"Hey buddy! How'd it go?" Aaron asks and we are all curious to know. He sits down.
"I lied" he states simply and l heave a sigh of relief so as the others. He didn't confess! Yes!
"Am so sorry Troy" I say honestly.
"Its okay! Besides, no one will catch us cause I got everything under control" Troy says.
"How?" Alec asks.
"I'm not stupid! Do you think I would leave the cameras on whiles doing my dubious act?" Troy spits and we all realize what he's talking about.
"You switched off the security camera system?" Kimberly blurts
"Yup! So there will be no videos of me putting the frogs in the locker" Troy says proudly and we all gape at him.
"What about your finger print?" Alec says.
"I wore these!" Troy says and shows us a pair of gloves.
"Do you think I will use my bare hands to pick the frogs?" He asks and we are all astonished.
"Well yeah cos you are weird" Kimberly replies after recovering.
"Oh that hurt Kim" Troy says feigning hurt.
"Sorry" Kimberly drawls.
"Am proud of you bro! That was really smart of you" Aaron compliments and Alec nods.
"At least you are safe now" Jake says looking at Troy and I.
I nod.
"The investigation would lead to nothing! Trust me!" Troy says with a wink.
I smile. We are safe now. My heart is at rest now. I finish up my pizza and go for my next class.
When the final alarm goes for the end of the day, I trudge to my locker and dump my books in it. Poor Kate is still in the hospital. I giggle at the thought.
"Hey gorgeous! Ready to go home?" Jake says and I clutch my chest. He frightened me. I chuckle.
"Ummm.....yeah! I was just packing"
Jake gives me a small smile.
"But am done anyway! My mom will be here to pick me up soon" I say
"Okay, I can escort you to the parking lot" He suggests and I nod.
"Hey there! Lovebirds!" Kimberly gushes and I blush.
"What are you two up to?" She spits and I chuckle
"We are going home" I reply.
"Going home? Well I have an announcement to make! Tonight am having a sleep over at my house" Kimberly says
"Really?" I ask. Its a long time I've attended sleepovers. I miss them
"Mm hmm! You are all invited" she gushes.
"I don't know your house Kim! But maybe Nikki will show me" Jake says and I know he was going.
"I don't think I'll make it. It depends on my mom" I reply.
"Am sure she will agree! She knows me! Be there by seven! See ya" she sang hurriedly and left.
"You need to be there! It will be fun" Jake suggests.
I sigh. We walk together to the parking lot.
"I was very worried when you told me you made Troy prank Kate!" Jake spits.
"I was worried too but nothing is going to happen" I reply.
"Don't take chances like that" Jake scolds.
I nod and spot my mother's car enter.
"She's here! See ya" I say and leave him.
I climb into the passenger seat and wave Jake before leaving.
"I didn't know he attends your school" mom spits at me.
"Well yeah he does" I reply awkwardly.
Then its silent until Trina gets into the car.
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"Mom, Kimberly is having a sleepover at her house tonight! Can I go?" I ask the moment we enter the house.
"A sleepover? Cool!" Trina yells.
"Of course sweetheart! Just remember to pack all the things you will need" mom replies
"Thanks mom" I reply and dash to my room.
I grabbed my pj's from the closet and a few clothes I would need for school tomorrow.
I undressed from my cool outfit and took a shower. Then I tied my hair in a bun and wore a simple dress
Then I called Jake.
"My mom said I can go" I say into the phone the moment he picks up.
"I'll be there at six" Jake replies and hangs up. It was now five thirty.
Trina barges into my room.
"I can see you are more than ready! You have the coolest friends! Am so jealous" she spits.
I chuckle at her comment.
"Have a great sleepover! I'll miss you" She says.
"Don't worry! I'll be here tomorrow" I reply.
Trina smiles.
"I have something to give you" she says.
"What?" I ask inquisitively.
She brings out two similar bracelets from the back pocket of her shorts. They were sea blue pearls stranded together.
"I just wanna make our connection as sisters inseparable! Here" she says and hands me one.
"They are so gorgeous! Where did you get them?" I ask dumbfounded.
"I made them myself!" She says proudly
"Now put that one on my wrist and I'll put this on yours" she instructs and I place the bracelet around her thin wrist. She in turn does the same for me and we both smile at each other when we are done.
"This is lovely Trina! Thank you" I say and hug her.
"I just did this so that you'll never forget me" Trina says when we break apart.
"Awwwm" I coo and she smiles proudly.
My phone rings disturbing us. It was Jake.
"I'm here!" He says
"I'll be there in a sec" I reply and hang up.
"I guess its time for you to go! " Trina says.
"Yeah! I'll see you later" I reply and grab my stuff.
"Bye" Trina hollers after me as I leave the room.
I hopped into the passenger seat of Jake's car and we drove off. His hair was tousled and he was in a simple grey shirt and multi coloured shorts.
I give him the directions and we soon arrived at Kimberly's house. Her house wasn't so far from mine. It was a bit nearer to Troy and Aaron's house. It was a beautiful mansion with a nice lawn in front but Alec's own was more elegant.
