Not after long, they reached their school. From the car window, May, for the first time, took a glimpse of just how majestic the school looked.
“Wow,” she exclaimed, “do we really attend this school?” she asked rhetorically.
Stacey laughed and replied; “you’re asking as if it’s your first time here”
“The first time I came here was in a black tinted VIP escort car, the second time I was too concerned about something,” she said, “so yeah! It is my first time here.”
“Did you know that…” Stacey said, before being interrupted by a horn sound. Looking behind, a fleet of cars hummed past them.
“Whoa!! Who are they?” May asked, staring at the seven black armoured Mercedes Benz roaring past the garden to the first of the three major blocks of the school.
“That man right there,” Stacey said, pointing at a man with a distinct blue diamond suit escorted by several men in black tuxedos.
“That’s Mike’s Dad”
“What…?” May asked, not believing her ears.
“I’m guessing he had trouble with the principal again… for the fourth time.”
May could not utter any other words, remembering how she replied to him the day before.
They parked beside the fountain and hurriedly walked into the school.
“We are so late!” May exclaimed, on reaching the classroom. The Maths teacher was already there
“Legends,” they heard someone say amid chattering and laughter.
“Do you not notice the time?” The teacher asked.
“Sorry, sir, we’re…” Stacey tried to explain.
“Stay outside till my time is up,” he interrupted, continuing his lesson.
**As if we wanted to be in the class** May thought, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
Later, they entered the class after he was through. The day went by smoothly thereafter, until it was time for their break.
In the cafeteria, they stayed in their usual position, awaiting their meals to be served. Stacey excused herself to get herself a drink and came back a few minutes later.
"Did you buy that?"
“You know you can take anything you want for free, right?” Stacey replied, keeping the champagne bottle on the table.
“Huh?” May replied, jaw dropped.
Giggling, Stacey said “Silly! You’ve paid for it, don’t you know how much your school fee is?”
“Well, I am here with a scholarship… so no!”
“Oh, I should have known,” she replied, popping the bottle and pouring the contents onto two fancy glass tumblers.
“Hey up, lovelies” a premed red-haired girl greeted, suddenly snatching the bottle from Stacey. And taking a seat.
“Whats up Mia?” Stacey replied.
“I’m just knackered. This bloody school won’t give us good foods, I can’t fancy that,” Mia replied, gulping wine from the bottle.
May looked lost. She could barely understand what Mia was saying, but she was sure that it was English.
“What’s your name, sweet?” Mia asked, tossing the empty bottle into the trash can.
**Sweet?**
“I’m May, nice to meet you”
“Cheers! By the way, Stacey Mike’s pops came to school today, you notice?” “Yeah I did, we saw him this morning”
“Oh, for crying out loud, just because his minted doesn’t mean that he can just faff around the school every goddamned day,” Mia asserted.
Soon after, the servers served them Jolof rice, spiced with an enormous chicken lap, and fried eggs.
May’s tummy growled in expectation as she grabbed a spoon from the drawer beneath her.
“Need to complain about this naff they call food, laters mates,” Mia said, waving a smile before carrying her plate off.
“I see nothing wrong with the food,”
“Well, they tried, but it’s really not so good” Stacey replied; standing up with her left-overs and dumping them in the trash.
**Are you kidding me?** May thought in astonishment.
“See you in class”
“Wait! I’m almost through,” May said hurriedly, eating her remaining food.
…
Back in the noisy class, they sat next to each other, spending their last minutes of break time. May on hers and Stacey on Jason’s [chasing him from his seat wasn’t too difficult~ he just left immediately after they arrived].
“So, lemme officially introduces you to the class,” Stacey said enthusiastically.
“Okay, I’m all ears”
“first,” she said, leaning on the seat and placing her legs on Jason’s desk.
“Stacey Wilson~ Me!” She giggled. “I’m in love with ponytails, see! I have one here,” she said, showing off her hair. “And am hmmm… Partially social, I guess.”
“Mia Lee, you’ve also met her”
“Oh! The one with the weird accent?”
“Yeah! She’s mostly considerate of others when using her slang, but I can understand her. That’s why she used it. She loves just about anything (as long as it’s not boring) and I’ve never seen her shut up for once. She’s very bold and you can see it in her red eyes.
