CAN WE BE MORE THAN FRIENDS?

PROLOGUE

On December 31st, she lost her son, her only child. She felt cold all over and slowly lost consciousness
after hearing the doctor's report, "I'm sorry, we did everything we could"

When she regained consciousness, she found herself on a hospital bed in a ward. She was confused for a
while, but after coming back to her senses, she immediately ran out screaming, asking for her son. The
nurses tried to calm her down, but they only increased her unease and her screams only grew louder.

In the midst of all this, she caught sight of her husband standing at the far end of the hospital corridor,
staring at her with guilt in his eyes. She immediately charged towards him with murderous intent. She
wanted to kill him. This man killed her son, so he deserved to die. Well, so she thought.

She was out of control, slapping him, scratching his face, till the doctors finally gave her a sedative and
she passed out again.

When she woke up again, she found herself in another ward, quite different from the other. As she tried to
walk out, she realized her foot had been chained to the bedside. She then took a while to observe her
surroundings and it was then she discovered that she was in a psychiatric hospital. Shocked and terrified,
she sank to the floor and cried.

Why was she so unfortunate, she thought. Her son just died and now she was chained in a psychiatric
hospital. She asked God why he was so unfair to her. She asked what she had done to deserve such
suffering. She thought her life was so miserable.

She cried for a while, then suddenly heard some commotion outside. She struggled to move to the
hospital window to see what was happening. As she was moving towards the window, she heard people
count down and immediately the countdown ended. Everybody screamed "Happy New year", she froze in
place

Was this the way her year was going to start? Was this the turn her life was going to take? She questioned
as tears flowed down her face afresh...

Tbc
Title : Can we be more than friends?

CHAPTER ONE

“So how did you fall in love with this man?” Her therapist who sat across her asked in a calm manner
trying her best not to trigger her emotions.
There as they sat in a well furnished office, Mary leaned back in her seat, dark circles beneath her eyes
and her wavy hair a mess. She had lost so much weight, she was barely recognizable.

She sat there, staring out the window, completely ignoring her therapist, she didn't want to be there
anyways, why couldn't she just die? She thought.

Just then the bell of the neighbouring elementary school rang and kids happily ran out in loud screams.
This again added salt to her wounds, it was quite obvious- she missed her son.

For the past 3 weeks, Mary had barely eaten or drank anything, she was practically living on drips and
infusions. She spent most of her time in her ward crying and was very violent towards anyone who
approached her. She kept crying and muttering stuff like “It's that man, he's the devil!! He ruined me…”.
She refused to see everyone for close to a week till she met Joanne.

Joanne being the professional psychiatrist she was so persistent in trying to get her talk and she at least
gave her a listening ear.

“I know how you feel but think of your son” Joanne said “Do you think he'd be happy seeing you like
this?”

“You already lost him, now you have to live the best life for both of you, do it at least for him”
Mary wasn't moved, her heart as hard as stone but she decided to go through with the therapy anyway, it
wouldn't add or take anything from her and for some reason she felt at ease with Joanne.

After holding back for a while she opened up a bit and decided to tell her about her life. She wouldn't stop
laying emphasis on the fact that her husband was the cause of all her mischief.

“A problem shared is a problem solved remember” Joanne added this time with a warm smile and Mary
chuckled

“A problem solved huh” she scoffed in a dull voice looking lifeless

“Well I'll tell you my problem, let's see how you can solve it” Mary added staring back at her with no
emotion on her face.

“I'm listening” Joanne anticipated. Mary then returned her focus to the large glass window

“It all started in highschool” she began then paused and let out a deep breath before continuing “He asked
if we could be more than friends…”

FLASHBACK
“Mary wait up!!” Sylvia yelled trying to catch up with Mary who seemed to be on a marathon, she didn't
wanna be late for Biology.

“Hurry up, I don't wanna be late!” Mary replied not looking back nor slowing down her pace.

“I'm running as fast as I can!” Sylvia replied gasping “How do those short legs of yours go so fast??” She
added nearly out of breath.

Mary was 160cm in height, fair skinned and average in size. Though her hair was relaxed, it was very
long which made people very envious. Her hair braided in a ponytail and her neat uniform made her look
very radiant but she didn't stand out much.

Shortly after settling in class, the dean walked in.

“As you all know this is your last year in highschool. Your end of year exams are coming up and we hope
you'll make us proud”

“ That said, a few students have been selected to represent us in the upcoming BRIGHT YOUTHS
GLOBAL CONTEST, one from this class.” He announced causing a stir among the students.

“Who do you think it'll be?” Sylvia whispered in Mary's ear

“I think it'll be either Prisca or Jay, those ones are bookworms” Sylvia added without waiting fo her
response.

Mary lightly glanced at her then refocused her attention on the teacher, silently praying she was the one.
Though she wasn't the best student in her class, she was very bright and had been praying for this
opportunity. She applied for this some months back, it had been her dream to go to Dubai and take part in
this contest so she could prove herself, she wanted to stand out and not just be another face in the crowd.
She wasn't the best Christian, but at that moment she prayed all the prayers she knew

“These students will be given a free flight, accommodation and feeding but they're to handle the rest of
their needs”

“The name of this student is…”

The teacher drawled putting everyone in suspense

“Prisca Balanda!!” He finally announced causing a loud round of applause from the students as Prisca
stood up.

Mary's heart sank to her stomach, she felt so disappointed in herself. All the cheers and applause she was
hearing just seemed to trigger her tears.
After school, she ran home ignoring her friends’ call and shut herself in her room. She just wanted to be
noticed, was it too much to ask?. She cried herself to sleep. She was later on awoken by her aunt’s loud
knocking

“Come have dinner” her aunt quietly spoke at the door which she found quite strange. Anyway, she didn't
nag or call her lazy which was very grateful for cause her mood was not the best at that moment. She
quickly changed her uniform and headed to the kitchen to serve herself.

While eating she noticed her aunt's twins Gold and Diamond, fidgeting among themselves and giggling.
She then leaned in to listen to their conversation

“She's so dumb!” Gold said and Diamond nodded in response

“It's so simple but she got it all wrong, so stupid” Diamond added and they burst into fits of laughter
again.

“Who are you girls talking about?” Mary asked curiously. Though she was just a few years older than
them in age, she found it quite difficult keeping up with these 11 year olds.

“It's a girl in our class, she's so dumb, she can't get anything right” Gold replied and Diamond agreed
“Uhuh, she always gets the least on all the tests, so stupid” Diamond added with disgust causing Mary to
tilt her head in amusement.

“No one is stupid! Don't say that” she scolded leaving the twins with sour faces

“Ok that's true, but it's not our fault she's dumb right?” Gold replied as a matter of fact leaving Mary
dumbfounded, isn't that the same thing? And they bickered on, neither side refusing to back down.

“God created everyone with a brain, and everyone has the ability to think, she may just be a slow learner.
Are you trying to say that God made her dumb?” Mary asked leaving the twins dumfounded and yes she
finally won the argument. She felt good.

After cleaning up she returned to her room and checked her phone to see a ton of messages from Sylvia
and Ruby. Ruby was their friend and classmate but she offered a completely different course which is
why they were separated on most days.

Sylvia: Maryyy!!!!, I tried calling you after school but you just ran off, is everything ok?
Mary: I'm fine, just had a stomach ache
Sylvia: ugh, thank God, thought it was something serious
Mary: I'm good
Ruby: Hey girls
Mary: Hiiiii
Sylvia: Hey beauty, how've you been?
Ruby: quite good, I heard a student was chosen from your class for the bright contest!!! Oh my goshh!!!
Who was it???
And Sylvia blabbed on about everything while Mary just sank into the quiet. It saddened her that none of
her friends knew about this but she couldn't blame them after all she signed up for this in secret planning
to shock them all…

The next morning, Mary left for school determined to put her disappointment behind her and focus on her
upcoming exams.

She tried so hard to focus during math class but kept drifting off and was only brought back to her senses
when a student at the door, interrupted the teacher.

“ I've been sent by the Principal to call a student”

“Mary Walters” he called out causing everyone to gasp, starring at her in shock. She had never been
called to the principal's office before, this claim caused her to break out in cold sweat
'What on Earth did I do?’ she asked herself as she nervously made her way out of the class.

“Walters, sit down” the principal spoke after a while of awkward silence and she took her seat, it was then
she noticed Prisca who sat on the seat next to her. She was so distracted this morning she hadn't even
noticed she was absent from class.

“Do you know why you're here?” The Principal asked, causing Mary's already hanging heart to fall to her
stomach…

What do you think the principal has to say?🤔

Tbc

CHAPTER TWO

“N-no ma'am” Mary replied in a shaky voice

“Did I do something wrong?” She quickly asked hoping the answer was negative

“You don't know??” The principal asked lifting her glasses

“But I informed your aunt yesterday” she added

“My aunt??” Mary asked in confusion causing the Principal to let out a sigh

“Anyway, Walters, you'll be accompanying Prisca for you and your family are you going through the
same and the others to do you think you will be home in a bit busy now but aa get it to you by ¹11
Till the BRIGHT YOUTH GLOBAL CONTEST, turns out every student needs an assistant, the news
came late” she stated causing a gasp from Mary

“What?!” Mary shouted in unbelief jumping off her seat, the shock on her face was soon replaced with a
smile

“Are you serious?” She asked this time causing a glare from the principal, she then quietly composed
herself and sat down. All this while Prisca had been very quiet, the emotion on her face was hard to tell.

