Kora
Soc one oh one, also known as Sociology 101 was one class Grace and I didn't have together, and yet another class we just had to share with the seniors, because somehow, some of our topics were added to their curriculum, and their lecturer wasn't just available to see them through it, and then, there were the rest of the other people I really didn't want to share a classroom with. Old money. I couldn't help but wonder why we had to share classes with them, for the rest of the week. I could hear them chattering on their holy ground from where I sat, close to the trash can.
The past few days had been a hustle for me. After what happened at the last class, I finally decided to just do what everyone wanted. I decided to embrace the role they gave me, spot, name and all. My private and personal space by the trash can, and there was nothing bad about it at all. Of course some of them kept looking at me and showing their disgust, and laughing at me here and there, some even threw things at me, but it wasn't something I couldn't over look. It wasn't something my earplugs and playlist couldn't fix. I was just going to do what they wanted, and then endure through it.
I had gone that far after all. There was no use fighting them, or trying to get on all their bad sides more than I already did. I had my eyes fixated on my drawing book. I loved to draw while listening to music. Most times, I didn't even have an idea what I was doing, until I was done, and then I found out I had actually created something that made absolute sense.
I saw a table get placed right beside mine, and it made me pause for a moment. Something wasn't right. Why was someone trying to sit right beside me, close to the trash can? I raised my head quickly, just as the chair came next. I swallowed hard, my eyes fixed on the next thing that appeared before me.
His perfume crippled my senses, and his smile, I had never seen him smile so brightly before. I didn't even know he had such beautiful and deep dimples, and his teeth, his dentition was perfect. His teeth shone brightly, even as it clenched on the lollipop stick in his mouth. I watched him open his textbook quickly.
"Close your mouth, or a fly is going to get in."
"Oh my God. Oh my God." Everyone turned to us quickly.
"It's Jeremiah- oh my God."
"What's he doing over there?"
"Is he crazy?"
Everyone always knew when to give their two cents.
I blinked twice. I was still so shocked. I had never in my entire life, ever imagined this part of my life. I wanted to pinch myself. I needed to make sure I wasn't seeing things, but it looked very real. It was real. It wasn't a dream. Jeremiah was sitting right beside me. He raised his head slowly, and then turned to my desk.
"Wow." He picked up my drawing book, looking right inside, with a look of excitement on his face. "I never knew you drew so well."
What was this? Was he out of his mind? Had he lost his memories? What on earth was he trying to do again? Was this another attempt to get everyone's attention? To ruin my life more than it already was?
"How can he seat there? Beside her?"
"She must want a death wish so badly."
"Oh my gosh, look at Oma's face, she looks like she's about to go crazy on them-"
"Is she insane?"
I took a quick scan around the room. I was scared. I was scared to actually see the look on Oma's face, but I found myself wanting to take a quick look. God I almost peed on myself, but I tried to keep my composure. I took a quick look at the stairs, I could see how Oma was glaring at me so hard that I was scared she was boring a hole on my forehead. She was squeezing on tightly to her pen. It snapped. It wasn't only her. Everyone was staring too. The entire young money, the entire class, whispering to themselves.
"Don't look at them so hard, you might get intimidated."
I quickly turned back to Jeremiah. He just kept his eyes focused on my book.
"W-what are you doing?" I finally summoned the courage to ask him. He scoffed, a huge smile appearing on his perky lips.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" He asked me. "I'm appreciating art, and getting ready for class of course."
Not in my personal space he was not.
He dropped my book. and then turned to the desk.
"Woah." He placed his hand on the desk. "I had no idea sitting close to the trash can could feel so cool." He continued. "The air here is nice." He nodded, stretching his arms. "Looks like everyone had the wrong idea. Sitting here doesn't feel bad at all."
"God, I'm so embarrassed for Oma."
"Kora's dead meat. She can't live after this." The girls beside us were whispering to themselves.
"How could she let him sit there?"
"What is everyone going to say, when they find out Jeremiah sat at the trash can because of her? How can old money sit by the trash can?"
