Chantel came into the room with smiles all over her face. She really enjoyed the talk she had with Kevin and when he held her, she felt her heart do a thousand flips in her chest. She sat on her bed and laid down lazily with a deep sigh. She looked up, seeming to be in dreamland when Adiepena entered the room.
"Someone seems happy? What's the occasion?" Adiepena said.
"Oh, hey. I did not hear you enter here. Anyway, I am just happy, that's all," Chantel answered, sitting up. Adiepena sat beside her.
"Who is the boy I saw you talking to earlier? Is he friend of yours?" Adiepena asked.
"Oh. Erm, that's Kevin. He came to see me," Chantel replied, a bit startled by the question.
"Kevin? You mean, the boy with gorgeous eyes? He came to see you? Wait! Is he not the same boy Nadia said was her man?" Adiepena asked again.
"Y-Yes, he is. He came to clear up the whole situation with Nadia. It turns out he and Nadia are not dating after all. It was just a misunderstanding."
"And who told you that? Him?"
Chantel nodded. She did not know how Adiepena really felt about Kevin since she had not talked to her extensively about it, whereas Cynthia had already said her mind about the whole Kevin issue. Cynthia did not like the idea of Chantel dating Kevin and her reasons were very legit. But, Chantel already had feelings for Kevin and did not know how to go about that.
"So, you believe him? That he and Nadia are not together like she is claiming?" Adiepena asked, bringing Chantel back to reality.
"I-I believe him. He was very sincere to me so I don't think there is any reason for him to lie to me," Adiepena slowly nodded.
"Listen, Chantel. I know you may have heard this from Cynthia countless times because she always speaks her mind about these things but I am going to say it anyway. I don't think you are ready to be in a relationship, yet. You are still young. Just a 15 year old trying to find her way in the world..."
"Actually I will be turning 16 in a couple of months, three months to be precise," Chantel cut in.
"...that, still, doesn't mean you are old enough to date yet. We just started this school and we are yet to achieve our dreams. We don't need boys now. Having a boyfriend means you will start hugging, kissing, and before you know it you are having sex. I don't think you want that," Adiepena continued.
"I am not thinking of having sex with Kevin or anyone yet. I don't want to be a mother now."
"So, you are actually thinking of dating him?"
"Yes, I mean, no. I don't even know," Chantel threw her head in her hands in frustration.
"Chantel. I know you might be confused. You know, I was once in your place, sometime ago. I used to have a boyfriend when I was in the junior high school."
"Really? Did you two break up?"
Adiepena smiled and nodded. "Yes we broke up. I was very much in love with him, or so I thought. He was my everything. We used to go out a lot and we had great times together. The fortunate thing was I never slept with him no matter how hard he tried to convince me to. Little did I know that he was sleeping around with other girls. He slept with all my friends and impregnated two of them. It was a huge scandal. He ran away and never came back to the school again."
"Oh God! That's terrible," Chantel gasped.
Adiepena nodded sadly. "I am telling you this because I want you to be very careful. You might think you are in love now and might give in to the feeling. But if you don't take care, you will end up very hurt. I like you a lot, that is why I am sharing this with you. I am not saying Kevin is like my ex, I am just asking you to at least take your time to think things through before you enter into a relationship with anyone. Don't let your feelings lead you to make any hasty decision. Think about it," she said and left.
Chantel sat down in her bed in silence. What Adiepena said to her hit her in places she could never imagine. She did not know what do. She laid back in bed and groaned in frustration.
Some days later, Chantel and Cynthia were coming out of the library during break hours when they run into Nadia and Akua.
"Who do we have here? So I finally got to see that boyfriend snatcher. You finally got your wish, right? You finally got your hands on Kevin, right?" Nadia barked and stood in front of Chantel while Akua blocked Cynthia's way.
"Senior Nadia. I don't know what you are talking about. Please, let me pass, I am going for lunch," Chantel said.
"You have the guts to talk back at me after stealing my man? I can see you have grown wings. It's almost the end of the term so you have grown wings suddenly. Now, listen to me you brat. Don't think because you have Kevin now, you have won. You better watch your back because you now have a mortal enemy. I will make sure to destroy you. I will make you regret setting your eyes on Kevin. I promise you," Nadia warned her.
"If Kevin really wanted to be with you, he would have stayed with you without you having to come and fight Chantel over him. Get over it, Kevin does not want you. He has no feelings for you. If there is anyone you should fight, it is Kevin, not my friend. So leave her alone," Cynthia warned and held Chantel's hand.
"Eeii, see this form one girl o. Are you going to fight me? Do you want to fight me?" Nadia walked threateningly towards Cynthia. Cynthia just laughed in her face and walked towards her.
"I am not like those other form one girls you can intimidate. I can beat you up and no one will stop me. But, you know what, I won't stoop low to your level because girls like you, are not worth my time," Cynthia said, looking Nadia and her friend up and down and backing away from them.
Chantel stood there, shocked and dumbfounded at Cynthia's outburst. She never expected Cynthia to react towards Nadia with such courage. Cynthia held her hand and pulled her away from the two other girls. Nadia felt belittled and very embarrassed. She huffed and walked away in anger.
"Who does that girl think she is? I will not allow that nonsense to continue. Does she think the fact that she is a senior she can do whatever she wants? The cheek of it. She even made me loose my appetite," Cynthia paced their room in anger.
"Calm down, Cynthia. It's okay. I am really grateful to you for standing up for me. I really appreciate it."
"I told you I will stand by you no matter what. I won't let that girl or her friends try to harm you in any way. I won't let that happen."
"Thank you so much, Cynthia. You are a very good friend," she said and hugged her friend who happily returned the hug.