Chapter 3

For eight years, I and my two kid sisters together with my mother suffered hell, my mother had been compelled to look for a cleaning job in a Backery here in Scotswood, Newcastle shortly after my dad passed away, we also moved to a small apartment which my mom could afford the rent. We had been compelled to go into the new apartment one year after the demise of my dad, we were forcefully move out of our apartment. Feeding became a challenge, all my father's investment were claimed by a strange woman who had proven to be the next of kin to my father, she claimed all his investments and properties. My mom told us how that the lady by the name kate was to get married to my dad, but that she was preferred over her. Mother explained further how he had caught father several times going on a date with lady Kate four years into their marriage, she told me also how she had fought to endure with my dad, in spite of all the pain that my father had caused her, so she did not put much blames on father because she was of the opinion that father's love for Kate was as a result of a love potion, when I asked her what a love potion was she explained to me that it is a sort of magical spell that is mostly in a liquid form: she explained that the liquid could be mixed in a drink of someone, especially an opposite sex to make them love you. Hearing the word, "love potion" got me amazed, "but why should anyone on earth do such a thing?" I questioned my mom further. She told me that most people who do such things do it to an opposite sex who doesn't really love them. My school- Zenith Academy has been one of the best in the city, my mother afore time has instructed me to always keep few friends, I had only three friends, Lynda, Kathryn and Joanne. My mother told me that all male are terrible and that they don't care if they will hurt your feelings. Since then, I had vowed to do nothing with male counterparts, although my friends each has a lover, Lynda has Murphy as a boy-friend, Kathryn has Alfred and Joanne has Jese, they have persuaded me several times to have a guy in my life, but I must stick to my mother's advice.

Next week is Kathryn's birthday, Kathryn has something similar to me, she has a single parent- a wonderful mom. She has told me many good things about her lovely mom: her level of hospitality, her birthday will be an opportunity to set my eyes on her for the first time, I told my mother concerning the birthday, she agreed that I go, but warned me sternly to be careful. The after-school party will begin by 4pm. I and Joanne must be there to arrange things together for, Kathryn. We were already there by two p.m. Robinson, Kathryn's younger brother will be the Disc Jockey tonight, 

 That evening, friends: family friends, school friends had began troupe in, the atmosphere thick with joy and excitement, everyone wants to buy the camera man's attention. I was still busy to getting things ready. When we were done, we joined everyone in the decorated venue- in the huge compound. The birthday cake was magnificent, and was decorated with blue.

When everything was set, as twilight approach speedily, we sang a birthday song, and presented our gifts. Then it was time for refreshments, we began to serve the meal, why everyone else sat outside, we moved around making sure everyone was appropriately served. 

At one instance when I was coming out with a tray of wine, my eyes captured a young man, he should be three years older than me, at first, I thought it was a dream, or did I wish   it was a dream? He wore red, his friends sat round about him, his smile glowed, he blinked his blue eyes at almost every five second, I stood started by his look, "could this be the prince in my dreams?" I questioned the air. Where I stood frozen on my track, I heard my name, yelled from the lips of Kathryn, turning to where  the voice had come from, she was smiling as she walked towards me, "Palo...ma" she stuttered as she tries to call my name to attention, something told me she knew that I was lost in my thoughts maybe by something fascinating  "hey you," she proceeded, "I have watched you standing all these while for about a couple of minutes. Ye..ye...yes" I blushed and stammered, "I I was just doing some calculations." I lied, she will laughed at me to scorn, if I tell her immediately about the guy with blue eyes. I took the tray of drinks to his table where he and his friends sat. 

When our eyes met, my heart leaped within me, as my face was glued to his, we both wondered if we had met, oh! Then it dawned on me that he was the express image I had several times seen in my dreams. Our both faces where still fastened to each other when I noticed that almost everyone had turned towards us. By the time I realised what was going, I quickly took my face off his, "oh! So..so.. sorry, you looked familiar" I pleaded and walked out of his crew. 

I took a sit, with Joan, "every noticed that you were looking at that young man." "O...k..ok....ok" i stammered again. "Have you met him somewhere?" Joan questioned me expecting an answer from, "maybe!" I replied with a harsh tone, expressing displeasure over her interrogations. But she proceeded with another talk "He does has blue eyes. Doesn't he?" "I... don't know, I don't know" I was attempting to kill the discussion. "He is charming, isn't he? "Maybe!" I answered briskly, I just wanted her to understand that I wasn't interested in the discussion. "Do you like him? She still continued in the inquiries, "I don't!" I screamed at her." She was quiet for few minutes and then she said, "his name is, 'Prince,' he is Kathryn's cousin," when I heard the name,  "prince," my heart pounded rapidly, "you said what?" I questioned her. "Prince is his name, Kathryn's rich cousin." "Wao!" I was shocked to have said "wao!" It was never my intention to exclaim. she looking into my eyes, she knew that my love for prince had welled up, " please Joan, can we postpone this discussion?" I pleaded. "Why not!" She answered. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke up. "Look! Paloma." He is looking at you. I quickly turned to look back at him, he was looking at me, this time, the scene of my replayed, that is the picture of the handsome prince that always looking at me in my dream. I quickly took off my face from him. Although my heart was still looking at him eye ball to eye ball wishing to have him.