▪︎TOVIELLA▪︎
Mondays.
For some reason, everyone seemed to dread it. Perhaps, it was as a result of it being the day that marked the end of the weekend, signifying that indeed, the time for rest had gone and it was time to face life, again. That included the struggles and cruelty which accompained it.
For Saffron Academy students, it was a day for the Assembly. I guess when put that way it doesn't sound so bad, so, let me rephrase my sentence.
Monday, is the only day set aside for the Assembly of Saffron Academy students; the whole student and administrative body, gathered in a one, large, hall.
Normal activities were disrupted such as the beginning of classes which usually started by 8:00, and made it commence by 8:45 instead. Yes, it only consumed forty-five minutes, but it was more than enough time for frustrations to be let out, sanities to be lost and all hell to break loose. It was very hard most especially on the Prefects, that were all over the place now, trying to get all the juniors to the hall and inflicting pain on anyone who dared to challenge them.
Luckily for me, I wasn't one.
The Assembly was usually very uncomfortable for me, so I stuck to making up the stupidest excuses not to go. And somehow, it worked, although not every time.
That reason being why I was walking towards the area where the Disciplinary Prefect and her assistant were at, punishing for late coming and improper dressing.
Marz sighted me first, a smile spreading across his lips as I approached.
No, Marz wasn't his actual name, Makinde is. But he just preferred to be called Marz, and soon enough it rubbed off on everyone. Not to forget, it sounded very cool.
"Tovi, what a pleasant suprise!" He said, spreading out his hands to me, for a hug. I smiled, walking into his embrace. The hug was a quick but comfortable one, since my dude was literally the size of a bear, with his broad shoulders and bulging muscles that seemed to have gotten bigger. Those weren't even the only things that proliferated.
His rich golden honey complexion also got lighter and smoother, and curly brown hair got even fuller than it already was. I also didn't fail to notice the way he had altered his uniform. Again.
If I didn't take a gold look at his trousers, I would've concluded that it wasn't part of our uniform. He had ripped the mid-thigh section and lined the edges with gold threadings, revealing a little of the skin that lay underneath. It was also above ankle length, showing the lower part of his leg, showing half of his ankle-socks while his black Naked Wolfe, swallowed the rest.
Slowly, my eyes accessed his upper body. His blazer wasn't on and he had left his upper button undone breaking not one, but all the dress codes of Saffron Academy. But no one cared anyway, dress codes were bound to be broken.
Perks of being a senior, huh?
I had admit he did look good in it, too good actually. The holidays really did a good number on him.
Unfortunately, I was caught staring and I lowered my gaze to the floor, not without catching the smirk that graced his lips.
"Tovi, whatsup?" Turning to the sound of the voice just behind me, my eyes fell on Elsie, the assistant disciplinary prefect. Just like Marz, she looked pretty good too.
I shot her a smile, pulling her in for a hug too. "Hi, Els. How are you?" I said as soon as we both pulled out from the hug.
"As you can see," She spoke, gesturing to the juniors and very few seniors who were definitely SS1's infront of us, who apparently, where just a tad bit late to school. "This children are giving me brain ache."
Brain ache?
I laughed, loud. "I can see o."
She turned her head to throw them a glare, then turned to face me again. A mixture of Horror and Fear marred their faces, as they took a step back. I noticed one of them, a junior girl, who had a bag that looked so heavy on her shoulder. Her back was slouched as she was constantly shifting her balance from shoulder to shoulder.
I was forced to tear my gaze off her when Marz called my attention. "Aren't up supposed to be in the Assembly?" He inquired.
I nodded. "Yeah, but I just wanted to see if you guys needed some help with your duties." I tilted my head towards the kids.
Okay, It wasn't entirely a lie.
"Awwn, that's so nice of you." Elsie drawled, "And yes, we could use a helping hand." She placed a hand on my shoulder, admiration swirling in her black orbs.
"Thank you, Toviella." Marz smiled. "Let's get to work now, shall we?"
We both nodded.
