All Right Reserved
________

Prologue

The winds blew heavily, making the trees bent and twisted their branches. It rained heavily, such that even the earth oozed out water. The whole compound was covered with light mud, the windows was dripping with water when it was slided.

Quinn loved the weather because it would enable her to see the hidden colour of the flowers she planted. Despite the cold weather, she tiptoed from her room to the small garden at the backyard, holding her camera, She knew her mummy would shout at her for going out in the rain, so she made her movement as soundless as possible to avoid being scolded.

'Click, click' the camera made the sound as it captured the blossoming flowers in the rain.
Quinn was drenched, yet she felt it was worth it, she was a die-hard flower artist, she loved painting flowers, her love for flowers had made her saved her weekly pocket money and purchased flowers seed, luckily for her, they survived, Quinn planted Red Ixora, and Orchids.

She rushed back to the living room, only to meet her mummy (Julie) sitting down on the couch, obviously irritated that the dstv couldn't search for signals due to the atmospheric-changing rain.
Julie was addicted to movies, she keeps tabs on all her favourite programs, She was a biochemist and she worked with the general hospital in the state, she was angry because she was free that very day and she could have watched the repeat version of her faves, but the rain ruined her plans.

'Hi, Mum' Quinn said as she walked past her.

'Where did you think you're going? Where are you coming from? What were you doing outside? Are you not feeling cold?' Her mummy bombarded her with questions.

Quinn shook her head a little, an act that made the waters on her head dripped on her mummy.

'Look at my body....goodness!' Julie said irritatedly.

'I'm sorry ma' Quinn replied and went over to her mummy's side to wiped over the water.
Her mummy held her hands for a few minutes.

'Your hand is freezing!! You need to change your dress, else you'll catch cold'

Julie led her daughter to the bathroom.

Even with her mummy's help,it took five minutes to peel off her dress. Quinn was shivering despite her central heating.
She grabbed a thick bath towel and went straight to her room, her mummy followed her

'You haven't answered my questions'

'Mum, I went to snap some flowers, their underlying colours normally comes out clear during the rain' Quinn replied truthfully, she hated lying to her mummy and her mummy has a way of detecting liars, she reads people's mind at will
So, lying to her was like building castle in the air.

'I've told you to stop painting, didn't I ?' Julie said in a cool but firm voice.

'Mum, I tried, but I can't'

'You can, painting is of no use this days'

'I heard you mum' Quinn said in other to dismissed the subject, her mind had been made up, she knew painting was what she enjoyed doing and she can't stop it not for anything, she just had to play along to her mummy's tune for a while.
She had a dream and that dream was to be a successful artist.

'You can't deceive me, you're saying the opposite in your mind' Julie replied

'I don't know' She mumbled.

With a disgusting shake of head, Julie left her room, she was a single mother and Quinn happened to be her only child, she won't sit back and allow her make the wrong decision

She went to the living room, and luckily for her, the dstv had started working.

Chapter one

The morning sun fought its way, into the dimly lit room, it flashed directly on Jenny's eyes, she rose up and quickly went to the bathroom.

She came out minutes later, with her towel wrapped around her body. She noticed her roommate, Quinn was still sleeping, she shook her gently.

"Sleepy head, go and take your bath, else we'll be late for class" Jenny said.

"Mm--hmm" Quinn mumbled as she tossed her body on their bed.

"C'mon, go and take your bath, you know we're having Mrs Akereyi, that woman is a pain in the ass, I don't want to be insulted"

Quinn got up briskly from the bed, and laughed "that woman is cruel"

The last time, they had her class, the woman had insulted them for coming late to her class, while Jenny had informed her that their lateness was due to the traffic that occurred earlier, but she won't have any of that.

Quinn yawned and stretched her body, she rushed to the bedroom, showered and came out, she sat on the bed and rummaged through her cloth, she brought two gown out.

