Behind The Gate of Lakeview

~Nineteen~

             Dedicated to Orangee1 ❤️ I'm grateful for your comments and all, they keep me going.

Guys, remember that this chapter is unedited. Feel free to point out grammatical errors too. Thank you 💓

                            ~Jade's POV~

On days like this, I wish I had a more normal family. Don't get me wrong. I love my family. I love them so much but then, people say things like 'We don't know the value of what we have until we lose them or something like We are not grateful for the things we have because we see people that seem to have more things than we do.

That's the phase I am in right now, sitting at Hana's dining table watching her parents eat together like they do every other day. Damn! I can count the number of times my whole family eats together on my two hands in a whole year. It was our cultural day in school, a day when all students dress in their traditional attire reflecting their cultures. We have Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Ibibio, Igbira, Edo, and then Hana, our Korean. I had slept over at her place because her make-up artist will be the one to do my makeup. I wish my family will gather to eat food together like this, even just twice a week or maybe dinner but then, Dad is always in his hospital. If he's not in his hospital, he'll be in a conference, and mom, she's always tagging along. Makes me wonder how they raised us, but then there was Grandma, the woman that practically raised us.

'Jade!!'

Hana shouted across the table.

'hmm'

I murmured, trying to reorganize my thought.

'You're spacing out again.'

Before I could answer, her mom spoke up

'Are you okay?'

'Yes, ma.'

I glanced at her mom, so brown, so pale. The first time I saw her, I thought she was sick because of how pale she is. Then I turned to look at her dad, a very dark man who no matter how hard I try, I really can't place the both of them together. I wonder how they fell in love, how they decided to go against all odds and get married. Hana used to say her dad went to South Korea to do his masters and that's where he met her mom, a working-class lady who was almost at the top of her career. Then they fell in love, got married even when her dad's family was against it. Her dad went against their orders and got married to a kata, a white woman). He did not come back to Nigeria because his father threatened to disown him if he should bring home an Akita woman. Then they had to come to Nigeria when Hana clocked Ten. We probably have heard about how biracial kids get bullied in foreign countries, well, my best friend is living proof of that. She has undergone three different surgeries to get rid of the stab scar on her lower abdomen, there's still a faint scar that's visible.

'If you're done spacing out, let's go and get dressed'

Hana said again and I laughed.

'Don't mind me. I was thinking about you.'

'Jor Jor Jor, don't think about me. I never asked you.'

I laughed again and we both stood up to go to her room. Her makeup artist arrived a little later.

*******

Hours later, we arrived at school and the first thing that I fell in love with is the different colors students wore. All these in combination with Lakeview's beauty was a sight to die for.

'Wow, this is just too beautiful.'

I said as we stepped down of the car.

'It's a sight to die for. These are much beautiful attire. God! I'm so glad to be a yoruba girl.'