Marz offered to lead the kids to were they would pick. Picking was the punishment mostly used in Saffron as the punishment for tardiness. It involved picking up anything one sees on the ground, like biscuit wraps, papers, used tissues, anything at all, no matter how dirty it was.
Just as they were about leaving, Elsie called the attention of a junior girl. "Shhhh, you! Come here." She beckoned, inching a little closer to the girl, few feet away.
The brown - skinned, who had now blanched from fear seemed frozen on the spot with her mouth slightly agape, a look of disbelief on her face, with her index finger pointing towards her chest. "Me?"
Elsie just folded her hands across her chest, her expression contorting to one of rage. The scariest part of it all, was the smirk so small, you almost couldn't notice it- that tilted a corner of her lips. A vein at the side of her head was popping out now, from the clenching of her teeth.
Elsie Durojaiye, had to be the most feared person in all of Saffron. Her punishments were just out of this world, and every junior walked on nails and eggshells around her, for fear of triggering her wrath. She was capable of bringing down the walls surrounding Saffron when angered, if need be.
One time, an SS1 boy got her angry. We were in SS2 then, power had just been handed to us and our juniors taught we wouldn't be as harsh as our past prefects for some reason, so they used that as an oppurtunity to break almost all the rules, governing Saffron.
I remember she had told the boy before to button up his shirt, wear a tie and put on socks, since he weren't on them. She had warned him the first, and second time, until the third. She showed him that truly, she was the disciplinary prefect of SA.
What she did to him is still unknown to us up till today, but whatever she did, worked like magic because after it, he calmed down and so did the rest of them. They just needed a scape goat for all of them to learn, and unfortunatel, he was that scape goat.
"No, it's the chicken behind you." Elsie spat, her tone venomous. Suprisingly, the girl actually looked back to see the 'chicken behind her' and when she saw none, she came closer to where we stood.
Marz was just quiet all the while this was happening, until Elsie motioned for him to take the rest, leaving the girl with us.
"S - Senior Elsie," The girl stuttered, "you called for me." I watched as she visibly trembled. The hand she had on her bag strap, trembling as well. Her whole being was quaking nonstop and I recognized the look on her face.
Fear.
Not very different from the one which overwhelmed me, whenever I stared at the man that begot me. The kind a prey stared at its predator with. The kind I stare at my Father with.
"Why else would you be here if I didn't call for you?" Elsie asked, rhetorically and that only made the small girl shiver, goose bumps visibly sprawling across her skin. I couldn't help the look of pity that was undoubtedly on my face now. A scoff escaped Elsie's lips as she sized the girl up. "What's your name?"
The girl looked taken aback for a moment but she quickly recollected herself, opening her mouth to answer. "Anaïs. Anaïs Holland."
Elsie released yet another scoff.
I wanted so badly to intervene in this, but I also wanted to see where Elsie was headed with this. So, I kept shut and just stared.
"Okay Anaïs, now can you tell me why you're wearing a wig to school?"
Wait, what? A wig?
"Uhm, Senior, I really don't understand." The girl pleaded. I noticed how she constantly balanced her weight from one leg to the other, like her body was too heavy for her legs to hold up. Anaïs was obviously tired and I was now hanging on to the little patience I had left.
Elsie chuckled humourlessly, showcasing her perfect dentition as she looked down at the girl. I bet she was also holding on to the last bit of her patience too. "Oh really? You don't?" She feigned a face of pity, pouting her lips. "I bet you will understand by the time I'm done cutting every last strand of hair on your head."
After those words left her mouth, my patience was already long gone. I hadn't even realized that I was now standing in the space between Elsie and Anaïs.
The little girl immediately wrapped her arms around my arm, clutching to it like it was her life support.
"What? Els, please stop. I'm not gonna allow you do that." It baffled me how my voice still remained calm after hearing that horrible statement. It made me suddenly conscious of Elsie and I didn't doubt what she could do.
I could feel the girl behind me trembling more than she already was, and her breathing against my hand becoming more labored. Her hands tightened around mine and I stifled a wince at the impact.
Elsie shot a brow at me, "Are you trying to support this kid?" Her gaze was piercing mine with so much intensity, unwavering. "Can't you see she's breaking a rule? She's wearing a wig for Heaven's sake!"
