MARIE'S HIGH - CHAPTER FIFTEEN

THE SLEEPOVER

When we finally came out of Bo's bedroom to the living room, I saw Grandma fast asleep on her sofa and her grandchildren also, though she instructed every one of us not to lie on either of them under no circumstances.

"Grandma! You need to go upstairs! Here isn't comfortable for you", I needed her to go upstairs.

"No", She rubbed her face with her right palm."I need to watch this movie until the end".

"Grandma, it's better to follow your doctor's advise, these kids will not go to bed till you do, and you won't want them to be late for tomorrow's class", Bo assisted me in blackmailing her.

"But the film is very interesting now", She refused to leave her seat.

"They'll replay it tomorrow, and we can as well record it, Grandma. That's why DSTV is different. Enjoy your money now", Bola told her.

"Oh! Okay!" Grandma rose on her feet immediately, and went to the staircase."Odaro eyin omo. Kasun layo, kaji layo(Good night kids. May we sleep and wake up well)".

"Amen", We chorused.

"Hmm! Mama de mama", I saluted Bola.

"You still have a lot to learn", We carried the little chicks to their respective bedrooms and returned to Bo's room where she selected my outfit for the night and did a little makeup for me.

The sweet side of Bo replaced me with one of her fashion mannequins, in case Grandma decided to check on me since she insisted we leave our door unlocked except when we were dressing up or having our baths. But to avoid her removing the blanket, Bo also brought up the idea of sleeping in her bedroom tonight also, under the disguise of a granddaughter who needs her grandma's warm embrace to fight against the cold night so she would keep an eye on her. We couldn't afford to use sleeping pills on her.

Uncle B was also part of the plan. He agreed to drive me there like he's got a customer. He would have told grandma the truth right away but he chose to help even though I messed up the other time. He wanted me to sort out the issues I had with the Marie Angels that night so I could live a responsible life again.

"Lord, please help me", I did the cross sign as I sat in the passenger's seat in his car.

"He will, Nife", Bo assured me with a smile. "He's always been helping you. But you don't know how to use the sense he's given you".

"I'm coming back for you!" I eyed her.

Rather than threaten to reveal my secret, Bola laughed and opened the main gate on our behalf. Then Uncle B drove out of our mansion to Michelle's home and advised me to stay out of trouble because he didn't want to get on Grandma's bad side. Afterward,  he headed back home, without bothering to check the faces of the people I was hanging out with.

"One...Two...Three", I pressed the doorbell of Michelle's home.

" Oh! Nife, the new bee?" Someone appeared on the security camera.

"Yeah", I replied.

"Alright", He opened the door to show off his abs which were exactly six in number. I couldn't close my mouth after seeing them. I almost drooled!

"I'm so sorry. I didn't want to keep you waiting", He apologized.

"No. It's alright. It's not bad", I couldn't stop myself from blabbing. His presence had this unexplainable effect on me.

"Oh. Thanks. I'm glad someone finally acknowledges my efforts. You've made my day", He smiled.

"I'm glad I did that", I blushed like I was trying to make him fall for me, but couldn't carry on for long. Something somehow reminded me of the possibility of him being Michelle's boyfriend.

"You came pretty early. My sister's still shopping with Mum, to get everything required for your sleepover", I was too happy to hear him say that.

"Okay. I'm Nifemi Adeoye", I wanted our conversation to go on till the end of the day.

"A celebrity needs not tell me her name", He replied to me and went to their dining room. "Would you like to join me for breakfast?" He asked politely.

"Really? Why did you have to starve yourself?", I joined in the dining room where I took a slice of bread and added some of his scrambled eggs which had chunks of corn beef, sardines, and hot dog.

"I'm not a food person", he said.

"Oh! But you make delicious meals", I complimented him, almost biting my fingers.

"Michelle doesn't have a boyfriend yet because she wants someone like me, and that's kinda hard to get ", he said proudly.

"Really? She must be a foodie", I laughed.

"Yeah, and good at eating raw vegetables, and weird fruits", He added.

"That's good", I smiled broadly." I would have loved to do something like that".

"Yeah", We remained silent for a while, then I got the courage to ask for his name.

"Cleo Martins", He answered." Do you care for some tea or coffee with cream or milk?"

"Coffee will do with cream", I watched him get it done.

