The Externals Reloaded - Chapter Twenty-Nine

 

"Good morning, sir. I'm so sorry for being late....i just", A panting Quinn entered the hall, causing an unignorable change in the atmosphere.

"Are you okay? You think you can just walk in here anytime you want. Who the hell are you!" One of the examiners who hated his skin color and the fact that everyone seemed so fond of him was determined not to let him write the examination.

"I sincerely apologize on my son's behalf. He just flew in this morning", Mr. Kunbi walked in. Quinn had told him not to bother coming in after dropping him at the school gate from the airport but he knew something like this was would happen.

"It's okay, your excellency", The examiner was still pissed but all he could do was isolate Quinn whose intelligence had no issue with that.

Lily was more surprised than everyone else about Quinn's sudden return that she thought he had made her turn crazy and start imagining things. She didn't know whether to feel happy or sad about his return yet she was extremely happy seeing him just few miles away from her again. Still, she was angry about how easy it was for him to leave and come back anytime he wished. When she could no longer control her emotions, she had to take permission to use the bathroom just to calm herself there so nothing would interfere with her examination. Quinn wished he could follow her instantly and resolve the issue between them because it was eating him up but didn't want to make a scene after all that happened.

Their first exam was pretty easy because everyone had mastered the principles of honesty and integrity in Civic Education as instructed by a teacher they thought was too troublesome. However, there were still moments when some students like Omma almost got a heart attack when they couldn't remember some key words to define some terms in the theatrical aspects of their examination. Even genuises like Lily and Quinn were not spared of challenges as their eyes did wander off sometimes to see how the other was coping. Regardless of how romantic that seemed, it was a huge source of distraction for them.

After the examination, the students became interested in talking about how easy the questions were and how they managed to talk to each other despite the peering eyes of examiners. The old girls especially also wanted to know how Quinn's mom wedding went while the new girls wanted to know everything about him in one day, especially his social media pages and become closer to him than anyone else had ever been. As for Lily, all she wanted to do was go home. She didn't have the courage to face him yet. Unfortunately, Quinn had overcome his fears and was ready to correct his mistakes. Even with the girls all over, his eyes didn't miss the moment Lily was walking pass the school gate and he didn't hesitate to follow her.

"Lily, wait", Quinn held Lily's hand when he got close enough to do that.

"I have something to do for my aunt at home", Lily made an untrue excuse for her sudden departure.

"I'm extremely sorry for everything that happened. I was such a coward. You don't deserve to be treated that way", Quinn felt ashamed of himself.

"It's fine. I've heard you", Lily sniffled and turned back because she didn't want him to see her crying.

Few seconds later, she turned back to a hug an astonished Quinn. "Life wasn't easy without you".

"It was hell for me as well", Quinn wiped the tear at the corner of his eye finally".

"What the heck is going on here?" Zach and a couple of friends saw them.

"You think you can just come here and steal my dream girl? I'm not as stupid as my forefathers just so you know", Zach said venomously and left the scene.

"No staring so you don't get any weird ideas like the last time", Lily told Quinn as he kept looking at her later in the day when they were cooking in Mrs. Kunbi's kitchen. They were unbothered by Zach's threat.

"I'd rather die than not get any weird ideas when next to you", Quinn teased her.

"I think it's best we stop seeing each other", Paranoid Lily removed the kitchen apron she was putting on and walked towards the exit.

"Geez! I was just kidding. Relax!"
Quinn made fun of her.

"That's not funny!" Lily squeezed her face. "You can't imagine how much humiliation I got because of what happened the last time".

"I know and I'm so sorry about that", Quinn felt bad for making her go through that. "But I can't control how I feel about you and stop myself from getting weird ideas".

"Really?" Lily was disappointed to hear that.

"You didn't let me finish....Even with the weird ideas hovering around, I'll keep trying not to execute them until the right time", He replied. "Fighting!"

"Fighting!" Lily smiled and returned to her cooking.

"How much longer do I have to wait", Quinn munched some pieces of kulikuli.

"Until you stop getting weird ideas" They both laughed.

Lily thought Zach didn't really mean what he said but he was wrong. In fact, he incited everyone against their relationship. All, including Khadijat objected their relationship for his sake and vowed not to be friends with them ever again if they refuse to end their relationship. They stopped organizing tutorial sessions with them or giving them vital educational information except they see it on the notice board or get it from a teacher. Just when Lily thought her life was normal again, Zach decided to ruin things for her. Of course, Omma was happy about it because she felt it was something he should have done long ago.

Quinn didn't consider whatever stunt their classmates were pulling an obstacle because all that interested him was being with Lily. Initially, he wasn't on good terms with them so it didn't take long for him to start acting like they don't exist again. However, it was hard for Lily. She didn't want it to seem like she betrayed her lifelong friends for a guy or choose a foreigner over her own people. She also failed to see her friends were being unreasonable for playing the race card. Her relationship should obviously be based on being with someone that loves her as much as she does, not on race or tribe.

