Wild West of the Heart
FORTY-THREE.

"Hell no" Obi yelled, grabbing in his palms as much writing materials as he needed. Mira stood by the hinge of the door, hands upon her waist.

She might have wanted to so badly tell him in that moment, but looking at him, he already had as much chaos as it was. He stuffed his biology book into his bag as he filled his lungs with air. "You ready?" Mira asked plainly.

What could he possibly say to that? That he was, which was an absolute lie. Asides fucking living things, Obi had no clue what the rest of bio was.

For God's sakes, he was an art student. He just took bio as an extra course for his West African examinations. He couldn't even grasp the idea of one willingly choosing to do science. From the little that he heard of physics and chemistry, it was more than enough discouragement.

He stared into Mira's eyes and did what he knew how to do best. He lied. "Yeah, yeah i am" He nodded with a forced smirk. Then he grabbed his bags and wedged it upon his shoulders and he was headed for the door. Mira shifted to the left a bit. And he looked down on her.

It was moments like these that the height difference was very noticeable. She cleared her throat. "Break a leg" And with that, she moved.

He walked a distance before turning around.

"Yeah. Thanks" He nodded, and then he picked up his pace, not forgetting his sandwich on the kitchen counter. It took his phone a while before it buzzed in his pockets. It was a text. Battling with his bags, he slipped it out.

Fiyin: roundabout?

He tapped to record instead of a text as he mounted atop his bicycle. "Yeah, Fi. Headed there right now" He replied, paddling away slowly before the tyres picked it's momentum. He looked at his phone, hoping for a text for Ola.

He couldn't wait for him, because it was the first day of their final examinations and they were all late. He turned it off, riding towards the Abule-Egba roundabout were Fiyin sat with a book in her hands. Of course, she was ready for this. It was Fiyin, and she loved biology. If anyone among them was closer to winning valedictorian, it was her. "Hey" He halted, as she climbed right behind him. "Hey" She replied, after a while. "Good?"

These one liners were always weird at the start of conversations. He threw his head over his shoulders suddenly and smirked. "You look different?" He said, with doubt in his voice.

It wasn't entirely false. He could tell something changed in her face, but he couldn't pen it down. She backed away alittle, given how close he was to her face but then he looked forward. "Come on, we're already late" Fiyin urged as his feet marched against the pedal, plunging them forward and the winds blew right into her hair.

It was what changed. The way she braided it, adorning several butterfly clips. And her lips were glossier. She'd shaped her brows the night before while on the call with Ola. It was the most effort she'd put into her appearance in months. "Alright alright" Obi sped into the highway as the breeze wiped the smile off her face. She shut her eyes, imagining how she'll finally react when Ola asks her to the dance. If ever he was going to.

Of course she'd say yes, but not in the way that'll show she'd been desperately waiting for it. But then again, she was just being forward. He didn't seem like he even wanted to ask her. It'll mean all the effort she put into her hair, and her brows were headed down the drain. But it didn't matter.

At least for the first time in months, she felt good about herself. She wasn't there yet, but it was still a small step. "Where's Ola?" She asked, breaking the silence between them. "Mide?" Obi replied.

"Yeah"

"I haven't heard from him since yesterday afternoon" He replied. "You?" She cleared her throat as they branched into the school junction.

From there, she could see the elaborate structure of Hillway High and her eyes unconsciously darted to her watch, hoping and praying that they both hadn't missed search in.

Alas, they were just in the nick of time, they realized as soon as they saw cars still pulling up in the driveway. "Huh?" Obi moved into her abit.

"Oh. We talked last night" She finally replied.

"Just for as long as i could explain the circulatory system to him" She mumbled a laughter. "So he's ready?" Obi asked, as he drove behind the queue of cars. "Yes, i think" She whispered, and just then she sighted him jogging his way towards campus.

He was in the tradition wine uniform, but with his jacket around his waist. And his hair was messy as he struck his hand into it. It looked moist, almost like he had just gotten out of his bedroom.

His shoes were glistening as usual, but he was just fine. Especially with his headphone over his eyes.

