𝔼𝕂𝕀𝕃𝔸

24

Chidiogo felt her legs dragging to a stop, frozen to a spot, unable to resume it's motion.

Mmachi and Paschal continued walking, oblivious to her sudden stop. She stared ahead of them, the filing room in plain sight.

A lump formed in her throat and she forced herself to swallow before she called out to Mmachi.

Paschal stopped first, Mmachi turning after he had. The both of them stared at her, waiting for her to speak.

She glanced at the filing room once more before speaking. "Do we really need to do this?"

Mmachi stared at her for a moment before exhaling. She ran her palm down her face, muttering inaudible words. After a few seconds, she turned to Chidiogo, a deep frown marring her features.

"Diogo, I need you to be serious right now because this isn't the time for jokes."

"I know but—"

"Because I'm this close to loosing my cool," Mmachi said, not letting Chidiogo finish her sentence.

"And we're this close"—she emphasized by pinching the air—"to getting to our destination. Now is not the time to back out!"

Chidiogo remained silent for a moment. Her eyes drifted to the filing room once before it returned to Mmachi's face. She shook her head, refusing to listen to Mmachi.

"You don't get it. We can get expelled for this. Isn't there another way?"

Mmachi ran her palm through her hair, tousling it. She let go of the hair almost immediately and messaged her forehead with her pointer and middle finger.

Chidiogo watched her pace about for about a minute before Paschal spoke up, reminding them of his presence.

"Chidiogo is right. This is our future we're talking about."

Mmachi stopped her pacing and turned to Paschal in less than a nanosecond.

"To hell with the future!" 

Paschal scrunched his brows at her words while Chidiogo stood, rethinking the whole situation. She should have never agreed to help Mmachi.

"What do you mean by that? Does our future really mean nothing to you? Just because you..." He stopped himself from speaking any further and looked away.

"No, say what you wanted to," Mmachi said, moving closer to him.

His eyes were still fixed behind Mmachi while Mmachi's eyes almost burned holes through him.  

Chidiogo sensed the budding tension and stepped between the both of them.

"Mma—"

The sound of heels clicking against the floor sent the rest of the words flying away and Chidiogo's lips hung open for a moment as she watched the door to the filing room clicking shut.

Her eyes were quick to find the source of the sound. She watched as a fair skinned woman, dressed in a light pink suit, headed in the opposite direction.

She turned to find Mmachi and Paschal staring at the woman too. They turned back after a while and they all exchanged a glance. It was their only chance.

As if their minds had been placed in a sync, they all headed towards the filing room. Their footsteps were almost inaudible as the noises from surrounding classrooms lay heavy on the atmosphere.

They brushed by a couple loitering students, Mmachi almost pushing one down, before they got to the room.

Chidiogo was the first to reach. She placed her hand on the doorknob for a few seconds, hearing her heartbeat echoing in her head, before she gave it a turn.