"Hey, babe. What's up?" Lily called Khadijat who was passing by the lab because she needed someone to talk to badly.

"You're not supposed to be talking to me", Khadijat whispered.

"Come on, Dija. Even if the whole world's turn their back on me, aren't you supposed to be on my side?" Lily almost cried as she spoke to her.

"You know you can't always support your friends, especially when they're making bad decisions for themselves", Khadijat sighed.

"What do you mean? I thought you said it was cool to...." Lily reminded Khadijat about her initial approval of their relationship.

"..catch cruise with him. Not date him. Your worlds are so far apart. Besides, what are you going to do if he decides to leave again?" Khadijat actually had a point.

When Lily was not thinking about how well knowing the almighty formula was going to help in their upcoming math examination in the evening time, she pondered over what Khadijat said to her. Considering the kind of life Quinn used in the United States, she felt it was possible for him to get bored of her and dumb her for his ex-girlfriend. Still, another part of her felt he wouldn't have come back if he wasn't interested in being with her. She needed a distraction from these thoughts but unfortunately, her aunt wasn't around to send her annoying errands which seemed like they would be quite useful.

Even though Aunt Tolani's annoying errands weren't around to serve as a useful distraction for Lily, there was Zach. Lily thought one of her cousins came to plug local apples when she heard a knock on her gate but was shocked by his appearance. It reminded her of the times there was no Quinn and everything was going on smoothly between them. It made her wonder if she might have developed feelings for her if the charming whiteboy never showed up in their lives or they weren't just meant to be. Regardless, she felt bad for him.

"Please tell me you're finally realizing I'm the perfect one for you, compared to that scumbag", Zach saw a change in the way she looked at him. It was different from the gloomy look she had whenever he tried to talk to her in school.

"Zach, please stop doing this. I know it's not easy to..." Lily tried reasoning with him.

"You shouldn't be with him, Lily. Can't you see he's undeserving of you? He's a bloody American teenager for God's sake. Have you ever considered his drug, alcohol or sexual exploits?" Zach finally succeeded in making Lily think about reconsidering her decision to be with Quinn.

"Enle oo. She e sonu ni? Ibi okin se hotel oo (Hello. Did you loose your way? This isn't an hotel)", Aunt Tolani suddenly appeared which made Lily happy though she was still scared of getting scolded later.

"Ekale ma (Good evening ma) ", Zach greeted her and wanted to help her carry one of her bags but she didn't allow it.

"It's time to lock our gate", Aunt Tolani told him to leave stylishly.

"Yes, ma. I was just about to leave. Goodnight ma", Zach went out of the house.

"Welcome back, mummy", Lily started acting sweet towards her aunt, hoping it would save her from being scolded too much.

"Oshey, omo mi. Bawo ni exam e? (Thanks my daughter. How was your exam?)" Aunt Tolani told Lily what she least expected".

"Fine, ma", Lily smiled.

Zach was unrelenting in his effort to destroy the beautiful relationship between Quinn and Lily. After their maths examination, he gathered everyone in the school's playground to propose him and Quinn getting tested for drugs, alcohol and STDs to see who was better fit for Lily between the two of them. Of course, Lily was quick to raising an objection to his ridiculous suggestion because she didn't want their lives to get more dramatic but her opinion didn't count. Every other person agreed to this decision. They also concluded that Master Segun would get the results of the test so neither of them would be able to tamper with it.

In the evening, Lily started have doubts about that decision because she caught Quinn having a disturbing conversation with his best friend, "Hey, can you remember everything we did at our last party?"

"You know it's not compulsory to do this thing", Lily didn't want him to become a laughing stock when the results are out.

"I have to. You have to see me for who I really am even if it means losing you. I mean it would be my fault for losing you", Quinn panicked as he spoke.

"Gosh, can we just stop thinking about problems and have fun like we used to?" Lily who needed a break from the recent unhappy events blurted out.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm so sorry for causing you worry. I promise this won't happen again", They got out of Mrs. Kunbi's car which they had taken out for a drive and walked to a sharwama spot nearby.

"Good evening. How can I help you", The attendant offered them a place to sit.

"Give us your biggest package", Lily spoke before Quinn could open his mouth and also gave them her atm card. "This one's on me".

"You've got to be kidding me", Quinn objected her decision like every gentleman would.

"If you pay for this thing, I'm not going to eat it so accept this delightful offer from your generous sugar mummy", Lily replied, and they both laughed.

"Hmmm...this tastes so good", Quinn said when they started eating like he's never had the meal before.

"Stop this silly joke, Tokubo. I know you've had this quite a number of times", Lily gave him a not-so-serious death stare.

"Sure. Nigerian Sharwamas are obviously the crappiest of all but this one tastes better because it's from you", He blushed.