“Prepare yourself, you'll be leaving immediately after your mid term exams” the principal stated then
handed her a form
“Fill this and return it to me latest tomorrow” Mary stretched out her hands and collected the form still in
shock

“But why me?” She suddenly asked “There are Brighter students in class than myself” she added
skeptically

“You were nominated” the principal curtly replied

“Nominated?? By whom??”

The principal gave her a deep stare “Off to class now” she replied dismissing them.

As they left from the principal's office, they walked side by side towards class, neither knowing how to
start a conversation, though they were in the same class, they rarely spoke.

Mary was rather in her own thoughts 'why didn't her aunt tell her about this? Is that why she was
behaving so strangely yesterday?’ anyway she couldn't wait to tell her friends and parents, she was so
excited.

“I guess we'll have to work together from now on” Prisca broke the silence
“Y-yeah” Mary replied awkwardly “I can't believe I got this, it's really luck” she added with a silly smile

“I think you must have really stood out for the student president to nominate you” Prisca responded with
a smile that didn't really reach her eyes

“The student president??!” Mary's eyes widened in shock as she paused and Prisca scoffed but quickly
smiled “Didn't you know?” she added walking off

After returning to class Mary told Sylvia and Ruby about the news and they gasped in shock
Sylvia screamed, attracting the attention of everyone in class and the news went round in the space of
seconds.
“But didn't they say, it's just one person per class? I read the rules online, it's always like that” Sylvia
suddenly asked, sparking curiosity among the students, Mary herself started doubting.

“But they said each student needed an assistant” Mary defended

“It's ok, maybe the rules changed this year” Sylvia quickly added after noticing the tense atmosphere she
created

After receiving tons of congratulations from her friends and classmates she walked home with a lot of
questions on her mind. Why was she nominated by the president? Why didn't her aunt tell her the news
earlier?

“Ehh, maybe she forgot” she brushed it aside. She found herself walking to the student president's office
but she found it locked so she went home instead.

On arriving home she moved to her aunt's room to talk about it but found her in a hot prayer session.
There she lay on the floor mat, praying and crying her eyes out. Mary noticed the time wasn't convenient
and went to her room. After settling in she called her dad to inform him about the news

“Wow, congratulations” he replied in a low not so amused tone crushing Mary's spirit. There was an
awkward silence for a while before she broke it
“Where's mom?”

Mary moved into her aunt at the age of nine. Her parents had planned to relocate out of the country for
work but couldn't take her along.

It's a crazy coincidence but both her parents are actually miners, traveling from place to place in search of
precious stones and minerals.

They'd realized at the early stage of their marriage that having a child early would disrupt their work and
planned against it but God always has His way. In the end Mira, Mary's mom could only have her sister
Evelyn, a single mom, look after her with a compensation of monthly support.

“Uhh, we're a bit busy now, I'll call you later ok” Her dad replied and hastily dropped the call leaving
Mary heartbroken.
She'd never been close to her parents anyway and was a love deprived child.

She put herself together and comforted herself with the good events.

She later on spoke with her aunt and she confirmed that she had just forgotten about the issue which Mary
found strange, how would she forget something so important? But she let it pass. Evelyn then asked how
the process was going to work out.
Everything went smoothly for the rest of that term till it was time to part for the contest. Her and Prisca
spoke very little and when they did, it was about bookwork and how they were to work together. Mary
didn't find this disturbing at all, she wasn't close to her anyway.

“You're going to a strange country, take care of yourself, stay where you're being accommodated and
don't go about carelessly, don't talk to strangers and don-”

“I know ma, I'm not a kid anymore, we're at the airport, you're embarrassing me here” Mary interrupted
her aunt who playfully hit her head in return

“I'm telling you something that will help you and you're worried about how others see you?” She scolded,
feigning anger
“Anyway, go now, take care, eat well, sleep well, dress-”

“Mom!!” Mary interrupted again causing Evelyn to chuckle

They landed a day later and were taken to the hotel they were to lodge in.
Mary was so tired and for some reason hadn't seen Prisca throughout the flight. She then grabbed her
luggage and moved into the lobby under the guidance of the hotel staff where she met many other
students of different nationalities. She was so excited and moved at the same time.

She then noticed, she stood by a beautiful fair skinned girl who was smiling at her brightly

“Hi” she spoke, extending her hand for a handshake. “I'm Bright” she added as Mary awkwardly shook
hands with her, she found it strange shaking hands with a stranger but as her name, she had a very bright
compelling smile that made her look harmless.
“I'm Mary nice to meet you”

“As in Mary, mother of Jesus?” Bright joked making her smile

“Sort of” She replied, already taking a liking to her.

Just then a man in a grey suit walked out of the corridor with a microphone

“Greetings students, welcome to the United Arab Emirates, I suppose your journey here must have been
very tiring, don't worry, in a while you would be taken to your respective rooms to settle in.
At the moment, you should all just pair with your respective roommates and get your keys at the
reception, '' the man said, causing a stir among the students, each person checking their phones and
searching for their partners.

Mary, on the other hand, already knew who her partner was but hadn't seen her since the journey began.

Everyone in the lobby quickly dispersed leaving Mary alone with Bright and her roommate at the
reception.
“My room number is 344” Mary reported to the receptionist

“Ohh that key has already been given out” the receptionist replied leaving Mary dumbfounded.

“Perhaps your roommate already took it” Bright suggested “Let's go up together” She added and they
moved to the elevator

“Ok, I guess we'll leave you here. '' Bright spoke while her roommate just smiled as they arrived in front
of a door that read 250. Mary nodded

“Will you be ok?”

“I'll be fine” Mary spoke and got back into the elevator, she waved at them then punched some numbers
and the door closed.

She soon arrived at her floor and the elevator door opened.

She quickly walked out breathing a sigh of relief, she looked calm on the outside but was actually very
scared of elevators, coupled with the fact that she was alone.

She looked up at the door before her, 340

“My room shouldn't be far from here” she said and hurriedly moved forward. She started searching her
purse for her phone and didn't notice someone before her.

She accidentally bumped into them and quickly turned around to apologize still walking

“Sorry!” She spoke and took a step forward then bumped into a wall and fell backwards

Luckily the person behind her quickly caught her before she fell to the ground

“Are you ok?” He asked worriedly.

It was then she saw his face. It was then it all started…

CHAPTER 3

“You're bleeding!!” He hurriedly remarked after noticing her bleeding nose. Mary herself hadn't realized
it till he mentioned it and suddenly a sharp pain shot through her head.

“Let me take you to the clinic” he said as he helped a confused Mary off the ground.
“No, I'm fine!” She hurriedly refused getting out of his arms, she didn't just want to follow a complete
stranger.

“But you're injured, the clinic isn't far from here, just down the street I'll take you” he tried to reason with
her but this increased her unease.
'What if this guy wants to kidnap me?’ she thought to herself taking slow unconscious steps back.

Noticing her unease, he took a step back “I'm not trying to hurt you, I'm just worried about your injury”

Mary looked at his face, for some reason she began to calm down, letting down her guard, coupled with
the fact that he was very good looking, he looked quite harmless - she gave in…

“Use this ointment on your nose later, the bump will go down in a few days. Also don't forget to take
these medications as prescribed” he instructed Mary as they walked out of the clinic together. The clinic
was just a block away from the hotel.

“I will” Mary replied grateful, but a bit annoyed that he was treating her like a child, this made him smile
causing her heart to beat wildly. She was a bit nervous.

“Thank you very much for your help, Mr…”

“I'm Kelian, no need for the title” he introduced himself causing Mary to stop in her tracks
“By the way, I caused your injury, it's only natural that I take responsibility,” he added. This moved her.

“But it's my fault too, I wasn't paying attention, I should have been more careful” Mary uttered guiltily

“It's fine, don't worry” he assured her with a smile

“So what do I call you?” he asked causing Mary to face palm herself

“Oh, Excuse my manners,I’m Mary” she replied

“You're here for the BRIGHT CONTEST?” he asked more like a statement

“Yeah and you?” From Mary's point of view he didn't quite look like a student.

“I work here” he replied

“Oh” he looked so young. They then walked in silence to the hotel. The atmosphere was so awkward and
she couldn't help but glance at him from time to time. When they reached, he then offered to accompany
her to her room but she seriously declined.
 “You've helped me a lot, I can take care of myself from here” she said, firstly because she didn't want to
disturb him and secondly because her heart was beating wildly and she needed to go away from him to
calm down.

“Ok you take care, it was nice meeting you Mary” he said with a smile

“You too and thanks again”

“Don't mention”. She then walked to the elevator and he kept staring at her till the doors closed and she
let out a silent sigh of relief holding her chest so the others in the elevator won't hear her.

On reaching her room, she knocked on the door and not long after, Prisca opened up

“Where have you been??!!” She asked, looking worried “And what happened to your face?”
“Why didn't you answer my calls?” She bombarded Mary with questions leaving her speechless. It was
then that it occurred to Mary to check her phone and when she did, she discovered the battery was dead.

“Can I come in?” Mary asked bringing Prisca back to her senses and she moved back letting her in.

After sitting down she recounted everything that had happened earlier upon Prisca's persuasion.