'Hey, I have two pair of this gown, I was thinking we could wear it together, My cousin brought it and I fell in love with it, so I asked my mummy to buy it for me, she bought it, and then later on, my cousin gave me hers, coincidentally, they both have the same colour and quite identical'

'Oh, Not at all, I don't mind, I was kinda lost at what to wear, Thanks!' Jenny replied.

'Its' nothing' Quinn said and threw the gown to her.

'Which lipstick? Rubey Red or Sugar Rose?' Jenny asked

'Well, Sugar Rose definitely'

Jenny applied the lipstick and wore the gown, it fitted her perfectly like her second skin, the knee-length brown gown, was strapless and exposed a ton of skin at the back. She complimented everything with a flat-scandal shoes. She wore her braids down and held her cross-bag in a sexy way. She looked stunning!

'How do I look?' Jenny asked and pouted.

'Good' Quinn said unenthusiastically

'Just good?' She queried

'Alright, you need a breakdown, pretty eyes, pointed nose, sexy lips, legs that won't quit, now don't let me start with your ass' Quinn replied

'Thank you baby! I appreciate, heads will turn, let's go' Jenny said

'Attention-seeker!' Quinn mumbled and left the room.

Nice start dear... Keep it coming.

Make i read am.

The lecture room was raucous, laughter rang out from various corner, some guys who sat at the back were arguing about the football match that was played yesterday, while some girls were busy arguing about the recent crowned MBGN, some were of the opinion that she doesn't worth the crown.

Jenny and Quinn entered and sat quietly, it was a course that no one dare miss. Aside the fact that the lecturer derived pleasure when student awaits her presence, she was known for giving impromptu test, and once you missed it, that was the end.

'Hey, check out that guy in red' Jenny said

Quinn turned and looked at a chocolate-skinned face at the centre of a group behind her.

'So, what about him? Bills gate's son, huh?' Quinn said with heavy sarcasm

'C'mon, he is handsome' Jenny replied

'Good for you' She replied

The lecturer entered, a young woman, She was light-skinned, Even at her age, She was still beautiful and adorable, there was nothing superfluous about her, an average height and a well-trimmed body.

'Get your pen everybody, test starts now' She yelled

The whole class murmured and screamed, it was obvious they weren't ready for any type of exam, or rather, they weren't prepared, but Quinn was smiling because she had read her book, the night before.

The examination lasted for about twenty minutes, the lecturer ordered them to submit their papers. After marking their exam papers. She smiled.

'Who is Quinn?' She inquired with her masculine voice.

The whole class became quiet, Jenny looked at her friend.

'Quinn?'

'I'm here ma' Quinn said gently and stood up.

'Congrats! You scored 5/30' The lecturer said.

Interesting

Hi, love.
You're just doing okay. I mean, not bad for a start.
You could do better.
I have somethings to say, though.
Your speeches could be work on. You've been omitting a quite important part. Here is what I mean-
"who is Quinn"
shoulda been
"Who is Quinn?"

Hope you dig?

Another area you could work on might be your sentence construction. You have a way of not using the 'won't; wouldn't; couldn't; and can't, rightly. Check it out. You'd get me.

Also you should make your scenes quite imagery. Assuage your description.

One more thing. Your diction isn't bad but of course, it could be better. Work on that.
Hope you get!

I see us going places.
LOVING YOU!

Quinn thought 5/30 should be a failure and not something to gloat about.
'What about us?' Some students murmured

"What were you expecting? Zeros as well' the lecturer said and left.

Jenny and Quinn left the hall as well, they were walking when Jenny blurted out 'you nabbed us!! CSC is one hell of a course, you're our hero'

'I don't think 5/30 should be something to jubilate about and I don't feel much of an hero' Quinn replied.

'No one has ever gotten that before'

'Good to know!! Can you hold on for me, I'm running of watercolours, I need to buy some' Quinn said and scurried off to the nearby artist shop, while Jenny sat down facing the wall with her head, down.

