A week has passed since Hakim's and the day every senior student at Ketu High finally came. Graduation. The four girls stayed in June's house that morning to do each other's make-up and hair to look stunning for the event. Grace stared deeply at the small dressing mirror she sat in front of while June brushed her hair.
Everything wasn't quite back to normal yet. They were still the talk of everyone in the town as well as in their school but they were not going to let it bring them down as they looked to put the event behind them and make the most out of the day.
"How is it?" June asked, admiring her masterpiece.
"I look like Barbie princess," Grace replied with a little sarcasm in her tone.
"You look beautiful, you mean," Joana said as she gazed at Grace, monetarily taking her eyes from Margret who she was helping with her make-up.
"Let me say what I want to say," She retorted then took a moment to look at herself again. Every other time she had looked at the mirror, all she ever saw was a tomboy, she never realized she could look that beautiful. Her lashes were now longer, with light pink blushes making her cheeks glow and caramel lipstick on her full lips, even her fingernails, as well as her toenails, were painted too and now her long straight hair complemented it all perfect.
"Thank you so much, Ju." She said hugging June.
"Hey, you better don't cry and soil the makeup," Joana snapped.
"Hurry up with mine and stop talking abeg," Margret ordered.
"I must talk oh, I spent almost forty-five minutes on her face!"
"Yeah yeah, don't gloat." Grace hissed, getting up from the stool and letting June have her turn.
About an hour and a half later, they were ready. They stepped out of the room, each of them wearing a blue dress on heels. They went downstairs to meet June's parents who had been waiting for them.
"Awww, you all look like quadruplets!" Gladys exclaimed as the girls lined up in front of them.
"It's all thanks to you mum," June answered. "You picked them out perfectly."
Gladys placed both hands on her chest and smiled at her daughter, Grace and Margret also voiced out their appreciation as well. "You are all welcome, my darlings... Honey, say something." She said nudging her elbow at her husband.
"Pardon me, girls," Gabriel said, trying to contain the joy that was written over his face. "You all look breathtaking... We should take a picture." He added as he touched his pockets for his phone.
"Here dad, use mine," Joana said handing giving him the phone and stepping back in line.
"Mhm, how does this work... Oh, got it... Okay, say done and dusted!"
"Done and dusted!"
They took several others after that one, including a few with Gabriel and Gladys but it was Gabriel who decided that they would have to stop if they planned on making it to school before the ceremony was over.
They got there just in time for the principal's speech. Both Efe and Maryam were sitting under a canopy reserved for family members alongside Stanley.
"Woah, are you my sister or someone else?" Efe teased in amazement.
"Definitely someone else." Grace smiled and hugged her brother. "Thanks for coming."
"Always Gracie, I will never be too busy for you." He said with his eyes closed as he stroked her hair.
Meanwhile, Stanley was moving his arms up and down at Margret as he smiled, revealing two sets of teeth growing from his upper gum. He wanted her to carry him.
"Uh uh, no today boo, you can't drool over this dress." She said then bent down to plant a kiss on his cheek, which only made him smile more.
Her mother scoffed. "You better go and seat down."
"And one for you too," Margret replied with a kiss on her cheek. Maryam folded her lip to hide her smile but Margret wasn't bothered. "Don't kill yourself oh, smile if you want to." She added and made her mother chuckle.
"Okay, we will be over there," June pointed to her classmates. "See you later."
They went on to take their seats even as their classmates gave jaw-dropping glances. Joana chose to sit beside her boyfriend, John. He hadn't fully recovered, with a little bandage on his head and a few cuts on his face. Yet, he decided that he wasn't going to miss it for any reason.
"Hey babe," He said leaning to kiss her lightly on her lips.
"Hey, are you sure you're okay?" Joana asked.
"Yes, I am."
Suddenly, Margret slapped him from behind.
"Glad you could make it, Johnny." She smirked as he raised his shoulders in pain.
He grunted. "Miss this and a chance to see Grace in a dress for the first time ever? Hell no!"
Grace rolled her eyes and folded her arms as they all laughed.
Soon, the principal was done with his speech, and one of the students, William, the senior prefect for their set came out to give his Valedictory address. He talked about high school and how the journey of six years had changed him. Grace could relate to that too. She realized it wasn't just the last month that shaped her, it was every single thing that came along her way. From the sad ones like how her parents died and how she felt alone to the good ones like how she found three wonderful friends that would do anything for - every memory and event had built her for that moment, and she was grateful.
"You're stepping into the real world now, my friends. But remember, the will to succeed and overcome every challenge is in your hands, exercise it at every turn, Thank you." That was William's final statement before he left the stage and everyone gave him a round of applause.
The formal part of the ceremony came to an end a while later and all that was left to do was to dance and drink and make merry. The whole Chike family gathered together as they celebrated.
"Best graduating student for the year 2020 huh, I'm proud of you," Gabriel said to Joana.
"Thanks, Dad," Joana replied.
