Day 366 of 366:
"Thank you, next."
- Ariana Grande (Thank you, next).
• • •
This is an appreciation chapter. Thank you, S.S.S. 3 AGAIN family. I remember starting 2020 with about 3k reads and few votes. Look how far we've come, everyone.🥺 I faced a lot of challenges in the last year but I had a few best things I ever got in life last year, like true friends and important life lessons.
You guys are one of the best things that happened to me last year and I'm glad y'all are still here to encourage me on my journey. Thank you and God bless you all. I appreciate the love. May your joy know no bounds.✨
Happy New Gregorian Year, babies❤️✨
May we achieve greater things alone and together this year, Insha'Allah. Amin✨
Guess whose P.O.V you're about to read?
You no fit guess because I write the unexpected😹😭
• • •
•Ifeoluwa Adams' P.O.V•
(A/N: E choke?😹😹🤲🏾)
The hall was quiet. Of course, it should, because we were in the exam hall. Not just any exam but WAEC exam. Not just any WAEC exam paper but Mathematics WAEC exam.
Our supervisor was in front of the hall, sitting on a chair and staring at us from there. I looked around the hall to see both my school students and The Empires College students. Some placed their heads on their tables while others were talking to their friends through signs.
It's been three hours since we started the exam. Paper two, which is the theory part, was the first paper we did. We were to start the objective part by 2pm. We had about thirty minutes more for this one to be over. I wasn't sure because we were told not to wear wristwatches into the hall. We were even searched before entering the exam hall.
Almost, if not everyone were probably done with their theory. The Empires College maths teacher was allowed to come in and he shared answers with everyone. Almost everyone collected expos from him except for few people from science class in the Empires College. Thomas, Demilade, Jetemi and Lydia's seats were close, so they were able to share their answers with one another. Their Maths teacher didn't bother giving them expos too.
The woman suddenly stood up and walked closer to us. "Are you all done?"
"Yes!" We all chorused.
"Alright. I'll be collecting your papers now." She said and moved closer to us. "001," she called and the person with the number replied. She began to collect the papers one after the other till she collected everybody's. She then went to her seat and put the papers in an envelope, sealed it and placed it inside the green WAEC bag she brought with her. She locked the bag and gave the registrar - who was beside her - the key. She then carried the bag and her other things and walked out of the hall, the registrar following her behind.
Immediately they walked out, the hall scattered as everyone stood up and started shouting. I looked around the hall for my bestfriend, Flourish and I sighted her somewhere on the other side of the hall, where her seat was placed. I was about standing up to go meet her when I heard my brother talking to someone behind me. I turned to see who it was and I smiled. It was Demola, whom his classmates and friends call Demmie.
Since we resumed, I've had a thing for him. I told Flourish about it and she told me to make enquiries as to whether he has a girlfriend or not, so as to know whether or not to make a move on him. I kind of heard from some of their girls that something was between Demmie and Demilade. I then made enquiries on who Demilade was, and I made friends with her. With time, I realised they were just having a thing for each other but not actually dating. I also got to know there was like a love triangle between him, Demilade and Lydia.
I tried making friends with Lydia too but she always acted somehow towards me. I later came to the conclusion that she just didn't like me. However, I was able to befriend her best friend, Jetemi. I knew quite well that Demmie liked Demilade and vice versa but I had no idea about Lydia. That was why I gave them the dare during the T and D game on Saturday to kiss each other. It however, didn't go as planned because it only made Demmie ask Demilade out in the presence of everyone. So, they were dating already.
Demmie and my brother, Bomi are good friends, despite the fact that a fight wanted to happen between them because of the news that Demilade has feelings for my brother. Well, they were back to being good friends now. Demmie however never gave me a face or anything since I tried making friends with him. I told Flourish about it and she told me to forget about him.
Typical Flourish, she was always like that. She used to be my brother's girlfriend until she cheated on him and wasn't remorseful over her actions. Bomi really liked her a lot and he was really hurt when it happened. Bomi who wouldn't cry on a norm, after the heartbreak happened, he'd carry himself to sleep everyday. I had to stay over in his room every night to pet him to sleep, then. I first thought of getting back at Flourish by breaking up our friendship of six years but I decided not to. We've been friends since J.S.S. 1 and she has been the only person I can talk to about anything at anytime, so I chose not to. Although, when Bomi refused to eat and kept starving himself, I confronted Flourish. She apologized to me and told me she never really liked him and just dated him because he said he liked her. So, he went for her because I was his twin sister. But then, while the relationship was on, she found someone she really liked and she went for him.
I wanted to get mad at her but I just couldn't, so I just let everything be. Everything happened from S.S.S. 2 till S.S.S. 3 first term. Bomi just got over her and it's not even up to two months yet. That was the main reason he acts rashly to girls and I couldn't blame him when he acted somehow to Demilade the other day. Lolade, the senior boy, is his only friend and also his bestfriend he tells everything to. Lolade and I were the only ones that understood why he acts cold to people, especially girls, these days.
