Chapter 29: Request

After a long holiday, the students returned to school with a mix of excitement and reluctance. A wave of anticipation swept over students returning from a blissful holiday hiatus. Laughter echoed in the hallway. The once silent classrooms were now filled with students gisting, running around, checking out things together. "Puff! I miss this school," Dorah said as she got down from the car. "You should be good in school, okay?" Agnes said from inside the car. "I sure will," she said, smiling as she took in the beauty of the school. "You're not taking your phone with you?" Agnes asked, stretching the phone towards her. "I'll get that for her," she heard Ronald's voice before she could even turn to give her mum any reply. "Good morning, ma'am," Ronald greeted as he collected Dorah's phone from Agnes. He bowed politely in the process. "And you are?" Agnes asked as she studied Ronald. He was dressed so neatly that he'd get heads turning anywhere he went. She noticed the humbleness in his voice as he spoke. "I'm Ronald, ma'am. A friend of Dorah," Ronald explained with a smile. "Oh, Ronald. I remember now you're a member of the band?" she asked in a questioning tone. "Yes, ma'am." He kept his smiley face. "Nice one," she said, nodding. "I should get going." Agnes closed the door, ignited the engine, and wound the window down. "He's humble. I like him," she said to Dorah and winked before zooming off. "Guess I got on her good side," Ronald said, smiling as they watched the car disappear from sight. "Yeah, who wouldn't like you? You have this crazy charm that flows around you, making everyone you come across like you," Dorah said, rolling her eyes. "I'll take that as a compliment," Ronald replied, winking. "Where are the others?" she asked, looking around. "They'll soon be here. They told me they took off some minutes ago. They should be here any minute now," Ronald said, checking his wristwatch. Just like perfect timing, Jace, Max, and Jason's cars arrived and stopped in front of the school. They got down one after the other. Students passing by stopped to glance at them. Seeing them together like that was rare. "Wow, gosh, they're so cute!" "Look at their cars, it's the latest model in town!" "Marry me already!" "Whoa, check out their sneakers!" Comments poured in, cameras clicked, and girls made sweet sounds, admiring the angels that had just alighted from the cars. They were all wearing Apple Computer Sneakers including Dorah and Ronald which had everyone drooling. "They intentionally meant to make a show, right?" Dorah whispered to Ronald. "I think so too. They never told me they'd be doing this," Ronald replied, shrugging. Dorah walked towards them, arms folded across her chest. Ronald followed closely with both hands in his pockets. "Baby!" Jace said, hugging Dorah the moment he saw her. "You guys are making a scene," Dorah said, noticing the growing crowd. "Making a good impression on the first day of resumption is my thing. And besides, I like what I'm seeing," Max said, bumping fists with Jace. "Jason, you too?" Dorah said, pointing at him. "I'm stuck here. I like this too," Jason said with a smirk plastered on his face. "I'm not surprised Jace and Max are easily influenced. They're both smooth talkers and can make you fall three times harder," Dorah said, rolling her eyes. "Let's go to class. We shouldn't be late for our first class of the session," Ronald said. They all agreed and moved away from the crowd. It was easy to get distracted as they made their way into the school. "I'm so jealous of her right now. She gets to be in their midst without stress," Dorah heard a girl say behind her. She chuckled and clung to Jason's arm, who patted her hair softly. Phones were up, flashing as they passed. It wasn't every day you saw all of them together. Within minutes, the school blog was flooded with different posts: #YOUNGSTARSENTRY #LIVEANGELSONEARTH They were practically the hot topic of the day. Dorah said goodbye to them as they got to her class. She entered and noticed some people throwing dagger like looks at her not that she cared. She ignored them and walked to her seat. She needed to check her locker, too. Emma hadn't arrived yet, and she wasn't surprised. Emma usually skipped the first day or came late. Only Miranda would be in school today. She was still contemplating whether to check her locker when she heard a voice. "You're looking beautiful." "Hey... oh, Helena. It's you," Dorah said as she turned. "Yeah, it's me. Happy resumption," Helena said, flashing her best smile. "Thank you," Dorah replied with a smile of her own. "Mind if I sit with you for a while?" Helena asked, glancing around the class. "Oh, sure. Go ahead," Dorah said, gesturing to the chair beside her. Helena dragged the chair close and sat. "Your friends aren't back yet?" she asked. "They're not coming today. It's only Mira who's in school," Dorah replied, settling her bag. "Dorah, can you do me a favor?" Helena asked, placing a hand on Dorah's and giving her puppy eyes. "What's that? If it's within my reach, then I'll definitely do it," Dorah said. "You know Jace and I used to date..." "Yeah, and I remember you broke up already," Dorah replied, trying to figure out where the conversation was going. She didn't like the vibe around Helena. "Yeah, which you caused." "What?!" "Yes, we ended up breaking up because of you. And as you can see, I still have some feelings for him." "So?" Dorah asked curiously. "Can you get us back together? You know, as an apology for what you did," Helena said, shocking the daylight out of Dorah. "What do you mean?" Dorah asked, stunned. "I want you to set us up. I want him back."