Henry watched as the fair girl climbed the stairs to where he is. For some reason unknown to him, he felt at ease seeing her here. Eric was right, this day isn't ruined after all. "Hi", Ellen greeted. Henry just stared at her without so much as smiling to her. She was wearing a short skirt and polo shirt for the tennis game, which accentuated her body, and revealed her beautiful legs. It was Abby's idea to change into the tennis outfits when they arrived. Ellen finally relented, after much persuasion and protesting. She was anything but comfortable, and it didn't help much that, Henry just stared at her like some ice cream sundae, ready for devouring. With a grim expression, he went to sit at a corner, and Ellen, not knowing what to do, followed him. She sub-consciously pulled down her skirt before sitting by him. "Henry, are you okay?" She asked but received no response. She sat by him, and he still didn't mind her. Ellen was getting worried about his attitude. The last time he did this was when he pretended not to know her. "Henry, are you upset with me or something? Why aren't you speaking to me?" Ellen asked with worry evident in her voice. "Exactly Eleanora. I pondered upon these same questions, because I never heard from you after school. I gave you my number, and I still heard nothing from you. I thought it was maybe because you don't have a phone, but clearly you stayed in touch with the girls." Henry finally spoke, throwing a tantrum and mentioning her full first name for emphasis. 'Sigh' "Is that why you are not speaking to me? Henry, I have been dealing with some personal things that have really worn me out. I am sorry I haven't contacted you yet, but I was going to." Ellen defended, almost in tears. Henry got alarmed as he heard the pain in her voice. It was then that he turned to look at her closely, "Have you been crying? What happened?" he asked with concern. Ellen was at the verge of tears when she heard Henry's concern. Honestly, she had really missed this guy. "I am okay. I'll tell you some other time." She replied. "Seriously? I guess I'm not as important to you as I thought. It's all right. I will just leave you to sort yourself out." Henry said and got up to leave. "Wait! Don't go please. You are important to me Henry. (He smiles) You are my closest and only male FRIEND." Ellen said to his powerful back. 'Did she just say friend? Or I heard wrong?' Henry thought as his smile dropped. "Eleanora, what do I do with you? Friend?" Henry turned to ask. "Yes, or are we not friends?" Ellen asked with puppy eyes. "Of course! (For now)" he said and thought with a smile. This girl really knew how to intrigue him. She simply just brought out his competitive side with her indifference towards guys. Unlike other girls, she never threw herself on him or acknowledge him with a flirtation. And that's what he liked about her. Ellen gave him a smile. "There, that's the smile I've missed. You should keep smiling Ellen, you look stunning with it." Henry complemented and she blushed. "I am sorry I didn't call or text you Henry. You always know how to make me smile." Ellen said with admiration, her face flushed. "Well, I can say it works both ways, because I am smiling too. And since I made you smile, how about I make you laugh?" Henry said and begun tickling her. "Ah, stop please. Hahahaha" Ellen pleaded. She retaliated by tickling him too when he refused to budge. Their friends witnessed the scene from the tennis court and couldn't help but laugh. Henry was the only guy who has ever gotten this close to Ellen. Forget about getting close to her, it's difficult for a guy to touch her, let alone tickle her, that too in those revealing clothes she was wearing. "I knew she would cheer him up. Seriously if those two don't end up together, I don't know who they will be with." Clara spoke with admiration. "Yeah, and I will start to doubt Henry's capabilities in winning over a girl if he doesn't get her." Eric chimed in sarcastically, which made them laugh and continued playing when they realized Henry and Ellen were coming down. They went to sit in the stands, looking at their friends. "I thought you two were going to join us." Eric commented. "Yeah Elle, weren't we going to teach you how to play tennis?" Kelly asked in a teasing way. "You don't know how to play tennis?" Henry asked with a chuckle. Ellen shook her head. Henry stood and dragged her to the court. "Everyone take a break, now". He commanded. They left for the stands and watched on for his move. "Is there a sport you can't play?" Ellen asked in bewilderment. "Why do you think I'm the sport prefect? You name the sport, and I'll do it. I come from a long line of sportsmen in my family. Ellen was exhausted but happy to have learnt tennis playing after an hour and half. At some point, their friends joined, and they had fun, lots of it. "Huh, I'm starved." Clara said with a sigh. "Me too, hey Hen, how about we go grab dinner?" Eric said, grabbing his stuff. They went to the club's restaurant, and Henry pulled a chair for Ellen, right beside his. "Wow! Henry, I used to be the one whom you pulled the chair for, and now I'm being replaced", Clara complained teasingly. "Really?" Ellen exclaimed and turned to Henry. "Don't mind her. Clara, get over it. What will you have?" He replied and asked Ellen, Clara, feigning annoyance. "What's the cheapest thing around here?" Ellen asked, making everyone laugh. "Eleanora, don't you dare embarrass me. How can you be with me, and ask for the cheapest thing here? Forget about me, you have four other rich friends, and you still ask that. Everyone order what you want, all bills on me." Henry spoke with annoyance. The gang agreed with Henry amidst laughter. Henry couldn't believe this girl chose to act poor through and through even around him. "I am sorry Henry. I didn't mean to belittle or upset you." Ellen spoke softly, placing her hand on his lap. That was the water needed to melt the ice as he calmed down, placing his hand above hers. Ellen immediately withdrew her hand, when Clara faked cough, making Ellen red with embarrassment. They ordered their food with the prefects taking banku with tilapia, which was part of their holiday special, and the juniors ordered assorted jollof rice with chicken, scrambled eggs, and sausage. Henry ordered for a sparkling champaign, and they had quite a feast. The troubles of the day were completely forgotten till; "Your card was denied sir." The waiter announced when Henry gave his card to clear the bill. "WHAT?" they asked in unison. "Are you sure about that?" Henry asked, flummoxed. "Come see for yourself please." The waiter said and took Henry to the counter. Clara saw the look on her friend's face and knew the waiter wasn't wrong. She went to his rescue by giving the waiter her card instead. Thankfully, the payment went through, and they left unscathed. The aura around Henry suddenly dropped to 0 degrees and they felt chills and goose bumps. Ellen was about to approach him when he took out his phone and dialed a number, leaving everyone behind. "Hello son. Is everything okay?" "Grandma, did my father cut off my finances again?" "Unfortunately, yes, Henry. Do you need…?" She didn't finish speaking as Henry hung up. 'SMASH.' They heard a smashing sound when Henry threw his phone away in fury. Clara and Eric saw through him and rushed after him when he marched towards his car. They were not eighteen yet, but each had their car. Eric got into his and Clara jumped into Henry's before he sped away, leaving Ellen, Abigail, and Kelly behind.
