She felt the person's grip tightening as nails dug into her skin. A yelp escaped her lips as soon as they parted from Justin's, a yank freeing her from his hands.
She staggered as she whipped around, only still standing because of the firm grip on her hand.
She grimaced, barely having enough time to register Mmachi standing in front of her when a palm connected with her cheek with so much force, her head did a ninety degree turn.
Reflexively, her palm found it's way to her face to soothe her stinging cheeks. Tears pricked her eyes quickly clouding her vision.
The class appeared to be a blur so did the sudden uproar.
She blinked repeatedly trying to rid herself of the adamant tears which seemed to cling desperately to her.
The noise only grew in intensity as she pressed her hands against her ears to stop the laughter resonating in her head.
She could see herself bent over on the ground, sure that only she noticed the blood spilling out of her mouth while obnoxious taunts were all the consolation offered to her.
She shook her head, getting rid of the thoughts.
She was in Crest Academy, she reminded herself, not Jasmine High.
Through her blurry vision, worsening as more tears pooled in her eyes, she looked around the classroom packed with students turned spectators of the scene unfolding, the once empty classroom more like a distant memory.
Her rapid blinking managed to clear her blurry vision just as her eyes met Quinn's. She stared at her, eyes sparkling in amusement as her lips curved up in a taunting smile.
Chidiogo looked away, glancing at the ground first before finally looking up at Mmachi.
She was slightly taken aback by the intensity of Mmachi's glare. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.
She stared at Mmachi for a while feeling a pang in her chest. Her flushed face and tightened jaws couldn't hide the hurt in her eyes.
She should have pulled away earlier. She decided to speak up, the least she could do was to rectify her mistake.
"I was–"
"Stop."
"But I nee–"
"I don't want to hear it."
"Please at least–"
"Shut the fuck up!! I don't want to hear what you have to say. Why do you insist on taking everything from me? Is this some sick habit or something? Or are you still that foolish girl who can't tell the difference?"
Chidiogo stared at her, the last sentence replaying in her head. Everything seemed to halt as her head swirled with suppressed memories, her eyes brimming with fresh tears.
She shook her head swiping at her tears as she stared on at Mmachi. Of course she had to stab right where it hurt. It was foolish of her to have expected better.
"Think whatever you want."
She managed to flash her a shaky smile as she turned to walk away.
Mmachi picked up her action and sent a kick to her right leg before she could take any steps further.
Her knees buckled, her arms flailing up in the air as she fell. She let out a groan once her cheek connected with the tiled floor, a renewed surge of pain shooting through her body.
She winced, attempting to push herself off the ground when Mmachi walked to where she lay, squatting beside her.
Chidiogo strained her eyes, glancing up at her while ignoring the laughter she heard in the background. She heard a voice which temporarily caught her attention.
"Babe–"
Mmachi shot Justin a glare causing him to shut up. Chidiogo tried to glance in his direction, surprised to hear him speak. She had forgotten that he was still present.
She glanced back at Mmachi when she heard her voice.
"Honestly, I'd love to stay and know how bad your fall was but unfortunately, I'm not a fan of pitiable scenes."
Chidiogo's facial features pulled together in anger as she stared at Mmachi whose eyes twinkled in amusement.
She opened her mouth to speak but Mmachi was gone before she could utter a single word.
———††††———
Chidiogo sat on the floor staring into the sky. Lost in the clouds of murkiness, she let the night breeze soothe her as she made wishes on stars she couldn't see.
Her butt already felt numb from sitting in the same position for so long. She let out a sigh, still regretting her decision to attend that evening's prep.
She eventually skipped it in the end so it wouldn't have made any difference. She sighed once more, hugging herself as she ran her palm up and down her upper arm in an almost futile attempt to smoothen the goosebumps crawling up her skin.
The wind had gotten a bit harsh and she contemplated on going back to the hostel for a moment. She couldn't tell if the prep was over and she didn't exactly want to see Mmachi either.
A voice startled her out of her thoughts. She looked up trying to make out the partly silhouetted figure standing in front of her.
"How are you feeling now?"
She stared on at the figure. The voice sounded familiar.
"Amelia?"
"Yeah?"
She shook her head.
"Nothing. You were saying something?"
Amelia took a seat on the spot next to her.
"Yeah. How are you feeling now?"
"Um... I'm okay."
She stared at Amelia wondering why she suddenly cared about her until a thought flashed through her mind.
"I am..."
"Chidiogo right?"
"Yeah..."
She stared at her for a while.
"How did you know?"
"Your dress... I was in the class earlier."
Right!
Chidiogo nodded slowly as realization dawned on her.
'If you know it's me then why are you here?' she wanted to ask. Rather, she stared ahead letting the wind whip her hair around her face.
A few minutes went by before she heard Amelia's voice.
"Why did you do that to Mmachi?"
Chidiogo turned to look at her. Her lips were stretched in a thin line as she stared back at her.
"You came here just to ask me that?"
Amelia shrugged. "Maybe. Do you have an answer to the question?"
Chidiogo looked away from her, redirecting her gaze to the nothingness in front of her.
"No."
Amelia let out a sigh.
"I know Mmachi might have overreacted a little bit but–"
Chidiogo scoffed. "A little bit?"
"You can't blame her. She hardly even did anything–"
"I didn't do anything either. I guess that was my mistake."
'I should have pulled away when I had the chance to,' she added the last part in her head.
Amelia stared at her for a while before speaking.
"Does Mmachi have something against you?"
Chidiogo kept quiet for a while.
"I don't know."
"You can't think of anything? I noticed you two don't exactly get along. Is there any reason or anything you know that could have caused that? Is she mad at you for something?"
Chidiogo tilted her head up, ignoring Amelia's gaze as she squinted her eyes wondering if there was actually someone lurking in the darkness or it was just in her head.
"You really don't know?"
Chidiogo turned to look at her.
"Why do you care?"
"I don't. I just want to know where I stand."
"What does that even mean?"
Amelia shrugged. "I think I'm basically cleared. You're just a selfish brat who feels no remorse after cheating on her sister. For a moment I really thought there was a misunderstanding. I guess I was wrong."
She stood up, dusting off dirt from her skirt.
"Goodnight bitch."
Her smile was the last thing Chidiogo saw before she disappeared.
She sat staring at the direction she headed in long after she was gone. Mmachi was right, she shouldn't have transferred and knowing Mmachi well enough, she would stop at nothing to make sure she didn't forget that.