Now, back to Demmie. After Saturday night, I just noticed he started talking to me, which was quite unusual. He became really nice to me and would greet me whenever he sees me. We talk about stuffs sometime and we just somehow click. I told Flourish about it and she said that was a greenlight and I should probably go for it if I want to.
"Aunty!" I heard Bomi's voice say, as someone tapped my right shoulder and I jumped, a bit startled. "What are you thinking? Demola has been greeting you since."
"Oh, really?" I said and have Demmie a smile.
"Ah, Ife, what were you thinking? Abi there's already a boy?" Demmie said jokingly and I laughed.
"There will be, very soon oh." I replied.
"Pele oh, until they shatter your heart. It will shock you." Bomi cut in.
"Alaye, shut up. Do you think everybody is like your ex?" I retorted.
"Ah!" Demmie exclaimed and started laughing.
"More like, do you think everyone is as heartless as my bestie?" Bomi said and rolled his eyes.
"Because she broke your heart doesn't mean she's heartless. Mind your words." I said to him.
"Wait oh." Demmie said. "Your bestfriend, Flourish. She dated Bomi and broke his heart?"
"Ehn nah." I replied.
Demmie burst into laughter and I joined in. Bomi just folded his arms and stared at us, hissing at intervals. Soon, we stopped laughing and I talked.
"You're really fine when you're laughing." I said to him with s smile.
"Uh, Pele oh." Bomi said while Demmie smiled.
"Awwwn. Thank you so much, dear." Demmie replied with a smile. I was about replying him when Demilade got to where we were, with Lydia.
"Hi in this place oh." Lydia said.
"Heyyy." Demmie and Bomi replied.
Demmie then turned to Demilade. "Babe," he called and held her right hand.
"Heyyy. How was your exam?" She replied.
"Omo, we thank God oh." He replied with a smile.
"Wahala for us wey single Bai. Them no even care to greet us." Bomi said and looked away.
Ode.
"Ah" Demilade said and started laughing. "I'm sorry oh. Hey guys, how were your exams?"
"Uhhhh." Me, Bomi and Lydia chorused.
"She's sorry nah. She possible couldn't see anyone else except her baby, which is me!" Demmie replied and Bomi hissed while we laughed.
"Our exam was fine though." I replied.
"Yeah." Bomi added.
"Alright then. We'll see you guys later. I want to see Demmie." Demilade said and didn't wait for our reply before she dragged Demmie with her and they both left.
"Wahala for us wey single oh." Bomi said again.
"Big one. I'm leaving sha." I said and walked away, leaving Lydia and Bomi behind.
•
Halfway into our objective paper of the Maths exam, the whole hall was quiet as expected. Everyone was focused on their OMR sheets and question papers, while the supervisor sat in front of the hall. Suddenly, a woman and three men entered the hall through the front door.
Most of us stopped what we were doing to look at the visitors. Our supervisor stood up and greeted them and they also greeted them too. It was then I realised that they were external supervisors. I think others also realised. Those with papers with expos began to find ways to dispose them without being caught. It was a hard thing to do since no one was allowed to stand up from their seats but anyways, they must find a way to keep it well to not get caught.
The external supervisors finished talking to our supervisor and faced us. The woman among them, whom I guessed was there leader or something, spoke to us. "Good afternoon, students."
"Good afternoon, ma." We all chorused.
"I believe this hall contains both students from this school, The Empires College and also Great Leaders International, right?"
"Yes ma."
"Good. Your supervisor here gave a good review about you all. She said you all have been co-operative and have comported yourselves all day. I'd like to say, good work to you all and also, you all should keep that energy till the end of this exam. No cheating or any forms of malpractice. Okay?"
"Yes ma."
"Good. Now, I'd like to also-" She was interrupted by the ring of a phone.
"Jesus." Some people said.
The phone kept on ringing and it soon stopped. Everyone began to look at one another, trying to get which area the dining phone came from.
"A phone just rang? In this same hall?" The external supervisor woman said with a look of surprise and shock on her face. She then turned to our supervisor. "Madam, I thought you claimed you searched them all before they entered?"
Our supervisor stood up from her seat. "Yes ma, I did. I really don't-"
"You don't what?! This is a great offence, madam! A student in this place brought in a phone! You don't even know your work and have no idea how to do it right!"
Our supervisor angrily turned to us. "Whose phone rang the other time?!"
Nobody replied.
"I said whose phone rang!" She exclaimed.
Emmanuel was right in front of her and with the way she shouted, the way he jerked backwards showed he was really shocked. What shocked us more was that his android phone fell down when he jerked backwards. He was about picking it up when one of the male external supervisors took it from the floor and raised it up. We all knew we were in serious trouble.
Without wasting time, our supervisor collected the phone from the man and threw it to the podium floor angrily. Since it was an android, we knew quite well that with the way it was thrown and how it sounded when it landed, the screen would have broken. But that was the least of our concerns at the moment. All we cared about was our exam and what the external supervisors would do after one of us was caught with a phone.
"Stand up, submit your paper and follow me!" The man that took Emma's phone from the floor, said.