“Where were you?” Mary asked as soon as the thought came to mind
“I didn't see you throughout the flight and you weren't at the reception either” she added causing Prisca to
tilt her head

“Oh that, well I actually arrived 3 hours earlier than everyone else, I took another plane” she replied

“Why?” Mary was confused, they were booked for the same flight.

“Well my dad arranged it, it was just his decision, it had nothing to do with me. Sorry I didn't inform you
earlier, I thought it wouldn't matter” Prisca explained, leaving Mary with more doubts, but she decided to
let it go.

“Ok”

Tired she moved to the bathroom to take a bath when she remembered something

“My luggage!!” She immediately ran out of the room and bumped into Prisca

“What's wrong?”

“My luggage! I forgot it in the corridor!” Mary explained panicking, rushing towards the door
“You mean this one? A hotel staff dropped it in earlier” Prisca asked pointing to a dark green luggage on
the side causing Mary to breathe a sigh of relief

They had to attend a welcome event that evening so the girls spent most of their day checking out outfits
and arranging their stuff. After Mary charged her phone, she contacted her aunt and parents before
spending a lot of time chatting with Sylvia and Ruby. They eventually didn't go out for lunch.

Eventually, Mary settled for a simple light pink flare gown that was just on her knees while Prisca just put
on some black Palazzo pants and a white blouse she didn't really put in much effort, she felt her presence
alone was ok.

After asking for directions from a few staff, they eventually arrived at the grand hall where the event was
held.

Students stood in clutters socializing and playing games.

Prisca didn't really like the crowd and turned to find a place to sit
“I'll be over here” she told Mary who nodded. She then moved to a large sofa which only had a few
students, leaving Mary standing alone as students as other students brushed past her.

She was then spotted by Bright who excitedly waved at her. She then said something to her friends and
moved over to Mary.

“Hiii” she said excitedly “Are you alone?”

“No, I came with my roommate, she's over there” she pointed to the sofa

“Ok, hope everything went well yesterday. I was–wait, what happened to your face?” She asked, moving
closer to inspect it.

“It's nothing I bumped into a wall” Mary replied awkwardly

“Is everything ok?” Bright asked seriously, her stare was so intent, it made Mary nervous.

“Everything is fine, don't worry” she reassured her with a smile

“Ok, come over let me introduce you to the others” Bright said and pulled her over before she could reply

“Guys this is Mary, Mary meet Jade, Pearl, Samson and Baylee” Bright introduced

“You forgot me!” A voice complained from behind causing the others to laugh
“This is Emily” Bright added smiling coyly at Emily

“Just 2 minutes I've been gone to get drinks and you've already forgotten about me” Emily feigned anger

“Aww, dearie, how can I forget you?” Bright hugged her and she scoffed

“You’re always like that” it was then Mary noticed she was the roommate, Bright was with the other day.
Watching their interaction she really missed her friends back home, she then made a mental note to
facetime them when she got back.

“Hey everyone, Emily, Jade, Pearl, Samson and Baylee??” She spoke calling out the last name like a
question

“But you're a boy” she added a bit perplexed and everyone laughed again

“Yeah I get that a lot, nice to meet you” he extended his hand for a handshake which she accepted

“Nice to meet you all” she spoke smiling

“You're here alone?” Jade asked the popular question, she seemed to be a carefree person.

“My roommate is over there” she pointed towards the couch “She doesn't like socializing much”

“Where are you –” Baylee was about to ask when the man who spoke to them in the morning,walked in

“Good evening students, I suppose you're all lodged in and stable, please anyone who hasn't been lodged
in yet should move to the reception after this.
Welcome once again to the United Arab Emirates. You should know that here we only seek excellence
and that's why you're here. Our founder can't be here tonight but we'll receive a speech from his
representative followed by the chairman.
We'll then proceed to inform you of the different activities taking place in the competition, the rules and
regulations after which we'll officially launch the contest.
Now please welcome our founder to the stage” he spoke and a loud round of applause followed.

The representative then proceeded to give his speech and not long after the chairman gave his.

Then the activities then the rules and regulations for the competition were read and it was soon time to
open the competition.

“We're officially launching the competition now and we have close to 1 million live viewers. I'd like to
call up Mr Davids to the stage” the presenter announced again
Then, dressed in a dark blue tailored suit, Kelian walked up to the stage causing a gasp from Mary. She
couldn't help but feel her heartbeat increase as the students applauded. She subconsciously started
checking herself.
Was she looking good?

Kelian then stood by the presenter smiling brightly.

“This is the winner of the first and most difficult year since the creation of this contest. No one has ever
been able to beat his record of 926 points on a thousand. He has proceeded to become the CEO of
WEBUILDTECH corps and is also a major partner of this organization” he introduced causing students to
erupt in screams

“This guy is so cool” Bright couldn't help but remark and the others nodded

“He will carry out the opening rituals this year and also there's something we've been from you students”
He stated causing a stir among the students

“Mr Davids here will be performing the opening ceremony with a randomly chosen student here today”
this caused massive screams

“He is to randomly pick someone from the crowd, Mr Davids please make a choice” he handed Kelian the
microphone which he collected with a smile that Mary couldn't help but fall for.

She immediately started praying she'd be the one he picked ‘I mean we know each other, he would
definitely pick me, right’ she thought. She looked up at him with anticipation.

“Good evening everyone” he spoke and glanced through the crowd. His eyes fell on Mary but the
emotion in his eyes were hard to tell

“The student I pick is…”

CHAPTER 4

“You” Kelian spoke pointing at someone else but his gaze was on Mary. He then turned to the person and
everyone else turned to look–it was Baylee

“What?!” Baylee screamed in shock

“Me?!”
Mary was heartbroken, she wished it was her, but why did he look at her if he knew he wouldn't pick
her? She knew it was unreasonable but she couldn't help being upset
“Young man please come up to the stage” the presenter beckoned to him and he moved up to the stage
still in awe

“What's your name?” He was handed a microphone

“Baylee, Baylee Richards” he replied smiling foolishly

“Ok Baylee, so here's what's going to happen. You'll stand by Mr Davids her and you'll help him hoist the
flag and punch the keys for the lunch alarm”

Kelian then smiled at him and they conversed in whispers as they worked. They worked so harmoniously
you'd think they'd known each other for ages. Did they?

Finally, after punching some keys the countdown began and the numbers were displayed on a large
screen in the hall. Immediately after the countdown a loud alarm rang and a red flag was automatically
hoisted on the competition ground. The students applauded.

“I guess this is where it starts” Emily spoke letting out a sigh, she was a bit nervous.

After the launching students were served some refreshments and were told to return to their rooms after
that. Mary was feeling blue and didn't want to stay any longer so she made a random excuse and left to
find Prisca.

She discovered Prsica was no longer on the sofa she sat on and she started searching for her in the crowd.
She wasn't paying attention and then again bumped into someone

“Sorry, I-” she froze when she realized who it was she bumped into

“Say, you have a strong tendency for bumping into people or is it just me?” Kelian asked with a smile.
Mary was originally mad at him but she found herself smiling unconsciously, so what if he didn't pick her
anyway, it must have been strange for him too, she thought.
And by the way, was he flirting with her?

“I guess I'm just very unlucky today” she said rubbing the back of her neck and he just smiled

“You're not” he said and Mary's smile widened

“Are you enjoying yourself? Made new friends?” He spoke and looked towards Bright and the others.

“Yeah, I–”

“Mary, where have you been? I've been searching for you” Prisca interrupted, coming out from a corner.
She then turned her focus to Kelian and for some reason her gaze became hostile.
“Hello” she curtly greeted to which Kelian nodded

“Can we go up now?” She asked Mary not to give her a chance to refuse. Mary found her behavior very
weird but complied anyway.

“We're going up now” Mary told him with a smile and he again nodded. She then moved towards the
elevator with Prisca.

“How do you know him?” Prisca asked with a frown immediately they arrived the room

“He's the one I told you about, that I bumped into this morning” Mary explained with a confused
expression

“It's him?” Prisca asked in bewilderment

“Yeah, any problem?” Mary questioned this time feeling something was off and after a while of silence
Prisca replied

“It's nothing” And she hurriedly walked into the bathroom leaving Mary with uncertainties.

The next day they hurriedly prepared and descended to the restaurant for breakfast. Prisca pretended as
though nothing happened last night and Mary didn't want to push too much. After breakfast they were
immediately led to the competition ground.
They were going to be here for close to 2 weeks so they needed to be well versed with their environment.

This competition included activities like quizzes, spelling bees, math and sports.

Mary and Prisca had taken special classes back in school in preparation for these.

The competition was to officially begin the next day and it was made up of 3 rounds with the first round
being the longest and most difficult, it lasted 6 days.
Mary had been able to revise a bit since she got here but for some reason Prisca was very nonchalant.

“Anyway she is very intelligent” Mary brushed the thought off.

Prisca as usual walked to a secluded spot and took a seat while Mary who had just spotted Baylee waved
and walked up to him.

“Hey”

“Hi”
“How are you?” Mary didn't know if it was just her illusion but Baylee seemed to look a little like Kelian.
The resemblance was almost striking. ‘No, what are you thinking? Get this man out of your head’ she
reprimanded herself

“Quite good and you?”

“I'm ok, where are the others?” She asked

“I don't know, they should be around. You know we're from different schools so I'm only here with my
partner, Samson. He went out to get us some snacks” he explained

“Ohh”

“Where is your partner?”

