"And Ana promised to help too," I added.

"That girl seems nice," Ifeoma said. "Unlike a certain other contestant…"

We all knew who she meant.

"Ugh, Anita," Zainab groaned. "The way she was acting today, you'd think she already won the crown."

I rolled my eyes. "She really said she would 'eat us all' like she's some kind of monster."

"More like a hungry lion," Stella laughed.

"Well, let her keep roaring," Ifeoma smirked. "Because we? We are ready for battle!"

I couldn't help but laugh. With my friends by my side, maybe this competition wouldn't be so scary after all.