Jake and I walked to the front door and knocked. The door opens and Kimberly's face comes to view.
"Hey guys! You're in! Actually you're a bit late cos the rest have arrived but nevertheless, step in" she says and opens the door wider for us.
We walk in and the aroma of freshly baked cupcakes hits me in the face.
Kimberly leads us to a large hall and there sat, Troy, Danny, Aaron and Alec. They were busy chatting and laughing.
"Oh Nikki is finally in" Danny announces and they all look at me.
"Nikki" Troy says and comes to hug me.
"You're welcome" he says when we break the hug.
"Thanks" I reply.
Kimberly and I were the only girls here among five guys.
"Hello Jake" Alec says and I smile.
"Hey Alec" Jake replies.
"Have a seat Jake!" Danny says and he sits by Alec
"Are we the only girls?" I ask Kimberly.
"I invited a few others! They'll be here soon" Kimberly says
"Where are your parents?" I ask her.
"Oh they went to visit a friend! They wouldn't be back until tomorrow evening"
"Oh!" I say
"And your elder brother?" I ask.
Kimberly chuckles.
"He's in school....I mean college."
"Oh! So you have the whole house to yourself" I suggest.
"Yeah! Crazy right?" Kim gushes and I giggle
The doorbell rings.
"Oh they are here! Please look after the chicken wings for me" she says and dashes out of the kitchen. I sigh and do what she told me to do.
Later, she came back.
"This is going to be exciting!" She says giddily and bites a muffin.
I furrow my eyebrows at her and she laughs.
I hear commotion in the hall and I go to check. The boys were just laughing and three girls were seated. I recognized one of them. She was the redhead I saw at the party some weeks ago with Aaron. The other two were looking good. One had dark hair and she was dark skinned like Danny and the other had sandy blonde hair.
"Those are the girls?" I ask Kim
"Yeah! They are on the cheerleaders team" she replies.
"So who are they?" I ask referring to their names.
"Oh yeah! That's Melissa" Kim says and points to the redhead.
"And that's Claire" she adds and points to the one with sandy blonde hair.
"Finally, Jenna" she says and points to the dark skinned girl. She was beautiful and her hair was tied in a bun like mine.
" Nice names! I hope they are equally as nice as their names sounds"I snort and Kimberly chuckles.
"They are! You would like them! But I must warn you, Melissa can really piss you off sometimes"
"Oh" I say and look at her. She is sitting close to Aaron now. Claire was talking to Jake and Jenna and Danny were also talking. Alec was busy texting on his phone.
"We need to take these cupcakes and chicken wings there! Can you help?" Kimberly asks.
"Sure! Its just that we need one more person" I reply.
"What's taking you two buttercups so long?" Someone says at the doorway and we turn to find Alec with a dull expression.
I turn a conspiratorial eye towards Kimberly and she nods understanding my sign language.
"We need your help Alec" I say sweetly. He's the scape goat we needed.
"What can I do for you? Baby?" He says and whispers the baby in my ear that I swear my stomach did a double flip
I blush.Not when Kimberly is around! He smiles knowing the effect he had on me
"We need you to help us transport these " Kimberly spoke up.
"Oh no problem!" He says and winks at Kimberly. We watch him pick up a plate full of chicken wings.
"These chicken wings look digestible"he taunts as we make our way to the hall.
"Don't even think about it Alec"Kim scolds.
"About what?"Alec asks innocently.
"About eating them "Kimberly growls and I laugh when Alec makes a face.
"Mmm! Am starving" Troy says and reaches out for a chicken wing but Kimberly smacks his hand and he recoils with a pout. I giggle.
"Kim!" He says.
"Manners Troy" She replies.
"Let's go sit down cupcake" Alec says to me and I could feel Jake's gaze on us. I take a deep breath and we sit down.
"So what's happening right now Kim?" Melissa spoke up.
"Yeah whats happening?" Troy follows.
"We are eating right now." Kimberly shrugs.
"Oh" Melissa says
"Everyone is entitled to only one plate" Kimberly says and glares at Troy.
"Alright" Alec says and picks up two plates
"Here you go sugar"he says and hands me a plate with chicken wings on it. I smile gratefully. He returns it and digs into his.
The doorbell goes and I wonder if someone else was invited.
" it must be the pizza guy! I'll get it "Kimberly spits.
" you ordered pizza?"Aaron spits.
"Yeah!" Kim says and heads for the front door.
I eat my chicken wings with gusto.
"These are really delicious" Danny comments.
"Yeah! Its not fair we get only one plate" Troy adds up.
"Can I have one more buttercup? Mine is finished" Alec says with a small smile on his angelic face.
I take a glimpse of his plate and its empty. God! Is he a bulldozer or something?
I nod and he takes one from my plate.
"Thanks sugar" he says and pecks my cheek. I felt my heart beat sky rocketing.
Alec smiles and eats the chicken wing. I saw a frown etched onto Jake's face as he looked at us and Aaron's jaw was clenched. He was also looking at us even though Melissa distracted him
What's wrong with them?