Spring Field Academy was a popular school in town. Not only was it know for it's extravagant resources and lavish interior but the school fees was pretty high. And although the school was expensive, it's academic performance was second to none as they always produced the brightest students in the country. This had made Spring Field's to stand out in the midst of other schools simply because their academic performance had won laurels all over the globe.
And that was one of the reasons why Kamji had been so nervous as she headed for the Principal's office. She knew why she had been summoned. Ever since she had resumed school, she had found it difficult to concentrate during classes and her grades were beginning to drop. She had even flunked the Maths test they had that morning.
Sitting opposite the principal in his office, Kamji's hands felt sweaty. Why was she so nervous? she asked herself. Sure Principal Peters was a huge man with an intimidating air, but she had never felt this weak around him. As the senior prefect, part of her job was to make a weekly report of the students activities to his office and she had carried that duty diligently. She had come to realize that the rumors about him being ruthless and vicious was false instead he was a very cheerful and boisterous man.
"I believe you know why I called you here. Miss Ubah." The principal said, adjusting his tie. After receiving no reply from the girl he continued, "it's about your grades."
Kamji chose to remain silent. She was going to allow the man to keep talking while she racked her brain for a possible explanation that would justify her low grades. It was a good plan but the teeny tiny problem was that she had no explanation or excuse for her poor scores. It's true that the death of her mother had affected her but that wasn't an excuse for her to fail. And using her late mother as an excuse was simply appalling.
Principal Peters leaned further on the table, just close enough for Kamji to see little tuffs of grey on his neatly carved beard. He was still speaking but she wasn't listening to him entirely. He was saying something about how she was their brightest student and had to keep up the school's reputation. She began picking off imaginary dirt from her fingers just like she saw other kids do in the movies. Not knowing if such action was to portray guilt she carried on with it hoping it would make the principal look down on her with pity.
A fist landed on the table, "Look at me when I am talking to you Chikamji Ubah."
Hearing her full name being called, she needed no soothsayer to tell her the picking of nails trick wasn't working. Slowly lifting her head like he demanded, she had expected to see angry eyes bore on her but Instead the Principal's own wore sadness.
"Is there anything bothering you? You can tell me." He persuaded.
"I am fine sir." came her curt reply.
The principal seemed disappointed with her answer. " I guess being the senior prefect of a school as big as this is wearing you down. I mean you just lost a parent and how foolish of the school's administration to shoulder you with such responsibility.
" No sir, I am not complaining. I love serving the school and—"
" And the burden is too heavy for your fragile shoulders." He said, cutting her off mid sentence." You may deny that the job is not stressful but your grades are proof enough that it is."
Kamji was speechless.
The principal stood up, adjusting his suit, " From now henceforth you shall be temporarily relieved of your duty as the senior prefect of this noble institution until further notice."
" No. You can't do that." Kamji's eyes widened in disbelief." I have sacrificed a lot to get where I am now."
" I am deeply sorry Kamji but until you do something about your grades Miss Titi Layomi would be representing you for now."
This felt like a slap to Kamji in the face. Of all the people to replace her why did it have to be Titi. Both girls had always been rivals since their first year at the Academy with Kamji always at the top while Titi was always in second place. They weren't exactly enemies but they weren't the best of friends either and their constant rivalry on who was the best made things tense between them.
" Can I go now?" she asked, trying to keep a brave face even when she felt at the verge of lashing out at anything.
" Yes. That's all . Please don't forget to turn in your perfect's badge at the Secretary's office." He replied and as an afterthought he added." I had no choice but to do this. What would the other schools say if they were to hear our No 1 student was getting low grades."
This time she didn't ask to take her leave but headed straight to the door. On her way out, she met Titi at the other side of the door. A slight smirk appeared on the girl's face when she saw Kamji. No doubt she was overjoyed about the news that she would be replacing her. Ignoring the girl, she stormed off. The school didn't care about her sacrifices all they cared about was their stupid reputation. Finding a quiet spot on the school ground, she dropped the tough girl act. Drops of tears had clouded her vision and she let it flow.
The final bell had rang, signifying the end of classes for the day. Kamji walked slowly towards the football field where Mic was playing with some of his 'buddies' as he called them. He had always had this freaking love for sports when they were just kids. And it didn't surprise her that he had landed a spot on the team in their third year. He had set a record as the first junior student to land a spot on the football team. So it was quite natural that team captain was given to him as soon as he became a senior.
Standing at the sidelines she watched him practice. He did a few dribbles and tricks with the ball. His foot work was smooth and quick as if he was playing to the beat of a song. After showing off a few more tricks with the ball, he kicked it towards the net scoring a clean goal.
