They are BESTFRIENDS. Not childhood best friends. They met when she was 12 and he, 13 and they had stuck close to each other since then. Joan, that was her name and her best friend, King. Now she was 17, he, 18 and it seemed like everything stood against their five year friendship; Joan's mother's dislike for King, the long distance from King's home to Joan's, their separate schooling and the fact that King was basically non-existent. And then even more bigger obstructions come into play. Koty, the handsome football jock that is u relentless in his effort to make Joan his; Joan's unknown father and King, the new feelings he had started developing for his best friend. They have to struggle to keep their best friendship blooming despite all their problems but the tempests are too strong; the storm, too overwhelming and then the final test... Who will betray who?...
My best friend is a nine tailed fox. He sneaks out at night and turns into some creature with nine tails. It's a secret, nobody knows but me; his best friend; Joan. Shhhh, don't tell anyone.
"Seriously?"
Joan jumped, her pen falling off in the process. King laughed loudly, his eyes twinkling mischievously as he laughed. He had spoken very close to her ear. She sighed, picking up the fallen pen and turning back to her writing.
"Your best friend is a nine tailed fox" he repeated, coming to rest on the table she was writing on.
"Yes" she snickered, looking up at him, "You sneak out at night and turn into some creature with nine tails. It's a secret, nobody knows but me; your best friend; Joan. Shhhh, don't tell anyone"
She finished in a dramatic whisper, a small smile on her face as she watched him burst into laughter again.
"You've watched too many Korean series" he commented when he finally stopped laughing.
"Like you don't watch them with me also" she replied, shutting the book she had been scribbling on. His eyes followed her movement then he looked back at her.
They stared at each other. She was used to their stared. They would stop halfway in a conversation and just stare at each other or one of them would sight the other somewhere and they would venture into a staring contest.
"It's nice to know you're always thinking of me" he spoke finally.
She scoffed, looking away from him to anything else.
"I was bored and I found myself scribbling nonsense"
"Because your brain has so much information about me. I'd say I am the first thing you think about when you wake up and the last thing you think about before sleeping"
She had already started shaking her head before he completed his statement.
"Where do you get such ideas from?" she laughed nervously, looking back at him. He chuckled, going to lie backwards on her bed. She turned around on her chair to face him properly while he looked back at her from the bed.
"Isn't it true?" he asked, expressionlessly.
"No, King. You're not the first person I think of when I wake and definitely not the last person I think of before I sleep"
"Ok"
"Ok?" she raised a brow.
He laughed, "Ok. What else do you want me to say?"
"Did you see my mum before you came up?" she changed the subject, glancing at her room door.
"Yeah, with a visitor. They're in the kitchen"
She turned back around, facing her reading table and opening her book again. She placed big strokes across the last thing she penned down and then hesitated before tearing the page off and throwing it into the waste bin.
"Do you want to go out? Take a walk or do some other thing?" he asked.
"You can go yourself"
"I wouldn't be asking you if I wanted to go myself"
She didn't reply instead she drew. When the drawing became clear, she realized she was drawing him.
"Thinking of me again"
She jumped, again. She flung her hands at him, successfully hitting him on the forehead. He always had his way of creeping up on her.
"It's nice" he admired. His jaw rested on her right shoulder so it made funny movements as he talked. She added strokes and slashes, completing the drawing. It didn't exactly look like him but they both knew who she had been drawing.
"You can add it to the ones in your room" she offered, tearing the page off and folding it into a neat square.
"What?" she asked when he didn't say anything. He sniffed her neck in reply.
"Are you prepared for school tomorrow?" he asked, taking the folded paper from her.
"Yeah. You?"
"What I did before coming here. Actually I came here to sleep" he replied, placing a kiss on her neck before leaving.
She turned around, watching him lie on her bed comfortably.
"I've told you to stop staying up late. It's not good for your health not anyone's for that matter. At least 4 nights a week, get a good 8 hour sleep" she advised.
"You know" was his reply.
"I know King, I know but it doesn't excuse you"
"I'll sleep now"
She sighed, staring at his back he had covered with her duvet.