Without a word, Emma submitted his OMR sheet and he walked out of the hall with the man. Immediately they walked out, we were told to continue our exam but sadly, the same phone that rang earlier rang again.
"Wasn't that thesame phone from earlier?" The external supervisor asked. She then turned to the other two men. "Please search all of them."
As she said that, everyone began to murmur. Just then, the girl in front of me stood up. Her name is Dorcas. She's one of the unpopular girls in Art class of The Empires College.
"I'm so sorry. It was my phone that rang. I didn't know." She said and stood up, took the phone and walked out.
"Oh My God!" The female external supervisor exclaimed. "Please search them!"
Immediately she repeated that, someone threw a squeezed paper towards Demilade's seat. As she was about picking the paper to throw it somewhere else, one of the male supervisors caught her and collected the paper from her.
"Here, ma. She was caught with this paper. The objective answers are in it." He said after unfolding the papers.
"Sir, someone just threw it here. I know nothing about-" She was saying when she was interrupted.
"Keep your mouth shut, cheat! Follow me!" The female external supervisor said and without a word, Demilade follows her. The woman was about walking out when she turned back again. "You!" She exclaimed, pointing at someone. I looked at my back and sideways to see who she pointed to. It was then I realised it was me.
"Me?"
"No, keep asking me. You knew quite well that the girl in front of you was with a phone and you kept shut when I was asking. Stand up and follow me!" She said.
"Ahah, ma, I didn't even know until she stood up and-"
"Will you keep shut and follow her?!" Our supervisor said. Without a word, I also stood up and followed suit.
•
"One more time, I'd like to remind you that you have given this school a bad name for the first time in history, today." Proprietress said to all of us.
We were all in the school hall. Earlier, the rest were told to finish their exams and we were reported to the school authority. The proprietress begged the external supervisors not to report our school when they get to WAEC office. She tried enticing with them with a little money but we all don't know if they accepted it or not.
"I'm very disappointed in each and every one of you!"
"We're sorry, ma." We chorused. That was the only thing we could say.
"You had better be. I have nothing else to say to you but I'd like to bring out the main culprits and talk to their brains here today!" Proprietress said angrily. "The three of them should come out!"
Demilade, Emmanuel and Dorcas walked to the podium. Demilade looked a bit sad, and I also pitied her, because she had no fault in everything that happened, if not that the paper was thrown to her seat at the wrong time.
"You." She said, pointing to Emmanuel. "You're a nephew to the proprietor and fhe best you can do is to drag the name of this great citadel of learning into the mud. I'm very very disappointed in you and I'll make sure I inform your parents of what you did, personally." Shs eyed him and hissed. She the turned to Demilade. "And you."
"Ma, I don't know anything about what happened. The paper was-"
"Are you stupid?! Did I ask you to talk?!"
"I apologize ma. I'm sorry." Demilade replied.
"Mannerless girl! Now I know why you failed in the exams you did in your school. You now think you can come here to also spoil our name, so that our own students can also have a mass failure? Never!" Proprietress exclaimed.
Failed exams? Did she fail? Has she done WAEC before?, I thought. I would find out about it later though.
People began to murmur in the hall while my classmates from GL kept asking themselves what the Proprietress meant by what she said to her.
"If anything should happen to our results from WAEC, You three would be dealt with mercilessly!"
A tear dropped from Demilade's eyes and she used the seam of her uniform to clean it. She suddenly burst into uncontrollable tears. She turned back and was about to walk out of the hall when Proprietress called her back.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Demilade turned and walked back to meet her. "I'm sorry, ma." She said with a shaky voice.
"I'm not done with you yet." She said and paused.
She brought out her phone in her bag and she motioned to the male student teacher who has been standing behind her since to connect her phone with the projector. Soon, the projector was on and we all could see the screen. We all wondered what she wanted to show us. She collected her phone from the man and began to press it. There were mumurs everywhere in the hall as we all tried to think about what she was up to. Just then, a video showed up on the projector.
"Hello?! Watch this." She said to us.
We all turned to fhe projector to see the video. The video was of two people kissing inside the school hall, on the podium. It wasn't supposed to be out business, except for the fact that those two people were those we knew so well. It was Demmie and Demilade. It was then I remembered that when they kissed on the podium on Saturday, people videoed them. That literally meant that someone leaked the video to the school.
A look of shock was on Demilade's face as everyone began to talk about the video. I looked around the hall to look for Demmie and I saw him somewhere at the back. He was both surprised and shocked. It was Proprietress' voice that got back my attention and I faced the front.
"Do you recognize the girl in the video?" She asked, facing Demilade squarely.
No reply.
"Can't you answer me?!"
"Yes, I do, ma." Demilade replied with a low voice. Her eyes were really red due to the tears she cried earlier.
"And who is it?" Proprietress asked her again.
"It is me."
Drumrolls!
___
Y'all, thank you for reading. Anyway, you people should be anticipating the next chapter and keep guessing what would happen.
I know y'all didn't expect this😹🤲🏾 I'm very good in changing the plots in people's mind ehn😌❤️✨