EMPIRE HIGH SCHOOL - Season 2 Final Episode 18

? FIVE YEARS LATER ?

?Authoress’s POV?

It was almost 5:00pm, on this second Monday in July. Jeffrey sat on the couch, his l@pt©p on the table and his phone in his hand. He’d just finished writing a journal for a famous Magazine In UK.

Uncle Jide (His Mother’s Brother) living in UK got the job for him, so he relocated to UK two weeks ago.

Jeffrey found himself leaning back in his couch, his pensive gaze fixed on the slim tube ofl-ipgloss in his hand. Five years had p@ssed since Katherine had tried to sl!pout of Valedictory Service without a farewell to him. Though he knew why she had tried to leave.

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When she left, they kept in t©uçh for more than a year while he was also in school studying but in November the following year, he couldn’t reach her. Her number wasn’t going throu-gh and he couldn’t find her facebook account.

As Days, Weeks, Months and Years p@ssed, he realized that his heart still belonged to her. He missed her, her smile, her musical laugh, the image of her angelic face with her long hair flowing

out beneath her school cap on sport day and the excitement she’d brou-ght into his life. That feeling of happiness that relish between them whenever they’d been near each other..The Fun!

Jeffrey admitted that he still loved her!

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Had Kate keep up, he’d have made every move to convince her for them to see again.

Ha had h@rdly st©pped thinking about Katherine!

He stared at the l!pgloss, he remembered the k!ssthey’d shared that day, the taste and feel of her in his mouth and he felt his b©dy react to the memories.

He wondered how she was doing right now?

And how he would locate her now that he was in UK, working and planning to run for his Masters Degree too.

On a Sudden Impulse, he straightened and reached for his l@pt©p. He would search for her in every possible way.

“Katherine Adebowale” he typed but it brou-ght out different persons. He searched for a while before a thought crossed his mind.

“Barrister Kate” He typed again

And Kate’s profile showed up on his screen. He found her!

******************

Kate was taking a short break at the Law Firm Coffee Shop late Tuesday Morning. She skimmed throu-gh her message request on mess£nger.

“Hello Kate” A voice Said

She looked up and found Rylan smiling at her.

“Can I join you?” He asked

“Sure” she replied with a nod. Rylan was also a lwayer at the Big Law Firm. Kate met him second year in Law School. She had accidentally bu-mped into him on her way out of the libr@ry. She apologized to him. Few days after, Rylan c@m£ to her and asked if they could be friends. She

couldn’t say no because he had asked politely. And he shyly asked for her number and they started talking. Rylan was a cool white guy! Italian! You could almost find yourself melting at his

charming smile and the sound of his voice.

“Where is Emily?” Kate asked

“She’s talking to the Boss” Rylan replied

Emily was Kate’s s£nior in Law school. She was a year older that she and Rylan. Kate met her first year in law school when she walked into Emily’s study group and asked for directions to the libr@ry. Emily was a Nigerian but she grew up in UK.

“I have a case to work on” Rylan sighed

Kate took a too hasty swallow on her coffee and she saw an unre-ad message request.

“Hi Katherine Adebowale, you forgot yourl-ipgloss. And since I don’t have anyone to give it to, then I’d be happy to s£nd it to you in UK if you like. From Jeffrey Adams”

Her throat suddenly ti-ght, she set her coffee cup on the table and re-ad the message again and again.

Rylan sat back in his chair.

She’d forgotten about thel-ipgloss. But she hasn’t forgotten about Jeffrey Adams! Not for a moment since she left Nigeria!

Rylan studied Katherine. She wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying. And she looked disturbe-d.

“Are..you..Okay?” He asked

“Huh?”

Her head snapped up.

“Oh! You were saying?” She said

“What are you looking at on your phone?”

“I just got a message from an old friend” she replied

Rylan phone beeped on the table.

“Time to get back to work” he stood up and turned away.

“No need to go to that trouble of s£nding thel-ipgloss to me in UK, Jeffrey” she typed

“I’m fine..You?”

