THE STORY: The Novel revolves around four college researchers, who at the verge of seeking for an intriguing story, stumbled on Jeremy's and Malia's shocking scenario on stage, who both unleashed unfavourable words towards each other at an event, therefore the quad, sighting an enigma as researchers, knew that their long awaited story, was to unravel the secret behind this mystery




PART ONE
"THE STORY (A Call for Awareness)"
BY UMORU PRAISE

“Geezzzz! I am so bored!”

“Tell me about it” Tony rolled his eyes in frustration

Elizabeth exhaled with so much exasperation as she squeezed her face in frustration” “Guyssss we freaking need a story, I can’t live like this”

Quinn moved towards the school desktop in their little conserved area given to the quad for their research means “where is Alex?”

“I don’t know” Tony replied”

“It’s been an hour!” Quinn exclaimed “he was supposed to get our lunch!”

Alex walked in coincidentally with a sandwich in his hands and a bag of edible delicacies

“Hey guys”

“Hey guys! Did he just say hey guys?” Elizabeth snapped “dude where have you been!”

“I’ve been freaking hungry for over an hour and you just walked right in with a sandwich in your mouth and you say ‘hey guys’

Quinn jumped off the desktop seat “just give me my food before I leash out my anger on” Quinn snatched the bag from him

“I’m so sorry I took so long” Alex said as he rushed towards the empty seat at the desktop “I got something”

“What?” Tony said with a mouth full of snacks

“Please tell me it’s a storyyyy!” Elizabeth groaned

“Not quite. The theatre art students are doing one of their special entertainment events this evening so I thought we could check it out. I mean it’s better than just sitting here either wailing or groaning doing nothing” Alex chuckled

“Boringgggg” Quinn exclaimed

“What difference does it make right now.” Tony said feeling damped “I’m in for it”

“Whatever it is, I am in” Elizabeth succumbed with a raised hand

“Seriously, you guys are ready to watch acrobatics instead of working on a real story?” Quinn asked rhetorically

Alex swung his chair towards her “well since you have something better than what we are going with. We would be delighted to hear it” Alex ended with a joker’s smile

“Don’t play sarcasm with me mister” Quinn bounced on the only sofa in the room. “Fine”

“What time is it?” Tony asked

“It starts by 5pm. So we got to be there by 4 or 4:30pm

*****

“If this doesn’t turn out moral or interesting, I’m gonna kill you” Quinn directed her statement towards Alex gazing at the venue arrangement

“It’s gonna be great, just loosen up would you”

“Let’s just get on with this guys, I’m tired of sitting around doing nothing” Elizabeth walked ahead to interview someone folks

“You guys shouldn’t forget we need something to gist the school about every week. Apart from this being our personal interest, we owe it to the college to always lay out our reports on the school activities and even give out gist just to keep the school posted and entertained.” Tony picked out his recorder along with his pen and jotting pad “so you actually got no choice or else we are gonna be replaced?” Tony left the two behind

“Ahhhhhhh!” Quinn exasperated

“You do know he’s right. We want to be journalist someday and we can’t be replaced at our first attempt before we even become one.” Alex wore his glasses” I gatto go. Make yourself useful”

Alex moved on

Quinn sighed as she took out her instruments from her bag to start off from somewhere

She gazed around the venue in search of who to interview concerning the show starting up in few minutes. And her eyes sighted a friend of hers

“Hey Vivian!” she beckoned

“Hey babes what’s up?”

“I’m good” Quinn beamed a smile “can I interview you, please”

“Really” Vivian’s eyes lit up “Do you need to ask, I’d love that. I have wished for an opportunity to be on your page for once.”

Quinn chuckled “really? Thankfully, here is your chance”

Quinn turned on her recorder

“So what do you think about the upcoming show?” she began

“Well I think it’s gonna be great. The theater Art students always live up to the challenge. Their drama, singing, dance especially. Trust me it’s always awesome. You can’t seem to grow tired of it”

“Really… So what’s your best activity about the whole show?”

“Hmmm, that’s a tough one because every activity is always awesome.” Vivian gave it a harder thought “Oh yeah! Every show they do, towards the ending, they always select two people randomly from the audience, a male and a female specifically to both do something together, either they dance, or sing or whatever. And when they are done, they give them both something, kind of a price”

“Wow, that’s cool” Quinn said with interest as she turned off the recorder

“Wait don’t you know. Don’t you come for their shows? “Vivian asked

“No I don’t, this is my first to be honest, I’m not much of an extrovert, and apart from the fact that I and my colleagues divided ourselves, two focus on the entertainment stories while the other two, search for other stories, and this is the group I fall into. But since we got nothing these days, we all decided to do this together...”

“ALRIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ITS TIME TO GET THIS SHOW STARTED…!”

“It seems they are starting” Quinn said

“Yup, and your colleagues are coming over here. So I’ll go on. See you later sweetie”

“Alright dear, thanks” Quinn turned towards the others with a smile”

“Why is she smiling” Alex asked curiously

“she looks weird with that kind of smile” Eli responded”

“This might not be so bad after all” Quinn responded as they all turned to face the stage

“Trust me girl, you haven’t seen a thing yet”

*****

“Wooooooooooo!!!”

