After It Happened

Chapter 19: 18

Kelechi’s pov.

Step one of my plan has been achieved. It was easy to convince Denise to be my partner. Too easy.

You would think she wanted to work with me. Now I just have to make her warm up to me again. That

will be the difficult part. This Denise is as stubborn as a rock.

The doorbell rings which means Denise is here. I quickly look at the mirror and run my hand through

my hair to give it that messy look before running to get the door. Operation become Denise's friend

again is a go.

When I open the door, Denise is too busy looking for something in her bag to notice me. Not to mention

she has her headphones on. I tap her gently and she jumps before glaring at me. I move aside to let

her in before shutting the door after her.

When I turn to face her, she is holding her headphones in her left hand with her purple knapsack in her

right.

"Just so you know, I know nothing about Transition metals."

"That's why you will study them." I laugh when she scoffs at my reply.

"Let's go to my room."

"I have a boyfriend. You remember that, right?"

I roll my eyes at her comment.

"My stepdad hates when we make a mess in the sitting room. And everything is in my room. So it's

best we do the project there."

I lead her up the stairs to my room. She stares at the mural I made when I first came here. A boy who

seems to be made of fire is kneeling defeatedly with his head up. Tendrils of darkness surround him

almost totally consuming the fire boy. I first made the mural after my father's death but the darkness in

the painting hadn't gotten so close to the boy. Now, most of the darkness had seeped into him

consuming some of his fire but still leaving some behind.

"I didn't know you still paint."

"Well, you don't know much about me. Well the me after I left." I reply quietly.

"You're the boy right?" Denise asks as she places her hands on the part of the boy that is still burning Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

brightly.

"I don't know. Maybe."

She stares at me and I can feel the tension in the room.

"Well, you can make yourself at home." I say cheerfully trying to relieve the uncomfortable silence.

Denise does exactly like I say and plops down on my bed plugging back her headphones.

"Go get the project stuff ready then."

I gape at her shocked that she doesn't try to question my reason for the mural. She's acting like I didn't

just reveal something noone else knows. How did she even figure out who the boy is? Anyone who

sees it just compliments me for being a good artist.

When I return with textbooks, cardboard paper and markers, my partner is bobbing her head to the

music and tapping her left foot on the bed. Dropping everything on my desk, I reach out and take the

headphones from her ear.