CHAPTER TEN: THE GIRL JOHN SAVED, WHO IS SHE?
"Who is the girl to me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as if he hadn't heard me correctly.
"If you don't want to answer, don't answer," I said, turning away.
"I don't even plan on answering you," he replied, watching the rest of the students being beaten by Mr Kolawole.
He is so weird! Or maybe I am.
I was even expecting him to tell me, since that's how mangas and Korean dramas work—when they say, 'if you don't want to say it, don't say it.'
I looked at him. Seeing him from the side made me wonder how he would look in senior class. Maybe his beauty would stay, or maybe it wouldn't.
"Sir, it is unfair. I also want to sweep the class," a male student said when it was his turn to be beaten.
The boy looked so dirty, with his filthy shirt and dusty shorts. He hadn't even tucked his shirt in. I guessed as much.
Oh man! His socks were brown and his sandals caked with dust. So, there really are dirty students attending boarding school.
Not surprising, since there aren't parents here to look after them.
It made me glance at John, but John's clothes were neat, well ironed, socks clean and hair brushed.
I admired him immediately.
I looked at the rest of the class and, gosh! A few students were indeed dirty, even the females, for crying out loud.
My eyes landed on the girl John saved, and indeed she looked pale.
She wasn't as dirty as the truly unkempt ones.
"Can't you see your classmate looks pale from her facial appearance?" Mr Kolawole shouted at the boy.
"Sir, I'm also not feeling well."
"Stop lying, Joshua," Mr Kolawole said calmly.
Joshua stretched his hand out, and Mr Kolawole beat him.
He cried as he returned to his seat.
After the beating, Mr Kolawole continued teaching, and I loved it—I was able to understand what he taught.
After his class,
I saw John go to the pale girl. He asked the girl sitting beside her to move so he could sit next to her.
Okay now, this was making me think otherwise.
"Do you know who the girl is?" I whispered to Victoria, not wanting the girl sitting beside me to overhear.
"She's Sunshine, but I don't know their relationship yet," Victoria whispered back.
"Lol, same here. Are you crushing on him?" I asked, noticing her suspicious smile.
"A little, and I thank God he's the same age as me and a little taller," she squeaked.
Gosh! Others are crushing on him too?
He is damn fine and so annoyingly quiet.
Victoria is 5'2, and if I'm not mistaken, he must be two or three inches taller than her.
He is indeed tall for his age, I guess.
I looked at John and Sunshine and could see them talking.
"Are you also crushing on John?" the girl next to me asked, noticing me spying on him while copying notes from the board.
"...And why should I answer that?" I asked her flatly.
"I'm Joan, John's twin," she said, looking at me, as if that would convince me to reply.
Was she trying to use that to make me talk?
I looked at her closely, and indeed they looked alike—same eyes, though her birthmark was under her nose.
She had the same face shape too.
"O… Okay," I said, unsure how else to respond.
"I know others crush on my twin, so it's nothing new," she said, smiling proudly.
"I understand," I replied, remembering how my brother had many admirers.
"You also have a brother?" she asked, confused by my response.
"Duh, of course I have. Isn't it obvious?" I asked, expressionless.
"It's not written on your face. Mine is, since my twin and I look alike," she said.
I wasn't even sure if that was rude or not.
"Well, I don't know if my brother and I look alike," I shrugged.
"What's your brother's name?" she asked, placing her pen on her book before closing it, as if eager for my answer.
"Francis!" I replied.
"Francis Williams or Francis Ogboona?" she asked, mentioning a name I hadn't heard before.
"My brother's name is Francis Williams. Who is Francis Ogboona?" I asked, puzzled.
"Jeez… the most popular handsome boy in school. How come you two don't look alike?" she asked, eyeing me up and down.
"Who is Francis Ogboona?" I repeated, ignoring her question.
"That boy over there," she said, pointing to the back.
The boy was fair too, a little cute, with a nice haircut. His uniform was neat but not well tucked.
He was chatting and smiling with some boys, including Joshua.
I suddenly felt like vomiting.
Joshua had dreadlocks, all natural but messy. Jeez!
"Maybe because I'm new here, I don't know who Ogboona is," I said.
"It's better you don't, because the boys with him are notorious, including himself," she said, disgusted by his name alone.
"Wow," I muttered, keeping my thoughts to myself. I wasn't ready to spit anything out yet.
"Back to what I was saying—do you have a crush on my brother?" she asked, staring at me.
"Gosh, why can't you ask something else?" I said, annoyed.
Why did she keep pestering me with the same question? She should just be like her quiet brother.