CHAPTER 22; AN EVENT AT SCHOOL

I and Sylvia left my place

and headed straight to the

school. I was amazed by

the large crowd I saw

when we got to the school

amphitheatre. The stage was

set for the event already. I

couldn't believe that such an

event is happening in school

and I was not aware. what

then have I been doing in

school. so if Sylvia didn't ask

me to come along with her, I

wouldn't have realized that

such an event was holding in

school. I stared at Sylvia in

amazement.

"how can such a big event be

holding in school and I'm not

aware of it" I said to Sylvia

"why will you be aware, when

you are not a member of any

fellowship in school" she

responded.

"yes that's true, but I should

have heard it from people" I

said

"how will you hear it, when

you don't associate with

people. Don't worry, after

tonight's event, you will join

the fellowship I belong to." she

said.

"wait, will you be performing

in front of this large crowd?" I

asked.

"yes of course." she responded

"you just have to watch me

sing."

"okay" I responded.

"just look for a place to sit,

while I go and meet my group.

the event will begin any

moment from now" she said

"okay" I responded.

Sylvia went ahead to join her

group, while I located a seat at

the front and sat down.

we waited for the next 20

minutes before the event

finally began. The cool and

soul lifting songs that were

sang by the different groups

that performed on stage, could

make one forget his worries. I

watched as Sylvia and her

group sang with so much

enthusiasm. they didn't even

bother about the number of

eyes that were staring at them

on stage. will I ever be

confident enough to stand on

that stage just like them.

when the event ended, I waited

for Sylvia so that we could

leave together. she came to

meet me 30 minutes later. I

could see smiles on her face.

"how was my performance?"

she asked with smiles.

"wow! Sylvia, you are gifted. I

didn't know you sing this

great. your voice too is

awesome." I said

"thank you very much. I'm

glad you like my performance.

it means a lot to me" she said

happily.

"you're welcome" I said

"okay, let's start leaving" she

said

"okay" I responded.

we left the school and headed

to our different home.

I got home and lay on my bed.

I rested for thirty minutes,

then took the books which

Sylvia gave me and busied

myself with it. I got so

engrossed on the book, that I

read it till 3:am. I was amazed

by what I discovered. the book

highlighted a step by step

procedure on how to overcome

shyness. I really need to

overcome this by all means. it

has hindered me from doing

things I wished to do. I made

up my mind that moment that

I would follow the guidelines

in the book to overcome

shyness. I will start putting

what I just read into practice.

little by little, I might

overcome this.

I finally slept off around

3:30am, after much

deliberation on how I would

overcome shyness.

I woke up by 8:15am. I didn't

have to rush this time,

because my first lecture was

by 10:am. I prepared breakfast

and also got ready for school. I

ate and left home exactly

9:30am. I got to school just

when lecture was about to

begin. I located a sit at the

back and sat down.

immediately lecture was over,

Sharon stood up from her seat

and walked towards me. she

sat beside me when she got to

me.

"hi Sharon" I said immediately

she didn't respond. we sat

quietly for a while before she

finally spoke.

"what's going on between you

and Sylvia?" she asked.

I froze immediately I heard the

question. I didn't know why

she asked such question. I

didn't even know what to

respond. I only stared at her

open-mouthed.

"I don't understand" that was

all I could say

"something must be going on

between you two, for her to

behave the way she did

yesterday. If not, she wouldn't

have left your house just like

that" she said.

I was confused. I didn't

understand what she was

trying to say. what is she

talking about?

"Are you dating her?" she

asked

My heart paused immediately I

heard that question. while I

was still trying to recover from

the shock her first question

placed me in, she unleashed

another one.

"I…. I... I....I...." I tried to

speak but couldn't.

"so you guys are....." she

wanted to speak further but

suddenly stopped.

I realized she suddenly stopped

speaking because she saw

Sylvia approaching us. Sylvia

walked to us and stood beside

me.

"hi Sharon" she said to Sharon

"hi Sylvia" Sharon responded.

Sylvia shot me a glance and

smiled. I could tell from the

look on her face, that she

noticed, Sharon stopped

speaking because she was

coming.

"Christian are you busy?"

Sylvia asked me.

I couldn't find the right reply

to give. I didn't know whether

to answer yes or no. if I say

no, Sharon might get offended,

because she was actually

having a conversation with

me. if I say yes also, Sylvia

might get offended.

while I was still thinking of the

best answer to give, Sylvia

finally spoke.

"it seems you are busy. I

wanted to have a word with

you, but since you are busy,

we can talk later." she said

Sylvia turned immediately and

left. Sharon watched her until

she was out of sight before she

turned to face me.

"Christian you have not

answered my question. Are

you dating Sylvia?" she asked.

Not again, I thought she would

have forgotten about that.

I didn't respond. I just kept

staring at her.

"Christian why can't you

answer my question. there's

nothing difficult about it. it's

just a yes or no question" she

said when I didn't respond

I took a deep breath and stared

at her.

"no, I'm not dating her." I

finally responded

she heaved a sigh of relief

immediately. I didn't

understand why she did that...