The cheers went loud, so did the applauds

The atmosphere was lit up with all the screams

“Wow! How can someone with bones do a break dance like that” Quinn exclaimed as she kept her screams up

“Babe trust me, he has no bones” the quad busted into a laugh

“Look who is getting all enthusiastic, I thought you weren’t interested before” Tony said to Quinn

“Whatever” Quinn said wittingly

“Alright ladies and gentlemen” the anchor continued “we are coming to the end of this lovely event, but I hope you all have been enjoying what we offered you, because now, it’s your turn. So please bring out the tiny bingo balls we distributed earlier on to you, we are going to randomly call out two numbers as usual, one from the ladies zone and one from the guy’s zone. Are we ready people!!!”

“Yeaaaaaa!!!”

You could hear the screams from every angle and even the heart beats and anticipation from everyone on who the random two would be

“….from the guy’s zone, we haveeeeee…..” the anchor close his eyes as he randomly picks out a ball “NUMBER 32!”

The screams went wild. Although you would know it wasn’t universal as one part screamed in disappointment and the other in joy

Number 32 was pushed to the stage by his friends as applauds accompanied him. A brown skinned, tall, casually dressed guy, stood on the stage. With the way he looked, many found it obvious that he could sing.

“…and from the ladies’ corner, we haveeeeee” the anchor closed his eyes again and randomly picked a ball “NUMBER 1!”

The cheers went louder than you could imagine, but no one went for the stage. The hesitation got people worried but then the cheers went loud again and even louder when a fair skinned lady with gorgeous hair in polo and jeans along with sneakers, took to the stage.

“Wooooo…this is nice, I must confess. Dehm!” the anchor exclaimed. Are you guys loving our pick up today?”

The crowd affirmed with so much elation, but the two on the stage both gave awkward body language.

“Do those two know each or something?” Elizabeth asked the trio

“I don’t know, but I feel there’s something off“ Alex responded

“Okay lovely people” the anchor said “you know how the drill goes. You both should think of something to do together in two minutes, then you both introduce yourselves and show us what you got”

The crowd gave soft cheers as they awaited them but they both hesitated with no sign of interest

The guy on the stage collected the microphone “I’m sorry but I’m not doing this”

The crowd chorused a shocking gasp

The lady on the stage gave a snicker. It was obvious something was up

“I can do it with someone else except her if you guys don’t mind” the guy said

The lady gasped in surprise “neither I’m I interested in doing this with you. Stop trying to sound all cool” she said with so much irritation

“I’m not interested in exchanging words with you, you don’t listen either ways”

“Excuse you! Neither can I waste my precious words with you. I rather waste it on a deaf and dumb than you mtcheww” the lady was obviously infuriated by the statement

They both stormed off the stage and left the event.

The atmosphere was clouded with stiff silence. Everyone was shocked and so where the quad

“Did you guys just see that” Quinn said in amazement. “Do you guys know what this is?”

The quad chorused all together

“WE’VE GOT A STORY!”

To be continued...(each part will be released everyday)
But you can always follow this link to get the next episode https://www.blogger.com/profile/13897656059016664883

PART TWO
"THE STORY (A Call for Awareness)"
BY UMORU PRAISE

“Okay guys, I got something” Quinn walked into the Center with so much energy.
They decided to call the compatible reserved room given to them by the college for their research and all the ‘Center’, as a place where they meet and finalize all information they gathered up.
Elizabeth sat up on the sofa, while Tony and Alex who were on the desktop turned to her

“What’s up” Tony asked curiously

“So I got the names of the two people that where called on stage at the event.” The Guy’s name is Jeremy Akande, while the lady is Malia Williams”

Tony interrupted “Malia…a beautiful name for a beautiful girl”
Elizabeth felt a slight sense of irritation

“Hmm mister noticer, nobody asked you to state the obvious. Don’t forget you have a girlfriend”

“Ehhh see salient jealousy” Alex and Quinn busted into laughter

“Common you know I’ll always love you”

Tony moved towards Elizabeth to give her a peck but she swayed off

“Uhnn hunn” Elizabeth looked towards Quinn “my dear please continued. What else?”
Tony grabbed her tight with a cuddle

Quinn let out a smile “okay mmm… so Jeremy is a medical student while Malia is Law student”

“Are you kidding me? Two prestigious courses” Eli (Elizabeth) couldn’t help her amazement

Alex chuckled “with such a beauty, it won’t be difficult for the Malia girl to get and win cases on a platter of gold trust me”
The quad made a laugh

“So anything else” Eli asked

“Naaa I got nothing. It’s obvious they knew each other before. Did you guys find anything?”
“Nope” Alex swung his seat back to the desktop “butttt, it seems we aren’t the only ones interested in this”

“What do you mean?”

“Check it out. There have been continuous comments on our page wanting to hear one news or the other”
“Really”

Alex read out some of the comments as he scrolled through the screen

*“I thought I would be seeing news about the scenario at the theater event. How come you guys haven’t researched yet”

*“Common guys, you are supposed to be giving us the latest school gist and this is one of them, yet we have heard nothing”

*“Who were those people that where picked randomly?”

*“Are you sure that pick was really a random pick? Because the tendency of picking two people that obvious have a past together, doesn’t seem too random to me…”

“Wow, it seems a lot of people are interested in knowing what’s up with those two” Tony said “so what are we gonna do. We have no valid info to hand out to them”

“Well that’s where we come in” Quinn chipped in.

She went over to pick her school bag from the stool close to the sofa “we are the journalist in this school, and it’s our job to fill the people with the info(s) they want. So we have to give it to them...”

