EMPIRE HIGH SCHOOL - Episode 15

?Katherine’s POV ?

I was in my room, preparing to sleep after I ate dinner alone. Mom and dad were in their room talking while Pat went to wash our clothes in the laundry room. I crashed on my be-d, i was almost covering my b©dy when I heard a knock on the be-droom door.

“Kate are you asleep?” My mom asked softly
I wasn’t feeling sleepy yet, I just wanted to l@yon my be-d till I drift off. I sat up quic-kly and said.

“No mom” I replied
She popped her head in first.

“Can I come in?” She asked
“Yes Mom” I said
She slid into the room and walked to my be-d.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.. I’m fine”

No! I wasn’t happy! Today was a bad day for me!
She sat on my be-d and rested my head on her che-st. I held her ti-ghtly.
“Did you talk to him?”

“Yes.. i did.. but you know your dad is so stubborn”
“Okay” I said in a sad tone
“Come on.. I don’t want you to think about it” she said
I hummed a low response
“Have you seen it?” She asked
“What?”
“Your period?” She asked
“Yes”
There was stain on my P@nt when I wanted to shower.
“Okay.. Remind me to give you the money you borrowed from your cl@ssmate”

“I have money in my purse”
“It doesn’t matter..” She said
We l@psed into silence. Seconds later my mom broke the silence.
“So what did I miss? Concerning your school gist and all” mom said
I looked up at her and smiled
“I’m sorry for staying away for too long” she said
“It okay Mom.. I un-derstand” I said
My mom toyed with my hair. As My gist p@rtner i have to tell her everything
“You know I love you”

“I love you too Mom” she k!$$£d my forehead
“A cl@ssmate dropped me off today and he borrowed me the money I used to buy pad”
“Who is he?”
“His name is Emeka Chukwuma” I replied
“Something bad happened at school today”
“Tell me about it”
“You know Mr Joel?”
“I haven’t seen him but your dad told me about him. He is your principal”
“Yes and his son is in my cl@ss. His name is Joseph. Actually Joseph is the most popular boy at EHS”
“Are you friends with him?”
“No” My answer was immediate
“Why?”

“Joseph has a girlfriend named Angella. She is the most popular girl -”
“Someone like Cynthia”

“Yes Mom”
“So.. You are avoiding Joseph because of Angella?”
“Exactly”
“Is she the same girl you told me about?”
“Yes mom”

I told my mom about Angella Benson the day I c@m£ back from School on my first day at EHS.
“Joseph had a fight with Emeka because of me”
“What?! You don’t mean it?” She said
“I’m serious mom” I sat up again and looked at her. I told her about the scenario.
“We st©pped them before things could get out of hands”
And I still don’t un-derstand why Joseph was fighting with Emeka because of me when he had his own girlfriend.
“Did you ask Emeka about it?” She asked
“Yes”

FLASHBACK

“Emeka, are you sure? Or maybe Joseph punched you for another reason”
“It was because of you. Kate, I’m serious and I can’t lie to you”
“Why do I feel like you are hiding something from me?” I said
Emeka looked at me
“Joseph likes you” he said
My jaw dropped wi-de
“What?!”
“Yes”

“But.. But he’s d@t!ngAngella”
“You don’t know Joseph James”
I was silent
“And I will tell you the whole truth”
I stared at the road ahead, waiting for Emeka to start his tale.
“Remember that day you ignored me?”
“Yes”

“I told Joseph about it and promised to try my luck with you”
“What do you mean?”
“To be honest Kate, I like you.. And I told Joseph about it too. He asked me to take my eyes off you but I was determined. So I thought of it and I realized my lifestyle won’t get me a chance with
you… So I changed”

He st©pped and looked at me. Our gaze locked but I looked away. It was the first time a boy told me he likes me. Emeka was being honest with me. I could see it in his eyes.
“I tried my luck again but Elena and Temi ruined it but I was happy you gave me a chance to chat with you”
A smile displayed on his face when I took a quic-k glance at him.
“I went to Joseph to share the news to him.. But he ended up ruining my mood”

“How?” I asked in a low tone
“He tried to discourage me but everything he said made me decide that I would become friends with you”
“So that caused the fight”
“It was p@rt of it. You didn’t show up to watch Joseph pl@yagainst Kingsley Academy, he looked for you with the other girls and he found you with me. He was surprised because he didn’t expect
you to relate with me” he said
“So he followed you and confronted you about it”
“Exactly.. And I used his words against him. I told him he wasn’t special to you and you weren’t drawn to him like other girls. He got mad and -”

