Golden Girls: A Nigerian Highschool Romance. ✓

Betty and Joseph: SECRET III

How Joseph and Betty met

"Aliyah! I need that pencil now!" Betty yells at Aliyah who's too busy begging one of the class artists to draw her diagram for her.

"I'm coming" Aliyah continues dragging his hand until he gives in

Betty is fed up. She gets up from her seat planning to storm up to Aliyah and collect her pencil back.

As she wants to pass by a classmate's seat he raises his legs to rest on the vacant chair in front of him.

Betty rolls her eyes and tells him to take them away and stop blocking the way.

He pretends like he doesn't hear her, opens his textbook and pretends to read it.

Betty resorts to hitting his leg repeatedly but he doesn't budge. Out of frustration, she turns to follow another way but that whole area is blocked with technical drawing boards .

"Aliyah throw my pencil to me" she shouts. Aliyah doesn't aim and just throws it to her direction. It falls beside Joseph, the guy sitting behind where she's standing.

He helps her to pick it up. "Thank you" she opens her hand to receive it but he doesn't give it to her.

"Oh goodness! I don't have time for this. " She's sees his diagram completed and resting on his desk "I've not even started and it's due in ten minutes"

He has no pity for her but instead asks "Betty how have you been?"

"I should have known that the quiet ones are always the devils. Give it back"

"No"

"What do you gain from this ? Just why?!" She cries out

"Okay take " he points it at her. As she's about to grasp it he pulls it further away.

She tries to take it again but he pulls it further. He does this until Betty trips on the stack of books kept beside his chair. She tries to balance herself by holding the table but instead falls on this lap.

Her eyes bulge in realization and she immediately stands. Joseph is also in shock. He stares at her, too stunned to speak. She backs him, trying to digest the fact that she was on Joseph's lap for a moment. Not more than three seconds but one second is a lot. She remains stoic for a few minutes

She abruptly turns around and snatches the pencil from his hand and scurries away in embarrassment. Joseph's eyes follow her back to her seat.

He shakes his head smiling as he stands up to submit his diagram.

***

Betty goes to the back of the library to adjust her uniform. As she's about to untuck her shirt, she sees Joseph sitting down there, drawing.

"What brings you here, young maiden" Joseph drops his pencil on his sketch pad

"Na me you dey call maid abi"( it's me that you are referring to as a maid) Betty responds going closer to see his drawing

"Calm down" he chuckles

"What are you drawing?" She tilts her head to a different angle to see what is on the paper

"None of your..."

"Give me this " in less than a second the sketchpad is in her hands. "Is it a lizard?" She looks down to see Joseph staring at her mouth agape. "Stop gaping like a fish on land. Is this a lizard? It looks like a gecko to me though"

"Did you just take that from my hand?"

"Yes and?"

"Give me my book"