𝐈𝐧 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

I've gone to enter sinking sand and start a sprint. Not sure if I'll make it out alive but if I do, thanks to Ifebodee__ and the rest of the sprinters❤️.

THIRTY TWO

“I only wanted you cause
I couldn't have you
Now that I know
That wasn't love...
...that was just hope.”

MAINA

The coach's voice boomed in the open space as he yelled morning drill instructions to much over a hundred campers at once. I often wondered how possible it was for a single person to have that much volume, especially in the early hours of the day.

It was flipping six in the morning.

Exhaling, I continued my jog along with the others round the field's track. Some were in the middle of the football field doing aerobics, some were jumping and running on the spot. I just chose to stick to jogging.

"ONE MORE TIME ROUND THE FIELD!" The coach yelled again.

By the time we completed the final jog lap, he permitted us to take a break. Probably to join the aerobics, or just find something to keep ourselves busy for the while. I strolled over to the bleachers where some campers lazily lounged, despite the fact that the seats were wet with morning dew. I took a seat on the second roll, placing my elbows on my knees and leaning forward, watching the action on the field.

I sighed. As much as I'd tried to push it to the back of my mind since yesterday, I was worried. Iris was avoiding me and it was killing me.

The worst part of it was that I had no idea why. I mean, one second we were cool and the next, she's not even looking me in my eye. We'd even agreed to hang out after dinner. I'd crocheted a headband for her and planned to give her, only for her to end up leaving me hanging. It made me sick with worry, and the fact that I couldn't locate her anywhere on the field this morning didn't make it better.

"Hi, Maina." Zaynab's voice brought me back to the present. I was quite surprised to see her seated right next to me. It was obvious she didn't just get here. I only wondered how long I'd say like that, lost in thought.

"Zaynab, hi." Immediately my eyes met hers, I felt instant regret. She was dressed like her usual self today, in a black head wrap over an outfit consisting of a black long sleeved Dri-fit top and grey sweatpants. Funny, her feet were clad in white socks under black Crocs. Maybe I shouldn't have spoken to her that way. Maybe I should've followed her when she left to make sure she was okay. She was like my little sister, anyway.

What made it worse was that the person I did this for was avoiding me.

She spoke before I could. "I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I was just going through a hard time. I shouldn't have spoken to you, Iris or anyone that way. And I understand that you like her a lot."

Weirdly, it seemed she had placed a lot of emphasis on the word, "like". Staring at her, I swallowed. I didn't know what to say. Safe to say, I was ashamed.

"Zaynab," I managed to say, looking away from her and back at the field. The campers were now lazing around, obviously no longer interested in the sports. I knew it was only a matter of time until the coach yelled for us to run five more laps around the field before dismissing us. "I-I'm sorry, actually. I really shouldn't have talked to you like you're a kid. I'm sorry for telling you to get out, for humiliating you simply because of the way you chose to dress. And on behalf of Iris, I'm sorry too. I'm sure that was not her intention. Yes, I like her a lot, and I know she's not a bad person. I'm sorry, Zaynab." I looked back at her almost desperately.