She studied it before s£nding the message. She wondered if it was friendly enough.

No reply c@m£ in because he was offline.

She found another message from Jeffrey when she decided to check on Wednesday night before going to be-d. He shared a joke casually which made her laugh. She s£nt him a text about her stay

in UK, why he couldn’t reach her. Her phone was stolen and she couldn’t @ssess her account because she doesn’t remember her p@ssword which had resulted in her staying away from

Internet. And aside that she was determined to be the Best and p@ss the Bar Exams. She informed him that she was working in a Law firm and she had also opted in for professional Studies to become a better Lawyer.

Jeffrey told her he had studied M@ss Communication in Lagos State University and he was into Writing..All sort of Writing. But he didn’t disclose to her that he was In UK. He realized that they

had worked on their dreams during that four years of not keeping in t©uçh. And He was happy that they had both fulfilled their dreams.

The short chat bec@m£ a daily and longer chat. He shared their ex cl@ssmates contacts to her.

And the daily chat bec@m£ add!çtive.

“Are you expecting a call Kate?” Emily asked as she settled in the chair facing Kate directly.

“No, just doing a quic-k message check” she replied

Emily studied her face.

“Is there something going on with you?” She asked

Kate f0rç£d a smile and shook her head.

“No just stressed with work..I guess”

“Are you being drawn towards a man now? I mean you rarely even t©uçh your phone before but you are different now”

Kate avoided her gaze. She was add!çted to receiving messages from Jeffrey every morning but none c@m£ in today.

“If you need to talk, you know how to reach me” Emily stood up

She was like a big sister to Kate. But Kate had never told her that she was in love with a guy in Nigeria. Her high school b©yfri£nd! Though Emily had tried to set up d@t£s for Kate with some of her h0t male friends but Kate was always quic-k to decline the d@t£s.

She knew her heart belonged to just one person..Jeffrey!

“And I know you are always there for me, Emily” Kate @ssured her affectionately before she turned

to leave.

“Wait, you wouldn’t mind hanging out at the club on Friday night will you?”

Emily asked when she got to the door.

“I’ll think about it” Kate replied

And she left.

Kate couldn’t believe she was in a dark and loud club, with way more people in here. The club was always crowded on Friday nights that why she didn’t like clubbing. But today, Emily had

showed up at her doorstep around 6:30pm and convinced her to come along.

“All work and no pl@ymakes Jack a dull boy” Said Emily.

“I’m not all work and no pla-y, Emily” Kate replied rolling her eyes.

“Then let’s club tonight! Don’t worry we won’t go to the illegal ones with smooky $h!ts!”

Emily persuaded

Kate admitted that the atmosphere in this club was good and the DJ was amazing, probably t©p paid, pla-ying amazing Music.

“Loos£n up girl!” Emily screamed over the loud music.

Emily wore a casual blue dress that made her look amazing. Kate wore a booty shorts, a crop t©p and her natural hair in a bun on t©p of her head.

“You look beautiful” Rylan said

Emily had invited him to join them.

“Thanks” Kate said

They sat at a table trying to make as much conversation as they could over the loud music.

“Emily, are you expecting someone?” Rylan asked when he noticed she didn’t st©p looking at her phone and watch.

“Yes I invited my cousin who just relocated to UK” Emily answered

She typed a short text to her cousin to let him know the exact table to find her in the club.

“He’s almost here” she whispered after receiving a text that he was outside. Kate watched the people on the dance floor.

“Hey you wanna a dance with me?” Rylan asked

“No I’m not a fan of it” Emily stood up

“Where are you going?”

“I need to pee..plea-se” she responded

“Lemme come with you” Emily stood up

“No..No.No need to come with me, your cousin may need help finding you. So tell me the direction to the toilet” Kate answered, gently pushing Emily back in her stool.

Emily gave her directions and she left picking her phone on the table.

Soon, Emily’s cousin joined the table.

