Stalwart High School

'So you attend parties like this.' Someone spoke from behind her. She turned around almost immediately, she was glad to see that someone recognized her. Her small smile faded away as she met Collins' cold gaze. He stood over her and watched her like an eagle. Adebisi suddenly felt uneasy and broke her gaze from his. 'You all are so audacious.' He said distastefully.

'Hi.' She waved at him, unsure of what to say. He glared at her once more then put his hands in his pockets. It was the first time she saw him being very serious. 'How's the party going?'

'Well, I don't know because I'm not here for it.' He replied to her blandly, glancing at the people on the dance floor.

Adebisi looked confused, 'Why are you here then?'

'I'm here for my girls.' He turned back to her. Satisfied with the puzzled look she gave him. He said, ' Susie and Lola, I doubt their agreement to not attend this party. So I'll wait for a few minutes then head back home just to be sure they didn't come.'

'Sounds nice.' Adebisi said, somehow she liked Collins' protective nature of girls that weren't even his sisters, he was going to be a good big brother if he had a sister. A server came around, a boy about their age, Adebisi impulsively took out two drinks from his tray, one was apple flavor and the other was orange which she offered Collins. He eyed her sorely and took the drink.

'Why didn't you want them to come?' She lifted her cup to her lips.

'Hey!' Collins yelled softly, knocking the cup out of her hand. Adebisi was alarmed, she shifted her gaze from the empty cup lying on the floor to Collins for a good justification.

'Is this your first time at a party like this?' He asked furiously. 'Don't you know that your drink can be spiked?' He arched his eyebrows but was disappointed to see the lack of comprehension on her face. 'You could be drugged.' He swallowed up the lump in his throat and looked away.

Adebisi fluttered, 'Like paracetamol?' She asked in a light voice.

'Like Vitamin C.' He hissed at her in disgust. 'Didn't you learn drug abuse?' He dumped his cup on the tabletop and looked away. Then Adebisi realized that she could have been in serious trouble that night. Enny returned with some snacks and bottled drinks, after exchanging pleasantries with Collins, she left them and joined the people on the dance floor. 'You can take that since it's bottled, it's safe, I guess. The snacks too.' Adebisi had lost her appetite for anything, she just listened to Collins talk about hard drugs which he seemed to know much about. It was nice talking to him, and after some time he relaxed a bit.

' Have you ever been under the influence of drugs?' She asked him meticulously.

'No. It's not a great thing you know. It just gives great feelings that are short-lived. I wouldn't want to experience that.' He shrugged. 'Did your parents let you out at such an ungodly hour?'

'No. I sneaked out.' She lowered her gaze, she couldn't stand the mocking smile that might appear on his face.

'Wow. You amaze me.' He laughed quietly. 'Who would have thought...' he muttered to himself rubbing his temple. 'Kam is more of a shady, quiet thug. He organized this party and he might be up to something that no one knows about.'

'You know, I used to think that Stalwart was going to be a perfect school just as I've always heard.'

'But now you're disappointed right?' They both chuckled. 'Don't always trust people's opinions. That's the moral of this. Always see for yourself, sometimes.'

'Yeah.' She nodded.

'Why would you even believe that Stalwart is perfect?' He sat next to her but he was still very aware of his surroundings. 'I mean, it's a school with students from different backgrounds with different mentalities. Some came from broken homes, some have uncaring parents, some have parents that are drug addicts, and several other circumstances and you expect us to be the same. What an absurd imagined illusion.'

There was noise a few steps away from them, some boys were arguing, and about five other boys surrounded them. Collins narrowed his eyes, he jumped off the bar stool warily. The argument got heated up and they were soon tugging each other's shirts and throwing punches, some people gathered around them trying to separate them. Suddenly, there was a shriek as the group scattered, one of the boys staggered off with blood on his cloth.

'Let's find a way out. The police might be here soon.' Collins yelled on top of his voice dragging Adebisi closely behind him. They were almost at the door.

'Freeze everyone!' A husky voice commanded. The lights went off immediately then the music, and some of the girls started crying. 'You are in serious trouble.' The man said, seemingly to be very pleased with everything that was going on. He turned on his flashlight and swayed it in different directions. The man moved away from the door slowly.

'It's the police.' Collins whispered.