Little Lucy - S01 E21

Story 3 years ago

Little Lucy - S01 E21

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 21

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AUTHOR’S POV••••••••••••

Vee headed down the principal’s office with a puzzled look on her face.

Her mother had sent for her. Vee had just rounded a heated argument with her the other day about Lucy. She wasn’t expecting any other meeting with her mother after their last discussion.

It was because of her that Lucy wasn’t yet expelled. Mrs Cooker was all set to send the poor girl home because of her score.

But not if Vee could help it. At the end, she somehow convinced her mother to give the girl a second chance but that was because she had to argue with her to clarify her point.

Now she was being called for again. For what purpose, she couldn’t tell.

As she walked towards the administration block, she noticed two glittering dark Prado jeeps.

This surprised her cause none of the teaching staff owns those kind of flashy cars. They either owned ladies bike or a salon car but not a Prado jeep.

Then she heard laughter coming from the principal’s office. She could outlined three heads talking and cracking jokes.

Taking her time, she approached the door and knocked softly on it.

” Come on in,” Mrs Cooker’s voice came to her from the other side.

Turning the knob of the door, Vee stepped into the room.

Seated before her mom were two men.

One was elderly with tribal marks on her cheeks. He was darker and ugly with a traditional cap that covered his bald head. The only thing nice about him was his eyes. They were crystal clear and sharp.

Other than that, there was nothing more to him than wrinkles and a touch of lurking old age. He would be in his late fifties or early sixties. She can’t tell.

The other man fascinated her.

He was younger and not bad looking. There was that innocent looks in his eyes that told her he was void of the sins of man.

He was smallish in nature with a clean shaved beard, thick dark lips and a face that spoke of many things.

She wasn’t sure if he appealed to her or not but she liked his composure.

” What took you Soo long?” Mrs Cooker asked sharply.

If it were just the two of them, Vee would’ve ignored her but her mother had guests. She wouldn’t want to embarrass her.

” I was busy with my students,” Vee replied, then turned to the two men and greeted. ” Good afternoon, gentleman.”

” Evening,” they both smiled at her and she was surprised to see the resemblance.

” Well it’s good to have you here,” Mrs Cooker said, waving to an empty chair beside her. ” Seat down, Vee. I want to talk to you.”

Vee obeyed but her eyes never left the two men staring at her.

Mrs Cooker was all smiles and she began introducing her guest. ” Vee, you remember Chief Gregory?”

” I remembered,” Vee answered, apparently bored. ” My fiance.”

The two men grinned at each other and Vee made a face.

Mrs Cooker smiled. ” That’s right. Well..” she waved to the elderly man. ” This is Chief Gregory and his son, Abdul.”

Vee regarded these two men closely without saying anything.

Chief Gregory extended his hand. ” It’s nice to finally meet you face to face, Vee.”

She took his hand and shooked it. His hand felt really cold and rough.

She turned to the son and shooked his also. Like father like son. Their hands were Soo cold and rough.

Mrs Cooker seemed excited she turned to Vee. ” Now you’ve met with these men, let’s talk about the marriage rites and everything.”

Vee wasn’t ready for this type of conversation. ” Mom can we—”

But Mrs Cooker interrupted her. ” I haven’t been completely honest with you, Vee. I wanted to tell you but Chief Gregory and I thought it’d be better if his son arrived back into the country first before we break the news.”

Vee raised an eyebrow. ” What are you talking about?”

Chief Gregory spoke. ” Umm… actually, the truth is, my son, Abdul was rounding his studies at Oxford University, London. He just landed in the country yesterday.”

Vee turned to Abdul. ” Welcome.”

” Thanks,” he smiled and it was surprising how white his teeth were.

” You see,” Chief Gregory continued. ” I’m getting really old. I’m married with three wives so I have lots of children. Majority of my kids are girls. I only have three sons. They’re all married except Abdul. I own three different institutes in my lifetime. Two highschools and a university. My other two sons manages the highschools but I have special plans for my private university. I will be handling the university to Abdul after the marriage rites are concluded.”

Vee stiffened in shock. ” Now wait a second, now I’m confused. Who’s getting married here? You or him?”

” It’s his son,” Mrs Cooker answered.

There came an awkward silence that swallowed the office. Then Vee ranted. ” What the hell is going on here?”

Chief Gregory removed his handkerchief and wipe his hands. ” My son is your fiance not me.”

” But that wasn’t what I was told.”

” We didn’t want to rush things,” Mrs Cooker explained. ” I’m sure you understand.”

” No I don’t.”

Abdul then spoke. ” That’s what I told my dad. I was told he was taking a fourth wife and I was needed back home. When I fly into the country, it was an entirely different story.”

Vee turned to look him over. ” I guess both our parents aren’t straightforward.”

Abdul agreed, frowning at his father. ” Definitely. Never knew I was coming back home to get married but all the same I’m here. You can tell my surprise.”

Vee instantly liked him. They do shared something in common.

” So I guess, I’m not getting married to you, Chief Gregory.”

