Is this hallway safe?

Shooting a glare to his left and right, Okoro risked a glance over the window’s ledge when the hallway he was in turned up empty. Spotting you, a chill ran up his spine as he watched you stand guard in front of the school’s gates, your limousine parked menacingly behind you.

It wasn’t any sort of good news if you were looking for him.

If Okoro was asked to pick which was stronger, your presence or the gravitational pull of a small planet, he would be hard pressed to pick one over the other. You had a particular talent for pulling people into your orbit, and once they were caught, it was impossible to escape. And unfortunately for him, you were particularly hellbent on involving him in everything you did.

Ducking before you could spot him, Okoro shuddered at the memory of his birthday.

It wasn’t meant to be a big occasion. He had been looking forward to going home from school to enjoy a cake that he had splurged on the day before. However, someway or another, you caught wind of the event, and when Okoro stepped through the school gates…

A giant banner, with his name and his picture (as if his name wasn’t enough to give away who’s birthday it was), congratulating him on his birthday, was strung up from one end of the school building to the other. And before he could even process his shock, enough confetti to fill up a baseball stadium was subsequently dumped onto him. By the time he had crawled his way out of the mountain of confetti, mortified, you were waiting with a birthday hat and sash just for him.

Then, covered in confetti and wearing a matching hat and sash, Okoro spent the rest of the day walking around like a mini-birthday parade because for some godforsaken, you had hired a group of students to throw flowers in his path for the entire day.

So, so many apologies were said that day.

Never again!

Determined to never let himself get caught up in one of your shenanigans again, Okoro peeked out from behind a bush in the school’s gardens.

If the front gate wasn’t a safe option, then surely the side gate must be!

Seeing that the coast is clear, Okoro leapt to his feet, making a mad dash for the gate. Each step was one that brought him closer to freedom, closer to his part-time job.

Finally, he’s going to be able to go to work today!

After being constantly dragged off to your impromptu dinners, Okoro has missed so many days of his job that it’s even a miracle he’s still employed. And with each day he’s missing, he gets further and further away from being able to pay you back for the dinners. How could he, someone who lives off lima beans and water soup, be expected to pay you back for the seafood dinners if he’s constantly being pulled away by you?!

But today he will be going to work. He’s going to make it outside that gate and serve customers until dark!

As the gate drew closer, Okoro could feel the tension from trying to escape you drain from his body.

Almost there!

“There you are!”

Oh no.

Heart dropping at the sound of your voice, Okoro willed his legs, now as heavy as lead, to keep moving forward.

Please, please, please, let me make it—