"OMG! THS PLACE IS AWESOME!" I said to myself after taking a quick picture that I planned on sending to my Nigerian friends. The flight took decades and I was so exhausted, I needed a long time in the shower.
"How about a bubble bath?" Said Dad when he had read my thoughts through my actions of discomfort and body itching.
The house was humongous and it possessed a painting of white on the outside and my favourite, yellow, on the inside. It possessed jarring designs and magnificent paintings. It was like an itsy-bitsy piece of heaven built on Earth.
"Woah," I smiled, covered in goosebumps.
"Welcome to your new home," Dad gladly replied, making a welcome gesture with both hands spread out in front of him. He showed me around and showed me to my room, which was like a different apartment entirely; it was like taking a glimpse of heaven. My lips were tightly sealed as I turned to look at Dad.
"Okay, you're officially off my blacklist!" I proclaimed and hopped on the furry, bouncy bed in excessive excitement then moved to the sofa.
Olive Valley was the best! I stayed out looking stunningly at all the buildings and people and vehicles. "Wooow," I whisperingly said.
I stayed upstairs in order to have an explicit view of everything and take more nice pictures. I suddenly heard a cool, calm voice say "hello," and I turned to look when behold, a Prince stood there continuously waving and smiling charmingly. My breath slowly ceased as I plodded to think of the first word that would come out of my mouth but then, my phone dropped and I didn't notice; I didn't even know that I had my phone in my hand, all I was concerned about was knowing where he had popped out from.
"Hello?" He said, still waving at my face to catch my attention.
"Prince... charming..." I blurted out and just immediately, Dad walked in.
"Emlyn, meet my daughter," Dad said, expecting me to speak but it was too late, I was already under the eyes spell.
"Olamide!" He called out to me.
"Stephanie!" I repelled with a scowl. "It's Stephanie," I smiled at the lad.
"Emlyn. Nice to meet you," he said with a bright beam on his face and we shook hands. His hands felt so warm and soft that I felt like holding on to it forever as a good luck charm.
As soon as Emlyn got loose of my hand, I asked to be excused by him, then I gripped my Dad's wrist and took him away from Emlyn's presence.
"Daddy, who is he?"
"Some kid who helps me walk my dogs everyday for some cash. He is really nice and smart too." Dad responded and left the balcony, leaving me with my mouth hung open. Emlyn then caught me off guard and waved to get my attention; we got to properly introduce ourselves.
He took me too see my Dad's dogs and I really had fun hanging out with the dogs and him that night. I got to realize that he had a bouncy character and he was chirpy as a cricket. He told amusing and silly jokes. From the little time I spent with him that day, I got to realize that he was a lot caring.
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My Dad brought the news to me that I was to begin my new school the next week and I got even more thrilled! My life was going just perfect!
I was so glad to have made a friend on the very first day and hour that I arrived in the United States. It made me see that I would fit right in and I had nothing to worry about.
Already bonding with my Dad, Emlyn decided to pay him a visit that night on his arrival back from Nigeria.
While my Dad was sorting out my school registeration, I was making every possible research on white schools and how to fit in. I also planned on getting new materials for school.
The whole trip to America thing just caught me off guard.
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The next week, I woke up on time and so did my Dad. I got drowned in so much glee about my first day of school in Olive Valley but I didn't want my enthusiasm to get into my head like it did when I attended my school back in Nigeria, on the first day, and totally made a jester out of myself in public. I wanted to make sure that didn't happen at my new school mainly because there were whites and cool people of different race and... it was freaking America!
I wore a black leather jacket on a yellow tank top and on a mini black pleated skirt. I wore gold flats that had yellow ribbons on them and also a furry bagpack. I was striving so hard to make a good first impression. I was sure to make everything look great, even my nails.
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Dad had always wanted to take me abroad with him but Mom never agreed to it for some reason I didn't know about. She had gone thrice; Dad went in and out whenever he felt like it but I was forbidden, I never had the chance to gain that experience until after my fourteenth birthday.
Dad parked his car in the school's parking lot and we both went in. Just few black people were around, most of the students were white and also mixed race too. They all kept staring at me in an awkward way that I disliked. Dad claimed that the principal of the school was a wife of his friend's brother and after the necessary procedures were carried out, and informations were being passed, I was taken to my class which was just down the hallway.
As soon as I entered, the principal introduced me to the class. She exited after giving the students some key information about me and how they ought to treat me, reminding them of their manners and the school rules.
The teacher whom had been interrupted by the principal then called me back to the front of the class as I made for the seat in which the principal had directed me to dwell. I began to freak out inside of me. I was so timid.
"What does this woman want with me? Just leave me to my seat and act like I'm a hologram!" I said to myself and she said, "looks like we've got a new student here in our midst. Tell everyone your name young lady. We want to hear from you."
The principal had already said my name but evidently, they wanted to hear from me. I stood still and uttered no word as I looked around and all eyes were on me. I kind of felt intimidated. I kept wondering if I was wearing the right clothes.
"Go on, introduce yourself."
"My name is Stephanie..." I said out loud in an American and Nigerian mixed accent. The students coughed out laughter.
"Stephanie what?" The teacher asked once again and I turned to glare at her innocently as she gave me a sign to speak up.
"You're being too loud!" A boy said from the back when I still stood mute and he laughed with the others. I immediately assumed that he was the class frivolous and naughty one just as it is in every class.
