𝔼𝕂𝕀𝕃𝔸

34

Stepping onto the tarred floor of the parking lot of Crest Academy gave different vibes—the bad kind but not unwelcomed. Anything was better than being stuck in a house alone with Mmachi.

The days that followed the incident at Voile's house were mostly quiet. Chidiogo almost forgot that Mmachi also stayed in the same house with her.

Apart from the fact that the house was large, it didn't quite make sense that she could go for days without seeing Mmachi. It almost felt as if Mmachi deliberately stayed away from her.

It was both comforting and unnerving. Comforting because she just felt like she needed Mmachi to be away from her, unnerving because she couldn't get over the fact that something might just be brewing in Mmachi's head—something catastrophic.

Even after Paschal's words, she was still almost convinced that Mmachi was the one responsible for the whole incident.

The only other person she could have suspected was Kamsi but she was standing right in front of her before she was attacked. Her mind also went to Quinn but she wasn't at the party—at least she didn't see her there. Amarachi too had been absent.

Her parents weren't helping matters either. She'd sent a text to their usual numbers that same day, giving them a breakdown of everything that happened including her suspicions on Mmachi.

They never replied. It felt as if they just disappeared from the face of the earth. She really hoped that she was just overthinking and they were on a business trip and just too busy to deal with anything other than work.

Chidiogo continued walking absentmindedly until someone joined her.

"What are you thinking about now?"

The question snapped her out of her thoughts and she tilted her head to see Sky's almond eyes staring at her. Before she could reply, Sky continued talking.

"Anyways, welcome back. Have you heard about this competition that's coming up in two weeks?"

Chidiogo scrunched her face, shaking her head.

"You haven't!?"

Sky's jaw dropped as she stared at her.

"No, what's it about?"

"Technically it's an all round competition, I think. There's an academic and sports quota. So yeah, pretty much a lot of people are going. Probably a pack of cheerleaders too. There's a cash prize attached too and it's going to last for about a week."

Chidiogo nodded absentmindedly. By now they were inside the school building.

"I'm among those the school selected to represent them," Sky continued giving Chidiogo unwanted information.

She was a bit surprised that the school would select a new student to represent them but she waved it aside.

"I think they'll select you too."

That statement piqued her interest and she turned to Sky, her brows lifting of their own accord.

"What makes you think that?"

"Come on, you have the brains. It's obvious that you'll get selected. I think it's just a matter of time. Probably by lunchtime, you'll be called to the principal's office. They already called those that'll be representing from my class."

Chidiogo opened her mouth to object but a beeping sound came through the intercom alerting them of an announcement. In the same second, Chidiogo and some other students were summoned to the principal's office.

She was still trying to get a hang of the whole situation when Sky nudged her, causing pain to shoot through her.

"I told you so," Sky mouthed to her, either choosing to ignore the way she winced or genuinely not noticing.