In All Her Glory

•08. In Awe•

|Chapter Eight|

Sharon's POV:

The sumptuous lunch filled my mouth.

"Hmm," I moaned in appreciation, my eyes closed as I savoured the delicious taste of the boiled sweet potatoes and sauce the wonderful cooks had prepared for lunch at school.

Dami's mum had packed lunches for us as usual, but I hadn't had breakfast before leaving home. Long story short, I skipped Civic Education class to eat. I had decided not to buy lunch during break, but the aroma that wafted strongly in the cafeteria won out.

"Pele o, Hummingbird," Indy remarked and the rest of the group burst into laughter.

(A/N: Meaning of the words above: Well done, Hummingbird.)

I smacked his bicep hard. "Indy! Hummingbird ke?"

(A/N: Hummingbird ke - "What do you mean, hummingbird?")

"What?" he chuckled, mischief shining in his black eyes. "When you kept humming, I had to give you a name. Aren't I nice?"

I glanced at Dami and Queen, who were now talking about the guy who had been found smoking weed behind the school.

I smacked him again while he grinned, returning to consume my food that was reducing slowly, but surely. I let out a small groan.

"What is it?" Indy asked beside me.

I pouted, my protruding bottom lip quivering dramatically.

"My food," I complained.

He raised his two eyebrows, eyeing my plate. "And...what happened to it? You don't want it anymore?"

I gasped in mock horror. "No! It's almost finished, and I want more."

He chuckled as he shook his head teasingly. "You're such a baby."

I laughed and focused on my food as Queen called Indy's name.

My eyes flew to the empty chair that was adjacent to me for the nth time.

Why is Sam not here? Is he eating elsewhere?

Discreetly, I looked around the cafeteria for him. But I couldn't find him. For days, I thought of how he always seemed to notice when I was distressed and how he tried to be there for me.

I realized that our separation hadn't been his fault. He had written the entrance exam for King's College, and brilliant as he was, Ephraim had passed. King's College was a prestigious school, so his parents could not let him pass up the opportunity. That we didn't attend John Heights High School together wasn't his fault. My resentment towards him was meaningless.

Slowly, I started to forgive him, even though he hadn't done wrong. I was starting to think of him as Sam again, not Ephraim, the stranger and the new boy at school.

"Where are you, Sammy?" I mumbled quietly.

"Hmm? What did you say?" Indy suddenly spoke.

Instead of once, my heart drummed twice in a second.

"Nothing," I kept my voice calm.

Indy shrugged and returned to his conversation with Queen and Dami. Victor only spoke when spoken to.

Why do I even care? Yet, I did. The little girl that used to run around with him was still around.

Sharply, I shook my head and let my friends' gossiping distract me.