“She's somewhere over there” she pointed to Prisca's direction

“Not the social type huh”

“You can say that again” she replied and they shared a laugh

“By the way, how was it yesterday?” Mary asked referring to the incident
“What? Oh that, I was really shocked, man, I never imagined it'd be me” he spoke staring off into space
with a smile on his face reminiscing the moment.

“It was quite cool” he added and Mary nodded with a smile

“I can imagine”

“Hey man, I only found some chicken shawarma, got some drinks too” Samson said from behind handing
a plastic bag to Baylee.
He then noticed Mary.

“Hey…” he trailed off trying remember her name

“Mary” she helped him

“Mary! I knew it was somewhere in there, just couldn't get to it quick enough” he spoke scratching his
head and Mary smiled.

“Want some?” He extended the plastic bag towards Mary but she declined

“No I'm fine”

“Oh come on, it's a delicacy around here, you'd love it” he insisted and after a lot of persuasion Mary
accepted.

Not long after, someone came in and started giving them a tour around. They walked through the sports
field and entered many grand Halls.
They finally came to the courtyard which had the flag Baylee had hoisted and Samson tapped his shoulder
with a knowing smile.
Throughout the tour they discussed a lot and got to know each other better. Samson was quite talkative
while Baylee just spoke at intervals.
Soon the tour was over and they were led back to the hotel.
There they met Emily buying French fries from a vendor in front.

“Emily” Mary called out and walked up to her with a smile

“Oh Mary, hi, hey guys” they then exchanged greetings. Bright later caught up with them

Soon a man dressed in a Dishdasha stood in front of them and started talking in Arab showing them his
ID card

“What's he saying?” Bright asked in confusion

“He's saying he can take us on a tour around the city and that he has authorization from the organization
but we'll have to pay him a little” Baylee replied causing everyone to turn to him in shock except Samson
of course.

“I've lived in the United Arab Emirates for a while” he clarified scratching his head

“Hmm, that's not a bad idea, but how much is it?” Bright asked after thinking for a while
Baylee then conversed fluently with him in Arab

“He said it's normally 250-300 Dirham per person but since we're students we can collectively pay 250
dirham as in 50 dirham per person”

“Hmm, what do y'all think? Mary?”

“I don't know, I mean I'm a bit scared” Mary replied and Bright chuckled and Emily placed her hand on
her shoulder

“Oh come on Mary, it's safe, the organization knows that students won't just wanna sit around in the hotel
all day so they arranged for things like this, there's no risk” Emily explained

“Well, ok…” Mary agreed and prayed she wouldn't regret it and she didn't.
It was one of the best experiences of her life. They visited places like the Dubai shopping festival, Burj
Khalifa and many more. They had a lot of fun

“That was amazing!” Emily remarked as they walked into the hotel lobby. Everyone agreed. This was one
of a new found friendship.

Just then Mary caught sight of something or should I say someone familiar walking side by side with the
Chairman into his office.

They seemed to be very familiar with each other and were smiling at each other which she found very
strange.

“What on Earth is Prisca up to?” She asked as she stood in place perplexed

Prisca ohh, how many times did I call you?😩

CHAPTER 5

“Mary?” Bayley called out after he noticed she wasn't following them.

“Oh” she broke out of her trance and quickly moved to the elevator.

“Well, I guess we'll have to start serious revisions from now on” Bright spoke as the elevator moved and
they nodded in agreement

“Yeah, I even heard we'll have tutors who will take us through the second level if we get through the
first” Samson added and Mary turned to him in shock

“Really? Is it that serious? But that never happened in previous years” Mary exclaimed

“It was newly implemented this year, a lot of rules changed this year as you know and by the way this
was announced at the welcome event the other day” Samson responded causing Mary to awkwardly
scratch her head.

“Guess I wasn't paying attention” of course you weren't, you were focused on other “things” her
subconscious mind fired. To which she just guiltily smiled

“Well I'm pretty sure, we'll win this” Emily spoke referring to her and Bright with a sure smile and
Samson scoffed
“Hah, in your dreams, we only came here to win”
They kept bickering back and forth while the others just stared on smiling and shaking their heads.
However, though neither of them spoke, there was tension rising in the atmosphere
The competition was on!

Prisca later walked into the room all smiles and Mary really wanted to question her recent weird
behaviour but she couldn't bring herself to.

They didn't need to go down for lunch because Mary had eaten earlier and Prisca Said she wasn't hungry.
So, they immediately started revision.
Mary brought out her textbooks and sat by her. She then turned to the topics they were taught in school.

“We'll be tested on general knowledge along with natural sciences later. I think we should start with
biology first” Mary said and Prisca immediately shook her head refusing.
She then brought out a list of hand written topics, you could clearly see they were written in a hurry.

“Let's just focus on these topics” she handed the paper to Mary, which she collected with a creased
forehead.

“What is this?”

“Topics, which I'm very sure will come” Prisca replied with a grin

“How are you sure?”

“Well, let me see” Prisca behaved as though she was in deep thought
“I had a dream and I saw that these were the topics that we were going to be tested on and I always trust
my instincts, so I hurriedly wrote it down”

“Are you serious?” Mary asked in disbelief and Prisca nodded still smiling

“Since when did you become a prophetess and this isn't even your hand writing” Mary added in suspicion

“ Fine, believe it or not, I always trust my instincts, that's why I always get good grades. Anyway It's up
to you” Prisca replied dismissively

Mary then returned her focus to the paper

“These are crucial topics by the way. Even if you didn't 'dream’ about them we would still have to revise
them” Mary spoke as a matter of fact and Prisca rolled her eyes. They continued their revision. It went
even more smoothly than Mary expected.

The competition began rapidly and it was really tight because most of the students were geniuses. One
who really shocked Mary was Bayley. It's not like she doubted his intelligence at first but his performance
was really mind blowing. Through it all, she just couldn't shake of this feeling that he looked so much like
Kelian. And to top it off, she hadn't seen him since the night at the welcome event.

She and Prisca got through the first level quite smoothly. What moved her was that all of what they were
tested on were the topics Prisca showed her. This made her very uncertain, either Prisca was a very
powerful prophetess or something was definitely off somewhere.

In the blink of an eye three days had passed. In two days, the results of the first round would be
announced and some students would be eliminated.

“I'm fine mom, everything is going on smoothly here, we're just waiting to see if we'll qualify for the next
round” Mary told her aunt

“Well that's good, how was the first round? Was it difficult? Did they ask a lot of questions you didn't
know?” Evelyn bombarded her with questions causing her to chuckle

“It was fine mom, it was quite… easy, even easier than I thought it would be” she replied as her smile
was slowly replaced with a frown. She remembered Prisca. She couldn't help but feel the recent events
were quite suspicious.

“Mary? Mary! Are you there?” Her aunt asked bringing her back to her senses
“Y–yes” she answered

“Were you even listening to me?”

“Sorry Mom, I zoned out” Mary replied with an awkward smile as if her aunt could see her

“Anyway, I was saying your sisters have been chosen to perform at the Mayor's welcome event this
Thursday, you know how much they love singing”

“Wow, really? that's amazing!” Mary exclaimed and they chatted on.

“Who would have thought that this guy was an Einstein?” Emily asked causing everyone else to burst into
laughter at the dining shed while Bayley just smiled shyly.

“I mean I knew you all would be very smart but now I feel outsmarted” she added

“Does that sentence even make sense?” Bright asked with a smile and Emily glared at her.

“Where's Mary by the way?” Samson asked and Bright replied

“I texted her a while ago, she should be down any minute and–Emily calm down! The food isn't running”
This made everyone laugh including Emily herself
“I need extra nutrition to help my brain don't yo–” she started choking
“Get some water!” Bayley told Samson as he tapped on her back. They got her to drink some water and
tapped on her back till she was stable then everyone fell silent
“Well well” Bright broke the silence with a mocking smile and Emily again glared at her.

Soon after Bayley received a text message

“Sorry guys I have to go” he spoke as he rose to his feet

“Say hi to Mary for me” he said and the others nodded, they didn't really want to pry. Surprisingly even
Samson, his teammate didn't ask where he was off to. Emily stared at him in suspicion
“What?” He asked with an amused smile
“Nothing” she replied with a grin.

Meanwhile somewhere in an office not far from the Dining shed

“Dad, I don't understand, are we going bankrupt? Why do we have to do this?” Prisca questioned her
father. He simply turned to her with a Stern look
“Shut up” he said leaving her speechless. She wanted to win this competition, it was true but definitely
not by this means, she felt torn in two. Then, a man in a black suit walked in.

“Here are the documents you asked for Mr Mosho, I earlier gave her all the topics that were set on but the
next part of the competition will be really tough and requires critical thinking”

“She must be very careful when participating or it'll be too obvious and suspicious” the man spoke
drawling on his words making Prisca uncomfortable
“We must make sure by all means that her and her teammate make it to get finals” Mr Mosho spoke while
glancing through the file

“No worries Sir, leave that to me” the man replied with a sly smile. Politics was really something

Mary had earlier left her room after receiving Bright's message and was descending the stairs. Her phobia
for elevators increased by some degrees every day. She was becoming quite claustrophobic and didn't
wanna take the risk. She decided to take the stairs to avoid any problems.

Mary wasn't quite familiar with the staircase and after descending a few blocks, she eventually got lost.

She then found herself in some sort of office area and she was just wandering through, pretending to
know exactly where she was going to avoid suspicions.

