"So I have only two students in my class?" The teacher remarked when Uche returned to his seat.
Immediately after, the school bell rang, classes were over for the day so half the class stood up, ready to leave.
"Sit back, all of you!" The teacher got mad all over again. Everyone sat back down, grumbling in unison."Answer all six questions in your textbook, and submit it on my table first thing tomorrow." He dismissed us properly and went and sat behind his desk."Now you can go."
***
"You two really reading together like my mum said?" Nick asked on our way home and we both just looked at him without words till he changed the topic.
"We meeting at the spot today," He turned to Uche, "You coming?"
"What y'all doing?" Uche asked.
"Just hanging," Nick answered while checking out something on his phone.
"The competition's date has been released. It's next week." Uche informed him of something I didn't even know.
"What?" I turned in surprise.
"I just found out after class, I was gonna tell you while we walked home but since Nick asked..." He was explaining when Nick cut him short.
"So? How is hanging out with me and the others gonna affect that?"
"Well..."
Nick cut Uche short again, "If you wanna spend all your time with my sister, just say, don't fucking tell me about your competition bullshit." Nick exploded and I just kept on watching them both to see Uche's reaction.
I've actually never seen him angry. Like ANGRY. Last The last he was mad, it was at me when I pecked Nathan for the truth or dare, but he was more disappointed than mad then.
Uche chuckled before replying, "You'll never catch me making up excuses before I spend time with my girlfriend. If I wanna be with her, I'll do that, but bro, I've been closed from books for over a month now, as I've literally not read anything tangible...I'm not going to waste this one week that leads up to the competition."
I smiled proudly, but neither of the two friends noticed it. Uche was one of the calmest boys I've met in all my time relating with boys.
"What are you talking about, I represented our school for you at the last competition when you were sick, and we won. I only had to read the night before." Nick argued with him.
"We won, barely," Uche laughed."You guys won because the other team failed their last two questions, and you only answered one question of all the questions that were thrown to our school."
"So what? You calling me dumb now?" Nick stopped walking and asked.
"No. Just letting you know that I don't plan to be you in the past competition; I'm not reading the night before the d-day." Uche sighed and looked up, and I realized he had forgotten I was with them both the whole time.
His expression immediately went soft when he saw me just standing next to Nick, listening to them.
"Let's go, I'm hungry..." I decided to change the topic and Uche came over to where I stood and took my hand so we could continue towards home.
Nick came from behind and broke off mine and Uche's intertwined fingers. Uche looked at him for an explanation but he didn't give any, he just continued walking in front of us.
Uche sighed and shook his head.
***
"I'll be over at Uche's," I informed Nick when he was about to leave through the front door to go be with his other friends."Just in case you come home and don't see me here." I clarified, but he still had that weird look on his face.
"What?" I had to ask.
"Why are you going over there?" He asked and I couldn't help but snort out a laugh.
"Because I want to?"
"Yeah, but why do you want to? What are you going to be doing at his place, his dad's not there."
"I don't know, maybe I'd suck his dick, maybe I'd read with him, who knows," I answered when I got annoyed by his questions.
Nick closed the front door and walked back inside, coming over to where I sat and sitting opposite me.
"Fine, I'll stay with you." He said like he was doing volunteer work.
"What?" I snorted out a question.
"I said I'll stay with you?"
"I'm not asking you to stay with me." I thought I should clarify.
"Weren't you going to go to Uche's house 'cause you bored?"
"No? I'm going there because I told him I'd be coming and 'cause I want to."
"..." He stared at me like that would make me change my mind. I rolled my eyes and got up from where I sat.
"Aight, I'ma head out now. You can lock the doors since you are still around." I told him and picked up my books from where I left them.
"You really going?" He got up and followed behind me.
"Yeah. Bye. Come fetch me when you return with the keys." I said lastly before leaving the house.
I went over to Uche's and rang the bell. I heard Uche stub his toe on his weird to get the door."Aw fuck," he cursed out loud before he opened the door."Julie?" He looked surprised to see me, but I don't blame him, I was earlier than I told him I would be at his house.
He was shirtless when he opened the door so I got distracted and forgot to ask about his stubbed toe, but that was till he began limping back to the kitchen where I assume he was coming from when he stubbed his toe.
"Is it bleeding?" I closed the door and followed him to his kitchen.
"Huh?" He turned off the stove and turned to me.
"Your toe," I looked at it.
"Oh." He licked his lips, "No. No, it's not. But it hurts like hell."
"Sorry," I messed his hair by sieving my fingers through his curls.
He smiled, "You came early," He gave me a questioning look to know why I was early, but I wasn't about to tell him the awkward conversation I had with Nick just a few minutes ago.
"It's not like you're here with anyone else?" I tried to joke about it but he didn't laugh, he just smiled faintly.
"I didn't tidy my room yet, been busy with this," He pointed at the simmering pot.
"Oh, what are you cooking?" I danced on my toes excitedly and finally got him to show his teeth.
"Spaghetti," he answered and came closer to me.
"And meatballs?"
"Yeah, but that dad already made the sauce last night, I just gotta..." HHisphone chimed from the dining just when he wwrappedhis arms around me.
"That should be Joey, I asked him to send me some past questions from last year." He left me and went to his phone.
He was still busy on it when he noticed that I was just standing there in the kitchen, staring at him.
"You...want to lie down?" He put down his phone and came back to me. I shrugged."Shit, my room ain't even neat and I'm asking you that."
"I'll go fix it up so you arrange the books we using today," He turned to go upstairs so I followed."You coming?"
"You want me not to?" I returned the question and he laughed.
"No. Bug just kknowsmy room's messy." He warned," I messed the whole place up while getting ready for school this morning."
"It's fine," I muttered as he opened the door to his room. The first thing I did was look around to see how bad the room was messed up but all I saw were clothes on the bed and floor, and his books messed up on the reading desk.
"Messy," I chortled to myself. He had to see Nick's room when my aunt was sick and wasn't able to force him to be neat to save his life.
"I'll justbe toldd these," he started folding up some of the jeans on the bed and I just had a strong urge to go up to where he was and food all the clothes into one big ball, then shove them in the wardrobe.
He folded up like four of the jeans and took them to the wardrobe, then he threw the others into the basket at the corner of his room, near the door.
I decided to help out and pick the ones on the floor but he took the only one I managed to pick up from me, took me to the bed and made me sit, then he continued what he was doing.