Pantie Rule

36 | Back To Reality

I still couldn't believe it, because why would Martin rape Fatima? They were friends, right? At least in the hallucination it happened to be so.

"Omotara!" Someone shouted, as my eyes blinked open. It was Agnes. "Thank God you're awake." She hurried to my side.

"Agnes?"

"Hey, darling are you okay?"

"Mum?" I almost get up, trying to know if she's real this time.

"Yes, I'm real." She answered. "I'm sure you had a few hallucinations."

I touch my head, as it hurts sharply. "Not a few."

I see a frame forming by my mum's right. I wince, and soon the blurry frame of the person sharpens. It was Chizutere. And not just him. Jamila. Kosiso. Constance! They were all here too. Oh, and Sally. Jamila's fine face came closer to me now, Kosiso's pale, concerned face hovered over me, and Constance's yellow face cracked open a smile. "You're awake, finally."

"Chizutere?" I try getting up.

"Stay back, Omotara." Mother says. "I'll be back. Please, watch her."

I didn't know if mummy left intentionally or not, but Chizutere came to my side. He pushed the white bed spread aside and sat down.

Kosiso came closer. "Get up." She had her hand on her waist.

Chizutere looked at her in wonder. While they'd be waiting for Omotara to wake up she'd been mean to him, and now another.

"You're not her friend, get up."

The room fell silent, Chizutere stared at Agnes's amused face. Jamila was obviously shocked and she stepped forward.

"I'm sure she's just stressed out. Like the rest of us."

Chizutere turned back to me and held my hand, which all the more got Kosiso mad, I know. Kosiso had never known how to manage stress. I remember her kissing almost all the boys in our class when her father died, or when her brother was held abroad, in Istanbul for drug trafficking, she'd accepted girlfriend proposals from twenty boys at a time. Her object of stress relief were always boys.

"It was Martin who raped her."

A tear dropped from my eye.

"Why?"

"He didn't say. He was being arrested before he could say anything else. The principal called the police on him the moment you fainted and it caused a scene."

"Was it while I was at the computer lab? Or at the passageway?"

"The lobby." Everybody stared at him, me included. "The passageway."

"So the computer lab... was a hallucination, too?" I turned to him. "Was it all a hallucination?"

"Yes." Agnes answered before he did, holding my other hand. "I'm sorry." She said, crying.

Sally just stood far back, in shock.