As she was walking through the corridor, she then noticed someone familiar behind a glass window. She
then walked closer and noticed there were two of them and these two people she knew very well!

Without thinking, she leaned close to the door to eavesdrop on their conversation and what she heard
shook her to bits.
“What on Earth?!”...
CHAPTER 6

“Jane get out of that bed!” A middle aged woman yelled at her daughter, who lazily twirled in bed.

“Uhg mom, it's literally 5am” Jane whined in a sleepy voice

“Well I know you too well, if you don't get out of that bed now, you'll end up leaving this house at past
nine”

“Get up now!” Mrs Peters fired causing Jane to hurriedly jump out of bed

“Mom, I'm an adult now, you have to stop treating me like this” Jane complained as she moved towards
the bathroom

“Hah, adult you say, adult my foot! What type of girl your age behaves the way you do huh? You just
don't wanna grow up! You're so irresponsible” her mom ranted on while she just rolled her eyes and
proceeded to brush her teeth

“You're always late and everyone is complaining, your boss even called the other day to ask if everything
was ok at home” he mom continued causing her to gasp in shock

“He did?” She asked with wide eyes

“Of course he did! You're such a nuisance, he was worried you had a mental problem” her mother said,
piercing her heart. Heaven knows how much she had tried to get Kelian's attention, she was really
attracted to him but reality was too harsh.
She realized that they were from different worlds and would never be a match.

“He called, but it was to ask if I had a mental problem. Does that mean he cares for me? Or he's seen me
as a crazy person all this while” she asked in a low voice

She lowered her head and slowly continued brushing her teeth. Her mother realized she must have spoken
a bit too much and quietly walked out.

Mary walked back to her room dazed, she couldn't believe what she had just seen. It all made sense now,
she felt it before but it wasn't very obvious. Without noticing then again she bumped into someone
‘Oh what luck! Why do I keep bumping into people’ she mentally complained

“Sorry” she voiced out and turned around, she was taken aback

“Prisca?” She called out but Prisca looked very uneasy causing her to crease her brows
“Are you ok?” she asked and Prisca forced out a smile

“Yeah, of course. What are you doing here?” Prisca returned the question reminding Mary of what she
had seen earlier

“Oh that, nothing, I tried taking the stairs and ended up getting lost” she replied scratching her head.

“Let's head back to our room then, we have to continue revision” Prisca said and she nodded

“The names of the schools that have made it to the next level in order of merit are..” A woman on stage
spoke in the grand hall where all the students were gathered. Two days had quickly passed and Mary had
very little interaction with the others because she was always very busy revising with Prisca.

Mary had noticed Prisca seemed very agitated and proceeded to place her hand on her shoulder
“It's ok, we've done our best, I'm sure we'll get through” she reassured with a smile and Prisca smiled
back

“In first position, ROGERS HIGH” the woman announced and a round of applause followed, everyone
turned to look at the students who stood to their feet– Bayley and Samson. If it was before Mary would
have clapped but after what she saw…

“Mom wants you to come back home this weekend” Kelian said and Bayley sighed

“Can't it wait? I mean we're still in the middle of the competition here” he complained

“The first stage of the competition will be over by then” Kelian replied calmly and again Bayley sighed.
They were silent for a while
“I don't want to go” he spoke again

“I know” Kelian responded twirling in his swivel chair

“But you have to” he added

“What does she want to do? Force me to stay with her? No way!” Bayley said in a raised voice

“Lee, calm down, no matter what she's still your mother”

“At times I wish she wasn't” he responded and silence followed for a while

“You've been doing extremely well lately” Kelian changed the topic causing his brother to smile
“I told you not to underestimate me”
“I never did”
“Oh really?” Bayley replied raising an eyebrow
“When did I ever underestimate you? By the way you're my brother you know even if intelligence wasn't
in our genes, just the fact that you spend time with me would make you a genius” Kelian spoke with a
proud grin and Bayley rolled his eyes

“We have to make sure you get through, to the finals” Kelian spoke again on a serious note and Bayley
nodded

“What about dad?” He asked and Kelian frowned

“Well..”

“They're siblings” Mary spoke to herself as she moved away in shock

“How come I didn't realize this earlier? The resemblance was so obvious but–wait Bayley has been doing
so well in the competition” she paused and gasped
“Could it be that he's been cheating and his brother has been pushing him through? Oh my goodness!
Why did they pretend not to know each other at the welcome event? So all that was planned?” Mary
moved back to her room with many questions on her mind till she bumped into Prisca

“In second place PRESTIGE ACADEMY”

The woman announced again
“That's us” Prisca excitedly turned to Mary and they both rose to their feet, the rest was history.

“Finally we get to meet this ghost roommate of yours” Samson was the first to speak as they said down
for a snack. Surprisingly Prisca had asked to join in today.
Prisca just smiled “Nice to meet you guys, I'm Prisca”
They responded to her greeting and Mary proceeded to introduce everyone to her
“Bayley?” Prisca asked when Mary finished and for some reason her heart skipped a beat. Since she
overheard the brothers’ conversation in that office, her whole perception of Bayley changed, she didn't
know if it was just her but she would freak out whenever he looked at her.
Everyone else just smiled
“I had the same reaction when he introduced himself to me”. Emily spoke with a grin then angrily
gnawed on a chicken lap while Bright just shook her head.

“Foodie” Samson attacked her and she was about to fire back at him when Bright spoke calming her
down

“Remember what happened last time”

“What happened?” Mary asked with interest and Samson quickly replied

“She choked” Emily seriously glared at him

“Do you have to make it so obvious?” She asked and everyone laughed

“So, you guys are the ones who took the crown of the first stage huh” Prisca returned her attention to
Bayley Who had been sitting quietly on the side all this while.
If you looked closely you'd notice there was a gleam of contempt in his eyes when he stared at Prisca. He
quickly replaced it with a smile

“You're not bad yourself, second position at a competition like this doesn't come easy, does it?” He spoke
to Prisca as if implying something then turned his attention to Mary. He stared at her for a while making
her uneasy. What was that look in his eyes? Disappointment? I'm the one who should be disappointed in
you Mister!. Mary thought to herself in silence but couldn't help but wonder why he would stare at her
like that.

“No it doesn't” Prisca replied with a slight grin

“Mary and I really put a lot of work into this, right Mary?” Prisca asked still staring straight at him

“Y–yeah” Mary answered, then cleared her throat. It seemed like a stare down between them, if Mary
didn't know them, she'd assume they were sworn enemies but that's stupid, how could they possibly know
each other. It should be because of the tense competition. Mary told herself

“Well, good for you guys, after all our studying, we came out in 5th position” Emily pouted with a sad
face. Bright just sat beside her with a light smile. She had noticed the tension between the two earlier and
was very suspicious of them.

“Well at least we made it to the next round, we just need to work harder” Bright comforted her and the
others nodded

“Man the chicken shawarma around here is so good” Mary commented “I'm quite used to the one with
meat but with chicken is something else” she added as she took another bite of her roll.
“Wait till you try the Persian kebabs” Emily said “it tastes–heavenly” she added

“Emily you've eaten every food since you got here” Samson said with a chuckle

“So what?” She fired back

“You know I'm beginning to think you both have a private problem with each other” Bright said this time
and Mary nodded
The two turned to glare at them “ok fine” Bright raised her hands in surrender
“The second round of the competition begins soon, you have a pair of students under your guidance,
you'll be their coach” Kelian in some very casual but classy wear spoke to some of the staff from the
organization–Jane was among

“You will all move to the table at the front and pick up the folder with your name on it. Within these files
have all the information you need to know about the students under your guidance. I trust you all will do
your best in grooming them. Meeting adjourned. Move up and collect your files” Kelian spoke and the
people in the room rose from their seats and moved towards the front

“Jane” he called out to her and she paused in her steps. She was so nervous but she turned around with a
smile
“How have you been?”
“Quite good,” she replied curtly. 'Seriously? Is that all? Ask him how he's doing too’ she subconsciously
fired but just kept quiet. After an awkward silence he spoke

“I called the other day but you weren't in, your mom took the call”

“Yeah she told me” she replied. “ I had gone out to get some groceries”
“Oh…” silence

“Guess I'll see you later then” he said and she nodded then quickly walked to the table breathing a sigh of
relief.

Almost everyone had picked up their folders and left so she quickly spotted hers. She immediately opened
it and read the name of the school above written in bold

“PRESTIGE ACADEMY”

Oya 💃

CHAPTER 7

“Is this also part of the competition?” Bright asked as they walked through the farm picking quinoas.
Earlier they had been called out of their rooms and they were taken out to the Sandy soils of Dubai where
they were given farm clothes and equipment. They were then asked to pick quinoas.

Students could be seen grumbling for various reasons, the sun, the Sandy winds that kept passing, the
prickly herbs but they really had no choice as it was early announced to them that it was part of the
competition.
“They'll bring us out to make us do their farmwork and they'll say it's part of the competition? Huh this is
exploitation!” Mary complained and she moved through the grass
“Ouch!” She cried out as the plants pricked her causing the others to laugh.

“Chill mother of God, you're the one who's supposed to be comforting us here” Bianca said with a smirk.

They had gotten some time to bond earlier and got to know other students. After the results of the first
competition were announced, they became quite popular so everyone wanted to get along with them.

Bianca and her teammate Reginald came in fourth position just before Bright and Emily.

