SPELL OF LOVE

First week of school had flown by smoothly. The experience had been more than what Luckson had expected. Beverly Heights high was living up to its motto, of reaching for higher heights.

Surely there was no greater achievement than spending those first five days of school with Makanaka. Just the thought of her lifted his spirits elevating him to another realm of ecstasy. He could help making him smiling as he was washed his school uniform in the solitude of the backyard.

"Someone's in a good mood", Charmaine's pleasant voice unceremoniously broke into his moment. "I 'm guessing that smile has something to do with that girl I 'm always seeing you with?".

"Of course it does", remarked her brother playfuly coming out of through a door at the back of the doing.

"And here I was thinking that you only had eyes for me", teased Charmaine. "I 'm really hurt", she proceeded to pout playfuly.

"Can you blame him", remarked Tonde off hand.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean", Charmaine challenged her tone suddenly becoming serious.

"Well isn't it obvious?", Tonde tried to lighten the atmosphere.

"No to me it's not", charged Charmaine, all traces of playfulness were now gone out of her tone as she squared up belligerently against her brother.

Luckson paused in his washing, worried about the rising tension observing that Charmaine attitude had turned deadly serious. Tonde had inevitably got himself into a situation that he unable to extract himself from.

Luckson realised that he had to do something to prevent a fully charged Charmaine from jumping on her brother. That saturday had got off to a beautiful start the after math of a wonderful week. An ugly confrontation between the two siblings could only ruin his day.

He wasn't exactly sure how, he just knew he had grown very close to both his cousins, who were at that point going on as if he wasn't even present on the scene.

"There is no comparing the both of you, you're chalk, she's cheese and..."

"But again, why should I be interested in cheese", Luckson remarked playfully drawing attention to himself once again, I mean, I 'm not a mouse", he added playfully.

"Well said", added Charmaine breaking off into light hearted laughter and forgetting that only moments earlier she had been ready to peel her brother alive like a banana.

Tonde also managed a good natured smile.

The tension was successfully diffused and Luckson was just glad the trick had worked. He quitely wondered if Tonde realised how close to home he had been with his remark of likening Makanaka to cheese, which was one of his all time favourite treats. While at the same time he felt Tonde's comparison of Charmaine to chalk was bit harsh and therefore uncalled for. Even though it had been said in jest

Charmaine was a beauty in her own right, and if he had not been her her cousin, might have fallen for her. Which he almost did, the first time he saw her by the door, when he arrived with uncle Thomas.

He imagined that there were more than a couple of boys at Beverly Heights High, who must be having sleeping nights thinking of Charmaine. Longing for the weekend to end so that they could go back to school and gaze upon her beauty, like worshippers dutifully paying homage to the goddess of beauty.

What had struck him most about Charmaine and had quite literally challenged his impression of her, was her temper. He had not expected that she was capable of such bursts of anger.

It made him wonder if underneath the veneer of Makanaka's beauty there also lurked a lioness waiting to burst forth. Once the right or rather the wrong conditions were presented. Of that he was going to find out as they literally spent a lot of time together. They had literally become a couple always finding a reasons to be close to each other. They somehow managed to sit next to each other in all their classes. A development which was not lost upon their classmates, especially some of the girls who openly remarked off hand about Luckson and Makanaka being a couple.

Which he felt was them kind of getting ahead of themselves as he himself had not yet been quite able to put a definition, to was going on between him and Makanaka. He just knew that he enjoyed being around the girl. The feeling apparently was mutual that she also enjoyed his company.

As to how she regarded this beautiful feeling between if she had a definition for it was neither here nor there. Whatever it was that as going on between them felt good. A rose smelt just as sweet by any other name and Luckson felt there was no need to complicate matters unnecessarily.

He was content to just let it flow. The only time had thought of it was right there in the back yard doing his laundry. Then again he dwelt on the matter light heartedly without any intention to launch heavily into the matter. He had been glad for the solitude of the backyard hence he had taken his laundry there. Between his thoughts which were back at school and his the dirty uniform he was washing, it was almost indistinguishable as which got washed. Unfortunately the peace and quiet was enjoying had lasted until Charmaine and Tonde arrived. It was not that he was not find of their company.

The drama they had brought with their brief standoff had disturbed his peaceful thoughts.

Luckson put the unpleasant confrontation down to sibling rivalry. Something he himself had been spared having been his late parents only child. He had read out it though in story books at his previous schools library.

He had even heard about it from peers at school.

However had he had just experienced it for himself, and seeing it happen between two people he cared about, could not help getting himself involved. The confrontation had ruined his personal moment of contemplation and greatly disturbed him.