ᴅᴇᴇᴘᴇʀ

28

Runnin', runnin'
away from it
You can strip down
without showing skin.

__

The extremely bold scent could be perceived anywhere and so was her annoying tactics spotted.

"TJ!" Abike sang out, as she took a sit beside him, while throwing a barely there acknowledging nod at Chimdi who internally bared her teeth at the intruder.

"I've been bored like," Abike began, dramatically flaring her hands. "Everyone has gone missing can you believe? I'm lucky I found you."

Ever since the birthday party at 12,O'Club, Abike had personally taken up the role of designated third party to Chimdi and TJ. She stuck to them like a sore thumb, unavoidable and a real gut clenching pain in the rare.

She was at their lunch table, mango shade, classroom during free periods and even at Chimdi's room claiming to check up on her twin's girl.

So surreal, Elo finally grew the balls to speak to Nene, thus their union. Everyone had thought it was going to be an epic show of how to break a boy's heart. Surprisingly, Nene had broken into the widest grin known to man.

Aside the excess PDA and googly eyed stares, they were still plain ol' Elo and Nene. The bickering never settled for a silent retirement and so were Nene's constant reprimands.

"Join us then." TJ told her, with an easy smile on his face.

Too late, she was already seated beside him, hands getting busy as she explored the text books strewn on the table.

Chimdi tried not to reach for her hand and give it a good twist as her hand picked up Castle of Otranto, giving it a confused look.

"Why the hell do you art students read these suicide pamphlets?" Abike asked, waving the rectangular book at TJ, who let out a slow chuckle like she'd said the funniest of words known to man.

Chimdi tried hard to block out the other girl's annoying voice as she put her attention solely on her exercise book.

"Suicide pamphlets, really?" TJ laughed, the sound goading Chimdi to utter a word. "What's so suicidal about the books we read?"

"Everything. I mean, I'm yet to see a recommended literary work without a tragic end. And I'd bet they are all works of Shakespeare!" Abike's hands flared to add dramatical effects. "Seriously, that guy must have had a lot of emotional traumas."

Chimdi rolled her eyes at the girl's attempt to get TJ's attention, which worked much to her dismay, as she watched TJ, totally get amused by the gibberish the girl was spouting. She couldn't help feel irked.

"This one has a tragic end right?" The slender girl asked TJ, who, still amused, nodded while waiting for her to continue, totally enjoying where the conversation was heading.

"That's not Shakespeare's work." Chimdi told Abike, while holding herself from snatching her book away from the darker girl's grip.

Chill girl, she's not eating it.

"Oh, my bad." Abike said, reaching for another work. "But still, this one ended tragically too right?"

"Yep." Answered TJ.

Abike placed the strewn textbooks on the table, arranging them in a not-so-neat pile.

"I bet every single work here is totally tragedy."

TJ took in the laid out novels. "Not really."

"How many?" Abike asked him.

Chimdi rolled her eyes hard.