The Externals Reloaded - Chapter Two

 Three Months Earlier

All night, Miss Claire couldn't sleep because she was anticipating her son's eighteenth birthday. She could vividly remember the day she brought him into the world seemed like her last day. Her little angel didn't face any complications but she had to deal with a four-degree rectum tear and retained placenta. All the while, the then most loving of all husbands and the father of her child stood by her. She initially got discouraged about being his bride because many around her were victims of swindlers from his birth country yet later chose to stay with him. Unlike the other men she came in contact with before meeting him, he took full responsibility for her daily upkeep yet refused to take a dime from her when little Quinn came and caused a huge change in their monthly budget.

"Happy Birthday, pumpkin", Miss Claire finally entered her son's bedroom after taking years to set up everything she needed to wish him her definition of a proper happy birthday.

"Thanks, momma", Quinn's lips curved a smile, as she placed a cone-shaped birthday cap on his head and lit candles on the red velvet cake she brought along with her. It had lots of fresh strawberries, as well as a funny picture of him.

"It's time to blow the candles. Are you ready?" Miss Claire said excitedly.

"Yes, Mom", Quinn said reluctantly. He was no longer alive like before.

"Is there anything wrong, darling?" She patted his back to cheer him.

"Nothing, Mom", He almost said until the doorbell in the living room rang and his mom went to answer it.

After opening the front door, Miss Claire discovered the person responsible for ringing the doorbell had left a package. There was no need to contemplate whether it was hers or Quinn's because it was his birthday and he got more gifts than her, even on a normal day. As she was about to call him to come check what was inside, she discovered he was already humming beside her, and immediately, something popped out of the box!

That action almost made Miss Claire lose her breath. Of course, she knew many were after her son's life because he was the reason why some of their girlfriends decided to break up with them or bosses at work dismissed them so anything could happen! But thankfully, an implanted bomb didn't infiltrate their home through the box nor did a sniper come out of it to shoot Quinn dead. Beth Miller was the surprise package!

"Oh my goodness!" Quinn screamed and pulled her close for a kiss. He was overly excited. When they last spoke at midnight, Beth apologized in advance for not being able to spend his birthday with him because she had to attend a product shoot in New York that same day.

"If you don't slow down at this stage, I might die beau", Quinn was on the verge of killing her with a hug then.

"You should cause you almost killed me when you said you wouldn't be around to celebrate my 18th birthday!" He joked.

"I can't believe you're finally a grown-ass man", She smiled and played with the tiny strands of hair under his chin.

"Yeah. A man for you alone", He said proudly.

"Hmm.." Miss Claire interrupted their romantic moment."We can't afford to let your 18th birthday candles die down without you making a wish. Adulthood isn't easy man, I warn you".

"Claire's right", They laughed and climbed the stairs to Quinn's bedroom.

Despite being his birthday wish, Quinn wished more for Beth because he had pure, undiluted, and uncontaminated love for her. He wished that her company would continue to grow and her beauty continues to flourish. He wished he would make enough money to get her everything she needs or wants. He wished to always be the source of her happiness and that of pride for his mom who chose not to neglect him like his irresponsible father.

It was tradition for Miss Claire to make cabbage plates on Quinn's birthdays since it was his favorite, but she chose to let Beth make it that year. Making Quinn's garbage plate was special because Beth was not a fan of cooking. Nevertheless, she did well. Quinn's facial expression didn't change into an inscrutable one after taking a bite and his lips didn't spill her meal. He savored the unique taste of the ingredients used in making the meal and complemented it with a glass of apple juice. The meal was close to tasting like Miss Claire's.

After eating the cake Miss Claire baked for dessert, Quinn planned on taking Beth to school with his Ford but little did he know that something much better was awaiting him in the parking lot. Beth got him the Chevrolet he had been saving for years to buy. He still didn't believe it was right in front of him until she showed him its plate number which had his name and gave him the keys which also had a Q-shaped holder. While these events unfolded, Quinn was speechless. Miss Claire did the shouting and gave the appreciation message on his behalf.

Quinn and Beth made planning surprises and giving out gifts to each other on both special and nonspecial occasions part of their relationship routine, but that doesn't mean their relationship was based on material gains. The duo had a genuine love for each other. They were way closer than regular couples and besties. They were really into each other. None could stand anyone making life hard for the other.

"How could you not permit me to put a sticker which says Baby got me this at the back of the car", He said on their way to school. Excitement was still much evident in his tone.

"Don't be ridiculous, beau", She laughed heartily. "Do you want to be responsible for someone's death?"

"Who cares? As long as I didn't kill them with both of my hands. Thanks for everything boo", He gave her a surprise kiss on his lips and lost concentration in driving, almost bashing into another car.