Gabriel soon realized that June pouted her lips in jealousy. "I'm proud of you too dear." He said hugging her slightly.
Immediately, a wave of silence washed over them. Joana noticed that her mother was signaling her father to say something.
"Do you have something to tell us?" She asked.
Gabriel sighed. "Listen, my babies, you have a stepbrother."
"What? You're lying!" Joana yelled while June tried to process the news.
"No my dear, I'm afraid I'm not." He replied.
"So you cheated on mum? After all these years?" Joana shouted again.
"Keep your voice down!" Her mother scolded.
"What? So you mean you're okay with it?"
"No, I'm not," Gladys answered. "But it was over seven years ago and your dad and I have talked--"
"Are you two going to get a divorce?" June asked with fear and concern in her eyes.
"No no, my darling, we would never do that to you two, and we still love each other very much." She said smiling at her husband.
"Okay, that's what I wanted to hear," Joana said. "But why are we just hearing it now?"
"I hid it from you girls before because your mother and I hadn't sorted ourselves out yet, but today felt like a good day to tell you girls so we just did."
"What's his name, dad?" June asked.
"Her mother named him Oscar."
"Well, you've always wanted a little brother Ju, now you have him."
"Come on Jo, don't be like that." June pleaded.
"Don't be like what?"Joana frowned then sighed. "You know what, I'm going to look for our friends... You coming?" She added then walked off.
"She will come along soon, be patient with her," June said to her parents. They both gave a slight nod in response before she ran to catch up with her sister.
** ** **
They found all Grace and Margret sitting by the field where all the cars were parked.
"What are you guys doing here?" Joana demanded.
"Soaking all the merriment in, of course." Grace retorted.
"Mhm," June grunted.
"Don't look at me, I only came here because she did," Margret said.
The two sisters sighed and joined them on the floor too.
"See, this is better." Grace grinned. "There were several times I thought I would be dead or in prison in the past few weeks but I'm just glad to be alive and able to do this with you guys." She said after a while.
"Me too, Gracie," Margret said holding Gracie's hand and in no time they all did the same with each other's hands.
As they looked on, Grace began to notice someone inside a white jeep, staring at them.
"Guys, there's someone in that jeep!" She announced.
"Wait, could that be--"
"Veronica," June said, completing Margret's words. She was the only one who didn't see Veronica as Cassandra but yet she was still terrified.
Veronica after realizing she has been made stepped out of the vehicle and headed towards them. Her hair was folded in a ponytail and she wore sunglasses on a blue long sleeve shirt and white trousers.
"Hey girls."
They were all surprised to see her, no one had heard from her all week, including Grace.
"We thought you had disappeared," Grace said as they all got to their feet.
"I just wanted to say a proper goodbye before I leave," Veronica said, taking off the glasses.
"There, you've said it," Joana replied harshly. "And don't for once think that we did what we did because of you, we did it for Mr. Bello."
"I get that, and I'm not expecting us to be friends either."
"Good," Joana said looking away. Grace could sense the tension between them.
"Uhm, can you guys excuse us?" She asked.
Her friends all raised a brow at her in shock.
"Please?" She added.
They all sighed and went back to the dancing crowd.
"For how long have you been watching us?" Grace asked after they left.
"A long time," Veronica answered. "I didn't know how to approach you guys so I stayed in my car."
"You shouldn't have, it's your graduation too, you know."
"Yeah yeah... You look amazing."
"Thank you," Grace said with a smile on her face. "You look good too... You went back home, I presume."
"Yeah, I had to go break the news and sort some things with Uncle Kim's family. I also needed to think and clear which I did."
"That's good... So what are your plans?"
"My dad decided it is time for me to go to college,"
"Awww, that's nice, congrats!" Grace exclaimed.
"Thanks, he might as well be sending me off again but who cares?" Veronica replied rhetorically.
"So what would you be studying?"
"I haven't decided on that yet... What about you, any college plans?"
Grace sighed. "I don't, my brother would want me to go but haven't really given it a thought, honestly."
Veronica chuckled. "Look at how clueless we are, when some people like William already have their life figured out."
They both laughed but it drowned out almost immediately.
"What about Cassandra?" Grace asked.
"She is still inside me, but a little bit dormant now," Veronica answered. "She hasn't said a word since that night but I can still feel her... She feels as guilty as me, maybe more."
"So she won't be causing any more problems?"
"No, I don't think she will."
At that moment, Grace's phone started buzzing. It was Joana.
"Well, I have to go back to my graduation," Grace said.
"Oh, right."
Grace turned to leave at first but stopped to hug her.
"Goodbye, Veronica... Thank you for keeping your promise."
"Thank you Grace, for everything," Veronica replied.
They let go of each other and Veronica watched Grace go back to her friends and family. She looked at everyone for a while, admitting that she was going to miss the school and miss Grace most of all. Finally, she walked back to her car and got in.
"Goodbye Ketu." She said and drove off.