"Sweetie?" The teacher said and I spoke, "It's Stephanie Bakewell" and immediately, a quaking laughter filled the air. There was a great storm of laughter from every single student, excluding a boy who only smiled a bit and didn't make it obvious.
"Bakewell? What kinda name is Bakewell?" A boy said with a facial expression that seemed like he just had a disgusting breakfast.
"Hmm, looks to me like her shaped is baked well," another stated, smiling from ear to ear.
"I could really use a pie!"
"Next week is my birthday. Could you do coconut milk, chocolate, and strawberry all together? Forget the candles for you light up my heart."
"That's enough! All of you listen, Bakewell is an actual name, a rare one though. Funny, but you shouldn't do this to a new student. Remember what the principal said? She deserves to feel comfortable and loved. No more unpleasant remarks."
"Yes Mrs Kayla," the class murmured.
"Stephanie, why do you bear Bakewell? You're a Nigerian."
"Um, my great grandfather was a white man who married a Nigerian woman and so the name happened... well that's what my Dad told me, the man might be lying for all I know," unusually bold, I said and the whole class laughed.
"Okay Stephanie. Looks like you're a comedian yourself. You're gonna fit right into this clown class."
"Your favourite class you mean," a boy replied.
"You guys make me sick!" The teacher said and they all laughed.
I was released to my seat which was just next to the boy who wasn't laughing.
"Hey, I'm Arthur."
"Hey Arthur, nice colours" I replied, pointing to the designs he made on his book.
"Thanks. I love your Nigerian accent."
"Really? Well I can speak your way if you want," I said in a smooth American accent and he smiled, then we turned away from each other to listen to the teacher.
I didn't let the remarks get to me at all, I strived to have an enjoyable time on my first day of school in America. All they said concerning my surname wasn't new to me because it happened everywhere I went so I preferred addressing myself as just Stephanie, excluding my family's fancy name.
During lunch break, I sat next to Arthur in the cafeteria and we had a savoury meal.
Arthur and I sat in class having a conversation when Mrs Kayla stepped in and joined in on the 𝒈𝒊𝒔𝒕. She seemed humble and kind.
"Not only am I your English teacher but also the school's counselor. I know most crucial information about every student and I offer assistance to students on academic, emotional, and social problems. Your favourite colour is yellow, you find almost everything interesting. You seem like the shy and reserved kind." Mrs Kayla said and blew my mind. How did she know? Her words and actions toward everyone made me start to love her. I thought of making her my favourite teacher pronto.
"Yellow means optimistic, playful, cheer and a lot more. The colour suits you," she smiled. "What's your favourite fruit?"
"Ba..." I replied and she cut in, "Banana! Banana is yellow and contains serotonin which is the key hormone that stabilizes our mood, feelings of well-being and happiness." She said and I smiled again. Mrs Kayla then had to leave and I and Arthur resumed our chat as he talked about the school's system and the intriguing happenings around.
The class frivolous and naughty one then bounced into the class sportively. Arthur told me his name—Andrew, and his partner in crime, Richard.
"Hello Bakewell."
"Heyyo!"
Few seconds later, a girl walked into the class... I couldn't even testify to how she moved as ordinarily walking—she sashayed into the class in a riveting manner, with so much elegance and grace. Was she maybe a ballet dancer?
I continuously quizzed myself about her, gazing inquisitively at her.
She had her headphones on and calmly took a seat while typing swiftly on her phone with her shiny nails. Her skin was really glowing that she stood out amongst the rest. She beheld the physical potentials of a damsel. Heck, her clothes looked so steep even though she wore the exact outfit as me. 𝙒𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙛𝙞𝙩!!!
Her skirt was in mini length while mine was in above knee length.
The colour of her outfit was white and black and they looked high-priced enough to get one like me who wore the same thing but less pricey, timorous.
"Who is she?" I pryingly asked.
"That's Nicole Martin. Nicky for short," Arthur answered. "She's an actress. Her Dad is one of the biggest superstars here in Olive Valley. He acts, sings, writes. Nicole is kind of a big deal here."
As soon as I received Arthur's message, I yearned to be friends with Nicole in a blink of an eye! I wondered if she was nice and clever, I wanted to know what she loved and did not; how she spoke, where she lived, what she was interested in, and if she was ingenious too.
"Uh... Steph? Nicky is not really who she seems to be. She is one sassy, strict, and arrogant human, and only nice to few people who are of the same high class as her." Arthur said, probably noticing that I was interested in approaching her and becoming friends with her.
"Arthur, ever since I was a kid, I've always had this dream of becoming a top actress and making the world a better place through fame and money, through influence. I want to help the poor and make people happy. I also love those flashing lights and cameras," I smiled at my beautiful thoughts. "I want to inspire the world." I said again with a look on my face expressing persistency and enormous fervor.
"Well I wanna become the youngest robotic engineer. Same thing in common—childhood dream."
"Really? That is amazing!"
"I love that you dream of inspiring the world. I'd also love to be an inspiration to people someday. Just... stay away from Nicky. Not only is she haughty but she's also a terrible influence to all who go near her and become her friend. Trust me"
"I trust you." I responded, but I was in no way satisfied yet. There was something about Nicky that kept pulling me to her-she was a freaking actress!
"How cool is that?" I thought. "I bet she changes her wardrobe every week," I fussily said to myself, still desiring to start up a conversation with her, but then, being influenced by a bad person wasn't what I wanted for myself.
I then thought of a new mission in my new school—rather than keeping away from her so as not to get influenced, I planned to try and change her then become her good friend. I smiled through my thoughts.