“Where are you going with this? We have no info to give them. The little we have does nothing” Eli stated the obvious

“Then get up your butts people and let’s go find something. This is what we do, we get things. Let’s go”
Everyone packed their belongings and headed out


To be continued...
You can always follow this link to get the next episode https://www.blogger.com/profile/13897656059016664883

PART THREE
"THE STORY"
BY UMORU PRAISE

The quad gathered together during recess at the school lounge
“So any ideas” Alex asked the trio
“I suggest we ask them” Quinn suggested
“Oh great” Tony jumped in “so we just walk up to them and be like, ”hey Jeremy, Malia what’s sup. Could you tell your life story to strangers please?”
Eli clapped on his shoulder “you know what she means “
“Sorry” Tony made a witty grin
“Let’s just go talk to them, maybe they would open up” Alex said
Tony chuckled “our ever optimistic Alexander the Great”
Eli elbowed him Tony “stop it Tony, why are you being such a jerk”
“Let’s give it a try guys, I mean what’s the worst that could happen” Quinn said


*****
Quinn and Tony came across Jeremy at the hall way
“Hi Jeremy, I’m Quinn and this is my friend Tony”
I know who you guys are.” Jeremy said sternly “I don’t have time for an interview right now, as you can see I am a little late for a class”
They kept on walking on the school side walk hurriedly behind Jeremy
Quinn pressured on “Okay just tell me the time you would be free, and I’ll come running”
“Sorry, I don’t have any free time”
“Oh…okay let me just ask some slight questions before you get to your class. What’s your relationship with Miss Malia? I am just…”
Jeremy stopped immediately at the mention of Malia. He turned towards Quinn and Tony
He gazed at them with irritation, and finally spoke up
“I recognize you both are part of the school reporters, seeking for a gist to rant to your readers. Well I am not going to be part of your petty fun, I have been to your page and have seen the comments and the interest of people about the scenario at the event, but on no condition should you come to me seeking of any information. I am not interested in being interviewed neither do I want any hearing of the name you mentioned earlier, stay out of my way if you know what’s best for you. Now Excuse me”
He stormed off

“Hmm!” Tony exclaimed into Quinn’s ears” he looked pretty pissed off and he made it clear he wasn’t interested, didn’t he?”
Quinn made a gasped smirk on her face “he did”
“But that doesn’t mean we are going to stop right?”
“Heck No!”
They laughed as they made a U-turn


*****
“Heyyyy” Eli whispered into Malia’s ears in the library
Malia looked towards the right seat confusingly
“Do I know you?”
“Not actually but we know you” Alex responded also in a whisper from the left seat beside Malia
“Although we don’t actually know you that well” Eli said from her corner “but we would love to”
“Okayyy…” Malia felt uncomfortable “so how can I help you guys”
Alex jumped in “that’s a very good question and I’m happy you asked”
“You see” he continued “we are just kind of curious about something and we feel you could help us out”
“Okayyy… which is” Malia responded still confused”
“How did you come across Jeremy? Did you guys know each other before or something” Eli asked

“Is that what this is about? Please excuse me, I came to the library to find answers to my questions and not to be asked one”
“Okay we could meet somewhere other than the library if you wish” Eli said
Alex bowed his head for a soft laugh
Malia gave her an unsmiling face
“I’m not interested in any of your interrogations”
Malia walked over to a different seat
Eli texted the other crew

“She doesn’t want to talk, what do we do”
She sent the text waiting for Quinn’s and Tony’s reply

“So does he, let’s just met up at the center”
******

“How do we get them to talk, they are obviously not giving any interest” Tony said
“Well” Eli replied “since there aren’t interested, why don’t we make them interested”
She raised her brows towards Quinn for a backup
Quinn looked confused for a minute but quickly figured it out
“Plan A?!”
“Exactly” Eli gave a wide grin
“What’s plan A” Tony and Alex chorused
“Have you forgotten, the one we used for the football players?”
“Ohhhh plan A…” the guys chorused
“This is going to be fun” the quad busted into laughter


To be continued...
You can always follow this link to get the next episode https://www.blogger.com/profile/13897656059016664883

PART FOUR
"THE STORY"
BY UMORU PRAISE

(Jeremy)
“My first contact with her (Malia) was uncommon” he gave a simper smile as he reminisced the event
“At the first glance I had of her at the hallway, I fell in love with her instantly, and then when I heard a glimpse of her voice” he chuckled “I knew I just couldn’t let this one slide by me”

“So you went ahead that very moment?” Quinn asked curiously sitting beside Tony who looked interested and attentive to what Jeremy had to say.

“Of course”

*****

“Hi”
That was the first word Jeremy said to Malia when they first met at the hallway

“Hi” Malia looked at him bluntly

“What’s the name” Jeremy asked

Malia just stared at him flabbergasted

“What? Haven’t someone asked you of your name before?”

“No, I haven’t seen a total stranger walk up to another stranger and just says ‘hi, what’s the name?”