Few minutes later, Tony sauntered over to her 'hey' He said in his rich voice.
Jenny turned back and looked at Tony, She stepped back in startled shock and surprise.
The most gorgeous and handsome guy, she had ever seen only a few inches away.
Was she dreaming? Was she hallucinating?
It was Tony, the guy she had admire for so long. Her stomach decided to behave like an electric blender in action.
She might have thought Tony was attractive, even she didn't catch his full glory, but this version of Tony she saw was simply breathtaking!
He had a cleanshaven face, the straight nose was she saw first, he had an oblong face with sexy brown eyes
Jenny realised he had been smiling since.


'Hey! Sorry if I startled you' He said again and smiled.

Jenny quickly concluded that his mouth was made for smiling with slight dimples at each ends,she tried to speak, but no words came out, she cleared her throat and willed the words to come, but they wouldn't come, she was sweating warmly.
Never in a million had she hoped Tony would speak to her, infact she had not expected it, and she felt she wasn't good enough or rather she wasn't prepared for it.
It came as a shock, she cleared the bubbles in her throat and tried to speak again, but no, the word came not!
How did he do it? She had met several guys and she was able to speak and interAct properly, but how did he do it? Was this normal?
Did he create chaos and upset everywhere he went? Because he had worked his magic into her heart so fast!
She quickly adjudged that everything was happening because she was caught off guard!
Emotional tornado?
She closed her eyes and wished she would stutter instead of keeping mute, who knows? It might turn him off thinking she was a weirdo!
God answered her prayer and the words came out.


'Its....no...th..ing' she stuttered

Tony smiled and reached out his hand, his soft fingers clasped Jennys only for a few seconds before he released them.

'I'm Tony! Congrats you did well in the test' He said


Tbc

thronekid:
Hi, love.
You're just doing okay. I mean, not bad for a start.
You could do better.
I have somethings to say, though.
Your speeches could be work on. You've been omitting a quite important part. Here is what I mean-
"who is Quinn"
shoulda been
"Who is Quinn?"

Hope you dig?

Another area you could work on might be your sentence construction. You have a way of not using the 'won't; wouldn't; couldn't; and can't, rightly. Check it out. You'd get me.

Also you should make your scenes quite imagery. Assuage your description.

One more thing. Your diction isn't bad but of course, it could be better. Work on that.
Hope you get!

I see us going places.
LOVING YOU!

Aw! Thank you and I will work on those areas as well.
Love you! Y'know!

kitchirpy:

Aw! Thank you and I will work on those areas as well.
Love you! Y'know!

Same here.

Thank you guys, vonn, daliano, missmossy. your comments are well appreciated and HAPPY NEW MONTH TO EVERY ONE READING THIS STORY!!!!

Jenny wanted to scream, so it was a mistake afterall.
He had mistaken her for Quinn, but why?
Oops! They wore the same cloth, and she was facing the wall, she was sure Tony had not taken full cognizance of Quinn's body feature.
Or maybe because they both rocked long braids and wore it down?
she felt awkward and stupid to had think that someone like Tony would want to start a conversation with her.
She had suffered emotional pains within a few minute.
She had quickly envisioned their dating life, how she will cuddle him up in love. Tony had fit perfectly in the place of her prince charming!

'Ohh' She muttered again.

'Can I have your contact?' Tony asked.

Jenny quickly gave him her phone number. Jenny could have spend her entire life looking at him and not regretted it, afterall he was worth it, except that Quinn had other ideas, spotted them and decided it was time for Jenny to go home.

Quinn had waited for some minutes, she had saw Jenny talking with a stranger and wanted them to have their way, she had tried Jenny's phone, but she didn't pick it.

'Jenny, what is the meaning of this, you kept me waiting for good fifteen minutes and I tried your number, you won't pick up, you were busy talking with some stranger' Quinn exploded in anger.

Jenny wondered how Quinn could speak easily without stuttering, she even called Tony some stranger. Was she not having stomach upset? The warm sweat she felt?
Or maybe she hadn't caught Tony's full view?

