COLOR ME

EPISODE ELEVEN

At lunchtime, Jensen called me aside.

"Hey, King has given me two tickets to the party," he said, holding up the tickets. "I want to give the second one to you."

"How much do the tickets cost?" I asked, curious.

"They cost £50," he replied.

"How much is King paying her for the appearance?" I queried, still trying to wrap my head around it.

"He's paying her £20,000 in total," Jensen claimed confidently.

"Won't he be making a loss if he gives out two free tickets?" I questioned, feeling a bit uneasy about accepting.

"No, he can afford to cover the balance of the payment," Jensen announced. "King expects some of his followers to come to the party."

I didn't want to disappoint him because I genuinely wanted to attend the party with Tendai, but I also knew I wasn't supposed to be seen in public with him.

"Okay, Jensen, I'll come with you," I finally agreed.

Jensen walked away with a wide smile on his face.

Later, Mae approached me with a look of excitement. "I need to get tickets for the party!" she exclaimed.

Mae's family was rich, but her parents weren't the type to spend on anything other than education and business. Mae loved Reina Thingz's songs a lot. There was no way she could accept to miss the party.

"I think I'll ask Ember for some money," she said, thinking out loud. "How about you? Where will you get the money for the tickets?"

"Jensen has offered me a ticket," I replied.

"I'm so jealous; I wish he had asked King for three instead of two!" she said, pouting slightly.

That evening, when Mom came to pick up Soren and me, I decided to test the waters. "Mom, I want to stay and watch soccer practice," I asked her.

"As long as you're back immediately after the match ends, it's fine," she agreed.

Mom and Soren went back home while I made my way to the bleachers. A few students were seated there, including Kemi and Liz. I didn't want them to see me, so I sneaked under the bleachers, careful to stay out of sight.

Kemi was cheering for Tendai, while Liz was supporting a boy from year twelve. I watched as Tendai made some incredible saves, preventing the ball from entering the goalpost. Grayson, on the other hand, was a good striker but had a short temper.

"I've told you to learn to control your anger," the coach told him sternly. "I won't have you play against another school if you don't."

"I did it last time with Mount Henry Secondary School, and I will continue until you learn to control your anger," he added, clearly frustrated.

I waited for everyone to leave when the match ended, still hidden under the bleachers. After about ten minutes, I finally emerged, ensuring that Kemi and Liz had left. I found a spot under the shade next to the parking lot and sat down, lost in my thoughts.

Suddenly, someone covered my eyes with their hands. I couldn't help but smile.

"Tendai, I know it's you," I said, expecting to see him.

The person removed their hands, and I turned around.

"Grayson!" I exclaimed, surprised.

"Sorry for disappointing you; I'm not Tendai," he said, chuckling.

"Don't do that again!" I warned, slightly irritated. I left him standing under the shade and walked back toward the school, where I bumped into Tendai.

"Addie, you're still around!" he said, surprised. "Why weren't you at the game?"

"I was there," I admitted. "But Kemi and Liz were around, so I hid under the bleachers."

Tendai hugged me, a comforting gesture that made me feel safe. "Let's go home," he said.

He ordered an Uber, and while we waited, he insisted I sit on his lap as we lounged on the bench under the shade next to the parking lot.

"Tendai, your friends will see us and tell Kemi," I protested, feeling nervous.

"Nah! None of the boys are snitches," he reassured me. "Don't worry."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Grayson sitting in his car, watching us. He didn't look happy. I had a feeling he'd run to Kemi with what he'd seen.

Our Uber arrived shortly after Grayson had left. Tendai and I continued talking during the ride. When we arrived at my house, he hugged me and gave me a quick peck on the cheek.

"Goodnight, see you tomorrow at the party," he said, smiling.

"Goodnight!" I replied, my heart fluttering as I watched him leave.

When I walked inside, Mom and Dad were in the living room.

"Dad, you're finally home," I greeted him.

"Your mom says you have a boyfriend now," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"We're not yet boyfriend and girlfriend for now; maybe someday," I said, trying to downplay it.

"I can see he's put a smile on your face," Dad observed. "What's his name?"

"He's called Tendai," I replied, noticing the sudden look of shock on his face.

"Dad, he's a nice guy; I like him."

"Your mother is right—you're too young to have a boyfriend," he said, his tone firm. "Ade, you have to break up with him."

"You guys can't let me be like a normal teenager!" I shouted, storming off to my bedroom before they could respond.

"Addie, come back; we need to finish the conversation," Mom called after me.

I didn't respond.

"Come for supper; we can continue the conversation tomorrow," she added.

"I'll be there in a few," I muttered, calming down a little.

I took a shower to cool off and went for supper, my mind still racing with thoughts about Tendai and my parents' reactions.

"Tomorrow, there's a party at the school; can I attend it?" I asked during supper.

"No," Dad said flatly. "I want you to stay away from Tendai."

