Chapter Fifteen

Kamji gazed at herself in the mirror as River did the finishing touches to her makeup.

"All done," her cousin announced taking her time to admire her work on Kamji's face.

"I can barely even recognize myself. You really got talent with the colors and brushes." she praised.

River did a dramatic bow, "Thank you madam." They had spent their time doing each other's hair and makeup in preparation for the dance that was starting in some minutes.

There was a knock on the door and Peter called from the other side, "Aren't you guys ready yet? It's been more than an hour now." he complained.

River opened the door and let her brother in, "We are done so quit whining. It's not like you have a date or anything." she said

Peter mimicked what she had said in a high-pitched voice that made Kamji laugh.

"How do I look?" River asked him as she did a little twirl. She had chosen to wear a stylish shimmery red dress with a deep V shaped neckline that exposed some part of her cleavage and accentuated her slender figure.

Peter snorted, "If you're looking forward to being a torch light at the party with all that glimmer then it suits you."

River frowned, "That doesn't sound like a compliment but I will take it anyway." she said adjusting the hem of her clothes.

"It wasn't a compliment." Peter said, turning to look at Kamji, "You look beautiful Kams. If you weren't my cousin. I would have asked you out years ago," he added with a wink.

"Thank you Peter. You're not looking bad yourself." Kamji replied, Although the long blue gown she had worn was quite plain when compared to River's, The delicate material had been tailored in such a way that it exposed some part of her back and shoulders. Kamji felt the gown was quite revealing but she doubted anyone would notice since it was a night party.

"Let me escort you to the car," he offered his hand in a polite manner, Kamji smiled before slipping her hands in his.

River rolled her eyes,"Stop trying to act like a gentleman, It's gross."

"The same way you're forcing yourself to walk in a six inches heels when everyone knows you can't," he retorted.

"It's five inches actually and I can walk perfectly fine in them." she huffed and sashayed towards the door. "See, I am impressive."

"You call that walking? Looked more like waddling to me," her brother teased. "Try not to trip on your way out."

"Can't you ever give me a real compliment? You're always teasing me." she whined as they made the made their way to the stairs. Kamji had to admit their bickering was driving her nuts.

The dance was being held in a vast empty field. They were dozens of canopy tents and stalls decorated with heart shaped lanterns that lit up the entire venue. Kamji thought it looked more like a carnival than a dance. At the center of the event there was a makeshift stage where various performances were going to take place.

"We should take some pictures first." River suggested pulling Kamji to a nearby picture booth.

"Not so fast young lady," her mother dragged her back. "I haven't stated the rules."

River groaned, "Seriously Mum, Aren't we too old for that?"

The elder woman ignored her daughters comment, "No drinking and Smoking for you Peter. I know how naughty you boys can be in sneaking alcohol and drugs into the premises."

"Whatever you say Mum," he stressed on the last word and chuckled lightly.

"As for you River, No dirty dancing and no hovering around boys. Stick to Kamji at all times."

"Stick to Kamji, got it. Can we go now?" she asked impatiently, "The party has already started."

"I will come pick you guys by Nine Thirty. Be sure to be on this exact spot." Aunty Ebere said.

"That's way too early Mum, Make it Ten Thirty." River grumbled.

"Ten O'clock on the dot. That's the best I can give," she replied sternly. "Have fun guys but not too much fun," having said that, she entered her car and drove off.

"Well would you look at that," Peter gave a low whistle as his eyes fell on some group of girls standing next to some stalls. "Time to practice my Irresistible charm," he slicked the sides of his hair that had been gelled earlier while putting on a roughish smile.

"I will see you later ladies," he addressed them and took a mocking bow before heading towards the group of girls.

"What a flirt," River huffed, "What do you want to try out first? Do you want to go play some games and win prizes?" She asked her cousin.

"That would be nice. But let's start with taking those pictures," replied Kamji and they both headed towards the photo booth.

After taking some pictures the girls had spent their time going to different stalls, playing games and winning various prizes.

"Did you see the look on the shop keeper's face when we popped all those balloons with the dart?" River laughed.

Kamji joined in the laughter, "He just had to chase us out of the shop unless we would have given him a run for his money." she clutched a bag filled with all the prizes they had won.

"If only he knew I had a dartboard in my room to practice everyday day." replied River as they headed towards another stall selling sweet confectionery.

While River bought some sweet, Kamji's eyes scanned the venue. She wondered if her little plan of calling Joshua a chicken to get him come for the dance had succeeded.