'I'm sorry' Jenny apologized

Tony half-turned and reality dawned on him, here was the girl she wanted to start a conversation with, What a fatal mistake! Judging from the way Jenny was behaving, he knew she had a soft spot for him, and it won't be long before she accepts his proposal, that was if he ask her out!

He decided to say something
'Hey, I'm Tony, I'm...........'

'Save it!' Quinn snapped at him 'Jenny, please give me the key'

Tony was dumbfounded, No girl had ever disrespected him in such manner, He knew he had a killer smile that made girl's stomach tumble.
He stared at Quinn in bewilderment, his tongue were tied, Quinn was the perfect definition of beautiful, not a thing out of line, She had a smooth flawless, milky skin, she had a bushy but trimmed natural brows, She had real natural long lashes, and she had a small rounded lips.

'Have it' Jenny said and gave Quinn the key.

Quinn grabbed it and left in anger, Tony's eyes followed her.

'Hey sorry about that' Jenny said.

'Ohh, its nothing' Tony replied

'I have to leave now'

'Alright, we see later' Tony replied.

u can run bt u cant hide

Chapter two

Quinn had been painting since hours ago, she had turned the room to a surprising artist studio.
She had painted local wild flowers with water colours, she had mixed different colours together to get an unusual colour and that did the trick. Quinn hates it when people saw her works and all they could say was 'Too common and regular'.

She had decided to change things up a bit, she had painted brilliantly, exotic blooms, Rhododendron bushes in full bloom.

She had turned the plain poster by the wall into an eye-catching work of art. It took her less than two hours to transform the room.

She still felt the energy to draw more. She brought out her sketchbook, and decided to sketch some cartoon, she added colours, halfway, she lost interest and started another. Still the same problem!

She can't sketch a meaningful work, something incredible, Something that passed a message across. Something edgy. Something completely unpredictable. Disaster!
Alas, she sketched a man trying to climb a ladder, while friends looking at him from distance were making mockery of him.

Still no finding the inner joy, she concluded it was time to take a long nap, and maybe by the time she was through, she would sketch properly. She was about to sleep when Jenny barged in.

'Give me a reason why I shouldn't give you a resounding slap' Jenny said 'WOW!!' She exclaimed when she saw the artistic drawing on the wall 'Nice work, you've transformed this room into paradise'

Quinn shook her head in pity 'Give me a reason why you should keep me waiting under the sun, knowing fully that the key was with you, talking to some only-God-knows stranger'

'Geez! That was Tony, the guy I told you about'

'Oh, I see......the guy you're tripping for' Quinn squirted her face

'He is so cute, I almost fainted'

'I hope you didn't make a fool of yourself before him, there is nothing 'cute' about him' Quinn made imaginary quotation marks with her fingers when she pronounced cute. 'He is just like every other regular guy' Quinn continued.

'Babes, you don't have eyes'

'Really? I'm yet to see the awesomeness in him'

'Hater!! He is handsome'

'Whatever! Not my business, care for some cheeseballs, I brought them on my way'

'Thanks!' Jenny said and collected the balls.

Cliches like 'I'll take my chances' had become Jenny's favourite, that explains why she demanded Tony's Lodge address, the day they met.

She had prepared a delicious meal, well-packed, and she went to Tony's room. When she got there, She knocked twice.

'I'm coming' Tony said and opened the door. 'Welcome' Tony said, making way for her to enter.

'Not even a hug?' Jenny inquired while Tony gave her a brief side hug.
Jenny was fast becoming a burden to him, she always call in the morning and evening, Tony doesn't want to hurt her feelings by outrightly shutting her down.

'I brought this food, I prepared it specially for you' Jenny said as she toppled the food on the floor.

'Thanks, I wasn't expecting it, but thanks' Tony said 'How is Quinn?' He asked

'She is fine' Jenny replied 'let's go grab some ice-cream' Jenny requested.

They left the room and walked to the Ice-cream depot, when they got there, Jenny ordered for two ice-cream.

'Tell me about yourself?' Jenny asked.

