Chapter 2

Abby was sitting on her bed while tapping noisily on the keys of her laptop. She was chatting with Nigel Uno, while her boyfriend Steve lay half asleep near the edge of her bed. They had been going out for about eight months. Steve had come by Abby's that morning so that they could study for their finals that were due to begin in one and a half months time. They revised together from time to time. It was now three o'clock, and their minds were pretty much saturated by then. That's when Steve had decided to take a little siesta, but not before jokingly suggesting that he and his girl work on a biology practical (if she knew what he meant).

"The only practical you'll get will be between our lips, and that's not even a guarantee," Abby threatened. "I wanna write home. Chat home, whatever."

"Mood killer," Steve replied as he planted a kiss on Abby's cheek before rolling away from her to the other side of the bed.

An in-coming message sound broke the silence in the room. Abby read what Nigel had to say before replying:

Nigel: Yeah, so we'll probably all enroll at Warburton University. It would be great if you'd join this campus too, then we can all catch up and just chill together like we used to, you know?

Abby: Yep, I can't wait to see you guys again. And I might show up with my friend from here. You remember Pauline, right? I've mentioned her before, I think.

Nigel: That would be cool. I wonder if she'd fit in with the gang though. But with time I suppose she would. Anyway, you ready for your finals?

Abby: Sorta. Still got a bit more than a month to prepare. I guess I'll be good by the time they're finally here. I've been studying with Steve. He's asleep now actually.

Nigel: Really? How's he doing anyway? Hope he's treating you right.

Abby: Yeah, he's a good guy. Funny. Oh, we're gonna have a prom after the exams, so that will be cool.

Nigel: Cool. I'll see what I can do about coming over for a little visit, OK?

Crap. I've gotta go, duty calls. Later : (

*Nigel is offline*

Abby shut her laptop and lay down beside her boyfriend. She ran her fingers through his soft thick hair, causing him to stir. She stopped long enough to let him settle again before she snuggled into him and slept.

xxx

"Final paper sweetie, excited?" asked Mrs. Lincoln.

"Goodness, you have no idea! I can't wait to finish high school. It don't get no better than this," replied Abby. " And to think that Nigel's arriving tonight, whoop whoop!" she cheered brightly.

"Yeah, it's so nice he can visit. So be home by ten. I want to leave for the airport by 10:15, OK?"

Abby nodded as she gulped down the remainder of her juice. "Kay, see you later," she said, rising from her chair and lifting her school bag off the floor. "Later Sport," she waved at Jamie as she left the house.

Abby walked down the street to where the school bus would pick up students. She waited for about ten minutes before it arrived. She boarded the bus and walked towards the back seats where she and Pauline usually sat. No Pauline today though, she remembered when she failed to see her friend. Pauline had sat for her final paper two days ago. Abby decided to listen to her iPod so as to kill the boredom that was sure to take over. She could have chatted with her other classmates on the bus, but they were all studying furiously.

Upon arriving at school, Abby made sure she isolated herself from the other final year students because she didn't want to pick up on any of their nervous energy. This lot was always so anxious about exams. That is something Abby did not need. But she did continuously keep looking at her watch to make sure she got to the examination hall in good time, all the while listening to her music.

xxx

"Pens at the ready."

Abby smiled to herself. That line never got too old for her. That particular invigilator always said that right before he gave the go ahead to begin the exam. What, he thinks the pen is a weapon or something. A wand maybe?

"Begin."

The students all turned over their question papers and began their exam. Literature. That had always been one of Abby's favourite subjects. What a way to finish one's O-levels, she thought to herself. She looked through the entire question paper and smiled as she began to write her answers. What a way to finish!

After the exam Abby and some of her classmates walked leisurely around the school's compound. They all looked so relaxed, except for Cory, who kept saying that he's got to go tell his girlfriend that he's not a virgin anymore, because that final paper screwed him. His friends burst into laughter, even though they kind of felt sorry for him. But it couldn't be helped. He kept on reminding them how clueless he was about some of the questions.