"Looks like the main event is about to start," Her cousin said as she offered Kamji a red cotton candy.

Kamji noticed a crowd had begin to gather around the makeshift stage, "I thought the main invent was that Romeo and Juliet play from the drama club." she took a bite out of the cotton candy that had a mix of strawberries and cherries. Everything being served at the dance had a shade of red.

"When I say main event, I mean a musical performance by the famous band group called Shutdown." River squealed as she dragged her cousin towards the direction of the stage. "Did I forget to mention that all the boys in the band are completely cute and Buchi is their lead singer."

"Every guy is cute in your eyes River except for Peter," Kamji joked. They had somehow managed to push through the crowd and get to the front. She caught sight of Buchi clutching a mic on a stand with a red electric guitar strapped around his torso. He had worn a black tailored shirt with matching suspenders, leaving the top buttons open to reveal his muscular chest underneath.

"Oh My God, I can't breath." River said using her hands to fan herself, "He is so hot."

Kamji rolled her eyes at her dramatic cousin. "He does look hot," she admitted.

Buchi had grabbed on the mic, "Are you ready for some music Westlake!"

Hundreds of voices screamed in return and Kamji felt her ears bleed from all the noise.

"Well you better be, cos we are about to SHUT THIS PLACE—" he pointed the mic towards the crowd.

"DOWN!!!" They chorused, completing the statement.

"Shutdown, Shut the place down. Nice slogan." Kamji murmured at the obvious fact. She could tell the band was really popular among the female students from the way all of them were screaming their heads off.

Buchi had begun to sing a popular hit song and the crowd went crazy. His rich baritone voice echoed through the speakers sending the fan girls wild. Kamji could see River dancing and shaking to the music in careless oblivion. She was tempted to film the whole thing and blackmail her cousin with it in the future.

After playing a few more songs, the band ended their performance, River had gone to take a few pictures with them leaving Kamji all alone. Feeling thirsty, she headed towards one of the stalls selling drinks. She looked at the drinks on display which were all red or pink.

"What would you like to have young lady?" the seller asked.

Kamji had wanted to say, something that isn't pink but her eyes fell on a bottle with a heart shaped lid. "What's that?" she asked the man, pointing at the bottle with the red liquid.

"Oh,That's our special for tonight." The man brought the bottle for her. "It's a love potion. If you drink this potion, the first person you set your eyes on would fall madly in love with you."

"Oh Please," Kamji threw a hand in the air dismissively, "Do you guys still make up those stupid stories."

The shop keeper didn't seem surprise by her reaction, "But it's true. This is the last bottle remaining, I sold off all the others. You can try it if you want."

Kamji pursed her lips as if weighing the man's words, her curiosity was going to be the death of her she thought. "Ok, how much for the love potion."

"Just five hundred bucks." the man replied.

She gritted her teeth and brought out the money from her purse, "This better not be a fake." she warned as she handed the man the money and took the drink.

"Now the directions for using the potion is to close your eyes as you drink it, Let it stay in your mouth for a minute before you swallow and when you open your eyes, your soulmate would be right Infront of you."

"Whatever. I am just thirsty." Kamji said uncorking the lid. Although she felt the instructions were stupid, she went along with it anyways. Closing her eyes, she emptied the contents of the bottle in her mouth and counted down the minutes.

"What do you think you're doing?" A familiar voice said interrupting her midway, her eyes flew open and fell on Joshua who stood there staring at her like someone from the assylum.

She shut her eyes immediately, "Go away. I am in the middle of something and you interrupted it." she gargled with the drink still in her mouth.

"I don't speak gibberish," he husked not understanding a word she had said.

Kamji swallowed the drink that tasted of dried hibiscus and beet root and tried hard not to cringe at the choice of flavour. She finally took a look at Joshua. He wasn't dressed in any formal attire like the rest of the males but had chosen to go with ripped jeans and a black leather jacket over his T-shirt.

This was the first time she was seeing him without a uniform and damn he looked like a model that walked out of a TV show. She had noticed he reduced the length of his dreads making him look less roughish and more gentlemanly. She had to agree, he cleaned up really nicely.

"I thought you weren't going to make it?" she stuttered feeling captivated by his appearance. Was it the potion taking its effect? And instead of working on him it was working on her instead because she hadn't followed the instructions properly.

"I was on my way out, before I saw you standing at the middle of nowhere like a statue." he rasped, oblivious of the effect he had on her.