"I hope you're not a sugar lord like me", He handed me my cup of coffee.

"Well...", We hit our knuckles, laughing like some crazy hyena.

Michelle returned home with her mum, almost two hours after my arrival. She didn't give any apology for coming late yet blamed me for coming too early. If Cleo wasn't here to keep me company, it would have been lonely and boring but her presence wouldn't have made any difference either.

"Good evening, ma'am", I greeted Mrs. Martins who had to give some instructions to their security officer before coming into the living room.

"Hi, dear. We're so sorry for delaying you", Sha said humbly." Is there anything you'd like to eat or drink?"

"Trust me, Mom. I took care of that", Cleo got some cold water from their dispenser.

" Thanks, baby", She gave him a peck on his cheek.

"Life must have been impressed with your scrambled eggs" Michelle laughed."I hope you're aware you're not the type I want for my brother".

"Sure", I felt disappointed despite knowing what was in it for me.

The other girls arrived with 3D glasses a few minutes past ten. After having a sushi dinner, we settled in Michelle's room to watch "Moms At War" with hot milk-powered popcorn and cold cans of Pepsi. God willing, the movie turned out to be a sleeping pill for the girls, but I followed it back to back since it reminded me so much of Cleo and his mum.

Before the night ended, I asked Mrs. Martins if I could read in their study. She agreed so I took my stuff there immediately. After a while, she comes to check on me who was already sleep-working.

"It's alright to go to bed. You've done enough", Her touch felt nice.

"I'm fine, ma'am", I rubbed the sleep off my eyes and picked up my pen once more.

"To be honest, It would have been nice if Michelle met you earlier". You're a great person", She patted my hair.

"Thanks", I smiled." Michelle is too, and Cleo is awesome...you did a great job raising them".

"I'm flattered", She touched her chest." Thanks".

There were other words to describe Cleo but unfortunately, I ran out of them at that moment which is painful. Michelle didn't deserve even a bit of my compliment but who would want to paint a child bad in the presence of her parent? I don't think Mrs. Martins is to blame for Michelle's misconduct so why should her mood be ruined, or should I have just kept mute when she complimented me?

Before leaving, I promised Mrs. Martins I'll leave as soon as possible but instead, a childish scream woke my senses yet the image before me turned out to be that of a man in his mid-fifties.

"Ghost oo! There's a ghost in my study! Honey!", He kept shouting and panted heavily.

"Calm down, sir", I laughed."I'm not a dead person", I tried explaining things to him.

"No way!", He argued."This is a public library, I know but I'm the only one who's ever used it since we moved here. Even my intelligent wife.."

"What were you saying about me?" Mrs. Martins came in unannounced.

"That you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen", he tried holding her hands.

"Leave me alone. I know how to deal with you", She left angrily.

" E Jo ma(Please ma)", he ran after her.

Mr. Martins still returned to the study, not to finish unfinished paper works from the office, but to get more enlightened on his job as a CEO of his company, in the process of which we exchanged ideas about firms, literally and in the marketing aspect before he ordered me to go to bed.

I adored the well-bred gardens surrounding Martin's home. I adored Mrs. Martins not only because she was beautiful facially, and did a beautiful job of keeping her home together. I adored Mr. Martins also. I wouldn't need the Marie Angels if he were to be my dad. Cleo wouldn't fail to protect me, from the wiles of Marie's boys too if he was my biological brother so I adored him too.

"Hey, girls. It's school time!", Cleo jingled a loud bell, which penetrated my eardrums the following morning.

"Where the hell did you get that old annoying thing from?" Michelle threw a pillow at him.

"My mum gave it to me before she passed away", Mrs. Martins came in." It was her prayer bell, then it became mine, then I'm going to..".

"Mum!", Michelle yelled at her." I don't want any historical talk this morning. I have a headache!".

"Same here", Rose complained, placing the back of her palm, on her forehead.

"We slept early last night, and that's unusual", Cammie complained.

"You can sort yourselves for as long as you want", Cleo took a step further."I'm off to school".

"School!", I scream."Cleo, wait for me", I ran after him.

"Remember you're wearing pajamas, baby", Mrs. Martins informed me.

" It doesn't matter", I kept on moving. "I'll see you soon. Bye."

