?


    If she had guessed that her best friend would get the wrong idea she would have undoubtedly disclosed that her assumption was wrong.


    It was just too bad she realised that Joanna had the wrong ideate.


    "I bet she will be able to handle things," Audrey mumbled. She took onest nce at thedy that was almost out of sight before she turned and made her way into the grey building in front of her.


    At the school''s swimming team hall, ady barged in, almost colliding with a group ofdies who were about to leave the room.


    "What happened?... Is it over so soon," Joanna mumbled as she scanned the room with her sharp eyes.


    She was so keen on finding the one she yearned for that she didn''t see a broad smile crept onto the face of the guy inside the swimming pool.


    "On a second thought...," A guy''s cool voice erupted in the once silent room causing the unhappy upants to pause in their tracks.


    The upants of the room who were more than twenty spun and gazed at him at the same time, their movements synced as if they had rehearsed it beforehand.


    They kept their hopeful eyes fixed on the face of the guy in the blue swimsuit.


    Joanna was the only upant of the room who didn''t have her gaze fixed on the devilishly handsome guy.


    "Since this is the first carnival after my return, on second thought, I think it will be a great idea to take part in it," Raymond added.


    He had expected to hear cheers of excitement following his sentence but surprisingly his audience didn''t say a word.


    "Raymond, I respect you a whole lot but you know it is awful to joke about such things...,"


    "And whoever said I was joking?" Raymond cut in.


    All this while he addressed the group, his gaze remained fixed on one face and that was none other than Joanna''s face.


    ·?θm "If you are not joking then do you mean you will join in the preparation for the carnival?" Derrick, who knew how hell-bent Raymond was against the idea of participating in the biggest annual event at Twilight University, asked in astonishment.


    "Of course yes...,"


    "Despite knowing how packed our schedule is, you still agreed to partake in this stupid carnival... are you nuts?" Derrick reprimanded him in the presence of so many people without a care.


    Just so they wouldn''t participate in the carnival, he went as far as getting the Chancellor''s permission.


    He found it hard to believe that Raymond would let such a GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY pass by.


    "You...," Derrick, who was also in his swimsuit, paused when he realised that Raymond had been gazing in a particr direction for a long time.


    Quickly he followed his line of sight to know what had caught his attention.


    The moment he got a glimpse of thedy standing beside the ss door he knew why Raymond suddenly had a change of mind about the carnival.


    Back at the door, thedy who was frantically scrutinising the hall with her eyes was unaware of what her mere presence had caused.


    Though Raymond was smiling from ear to ear as he peered at her face, the frown on her face showed that the feeling was not mutual.


    "Didn''t Drey say he was here so why is it that I can''t find him?" The angry Joanna grumbled and turned to leave.


    "Didn''t youe here for the meeting? Howe you are leaving before it evenmenced?" Raymond quizzed.


    It was after he spoke and Joanna recognised the voice that she realised that Raymond was there all along.


    Instantly, she swerved and looked in the direction the voice came from.


    "You are here too?" Joanna asked. Her astounded expression showed that she really didn''t know that Raymond was there.


    "Of course I am," He beamed. He ced his hands on the edge of the swimming pool and jumped out of the pool.


    "This is my turf so finding me here shouldn''te as a surprise to anyone, don''t you agree with me?" He asked and strolled towards her.


    He did nothing to wipe off the drops of water dripping from his wet hair onto his bare upper body.


    By nowdies present there were on the brink of suffering from a nosebleed while others were frantically fanning themselves with their hands but that was not the case for Joanna.


    It was as if she was the onlydy in the hall on whom Raymond''s sexiness and well-toned abs did not affect.


    It was when he mentioned the arena being his turf that Joanna recalled that the second time she saw him was at a swimmingpetition where he was one of the contestants then.


    "I guess you are right about that," Joanna replied and smiled back at him.


    "How have you been?" He asked. He raised his right hand and ced it on her hair.


    "I hope you didn''t miss me too much?" He joked, slightly ruffling her hair.


    This action of his made thedies among them envious. Their once tender eyeballs suddenly turned bloodthirsty.


    Joanna was too preupied with Raymond to notice that thedies were about to stab her to death with their piercing eyeballs.


    "Absolutely not," Joanna replied as she yfully removed his hand from her hair.


    "Are you sure or just pretending so I won''t tease you?" Raymond joked once again. For a minute there he forgot that they were not the only upants of the hall.


    "That''s...," Joanna paused when her eyes locked with the eyeballs of some of thedies who were about to set her aze with their fiery eyes.


    "You...,"


    "If I were you this is where my joke would end except you want to see me carried out of here in a stretcher," Joanna tapped his hand and signalled him to look behind him.


    Just like magic, thedies'' murderous res turned tender once again the instant Raymond tilted his head and nced at them.


    It was as if the scene Joanna saw earlier never existed.