•Kainene•
It might have been short-lived but the bit of sleep I'd caught in Daryl's arms happened to be therapeutic. Despite my having to hurry out of the boys hostel afterwards,my scattered nerves had been completely calmed. Well,my friends did help too.
By the time I got back to hostel,my friends had fixed most of the damage. Of course,Dunni and Kike had been made to clear most of the mess. Onome had lent me one of her bed sheets and Oghale had been fastening it unto my bed on my return. I'd been so overwhelmed with gratitude and delight.
Another emotion which had been short-lived because I'd been called to the matron's office right the next morning. It was a Saturday but Auntie Yinka had found her way to blow the issue out of proportion. I could understand that she had nothing against me in particular but simply hated the guts of all final year students and felt the need to crush us all,but it annoyed me that she'd refused to hear my side of the story.
The thing was that some junior student,whose identity I was yet to unveil,had reported the issue to Auntie Yinka. But of course,whoever it was had only told the matron that SS3 students had beaten Kike and Dunni and had failed to give the reason why.
This was why I hated junior students,their sole purpose was to circulate and snitch on matters that they knew little about. For instance,in my case,how the hell did it concern this scheming little child?
To my not so good fortune,Dunni and Kike had also embellished the tale of the junior student,filling Auntie Yinka in on how they'd been manhandled and brashly lashed by us. At that point,Auntie Yinka just had to take the issue to Sister Whitney who also did well to pump the issue to greater heights.
She'd called on the rest of my classmates who had been at the forefront of the beating and punished them as well but she'd mainly focused on me. The whole issue had little effect of me,even as I strolled to my hostel under the scorching sun. But Sister Whitney was hell bent on getting to me,knowing that she couldn't threaten me with suspension or expulsion anymore. We were finished with our final year exams after all.
New prefects had been appointed during the assembly on Monday morning. Final year students had been dressed in their daywear as we were scheduled to head home for our WAEC break the same day. It had been a happy occasion for us,we'd finally gotten to drop the burden of prefectship which had us tormented in the recent days.
And yet again,my joy had been brought to a hiatus as I'd been summoned to Sister Whitney's office the very same morning,even before I could get back to class from the assembly ground.
My heart had only began to race when Sister Whitney begun to threaten to involve my parents.
"You students are getting out hand,your parents must know about this. Write your full name here,let me get your file from the GC's office" She'd ordered fiercely from where she sat across the room whilst I knelt at the other end. Now,it had begun to irk me. How could nobody wish to hear my side of the story? Yes,I'd left a few or quite some injurious dents and imprints on Dunni's skin but in my defence,she'd bargained for it.
Well,from my file,she'd figured my father's details were nowhere to be found so she'd forged on,going ahead to dial my mother's number. That was when I knew,that I was in for quite some devastating happenings.
My heart sank to the pit of my stomach with each word which passed Sister Whitney's lips over the phone. Of all the beings in the world,my mother was the very last person who would believe anything I had to say.
Sister Whitney demanded my mother's audience and she promised to be in school later that afternoon. I'd been dismissed from the office thereafter,Sister Whitney finally achieving her aim after seeing my face drain of all its colour.
"Kaine,What happened?!" Jade gushed as I emerged from the Administration block. My friends had seemingly waited for me after the assembly as I'd been walking with them just before I'd been called.
"Nothing much sha,she called my mum" I shrugged. "Jesus...." Onome gasped,causing my devastation to hit bars. My blood was pumping wildly and my vessels constricted at the frightening thought of the course of action my mother would choose this faithful afternoon.
"If that's not death" I breathed lowly as I continued in my way to our classroom with them trailing beside me. "It won't be that bad na. Maybe she won't be angry,she might actually understand" Oghale tried to encourage.
"Not when Sister Whitney is trying to make me out into a beast who feeds on the epidermis of young females" I rolled my eyes,thinking about how much Sister Whitney had antagonized me while she spoke with my mother.
"Is she really really strict?" Oghale questioned again as we walked into our class,taking to the middle seats of the first row so we were directly beneath the rotating fan. "Hmm..." I'd only hummed,resting my arm over the backrest of the bench and my head over my knuckles.