Jeremiah hit the table so hard with his hand that it made everyone jump in fright. Everyone including me. He shut his eyes for a second, and then drew a deep breath right before he turned to them. The girls cringed in fear.
"Don't you have anything to do with your time?" He asked them. "Is gossiping the only thing you three rabbits are good at?"
"Rabbits?" One of them scoffed.
"Did he just call us rabbits?" Another one whispered
"I think he did." The last one whispered right back.
"If the thought of staying close to the trash can disgusts you so much, then why did you make such a silly rule in the first place?" He asked them "Why would you make someone else sit there?!"
"Why are you yelling at us?" The first one spoke up. "It's not like we made the rules, or gave her the black card in the first place. That was Oma. We are only following the rules. She wouldn't have been given a black card anyway, if she wasn't such a cheap whore that tried to seduce you."
Jeremiah scoffed.
"What about you?" He asked her.
"What?"
"What are you going to call yourself, if you call her a whore? Who said she was a whore? Who said she tried to seduce me?" He let out a frustrated groan. "God, I'm tired of all you sick people." He clicked his tongue. "Talking to all of you only gives me a migraine."
He clicked his tongue again, and then turned to me. I just sat still, lost in whatever that was. He smiled again at me. I didn't understand, I couldn't understand what any of that was supposed to mean. What on earth was happening? What had changed? Why was he acting so differently? So weird?
"Let's talk." I told him. I got up from my seat quickly, and then reached for my phone. "Come with me."
I turned and then walked away.
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Lady K
The class was still a bit shaken by the recent turn of events. especially since Oma and her minions had angrily walked out on everyone, right after Kora and Jeremiah. Some still talked about it, while others just talked over it. Luke on the other hand, was in his feelings, and pretending not to be. He was in his jealous moment, caught in between thinking about what had happened, and thinking about what was happening. He had spent most of his time the last minute staring back at the empty desks beside the trash can. and then turning back to his book, pretending to concentrate. Good thing he and Racheal went exactly over what had happened the other day. He had actually made a right choice to stay mad at her, and sit tables apart from her in class so he didn't care if she just sat there, behind him, watching him and feeling so sorry for herself. He didn't care about any of that. Kora was the only thing he could think about.
Was she okay? Was Jeremiah trying to hurt her again? What on earth was going on? The suspense was killing him. He let out an exhale and then turned back to his book.
"Guys!" The girl in front of him yelled at her other friends, closing her mirror quickly and smacking her lips. "Did you guys hear?" She asked them.
"Hear what?" Someone else asked her. "Did your older brother buy another Rolls Royce?
She shook her head.
"Someone told me that a special VIP would be joining young money at NAUN today."
"A special VIP? Who?"
Goodness gracious, their chittering was so disturbing. Luke could barely even concentrate. That was one reason he hated to sit in front of, and behind girls during class, especially if they were members of his class. If they were seniors.
"Second level though, our class. He's going to be joining us. Okay he was supposed to be in third level, but he got held back by a class, since he just came back from Singapore, he might actually be schooling here permanently." She drummed in her desk. She was so excited. More excited than Luke had ever seen her.
"What is it? Who is it. Olivia drop taunting us and just spill already."
"Bribe me."
"Are you serious?" Another one hit the table jokingly. "Is this how I do when I have an exclusive gist?"
"Hewo. Aunty calm down. Okay, I'm just going to say it, because I'm really anxious too." She gestured the other girl to get closer, so she could whisper into her ear. Luke exhaled. He wasn't going to get bothered by it. He just kept his attention back in his book.
"Huh?!" The other girl yelled at the top of her lungs. "Charles Orji! "
Luke's pencil broke into halves. They all turned to look at him. His hands were beginning to tremble. He raised his head to them quickly. The first girl blinked at him.
"W-" he started. He was running out of breath. "What did you just say?" He asked the girl with the news.
"What's wrong with him?" The second girl asked the other one.
