Chapter six

Simone.

"Thanks for joining us."Caitlin said in her professional tone and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. This meetings were as useless as the lettuce that my mom put on my noodles.

"It's not like she had a choice."Ada said while inspecting her nails. This was starting to become an annoying habit.

"Are you in your right senses?"I said in a low voice"If you open your mouth to speak one more time I'll make sure you never talk again in your life."

Ada was the only one I loved using my horrible side on. She deserved it anyway.

"I didn't call this meeting to watch you two banter back and forth"Caitlin snapped"As entertaining as it is,we have bigger fish to fry."

I took my seat next to Stacia and she gave me a knowing smirk. Did I mention that she hated Caitlin more than me?

"I called this meeting,"Caitlin started"because we need to have a little chat about the handsome new boy."

I heard Stacia groan a little bit,just loud enough for me to hear and I chuckled softly.

"What about him?"I asked.

Caitlin looked at me for a short while and said, "He is handsome. Perhaps the most handsome boy in Richview. He is rich and he is perfect for one of us."

Anger flared up inside me and I said"What do you mean by "perfect for one of us"? Are we animals to be handed out to handsome boys?"

Caitlin's face twisted into an expression of shock and anger then she screamed at me "What the hell are you blabbing about? Were you fighting with me before?"

I shook my head and my anger simmered down immediately"I am sorry."

She eyed me and said"Mmm,you better warn yourself. You are lucky that you are my greatest asset."

I nodded my head and tried to refrain from speaking again.

"Simone is taking him on a tour after closing today."Ada piped in.

Caitlin face snapped to meet mine and I recoiled in my seat because  the look in her brown eyes were very scary.

"Oh really?"She mused loudly"Looks like Simone already has a great headstart."

"What do you mean?"To say that I wasn't scared would be a big lie.

"You are going to get Tayo to like you,date you and all in all, ultimately fall for you."

My eyes widened and I shouted"But Nonso is my boyfriend."

Caitlin put on her poker face and replied with a surprisingly soft voice"You'll have a excuse to break up with him. It's obvious that there is no chemistry between the both of you."

As much as I would love to deny it,she was right and I hated it.

"What if I fail this assignment?"I asked,fear making my voice  shake,uncontrollably.

"Then you get kicked out of the popular group,Simone."

**

3:59.

The time on my watch said.

In just a minute the time I dreaded the most would come.

I was usually very calm and calculated but there was something about Tayo that unnerved me. Something about the way he had looked at me made me feel as if he knew all of my secrets.

Soon, it was closing time.

The bell clanged and pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Electrical bell don peme again oo."Johnson,the class clown joked and everyone laughed. Except me of course, because I really wasn't in the joking mood.

Almost immediately,the teacher walked out of the class and I followed suit so that I could organize students for the closing assembly.

Five minutes after the closing assembly,four girls from my group surrounded me.

They were Ada,Elena,Sinachi and Bimpe and they were the ones I hated the most among every other person in my  group. After Caitlin of course.

"What are you guys doing here?"I tried to keep the discomfort from my voice.

"You don't seem too happy to see us."Sinachi chirped in her annoying voice.

I cracked a smile"You can't really blame me,can you?You guys are disgusting class A bitches and I don't want anything to do with you. Can you move out of my sight?"

Ada stepped forward and moved dangerously close"We just came to tell you that you should pack your bags and baggage from this group because you can't fulfil this assignment."

I laughed in spite of the dread spreading across my stomach and I said"Leave before I slap you."

Fear was evident in her eyes but she wanted to prove stubborn"You wouldn't da..."

Before she could finish her sentence, I smacked her across the face in three quick successions and she was silenced.

"Next time,don't dare me."I spat in her face.

Her eyes filled up but I couldn't care less. She was the one that pushed me.

"Get out!I have a fish to catch."

They all left me and I sat down to gather my thoughts. I really hated Ada but did she really deserve what I did to her?

"The answer is no." A voice said behind me and on impulse, I grabbed my pencil to protect me.

"Do you really think a pencil can defeat me?"The voice taunted sarcastically.

My eyes adjusted to the lighting and I recognized the boy as Omotayo. It immediately made me feel self conscious and I put down the pencil and brushed my skirt.

"H-hi. I thought that I was alone. I didn't even know that I spoke aloud."I said shyly.

He ignored my greetings and my explanation and said instead, "Did you really have to slap her? Three times?"

My defenses came up and I replied"She was questioning my abilities and annoying me at the same time."

Tayo frowned and said"So you did that to her just because she told you that you couldn't fulfil the assignment? What were you even saying about fishes?"

My eyes almost bulged out of my face when I found out that he had been eavesdropping on our conversation. How would I tell this extremely handsome boy that we had been talking about him?

"Um...i..we...were...given an assignment in Agricultural science about fishes."

His frown deepened and he said, "So you slapped the innocent girl three times just because of that little thing?"

I moved closer to try to calm him because he had started to sound angry"Trust me,Ada is anything but innocent!"

He looked at me as if I were an alien and said"That's not what this is about. Your whole presence disgusts me. You know what,I don't even need the tour again. Goodbye."

He turned and walked away from my sight.

It was then that I realized that this assignment was going to be a tough one.