Chief Gregory shooked his head. ” Not at all, my dear. Three wives is enough for me. You’re old enough to be my daughter. I can’t imagine myself with a fourth wife.”

Vee relaxed. If she wasn’t getting married to this man then she was cool. She returned to her mom. ” So this was a setup all along wasn’t it?”

Mrs Cooker rolled her eyes. ” Like I said, we weren’t ready to rush things so we took it really slow but that’s not what matters now. Let’s talk about the marriage rites.”

Abdul leaned forward. ” I still think new year looks too soon. Can’t we schedule the marriage a little further?”

Vee was really liking this guy. He seemed to be reading her mind.

Chief Gregory and Mrs Cooker replied at the same time. ” No! You’re getting married after New years day.”

Vee and Abdul shot back at the same time as well. ” Why?!”

Chief Gregory and Mrs Cooker looked at each other then smiled. ” Because, we’re retiring. And also there’s also the desire to see our grandchildren.”

This was becoming too much for Vee and Abdul.

Abdul leaned back in his chair and smiled at Vee. ” Did you hear that? Our parents wants grandchildren.”

Vee laughed lightly. ” Well, do you want to give them a grandchild?”

He shrugged. ” Depends on you, Vee. I’m not fussy about kids.”

Chief Gregory raised his voice at his son. ” You’d better be fussy about them. I’m not leaving my institute under you if I don’t see my grandchildren.”

” I never asked you to leave me your institute.”

Chief Gregory narrowed his eyes. ” That’s not your decision to make it’s mine.”

Abdul grinned. ” You talk as if you haven’t seen a child in your entire life. You already have Soo many Grandchildren. What’s Soo special about me?”

” That’s because you’re my last son.”

Abdul laughed. ” That’s your way of blackmailing me to marry, isn’t it?”

” It’s more than that, Abdul,” Mrs Cooker chipped in. ” The moment you and my daughter tie the knot, your father’s university and my school would become one. I have great plans for the future. Any girl from my school can easily get admitted into the university. QA is well known in the country. Imagine the numbers of students that’d flock here to get into your father’s university.”

Abdul crossed his legs and stared at Vee. ” That’s not a bad idea, Mrs Cooker. If it’s marriage you want, well I’m ready. I just felt it came way too early. I mean I haven’t had the time to get to know your daughter very well.”

Vee agreed. ” Same here.”

” You two can meet up somewhere and talk things out privately,” Mrs Cooker said impatiently. ” All I know is coming 2nd of January next year, you’re tying the knot.”

Chief Gregory smiled inwardly. ” Agreed.”

Vee studied Abdul. She liked him. He doesn’t look Soo bad.

??????

“This is complicated, Lucy,” she said softly but sternly. ” But NO! I can’t be your girlfriend.”

I stared longingly at her, hurt by her words.

My voice sounded crackled and broken. ” W–why?”

Collette licked her lips. ” Because I don’t want you getting distracted.”

I screwed up my eyes. ” Distracted?”.

” You’re too young to get engaged in a relationship, Lucy,” she said softly. ” Relationship and books don’t go hand in hand. You have to chose one and focus on it. If I were a boy I would’ve told you the same thing but I’m a girl. The fact we share the same feelings for each other shouldn’t change who we are.”

” Yes it should.”

” No it shouldn’t,” she insisted. ” Listen, Lucy, I’m not like the vice president. I care about you maybe a little too much. You can’t handle relationship. It’s too early for you. I’m not going to risk putting you in a spot where you’re going to get emotional distracted and jealous. Your books matters more to you than me.”

I squeezed her body to mine a little tighter. ” B–but it’s you I want.”

” And I want you too Lucy,” she patted my head. ” But let’s look at this in a different angle. I’m not going to stay here with you forever. By next year I’ll graduate and leave you behind. You still have years ahead of you to be through with high school. Relationship is all about commitment. When I’m gone, I want you to put that commitment into your studies. I don’t matter to you, Lucy. Your studies comes first before me, remember that.”

I understood where she was heading at. She was right. Ever since I got to know her, I’ve been easily distracted.

I was only glad we were both able to confess our true feelings for each other.

” Collette,” I called.

” Yes, Lucy?”

I placed my arms around her neck and brought my lips close to her nose. ” Do you really love me?”

She stared at my nose then at me. ” We share the same feelings so why not?”

I smiled and hugged her tighter. ” Thank you. That’s all I wanted to hear.”

She didn’t say anything. I could feel her heartbeat banging against my chest and it was such a pleasure to be in her arms, enjoying her body warmth against mine and inhaling the sweet scent of her hair shampoo.

” Alright,” I said. ” I understand you perfectly. But it’s okay… It doesn’t matter. As long as you’re here with me… That’s enough for me.”

Collette held my face in her hand and she kissed my forehead. ” I’m proud of you, Lucy.”

I smiled and wiped her tears with my hands. ” Remember…. Pretty girls don’t cry.”

She smiled. It was the cutest smile I’ve ever seen in my life. The first time Collette smiled at me.

” I’m not pretty, Lucy,” she gently pulled me back into a soft kiss. ” You are.”

??????

No problem huh?