Jeremy felt abashed
“I’m sorry about that. Okay. My name is Jeremy…”

“I didn’t ask” She cut him in
She moved on

“Ouch!” Jeremy proclaimed from behind with his palm on his chest”
Malia turned around and tittered
“Move your palm towards the left”

“Uhn?” Jeremy replied confusedly
“Your heart is on the left not in the middle” she beamed a smile towards him
They busted into a laugh

“You know I haven’t seen a total stranger beam a beautiful smile at another total stranger”

“I guess history has been made” she beamed another smile “I gatto go”

Jeremy ran towards her “Common at least your number” she gave him a raised brow and didn’t concur to his request “okay at least your name, I told you mine…”
“Like I said, I didn’t ask. Bye”

*****
“She just smiled at me and went off” Jeremy simpered widely
After that, I didn’t see her for a long while. I passed through that hallway several times, just to test my luck if I could see her again, but to no avail, until the fourth day, I sighted her with her friend at the cafeteria

(Malia)
“He just came from nowhere and sat in front of us. I was stunned when I saw him”
Malia narrated her side of the story over to Eli and Alex
*****
“You again, what do you want?”

Nothing much honestly” Jeremy said with a cheesy smile on his face
Malia turned to her friend sitting beside her who was dumbfounded at the scene
“Babe would you just tell this guy I’m not interested”

“Guy she’s not interested”

“But I am” Jeremy said
“Okay…” her friend packed up her lunch “I’m just gonna leave you guys to sort this out, I’m over there when you are done” she beamed a smile and winked at Malia as she took off

“I like your friend”

“Then go for her”

“Naaa… I like you more”

“You don’t even know me”

“Then give me a chance, please. I promise I’m not a bad guy”

There was a brief silence then he continued “why don’t we start off well enough”

“My name is Jeremy Akande. I am a medical student and you are?”

Malia tittered “a medical student who doesn’t know where his heart is located”

“Common please don’t use that against me…I was just being dramatic”

They gazed at each other as she hesitated

“I’m Malia Williams, a Law student”

“Seriously” Jeremy was bewildered “beauty and brain plus a lovely name. I am honoured to be sitting in front of you my Lady “Jeremy prostrated dramatically

*****
(Malia)
“I busted into laughter immediately”

“From that moment I grew interest in him. We pretty much went along so well. Although I still tried playing hard to get. I didn’t give him my number yet”
“One time, he waited out for me till I finished class. When I saw him, I was surprised because it seemed he had waited for me for a long time… and then when he saw me, he beamed a smile at me and did something lovely.”
Malia tried to hide her side smile
“He brought out a tiny sun flower and stuck it through the left side of my hair. He told me I was as beautiful and attractive as the sun flower and that my beautiful shines and captivates people more when I let my hair down.”
“He wasn’t the first person to say such to me, but I could feel his honesty. And we started off from there”

“Let me guess, you gave him your number from then” Alex asked
Malia couldn’t respond amidst her blushing smile

“It seems she did” Eli responded with a smile


To be continued...
You can always follow this link to get the next episode https://www.blogger.com/profile/13897656059016664883

PART FIVE
"THE STORY"
BY UMORU PRAISE

“So we know they loved each other pretty well when they started off” Quinn said on the desktop after they regrouped at the center
“Yeah, but the question is, why are they this way right now” Eli added
“it’s the obvious question” Tony said seating on the sofa beside Eli “because I don’t understand how two people who could have such a lovely start up just come crashing to the extend they don’t even want to hear each other’s names

“that’s why we should keep pushing till we find something.” Alex suggested
“But I don’t think we should rush them.”

“What do you mean?” Eli asked

“It took us two weeks to make them even sit with us to open up a little. We have to be careful the questions we ask them. Let’s just take it one step at a time, so they could feel at ease with us first”

“Okay” Quinn nodded in agreement. “We just allow them tell us their story step by step and then we would get to the end”

“Sounds okay” Eli reasoned along “but maybe we could see them again tomorrow instead?”

“Yeah, tomorrow is better off, I got class right now and I am hooked up throughout the day” Tony took his bag and headed out with Eli.

*****
(Malia)
Alex started the conversation

“So how did your relationship start up? Did you guys start dating from then. How did the journey start?”

“Naaa we didn’t start dating yet. We were still getting to know each other”
Malia hesitated like she needed time to think back
Then she continued after a soft smile

“Jeremy always made me feel special. He gave me the time, attention, the love, but we agreed to take things slow, and amidst everything, he always made it known to me that I was always in his thoughts”

“How…” Eli asked curiously

She giggled at her reminisce
“There was a time I was really hooked up with a lot of school work. Jeremy would always make it a point of duty to call me every day: mornings by 6am, and in the evenings after school was over and before he goes to bed”
“It was like our little tradition. But I remember that particular day, because I was up all night reading and preparing myself for a practical, I didn’t get much sleep and I had to be in school as early as possible so I could get all my paperwork done before the time of my presentation. I took off in a hurry immediately the day broke and unfortunately I forgot my phone

(Jeremy)

“I did our usual tradition that morning and gave her a call. Usually we would use our calls to wake each other up, so we won’t go late to school. And at times, regardless of the distance I would wake up really early so I could go pick her up myself so we could take a ride together”
But that day, she didn’t pick up. I called her number several times that morning but no answer except for the last attempt I made, but the call was cut. I felt she was avoiding me or something but I couldn’t create a reason why, so I went over to her lodge but it was already locked. I tried her line again but this time, it was switched off”
“And what happened” Quinn asked intrigued
“I went to school, I stood in front of the law edifice for hours, I kept coming any time I had the slightest chance. But I had no glimpse of her”
“So many thoughts kept running through my mind consistently but I tried not to believe any…”

(Malia)
“That day was the busiest day I ever had, I didn’t even realize I didn’t have my phone with me. The only thing I could think of was getting my representation done”

