The Trip

The Fight

" See this girl " Cynthia yelled out in anger. She and Reuben's hands were still on the bottle, both still in their squatting position. The two other boys had already sat back down and were currently laughing out hilariously. Suddenly, their laughter subsided, and the atmosphere developed an awkward aura.

Their eyes were currently plastered on the two individuals who caught the bottle. They stared at Reuben and Cynthia with unusual expressions. Reuben and Cynthia didn't seem to have noticed a thing as they continued staring at each other, their faces screaming a lost expression. This scene looked perfectly like those in Indian movies.

" What's going on here " spoke Bethel, who had just walked out of the kitchen while exchanging angry jokes with Blessing. She currently had a question mark expression. Blessing, who followed behind her, developed the same expression for a short while before bursting out into laughter.

As soon as her laughter resounded, the two love-struck birds immediately stood up and tried to pull away their hands. " Don't " Frank suddenly spoke. The love birds paused. It was then they realized that they had forgotten that their hands still carried the bottle.

They quickly placed the bottle on the table before pulling away their hands in embarrassment. The whole action just seemed to worsen the situation, plunging the environment into an even more awkward state.

" Grow up, you two " Bethel muttered as she and Blessing walked to the table with six cups in their hands. It was obvious that this was what Blessing had rushed to the kitchen for.

Blessing walked behind Bethel and then towards Cynthia with a smirk on her face and an eye filled with ridicule. Blessing expression as she wanted it to, deepened Cynthia's embarrassment.

Bethel and Blessing found their seats, complementing the others to form a circular gathering. In no time, they all started digging into the toasted bread while filling their cups with the soft drinks. Some filled their cups with more than one brand of soft drink.

" Attention Everyone ", Frank suddenly called out, gathering the attention of the crew. " I have an announcement to make ", Frank added. The eyes of everyone present immediately fell on him. Their gazes were filled with different glints.

" I have decided to comply with my brother and move to the city ", he began. " I know this came suddenly as i have already refused previously. I just couldn't keep stressing my parents like that. I was hoping a few of you guys could come with me, maybe you Reuben. That would be for the best as we could watch over each other back there while you expand your business over there. "

The gazes of everyone were on him from the beginning of their speech to the end. Surprisingly, there was no hint of surprise or thrill in their gazes; there was only relief. This left Frank flabbergasted.

" Humph " Bethel let out a chuckle. " Weird, what's going on " Frank inquired. " Your something else " Cynthia spoke with a snort. Her words should usually be considered as a joke as she was a friend, but for some reason Frank didn't sense the aura of a joke in her words. It seemed like the words came from the deepest parts of her heart. Everyone immediately developed an awkward expression.

Frank stared at Cynthia, and in return she stared back at him boldly, not an atom of fear or guilt could be seen in her eyes. After a while of silence, Frank finally spoke " Says a girl who was caught cheating in our final year exam. If not for the invigilators' mercy you would probably be done by now ".

" FRANK " The voices of everyone present, except for Frank and Cynthia, permeated the environment. Most of the faces these voices belong to had furious expressions while the rest had annoyed expressions.

Tears streamed down the face of Cynthia as soon as she heard his words. " Youuuuuuu " She flung up with a scream while pointing her finger at Frank. Frank stared at her, a bit of guilt appeared on his face as he stared at her.

Though for many, this wouldn't be something to be ashamed of that much, but for someone like Cynthia who lectures them frequently about stuff like that being bad, it was like a stain she could never clean up.

Before Frank could say another word, a fist connected with his right cheek from the side. This fist belonged to Reuben. As soon as the fist hit Frank, everyone immediately stood up as they knew this wouldn't be a simple quarrel anymore. They all knew Frank's temper.

Just as they expected, before they could move, Frank had already plunged into Reuben, pinning him on the ground, while constantly raining punches down on him. Reuben, on the other hand, tried to throw his own punches from beneath whenever he caught sight of a loophole.

The rest of the crew except Cynthia, who seemed to still be lost in her world of grief, went to separate the boys. Samuel, who was the only guy among them, was the proactive one. He directly slips his hands along the other side of Frank's elbow. With all his might, he pulled Frank away from Reuben.

" Get your hands off me " Frank said, forcefully pulling himself away from Samuel's grip. As soon as he regained his freedom, he walked towards the door and stormed off.