List One

 "My mom?" Grace thought she didnt get him well, then he smiled. She pushed the stick closer to him "Stop following me"

"I will, once you move in with me"

Grace didn't know what to say. First, she didn't know the man, and the type of person he was and he was talking about moving in with him? "Please leave." Then she turned to leave when he held her hand.

"You look so slim, why?" He questioned her, and she furrowed her brow.

"It's none of your business, sir," she said, pushing his hand and walking back inside before closing the door.

Raymond smiled at her disappearing figure before he got on his motorcycle and wore his helmet before driving away. He drove past Chen's, and Mr. Chen stared at the motorcycle. "Who will ride such a risky thing in the middle of the night?"

"Someone cool," Nora Chen, their second daughter, who was about the same age as Grace, said with an excited smile.

"Cool my foot," Mrs. Chen scoffed, and they tried pushing the door open, but it was locked from inside. "Did that girl lock our door?" Mrs. Chen asked in disbelief.

"Well, she is home alone and felt it might be safe," her dad tried explaining, but instead he gained a frown from his wife.

"Grace!!!" Nora yelled at the top of her voice. Grace was leaning against the door, and she quickly opened it.

"Mother, father"

"Why did you lock the door?" Sarah asked angrily, and they walked in and took off their shoes before wearing comfortable slippers.

 "Is it a crime locking the door now?" Grace sneered in thoughts before she said.

"I am sorry." She couldn't tell them that it was because of a stranger outside.

Sarah pushed her to the side before she got in, and her father stared at her pitifully before leaving as well.

Now it was just her and Nora. "Tomorrow is school; you better know your level or else you might get suspended again." Nora laughed. The reason she was suspended for a week was because of Nora.

 "Just pray, pray i stay a slave at your place for life because i wont spare you if i get out of here" Grace warned angrily before she left for the kitchen "her bedroom" 

**

The next morning, after Grace was done with her house chores, she went to school without having breakfast as usual.

Kendrick stood at the school gate waiting for her. Immediately, he spotted her, he hurriedly ran to her. "Grace, how are you feeling this morning?"

"I am fine, Ken," she said, waking up this morning feeling much more energetic. "Maybe it's because of the meal I had and the medical attention," she thought to herself.

"I am glad; you still haven't told me where those men took you yesterday."

"Stop asking, please; shouldn't you be more bothered about your presentation tomorrow?" She frowned at him when someone hugged her from behind.

"Grace, I missed you in school," said her best friend, Steph.

At that moment, Grace's gaze moved to the other side of the road, where she found that familiar car parked there.

"Steph, don't suffocate her." Ken mocked and Steph pouted; they were always getting into an argument.

"Let's have breakfast at the canteen before we resume classes." Stephanie suggested, they noticed that Grace never eats breakfast, so they decided to always have breakfast at the canteen so she wouldn't have any choice but to eat.

"You both go along; I am coming," Grace said, and they were confused, but without asking further, they left and got into school.

Grace looked around before she crossed the road and approached the familiar car, then knocked on the car window.

Raymond pressed a button that whined down his car window, and he smiled at Grace.

"Good morning, little lotus."

"Are you stalking me?"

"He has been stalking you for six months; you just realized?" Seb muttered beneath his breath as he chuckled.

"Okay, fine, I will admit it. I am a stalker." Raymond winked at her before he signaled Seb, who got down the car, then he opened the other side of the car door and said, "Please get in."

Grace chuckled. "You think I will get into a stranger's car? And a stranger looking like him."

Raymond chuckled lightly. "If you don't get in, then I will come down," he warned, but she didn't listen.

"Stop stalking me; if you are looking for ladies to extract their parts, then go look somewhere else."

With that said, she walked back to school. Seb couldn't help but burst out in laughter. "I will extract your tongue if you dare laugh," he warned him.

Then his gaze moved to the contract he had prepared for her. His mind wasnt at ease seeing that she was far from him; he wanted her close or else how will he protect her?

Seb got into the car. "So shall we leave to see the old man now?"

Raymond nodded. He was going to see his little lotus when he returned.

-

Grace didn't join her friends for breakfast; she went directly to her classroom and waited for the teacher.

Apart from Steph and Kendrick, no one else wanted to be her friend because they didn't want to offend Nora, who was known as the queen of the school.

"Hello class," the teacher said while holding a list, and just then Kendrick and Steph joined Grace.

"You ditched us," Steph pouted.

"So the presentation list is out; the first group goes tomorrow and the next group is for next week. I will paste the list on the notice board, and you prepare yourselves for your respective dates."

"I don't want to be on the first list," Kendrick said nervously, and Grace was also nervous. This presentation was going to carry thirty percent of their final marks.

"We have been practicing for a long time, so don't be scared," she assured her friends.

An hour after class, they all hurried to the notice board and checked their names. "I am on the third list," Stephanie jubilated.

"Well, I am the first." Grace sighed, and the date said tomorrow.

"Good luck; we will be there to support you." Kendrick assured her because his name was on the third list as well.

Nora and her friends walked to the notice board and checked the list. "They are not science students, so why do they even need to check the list?" Steph scoffed as she whispered to Kendrick.

"I heard she is dating a guy from our class," Kendrick whispered back. Grace was anxious, wondering if Nora came to check her name.

"There is no one important on list one, so there is no need to attend the event tomorrow," Nora sighed before she left with her friends. Her words left Grace heartbroken.

"What did she mean by no one important on list one? I am on list one; I am her sister," she thought sadly and quickly sighed "Whatever, who cares"