“He punched you out of anger”
“And jealousy”
“He was jealous?”
“Yes because you gave me the chance you didn’t give to him” Emeka explained
I didn’t like the idea of me being the reason behind their break up.
“Would you have punched him if we didn’t show up and st©pped you guys”
“No.. All I wanted was to prove to him that I wasn’t dumb”
“Joseph said I should stay away from you and..I don’t.. know if.. ”
“Joseph can do anything to get what he wants. Listen to me Kate, I am not a saint, I have my flaws too”

Good! Thank goodness he didn’t try to prove that he was innocent.
“I don’t want you to fight with Joseph because of me. It doesn’t make any s-en-se” I said
“You’re right especially when the girl in question isn’t interested in any of us” he said with a chuckle
He was right! I don’t feel anything for them!
“I’m not fighting with him. If Joseph wants to be friends again I won’t snob him. But for now I’ll give him some space. Hey! Dont you dare stay away from me to settle this fight. Doing that won’t settle
anything” he said
I smiled at him

“We’re friends now aren’t we?” He asked
I nodded
“Thank you” he said
“Why didn’t you come to cl@ss to get your report card?”
“I don’t need it” he replied
I looked back at him and saw a de-ep frown on his face.
“Emeka are you okay?”
“Yes.. Yes.. It’s just that I didn’t get the report card because there’s no one to check it at home”
“What about your parents?”

END OF FLASHBACK

“Do you un-derstand mom?”
“Yes I do but I really don’t know what to say about Joseph. He has a girlfriend and he still want you. Should I call it greed?”
I shrugged
“If I get close to Joseph that means trouble with Angella Benson”
“I don’t want you getting into trouble in your new school. You have to avoid it” mom said
“Yes Mom”
“So did Emeka tell you about his parents?”
“Yes he told me Mom but its really sad. And I feel pity for him, having no one to look after you because of your mother’s mistake”

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FLASHBACK

I asked Emeka about his parents and he said.
“It’s a long story”
“And you don’t want to talk about it”
He was silent
Seconds p@ssed before he looked at me.
“I’ll surely tell you about it but you can’t disclose It to anyone” He said
I nodded
“You can’t tell Elena or Temi”
“It is safe with me” I Zi-pped myl-ips with my f!ngersand locked it. Emeka giggled.
“I trust you” he said
“Do you know Chika Chukwuma?” He asked
I tried to think.
The name sounds familiar but I couldn’t place where I had heard it. Emeka picked up his phone, he was charging it.
“This is Chika Chukwuma” he showed me an image on his phone.
And it struck me immediately!
“Deputy Governor Chika Chukwuma!” I said loudly. I recalled everything.
Miss Bola, our government teacher at Linda Girls College asked us to learn and know the names of Governors and the deputies of the 36 states when we were in Ss2. I did researches about it and
I picked interest in Anambr@ State when I saw the image of the Governor. He was handsome and I liked the fact that Chukwuemeka Odumegwu was doing a great Job in the state. It was on that
article that I had seen Chika Chukwuma Image.
“He is my father” Emeka’s voice snapped me out of thought.
What?! Mr Chika was Emeka Father?!
“Are you serious about it?” I asked
He nodded
“Swipe to see more pictures” he said
Emeka’s uses Iphone 8 but it wasn’t h@rd to operate it since I also belong to the Iphone Coterie. I swiped to view more pictures. Young Emeka took pictures with Mr Chika and a woman I @ssumed
to be his mom. He looked like his father. And They looked like a complete family.
Was Emeka the Only child?
Why did he say there was no one to check his card?

Series of questions flooded my mind.
“Are you doubting me?” He asked
I looked at him
“Is she your mother?”
“No”
Maybe I should just let him tell me the whole story
“She’s my step mom. My biological mother was Mr Chika’s Mistress”
That’s makes him an illegitimate child.
“Madam Patience found out her husband was having an affair with his PA”
“So your mom was your dad’s PA?”
“Yes but that was when he was still a s£nator. To cut the long story short..My mom left me when I was 4”
“Why?”

“Let’s say Madam patience paid her off to protect her marriage”
That’s unfair!.
“Well i heard Madam Patience offered her alot of money”
“How much?”
Emeka sighed

“10 Million Naira”
“So she left you for 10 million”
He nodded.
I felt pity for Emeka.
“How did you find out?”
“I heard her on phone. Madam Patience raised me but when I clocked 12 she asked my dad to move me out of the house..To somewhere Far”
“Why?”
“My dad wanted to contest for a high post back then, so she felt I would be threat to him getting it.
He might not win if his p@rty finds out he has an illegitimate son”
“Did your dad allowed it?”

