Keziah's Will Chapter 3

Keziah's P.O.V

I couldn’t believe I had left a bad impression on my mathematics teacher on the first day of class. Oops, I said teacher. I glanced around to see if the professor was nearby as if he could hear my thoughts, and noticed that I had referred to him as a teacher instead of a Professor.

One thing was certain- I am not looking forward to this semester.

I walked to the school lounge, where students loved hanging out. The building’s exterior was adorned with panel walls flanked by single-hung windows that reflected the rays of the sun that beamed across the windows.

The scent of Frangipani flowers mixed with barbecue smoke filled the air as I walked in. Although I was gone for a few months, the place evoked many memories.

In secondary school, I sometimes snuck into Andy’s with Melanie because only grade 13 students and university students were allowed memberships there. Now, I smiled for the first time since I boarded the plane as I handed the front clerk a piece of my student ID and verified my membership.

Amani was waiting patiently for me at Andy's and typing on the phone while she sipped a mango juice. She wore a small floral dress that accentuated her curves, and her long box-braided hair flowed over her shoulders and dropped at her waistline. Amani had a different glow and looked different and more beautiful since I last saw her. Meanwhile, I looked like a crayfish struggling to breathe in water.

A glass of passionfruit and lime juice was also on the table she had reserved for us.

“I am scared of failing maths this semester; the teacher does not like me,” I whined to Amani as I sank into the chair.

“Kez, really! you can’t make such assumptions. It’s just your first day.” Amani chided me while hurriedly setting her phone on the table when she saw me. I wanted to ask her why she couldn’t text freely in my presence, but I decided to tell her the more important gist.

“He caught me texting in class. Rumour has it that texting in class is his biggest pet peeve,” I took a long sip of my passionfruit and lime juice and paused for a while as the brain freeze from the Icy drink overwhelmed my brain.

“Why did you text in class?’”

I rolled my eyes at her, “I was busy replying to your text. Plus, everything happened so fast that I made a fool of myself today,”

I sighed as I stirred the chunks of passionfruit pulp in my drink with a straw before taking a long sip again, “You know I must pass mathematics. I need it to fulfil my dreams. What will happen to my St.Claire dreams?”

I slapped my palms on my cheeks and whispered to Amani while pursing my lips, “I need a reason to move to St.Claire to investigate Kewill. This new professor sent me out of class on the first day. That’s a red light. A very bad omen,”

Amani rubbed the nape of her neck and offered me a warm smile,“ I understand. Let’s focus on eating, and we will take this one step at a time. You are not alone, Kez. We have each other,” Amani patted my right hand gently. “Check out the updated menu. I see you enjoyed the passion and lime juice, so let’s order the new pineapple and kiwi drink next. It ranks first on the student app.”

I nodded and beckoned to a waiter who was a fellow student like us but was working in his tailored uniform and shiny loafered shoes that clung lightly to his skin. He reminded me that I needed to return to my part-time job, or I would have difficulty paying rent.

I ordered rice and spicy beef sauce, while Amani ordered Fried rice.

“I am paying for the food, Amani,” I said.

“No, Keziah, you can’t. You are trying to save up for college, remember?”

“I have always paid for our meals, and nothing is ever going to change that,” I strongly affirmed.

“No, you don’t have to”

The waiter brought in our food and the food smelled amazing, but I was too preoccupied to focus on eating. I poked at the chunks of meat on my plate for a minute before gathering the courage to eat. The meat was tough today but so well seasoned that I could not complain.

As we were enjoying our lunch, I heard snickering behind me. It was a group of two girls and three guys. I recognized some of them from my Mathematics class this morning. To make it worse, they sat directly in front of Amani and me’s table. They were placing their food orders. Amani noticed when I stopped eating and looked in my direction.

“What’s wrong?”

“ It’s nothing serious. I will tell you later. let’s just enjoy our lunch.”

“Oh, look, it’s Sean Carter. You can ask him for help with mathematics. He is the best in Mathematics.”

“That’s Sean Carter?” I queried.

I recognized the boy in the hoodie as Melanie’s right-hand man from earlier today. If he was in the same clique as Melanie, he was bound to be proud like her. Why was he wearing a hoodie when the weather was sunny? I thought we left high school. However, people still seemed to associate everything weird with cool these days.