"I'll be here when you wake"
Joan slipped on a jacket over her gown as she picked up her bag from her bed. She glanced at the rumpled bed, she'd just have to leave it that way till she returns from school, she was late
She took a quick look at herself in the mirror, just enough to see that her clothes were in order, that her face didn't have any weird particles on it and that her hair was neatly brushed. She wasn't a fan of vanity, spending long minutes on front of the mirror, for what exactly?
"Good morning mum" she greeted as she came into the kitchen, giving her a hug.
"How was your night, darling?" her mother, Mrs. Michaels, asked, moving to rub her head. She dodged as always.
"Fine." she replied, sitting at the table in the kitchen. She picked her mug her mother had already laid out before hand and poured he self tea from the teapot that was still very much hot.
"I'm late." she sighed after taking a sip of her tea, watching her mother scrub the kitchen counter clean.
"As always. Just make sure you put something in that flat stomach of yours before leaving my house."
She chuckled at her mother's expression. Her mother was a beauty even in her late fourties with he heart shaped face, big eyes, small nose and slightly wide lips. Her hair was packed, as it was most times, in a ponytail.
She looked away, picking up a toast from the stack on the table. She bit into it, reveling in its goodness.
"What time did King leave yesterday?" her mother asked
"11."
"He slept." she added as a way of explanation. Her mother didn't reply.
"I'm leaving." she announced, picking two more pieces of toast. Her mother looked at her about to say something then shut her mouth.
"Finish that tea" her mother ordered.
She replaced the toast then picked up the mug, gulping down its content hurriedly. She picked the toasts again.
"I'm done! I'm leaving!" she shouted, hurrying out of the house.
Sisi lived right beside her. She was late, Sisi was much worse. She would probably just be taking her bath. She rang the doorbell just as the door flung open.
"I'm ready!" Sisi announced, a bright sheepish smile on her face, her arms spread apart to buttress her point. She laughed, handing Sisi a toast.
Sisi mumbled a thanks as she shut her door and locked it.
"Part of the reason I'm still friends with you is because of this baby over here. Otherwise, well..." She said jokingly, gesturing to Sisi's blue mustang parked on her driveway.
Sisi laughed loudly.
"Lies" Sisi said.
The car beeped, showing Sisi had unlocked it. They got into the car; Sisi at the driver's seat and she at the passenger's seat.
"I'm considering taking driving lessons" she said as she buckled her seatbelt. Sisi gave her a look at the act.
"Or you'll just teach me" she added, ignoring the look. Of course, Sisi didn't do seatbelts.
"Babe, better go and learn from professionals. I'll just teach you to destroy roads" Sisi spoke, finishing her toast.
She chuckled, handing Sisi the second one.
"Okay" Sisi laughed, "I'll eat for the both of us"
"Fast fast" she hurried Sisi who finished the toast in three bites.
"Good girl" she hailed laughing.
Sisi shook her head, a sorrowful look on her face as she started the car and they drove to school.
Imagine being kidnapped; being held hostage; being threatened with hunger and violence; surviving with unknown people. Imagine finding a connection, finding love in that oh so terrible prison. Imagine being loved by that love. Imagine being lost, torn away from that love; slapped back to the reality of your fate. Imagine being tortured; the pain not mostly from your own torture, but from the knowledge that the love was somewhere else, somewhere close but far; also being tortured. Imagine your whole life being questioned, threatened to be a lie. Imagine that love being questioned. Imagine being alone. Imagine Love In Bondage. Ifunanya, nicknamed Ify had lived the ordinary life of a rich classy girl. She had everything good going well for her until she was abducted one Saturday after a day out with her friend. She is kept in a filthy room with other teenagers with the exception of one, nicknamed the bully. She finds friends, she finds love in the charming generous boy who sits next to her, Naeto. The room isn't exactly comfortable with the bully in it making life hell for them. Teenagers are taken out, teenagers are brought in until they are just fifteen left and they are immersed into the horror of their lives. She is forced into horrifying situations, along with the others, and her love for Naeto is put to the test. She discovered there is more to their kidnap than meets the eye and she vows to get herself and her friends out of bondage before it's too late. But are they surviving or just entertaining...