"Well, don't worry yourself too much about it, man," Abby reassured him. "What's done is done. You did your best, that's all that matters."

As the rest of the group tried to console and reassure Cory, Abby saw her boyfriend leaving the building at the East end of the school. She knew he had just come from doing his computer exam, also his last of the O-levels. He looked tired, she mused. Steve looked up at the group walking aimlessly around school and quickly spotted his beautiful girlfriend. He smiled a killer smile at her and she reciprocated with a wave of the hand. As the group turned to head towards the bus park, Abby continued to walk straight towards Steve. He too was walking towards her, and when they were about twenty five feet from each other, he began to sing while bopping his head:

Meet me halfway

right at the borderline is where I'm gonna wait for you

Abby couldn't help but laugh. When they reached each other Steve held her in his arms and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead.

"The singing may be a bit off, but you definitely get an A for effort," said Abby as she tiptoed to kiss him on the lips. "How was your exam?" she asked.

"Pretty good; can't complain. How'd yours go?" Steve asked, while holding her around the waist and leading her towards the bus park.

"I felt it was a good paper. But poor Cory, he's gotta tell Brianna he's a cheater. Paper screwed him hard." Steve laughed so hard that he began to tear. Abby playfully swatted him on the arm, for as far as she was concerned Cory's problem wasn't funny.

"Ow. Babe that's funny and you know it. I'm just being transparent and laughing about it in the open, unlike some people who will go and laugh about in the privacy of their bedroom," he said, eyeing his girlfriend cheekily.

"Anyway," he continued, "Nigel shows up today, huh? So you've gotta get home early so you can go pick him up, right?"

"Mhmm," Abby agreed with a nod. "I can't wait to see him. It's really been too long."

"He's lucky I'm not the jealous type, otherwise he might not make it off the plane when it lands," Steve joked.

They reached the bus and Steve gently pushed his girlfriend ahead of him so that she could board it first. They took their seats at the back of the bus, with Steve choosing the window seat so that he could rest his arm on the open window's ledge. Abby sat and leaned into him while dropping her back on the empty seat in front of them.

Soon it was time to leave, and the driver got into the bus and revved the engine a bit before putting it into gear. As the bus began to leave, some students came running after the bus. These guys were veteran bus chasers. They were almost left by the bus every week of their high school lives. They just could not keep time even if their lives depended on it. The driver stopped for them so that they could board the bus, but not before torturing them a little. He would slow down, then when the students were almost at the door, he would speed up again.

"Dammit!" one of the students yelled as he entered the bus, all the while throwing a nasty glance at the driver. "Don't you ever quit doing that to us?"

"No," laughed the driver."In fact I hope you fail you're finals so that you have to repeat your final year again. Once you leave I won't have any fun."

The student just clicked his tongue to show his disapproval of that statement. He and his boys walked to the back of the bus to where there were empty seats. He picked up Abby's bag and laid it on his laps as he sat.

" Hey Waweru, gimme the bag, man. I know you're too tired to carry anything after that sprint," Abby said with a smirk.

"Nah, it's all good. You just sit tight with your little boyfriend and enjoy the ride," he replied while directing a nod at Steve in greeting.

"A'right thanks," Abby said before turning to Steve. "Got any plans for the afternoon?"

"Nope. You?"

Abby shook her head in reply. "Let's grab a pizza for lunch."

"Sure, we can eat at my place and play video games."

Abby chuckled, "I'm gonna whoop your ass so bad!"

xxx

"Abigail, let's go," yelled Mrs. Lincoln as she grabbed her keys and walked out the door. Abby came running down the stairs, skipping a few as she went.

"Mama says don't run on the stairs, fool!" Jamie told his sister as he watched her from the couch. He got up and headed for the car as Abby swatted his head when she got next to him. He pushed her in retaliation, and sent her flying towards the couch.