Wig or no wig. No one was laying a hand on her hair.
I opened my mouth to speak but Anaïs beat me to it. "That's were you're wrong. My hair is not a wig." She said from behind me, popping out her head a little so that she could stare at Elsie as she spoke, the tremble in her voice not disspating one bit.
She still spoke for herself in the face of trouble. I liked that.
Elsie narrowed her gaze at the little girl, her teeth clenching and unclenching. "Are you saying I'm lying?"
"Senior, I didn't say that. I'm only trying to defend myself. My hair is not a wig, come see for yourself." Anaïs probed, stepping aside so that Elsie could have a feel. She still maintained her hold on me for fear of what Elsie would do next.
Elsie was very unpredictable.
Elsie scoffed a response but complied nonetheless as she stepped closer to the girl and I scooted to the side to allow better access. Her hand rose up above Anaïs's hair, then she paused, as though contemplating if she should actually do it. I guessed her answer must've been positive, as her hand finally came down to rest on the girl's hair after some seconds of hesitation.
Her fingers moved around galavantly, tugging at some areas around the front and back. And indeed, it was her hair, not a wig like she had suspected earlier. Her hair had a light brown colour with small curls adorning the edges. The edges were laid, too laid in fact, the hair length stopping at shoulder level.
Elsie's hand came down, her expression softening as realization set in. Her gaze caught mine, we shared a look before she looked back at the girl.
Anaïs completely moved out from behind me, since she saw that the raging bull had calmed down, finally. She looked at Elsie, me, then looked back at Elsie again before she spoke. "It's okay, I get that a lot since it's not very evident that I'm half-caste."
"Half - caste?"
Elsie and I both voiced out at the same time, as we shared yet another look, but this one was very different from the last one. This, was one of suprise and pure shock.
Taking another look at the girl, it became clear as daylight. She looked Nigerian alright, but it was also certain that she wasn't full Nigerian. The features were all there, her dark skin tone which was quite lighter than most darkskins and had this undescribable glow to it, her chiseled face and her button nose. Then her hair, that was the most apparent feature; full, long and looked silken. How didn't we notice that?!
The girl just stood, staring at us, a knowing smile possessing her lips. "Wow," Elsie released a breath, rubbing at her temple. "I feel so stupid now. I'm so sorry Anaïs."
Well, colour me even more suprised. Elsie apologized for the first time ever. Apologizing was one thing, and apologizing to a junior was another. And Elsie never apologizes, except till now, that is.
"It's okay." Her smile grew even wider.
It was the smile for me. It was very pretty, her one-cheeked dimple surfacing and the corners of her eyes crinkling. She was smiling a little too much for someone whose hair was almost shaved off if you ask me.
"We're so sorry for keeping you here," I made sure to cut a glance at Elsie, as I said that part. "Don't bother joining them in the punishment, just go straight to the hall instead."
Elsie gave me a questioning look, which I completely ignored. She made an innocent girl stand for up to ten minutes for nothing and still wanted her to be punished? No way. Not on my watch at least.
Just when I thought it wasn't possible, her smile escalated and I feared that if it increased a little, just a bit more, the sides of her mouth would lacerate.
"Really? Thank you so much," She beamed, "I'll get going now."
She threw us one last smile before she turned, walking towards the direction of the hall.
"Anais."
She halted, slowly turning back to us. What did Elsie want again?
"Come to my class during break." Elsie said, and without waiting for the girl's reply she glanced away. I gave Anaïs a small smile which she returned before continuing her walk to the hall.
I caught Vanilla striding towards us from the direction Anaïs was heading to. She caught up to us in no time.
"Hey, you two." She smiled.
"What's up?" I replied while Elsie nodded in acknowledgement, returning the smile.
"Fine. Good." She responded. "The Principal demands that everyone be present in the hall."
"You know why?" I questioned, and we all shared a look before Vanilla shook her head.
"Let's get going then." Elsie said and starts to walk ahead, leaving I and Vanilla in her wake.