“Well he tried to make her see that no one will find out but she insisted on me leaving. My dad couldn’t say no because he knew it was his mistake”
To me it doesn’t matter madam patience just wanted Emeka out of the way for some selfish reasons. Separating him from his mom wasn’t enough and she also succeeded in separating him from his father too.
“My dad hired a nanny for me and moved me to Lagos state. I was raise by nanny from age 12- 16”
“Your nanny left too?”
“Actually, she died in an accident on her way to Enugu to see her family”
“That’s sad”
“So I told my dad not to hire another nanny for me”
“You lived alone since your nanny’s death”
“Yes, that was why I said there’s no one to check my card” He said

“Everything that happened.. Me finding out that Madam Patience paid my mom off and she wanting me away from her home.. All of it made me tough. I was alone for days in the house my dad bought for me.. But Joseph helped me out of that shell. He bec@m£ my bestfriend when he promised to stay and stick with me. To be honest Joseph was a really nice person and we did things together.. Crazy things.. But now we are ap@rt because we both fell for the same girl”
Emeka win-ked at me with a smile.
I didn’t like that coming from him. It made me feel like I had ruined their long-term Friendsh!p.

“Don’t you dare try to blame yourself for what happen today. It wasn’t your fault” Emeka said with a smile still grazing hisl-ips.
“It was my fault. I shouldn’t have said those words to him, but I did because I was mad at him and I wanted to get back at him for looking down on me. I didn’t expect such attitude from him”
Our gaze locked again before he stared back at the road ahead.
Behind his smile i could see the pain in his eyes. It must have been h@rd for him to cope with certain things that has happened in his life. Living like you don’t have anyb©dy.
It’s so sad! Emeka was Only trying to be strong!
Well no one would know Emeka of all Boys had such a sad story.
Should I call his parents attitude.. Parental Neglect?
I thought de-eply

Now he was away from his only friend. I should work on settling their dispute.
“Can you apologize to Joseph?”
It was a foolish question to ask.
“I mean you guys should try to settle your dispute.. Like you make the move”
“Why me? Joseph started the fight”
“Joseph is kinda prideful, so i don’t think he will realize his mistake and swallow his pride and apologize to you”
I recalled the expression on Joseph’s face while he asked me to stay away from Emeka. I realized the difference between Emeka and Joseph.
Emeka didn’t talk bad about Joseph. He even admitted Joseph was nice and Emeka took the blame for the fight. Joseph would never do that. And he tried to talk me to stay away from Emeka.
Why?

So he could have a chance with me?
He was trying to discourage me just like he did to Emeka when he wanted to come to. Me.
“You’re right Kate. Joseph won’t apologize. I’m sure he’s planning something against me” He said
“Like what? And why?”
“I made him a bad guy in front of you so Joseph will want to do the same to me”
“You have any idea what he’s planning?”
“Hmm lemme see… Probably leaking a video of me k!ss!nga girl at a p@rty”
I looked at him and he flashed me a wicked grin.
“Don’t be surprised Kate, I alre-ady told you that am not a saint”
I flashed him a half smile Deciding that I wouldn’t let Joseph leak any video of Emeka or doing anything to hurt him.
I felt the pain in My stomach, I knew what he meant.. My monthly flow! I remembered that there was no pad at home and I don’t have any money on me to get another one. So I was left with no
choice than to ask Emeka to lend me #300 to purchase a pad from a minimart I sighted from afar.

END OF FLASHBACK
“That was a sad tale” my mom said
“Yes mom and i feel for him”
“So what are your plans on st©pping Joseph from harming Emeka?”
“I don’t have a plan yet”
“Why don’t you talk to him?”
“I’m avoiding him Mom”
“You can talk to him when Angella is not near”
“Oh mom.. I really wish that things didn’t turn out this way”
“You have to talk to him before he hurts your new friend and get you into trouble. There’s no way, if they fight again and it gets to the whole school, Mr Joel will interrogate them and find out you
are the reason behind them fighting”
“That’s a bigger trouble”
“So st©p it” she said
“Thanks Mom” I hvgged her
She stood up and covered me up.
“Good night Sunshine”
She k!$$£d my cheeks
“Goodnight Mom” I said
She walked to the door and exited the room.
?????????????

Thanks for re-ading!

what will You suggest Kate do to st©p Joseph from hurting Emeka?
Lemme know Via Comment and don’t forget to hit the Like bu-tton.