“Hey! Cousin! Good to see you again!” Emily hvgged him

“How is everyone at home?” He asked

“All fine..Oh! Meet my friend Rylan!” Emily introduced

He shook hands with Rylan

“Nice to meet you” Rylan said

“Likewise” he replied

Rylan ushered him to seat next to Kate’s chair.

“I want you to meet another friend of mine. Actually, she’s the reason why I invited you over. She’s beautiful and single” she gave him a wi-nk.

“You haven’t dropped this your matchma-king act!” He chuckled

Rylan sank back in his chair.

“I want you to get married this year!” She laughed

“Who is older here?” He asked jokingly

“You Emily!” He exclaimed

And they laughed

“I’m joking, the thing is..I’m just helping a friend. She has been single for too long”

Emily said

“Geez! Emily that’s none of your business” Rylan said

She shrugged

“I care about her. And what the hell is taking her time in the toilet?” She said

“Are you sure she’s fine” Rylan panicked

“Are you thinking some drun!k@sshole delayed her in the toilet. Damn it! I hate it when Clubs don’t differentiate toilets”

“Let me go and check on her” Rylan made an attempt to get out of chair but Emily held him down

with her hand on his th!gh. and he froze in his chair.

“My cousin will find her” she said giving him a wi-nk again.

“Right cousin?”

Jeffrey looked at Rylan

“Er..”

“The toilet is close by” she directed him and describe-d what Kate was wearing.

“Find my friend while I dance with Rylan” she sm-irked

Rylan rolled his eyes.

“What are you trying to do?” He asked

“Helping a friend”

Rylan sighed

“Let’s dance”

“I’m not interested” he gulped down a whole gl@ss of champagne.

“You are going to get drun!k” Emily collected the gl@ss from him

“Like you care anyway”

“Suit yourself” Emily hissed

Katherine took a de-ep breathe and gr-ab her phone on the sink. She was feeling tired. Heading home to have a good rest was the best option. She checked her phone to see if there was a message from Jeffrey.

Her head hit someone’s shoulder, pushing them back.

“I’m so sorry..”

“$h!t! I’m sorry -”

They both said before their eyes locked.

“Katherine?”

“Jeffrey?”

They stared at each other for the longest time. Kate thought she was imaging things again.

Jeffrey right here? In UK? Impossible!

The last time they spoke he didn’t sound or act like he was in UK.

Was he really here?

Unbelievable!

“Good to see you again” he said

Snapping her out of thought.

“Oh! Good to see you too” she managed to say.

Jeffrey glanced around to see if there was another female…Emily’s friend but he found none except Katherine.

A drun!kwhite guy stepped out of the toilet, his gaze fell on Kate’s backside.

“Wow! Yhove..Ghat ah..Fine @ss” he said drun!kliy as he reached out to t©uçh Kate.

Anger crashed over Jeffrey as he watched the man gaze lvstfully at Kate.

He pu-ll-ed her behind him.

“Hey! Whooo..are..You?” The drun!kguy ask hitting his shoulder but Jeffrey didn’t want to fight him.

“Are..yhou..her..Man?” He asked

His frown de-epened and he snarled

“Get lost!”

And the man walked away fearfully.

He didn’t want to imagine what the man would have done to Kate if he wasn’t there. He turn to Face her. Kate held her phone to her che-st, looking scared.

“Sorry about -”

“Its okay” she breathed out and relaxed a little.

“You didn’t inform me that you were coming to UK” she said

Jeffrey tucked his hands into his pocket to fight the urge to reach out and k!ssher.

“I have been in UK for over a month now” he answered

“So you weren’t planning on telling me” Kate said

“I’m sorry” he gave her an apologetic smile.

She shook her head

“But you should have atleast told me. I was expecting -” she paused

Kate bit her lower l!pand continued

“I’ll go ahead now” she said

And she would have walked away but Jeffrey edge towards her to st©p her.

“I was planning on setting up a meeting with you”

“But you didn’t call or even reply the last message I s£nt to you” she interrupted

“I have been busy. Kate, we need to talk” he said

“Maybe some other time. My friends are waiting” she answered

“You c@m£ with someone?”