Janice, the long-forgotten legitimate heiress, made her way back to her family, pouring her heart into winning their hearts. Yet, she had to relinquish her very identity, her academic credentials, and her creative works to her foster sister. In return for her sacrifices, she found no warmth, only deeper neglect. Resolute, Janice vowed to cut off all emotional bonds. Transformed, she now stood as a master of martial arts, adept in eight languages, an esteemed medical expert, and a celebrated designer. With newfound resolve, she declared, "From this day forward, no one in this family shall cross me."
Corinne devoted three years of her life to her boyfriend, only for it to all go to waste. He saw her as nothing more than a country bumpkin and left her at the altar to be with his true love. After getting jilted, Corinne reclaimed her identity as the granddaughter of the town’s richest man, inherited a billion-dollar fortune, and ultimately rose to the top. But her success attracted the envy of others, and people constantly tried to bring her down. As she dealt with these troublemakers one by one, Mr. Hopkins, notorious for his ruthlessness, stood by and cheered her on. “Way to go, honey!”
Rena got into an entanglement with a big shot when she was drunk one night. She needed Waylen's help while he was drawn to her youthful beauty. As such, what was supposed to be a one-night stand progressed into something serious. All was well until Rena discovered that Waylen's heart belonged to another woman. When his first love returned, he stopped coming home, leaving Rena all alone for many nights. She put up with it until she received a check and farewell note one day. Contrary to how Waylen expected her to react, Rena had a smile on her face as she bid him farewell. "It was fun while it lasted, Waylen. May our paths never cross. Have a nice life." But as fate would have it, their paths crossed again. This time, Rena had another man by her side. Waylen's eyes burned with jealousy. He spat, "How the hell did you move on? I thought you loved only me!" "Keyword, loved!" Rena flipped her hair back and retorted, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, Waylen. Besides, you were the one who asked for a breakup. Now, if you want to date me, you have to wait in line." The next day, Rena received a credit alert of billions and a diamond ring. Waylen appeared again, got down on one knee, and uttered, "May I cut in line, Rena? I still want you."
The day Lilah found out that she was pregnant, she caught her fiancé cheating on her. Her remorseless fiancé and his mistress almost killed her. Lilah fled for her dear life. When she returned to her hometown five years later, she happened to save a little boy's life. The boy's father turned out to be the world's richest man. Everything changed for Lilah from that moment. The man didn't let her experience any inconvenience. When her ex-fiancé bullied her, he crushed the scumbag's family and also rented out an entire island just to give Lilah a break from all the drama. He also taught Lilah's hateful father a lesson. He crushed all her enemies before she even asked. When Lilah's vile sister threw herself at him, he showed her a marriage certificate and said, "I'm happily married and my wife is much more beautiful than you are!" Lilah was shocked. "When did we ever get married? Last I checked, I was still single." With a wicked smile, he said, "Honey, we've been married for five years. Isn't it about time we had another child together?" Lilah's jaw dropped to the floor. What the hell was he talking about?
"Sign the divorce papers and get out!" Leanna got married to pay a debt, but she was betrayed by her husband and shunned by her in-laws. Seeing that her efforts were in vain, she agreed to divorce and claimed her half of the properties. With her purse plump from the settlement, Leanna enjoyed her newfound freedom. The constant harassment from her ex's mistress never fazed her. She took back her identities as top hacker, champion racer, medical professor, and renowned jewelry designer. Then someone discovered her secret. Matthew smiled. "Will you have me as your next husband?"
Linsey was stood up by her groom to run off with another woman. Furious, she grabbed a random stranger and declared, "Let's get married!" She had acted on impulse, realizing too late that her new husband was the notorious rascal, Collin. The public laughed at her, and even her runaway ex offered to reconcile. But Linsey scoffed at him. "My husband and I are very much in love!" Everyone thought she was delusional. Then Collin was revealed to be the richest man in the world. In front of everyone, he got down on one knee and held up a stunning diamond ring. "I look forward to our forever, honey."