"Michelle, I can't afford to be stressed this morning. I have an important meeting, with my staff so please take your medi...", Her voice faded away.

Though Cleo tried to change my mind in the parking lot, I refused to return to Michelle's room for a change of clothes or wear some slippers. Either thinking I'm not in the right frame of mind, he insisted on driving me home yet I refused to tell him the cause of my dilemma. At one point, we encountered traffic, so I had to trek the rest of the journey after telling him a big thank you. However, he looked for a place to pack his black Corolla and followed me until I entered my house safely.

"Thank God you're here finally ", Bo sighed when she saw him.

" I'm so sorry", I held her hands."I..."

"I'm not a story fan like Gbemi. Just be prepared to buy each everyone a box of Domino's " Smallie " pizza, and a can of malt", She said, because they helped with my house chores.

"What!", I laughed." Did I see pizza to eat when I was their age? Malt ke?"

"That's your headache. I've done my part", She gave me the frying pan in her right hand."You're to make the stew for breakfast".

"Who's downstairs?" As we heard Grandma's footsteps on the staircase, Bo told her siblings to return to their bedroom.

"I think you're qualified to be my student now", She commended me for the pajamas I was putting on. It didn't make Grandma suspect I went out.

After all, I went through in the morning, you wouldn't have imagined what I experienced live at Marie's High Auditorium. It was a love declaration, featuring roses, a package, the Loveboy's band, and lots of onlookers, recording live videos and taking pictures.

"What're you doing, Loveboy?" I said to him inaudibly, as he finished singing me one of his hit songs. I was frustrated.

"I would do anything to keep you beside me",  He replied.

"Awwn", The girls echoed.

"That's enough", I tried to lift him.

"No. I'm not getting up until you forgive me from the bottom, of your heart", He kept kneeling on the floor.

"You've done nothing wrong", I said to make him feel guiltless.

"I'm not satisfied. Nife, I've met a lot of girls before you came, but you're different because you're my only true love", He brought out a pure diamond ring from his pocket "Nife, let's make our relationship official".

"Wow!" everyone around was amused.

Lo and behold, I didn't hear that sound alone. Some lost their balance, Some left their mouth wide open like me. I was tempted to accept Loveboy's proposal because it seemed like a dream come true.

"I know this is shocking to you, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. My love for you is deeper than the ocean", He looked desperate to make me his.

"No. I can't do this", I exit the scene politely.

It was hard to take my mind off Loveboy's proposal. It was hard to forgive myself for getting drunk at the party and confessing my false feelings for him. It was even hard for me to stop thinking about my problems and concentrate on my routine at the gym. I felt sad for breaking his poor heart yet I doubted if he truly had feelings for me. I would have hurt myself while doing my exercise routine if Cleo didn't protect me. It was surprising that I didn't notice him on my first day.

"Hi, guys. We're going to be having a question and answer session today", Freaky said to the disappointment of other literature students.

"Please let's comply. This is to help our reading, and challenge ourselves", I backed him up.

"We're just being considerate", A girl whose name I didn't know stoop up. "You're not in the right frame of mind to lead a class".

"I'm fine", I replied with a fake smile, and the rest laughed. She attempted to sit, but I prevented her from doing so. Then, I asked her to form a poem within five minutes and she wasted no time in doing so, using me as her subject.

"He was a boy that he was,

The toast of Marie's College

She was a girl that she was,

A rugged thing, mother Nature is forced to harbor,

Yet, he was forced to adore her

Then, with the tossing of a coin,

The pumpkin thought herself to be a watermelon,

Unaware that without its magnificent feathers,

Peacock is nothing but a birdie"

"Woo ho", Her fans hailed her.

The previous day, I was the center of attention. I was still on that day but on the wrong side. No one wanted to be with the girl who hurt the proprietress' son. If they had the chance, they would have stoned me to death. Yet, I had the effrontery to go into the cafe for lunch. It was that same place a junior removed my chair from its original position, so I could hit my butt on the floor when I wanted to sit down.

"You think you can do whatever you want with our Loveboy, and get away with it", She also slapped my face.

"You're such an ungrateful goat!" Her supporter dipped my face in my bowl of stir-fry. As for my pineapple juice, she poured it on the tiled floor, with thousands of students' footprints, and forced me to lick every bit of it.