Naya and Vince

60

Electricity crackled in the air as Olamide's eyes and mine jammed in an unfriendly stare down. Her lined eyes eyed me condescendingly as glossed lip lifted in a way that told her dislike for me. I made sure to shoot enough venom into my scowl. My hand was itching to rip off her new ponytail hairdo.

I wondered what exactly gave the girl the audacity to actually pop up in front of me like an unwanted pimple and stop me from going to the classroom. I didn't have to wonder for long when her eyes moved to Vincent who stood beside me.

"You're hanging with Nairobi now?" She asked saying my name like a filthy word. The surprise in her voice actually slapped. Vincent and I met at the auditorium exit and we just walked to class together. We said nothing to each other but walked comfortably side by side. I guess someone was jealous.

My lip lifted in a teasing smirk. "Jealous?"

"Wo, I wasn't talking to you."

"Excuse me?" This girl was risking a back hand and a head bash. I wasn't a person of violence but Olamide just knew how to bring out the worst in me.

"You totally ignored me in class this morning, Ayodeji." Olamide ignored me and faced Vincent. It was for the best. I was ninety nine percent sure whatever she was going to say would just piss me off.

"So?" Vincent asked her. I stifled my laugh. I shouldn't have done that. I should have cackled in her face like her village witches who were playing with her sense.

"So?" She asked him back, baffled.

"I know your apology would not fix shit now but until you apologize to everyone, don't talk to me Olamide. I'm serious. If you don't think you need to apologize for being a total bi–nuisance, then we cannot be friends," Vincent told her, tone firm and final.

But honestly, was apologizing so hard? Yep. Totally hard.

Vincent took my hand, surprising me. "Come on," he said manoeuvring us around Olamide's flabbergasted form and continuing our journey to class.

"Still not good huh?" I said when we were a good distance from the girl.

"Is apologizing too hard?" Vincent asked sounding honestly confused.

"Kind of," I mumbled, mostly to myself. Vincent gave me an amused look.

"Maybe it is."

My mind wandered back to Saturday and how Vincent laid himself bare. I thought that by today he would be avoiding me out of embarrassment but instead he came to me. I looked at our joined hands. The change in our relationship was glaring. At the beginning of last term we couldn't even do our chemistry lab without arguing but now we were hands and hugging?

I didn't know if I was comfortable with the change but I knew I didn't hate it. I had changed too. I scowled less and I was more pleasant with strangers. Richard would be proud.

Our class was very noisy when we walked in. Any minute from now a teacher was definitely going to come and lecture us on how we were bad examples to the junior and were supposed to be preparing for our mock exams. Vincent left my hand at the entrance but I was not offended. I wouldn't want anyone getting ideas.

Immediately I got to my seat, Aliyah and Amanda came over to my desk. They dragged nearby empty seats and sat around my desk. I looked at them with a raised brow as I took my seat.

"Am I safe?" I asked looking from a smirking Amanda to grinning Aliyah.

"Tea please?" Amanda said snapping her fingers.

"Tea?" I asked confused.

Aliyah rolled her eyes and pushed up her glasses. "We saw you holding hands with Vincent. Give us the gist!"