"Oh, my bad. Guess I don't know my own strength, ha ha!" Jamie said as he flexed his muscles. He probably really didn't know his own strength. He was now more than a head taller than his sister. Abby quickly got up and chased him but he got into the front passenger seat and locked the door before she could reach him.

Abby opened the back door and jumped into the car shouting, "Ok Ma, to the airport," while trying to pull off the stance of the Fresh Prince when he directed the cab to Bel-Air. It didn't quite work because she hit her head against the door frame.

"Sorry baby," Mrs. Lincoln chided. "You'll be ok. You hit your head a number of times when you were a baby. All things considered, I think you've turned out alright," she said as she exited their driveway and sped off for the airport.

"Pmph, that explains a lot," Jamie said under his breath as he laughed to himself. Abby responded with a hot chop to the side of his neck.

The Lincoln's arrived at JKIA about half an hour later, and they went to stand vigil at the International Arrivals section. The board read that Nigel's flight had already arrived, so he should be out soon. After about twenty minutes or so, a tall lean fellow sporting a bald head and fresh stubble walked into the waiting area pulling a medium-sized suitcase behind him. He removed the aviator sunglasses he was wearing and put them into his breast pocket as he looked around for a familiar face.

He spotted a young lady with long dark hair tied in a ponytail who was scrutinizing a large group of athletes that had just arrived from the Commonwealth Games. He approached her as she pointed at one of the members of the national team. When he got close enough to her he barked in her ear to get her attention. She jumped in fright and turned around before her face lit up upon seeing her best friend again. She jumped into his arms so hard that he struggled to maintain his balance.

"Nigel! Man, I'm so glad to see you…finally. You're here," she said as she let go of him and took a couple of steps back to really look at him. She smiled at him saying, "My, and you're mighty handsome too. Rugged - Me likey."

"Thanks," he blushed, "You look great yourself. Very nice," he added as he looked her up and down. He turned to Abby's mom. "Mrs. Lincoln," he said while taking her hand in his in a firm yet gentle handshake, "It's a pleasure to see you again."

"It's good to see you too. I'm glad y'all could come," she said with a smile, as she pulled him into a warm hug.

Abby's head whipped around quickly to look at her mother when she heard what she had just said. But before she could interrogate her, Mrs. Lincoln answered her ringing cell phone.

"Heyya Jamie. Dude, you could probably take me in a fight now, you're so big," Nigel said as he gently punched the boy formerly known as Little Linc in the shoulder.

"You know what, I bet I could," Jamie replied with pride.

"Hey, what did Mom mean by she's glad y'all could come?" Abby asked her friend.

When Nigel saw the questioning look on her face, he couldn't help but laugh. "You still do that?" he asked, "Raising your eyebrow when you ask a question?"

"Huh?" Abby's right eyebrow rose even higher, as though it was about to take off.

Nigel laughed even harder at his pal's perplexed face. When he finally caught his breath he replied, "Actually, I don't know what your Mama meant. Ask her when she's done with the phone." Suddenly he jerked his head to the right so that he could see beyond Abby's head. "Who the hell are those?" he asked in his clipped British accent, as he continued to stare behind Abby.

Abby and her brother both turned around to look at who Nigel was talking about. At first, her face registered nothing but shock. However, glee quickly took over as she began to grasp the concept of seeing her other best friends walking towards her with radiant smiles on their faces.

"SURPRISE!" they chorused as they approached, assimilating her into a group hug.

"I…I…what?" is all Abby could muster. She went around giving each of her friends their own individual hugs. First Kuki ,then Wallabee, and lastly Hoagie. Finally she said, "I can't believe y'all are here. I feel like I'm dreaming, man." She quickly considered what she had just said before turning to Jamie.

"Don't!" she said just in time, avoiding a pinch from him to show her that she was in fact wide awake and not dreaming.

"This is just too awesome!" Abigail yelled, feeling more alive than ever before.

"You can say that again," chimed Kuki as she embraced her friend again. "You're so pretty," she added.