'I'm Tony, I'm chocolate in complexion, I'm tall, I'm.......'

'Don't be so drab! Tell me your turn on and off' Jenny interjected.

'Well, clingy girls turn me off, my turn on would be a well-behaved decent girl' Tony said with an awkward smirk.

Jenny rose up abruptly and left, that was an indirect shade, she won't sit down and watch him embarrass her__Yes! He was handsome, Yes! She loves him, but she has her pride and values to protect.

'Jenny! Jenny!! I don't mean it that way' Tony called out and broke into Jenny's thought.

Clenching her teeth, she said 'oh, sure you do!, you're indirectly telling me that I'm clingy and I'm not well-behaved, I was just being nice'

'I'm sorry, I wasn't referring to you, trust me, I wasn't, I was just being honest, let's get back' Tony reached out for her hands, and they returned to their former position.

'So, have you seen Quinn today?' Tony asked.

'Oh no! Not another song about Quinn, I don't think I could possibly endure one'

'Alright! What should we talk about?' Tony asked as he sipped his ice-cream

'Anything, c'mon don't be a boring guy'

'I'm not boring, maybe because I'm not interested in talking....' He said 'with you actually' he concluded.

Jenny had a minute flicker of hurt in her countenance, Tony noticed it and knew she was hurt.

'I'm sorry, okay?'

'Its okay' Jenny replied dryly

'Okay, tell me something you're good at, better than others'

'Well, making people's face, I hope to be a makeup artist someday'

'Cool! That explains why you're always artificial'

'I had enough' Jenny mumbled and left angrily.

vonn:
Nice start dear... Keep it coming.

whats up dear

Hahahaha serves Jenny right kudos Kitchirpy more updates biko.

Missmossy:
Hahahaha serves Jenny right kudos Kitchirpy more updates biko.

Thank you for reading, more coming right away!

Steve and Emeka were seated under the mango tree beside their department catching the cool breeze, they were involved in an argument.

'When are you paying my money?' Steve inquired.

'I don't have any money at the moment' Emeka retorted nonchallantly

Emeka had made a bet with Steve, He had promised to pay three thousand naira once Steve's team won in the football game that was played a day ago.
Luck smiled on Steve and his team won, but Emeka had refused to fulfill his promise.

'You don't have money?'

'I don't have, but trust me, I will pay you once I have, is it more than 3K, forget! Once my dad send me money, I will hit you up' Emeka explained even though he had no intention of paying.

'Na your mouth, you take talk am o' Steve replied in pidgin

'Chill, I will pay you your money' Emeka said.

Tony walked up to them and gave them a handshake. Steve and Emeka were his best friend, and they were in the same clique.

'T, where have you been? I checked your lodge, I didn't see you' Emeka asked

'I went out with a chic' Tony replied.

'Let me guess, Quinn?' Steve asked

'Nah, not such luck with her, its' Jenny, her friend'

'But wetin dey that Quinn body, wey no dey other babe body, she go dey form one kind, front she no get, back na sim card' Steve spat out.

'That girl is a beauty Queen, Mehn, she is classy, sophisticated, the way she carried herself reeks of elegance' Tony said.

'Forget! She is just like every other girl' Emeka

Just then, Quinn approached them, Tony saw her afar.

'Speak of the devil! She is coming, go chyke am' Tony said.

I have a feeling

Hmmm........ Interesting
Keep it coming dear.

OhMiGod!
You are doing well, ma.
But your speeches still lack the apposite punctuations. Here's my drift-
'He is like any other guy'

should have been

"He is like any other guy!"

Okay?

Also, try to add more emotions to your words.

theorbiters:
I have a feeling

Lol..........what could that be?
Mind telling?

vonn:
Hmmm........ Interesting
Keep it coming dear.

Thank you ma
You write well too....any hope you'll be writing soon?
Just asking

thronekid:
OhMiGod!
You are doing well, ma.
But your speeches still lack the apposite punctuations. Here's my drift-
'He is like any other guy'

should have been

"He is like any other guy!"