“Yes a friend invited me”

“My cousin invited me, she asked me to find her friend in the toilet. But I have not seen anyone walk out except you”

He looked at her trying to think of any possibility. Her clothes matched the ones Emily describe-d to him.

“Are you Emily’s Friend?”

“Are you Emily’s Cousin?”

They asked at the same time

“Yes” they chorused

Kate g@sped out

“So you are the beautiful and single lady” Jeffrey said

A small smile formed on hisl-ips.

Kate sh0t him a confused look.

“She wanted me to meet up with her friend tonight. My cousin is pretty good at setting up d@t£s and doing match ma-kings” he said

Kate laughed

“I can’t believe this is happening right now” Jeffrey whispered

Their gaze locked, Jeffrey leaned forward and gr@bb£d the sides of her face, s£nding all the electricity throu-gh her b©dy and bringing all memories back.

“We need to talk” he said seriously.

She nodded in agreement.

“pri-vately..” He added

“Yeah but-”

“Sh..No but, I’ll talk to Emily”

He held her right hand in his.

Emily gaze fell on their locked hands when they both walked back to the club.

“Oh! Thanks for bringing my friend!” She said. Rylan was dancing with some girls on the dance floor.

“Jeffrey meet -”

He cuts her off

“You don’t need to introduce us” Jeffrey sat

Emily arched her brows, looking confused.

“What are you talking about?”

“She’s my girlfriend” he blurted

Emily g@sped in shock

“Are you kidding?”

Jeffrey showed her a picture of he and Kate in high school.

“You were together?!” She asked looking straight at Kate.

“Yes Emily”

“What a coincidence! I was even trying to hook you up with him not knowing you were together!”

She exclaimed with a bright smile beaming across her face.

“Thanks Emily” Jeffrey k!$$£d her cheeks.

“We have to leave now.. See you”

“Have fun Kate!” She said over the loud music.

“Where are we going?” She asked

Jeffrey st©pped to look at her

“Let’s go to my place” He said

“Okay”

The Drive to Jeffrey’s ap@rtment was cool! They talked about so many things. Their hands locked as he received a call from Aunty Joke. He informed her that he had found his first love. Aunty Joke

didn’t believe him until she spoke to Kate.

“Nice Place” she complimented looking around the Medium sized ap@rtment still filled with boxes that need to be unpacked.

“I haven’t unpacked some of my stuffs because I’ve been busy but I will put them in place soon”

He explained

And she nodded

“Perhaps..are you to pretty close to Rylan?” Jeffrey asked

“Why?”

“He seems concerned about you..Or maybe he likes you” He answered

Kate stared at him when She s-en-sed jealousy in his tone.

“Are..are you jealous?”

“Me? Jealous? No..$h!t! Yes I am!”

“He’s my friend and colleague at work..that’s all” Kate said

She smiled as he wra-pped his arms around her, letting her rest her chin on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry” he whispered as he hvgged her ti-ghtly.

“Sorry for?”

“I’m sorry for not informing you that I moved here. I didn’t because I wasn’t aware of how you still feel about me” he said placing k!sses in her hair.

“I missed you” Kate said

“I definitely missed you too” he k!$$£d her forehead.

“Katie, I waited for five years”

He said

She smiled and wra-pped her arms around his n£¢k.

“So, what do we do now?” She looked up at him

He closed his eyes, breathing out.

“Let’s get back together” He oepner his eyes.

She was silent.

“Can we?” He asked ah

Tears pooled into her eyes.

“Yes…Yes..Yes”

Then he slammed his mouth against hers and sn-ked his arms around her w@!st ti-ghtly. She placed her hand on the back of his n£¢k, he kept her in place as if she was going to run away

again.

The k!ssreminded them of the time they had spent together in high school.

Now they were finally back together!

••••••THE END ••••••

Yepeeee! Finally….

I’m so happy for dem.

Guys thank u so much for re-ading