Though three positions behind, they were very sure they could get to the first, so they decided to bond.
Not only them, others were trying

“No like seriously, this sun is too hot” Mary added frantically fanning herself

“Even with all the materials you have on for sun protection?” A student nearby asked with a grin and
everyone turned their attention to her

“What?? I mean they said it's part of the competition so you all will just have to stick to it, there's no need
complaining” she added with a shrug and turned to pull out some weed.

To her surprise the weed wouldn't budge, at this point almost everyone's attention in that area was on her.

She then proceeded to pull the weed with more force and the weed came flying out causing her to talk to
the ground, this of course made those around giggle. Someone helped her up and she moved away in
embarrassment. Just then their coordinator whose name they had earlier learnt was Jerry, called them to
the front.

“Wooh finally!” Emily exclaimed and literally skipped to the front causing the others to shake their
heads.

“You all have worked very hard. As you all know through this competition we want to raise leaders and
developers. And the basis of development in every country is agriculture.” Mr Jerry spoke and some
students affirmed, nodding their heads. Mary on the contrary felt very uncomfortable, she began to feel
dizzy.
He then continued

“Here in Dubai, we have mostly Sandy soils making it very difficult for agriculture and farming is mostly
done by irrigation. As you can see behind you, the quinoa is one the most resistant plants. Only it and
some other plants can survive such hard conditions.
We look forward to great minds like yours to bring up new strategies to develop and improve our
agricultural standards, as it is often said ‘you are what you eat’ ” he spoke and some students chuckled.
Baylee unconsciously glanced at Mary and noticed she wasn't quite ok
“Are you ok?” He asked with concern and moved closer to her.
“I’m fine” Mary who had her hand to her forehead cause of the sun turned to him and replied tiredly

“You don't look fine, let me take you back to the van and tell the supervisor” Baylee insisted and held her
shoulders startling her

“I'm fine, I just need to rest a bit” she tried to reason with him but he shook his head

“Ok you stay here, I'll go inform the coordinator” he spoke quickly and turned to leave

“Noo…” Mary tried to stop him but couldn't as her body got weaker and she dropped to the ground
causing Baylee to hurriedly turn back and catch her.

“Mary! Mary! Mary??!..” he anxiously called out attracting the attention of those around them
Mary could hear loud screams but she couldn't quite pick out who's voice it was. She felt her eyes closing
as she drifted into darkness.

“Mary? Maryyyy? Mrs Mary are you with me” the nurse called out to her as she lay on her bed, staring
out the window looking lifeless and dull.

“It's time for your medication” the nurse spoke again and dropped her medication tray on the nearby
table. But she completely ignored her causing her to blow up in rage

“What on Earth is your problem???! Do you think I'm paid to attend to just you?! I have other things to
attend to so stop making things difficult for me!!” She yelled attracting others attention but Mary didn't
budge and this infuriated her more.

“Why you…” She then pounced on her trying to force her to get the injections but Mary resisted slapping
and kicking at her.
Just then another doctor walked in
“What's going on here?” He asked with a stem look and the nurse jumped in fear

“S-sir, she doesn't want to take her medications, she keeps ignoring me and wastes my time” she stuttered

“So?! Is that why you had to force her? Is this what you're paid to do?” The doctor asked angrily

“No sir, I didn't force her, I—”

“Stop! I clearly saw everything for myself, get out!” He fired and she scurried out with the medical tray
she held.
The ward returned to silence but Mary's shivering made the doctor very uneasy. She had curled to a
corner of her bed and covered her head with her hands.

“Mary…” a voice that seemed familiar softly called out to her but it only made her more uneasy.
He bent to his knees and stretched out his hand causing her to shrink back. This made his already
stretched out hand to retract.

“Mary, you have to take your medications, you need to get better” he added softly but she didn't budge.
He then continued
“Mary you —”

“Get out” she muttered softly without raising her head

“But Mary—”

“Get out!” She lifted her head and spoke this time in a raised voice startling him. He wanted to continue
but noticed the bulging veins in her eyes and decided otherwise.

“Alright”

He slowly rose to his feet and moved out. He then called one of the attending nurses

“Go get her attending physician” he spoke dismissively and moved to his office

He sat in his swivel chair and began to meditate

“God, how did she become like this?” He asked and silently sighed. At this point she was the perfect
definition of candle in the wind.
No one cherished her.

*****

“Honey I'm afraid” a women in her late twenties said as she stared unfocused at her bedroom mirror

“What for?” Replied a man who said opposite her on a large exquisite bed, scrolling nonchalantly through
his phone. He should have been just be a few years older than her

“You know what I mean” the woman turned her attention to him with a creased forehead causing him to
lift his head and stare at nothing in particular.

“Everything is fine” he replied dismissively and turned over

“But what if— what will people say? Some are already talking” the woman pressed on worriedly
“I said it's fine, I'll fix everything, you don't have to worry about it” he said annoyed and moved towards
the door

“But—”

“Prisca!!” He yelled at her with warning in his eyes…

CHAPTER 8

“Oh no! I'm gonna be late. And it's my first day, ugh, I just hate this!” Gold complained as she hurriedly
packed her stuff into a backpack.

Luckily she was already in university and wouldn't have to deal with her nagging mom. After checking
herself in the mirror she turned to grab her house keys, it was then she noticed something– she hadn't seen
Diamond

“Diamond! Diamond! Where are you?”

“I'm here! I'm here” Diamond replied rushing in from the kitchen
“Why are you yelling my name like that?” She asked with a creased forehead

“You haven't even taken a bath yet?!” Gold yelled terrified

“It's already past 7:45am!”

“Chill girl, have you forgotten we don't offer the same courses? My classes begin tomorrow. Why all the
fuzz?” Diamond asked getting annoyed already.

“Oh, I forgot” Gold scratched her head in realisation

“Bye then!” She added and ran out causing her sister to shake her head.

****

Gold ran the fastest she could to school. She had heard all kinds of terrible things about professors in the
university and how they punished severely for late coming so she was terrified. Luckily their apartment
wasn't that far from school so she arrived school quick.

But unfortunately the professor was already in class, the one she dreaded most– French. She had heard all
kinds of stories about this lady. Though they had never personally met she was terribly afraid.
She noticed there was a door behind and tried to sneak in but unfortunately was caught

“Les verbes sont très– oh, Madame, au fond” the teacher called her out causing all eyes to fall on her

“Qui est tu? Tu fais partie de cette classe?” The teacher bombarded her with questions leaving her
speechless– she didn't understand a thing. With her little knowledge of French, she tried to interpret a bit
and slowly nodded at the teacher.

“Regarde leur, est ce que tu sais quel heure il est?” the teacher spoke again staring at her intently,leaving
her dumbfounded.
She started stammering

“I-Je - I don't–”

“Assieds toi!” The teacher ordered and at least this she understood because she quickly found an empty
space and sat down breathing a sigh of relief

“This goes as a warning to all of you” the teacher continued fluently in English as she turned to the board

“No one is allowed to come in after me. You are all here for education and that entails discipline. I would
not tolerate any misbehaving during my classes. And one of them is late coming” she spoke enunciating
the last words and turned to glance at Gold causing her to gulp unconsciously.

“Today is the first day so I assume you didn't know but as from next class…” And she ranted on then later
continued with her class.

Immediately her class was over Gold let out a sigh she didn't even realize she had been holding. That
woman was really scary and she had already noticed her on the first day, something she detested. She
began to question if majoring in National language and culture was a good idea.

“Hi I'm Esther” a girl opposite her greeted. She had glasses and some severe acne but if you looked
closely you'd recognize she was a beauty

“Hi…” Gold answered skeptical. She was half doubting and half embarrassed because of what happened
earlier.
She didn't expect someone to talk to her.
The girl smiled patiently waiting for her to introduce herself

“I'm Gold”

“Gold, nice name, nice to meet you” she said with a grin
“Same” Gold curtly replied with a polite smile
“You wanna grab a bite?” Esther asked, throwing her off balance.
‘Sis we literally just met!’ Esther behaved as though they had known each other for ages and Gold being
an introvert, felt very uncomfortable.

****

“I'm looking for a patient named Mary Walters” A lady said lightly to the hospital receptionist
“Let me check that out” she replied and turned to her computer. The lady nodded

“Actually I don't find the name Mary Walters here” the receptionist said after a while, catching her off
guard
“But how is that possible? I've been told she's admitted here” the lady refuted

“Well, maybe you were mistaken, there is a Mary here but it's Mary Davids not Walters” the receptionist
said causing the lady to pause in realization

“Oh, sorry, that's her, it's the person I'm looking for” she replied with an awkward smile. The receptionist
stared at her weirdly for a while then started manipulating her computer

“ Is she your relative?” the receptionist lifted her gaze as if waiting for a response

“Yes, I'm here to visit her, I have authorization to”

“Your card” the receptionist stretched out her hand

“What?” The lady asked confused

“Your identity card” the receptionist clarified

“Hold on, do I need to verify to see a family member? What use is my ID card to you? How does it
validate anything? What right do you have to stop me from seeing her?” The lady flared. Although she
looked very angry, beneath most of it was fear. She was very scared that her cover would be blown.