We already weren't on such good terms. I'd done so many things which she'd told me not to during Uncle Zee's wedding. But right now,I had no Uncle Zee to save me from her wrath. Just how was I going to make her understand the gravity of what Dunni had done? She would have her vocal cords blaring like speakers into my ears in a matter of seconds.
"Kainene!" Jade called,causing me to flinch in my place. "What?!" I queried wide-eyedly. "Are you even listening?" Onome questioned,concern written all over her features. "Urgh,I don't even know" I sighed,returning to my trance and staring into space. I had little interest in whatever chat they were trying to involve me in,I was trying to condition my mind for what it might face in a matter of hours.
Daryl and Yomi walked into the clas thereafter,I'd only noticed because I'd been looking out the door and they'd broken my trance. Yomi had done well to steal Jade away,effortlessly as always. Onome and Oghale had headed for the confectionery and that left Daryl settling beside me on his seat.
"What's up?" He hollered in a rather unsure voice. I spared him a look,"I'm fine" I shrugged,looking away thereafter. He might have felt discomforts by the silence between us as he kept shuffling in his place and observing me from time to time. I'd ignored it though,my mind still fixated on how I was to overcome my current challenge.
"What did Sister Whitney say? I heard she called you" He finally spoke up,causing my thoughts to be retrieved from the end of the earth. "What...." I'd stuttered at first,trying to process his question. "...Yeah,she did. She just said what they've been saying since and called my mother" I shrugged for the umpteenth time that morning.
"I thought we were over being lackadaisical about stuff like this" he literally sulked,causing my gaze to linger on him. "I can't come and kill myself naw. She's going to come to school and only God knows what will happen thereafter. And she's going to believe them anyway so..." I gave off a sinister laugh,my pain interwoven with my words.
"She's coming to school?" He questioned again. "Yeah,Sister Whitney told her to come" I gave an exasperated reply. His ambivalence became so obvious,remorse and concern swirling in his orbs as he stared down at me. He'd begun to have that look in his eyes ever since the whole issue had reached Auntie Yinka.
Sometimes he looked hurt,other times her looked angry,then some other times it seemed he wished to control time and other times,he looked remorseful,concerned and saddened,times like now.
"I...." he started,breaking his gaze from mine which now rested on him. "...can't help but feeling like I dragged you into all of this" he sighed. My brows dipped,"How? Because it's Dunni?" I questioned unbelievably.
"Kind of,yeah" he gave a low reply. "Maybe if hadn't gotten myself involved with her in the first place,maybe if I hadn't messed things up so much,maybe if I hadn't made so many mistakes...all this could have been avoided,you wouldn't have to go through all of this because of me,you..." I did well to put his rambling to a stop.
"Well,now you actually say it....its actually because of you" I told him,wrapping my arms across my torso and assuming a stern expression. His lips remained parted for a while as he probably thought of what he was to let pass through them before he finally granted it to a puff of air "I'm sorry Kay" he'd apologised,earning a smile from me.
To think I'd been chopped and placed into a pot of ogbono soup to boil and yet I still sat here thinking my boyfriend cute. The hell. "And you're going to have to pay for doing this to me" I added,no longer referring to the original context of discussion but to how he always managed to tug at my heart strings nowadays.
He unleashed sides of me I never knew existed and had me fighting urges to do even crazier things everyday. It was crazy but I let myself,I let myself feel and be swooned by him because he made me feel safe.
"I know..." he sulked,picking at his nails. I gave off a laugh at this point. Of course,he was the only person who could make me laugh in all of my misery. "I'm joking Daryl,my good Lord" I laughed "Like,you clearly played a part in all of this but this one is solely sprouted from Dunni's envy and jealousy so I don't as how you come in"
"But your mum is coming to school now,because of this nonsense issue. You should have allowed me punish the life out of that girl. I really feel bad about this Kay" he grunted,letting out a groan thereafter. "It's not your fault that my mum is the way she is. Don't worry,I'm used to her"I consoled,choosing to ignore the switch in the roles.
Like it had been some sort of cue,our friends had returned thereafter. Yomi had insisted that I was to play a game of cards with him,as I'd challenged him to a match when I'd visited their hostel. I'd honestly thought he'd forgotten about it but he hadn't.