“Red eyes? You mean that she’s always angry?”
“No, silly!” Stacey said, laughing. “her iris is red”
“No way!!” May exclaimed
“Yes, way,” Stacey said, trying her best not to laugh. “you didn’t notice it”
“No, I didn’t,” May said, gazing at Mia, who was the spotlight of a group in front of the class”
“We have another red-hair in this class too, but with brown eyes. His name is Oliva. He has a kinky hair… or so, it's really high but not so much… and uh! Hi’s a half-cast black dad and white mom.”
“So he not Mia's sibling”
“Absolutely not! Hi’s like the opposite of Mia; calm, cool and mostly spend his time in the library”
“Okay”
“Mike Niles, you’ve also met him. He is very rich, hm… maybe the richest in our class. His dad is the CEO of um…”. While Stacey was talking about Mike, May felt very uneasy and her mind wondered.
**I hope he doesn't hold any grudge against me, ugh! I shouldn’t have rejected him like that**
“May, May!!” Stacey called, looking worried
“Yes,” May replied, shuddering back to reality
“What’s wrong? You seem to be worried whenever I mention Mike”
“No, it’s nothing, “she said, forcing a smile. “Go on!”
“Ow… kay! He is always with Jordan, Lucas and Liam, that is if he is not with other girls”
“Then, Liam Feyrer… huh!!” she exclaims, looking at him dreamily at the corner of the class, motioning something to Luke”
“Nope! Skip his part”
“Why!!” Stacey asked, giggling
“Coz all you’ll say is ‘he's so cool, he is so cute.’ "
Laughing really hard, Stacey sat on a seat and said “okay! Okay umm… who I’m I I forgetting; there’s Ali the Indian, Ava who is almost never in class, Jess and oh Lisa. You must avoid her at all costs.”
“Why!?” May asked alarmed
“She's vulgar, especially to um…” Stacey paused, choosing her words carefully, “people that are not as rich as she is”
” oh!” she said, suddenly distracted by Jason, who was studying as usual by the window.
**In a class as noisy as this! How does he understand anything?**
“What is it?” Stacey asked, looking in her direction. “I almost forgot Jason, the nerd. I feel sad for him at times. He's here on scholarship, too. Poor kid! He is cute but very disorganised; doesn’t iron his uniform properly, if at all, and rarely Combs his hair.”
“Hey, I have an idea,” May whispered in her ear, making Stacey giggle at her plan.
Jason tired of the boredom and of how time is seemingly passing slowly, focused on his chemistry textbook, which was his favourite subject. Suddenly, May snatched the book from him.
“Hey!!” He exclaimed
“What are you doing?” May asked
“Give it back!!” Jason beckoned, stretching to grab his book back, but May tossed it to Stacey.
“Stop” He struggled, trying to collect it from Stacey and at the same time trying his best to avoid touching areas that would be awkward. He kept struggling with the girls, enjoying every moment of their company.
Mike smashed his hand on his desk in fury.
“What's up with you Mike” Jordan, who was standing in front of him asked, leaning on his desk.
“That… That fool!’
“You mean May?” Lucas asked
“How dare… how dare she dump me like that. I even had to trek under the damned rain because of her.”
**oh no! That poor girl has gotten herself in trouble** Liam thought.
“How dare she?” He continued to mutter, watching her play with Jason made him even more furious.
“Mike, calm down. Surely there're many other girls,” Liam said, trying to soothe his temper, knowing him too well.
“Oh! The new girl that is always with Stacey,” Jordan said, stroking his chin with a half-smile on his face, showcasing his diamond tooth.
“She must pay!!!” Mike stood up, about to erupt, but his friend held him back.
“Hey, hey! Not in class. You don’t want to make another case for your dad,” Jordan said, holding him by the chest.
“Come on Mike, it’s almost break over. Teachers will be here any second now,” Lucas reminded, holding his arms.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Mike! Stacey can make her father file a case against you in court. You know her father is a perfect match with yours. You looking at a decade in prison,” Liam cautioned.
Then, Mike shook his friends off him and sat abruptly on his seat just in time before a teacher came in.
“Alright, class to your seats,” Mrs Claire ordered.
Making everyone, including May, who was oblivious to Mike's anger to hurry to their seats.