I finally found someone I love and it turns out she loves me as well.

Never knew I’d ever get to fall in love with a girl but there it was. And the funniest thing about it was I wasn’t ashamed nor guilty about my new founded love.

Collette and I shared a different kind of relationship that looks sisterly and yet deep in intimacy.

For the next two days we were close to each other. If you were new in the school, you’d easily mistake us for sisters.

The first night after my confession with Collette, we slept in the same bed. I just wanted to be snuggled up with her, feeling her body heat and kissing her neck.

Collette allowed me but we never went further than kissing and cuddling.

Then there was also her tutoring.

She was serious about my studies and she went hard on me.

The other day, I delivered four reports of what I studied. She was impressed but then she requested that I submit six report next time.

Our life became a routine. After night prep, we’d study together in silence all the way to 2:00.am.

To my surprise, she bought us some chocolates mentioning it was good for our memories during studies.

Those chocolates reminded me of Efua but I don’t want to think about her for now. Collette wanted me to get used to her and stop being distracted. I can’t risk letting Efua into my thoughts.

Not for now.

I started to notice some changes in my life. Because I studied with Collette all the time, I got used to studying five hours every night before going to bed. Sometimes I read more than five books per day.

Before the end of the week, I had transformed from a lazy, distracted girl into a serious student.

I was always looking forward to bed time. After studying and submitting my reports, Collette would kiss me on the forehead as a reward and smile at me.

I love it when she does that. Her smile and that forehead kiss meant everything to me. I felt like a baby when in her presence. Sometimes she acts cold and indifferent but just being with her makes me soo happy.

” You’re doing well, Lucy,” she said one day, staring at my study reports.

This was on a Friday after lunch. We were in the library.

” As long as you continue like this,” she added, ” you’ll have no problem with your first year exam.”

” I had help from the best teacher in the entire world,” I said happily and lightly kissed her cheeks.

She looked around her and returned to me. ” Quit doing that. This is a school library.”

But I knew she liked it. Her tone of voice told me so.

” I just can’t help myself, Collette,” I was staring dreamily at her as I laid my head on the desk. ” You look Soo lovely today.”

And she was. She was Soo pretty today I could barely let my eyes off her.

Collette made no reaction. ” You still owe me 30k, remember?”

” I’m meeting with MÔM tomorrow,” I said, picking my calculator as I began solving a maths problem. ” I’ll get the money and hand it over to you on Saturday.”

” Good,” she replied, studying her chemistry note. ” Cause I’m a little broke at the moment. I need the money.”

” What about me? I’ll go broke the moment I hand the money to you.”

” I told you,” she checked her time. ” Whenever you need something, let me in on it and I’ll get them for you. But as long as I’m your tutor, you’re paying me.”

” Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I sighed. ” I heard you the first time.”

Collette became quiet.

We didn’t say anything for a while. I glanced at her from the corner of my eyes and smiled.

Soo beautiful. Even when she’s not smiling, she’s irresistible.

” I love you,” I whispered.

She heard it but said nothing.

” What’s up with you and the Council president?” Sharon asked during night prep. ” You two have become Soo close I thought you were sisters.”

” She’s my roommate,” I said instead with a simple smile. ” We’re supposed to be that close.”

” Yeah, but this is just too much,” she said. ” You’re always with her and of lately, I noticed you’re kinda too busy with your books.”

” She’s tutoring me,” I explained to her. ” That’s what made us that close.”

Sharon smirked. ” Or is it something more than that?”

I glared at her. ” Something like what?”

She shrugged. ” Don’t know. Forget it. Hey, did you hear? We’ll be having a new priest on Sunday.”

This girl. She’s creeping me out.

” That’s great,” I said, underlining a page I had issues with in my physics textbook.

” I thought you’d be more excited,” she said, surprised by my indifferent attitude.

I wasn’t excited. Collette hadn’t told me anything about the priest so what should I get excited for?

” I’ll make it on Sunday,” I said but deep within me, I knew I was only going to go to church because of Collette.

For the next ten minutes, Sharon and I studied then she tapped me on the shoulder. ” Guess what, Lucy?”

” Not now, Sharon,” I sighed cause I was focused on what I was doing. I needed no distraction at the moment.

” Oh come on,” she whined. ” I got something juicy for you. It’s going round the entire school.”

” Not interested.”

Her face fell but then she smiled and whispered to my ears. ” Miss Vee was with her fiance throughout the week at her house.”

This startled me and I glanced up sharply at her. ” Say what?!”

Sharon looked away. ” I didn’t say anything.”

” Oh come on,” I closed my book and held her arm. ” Vee was with her fiance?”

” That’s right,” Sharon said, borrowing my calculator. ” I learnt the said fiance spent the week in her lodge.”

My eyes grew wide. ” How come no one told me this?”

” Well, you were busy with Collette to bother.”

That’s right, I was way too busy this week. ” Did you get to see what her fiance looked like?”

Sharon thought a little bit. ” Actually, from what I heard, he’s a young man.”

A young man? But Vee told me she was engaged to an ugly old creep.

I immediately thought about Collette and how she was going to take this news.