MALE FACTOR [BxB]

Chapter 36

On an early Thursday morning, Jason encountered Malvin, an old friend, seated in their nearly empty classroom. Malvin, who had traveled abroad during the last holiday, was now back at school.

"I thought you weren't coming back?" Jason captured Malvin's notice, prompting Malvin to get up from the seat and face him to talk.

"I wasn't actually, but my parents wanted me to finish secondary school in Nigeria so..." Malvin replied. He let his words hang in the air, waiting for Jason to fill in the blanks himself.

Malvin casually placed his hand on the edge of the chair, resting on it as it leaned rightward, with his other hand on his waist, that pushed his blaizer back in the air. Jason walked forward, filling him in on what he missed.

"...We've done tests, you should probably go and meet VP acad, so you can take them." Jason suggested.

Malvin appeared unconcerned, showing little interest in school. His primary focus was to return to his usual routine, hoping that others would treat him as they had before.

"I'm going to the garden. I'd see you later." Jason spun around and left for the garden.

By sheer coincidence, Jason and Timi ended up in the school garden at the same time. As Timi took a seat on one of the benches, he was surprised to see Jason take the bench right next to him. Before Timi could even begin to explain himself about what had happened with Moyo, Jason cut in, "I saw Malvin in class today."

"Seriously? Didn't he relocate to UK?" Timi asked.

"That's what I thought, but he actually came back to finish school here."

After Jason finished speaking, he finally allowed Timi to have his say. Timi reiterated the same excuse he had used before, he could see the impatience growing in Jason's eyes, but he had no other explanation to offer. To compound their situation, they noticed Moyo approaching them.

"Good morning," Moyo greeted Timi before turning to Jason and saying, "Good morning."

Jason responded awkwardly because he was taken aback by her friendly greeting, as he had always believed she harbored a strong dislike for him.

Before sitting down, Moyo took a moment to wipe the bench clean. She proceeded to dust her hands off, then settling in the space between Jason and Timi.  Jason shifted a little, allowing them some room, his movements subtle and discreet. He pulled out his phone and started texting his LGM secretly, his eyes darting between the screen and the others.

Beamer's phone began to chime with notifications just as he neared the garden with Stephanie and Zuriel. The messages were from Jason to his other line. He swiftly silenced his phone in an attempt to go unnoticed, but he was too slow, and Stephanie had already taken notice of it.

"Who was that?" Stephanie asked.

"My mum, she's probably texting to know if I took my phone to school" Beamer lied without hesitation.

Jason scooted back towards Timi and Moyo, as Stephanie and Beamer approached the chair. With only space for five people on the bench, Zuriel was left with the choice of standing or sitting elsewhere. She opted for the third option, and perched herself on Jason's lap.

It was the first time that all six of them had been together, and at a distance, they gave the impression of three straight couples sitting together. In reality though, the dynamic was much more complicated, there were indeed three couples, with Zuriel not being part of any. They were aware of the curious glances from others, yet they paid it no heed. Jason, on the other hand, felt a touch of anxiety, hoping that neither a teacher nor, his parents would spot him with Zuriel on his lap.

Malvin approached the group of six to engage in conversation, and his return surprised them all. Jason proceeded to clarify to the others the reason for Malvin's unexpected return.

"I missed all of you, I swear! Especially Chid-" Malvin expressed.

But Beamer interrupted him, saying, "I've told you to stop calling me that."

Stephanie, curious, asked, "Wait, you know his real name?"

Malvin responded with a chuckle, "Why wouldn't I know my crush's real name?" This prompted laughter from the group, but Moyo appeared somewhat uncomfortable. It wasn't out of character for Malvin to her, as he was effeminate, and she had already assumed he was gay. But the laughter from Timi and Jason added to her suspicions.

Their time together was brief as they were soon ushered back to their class.

When they returned to class, Malvin was stuck in a bit of a bind. He had no seat of his own, and the only available spot was Lateef and Lekan's. Malvin felt a bit like a fish out of water, wondering how he would navigate the situation if they came back to class. He had no idea how they would react, but he wasn't feeling too optimistic about the whole thing.

Lateef finally returned to class. His expression turned sour when he saw Malvin in his usual seat. Making a pointed gesture with his hand, he indicated that Malvin should get up and move elsewhere. Malvin, however, was not in a hurry to comply. He sat there for a few moments longer than necessary, just to irk Lateef.

Malvin reluctantly rose from the seat, taking his time to get up and avoiding eye contact with Lateef. As Malvin started to move away, he almost brushed up against Lateef, but Lateef jerked away.

"Thank God you moved away. You could've touched me! you fag" Malvin cleverly echoed Lateef's own thoughts, before he could.

Jason got up and tried to intervene, but Malvin waved him off, determined to handle the situation himself. Malvin kept his eyes fixed on Lateef, a look of contempt on his face.

The situation was ironic because Malvin was stereotypically gay, and Lateef had a reputation of being homophobic. Lateef couldn't bring himself to touch Malvin; instead, he looked at him with a mix of confusion and disgust before walking away to take his seat. This left everyone wondering if there was some truth to what Malvin had said.

"You can sit down here." Zuriel offered, rising from her chair to accommodate Malvin and deescalate the tension.

Malvin felt a sense of relief, worried that Lateef might have caused a scene before he found a place to sit.

He settled in between Stephanie and Zuriel, with Stephanie at one end and Zuriel at the other. Malvin still sensed the eyes of others on him, but Lateef's gaze felt particularly intense. Even with the distance between them Malvin could feel the heat of his hatred.