Fiyin felt the back of her throat itch and she looked to Obi. "There he is" She pointed across the road as he brought the bicycle to a halt with Ola headed towards them.

She climbed over, and so did Obi.

"Cos you know he pretty much sucks at bio" He teased just before he neared them. Obi grabbed his bags and moved a little forward.

"Hey" Ola called, short of breath. Like he'd ran all the way from the bus-stop. Well surprisingly he did, because if he were to wait for the next bus, he'd at least spend another thirty minutes. Obi's eyes narrowed at the beads of sweat that clustered around his forehead. "Hey?" He said, backing off.

Ola wiped across his face with a handkerchief before bringing his palms to his knees. You could tell exactly how fast his heart raced from the way he gasped for air. "You good?" He asked.

"Perfect" He replied Obi with some sarcasm in his tone. The latter walked past the other, headed towards the entrance of the door, leaving just Ola and Fiyin, who was trying her best not to laugh. In her defense, Ola looked a mess.

"What?" He asked, as she brought her hands to her lips, pushing a lump down her throat. "No, nothing" She replied, holding unto her bag. And the two followed Obi behind.

Of course there was an awkward silence when Ola wanted to just pop the question. The would you be my date to the dance question. But as much as he wanted to, and as much as she wanted him too- he just didn't do it.

Her hands swiped a strand of her 4c curly hair behind her left ear as he stole a glance. He, as well noticed something different. The only difference was that he could tell it was her hair, and her lips. He'd spent so much time staring at her that he'd notice the slightest changes. She blushed, nabbing his glance and he just played it cool.

"Thanks for yesterday" He said, instead of just complimenting her. She looked to him, i guess gratitude can go a long way too. They both crossed into school and headed towards the door. "It's no problem" She replied after a while.

"You're going to ace it"

By this time, Obi was long gone and distant from them. And so was the rest of the school that were already seated in their respective classes.

"Hey" He actually said aloud this time, in a moment of spontaneous thinking. About to leave, he halted and turned back to him. "What, Ola?" Her pupils invisibly dilated as he stuttered. "I was just going t—"

"I wanted to ask" He fidgeted, taking a step back whilst she just stared, watching a grown man fluster. God, she hoped he just said the words. But on the other hand, she didn't want to be desperate. Don't get me wrong, she was.

But she didn't want it to seem that way. "What?" She asked, pushing a lump down her throat but then he made eye contact with Deb who was headed towards them. His tongue fell off, and he pocketed his hands. "You know what, neverm—" "Where you been?" Deb screamed, in her high pitched voice and a book in her arms to show she was in the middle of last minute reading. Anyone that was still out of class had to be.

Fiyin took her attention off Ola and turned to Deb. "I woke up late" She replied as Deborah's lips fell wide open. "Girl. Your hair" She kissed as Fiyin grinned across her face.

"I thought no one would notice" She squealed in reply and Deb's finger grazed the side of her face.

"And the brows? What's the occasion?" The book fell out of her grasp but she could care less. They just hopped, hyping each other up before the intercom cleared up. And behold, it was Collins. "Good afternoon students"

"Shit" She reached for the book, holding unto her hand but Fiyin looked back with the hope of still seeing Ola. But alas, he was gone. She heaved a sigh, following Deborah into the building. "I'm assuming you're already seated in your various examination rooms" It was bold of him to assume so, as both Ola and Obi, and Fi and Deb were still strolling the corridors. Fiyin passed just below the speakers, as if in a cat and mouse chase. "This is just a reminder that here in Hillway High, we have zero tolerance to examination malpractice. And hence, if you're caught. You will have to face disciplinary actions that go as high as expulsion. And failure for these term's papers-" "Now for the final year students, affording a failure in any subject this term can only mean one thing and that is, you wouldn't be graduating. That being said, i wish the grade eleven and the rest of the students success and goodluck in these exams. God bless" There was deafening sound from the microphone before it shut off.

And Fi and Deb looked to each other, muttering the exact same words. "Son of a bitch" They said.

To be continued...