“What about Jeremy, didn’t you see him?” Alex felt bothered

“I didn’t step out of the Edifice until school was over, no one did. Everyone was busy working on a perfect presentation “
“When I finally got home that night, I found out my phone was switched off already. I had used it through the night and forgot to give it a charge. I picked it and told myself the first thing I was going to do when it’s back on was give Jeremy a call ASAP ((As Soon As Possible)

(Jeremy)
“I wasn’t thinking straight honestly. I didn’t know if something had happened to her, if she was okay or not. I didn’t know if she went to school or had some emergency to run to. All I wanted was to see her and make sure she was alright. So I ran off to her lodge again that night

(Malia)
“When my phone came back on, I found out Jeremy had left me about 10missed calls before my phone went off. I was flabbergasted. So I quickly dialed his number but…”
Malia reddened at her recall
“I heard a knock at my door” she tittered “and when I opened, I saw Jeremy”
“OMG” Eli exclaimed “what did he do, what did he say. What was his reaction when he saw you?”
“He was furious” she made a grin
“Of course what did you expect?” “Alex jumped in “the guy have been trying to reach you throughout the whole day. He had been worried sick about you”
“So what happened next?” Eli asked curiously
“He was really angry. But I was happy” Malia smiled “Because he’s anger was a sweet one”
“Let me guess” Eli said with a smile “he kept asking if you were okay, if you are ill or hurt or something”
“Yeah, you have a similar experience?” Malia asked curiously

“Something like that. My boyfriend did the exact same thing when I took a trip home and he couldn’t reach me because my phone was stolen by robbers that attacked us on our way…

(Jeremy)
“When I saw her, I was so happy she was alright. Even if I sounded furious. The joy I felt that all the pessimistic thoughts I had were all false after she explained to me new no bounds that.”

“I understand what you mean bro” Tony said “after my girlfriend was robbed on her way home and I couldn’t reach her, I felt so empty, I couldn’t think right. She wasn’t picking my calls, I had no clue where she was, and I was so confused. But when you just sight them and find out they are okay and well, there’s this joy and calmness that just evolves your heart all of a sudden

(Malia)
“So what happened after” Eli asked Malia after a sip of glass water
“He asked me if I have had anything to eat.”

(Jeremy)
“Can you believe she said NO?!”
Jeremy sounded miffed at that point
“I mean why would someone starve herself so much all because of a presentation?” he asked rhetorically

“You are the doctor, you should tell us” Quinn squeezed in a banter
A slight chuckle went round
Jeremy spoke softly “I couldn’t let her wait for hours to prepare something before she could eat…”

(Malia)
“Sooo…” Eli was inquisitive
“We…” Malia grinned with a blush “went on our first date”
“Even when you guys we weren’t dating yet?”

(Jeremy)
“We decided to tag it as a friendship date since she didn’t want to rush”
“What about you, you wanted to take it slow?” Tony asked

I wanted her from the very moment I set my eyes on her, but I didn’t want to push her away, I made myself understand she must have gotten a lot of admirers and even relationships and maybe they didn’t last long or probably they weren’t real, so I guessed she wanted to test the waters with me pretty well before she took a dive. And I was ready to wait, I felt it was worth the wait at then”
“At then?” Quinn asked confused
“What about now?” Tony tried heading to another chapter with the statement


To be continued...
You can always follow this link to get the next epidode https://www.blogger.com/profile/13897656059016664883

PART SIX
"THE STORY"
BY UMORU PRAISE

The quad sat under the hut in the school premises during recess
“Quinn how far with the excursion report” Alex asked
“Mmm…I’m not quite done yet, I was only able to get through to quarter of the students that went for it. I haven’t had time lately, sorry. But I will get on with it today.
“Tony how about you. Did you meet the captain of the football team?”
“Yea I did, I was going to give you the report when we get back to the center”
“I heard there was a fight amongst the team mate” Eli said after a gulp of coca cola drink
“Yea... Funny story, the fight was actually between same team mates” Tony said
“Funniest story” Quinn chipped in “the fight was because they liked the same girl and they both tried impressing her through the game but unfortunately they were both colliding each other and ended in a fight”
“Really, that was the cause?” Eli asked stunned
“They both ended up in the hospital” Tony added
“One with a dislocated knee and the other with a bruised head and nose and the weirdest part is the girl in question has feelings for someone else” Quinn clarified
Eli laughed at the irony “that’s dumb”. The quad laughed it off “Any way guys Alex and I have to go. We need to finish up a practical”
“Yup” Alex and Eli took their bags to step out of the hut
“Maybe you guys could check on Jeremy when you are done. I called him and it seems he wanna talk. He said he would be free to talk by 6pm. Probably you guys would be through by then. Tony and I would check on Malia right now
“Okay no problem, I’m glad Jeremy wants to talk after the last time. Our page is being consistently lit up with lots of comments and interest about the story” Alex said
Quinn scrolled through her phone screen “seems people are really interested to know what’s next on our Maremy case”
Quinn felt the silence and stares around her even if her sight was still on her phone
She raised her head and saw the trio gazing at her bluntly
“What?!”
“What’s Maremy” Eli snapped
“Ohh” Quinn chuckled “it’s a name I came up with to call this story”
They still looked at her with a more confused gaze
“Like Malia, Jeremy bring them together, Maremy…”
The trio busted into laughter
“Girl you are jobless. Alex lets go” Eli beckoned on him
“Mmm… Lil can we talk” Tony moved over to Eli
“Sorry babe, but I got to go. Maybe we would talk later
“Why! Why can’t we just talk now?!” Tony snapped
Alex and Quinn gave the two a little distance to work out what ever seemed to be stirring up at that moment
“I got stuffs to do, I can’t do this with you right now” Eli responded indifferently
“Really! What’s your problem? You have been waving me off for days now!”
“I haven’t been wavering you off…”
“Well you are doing it right NOW!! “ Tony’s tempo had increased that Alex and Quinn could eavesdrop explicitly even without trying “Anytime I want to talk to you, you either give me some silly excuse, or just run off. You don’t answer my calls these days neither do you reply my text. It’s like you are avoiding me or something.”
Alex and Quinn could feel the hurt in his voice already
“Did I do something wrong? You don’t talk to me like you use to…?”
“MUST YOU KNOW EVERYTHING THAT GOES ON IN MY LIFE?” Eli snapped back. "I am not a kid Tony, that comes running to you every single time. Sometimes, I need my space, my privacy. I have a lot of things to deal with that doesn’t concern you. So would you give me a rest?”
Eli stormed off from the trio
“I always hate when this happen” Alex whispered sadly to Quinn before taking off
“Tony…” Quinn called softly
“Let’s just go” Tony picked up his bag and headed out