“Yea. Kez, the universe is working in our favour. We should go say hello,”

I held Amani’s arm as she rose to stand up from her seat. “No, Amani, we don’t know them well. We should… wait a little.”

“Keziah, look, my cousin Evan is there. Sean may feel comfortable talking to us if Evan says he knows us. stop being anxious, and let’s go,” Amani dragged me from my seat, and we left our half-eaten meals to approach the party. I was stunned by Amani’s boldness because she had always been shy and never took initiative. What had happened to my best friend during the summer?

“Hello Sean, my name is Amani and I would like to speak to you privately.” I watched Amani speak and bit my lips, trying to save myself from embarrassment. Sean looked at Amani intently and listened to her introduction.

I was able to observe Sean closely. His skin was smooth and clean-shaven. I bet he shaved his face and had a skincare routine. He wasn’t the most handsome guy I had ever seen, but his deep blue eyes and intense gaze compelled me. They held a sadness strangely comforting. A long earring rested on one of his ears and dangled lightly as he focused his gaze on Amani.

“I don’t know why everyone is obsessed with me and the people in my life these days. I mean, what gives you the effrontery to talk to us?” The rude words flew from Melanie’s uncouth mouth immediately after Amani spoke. She twisted her mouth and formed an angry pout as she crossed her hands.

The rest of Melanie’s crew were busy with their phones and did not appear interested in our conversation. Well, that’s better. I just had fewer people to face.

Amani clasped her hands behind her back and lifted her head, her chest inflating with each word she spoke, “I wasn’t talking to you. Last time I checked, the amazing Melanie does not bear the name Sean Carter.”

A crooked smile formed on Melanie’s face, “Not for long. Only the future will tell.” Sean flinched at Melanie’s words. She pretended not to notice his actions, but I could tell when she was hurt. And yes! Little Miss Perfect was hurt.

Melanie sized Amani with her eyes and glanced at her from head to toe, “Mmnh, Little Amani has guts now. I see Keziah is rubbing off on you. Was that the best comeback you could think of?”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at her. I did not want to incur the wrath of her boyfriend.

“I don’t care for what you girls are selling. I am not interested,” Sean finally spoke. His warm, baritone voice caught me off guard. I was expecting a rough, edgy voice based on his clothes. His sleek hair was permed, and his hoodie showed a fire burning a building. Yet, he had this relaxing voice that the ASMR community could use. This was the Sean people were pining about; there was nothing special about him. Except for his warm voice and the side grin he had donned when Melanie was speaking. Damnit! Concentrate Keziah.

Amani waved at her cousin “Evan, how are you? Didn’t you see me? It’s me, Amani,”

Evan ignored Amani. He continued pressing the keys on his phone and acted like we were non-existent. I let out a silent gasp at his behaviour. If he ignored me, no problem, but how could he ignore his cousin? Amani shrugged her shoulders even though her cheeks were inflated.

I caught Sean looking at me, and he seemed unruffled by the situation. I stared at his deep blue eyes and didn’t notice the clumsy waiter who had difficulty balancing the array of dishes in her hand.

Within a twinkle of an eye, the waiter pushed me, and I envisioned myself landing on Sean’s lap since he was closest to me. Instead, he pushed my hands away when I moved to grab his shoulders for balance. I tumbled unceremoniously to the floor.

I had never been more embarrassed in my life. I did not miss the shrill laughter from Melanie either. “Were you expecting a Cinderella moment, poor Keziah?” I ignored her.

“Omg, Kez, are you okay?” Amani rushed to help me up and what was left of my pride. “Yeah, Amani, I am ok. We should go now.”

“By the way, Amani, greet your mom for me. You should help her more often, you know. I can’t even imagine the stress she must be going through. Selling Akara under the hot sun is not good for anybody,” Melanie ran her palms on her face and flipped her hair.

“Melanie, stop talking,” My voice came out louder than expected.

“Kez, it’s okay. You don’t have to.” Amani tugged at my dress.

“No, it’s not okay.”

“Ooh, she speaks,” Nike, one of Melanie's crew, spoke for the first time. “So your mom sells Akara; I would like to eat some. You can hawk some to school tomorrow”

“And what’s so bad about selling Akara? It’s an honest living. At least, it’s an honourable job, unlike some people’s parents.”