Okay?

Also, try to add more emotions to your words.

Alright......I will work on that!
Thank for stopping by!
Still haven't gotten a phone?

kitchirpy:

Alright......I will work on that!
Thank for stopping by!
Still haven't gotten a phone?

I have, ma.

I saw this online, and I thought, it would help someone, just the way it helps me

-------------------

It feels like you’re sitting on the floor of a deep, dark pit. You look up and all you see is a distant, seemingly unreachable pinprick of sunlight.

It feels like you’re at the end of a dark, seemingly endless tunnel, running infinitely towards that pinprick of light at the end of the tunnel.

It feels like no matter how fast you run you just never reach the end of the tunnel where you know you’ll finally feel sunlight on your face and your soul will finally feel light again.
Sometimes you stop running and sit against the wall of the tunnel in defeat. You bang your head and your fists against the walls screaming for help, screaming in defeat, screaming in desperation.
But the sounds of your screams and the intensity of your pain and sadness are muted to everyone but you. They bounce and rebound against the walls of this tunnel and echo in your head infinitely. People pass you by in the tunnel but they are lost in their own world, running their own infinite race against themselves and the sadness and madness that exist in their own hearts and heads.

Sometimes you’ll find someone to walk with you part of the way but they’ll never really understand your journey or the pain and effort of every step you take. Not entirely. But that’s okay.
Your journey is your own. Your destination is your own. Your burden is your own. We are all Atlas with our own worlds on our shoulders and in that no one is alone. And the weight may feel heavy upon your shoulders but your muscles will adjust and you will become accustomed to the weight.

And you will lift yourself up because you have no choice, and you’ll pick up where you left off in this marathon called life; in this infinite marathon called finding your happiness, and you’ll continue running and running and running. And you’ll meet people who need help running and you’ll help them through part of their journey because you know what it feels like to run alone.

And when you need a rest or you feel discouraged, you can take a breather; cry, scream, wail if you need to but get back on your feet and keep on running. Focus on that light at the end of the tunnel and keep on running.
And one day, whether it takes weeks or months or years, you will burst into the light, out of the damp, depressive darkness of the tunnel, where the sun will shine it’s light on your face and your soul will feel light again. With limbs and heart that have been strengthened by your journey.

Emeka strolled over to Quinn, but made a U-turn when he realised she was with a headphone.
That had always being his major turnoff, because he knew most girls even when they are not listening to music, tend to ignore guys when with a headphone.
The last time he tried that, he was publicly embarrassed, and he had vowed not to try such again.
He was still contemplating whether to talk to her, and he didn't realised she had walked past him.
'Chicken!' Someone called out
He doesn't even have to turn around, he was sure it was Tony.
'Oboy! Liver don fail you!' Tony continued.'Empty barrel makes the loudest noise, she is just like.......
'Stop it! She was with headphone, that tells that she needed her privacy' Emeka interjected.
Steve walked up to them. 'You couldn't even say hi, too bad! That's cowardice!' He mocked.
'A word from you and I'll wound you, Aswear!' Emeka warned.
Tony and Steve knew they had to let it slide, because Emeka has temper issues, He had once beaten his younger brother to the point that he was bleeding, Aside the fact that he was strongly built, and muscular too, He was tall and was warming up to be a brute.
The trio walked back to their former position.