*****
(Malia)
“After our date, Jeremy and I grew stronger. We had known each other close to five months at then. Every moment I spent with him was always lovely. He took me to places and always carried me along. He made me laugh, he made me realize I was a precious gem to him” Malia spoke calm and soberly
“Did you guys ever fight during that period” Quinn asked curiously “I mean, I admire your story, and it’s even more like fairytale story to me”
“Nooo I’m not telling you a fairytale. Roses also have their thorns.” We had a huge argument which wasn’t good”

(Jeremy)
“all I always thought of and wanted was to make her happy and find me as a good guy who deserved her Ma…” he stopped immediately
Eli and Alex knew he prevented himself from speaking out Malia’s name.
He continued
“She has a lovable, sweet, funny personality. She’s jovial. She’s this ever cheerful and smiling kind of person everyone would love to be around. She practically lightens mood, she’s bold…”
Alex caught in “if she’s all this things you are mentioning, then why aren’t you still with her?”
"Because she tends to play naive most times! She does things recklessly. And in the process she tends to shut everyone out. She never listens!” he snapped “she is a kind of person who takes decisions on her own, she just doesn’t sit to think of how it affects others…she just goes for it. She….” Jeremy couldn’t find the right words to use as he stuttered
“I think the words you are looking for is called bravery” ‘Eli who has been quiet since the interview finally spoke”

(Malia)
“But sometimes he is just so pressurizing. He behaves like he is the boss of me a times. I’m not his PA that needs to report to him about every single thing that goes on in my life. Sometimes guys should know ladies need their privacy. We have our personal issues we have to solve and there are some things we can handle ourselves. We don’t need some instructor in our life to order us around! Our world doesn’t always revolve around them

“Seriously, did you just tag us as instructors?” Tony bumped in
“Sometimes you ladies are so annoying! You think he was trying to pry into your personal life?! For crying out loud what do you ladies think a relationship is all about…”
Both Quinn and Malia were astounded at Tony’s reaction as he lashed on them

“You think we just stay beside you because of the movie nights, the kisses and fun?! Sometimes dont you guys think we just wanna help? That we want you to know that we are there for you? Relationships like this are made to last long and become something much bigger in the future not just for youthful exuberance. When we care too much, you complain and when we don’t, you still complain. What do you want exactly?”
Tony sobered up
“All we want to do is be there for you, to remind you that we care. That you have someone to talk to and even cry with. We wanna share everything you go through, so you won’t feel it’s all up to you with the World on your shoulders. Is that so hard to understand”
The two ladies couldn’t find the voice to lay out. Malia just gazed at him dumbfounded with shame
“Quinn lets go”

(Jeremy)
“No, the word I was looking for is selfish.”
“Sometimes all you girls think of is yourself. How everything affects you alone but you don’t seem to know how it affects others around you more. You go about saying your guy doesn’t give you the attention, but on the other hand you aren’t talking, you say he doesn’t care, but instead you don’t notice, you say he isn’t there, but you are the one running of.”
Jeremy took his leave
Silence went back and forth between Alex and Eli as they left the Eatery
Alex decided to break the silence
“Elizabeth I think…”
“No offence Alex, but please just keep it”

To be continued...
You can follow this link to get the next eposide https://www.blogger.com/profile/13897656059016664883

With all due respect, you aren't suppose to judge my write up because of the names. If you go through the story well enough, there is not a single sight of a particular setting into the novel. I used this scheme because I wanted to give my readers an open mind about the book. My use of English names were used because I didn't want to use native names and give my readers a particular setting to work with. So this isn't about being indigenous or not, its about giving my readers a sense of liberty to also be part of the novel in their own way. So I feel I have been wrongly blacklisted Sir.
From the writer of THE STORY. Peebee17.