“Oh, you wanna go there. That’s a lot coming from you, Keziah. Now, I dare you. repeat what you just said. It seems you have a lot on your mind to spill.” I cowered in fear. Melanie did not make empty threats. I felt bad for Amani, but my secret was bigger to keep. I pleaded to Melanie with my eyes. Not even Amani should know about this.

“Uhm… Uhm. I… was saying-”

“Don’t worry, Keziah, go now. I have all day to listen to you stutter. And I have a lot to say. We can have this public conversation about my personal opinion.”

I could not look Melanie in the eye anymore. Amani looked disappointed that I did not double down on my defence.

Melanie clasped her hands together and began to speak, “So guys, something interesting about Keziah is-”

Sean stood up from his chair and dropped some cash on the table. The other guys at the table stood up to follow him.

“Honeybear, where are you going? What happened to your meal?” Melanie asked with a worried look on her face.

“I lost my appetite. That’s what happened.”

“Ok, let’s go. Girls, grab my purse,” Melanie barked at her female friends.

A thunder of laughter followed us as we went back to our seats. I could feel the eyes of everyone on the back of my head. I knew no one from the lounge would interfere except if an argument turned violent. Students were used to drama. My heart started racing again, my palms were sweaty, and pools of sweat trickled down my face. “Amani, I don’t feel comfortable. Can we go home? I am feeling anxious.”

“Sure, Kez, let’s go.” we grabbed our bags and silently headed to my dorm room.

“So Keziah, what was Melanie talking about then?” I shrugged my shoulders.

“I don’t know. She is probably trying to threaten me with an embarrassing childhood story.” I felt bad for lying to my best friend. She knew half of the story; she just didn’t know the full story… but Melanie did.

“Oh, okay.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t defend you enough,” I apologized for my inability to stand up to Melanie.

“Oh, you’re fine. We all know she can be scary sometimes. Besides, I am proud of my mom’s profession any day, anytime,” Amani replied. She stopped in her tracks a few minutes before we reached my dorm.

“You know what. If Evan thinks we are embarrassing to be with, Let’s go embarrass him more.”

We made a U-turn and headed toward the boys’ dorm. Some boys were sprawled on the couch playing video games. They glanced at us briefly and turned away. They probably didn’t ask questions because of the School ID that hung on our necks. Amani used the room key she got from Evan’s mother at the beginning of the term to access Evan’s room. He was chatting with a young lady on his bed. She did not seem interested in him but counted the slim wads of cash he handed her as they communicated.

“How on earth did you get into my room? Evan stood up abruptly from the bed and pushed the rim of his glasses to the roof of his nose.

“Are you mad or something? What part of ‘do not talk to me’ don’t you understand? When we enter the school premises, forget that you know me.”

I raised my hands in the hair and pushed my arms out, inching my palms forward. “Hey Evan, last time I checked, you were one of us, too. The Uncool kids.” I imitated an explosion with my mouth.

“Well, I upgraded and can’t be seen with you two. So get!” The rascal swatted his hands in our direction as if we were flies. This was someone who used to beg to hang out with us. I felt bad for Amani because I was used to rejection from grandma… and everyone else. But the look on Amani’s face weakened me.

“Evan, you don’t have to be so mean,” I said quietly.

Evan dismissed the girl and waited until she left the room before he began speaking again. His voice descended to a mellow pitch, “You can’t just talk to Sean directly. You need an invite to his party, and he needs to know you are chill and cool to be with.”

I shrugged my shoulders and blew a raspberry with my mouth “Amani, you are the only person who thinks I am cool and chill to hang out with.”

Amani offered me a soft smile as she took another second to glare at Evans, her eyes brimming with coals of fire.

I scratched my nose and squinted as I listened to the absurdity of Evan’s statement, “He needs to know my level of coolness to teach me Mathematics. What is this? High school? Even elementary kids don’t stoop too low.”

Evans nodded firmly, “Um, yeah, this is technically high school.” He adjusted the rims of his glasses while talking to us. “And some elementary kids can be pretty snotty.”

I guess this was gonna be easy. I mean, even Evan gets invited to these types of parties. I am not questioning his dress sense or eccentric lifestyle, like jumping into the ocean at 2 a.m. to get Social media likes. At least, that’s what the rumours say. Evan was that nerd that hung out with the cool kids. Yeah, rare but possible.

“So Evan, please hook us with the invites.” I made a heart sign with my fingers and blew kisses in his direction as I internally cringed at my gesture.