"The first boyfriend I have, and you hate him!" I shouted, my frustration boiling over.

"I will approve another one, but not Tendai," Dad replied, his voice calm but firm, as if he had already made up his mind.

I couldn't take it anymore. I stormed off, leaving my supper untouched on the table. I like Tendai, no matter what they say. Why couldn't they just let me be happy?

Once I was in my room, I grabbed my phone and texted Tendai, letting him know what my parents had said about the party. I felt a lump in my throat as I typed out the words, but I knew I had to tell him.

Addie: Hey 😊

Addie: So, Jensen got me a ticket to be his plus one for the party. We're just friends. I was planning to ditch him and hang with you, but my dad said I can't go 😒.

Addie: Ugh, I hate him for this 😤.

Tendai is typing…

Tendai: Sorry to hear that 😔. We can just chill instead. I respect your parents.

Addie: Jensen will pick me up tomorrow. They trust him. Don't worry 😊.

Tendai is typing…

Tendai: I don't want you to get in trouble with your parents. We've got plenty of time to party in the future 🎉.

Addie: I want to have fun with you. It's senior year and I've never been to a high school party 😩.

Tendai is typing…

Tendai: I wish we'd started hanging out sooner. I would've taken you to raves and festivals. They're way better than high school parties 🎶✨.

Addie: Did you take Kemi to those?

Tendai is typing…

Tendai: Nah, that was just me and my buddies. I got expelled from my old school for doing drugs. Still party with my old friends sometimes. Didn't want Kemi to be part of that.

Addie: So, I'm special if you want to take me there?

Tendai: Yeah, Addie. You're really special 😊❤️😍🌟💖

Addie: 😊💃🎉😍😘💖

Tendai is typing…

Tendai: We can take some selfies with Reina Thingz tomorrow 📸.

Tendai: Come with Jensen, we'll hang for an hour, then you can go home. Cool?

Addie: Yeah, that works 👍.

Tendai is typing…

Tendai: Goodnight, sweetie. See you tomorrow.

Addie: Goodnight, love 😴💕🌙

Tomorrow couldn't arrive fast enough—I was counting down the minutes to my first real party. I fell asleep with a smile on my face, imagining dancing with Tendai to Reina Thingz's songs and feeling like everything was finally coming together.

On Saturday morning, I woke up early and got straight to work on my chores. The lingering soreness from the beating still ached, especially in my stomach and arms, but the pain was manageable. My excitement bubbled up again when Jensen texted during breakfast, confirming that he would pick me up at 6 p.m. I could hardly contain myself.

"Dad, I want to attend the Reina Thingz party at school," Soren suddenly announced.

"You can't go; you're still too young," Dad replied firmly.

"Addie is going, isn't she still young?" Soren pressed.

"Your sister is not going. I told her yesterday that she won't go," Dad said, his voice final.

"Are you sure she's not going?" Soren asked, casting a suspicious glance in my direction.

Soren, stop trying to stir things up, I thought, trying to keep my cool.

By 5:30 p.m., I was dressed for the party, with my clothes hidden under a bathrobe, ready to make a quick exit. Jensen texted to say he was stuck in traffic, but his chauffeur would be at my house by 6:00 p.m., as promised.

Finally, at 6:23 p.m., the doorbell rang. My heart pounded with anticipation. There was a knock at my bedroom door.

"Ade, Jensen is at the door; he says he's your date to the party," Mom called out.

"Yes, Mom, he's my plus one," I replied, trying to sound casual.

I knew Mom had a soft spot for Jensen—if only she knew his plans to join the Freemasons when he got to university.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to your dad," she said. "Get dressed and come."

As soon as Mom left, I whipped off the bathrobe, slipped on my shoes, grabbed my bag, and stuffed my phone inside.

Jensen was waiting in the living room, looking calm, though I could hear Mom and Dad whispering in the kitchen, their voices carrying just enough for me to catch the gist of their conversation.

"Let her go with Jensen; he's a good friend of hers," Mom said softly.

"You look beautiful," Jensen complimented me as I walked in.

Mom and Dad emerged from the kitchen. Mom looked a little surprised—I hadn't expected her to think I'd be ready in under five minutes.

"Jensen, I need you to bring Ade back home by 10:00 p.m., and I don't expect her to drink alcohol or do any drugs," Dad said, his tone stern.

"Okay, sir," Jensen replied.

We left quickly, not wanting to give Dad time to reconsider.

"What's up with your dad? Why is he worried about us hanging out when I've been over to your place so many times?" Jensen asked in the car.

"He's just paranoid about his little girl going to a teen party," I lied, trying to brush it off.

"Can you believe we're finally getting invited to a party after all these years?" he said, grinning.

Who would've thought that in our final year, things would finally start looking up for us? I checked my phone—still no response from Tendai. He'd been offline all day, and I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.