________

Tony went to Jenny's hostel to apologize for those subtle insults he threw at her.
That wasn't the original motive of him going, but because he was sure he would see Quinn, Ridiculous as it may sounded he missed her already, so he decided to pay Jenny a visit during the visiting hours.
He even dreamed of her, even if they don't have a good talking relationship, just seeing her would lifts his soul.
When he got to the her hostel, he was certain he would see Quinn, and that brought shivers down his spine, what could she be doing? Eating? Or sleeping?
She mights even be reading.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and knocked softly. He was expecting that Quinn would be the one to open the door, will she even smile?
'Welcome!'Jenny said with a big smile.
Tony opened his eyes and all his hopes fizzle out when he saw that Jenny was the one standing in front of him.
He was hurt, but he hid it well.
'Can I come in?' Tony said dryly.
'I said welcome! What were you expecting before? Please come in' Jenny explained.
Tony entered the room and blurted out 'Good lord! Wow! You're an artist?' when he saw the stunning drawing on the wall.
'Not a bit! Its Quinn, she drew all that in a few hours, you want to see more of her work?' Jenny asked.
'Yeah! If you don't mind' Tony replied and sat down on the bed.
Jenny opened Quinn's drawer beside the bed and brought out her sketchbook and other drawings she had, and she passed them to Tony.
Tony carefully studied the drawing, they all looked amazing just as the person who had painted them.
'She is good with what she does!'Was Tony's judgement.
'Yeah she is'
'So, I came to apologize, I didn't mean to hurt you in that manner, and no, you're not artificial' Tony apologised
'Well, its okay, I don't keep things in mind, I'm like that, slow to anger.........
Quinn strode in, she saw her sketchbook in Tony's hand, her heart skipped a bit, that was her private stuff.
Tony on the other hand, was just staring at her with glee, oblivious to her thoughts.
'Hey, I was just going through your works, and you're........
'Without my permission, that's intruding' Quinn snapped at him and snatched her drawings from him.
With that, she left the room, giving them the privacy they needed. If anything Quinn hated it, when people are intruding on other people's privacy, she cherished her privacy more than anything, and expect people to do thesame.
'What's wrong with her? Why is she behaving like that?' Tony asked.
'I have no idea, but she is cool and very nice actually' Jenny replied

thronekid:

I have, ma.

*grinning*
Congratz! You'll use more than than!

Chapter Three

The cacophony of mixed fragments of sound from buses, taxicabs, trailers and even people seemed to collide inside her Quinn's brain as she walked to the headquarters of a popular newspaper, few miles away from her school.

Quinn hated noise in its totality, it made her head spin, and most time, if she can't control the noise around, she lost concentration on whatever she was doing. If she had the ability to change something in the world today, it would be to destroy all noisemakers, especially those who can't keep shut for a few minute.

She had saw the advertisement on the previous edition of TRUST newspaper, requesting any talented artist to submit his/her works at the headquarter.

With a brisk shake of head, she took a last minutes view on her sketchbook, all she heard subconsciously was 'Not good enough'.

She screamed and startled the young girl beside her who was obviously going to submit her sketch as well. She gently turned the chrome handle of the door and peered in, She quickly closed the door soundlessly and stepped back.

Coincidentally, Tony was nearby, watching her amusingly, but when he saw that she was going back with her sketchbook. He decided to walk over to her.

'Hey, you're not submitting your sketches?' Tony asked politely.

'I'm not!' Quinn reply confidently.

On a good day, she would have ignored him, but at that moment, she needed someone to voice out her fears to.

'Why?'

'Because I wanna sketch something that means a lot to someone, but I can't' Quinn explained

'I think your sketches are good enough, it doesn't have to be a justice of the best quickie, and you know the cream always rose to the top' Tony assured.

'Hey, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but you and I know my sketches are not good enough to be published in the next edition, and I might be cream outside, what if inside, I'm just a skim milk?'

'You ain't no skim milk, okay? Tony replied obviously glad that he could talk to her.

Quinn shook her head and threw her sketchbook into the wastebin beside her and went away.

'Hey, you're going?' Tony called out.'What about submitting your sketchbook?'

'I'm not! Its a waste! I'm not good enough!' Quinn said and ran off.

Tony picked the sketchbook and entered the office, he saw a young man who should be in his late twenties. He seemed approachable, so Tony went to meet him.

'Good afternoon, I want to submit these sketches' Tony said.

'You're lucky, we have only one spot left'

Tony beamed

'What is your name?'

'Actually, I'm submitting for someone close to me, her name is Quinn' Tony replied.

'Her surname?'