"The name you just called." He continued. "The name of the person that's coming to NAUN today," he paused "Who was it?"
The first girl scoffed.
"Charles!" She yelled. "It's Charles Orji, what's so bad about it?"
Luke got up quickly, and then grabbed his phone. He didn't want to hear anything else. He didn't need to hear anything else. He needed to leave. He needed to find Kora immediately. He ran out of the classroom.
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Kora
I got to the rooftop first. My back against the door, and my hands folded underneath my breasts, waiting for him to join me. I had enough time. The cool breeze whirled my skirt slowly, and my braids too. The rooftop had to be one of my favorite places in NAUN, especially since I was too scared to go to the swimming pool after what happened the night before. I loved how tiny the buildings around me looked from up there. How the birds built their nests on tall trees. I loved seeing the trees dance in sync with the wind. It was blissful. It took about three seconds right before Jeremiah walked in after me. I knew he did, I could smell him. I turned to him before he even got close to me. He was taking his time to approach me, scratching the side of his left brow with his finger, while his other hand remained in his pocket. He was too calm for the kind of drama he had performed minutes ago in the classroom.
He exhaled, and then came to a stop in front of me. I watched a tiny smile appear on his face as his first hand found its way to his other pocket. That was it. His smile. The pretty smile I didn't want to see. He was trying to distract me, to make me forget how upset I was. I couldn't let him.
He pouted his lips a little bit to the side, and then lowered his gaze for my bandaged elbow.
"How's your elbow?" He asked me.
I held my breath, and then spread my arms wide.
"What was that?" I finally got the chance to ask him, ignoring his question totally. He raised his eyes to me.
"What are you talking about?"
"That." I pointed at the door. "This." I pointed at the both of us.
He raised his brows at me. Christ, I was so confused. I swear I had made a whole speech in my head about all the things, and curses I wanted to tell him on our way to the rooftop, but at that moment, I just couldn't even bring myself together, talk more of remembering any of them. I took a deep breath, and then exhaled. I just needed to breathe.
"Why did you do that back there?"
"Sit with you by the trash can?" He asked me. I nodded. "Isn't it obvious? I just wanted to."
"You just wanted-" I was trying so hard not to laugh. I didn't even know how to feel about any of it. I found myself wanting to cry again, and I didn't even know why. "What kind of games are you trying to pull this time?" I asked him. "Are you still mad at me? Are you still mad at me for lying to you? Is that why you're doing all these? Is that why you're ready to go all lengths to ruin my life?"
My voice was breaking now, but I tried to keep it together. I didn't want to raise my voice, and I didn't want to sound so soft either. After an entire night of crying and hating myself, I had finally come to a decision that I was going to stop trying. That I was going to stop giving anyone opportunities to ride over me. I was going to forget him. I was going to forget both of them. The two boys that took my heart for granted, I was going to start over. That whole process was the point. That was me trying to show him that I was over it. That was me trying to protect my sanity, to start over.
"Why did you do it?" I asked him. "Why did you take my side? What changed? What's the reason for the things you do? What game are you trying to play with me? No one is here, tell me right now, tell me how much more you're going to use me, so I can at least prepare for it."
"I'm not trying to use you."
"Oh really?" I forced a chuckle. That had to be the funniest thing I had heard all week. He just said he wasn't trying to use me. "So what? You're just going to stand there and lie? And tell me everything was real?"
"Yes."
"You pity me, don't you?"
"Nope."
I scoffed. How could he be so straight forward? How could he be a perfect liar? I couldn't believe the guts of this guy.
"What on earth is wrong with you? Why do you keep messing with my head and confusing me? I have a lot of questions that I need answers to. I need to know why you never defended me. Why you never told anyone the truth. Why you watched them humiliate me, when you knew you could end it with the truth. Are you enjoying this? Are you so caught up in your quest for revenge, that you're going to just let them keep doing this to me? Why did you even kiss me? Why did you lie about kissing me-"
"Do you want to go out with me?"