The receptionist stared at her for a while then smiled politely and gave her directions

“Thank you” the lady spoke and walked towards the stairs breathing a sigh of relief.
“Weird” the receptionist muttered

*****

“Mary please eat something” Joanne coaxed her

Mary sat there lifeless, her rib cages could be clearly seen through her skin
She was practically a skeleton. One couldn't imagine the outcome if she kept on like this
“Ughh” Joanne sighed then picked up her stuff and walked out. This got Mary's attention. She carefully
watched as Joanne walked away. Then, a self deprecating smile appeared on her face.

Not long after, she heard a knock on the door which startled her because nobody ever knocked, they
usually just barged in.
But before she could lift her head, the person had already opened the door and walked in.

“Ma'am Walters, Good day, uh nice to meet you” she said and stretched out her hand for a handshake.
She had heard Mary wasn't really violent unless triggered so she felt all would be fine as long as she
spoke calmly.
But to her greatest surprise Mary ignored her.
She calmly retracted her hands
“Actually I'm a–”

“Who are you?” The dean out the door interrupted, causing her to jump in fright. Turned out the
receptionist had noticed something fishy and called the dean to notify him about her visit.

“We do not accept interviews in this hospital, madam, you know that” the dean said as a matter of fact,
staring at her with hostility.
Elaine had almost reached her end with this man. She forced out a smile.

“I wasn't interviewing her, I was just going to ask some questions”

“It's practically the same thing” the dean retorted

“But–but, ugh sir, you know there are many people with interesting life stories that could move the
public, some are even willing to share. If you would just let me–”

“You're a journalist, you should have some work ethics miss, some boundaries are not meant to be
crossed”

“But her story is really intriguing, a lot of media outlets are after it, if I don't get it someone else will, so
why not make the most out of it?” Elaine spoke through gritted teeth

“My decision is final, the lives of our patients are confidential, it's part of the hospital rules, so please
leave”

“But–”

“Miss Roberts, please leave now before I call security on you” he said sternly causing her to gasp. It was
over.
“This is so stupid!” Elaine cursed loudly outside the hospital
“And she could be very willing even!” She walked away angrily stomping her feet but then realization hit
her.

“Wait, I may not be able to get to her but what if I can find a family member, a witness” she thought to
herself and smiled then picked up her phone to make a phone call

****

“Your husband has deposited a large sum to ensure your well-being and safety in this clinic” the chief
psychologist reported to Mary causing her to chuckle as she stared out the window, she didn't even turn to
look at him.

This surprised him but he continued neither the less

“You seem to be improving lately, you've been quite stable for the past weeks, you would have been fit
for discharge but unfortunately…”
He paused

“You're very malnourished, you're still going through severe depression” he added but she didn't even
blink

“The infusions you've been receiving aren't really yielding much, you'd have to eat something sooner Mrs
Davids”

“Walters” she quickly corrected in a sharp but low voice

“I'm sorry” he gestured that he didn't hear clearly and moved forward causing her to turn her gaze to him

“Walters” she whispered hoarsely

“Oh” the doctor said in realization and just as he was about to continue speaking a nurse interrupted him

“Sir, she has guests”

“Who?”

“ Her parents” the nurse said causing Mary to turn to her abruptly

“No!” She yelled

“What– Mrs Da–Walters they're your parents” the doctor tried to reason with her

“I said no, get out!” She yelled

“Get out!” She screamed louder this time and rose to her feet just then her mother ran in

“Mary!” She called out startlingly. Immediately she noticed it was her mother and she calmed down. She
didn't take her eyes off her even for a second and no one needed to say anything. Mira could feel it as she
stared into those eyes.
Intense hatred.

****

“ You're pregnant for him?” A voice over the phone asked

Prisca was talking to her sister

“Well actually Lizzy…” she paused and hesitated for a bit

“I'm not, I lied” she added causing her sister to gasp

“Do you even know what you've gotten yourself into?!” Lizzy asked in horror

“ I know that's why I need your help” Prisca replier in frustration

“My help?! What could I possibly do?”

“Well…”

Tbc

CHAPTER 9

“He's not that stupid Prisca, Do you really intend to deceive him with a fake pregnancy?” Lizzy asked in a
slightly raised voice

“What would you have me do then?!” Prisca replied in frustration

Silence…
“You could just go ahead and tell him the truth the truth” Lizzy stated in a low voice

“What?! Are you crazy?”

*****

“I'm sorry Mr Walters, the patient refuses to see you so there's nothing we can do” the dean explained
sadly
“But she's our daughter!” Mira fired back in tears
Her husband held her shoulders and tried to calm her down

“We have to make sure to keep our patients stable at all times. You don't have to worry madam, we're
keeping her under surveillance 24/7” the dean tried to pacify her

“She wouldn't even talk to us, this is outrageous!” Mr Walters complained and his wife just kept on
sobbing, making the doctor very uncomfortable. He just wished he would get out of this situation as soon
as possible.

Noticing his wife's change in emotions, he nodded at the dean and helped her up seat.
“We'll take our leave now” he spoke and the doctor nodded

“Pleased take care of her” Mira spoke in a choked voice and the doctor nodded again.
Then they walked out.

The doctor then let out a loud sigh

“What a tragedy” he spoke and slowly turned to the files on his desk.

“We shouldn't have left her back then, James” Mira muttered as they walked through the hospital corridor
while her husband just stared at her in silence, not knowing how to comfort her.
Earlier that day…

“I said get out” Mary drawled on her words in a low growl but Mira tried to reason with her
“Baby please just lis–”

“Listen?!” Mary fired back startling everyone present

“Have you ever listened to me?! Did you ever pay attention?! No, you only cared about yourselves!”
Mary yelled at her

“Mary, don't be unreasonable!” James stepped in and Mary swiftly turned to him with a deadly glare then
she suddenly burst out laughing confusing everyone present. She laughed till she began to shed tears.
This scene brought tears to her mother's eyes

“Ma-ry” she called out in a broken voice

“Unreasonable? I'm unreasonable? Wow” Mary said and shook her head

“Well why don't you just leave me alone with my irrationality since you're all so perfect and reasonable!”

“Mary–”
“Get out! Now!” Mary started screaming hysterically
“I said leave!!” She raised her voice again and when she noticed they weren't moving she turned to a
nearby medical tray, picked up a syringe and held it at her neck causing everyone to gasp

The doctor was the first to act and immediately turned to the couple
“Sir, madam, please you must leave now…”

Mira had been crying for over thirty minutes on a bench outside the hospital and her husband sat by her
quietly comforting her.

“Are you hungry?” He suddenly broke the silence causing her to pause and stare at him.

*****

“Are you ready?” Diamond asked her sister as she picked up her purse

“Almost done,” Gold replied in a muffled voice as she forced her Boots.
They decided to join the music club immediately when they got into university and the club director
immediately noticed their talents.

He had been personally coaching them since then and today was going to be their first open performance.

Gold was so nervous and she had warmed up her voice like fifteen times already while Diamond on the
other hand was very calm and confident.

They quickly arrived at the grand Hall and went backstage to find their coach.

“How's it going ladies?” Mike asked in a playful voice

“Gosh, I'm so nervous, I feel like I'm gonna throw up” Gold said and wiped her sweaty palms on her
dress.
Diamond just smiled and nonchalantly threw her hand around her sister's evening.

“We already practiced and the coach said everything is perfect, stop being so worried. And by the way
aren't you a daughter of the most High? Aren't you the one who usually says ‘I can do all through Christ
who strengthens me’? What happened today? Or you've forgotten that Christ lives in you?” Diamond
comforted her sister causing her to let out a sigh

“You're right, I don't even know why I'm worrying anyways, God is in control”

“That's my girl” Diamond caressed her hair and they smiled at each other
“Gosh, you talk just like mom” Gold said with a funny expression on her face
“Of course that's because I'm the older twin” Diamond defended feeling good while Gold shook her head

“We both know that's a lie”

“Ah, think what you want” Diamond replied and the other rolled her eyes

“Uhm girls, I'm sorry to interrupt your family problems, but you're up in 5 minutes” coach Mike
interrupted them causing them burst into laughter

“Family problems?” Diamond asked with an amused smile which he returned then turned Gold

“Goldie, you have a powerful voice, you've already completed your training and everything is perfect.
You just need to believe in yourself” Gold nodded

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Gold stated as a matter of fact and they all shared
a smile.

*****

“What?!” Mr Balanda yelled in anger

“You lied to him?!”

“Dad, I really had no other choice” Prisca tried to explain

“You told to do all I could to get him”

“But not by this means! Do you even have a brain? Where will I put my face now if this news gets out?”

“Father–”

“Enough! You're on your own, think of what you can do to solve this matter. I don't want to her about it
again” Mosho stated dismissively and rose to his feet causing her to rise up as well.

“But father, I can't–”

“Look at the disgrace you've brought me, you really make me feel disgusted” he turned and walked to his
room
Prisca felt a sharp pain in her chest. She was quite used to these words but she couldn't help but feel hurt
whenever he spoke.

Then and there she slowly sank to the floor and did something she hadn't done in a long time. She cried…
*****

“Can I see her?” A good looking man in his twenties tried to reason with the clinic dean

“She's not yet stable and still holds a big grudge against you in her heart, I'm afraid there's nothing we can
do” the dean spoke in a distant but respectful tone.
He had no choice but to leave with a dejected face.

***

“Mary, I have something for you” Joanne said and walked over to her with an iPad in her hand. She had
traveled out for a conference and wasn't available for the past 2 days. When she heard all that had
happened in her absence, she felt very disturbed.

