I NEED COMPANY

Chapter 6: (A long day)

The bell rung so loud that it reminded him he hadn't drank anything. Isaac and Kelvin came in still laughing. He knew very well that wouldn't it be for the bell, they would have reported this to the teacher.

But I have done nothing, he thought, why was this bothering me?

The teacher wouldn't want to know this and that! A voice crushed in with all his hope. He looked at Fortune and realised that she had not drank porridge too.

"Are you hungry?" He asked he asked and Fortune at him managing a cheeky smile.

"No," she said, "How do you think I survived when I gave you my food?"

That brought an awkward feeling of unworthiness. How could he have made a girl starve while we could have eaten together? Or even leave it? That minute changed him and he stopped feeling hungry and immediately, I remembered the tea again.

While the teacher had not got inside, he took it out and gave her. "Take this," he said, "you need it more than I do.

"No, just have it," she said but Matthew was was so straight forward on this one. He left it there and went to sit down before the teacher came in hence the silence. Although Fortune had looked full, Matthew had turned three or four times to make sure she was drinking it. She was really enjoying it.

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This day Matthew had remembered carrying his plate for lunch. Once the bell for lunch rung, he was nearly the first to run towards the kitchen. He took his share of githeri and head into the dining hall. He looked for her among other girls while he was going to eat but she wasn't there.

Or maybe she hadn't taken food yet? He went back to class to look for her but she wasn't there. He looked all over the place but she didn't find her.

He remembered another place, the bench! How could he have forgotten? She was there but she wasn't eating. She just looked beat and sad.

"Why aren't you eating?" He asked but she didn't respond. Just gave a sigh and looked another way.

"Let's eat this githeri I don't want you starving."

"I don't want it."

"I know you don't like it but it will be better if...,"

"Who said I didn't like it," she fired back. "I just wanted to make you pour that githeri and eat mine with me," she confessed and now she was ready to eat. She took his spoon and ate.

"Will you get over him?" Matthew asked half into the githeri.

"I don't know, he was more than just a philanthropist to me," she said, "He was like my own dad, the only figure I saw around,"

"I understand," he said, "I have that way once, with my dad. It was like you can't believe he is gone."

"True, it was like you didn't make use of him while you were alive." She said, "He died on my birthday."

That moment was one to be remembered eons after. Even though it was sad no one could remove it where it was.

                      ***

The evening came faster than ever. As soon as the C.R.E teacher went out I stood up with my bag ready to go but I remembered that I had to have some fun bullying Matthew. We waited for him to come out then we blocked his path.

"Did you think we were blind?" I asked, "we know that you were romancing in class."

"What does this concern you, we were talking not romancing," He defended himself and I fell out of words.

"If we don't tell the teacher will you do something for us?" Isaac came to my rescue for once. He seemed to think for sometime then answered.

"What is it?"

"Juliet!" The idea struck in my head.

"Juliet what?"

"We want you to connect us with your desk mate, that should not be hard,"

He thought for a while until it made us impatient.

"Or do you want us to go to the teacher instead? Isaac teased.

"Okay, okay, I will do it,"

"I'll be waiting," I said as I turned around and went home.

                       ***
Matthew never missed doing his homework and it wasn't going to be the first time. Today he didn't touch any of his books in the lunch break so it was going to be a very tedious job.

He started with the hardest, which was math then science, social studies then he got tired. He would have gone on with the homework but it was still early so he decided to take a break. He went outside and watched the people walk through the busy streets of Mathare.

Just minutes in his break, he saw a familiar figure walking by. The tall figure was  looking at him too. She was carrying a child on her back.

"You live around here too?" Juliet asked.

"Yes," he said when he realised it was her. "You too? I've never seen you here before."

"We moved to here just last week," She explained. "Come let me show you our place." She said as she pointed at a storey building in the same block far from theirs.

"And who is this?" He asked

"This is my lil' brother philip, or we like calling him PJ."

"Cool name," he said and Juliet realised that he was already asleep.

"Let me take him home to sleep," she said, "it was nice meeting you." She walked away.

He went back to his homework smiling and rejuvenated. Once he finished it, he went ate and went to sleep. Tomorrow was another day.
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If you are enjoying the story please vote and comment. Am trying the best I can to make it as interesting as possible. The better chapters are still yet to come. Looking forward for it :^)