PART SEVEN
"THE STORY"
BY UMORU PRAISE

Alex, Quinn and Eli sat at the lounge
“Are you sure he’s going to come?”
Quinn asked Alex who had been in contact with Tony at the hallway. Eli sat quietly a bit far off as she read a handout
“He told me he would come, let’s be a bit patient. In the meantime, what sup with the comments?”
Quinn took out her iPad and browsed through
“There are about 99% positive comments here. They are really anticipating about the ending of the story. Although they have been curious on why we have been silent for a week now, but most comments show people strongly believe the argument is the reason for their breakup”
“That can’t be true” Tony said from behind as he sat beside Quinn
“For a minute I thought you were ditching us” she beamed a smile
“Sorry, I had to round up something.”
Eli raised her head high but avoided eye contact with Tony
“Why do you think the argument isn’t a valid reason for their breakup” Alex asked
“That’s because that argument happen five months after they met each other”
“So?” Quinn said as she lay down her iPad
“Because they broke up after one and a half year of knowing each other. So that definitely isn’t the reason
Eli’s phone rang. The trio turned towards her. Her gaze landed on Tony’s’ but the moment was short lived as she turned the other way to pick up her call
The trio shifted their attention to give her privacy

“That was Malia. She said she wants to talk”
“Okay that’s cool, let’s go” Alex said elated
“Mm... she said she would like to see Tony this time”
“Really…okay. I’m free right now. Who wanna go with me?”
“Well I’m fre…” Quinn was cut short by Alex
“Quinn you are not”
“Uhh?”
“Have you forgotten, we got an unfinished practical and the deadline is today? We have to finish it up quickly”
“But I thought you wanted to go a while ago” Tony interrogated Alex
“Sorry, I totally forgot about the practical”
Quinn was dumbfounded
“I guess you and Eli have to go. Quinn and I will check on Jeremy when we are done with our important practical”
“Common Quinn lets go”
Alex rushed Quinn away


“There’s no practical, is there?” Quinn asked piqued
“Uhh… there is” Alex stuttered
“Then why are we going the wrong way”
Alex froze
Alex had to surrender “Okay fine, I just felt we should give them some space to sort themselves out. Its been a week now”
Quinn made a heavy sigh
Quinn picked up her phone and dialed a number
“Hey Jeremy do you have little time to spare, please. I feel we need to clear the air…Really… that would be great. Where should we meet you…? Alright thanks, we will be there in 10mins”
Quinn took off after she ended the call
“Mmm… young lady where are we going”
“To meet Jeremy, now hurry up”

(Malia)
“Why did you want to talk to me personally?”
Tony spoke in an upfront manner
“Tony…” Eli cautioned
“I wanna know” Tony didn’t feel like giving Eli a listening ear
Silence creek in briefly
Malia decided to do justice to the awkwardness “Well I just wanted to apologize to you about the last time personally and I felt I could compensate you with a story, if you don’t mind”

“We would love that” Eli responded

(Jeremy)
…
“After our argument, we didn’t come in contact for a week “
I regretted how I acted towards her. I wanted to apologize but I realized she needed some space for the meantime

(Malia)
“After a week, after some long thinking, I knew I had a huge fault in our fight. And I had to make things right”

(Jeremy)
“I was so surprised when she called me and told me to meet her up on the hill”
“On the hill?” Eli wanted confirmation
“Yeah, on the hill. There was a time I and a group of friends wanted to go hiking so I invited her along. We found this really nice spot on the hill. You could see the whole city from up there. It had a wonderful view and we promised ourselves we would come up there one day, just the two of us and enjoy the view”

(Malia)
“When I saw him coming up, all I could do was smile. Not just because he came, but I got to see his face. I had missed him so much”
*****

“You called…” Jeremy said as he sat on the rock beside her
The serenity hanged on for minutes
“The view is pretty nice”


“I’m the last child of my family…”
Malia started soberly
Jeremy was shocked she finally wanted to speak about her family to him. She was always fond of swaying off the topic when it came to her family. She only told him her parent’s current occupation and that she was an only child to an extent. He never understood that statement neither did she appreciate the statement being brought up.
Jeremy didn’t want to push hard since they were still building up a steady relationship, so he tried the strategy of being free and open to her about anything concerning himself and his family so she could trust him and hopefully open up someday and luckily for him, that day was five months after they met; today at the hill top

“…the first born is fifteen years older than me… the second is thirteen years older, while the third is twelve older than me”
Jeremy wanted to comment on the distance between her and her siblings, but he didn’t want to interrupt her
“I practically grew up alone. At a recalling age, all my siblings where pretty much far off from me so I couldn’t communicate with them, without them seeing me as a little clueless baby”.
“So while growing up, I made my own friends. I made friends with trees in my neighborhood whenever my parents weren’t around, I made friends with the house gate, with mirrors, chairs. Just name it. And at most I made friends with myself. Talking out loud didn’t feel like soliloquizing later on, it felt like me, telling my imaginary attentive best friends how I felt about my day”
“Since then, keeping to myself has been pretty easy, you might think I’m lonely, but I had myself to talk to, I always had my company from a tender age…”

Malia’s words had started mumbling in the ears of Jeremy
He felt that sense of tears, and when he looked at her, he realized where he sensed the tears from
“I’m going through a lot right now Jeremy” Her tears melted Jeremy’s heart. He felt confused on what to do. He had always wanted her to feel free and open to him, and now that she has, he didn’t know what next. He hated seeing the salty waters roll down her cheek.
All he could do was draw her close and give her a tight hug
“My family is going through bankruptcy and everything is just coming upside down. My family’s property has sunk to 20% because we have sold everything. My parents practically have sleepless nights and it’s affecting them so much, they break down a lot and fall easily ill. Everything it just crumbing Jeremy, I don’t even know what is going to happen to me, I have thought of several things, I am just so confused… “Jeremy couldn’t seem to hear her words anymore because of her continuous jerking due to her cry.
Jeremy felt his hands had become wet on Malia’s barely braided hair”
It dawn on him Malia wasn’t the only one with tears
“I am so sorry, I pushed you away” Jeremy could hear Malia’s clouded voice again
“I didn’t mean to I swear”
I just didn’t want to pour my burdens on you, I... I…”
“Shushhhh. We will get through this, I promise” Jeremy bared to say