It was only a matter of minutes before Yomi had all of us,except Temi and Oghale who sat on the seat beside ours,engrossed in whatever they'd been talking about,on our tip toes in the game of jackpot. I'd underestimated him,he was clearly the pro at the game. Andrew and Sele had joined us a few rounds into the game.
Even though I hadn't hit the jackpot as much as Yomi or Onome had,I still got so lost in our jolly titters. Temi and Oghale had joined us later on,about the time Onome had been on the verge of losing to Daryl but Godson had intervened.
Looking to Jade and Oghale,I was rather proud to see the same suspicion glinting in their orbs as mine as Godson took over Onome's game. But of course,we all made mental notes and preferred to not say anything about the situation or how bashful their expressions were whilst they spoke with each other.
"Guy no dey look my card" Temi sneered at Yomi,who happened to be the premium cheat in the game. "Whether I look or I no look,you no go still hit jack,no be even jackpot" Yomi retorted with a roaring laughter,thrusting us into laughs as well. My stomach was beginning to hurt due to our laughs.
The fact that I could easily blend with Daryl's friends kind of made me happy,for strangely unknown reasons.
"Kainene!" Utim abruptly called from the window,earning all our attentions. "Ehen,your mummy has come. Sister Whitney said I should call you. They're in front of admin block" She informed. Cold immediately seeped into me as the cards in my hands fell to the table. I felt my nerves scatter as my head began to grow light.
I'd been so engrossed in our game that I hadn't realised that so much time had passed and it was now noon time. "Let me follow you" Daryl offered,taking to his feet after I did,taking hold of my arm. "It'll only make matters worse"I told him as I gathered my things together.
"Omo,Kainene doh" Yomi had hollered as well as every other person as Daryl and my three girlfriends walked me out of the door. I'd endeavoured to give them the curt reply of a smile and a wave of the hand.
They'd all waited by the corridor as they could watch the admin block from there and go unnoticed while I proceeded down the stairs,heading for where Sister Whitney and my mother now stood.
From the contorts of her facial expressions alone made my knees grow weaker as I approached them. She stood,clad in a deep blue dress shirt and a pair of black palazzo office pants. Her feet were hidden in a pair of black stiletto heels with a large silver flower etched into its forefront.
She'd gotten a new hair extension,one we'd liked to call bone straight which rested perfectly over every lining of her face,accentuating the outlines of her oval face.
"Mummy Good Afternoon. Good Afternoon sister" I greeted them as I finally reached where they stood. With a single icy glance from my mother,I knew the world was about to come tumbling. It was obvious that I'd disturbed her work and it didnt at all please her. Her fury was quite readable from her eyes.
"So Kainene nwamuwai,Ị gaghị aga ụlọ akwụkwọ m zigara gị. Nke gị bụ iti ụmụaka ndị ọzọ ihe ehn! (You wont face school I sent you to. Your own is to be beating other peoples children ehn!)" My mother yelled,causing me to flinch.
"Ma,That's what they're all doing now oh. Just which day here,they were beating a seminarian. Yes oh..." Sister Whitney exaggerated,causing my mother to gasp again.
"Kainene!!" My mother exclaimed,disbelief lining her expressions. "No,mummy I wasn't there" I literally cried.
"Wasn't there what? They planned it,it was staged madam. Then look at this poor student that she and her friends called to their hostel and used as talking drum. If you see the body of this child!" Sister Whitney rubbed salt into my wounds.
"Is this what I sent you to school for?! Ehn this girl?!" My mother yelled,pulling on my right ear,causing me to wince. I knew I wasnt getting out of this without her causing a scene. "In fact,let me send for the girl" Sister Whitney declared,calling a nearby junior student.
I stood through the yelling of my mother,Sister Whitney's potential catastrophic comments and occasional attacks from my mother. What made it worse was that my mother's voice had hit such a high pitch that it even attracted the attention of other parents who littered around the school in their await to pick up their children,of teachers who walked past and every other passerby.
