I know a Cherry
I know a Cherry
"Nah. He just wanted me to know my place and stay off his path." He explained.
"Why are you both always at each other's necks?"
"He's jealous because I'm more handsome." He said with a boyish grin making her eye him.
"Just be careful. He seems like the kind who likes trouble a lot."
Mia warned making him look at her face seriously like he was thinking about something.
"Here!" She took out a printed material from her bag and placed it in front of him.. "I summarized most of our lecture notes in here. If you do not understand this, then I'm not sure even God can help you." Mia said and still wondered how he was able to secure a scholarship.
She had been waiting for him to reply but he kept looking at her strangely making her raise a brow as she dropped the burger in her hand.
"What is it? Is something on my face?" She touched her face self consciously and saw him shake his head.
"No.. I'm just wondering how we ended up becoming friends. You had a really fowl attitude."
"Are you crazy?" She asked quietly making him smile at her.
"I do not regret meeting you. I feel like God brought us all together and I can't wait for us to become in-laws in the future."
"In-laws?" Mia asked in disbelief. He was always thinking far. She didn't know whether it was a good thing or bad thing.
"Yes. Oh! Let me know when you are free. Ellie wants to meet you. She keeps fussing about how I'm probably hanging around bad boys in school. I keep telling her my only friend in school is a girl but she doesn't believe it and insists on meeting you first."
"Who is Ellie?" Mia asked in confusion. Was she by chance his mother? Or stepmother? Or aunt?
"My sister."
"You have an older sister?"
"Nope. She's my younger sister."
"Younger?" She asked in surprise. "How young?"
"Fourteen years younger. Why?" He asked casually when he saw her eyes widen.
She couldn't believe Ellie was a girl below 10 years of age.
"..*Ahem*.."
They both turned to look beside them when they heard someone clear her throat. Surprisingly, it was Chloe.
Jeremy could not remember ever seeing Chloe at the school canteen before now so he looked at her in obvious surprise.
"Sorry if I interrupted something." She said to Mia before turning to Jeremy.
"Can I speak with you privately?" She asked him.
Jeremy remembered his phone was with him and it was on. He wondered why she hadn't sent a text instead of coming in here directly and gathering the attention of the students inside the canteen who were watching them.
"Now" She repeated when he just kept staring at her. Hadn't she been the one who told him to act like they didn't know each other in school? But he noticed the urgency in her voice and stood up.
"Thank you for this Mia. I love you." Jeremy picked up the material and stood up.
Chloe looked between Jeremy and Mia before walking away with an unreadable gaze.
As they left, Mia pondered on what Chloe had told her when Jeremy left the class with Kelvin earlier.
She had been surprised when Chloe came to sit down beside her.
"You won't hurt him right?" Chloe had asked immediately with a serious look.
"Hurt who? Jeremy?" She asked in confusion since he was the one she had been sitting with.
"My brother." Chloe corrected quickly.
"I won't ask whether you like him or not. I believe that is not in my place to ask so I'Il go straight to the point."
"Do you know any Cherry Anderson?" Chloe asked while watching her closely. She wanted to confirm whether Leo had told her about Cherry so she wouldn't cross the line.
"I know a Cherry. She visited the house"
"She did? That witc…." Chloe cleared her throat and composed herself. She had been able to confirm that Leo hadn't disclosed that part of his life to her so she dropped it.
"I just want you to know that my brother has gone through a lot. If you are staying, please treat him well. And if you are leaving, you need to make up your mind pretty quickly. Sorry if I'm being rude, but he is my brother and I won't sit back and watch any girl mess him up again."
Mia was quiet during Chloe's speech. When Chloe was done, she asked curiously … "A girl messed him up before?"
"…"
Chloe realised her slip up and kept her mouth shut.
"Was it Cherry?" She asked again.
"It's not in my place to tell you anything about his private life. If you want to know, you have to ask him. All I can tell you is to not break his heart… please." Chloe said with a pleading gaze before leaving her.
Mia sighed deeply. What was she going to do? She didn't even know where she stood in his life. Never in her life had she imagined she would be faced with something like this. She always thought love and dating was a stupid waste of time. Now, she was in the middle of this whole mess.
But she had a bigger problem… and her ringing phone reminded her of the problem when Mr B began to call her.
She wasn't sure she could continue her dance with Benjamin. She would prefer a totally different stranger to him. Just maybe, Mr B would do something about it… but she doubted it!
*******
"What's wrong?" Jeremy asked Chloe curiously.
He knew the time to joke and the time to be serious and now was the time to be serious seeing how tensed she looked.
They were both sitting inside her car in the student's parking lot where she thought was safer for them to discuss.
"I can see you've been sorting yourself out."
Chloe said and looked down at the material Mia had given to him which he was holding in his hand.
"This isn't what it looks like." He said defensively and tried to use his hand to cover the material which was obviously longer and bigger than his hands.
Chloe eyed him before going straight to the point.
"This morning…. David called me." She informed him. Since he had to return home to go get ready for class this morning, she hadn't gotten the chance to tell him about it t.
"And he called me again a few minutes ago." She added.
"What the fuck is wrong with that guy? What does he want from you?" Jeremy asked in an angry voice, more from jealousy than anger.
David was someone who had dated the girl he had liked for years. A part of him kept reminding him that girls usually have a soft spot for their exes and would eventually return to them after a break up. Was that the case now?
Chloe was embarrassed to tell him that David had been using her to fund himself so she kept quiet.
"Come on, you have to tell me about it. I should at least know about one of the things I am protecting you against."
"Firstly, you are not protecting me. You are only helping out and I am paying for it." She said wth a frown making him roll his eyes.
"What a feminist!" He mumbled under his breath.
"So… what's up with David. He doesn't want you back right?" He asked with hope in his voice which Chloe didn't fail to detect.
"He wants to meet me."
"Why?" He asked impatiently. "What does he want from you?"
He was becoming more frustrated since she wasn't answering any of his questions.
"What else does he want if not the obvious thing that every other guy wants from me?"
"Your heart? He wants to date you again?" Jeremy asked with an innocent and confused look.
Chloe looked at him in amusement before shaking her head. "He wants money."
"Money?" He asked in confusion. "That's what everyone needs? And.. why would he want money…." His eyes suddenly widened as he thought of a possibility.
"Wait! Is he blackmailing you? Is he threatening to release your pictures and videos to the… ouch!!!!"
Before he could complete his sentence, she smacked his head making him wail.
"Stop saying nonsense. It's a lot more complicated. But I just want you to know he thinks you are my boyfriend. So just play along when we go meet him."
"Why are we meeting him?"
"He is going to cause a scene if I do not meet him and I cannot let him do th---"
"Wait a minute!" Jeremy suddenly interrupted her.
"You… want me to pretend to be your boyfriend..... in front of him?" He asked when his brain suddenly registered that part of her sentence.