Kamji seemed to snap out from her daze, "No I wasn't alone. I was carrying out the instructions for a love potion that man sold to me." she turned around looking for the man that had sold her the drink earlier but she couldn't find him. "I swear he was here few seconds ago."

"Don't tell me you got tricked into buying a worthless drink for a high price in the name of love potion."

Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment as she replied, "He was very persuasive. I bet you would have been convinced too. And it might have worked you'll never know."

"Are you saying you're in love with me already? Because I was the first person you saw when you opened your eyes." his voice was low and gruff.

Kamji felt another blush rising in her cheeks as she raked her brain for a suitable reply. Her relief knew no bounds when she heard River call her name.

"Hey Kamji," she strutted over to where she stood, "Who was that you were speaking to?" she asked, looking at Joshua's retreating figure.

"A friend," Kamji replied turning to look at her cousin. "Where have you been?"

"I was talking with the drummer of the band. We took selfies together and we even exchanged contacts," she smiled dreamily. "I think he's into me."

"That's nice," Kamji replied listlessly wondering where Joshua had gone to.

"Let's go find somewhere to sit. God these heels are killing me," she cried, "I wish I brought my flipflops."

"We can sit on those empty chairs under the canopies," Kamji suggested. She helped her cousin walk to one of the empty chairs and watch her take of the heels while breathing a sigh of relief.

"That's better, I felt my legs were on fire." River said as she removed the heels. A slow music had begun to play and they watched various couple begin to take the dance floor.

"Too bad I would have to turn down any cute guy that asks me to dance. I doubt will be able to walk in these heels," River sighed eyeing the dance floor with longing.

Just then, a tall shaggy guy with a beard and a piercing on one ear approached their table. Kamji could remember seeing him playing the drums during the music performance. He must have been the one her cousin was talking about earlier.

"Can I have this dance?" he offered his hand to River.

In the twinkle of an eye Kamji saw her cousin wear her heels and accepted the drummers hand. She could tell her cousin was in pain as they began to dance on the floor and she wondered how far River was willing to go for cute guys.

She soon got bored with watching couples dance and was about to leave when she caught sight of Buchi who was looking at her too. She thought it was creepy for him to stare at her but she gave him a small smile as he approached her.

"Nice performance tonight," she said to him when they were close enough.

"Thank you. I must confess, you look so pretty tonight. I barely even recognize you." Buchi said as he took her hand in his while placing a kiss on it, "Dance with me."

Kamji didn't have the chance to decline as he had already led her towards the dance floor. She placed her arms around his shoulder and his hands had wrapped around her waist holding her firmly. It wasn't her first time dancing with a guy but she couldn't help but feel uncomfortably with the way he held her.

"So how are you enjoying your stay here in Westlake?" he asked. They had begun to move their body slowly in rhythm to the music.

"It's better than I expected," Kamji replied, "I am starting to like it here."

"I am glad you do." he said in return.

He had asked her some other questions about her family and Kamji had replied with a smile while she avoided making eye contact with him. The last thing she wanted was passing him the wrong signals.

"I haven't gotten my mind off you since that first day we met." she heard him whisper in her ear. His hands had begun to trail from her back down to her waist in a sensual manner and Kamji felt goosebumps as his hands made contact with her bare skin.

"I think I have had enough dancing for one day," she said removing her hands from his shoulders while trying to put some distance between them.

"You don't have to play hard to get Kamji," his grip on her waist tightened, not allowing her to move. "I can tell you want me to. What do you say we ditch this party and head over to my place? I promise you're going to enjoy every second of it."

"I have no such feelings for you," Kamji gritted her teeth at his audacity, "Let me go now or I will scream."

Buchi's gaze lowered, "Still playing hard to get huh? Why don't I show you just how good I am." he grabbed her ass and pulled her closer to himself while capturing her lips with his.

His grip on her was strong and Kamji found it hard to pull away. Using the heels of her stiletto, she stepped on his feet as hard as she could. He had released her immediately and she landed a slap on his cheek.

"How dare you?" she fumed wanting to hit him again but he caught her arm mid air.

"Do you think I would let you hit me again?" he asked in a gruff voice. "You can't deny the fact that you didn't enjoy what I did."

"You swine," Kamji said brimming with rage. "Let go of my wrist."

"And if I don't what are you going to—" Buchi couldn't complete his statement, as a punch was sent directly to his face.