Show off, she thought rolling her eyes. Her ears almost bleed when a group of girls in their 5th year screamed at the top of their lungs. "Go Michael! We love you." one had said.
"Can I be your girlfriend? Your so handsome." another girl had said with dreamy eyes.
Kamji could see Mic smile as he waved at the girls. Although Mic was popular he wasn't a snub and would always appreciate the love shown to him by his so called fans. Kamji had felt a little protective of him when she saw the girls blowing kisses and swooning over him. She buried the urge to tell them that they should stop messing around and Mic was her best friend. But that was where the problem lies. He was her best friend and not boy friend so technically the girls had every right to crush on him. And to worsen matters, Mic was irresistible. He was tall and had a lean muscular build with chocolate toned skin that gleamed in the sunlight. Unlike most guys he had dimples when he smiled that revealed a perfect set of dentition. There were sometimes when people had questioned their relationship and Kamji had confirmed that they were just friends. She could tell by the expression on their faces they didn't believe her. And although there were times she wished they could be something more than just best friends, she had dismissed such thoughts immediately. Mic only saw her like the sister he never had and there was no way she was going to ruin their years of friendship.
The players were given a 20 minutes break and Kamji walked over to where Mic was seated on the bleachers. "Nice game." she said.
"Oh, hey Kams." His eyes lit up as he saw her, "Didn't notice you were among those watching."
She sat next to him and offered him a bottle of water from her bag,"Maybe it's because I wasn't part of those screaming my head off at every goal you scored." She replied, looking in the direction of the girls that were still at the sidelines. They were probably wondering who she was and wishing they were the ones beside Mic.
After taking a long drink of the water, Mic followed her gaze," Now I see. You're jealous."
" No I am not." she replied sharply.
Mic stared at her for a moment and took another long drink from his water."Just so you know, I am not interested in anyone of them. I only have my eyes on one girl."
"Why are you telling me?"
"Just so you know." he shrugged.
" And who is that girl? " she asked
"Someone."
" Surely the someone has a name." She pressed further.
" Yeah, She does." he agreed.
" So what's her name again?" Kamji asked not bothering to hide her curiosity. The fact that Mic had his eyes on someone else had hurt her feelings a little.
"You will meet her soon enough," he grinned, "So just chill."
An awkward silence fell between them as Kamji wondered just who had stolen Mic's heart. Whenever they were together she hadn't really see him spend time with any other girl apart from her. No, it couldn't be. Was Mic actually talking about her? Her cheeks flushed red at the possibility.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked. she didn't notice that he had been observing her closely.
" Nothing." she quickly replied.
" Then is why your face all red? Were you thinking of someone special?" he grinned.
" It's because of the sun. It's too hot out here" she said using her hands to fan herself. Her light skinned complexion had always been a dead giveaway to her emotions. Mic had once joked about how he could tell what she was feeling according to the colour of her face at that particular moment . Red for angry. Green for envy or jealousy. Yellow when she was sick. Blue when she was feeling sad. They were lies ofcourse. There was no way she could turn blue or green. She wasn't a chameleon.
" By the way how did the meeting with the principal go." He asked.
Kamji's face turned sour at being reminded of what had happened some moments ago.
"Yep, "Mic peered at her face closely , "That's definitely red I see there on your face, my little chameleon. You're angry." His brows furrowed slightly."What happened?"
She went on to explain to him the details of what had transpired between her and the Principal. About how she got stripped of her post and how Titi was her replacement.
" God, That's bad. Isn't Titi that girl you always fought with for class topper."
"Yes." she confirmed.
"But your grades. Was it really that bad?" it was obvious that he was having a hard time believing she had low scores. Although they didn't offer the same classes Mic knew Kamji was brilliant. While he was offering arts, she was doing sciences so there was no way he could have know her grades were low.
"Yeah, it was that bad." She admitted, her gaze fixed on the little ants that were coming out of a hole on the grass.
"Looks like someone needs a hug,"he opened his arms,"Come over here."
Kamji laughed. "I would have loved to but you're all sweaty. I think I'll pass this one."
As she was about to back off, Mic was quick enough to wrap her around his arms. He enclosed her in a tight bear hug, laughing as she screamed at him to let go.
"Ewww, that was gross." She said, feigning annoyance.
" Look your color is back to normal," said Mic laughing. " You're no longer red."
" I am not a chameleon, Michael. " she shrieked.
" I never said you were. Guilty conscience," he laughed even harder.
She gave him a friendly shove."Trouble maker."
"Don't worry Kams. Everything will fall back into place. Trust me." he assured. But boy was he wrong. Things were about to get a whole lot worse.