Apologies for the long break, but for that, I am releasing two chapters at once. Enjoy!

Chapter 18: 3,2,1, Fall

“You have to be kidding me” Tiwa said.

“Oh come on, it’s just a couple of hours of your time.”

Ayo and Tiwa were seated together on the couch with Ayo desperately clutching Tiwa’s hand. Tomiwa pretended to be watching football on the television screen, but he was secretly amused by their brother and sister interaction evident by the small grin on his face.

“I am not a stalker, Ayo!”

“But this isn’t stalking” he whined.

Tomiwa couldn’t stop the laugh that forced its way through his mouth.

“Oh you think this is funny, do you?” Tiwa snapped

“Stay out of this, Tomiwa!” Ayo yelled at the same time

“Sorry, sorry” he said chuckling with his hands raised in surrender. He got up from his chair and walked to the kitchen to grab some chin-chin. The kitchen was opposite the parlor and the only separation was a tall counter where they often have their meals. It was a simple space equipped by Tomiwa, the cook of the house. Ayo couldn’t care less.

When Tomiwa got to the fridge, he “nonchalantly” said,

“Although I wouldn’t mind going with you to the performance.”

“Tomi, my boy!” Ayo exclaimed and rushed over to meet him on his way.  “Now I know why we are best friends!”

“Because you both are weirdos” Tiwa whispered loud enough for them to hear.

“Yeah and YOU are the normal one” Tomiwa quietly retorted as he grabbed the chin-chin from the top of the fridge.

“Hey, hey no fighting in this house” Ayo chastised

“Ha! Tell that to Tiwa and the scar on her face”

“She scratched herself with her nail” Ayo said, confusion etched on his face. He had asked Tiwa as soon as he saw her and that’s what she had said. It was a simple scar and not the first time she had accidentally injured herself, so he couldn’t understand Tomiwa’s point.

“Really, dude? You believe that?”

“You don’t?”

“Of course, I don’t.”

“Yeah, keep talking like I’m not here. I will just continue my work in my bedroom.” Tiwa made a move to go up the stairs, staring down Tomiwa with hateful eyes.

“Aren’t you going with us anymore?” Ayo asked

“I would rather kill Tomiwa than go”

“What?” the boys both turned and asked in surprise.

She simply smiled innocently and went to her room.

Ayo laughed and shook his head. “Always making jokes, that girl”

Meanwhile, Tomiwa was having trouble not choking on his chin-chin.

 

“You think the girls will be shocked to see us here?” Ayo asked

“Oh you mean the boys that have been stalking them everywhere? Of course not!” Tomiwa said with an all too sarcastic eye roll.

The boys had already entered the theatre and were seated in their regular space. This was one of the last performances the girls arranged to do before they left to another state to compete in the regional competition of “We Dance, We Live”. The situation was a bit high stakes because some of the scouts for the contest were around that day to see the team and although they had already been assured of a spot, the girls still had to impress them.

“Hey guys!”

The boys nearly tripped on the steps when they saw Tiwa calling from the front row.

“You said you weren’t coming?” Tomiwa asked suspiciously as they walked up to her.

“I changed my mind” she said, shrugging.

“You said you would rather kill him!” Ayo recalled, pointing at Tomiwa.

“Changed my mind about that too” she said with the widest fake smile she could muster. She didn’t really want to come, but she would rather do it than get tortured by him for disobeying his orders.

“Well, I’m glad you could make it anyway” Ayo said in his usual cheery way. Tomiwa, on the other hand, didn’t accept her reason so easily, but he kept his quiet.

The lights started to dim and the boys took their seat. The girls were backstage, and Patricia could feel the familiar feeling of anxiety in her heart. Beads of sweat started to spring up on her face and her palms. Tireni looked at her affectionately before suggesting

“Patricia, you look like you could use some water. Let me get some from your bag.”

Patricia’s mind was focused on calming her anxiety, so she didn’t respond immediately. Once she finally processed the information, she said

“I didn’t bring any—

“I found one in there” Tireni interrupted.

“Oh wow, I don’t remember putting it there. Thanks anyway.”

Patricia gulped down the water like a parched man on a desert and tossed the empty bottle in the bin.

“Take it easy there, Pattie” May quipped.

“It’s fine. I’m fine. Let’s do this!”

They all got into line as the song “Angel by the Wings” by Sia started to flow through the overhead speakers. Tireni was last in line behind Patricia, the only two in white dresses. The girls in their black dresses gracefully passed through the separating curtain in their unison poses. Patricia’s was slightly off, enough to raise worry in Tireni but she played it off to the nerves.

The routine was one they had practiced so many times before with just the inclusion of the new moves they had learnt over the past couple of days. Patricia would start with a solo routine and then Tireni before the rest of the girls joined in the coordinated routine. There was one unexpected problem though.

Patricia wouldn’t start.

Never in all her years of dance had she ever frozen on stage.

The audience waited in anticipation for something to happen. Patricia just kept moving her eyes left to right through the audience. Some of the scouts even coughed slightly to get things going, but she just stood there. The girls remained fixed in their lowered head positions, but they were all worried and confused.

“Pattie?” Tireni whispered

Her breathing quickened as she kept squinting at the audience.

“Patricia?” Tireni asked with her head still lowered.

“My eyes, Tireni…” she whispered under her breath.

“What?” Tireni raised her head in a flash.

“Don’t worry” she said, shaking her head. “I can do this without them. We can’t lose our chance” she mumbled, but Tireni heard her.

“Patricia, is everything all right?!” she said in a panic
Patricia closed her eyes and instructed the audio crew to start the music again. Then she began her solo routine.

The girls were worried but couldn’t say anything out of fear of her. The boys and the entire audience were left in so much confusion as to what had happened. Tiwa merely smirked.

“Stupid brat” she thought. “3…”

Patricia’s movements became sluggish.

“2…”

She stopped frozen in the middle of the routine.

“1…”
Patricia collapsed on the stage. All the girls ran to her in a panic and the audience rushed to the edge of the stage. Tomiwa jumped the stage and ran to hold her up.

“Patricia? Patricia?” they all called. The entire room was in chaos and they started hurrying her to the nearest hospital. Tireni picked up her phone to call the private hospital about the situation since she personally knew them. As she brought her phone to her line of sight, the first message she saw was

“Next time, teach your friend not to be rude.”

Below it was another message from the same unknown number:

“And never try running away.”

Link to Chapter 19: http://www.olabisiwrites.home.blog/finding-sophia-chapter-19