CHAPTER 9- ENTANGLEMENT 2

   I felt my breath hitch at every step he took, as I moved back slowly until my right leg hit a desk. I looked into his eyes trying to be courageous but the truth is that my legs have turned to jelly as they could lose their stance anytime soon. 

   I could not analyze what he was going to do but the only thing that came to my uneasy mind was that he was going to slap me hard. The thought that he is muscular gives me creeps as it won't take any stress for him to beat me up, especially in an empty class with just three of us.

   I unexpectedly felt his warm hands around my waist as he engulfed me in his arms. I tried to think of ' a million reasons why he was hugging me this tight but I could not think straight. I felt my whole body on him, his cologne smearing my nose, as his breath fanned my ear making me tensed

  "You judge a lot, don't you? you should learn not to judge a book by its cover," he whispered and released me gently.

    I held my chest as I sat on a desk behind me, looking at his fading figure as he stepped outside. I tried to balance my breathing pace by releasing my mouth for more air. I turned abruptly to see Gloria resting her head on the desk.

    I heaved a sigh of relief knowing Gloria did not happen to see the little drama Ethan pulled off earlier. I rested as I sat down thinking about the whole scenario, guilt eating me up slowly. I should not have slapped him, it was wrong on my part. This would be the second time I will slap making me wonder why am I an angry bird all of a sudden?

    I have always been a gentle fellow but whenever I am around him, I do the opposite. I get angry even at the slightest mistake he makes and I do not know why.

  "Maybe you are afraid of falling for him," my subconscious said as I scoffed inwardly invading the stupid thought of mine. 

  I like his company but any other thing is a counterfeit, "I thought. I do not like what is happening to me. I feel remorseful, maybe I should apologize.

    I turned my gaze back to Gloria who was beginning to raise her head. Her eyes all red, she must have cried her sockets out. I moved closer to her, I need more information about this situation.

  " Gloria, what was the distraction about?"I asked

  "Let me start with the fact that I once told Ethan some of my secrets during a truth and dare game we played on Facebook. I told him I had a crush on Khaleed and also told him my fear. I told him I feel down whenever I see something related to failure or name-calling," Gloria started as another round of tears made their way to her face.

   I facepalmed myself at how easily swayed Gloria was, especially in trusting Ethan so easily. Khaleed is Ethan's buddy, so there is every tendency for Ethan to tell Khaleed about how Gloria was crushing on him. That must have led to them making a plan to distract Gloria, but how? I tried to comfort Gloria, as I stopped asking questions. Thankfully, she calmed down and comported herself.

    To cut the long story short, Ethan, Paul, Khaleed, and Quadri were found guilty of playing a stupid stunt in the hall, during the debate. They brought cardboards with different inscriptions like 'You are a failure, fuck you, speechless, moron. They raised it discreetly during the debate and Gloria saw those words making her lose concentration. 

  "Michael, the four of them would be serving their punishment in the school farm. We have about 3 hours to the end of the school closing time. Make sure they weed the school farm and pack them," Mr. Williams said before turning to face the boys.

" I am lenient with you because we are close to the end of the session. The next time you try something as degrading as this, you will be in trouble. Apologize to Gloria," he ordered as they all apologize to Gloria.

*****

      We made our way towards the school farm with each one of them holding a cutlass in their hands. I carried a chair with a novel in my hand as I walked behind, side by side with Quadri.

   I was asked to monitor them, so I will just check on them at intervals. I just need to find a tree where I can settle down and read this novel peacefully, but I still need to figure out something first.

   I pulled Quadri, who wore a frown on his face, as a smirk almost made a way to my lips.

  "What is it again? You have already shown your hero power by landing all of us here even though only three of us are guilty," he said as he continued walking.

    I walked faster to catch up with him, as I was left speechless with the revelation.

  "What do you mean by three of you guys?" I asked unsure of what he said.

   He stopped working and sighed.

  "Khaleed brought up the idea of pranking Gloria, Paul and I concurred to it even though we weren't sure it would work. Ethan tried to stop us from raising the cardboards containing those lewd words and in the process, he was caught smiling. Gloria must have thought Ethan was behind it making him the prime suspect. Don't ask me how we did the prank, we have our ways. Adios," he said as he joined the others, leaving me startled, my mouth hanging.

   That means Ethan was not the one that caused the distraction, but there is a high possibility that he revealed some things about Gloria's weaknesses to Khaleed, so he is still guilty. He should have stopped or reported them to the school authority. I do not think I should apologize to him, maybe it is the best thing for us not to be friends again. I am also afraid of what my subconscious said. I am currently living a peaceful life, and admiring Ethan would be a disaster for me,' I thought, laying a conclusion to my contemplation.

    They all started weeding under the hot sun, which makes one's throat itch for cold water. I found a shed under the tree as I was busy reading a novel titled "All-Around The Town". It was almost an hour when I heard Quadri's voice.

  " Hero, we are busy working here but you are reading a novel. If you cannot even assist us, tell us what the novel is about, hopefully, it would be interesting", he said with beads of sweat all over his face.

  "Well, the book is about Laurie who was kidnapped at a young age but was recovered later. Not long after, she started developing alter personalities like five people in her. One timid, the other brave, a young boy, so on and so forth. In a quest to help prove her innocence in the death of a professor, she has to cooperate with her sister," I explained even though I was not yet through with its reading. I cannot wait for more secrets to unfold.

   "Alter personalities? Like seriously? The same way you have two personalities, with one showcasing physically and the other secretly," he spat out and they all burst into laughter except Ethan who kept a normal face. My face turned grim with embarrassment at how straightforward he was with his words.

  "Our hero does not even know anything about football. I doubt if he even knows any football player. Always with books, with a boring lifestyle. Hero, you should enjoy life a bit, maybe play football," Quadri mocked again as they all burst into another round of laughter. 

  I need to teach Quadri some lessons, just because I am effeminate or a nerd does not mean I do not know anything about sports.

   I made my way toward them, a plan on my head.

  "Quadri, do you want to dare me in regards to football areas?", I said

  " Oh, our hero wants to save the date, okay na. I dare you to mention five football players from two different clubs, making them a total of 10. Khaled, take this 500 naira. If he gets it, you should give him the 500 naira, but if he does not, he will replace me with the weeding or pay 500 naira," he said, handing over the money to Khaleed.

  "Do you agree?" Khaleed asks, turning to face me.