It came as a shock to Tony that he can't even remember the surname of the girl he loved.

'I don't really remember' Tony replied curtly

'Her phone number?'

'I don't have, but I will get it as soon as possible'

'Alright! Drop it over there, it will be attended to, Goodluck!'

Tony did as instructed, and left, On his way, he wore a half-smile across his cleanshaven face. He prayed inwardly that Quinn's sketch should be chosen, he knew that might give him the attention he needed.

Jenny hummed along to the pop music blasting out from her sound system, as she cleaned her dressing table with an oily rag, She was soon fed up with the music that was playing and rummaged through the CD rack to insert another one.

Quinn was busy drawing as usual, just that, she glanced through her works and saw it in a different direction, they looked outstanding, she had been convincing herself that she was a bad artist, but looking carefully into her drawings, she saw the light in them.

She should have submitted her sketches, she was obviously sitting on the fence, she was quite sure that some people's own might not be as good as hers.

Crazy, Crazy girl! She thought

What was she afraid of? Rejection?

Rejection made people stronger and not weak, she knew rejection might give her the push she needed to be a better artist.

Obviously, time and tide awaits no one.

'Did you buy the new Beyonce?' Jenny asked after searching tirelessly and jolted Quinn to life.

'No, why did you ask?'

'I thought I heard you say something about buying last week'

'I changed my mind! I heard some track from the album via Radio, and it wasn't what I was expecting, I will still buy it though, she can't never go wrong'

'Cool! What about the recent season of 'Beauty and the beast'?

'I will still.......

She was still talking when her phone vibrated, She opened the phone and saw a new message. At first, she thought it was from the service provider, but on second thought, she opened it.

Your sketches are good, but it lacks authencity. Goodluck next time

'Did you submit my work?' A surprised Quinn asked.

'Not at all! I didn't' Jenny replied.'Any problem?'

'Nope! I'm just wondering how they got my sketch and my phone number' She replied.

Unknown to her, Tony had smuggled in her phone number from Jenny's phone when she came visiting again.
Oddly enough, she wasn't discouraged.

When Tony caught wind of the news that Quinn's sketch wasn't selected. He was downcast.
To worsen the matter, when he tried to tell Quinn, that he was the one who submitted her works, Quinn shrugged it off nonchallantly.

That was the last straw, at that particular moment, something snapped inside him, all the feelings he had for her subside immediately. He was so hopeless that he simply broke down to self-pity. He wasn't going to torture himself emotionally!

He decided to let her go, he loved her and he knew that was never going to change, but he can't bear it any longer. Every minute, Quinn treated him like he didn't worth a second of her time, made him devastated, but that was going to change.

He won't bow on her feet and kiss her toes, because she was pretty. As a matter of fact, Quinn can go to hell for all he cared about.
What gladdened his heart was the fact that he rarely sees her with a guy, its either she was walking alone with her headphone or walking with Jenny.

Speaking of Jenny, he had began to see her in a different light. Jenny wasn't the prettiest, infact she stood no chance with Quinn, Jenny wasn't the nicest or even the best-smelling girl he had met, but recently, there was something about her that he can't place his fingers on.

Jenny wasn't with the best smile or even the best accent, but recently he found himself thinking about her per second.

He obviously can't describe what he had for Jenny, he just wished it wasn't a deceit. He knew Jenny was head over heels for him and dating her would be amazing.

Or could it be love? Hell no, the only girl that captured his heart was Quinn and she wasn't reasonable. Arrogant Beauty to be precise! He knew it wasn't love.

It was overwhelming! He can't decipher whether it was a rebound to get over Quinn? Or was he going to date her out of pity? Or sympathy? Why was he so indecisive?

He had so much energy, he needed to channel them into something positive, something rewarding and satisfying! He was done wallowing in self-pity, and emptiness.

It was a difficult task, but he can't explain it, but he had to!

With those thoughts on his mind, he picked his phone and sent a short message to Jenny!

Amazing work...
what is quinn studying anyway?