Chp.8-Elections.

As the sun peeked through the curtains, its rays painting the room with golden hues, Ivy remained snuggled in bed. Her purple teddy bear hugged tightly to her chest, its fluffy texture tickling her nose. She savored the last few moments of sleep before reality beckoned.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Went the sound of her alarm clock. Alarmingly loud. Ivy groaned, blindly reaching out for a second pillow and pressing it to her face. It continued to ring and she lazily sat up, while grumbling, and pressed the dismiss button with aggression, cursing under her breath.

6:15 am.

Said the time on the clock. As much as Ivy wanted to keep on sleeping, she knew she had to get ready for school. School started officially by 7:30, and her house was twenty minutes away. She had to wake early, get ready early, so she could reach Elysian High on time.

Ivy had never been a morning person. She grumbled all the way to the bathroom, lazily brushing her teeth, then peeling off her clothes and entering the shower. Ten minutes later, she emerged out of the bathroom, her wet feet leaving trails on the tiles as she approached her bed. She sat down, using her second towel to dry herself. She squeezed the half full body cream and took her time in rubbing it on her body. Soon enough, Ivy was dressed in her uniform- a royal blue, free skirt that stopped right above her knee, a white t-shirt and a blue tie resting in between her shirt and around her neck. Accessories weren't allowed in Elysian High so she went with her digital wrist watch and dot earrings. She finished tying the lace of her black shoes and got up, picking up her tecno phone and school bag and leaving the room.

Ruth Okoye was already setting the table for her daughter. She was busy humming to a Mercy Chinwo song as she helped her only child spread peanut butter on her bread. Ivy entersed the part living room, part dining room, with a smile. She kissed her mother's cheek before sitting down. She picked up a slice of bread and took a huge bite.

"Peanut butter will soon finish. Wether you like it or not, you'll have to start using Mayonnaise. Peanut butter is too expensive nowadays." Her mother said with a frown, cleaning her hands on her wrapper. Ivy groaned. She really hated mayonnaise. It tasted awful to her.

"No." She dragged the vowel, dramatically, then took another huge bite from her bread. Her mother laughed, shaking her head at her sillyness and turned to leave the room.

"When you're done, I kept 500 naira under the peanut butter container. For transport and lunch." Her mother shouted from the kitchen. Ivy shouted back, telling her she's heard and continued eating. She checked the time on her watch and ate faster.

6:49.

~•~

The hallway was buzzing. Ivy had been shoved in the shoulder up to four times since she entered the school. She would get shoved and never get an apology. Ivy mentally rolled her eyes and exhaled, her hands on the top of her straps tightening.

Suddenly, her way was blocked. Two hyper girls nearly crashed into her as they tried to shove a paper into her.

"Vote for Yasmina as president-" Their wide grins slowly turned into frowns and the girl in front dropped her hand, now eyeing Ivy. Her friend scoffed from beside her, and simultaneously, they both turned around dramatically-the second one flipping her braids whilst doing so, and walked away from her.

Ivy's eyes wandered around the hallway for the first time that morning, noticing a new addition to the decor. Posters were everywhere. Some showing the face of Chiazokam Yasmina Isiekwe, smirking at everyone, her honey brown eyes having a mischievous glint, claded in her uniform with her arms folded. The second of Ayobami Oladele, smiling widely at everyone, with so much light and enthusiasm, his molars on display for everyone, and his arms also folded.

Written boldly underneath their images were the words.

''Vote for president. A fresh administration. A better government.''

Better government?

Elysian High had successfully turned into a typical Nigerian political system.

Ivy was never really a fan of these elections anyway. The candidates always ended up doing silly things just to please the students and get their guaranteed votes. Most times, some did not even try to work for it, they'd just bribe people with sweets or fake promises.

The difference between Nigerian elections and Elysian High's elections wasn't that distinct from each other.

Ivy dropped her bag on her desk with a long sigh. She noticed the spot next to her was empty and turned to look at the back, eyes searching for her best friend.

"Nayaaaa, leave that boy alone and come and welcome your bestie!" She called out to her. Naya shifted her attention from Zephan to her friend, a big smile taking place on her face. Zephan stared at her face in adoration. They was something absolutely ethereal about her smile.

"Later." She said to him in a quiet voice. Zephan smiled at her and watched her walk towards her seat to meet her best friend.

Naya made her way across the room, moving with a fluid grace that left many students' eyes lingering on her. Every single action of hers seemed imbued with an irresistible allure that captivated those around her. It was something about the softness in her movements, or perhaps it was her approachable and warm aura. As she moved, her bright, loose curls bounced rhythmically to each stride.

When she reached her destination, Nayaslid into the chair beside Ivy with a playful smirk on her face. The lighter girl immediately grinned, her entire expression lighting up as though she had been greeted by sunshine itself.

"Naya, you need to stop flirting so much. Some of us here want to get an education."

Her remark was only met with an innocent shrug from Naya. She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and murmured, "I wasn't flirting, idiot. Zephan wanted to talk to me."

"Mhmm mhmm, about?"

Just then, their jovial banter was interrupted as their stern English professor strode in. The door slamming shut in his wake served as an unwritten cue, sending everyone rushing back to their respective seats.

"All right class, open your textbooks," he declared, as he lowered his round spectacles to scan the classroom. Today, we'll be discussing concord."

As the lecture began, Ivy gave her friend a sharp glance, demanding silently to be filled in later. Naya gave a quiet, agreeing nod, already shuffling through her notebook, which was more full of doodles than notes. Ivy watched Naya from the corner of her eye and noticed Zephan continued to stare at the brown skinned beauty from across the room. As the marker squeaked on the whiteboard and pages turned, a silent story unfolded within this tiny world of adolescence, punctuated by secret glances, half-smiles and quiet promises of hushed gossip. Ivy knew she wouldn't trade these moments with her best friend for anything. Little did they know, in their cocoon of familiarity and laughter, that the year held much more for them than just school gossip and secret glances. But that's a tale for another chapter.