I almost rolled back my tongue, and watched it choke me the moment he cut me off with those words. Best part was, my eyes were staring into his shiny brown eyes so hard that I could almost see my reflection in them. I was lost in his eyes.
"W-what?"
"Do you want to go out with me?"
He repeated. Tilting his head a bit, so he could take a good look at a perfectly numb me. Did he just ask me to go out with him? Like be his girlfriend go out with him?
"I'm asking you if you'd want to be my girlfriend."
"I know what you're asking me." I could barely move a muscle. "Why would you ask me that?"
"Because I like you."
I swallowed hard. I did not see that coming at all. I was basically loosing control of all my nervous system, and I felt all the energy in me leave. My heart was racing.
I watched him take a deep breath, right before he stood straight, and then stretched his shoulders, a tiny smile appearing on his face. He turned back to look at me. He must have seen how flustered my cheeks were. especially since he had to bend over slightly to maintain a certain head level with me. I was pale. Did Jeremiah just confess his feelings to me? Jeremiah Ozor? Was this a joke? It definitely had to be a joke.
"I really like you."
I managed to snap out of it. I had to get back to my senses.
"I'm not in the mood for your jokes."
He scoffed. The smile on his face brightening. I was so embarrassed.
"As a matter of fact, we don't have to talk about this anymore. Let's just get back to class or we'd be late."
I think that was it. I just needed to get back to class and get away from him, so I could breathe again. I turned to leave, and then I froze the moment I looked towards the door. There was someone coming out of it, tall, a bit huge, grey hair and dark skinned with thick black connecting beards. He had a stick of cigarette in his mouth, and looked like he was about to light it.
I cringed back immediately. I could feel my entire body go numb and lifeless. I could hear my heart beat slowly. It was like I was slowly having a heart attack, and I couldn't breathe. I took a step back again, my hands finding their way on my chest, and squeezing on to my shirt slowly. I needed to hold on to something. I was scared I was going to fall if I didn't. For the first time in a long time I felt it again. That feeling of breath leaving you. That feeling of not being able to breathe right before you die. Somehow I was able to grab on to Jeremiah's hand. I was so sure I had given him quite a scare with the way I squeezed his hand so hard.
I watched the figure in front of us in a neat pair of NAUN uniform take a deep breath as he looked around, puffing smoke right out of his mouth, and then shifting his gaze right where we stood. That was when our eyes met. I watched him slowly reach for his cigarette. He took it out of his mouth and just stared at me. A tiny smirk curved his lips. My whole body was beginning to stiffen. I held on tighter to Jeremiah's arm, till my nails almost bore a hole through his jacket. I felt like my lungs were collapsing, and I was struggling for air.
"Hey." Jeremiah tried to shake me. "Are you okay?"
I slowly turned to him. There were tears clouding my eyes now, threatening to fall, no, they were actually falling. I tried to speak. I wanted to tell him, but the more I tried to talk, the more I opened my mouth, nothing but air and weird sounds came out, and then more tears from my eyes. I shut my eyes quickly. I couldn't even say a thing, but I hope he understood how distressed I was. I couldn't stop myself from crying.
"Hey." He shook me gently, while I just kept holding on tightly to his sleeves, especially when the boy took a few steps closer to us.
"Jeremiah?" He stretched out his hand for a shake from Jerry, even before he was close enough. I hurriedly went behind Jeremiah, hoping to use him as a shield. Hoping he was going to hide me and protect me. He watched me. He could see how scared I was. I saw him slowly turn back to the boy in front of us with his hands still stretched for a shake. Jeremiah stared at him. He was hesitating, and that was when we heard it, loud footsteps from the door. right before the door flung open immediately.
"Kora!" Luke yelled my name.
Everything else was beginning to happen in slow motion. I found myself looking at everyone, one after the other. My entire sense organs had failed. I had lost my ability to hear now. Everything just echoed, and then became static. My eye sight was next. I could barely see anyone, except they were in two's, and then I stopped seeing them at all. I fell to the ground.
I fainted.