She was used to Mary's cold shoulder and ignored her inert behaviour.

She placed the iPad on the table. She open an audio list on Spotify and immediately played one of them.

“It doesn't end here” a male voice could be heard from the audio
“There's so much more to this life than your pain and suffering. There's so much more than your
heartbreaks and failures. So much better. It doesn't matter how broken or far gone you are, there is still
hope…”

“A sermon? Seriously? Do you really think that would move her?” Reginald asked skeptically

“Regi, you of all people should know the power of the gospel, I'm not supposed to be hearing this from
you” Joanne fired back with a grown
“Listen, I believe in the power of the gospel, ok, but she's not even willing to receive it. I don't think it'll
work out”

“Well that's what you think, but I know that the word of God is sharper than a double edged sword, it can
cut through anything, even a heart made of stone” she said with a confident smile

Tbc

CHAPTER 10
Reginald sighed
“You're right, I just tend to let doubt get to me at times”

“I understand, but you know there's nothing God cannot do” Joanne replied and he nodded

“But you know the dean wouldn't accept this, it's against the hospital rules to use religion as a therapy
unless the patient is in accord with it”

“I heard she has a Christian background and by the way she hasn't refused it yet. I know that this is
against our workplace ethics but I know deep within me that only Jesus can pull Mary out of the pit she's
fallen in” Joanne spoke with determination

“By the way, I'm her attending physician, the dean would never know” she added causing Reginald to
sigh and run his hand over his hair

“You know I went to see her the other day”

“Really? What happened?” Joanne enquired

“She flared up and asked me to leave, ughh, she doesn't even recognize me anymore” he said causing
Joanne to chuckle

“What did you expect? It's been years and she's not in her right mind”
He then again let out another sigh

*****

Evelyn was busy cooking dinner when she heard the doorbell ring

“Who is it?” She said as she took off her kitchen apron and moved towards the door.
Her daughters were already in university and she wasn't expecting any guests.
She stood by her door and looked through the peephole. She saw an elegant looking lady with neatly cut
bob. She looked like she was in the her thirties and wore a very bright smile, you'd think she'd been
practicing all her life.

“Good afternoon Mrs Smith, I'm Elaine. I'd like to talk with you for a while if you don't mind.

**

“So you say you're a journalist?” Evelyn said after serving her some juice.

“A researcher too. I do indept analysis on people's life stories” she took a sip from her cup
“So you're like paparazzi, showbiz, is that it?” Evelyn looked at her skeptically. She had begun to ask
herself why she let a stranger into her house in the first place.

“No! not like that, it's more of research for articles and public news” she tried to explain herself but
Evelyn still had doubts all over her face. She sighed

“I just feel like what happened to your niece was very unjust and people need to know the truth about
what happened to her. I feel she was exploited”

On hearing this Evelyn became very anxious but this feeling was slowly replaced with sadness. She knew
her daughter was going through a lot but there was nothing she could do. This was her personal matter
and she had been told many times not to interfere.
And what was worse was they weren't even in the same town, so they could hardly meet talk less of
having a chat.
She felt like a terrible mother but she didn't have a choice, she had been warned not to approach her. Her
husband's family was really terrifying.

She anxiously turned to Elaine

“Have you heard from her? How is she? And Ryan, her baby boy, what of him?” She asked all at once
with shaky hands causing Elaine to widen her eyes in shock. She didn't know?!

*****

“That was amazing!” Mike congratulated the ladies immediately they got off the stage

“You girls nailed it!”

“I told you, you could do it” Diamond tugged at her sister's shoulder

“I wouldn't have done it without you by my side, I don't think I'd be able to do it if you weren't there”
Gold tightly hugged her

“Hey, you can very much do it without me, don't be like that” Diamond playfully glared at her and she
smiled back.
Just then Diamond's phone rang, interrupting them so Gold stepped back a little.

“Good evening mom” Diamond said with a smile immediately she answered the call catching Gold's
attention

“Mom!” She excitedly leaned in

“Where is your sister?” Evelyn asked Diamond

“I'm right here mom” Gold replied instead with a smile
“How–?”

“Where have you been?! I've been dialing your phone for over 15 minutes now. Do you know how
worried I was. Same thing with your sister” Evelyn complained loudly throwing the girls off guard.

“Uhm mom, we were a bit busy” Diamond replied scratching her head

“Busy?! Busy? What could you both possibly be busy with at past 8pm huh?!”
It was then that it dawned on them that they had stayed up a bit late

“Mom were not kids anymore” Gold whined in a low voice

“What?! What did you say?”

Silence
Evelyn sighed

“Anyway, you both hurry back home, I'm at your doorstep”

“What?!” The girls exclaimed

*****

“I can't believe you would keep something so big from me Mira, what do you take me for?!” Evelyn
raged on to her sister on the phone pacing back and forth in their small living room. Her daughters just
looked on with pale faces. They had been like this, since their mom explained everything that had
happened to their sister. They hadn't been hearing much from their sister since she got married and this
caused a small drift.
Even after they moved to their sister's City to start university, they kept on postponing their visit because
of many recent uncertainties in the family.

Not long after Mary got married, her husband restricted her movement and the people she saw including
her family members claiming it was for her safety after all he was very influential person.

Evelyn had a problem with this and ended having clashes with her husband's family. This landed her a
lawsuit and she wasn't allowed to approach the family any longer. Mary greatly rebelled against this but
was quickly silenced by her husband. She had no one to turn to. She began to wonder how her fairytale of
a marriage turned to hell.

When Evelyn tried to reason with Mary's parents, James just brushed it off and said it wasn't her business
and she shouldn't interfere.
Not long after Mary had a miscarriage. Her husband comforted her for a while and she gained a bit of
hope but then another followed. She fell into deep depression.

Everyone around her was talking about it. Though nobody openly told her because of her husband's
status, she knew it was a trending topic amongst her peers.

It was then they decided to adopt baby Ryan. He was just one by then. Chubby, fair skinned and a head
full of hair. They picked him up from the orphanage and made his documents.
Though it was not what everyone expected, it brought peace to a lot of hearts

The girls were overwhelmed by their emotions. It was too much.

“So she had been going through all this…” Gold being the more emotional one blurted out and suddenly
burst into tears.
Her sister in her dazed state still tried her best to console her.

“What do you mean you didn't know?! She's your daughter for God sake! I should never have entrusted
her to you!” Evelyn kept yelling over the phone till Mira herself burst into tears.
She was very upset but she couldn't help but be moved. She then continued in a low voice

“It's too late to cry now Mira, look at all what has happened” she began to choke up in tears herself and
the ladies remained in that state for a while till Evelyn heard another voice at the end of the phone.

“It's not our fault Evelyn, there was nothing we could do” James spoke with a sense of righteousness
infuriating Evelyn all over again.

“You wicked man! You're so evil! You caused all this. You're the one deceiving my sister, you–” the call
was cut off to her surprise leaving her breathing heavily.

She sat on a nearby seat and tried to calm herself. After a while she turned to her daughters.

“You both get some rest. We'll go visit your sister tomorrow” she then walked to Gold's bed and laid
down. Her mind was in a mess.
Her poor baby girl had suffered. She shouldn't have given up on her.

Then, she suddenly remembered something and jumped up as though she was being chased startling her
children.

She ran to her traveling bag that was till unpacked and zipped it open. After searching for a while she
pulled out her Bible and stared at it.
Not long after, she smiled.
*****

For the past one week Joanne had Mary listen to sermons consecutively. She was very unresponsive and
just sat motionlessly, staring at nothing in particular.
Joanne who had been watching her through a glass window sighed and walked to her office dejectedly.

“How is she Doctor? Is she getting better?” Prisca questioned the Dean with respect to Mary's case

“Well, we've been observing her for a while. She doesn't generally show any rash tendencies but she
looks very lifeless. There's no sign of emotional improvement at all”
This made Prisca sigh, if only all this hadn't happened. Anyway there was no need crying now.

“Please try your best to cure her”

“We're doing just that miss Balanda” the dean assured

“I'll take my leave now” she stood to her feet and the nodded.
As she reached the door, she remembered something and turned back again

“And… please as we agreed doctor, let no one know I was here” the doctor nodded again and she walked
out.

She absent mindedly walked through the hospital corridor thinking about her life. Was this the life she
wanted to live? She constantly asked herself.
Unknown to her, she already arrived at the patients wards and there she stood before Mary's door.
She immediately turned her attention to the glass window beside and the figure she saw made her catch
her breath.

Mary was almost unrecognizable…

Tbc

Poor Mary 🥺
Sorry for all the suspense and confusion, it'll all be cleared out soon.

Chapter 11
“It's a brand new day, rise and shine” Joanne said as she walked into the ward. She then proceeded to
open the windows which caused Mary to close her eyes as she wasn't used to the light.

“Good morning Mary, I trust you had a good rest” knowing she wouldn't get a response she continued

“Let's begin our session for today, shall we” the light in Mary's eyes faded.

“You don't look much different, I heard from the attending nurses that you haven't been eating well these
days, this has affected the administration of your medication” Joanne said as she glanced through her
record book.
Mary had little reaction to her statement causing her to sigh, it was a lot better before her parents visited.

“Mary…” she started and paused contemplating her next words

“You really can't go on like this, you need to learn to cherish yourself”
Mary acted as though she wasn't even there causing her to sigh again, it was gonna be a long day.