Dunni arrived after what seemed like ages but her arrival only brought me closer to doom. Sister Whitney had narrated how I'd assembled my classmates to beat her to stupor as our last show of power and the minute my mother saw the stroke marks on Dunni's hands and arms,her palm was meeting the side of my face.
"You'll bring me out of my office for this Kainene!" She yelled at my face,raising her hand to strike me again and causing me to back away. The slap hadn't gotten to me,it was the fact that I knew so many eyes now rested on us and my mother did well to give the the typical public disgrace.
"Calm down ma. We're punishing her already" Mrs Ade came to my rescue,rushing out of her car which she'd parked before us. "What is the meaning of this?! Is this what I sent this child to school to do? I can't live peacefully because I gave birth to you!" My mother yelled,utilising her car key as a pointer.
"Kainene,go and get your things. Abi you've submitted your statement?" Mrs Ade interjected,trying to hold my mother back. "Yes" I gave a curt reply. Giving one last look at the scene,I turned on my heels and headed back into the school block.
I could have easily taken the apian way to basketball court where I'd left my things but I couldn't take it. I couldn't be under the scrutinizing and judging gazes of all the parents out there. As much as I hated the empathetic and pitying comments and looks of my classmates as well,I could fare better with the latter.
"Kainene" My friends had cooed,bringing me into their embrace as over the staircase. Shutting my lids,I felt the tears sting and my eyes twitch. It had taken the world to hold out before them.
They'd taken my school bag from me afterwards,offering to get my things moved to my mothers car. I appreciated the gesture,as I didn't think I had it in me to face the world at the moment.
"Kainene,I'm very sorry" Daryl apologised,climbing down to where my friends had left me over the staircase and wrapping his arms around me. "Its not your fault" I sniffed,the warmth he'd engulfed me in making me vulnerable than I already was. The tears stung again and I found myself bringing my hands over his chest and burying my face in them.
"I'm sorry" he continued to apologise as body-shaking sobs began to elude me. His hold around me tightened as he ran his hand over my back. He aimed to calm me,but he only brought the tears running freely and cries rattling through me.
We walked to the end of the block after I'd regained myself. Even though we weren't saying much,just being around him and knowing that I'd purchased every bit of his concentration warmed me. For a while,I wanted to escape my reality and he was my vehicle to achieving that. He embroided little sprouts of glee in me despite my current situation.
Of course,I knew I had to return to my reality whether I liked it or not. We walked down the way we'd come from,stopping by the end of the corridor and looking over the apian way and parking lot which cars were now parked.
"Tell this girl to come,let me go and do other things with my time! Oge na ga! (Time is going!)" I spotted my mother yelling over the slabways. I inhaled deeply at the sight. She would never stop at nothing if she didn't humiliate me.
"I hope it isn't going to get worse" Daryl whispered from where we both watched her. Without giving him a reply,I turned on my heels and descended the stairs with him in close range.
"You'd never know" I shrugged as we reached the last stair. "God,I just really wish I could do something" he whispered,caressing the side of my face with the pad of his thumb. I forced a smile unto my lips,taking his hand in mine.
"Its not your fault" I reminded,fully aware that he was still blaming himself for the mess. "I'm sorry" he apologised again.
He'd offered to accompany me along the slabway but we both knew that if my mother spotted me with him,then what I was currently facing would be what we liked to call chicken change.
So after a parting hug,I'd urged him to return back to class but he'd insisted on watching me go. I'd let him as I had no time to deliberate on the issue.
Thankfully,my mother had cooled off by the time I got to the car. Perhaps because she'd seen my friends. I almost couldn't believe it was the same woman who had given me a slap across my face a few moments ago.
"Please you people should be looking at this your friend for me oh. This one that she has started growing wings" she'd beseeched just before we climbed into the car and exited the school premises.
Despite the tense aura of the car,I found my mind looking at the bright side. My mother had never driven personally to get me from school and I'd had to accompany others home for a while now. But today,she'd left everything she'd been busy for me. Whether it was by consent or compulsion,she'd come anyway. A smile etched itself unto my lips at the thought. Perhaps I should do this more often.
Yeah,that's the end of this chapter. Was meant to be more sha,but I had to end it here. Tell me what you're thinking please!
Don't forget to vote and comment guys!🤗💕.