"Oh, my God! You are going to be the death of me", Beth said, yet anticipated more of the kiss.

"Didn't we agree to leave the earth at the same time, boo?" He winked at her.

"Sure. Doesn't matter where we end up as long as we're together", Beth returned the kiss which was interrupted by their school's traffic warden, imploring them to stop messing up other people's plans and get a room.

Quinn's greatest wish was to spend the whole day with Beth so he once thought of running away from their school's building with her. He hated going to school so instead of suspending him for hitting a boy who mistakenly spilled coffee on her at the school's cafe, the principal made making the attendance list compulsory for him for the rest of the term. Beth too scolded him for doing that because the stain wasn't even obvious - it blended with the color of her school skirt and the action wasn't intentional but he didn't mind. His only reason for even following the principal's order was to put his mom's mind at ease.

Almost everyone in Miller High School had a gift to render. In the front of the class, the school's music band had already gathered to sing him the happy birthday song with electric, and reggae beats. Pictures of him which always had Beth beside them were also pasted on the school's notice board, cafeteria, auditorium, and other strategic positions. The cards, flowers, white chocolates, shoes, and perfumes students brought to celebrate him couldn't even contain his boot. Teachers hired the best chef in Rochester to make him lunch while non-teaching staff got a ticket to attend his favorite tv show. Quinn held no high school title, yet was loved by all. He couldn't manage to upset anyone.

During lunch hour, a delivery guy came into Miller's high to deliver a package to Quinn whom he described as the most playful boy in town and he was allowed to do that. Although, he had to be checked thoroughly before taking his leave. They were scared that he might have convinced him to help disguise him so he can sneak out of the school compound. However, Quinn had no such plans. While the security men were getting themselves worked up for nothing, Quinn was putting on a stylish lab coat so he could join Beth in the chemistry lab to make his birthday more fun. They only get to see each other during lunch because they both belonged to different departments and Beth used to complain of being bored during class because she couldn't associate with other students. Quinn and his friends were the only persons she was free within Miller's High.

"Mart, how do I look?" Quinn asked his best friend for the umpteenth time in the male's locker room. He seemed like a guy trying to woo a lady.

"If you keep on doing this, you're going to miss Mrs. Smith's lesson", Martin warned, drawing his attention to the round-shaped clock on the wall above their lockers. He loved Quinn so nothing would hurt him more than making him stop his cherished dream from materializing when he could have pushed him to make it happen.

"I don't know why I'm so nervous", Quinn cussed. "Feels like it's the first time I'm going to have a conversation with Beth".

"You'll be fine. Don't worry", Martin patted his shoulder and led him out of the locker room.

In the hallway, the smell of Quinn's perfume didn't get past anyone. Many prayed to keep running into him for the rest of the day, so they would be able to savor the scent more and more. Some were more interested in staring at his lab coat which had a funny picture of him and Beth. The words, "pure chemistry" printed on the coat with deep blue ink got their attention the most.

Everyone knew Mrs. Smith never gave room for latecomers in her class so Quinn prayed to make it in time before she locks the lab's door but he didn't. If it was another student, they would have just turned back knowing fully well that interrupting her lesson was asking for more trouble but Quinn got the courage to press the doorbell in front of the lab in a way Mrs. Smith couldn't ignore. To him, it was a do-or-die affair. It wasn't something he could just easily walk away from. He couldn't give up easily on things when they're related to the love of his life.

Mrs. Smith hated distractions passionately but because it was Quinn's birthday, she didn't tell him to render cleaning services within the school for a week or work freely as an attendant in the bookshop. She only made him hop to the spot he wanted to be beside Beth. Her departmental mates thought he was lucky her lab partner fell ill but Quinn paid the guy not to attend school that day. Why also would Mrs. Smith allow him in her class, when he wasn't even a science student, to begin with? - He had spoken to her about it as well. Quinn planned out everything to avoid flops. Little did he know that life hands one lemon when one isn't clearly in need of it and doesn't have any idea how lemonades are brought into existence!














Link to the next chapter: 

https://talesofeni.blogspot.com/2023/07/the-externals-reloaded-chapter-three.html

In case you missed the first chapter, here's the link to access it:

https://talesofeni.blogspot.com/2023/07/the-externals-reloaded-chapter-one.html

AUTHOR'S NOTE
Dear reader, I really appreciate your support and I hope to get more of it in the future. Now, we're getting closer to revealing the truth about what happened between Beth and Quinn...can you guess what that is? What's your favorite scene in this chapter? I'll be awaiting your response in the comment session. Please, don't ignore this. I can only know who's reading when you drop a comment. Don't also forget to share this book with your friends and loved ones. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Yours teenfictionly,

Eniola Oluwamuyiwa😁🥰