Malia had become calm still wrapped in Jeremy’s arms
*****
(Malia)
“And then he did something, I would never forget, he patted my head softly and sang…”

*****
“Lean on me, when you’re not strong…
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on…
Cause, it won’t be long…
Till I’m gonna need
Somebody to lean on…”
(By Bill Withers)

(Jeremy)
“I didn’t believe what happened next”
Jeremy beamed a smile
“What happened” Alex and Quinn chorused coincidentally


To be continued...
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@Peebee17, whatever it is that your intensions are, by using foreign names and images of white people, you have already conditioned your readers to picture a Hollywood setting.

Do whatever you wish, it is your thread.

PART EIGHT
"THE STORY"
BY UMORU PRAISE

(Jeremy)
“I will always tag what happened next as magical”
Jeremy beamed a smile
“What happened” Alex and Quinn chorused coincidentally again
“She fell asleep in my arms right away. She was so peaceful, so calm. She slept like a baby with no worries”

*****
Malia woke up a while later on Jeremy’s lap
“Heyyyy… sleeping beauty"
Malia felt a bit awkward waking up on his lap, but she was happy at least it wasn’t someone else.
She returned the bright overwhelming smile Jeremy threw to her. She couldn’t help but titter at the end.
“Thank you” she finally muttered up words
“You are a really good friend, and I’m really happy to have you…”

(Jeremy)
“Like guys seriously! Friends?!”
Jeremy just snapped from all of a sudden
“Like seriously, after what we had for the past five months and what just transpired between us, she still called me a friend?!”
“I mean common, what more do you ladies want!”
Quinn and Alex couldn’t help their laugh

*****
“Oh friends” Jeremy said disappointed
So you mean, you still want to stick with that friend thing after everything that just happened”
“I don’t understand, aren’t we friends” Malia tried keeping up with her naive mechanism
“Oh my God she said it again” Jeremy felt infuriated inside “you know what, since according to you, we are just ‘friends’, I think it’s a time for me to take my leave”

“Why… why are you leaving so soon?”
“Because I have over stayed my ‘friend’ boundary. So it’s time for this ‘friend’ to leave and go do what other ‘friends’ do. So bye”
Jeremy turned to take his leave
“Common Jeremy” Malia beckoned but he didn’t turn back
“Okay I’m sorry. You are more than a friend”

(Malia)
“Did he turn after saying that?” Eli was inquisitive
“Nope, he didn’t budge a bit”
“I think you know what you should have said” Tony said leaning on the cafeteria chair

*****
“I like you a lot Jeremy!” Malia yelled for Jeremy to hear amidst the distance
And then he stopped, but like he had a second thought, he continued walking away

*****
(Malia)
“Common Malia, you know that wasn’t what he wanted to hear” Tony said with certainty
“I had to give it a try” Malia drew a smile on her face

*****
“I love you!”
Jeremy halted immediately
“Alright I said it, so could you please come back”

It took Jeremy 8mins to come back up
“You made me go down the hill before you could say it” Jeremy gasped for air as he sat down on the rock
“Sorry”

“I love you too”
Jeremy drew closer and gave her a kiss on her head

(Malia)
“Then he wrapped his hands round me throughout our view. It was lovely”
“So I guess that’s when you guys started dating officially? Eli asked
“You could put it that way”
Malia’s phone rang as Tony turned off the recorder
“I’m sorry guys, but I have to go.” Malia said after she hanged up on her call. “See you guys some other time”
She picked up her bag and went off

The awkwardness and serenity resumed as Tony and Eli sat alone at the cafeteria
“Mm... Tony can we talk”
Tony hesitated
“Yea but I wanna talk first”
“I am sorry... I am deeply sorry about last time. I shouldn’t have pressurized you or tried to pry…”
“No Tony you weren’t prying” Eli cut in “you were considerate, you showed care and I just pushed you away. I’m so sorry Tony, it’s just that…” Eli hesitated again with a frustrated sigh
“Lil you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I respect you are a lady and you need your privacy sometimes. And I should respect that” Eli gazed at his eyes as he took her hands. “I just want you to know, whenever, I mean whenever you wanna talk, I’m, here for you”

“It’s my mum”
Eli finally spoke up softly
“What’s wrong? Is she okay?”
“She’s si…ck To…ny, she’s really sick”
Tears streamed down her eyes immediately
“She’s dying Tony and its soooo…..” she gasped for air “it’s so hard for me right now”
Tony was dumb struck
“And…the worst of it all…is...is Tony she has just 48hours left”
Eli’s cry had busted loud
“I can’t even go to the hospital because I don’t know what to do when I see her. I’m so confused. She’s the only one I have. I’ve lost my dad and I can’t lose her again. I feel so lonely”
“No you are not” Tony placed her head on his chest trying to suppress his tears “you are not alone, I’m here for you, always. We will figure this out. I know we will, we always do…”

To be continued...
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Sorry for taking so long guys...had some personal issues to handle. But I'm back. So where did we stop...