Thursday
For a reasonable amount of time, I occupied one of the desks in the front row of my classroom, thinking about the similarity between Khadijat's case and mine. Even if my dad was really never available to fill the void mom left, I knew he loved me and my siblings very much. Still, I couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen if his other wife gave him a male child. I wondered if he was going to stop sending me to school, because people do say, "women eventually end up in the kitchen no matter the educational height they attain in life".
"Where exactly did you travel to?" My English Teacher waved five of his fingers over my eyes.
"Sorry, sir" I comported myself and opened my school bag to bring out my notebook.
"You can take that back. I'm not here to teach you", He grinned."Just give me the press club minute book".
"Oh..."I started feeling uneasy.
From being an ordinary member of the press club, I turned secretary because I knew how to compose the news to be read by selected students on Friday mornings, yet I found it difficult to keep an accurate record of the meetings we held and do things that will add spice to our gatherings, which was a major reason studeats hated joining our club. I wished I could do something to change that but I was too preoccupied with studying, and the support gotten from my club members was nothing to write home about.
"If I don't see it by Monday, you'll be in soup", Mr. Yemi roared and moved out when he got tired of waiting for me to bring put the minute book which I prayed to be in my bag by mistake but never saw. Besides, our marketing teacher also came in and pretended like he was going to teach me. He was a real lifesaver.
By noon, I had already forgotten about Mr. Yomi's threat. My mind was occupied with the thought of visiting John who was one of my favorite classmates too. When you see the light-skinned guy, you can't help smiling because his eyes look like that of a vulnerable lady but underneath that lies the expert who the whole of GMC runs to when they have issues with their electronic gadgets and a hardcore teenage who wouldn't hesitate to scam anyone if he had the chance to do so.
There are lots of reasons why I shouldn't have liked John, yet I did. I would use any opportunity I get to discuss important issues with him or tease him well but I have never wished to have him all to myself. He was fond of talking about swindling white girls on social media, especially with his allies - Kenny and Matthew. Not once did was he ever serious about dating a girl. Aside from attending school, John also registered with an establishment where he goes regularly to learn how to operate computers perfectly and that was where I went, trying to find out why his sorry ass hasn't been in school.
"Good afternoon, sir", I greeted his boss who was staring at me suspiciously.
"What can I do for you?"He said sternly.
"I'm here to see John, an apprentice here who's also my classmate", I explained to him.
"Oh..he went home to get something for me", His voice became more friendly.
"Is it going to take a while before he gets back?" I asked.
"I don't know but if you're in a hurry, you can go meet him there", He suggested.
Actually, I've always wanted to go to his house and have a taste of his mom's delicious swallow foods which was the talk of the town so I thought that would be the perfect opportunity to make my dreams come true.
"Hmm... Hmmm..John told me earlier that his mom wasn't home. Are you sure you'll be safe there with him alone?", A young male employee said, looking as though he's had the intention of spiting me for long.
Who the hell did he think he was? I should have told him that my look and inability to talk too much doesn't depict my level of strength when it comes to dealing with the opposite sex!
"Thanks for your concern buh I'll be alright," I said politely and stepped outside the sliding door, where I came in contact with John himself.
"Hey, what's up?"He smiled at me in an unusual manner.
"I'm good and you", I smiled back.
"Wait for me. I'll be back", He went to deliver a message for his boss and returned to me."How did you get this place, omo get inside?"
"Shut up for!" I hit his right shoulder."Won't you entertain me?"
"Who forced you to come here?"He turned his back on me.
"You can't even say thank you. What kind of human being are you?" I shook my head.
"The type that'll soon be the world's greatest Computer Engineer", He said proudly.
"How's that ever going to happen if you don't go to school?"I made fun of him.
"The woman that sells drinks there is my customer so just collect one from her, and go home. I'll pay for it", He described the shop's location for me.
"Aren't you even going to escort me?"I blocked his path.
"I have lots of work to do, besides you're not my girlfriend", He moved away from me.
Despite knowing John might be pulling a prank on me, I went to get a drink from his customer like he told me to and she gave me even though she was slightly worried he might not be able to pay her his huge debt earlier since his mom was unable to open her 'buka' because she had an accident. As soon as she said that, I understood he must have been trying to work more so he will be able to support his family, and I really felt for him but I was still angry he hid that kind of thing from me! It felt so sad I didn't even have the right to challenge him about it because I couldn't proffer any solution to his problem and we were not even that close.
When John first enrolled in our school, I saw him as a competitor because a senior who got his info before anyone else told me he was more brilliant than I was. Later, I found out she was lying but my good conscience wouldn't let me rub it on either of their faces. Eventually, the entire school became aware of the romantic relationship going on between the two of them but that time, I didn't even think it'll be easy for him to remember her last name though she just graduated last session. Looks like the relationship was purely based on material gains.
Friday
On Fridays, I and my female classmates loved singing the hits of our favorite hip hop artists then during the fellowship hour which comes up at noon, we also lead the entire school in singing mind-blowing praise and worship songs. I wasn't used to singing alone so I knew there were lots of students mocking me because my voice won't stop going off key while I was leading the praise and worship session for the first fellowship in our final school year but there was nothing I could do about it.
Thankfully, our proprietor made his preaching short that day, so we didn't have to stand for too long, and I got the chance to go home early like the rest since there wasn't going to be any executives' meeting either. Nevertheless, I still experienced a bit of delay at the gate side after coming in contact with Kenny, who rode his bicycle to school in order to get a new pair of uniform even though his house was very close.
"What's sup, man?" He offered me a hand.
"Someone seems to have forgotten that he once tried to date me"I japed him.
"What was I even thinking then?" He gave me his comb."Why haven't you cut your hair? You look like a madwoman!"
"Whatever! It's not your look!" I scowled at him.
"I heard you've been visiting people a lot lately, and my house is close yet..." He sounded like someone in pain.
"Visiting Funsho Balogun's house is more preferable to me!" I told him.
"Hmm...are in any way scared that you would find me irresistible?" He winked.
"For your mind!"I walked out on him.
"Just be careful!" He warned.
"Careful my foot!"I thought. The last time I checked, Kenny was really the person one needed to look out for, cause he just might be interested in forcefully making a girl satisfy his urge. He was the one and the only guy many accused of having amorous relationships with junior students in GMC.
Funsho Balogun was nicknamed, "appa" by me as well because he was the oldest male in our class, that still lacked the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to excel in his academic studies. Although the bad environment he lived in influenced him to behave like a thug sometimes, he never once thought of hurting us and we loved him very much. Since it was my first time visiting his house, I was somewhat excited.
Instead of going through the long process used in cooking porridge like I originally planned, I made noodles with crayfish for lunch to conserve time. After that, I wore the only pair of ripped jeans I had with a black top which had the drawing of a skeleton to at least make myself appear like a gangster, and keep the bad guys in his street away from me. Still concerned about my safety, I decided to go to Jessica's house and beg her to embark with me on this dangerous trip because she was tougher than I was but unfortunately, I didn't meet her at home because she followed one of her Aunt to sell wares at the market.
Following the address written in a slightly rumpled sheet of paper, I roamed about in search of Appa's house till sunset, when a young lad who had terrifying eyes and tatoos on his neck approached me. He also reeked of local gin, which almost made me want to throw up but I couldn't complain. Right then, I knew it was time to apply techniques that would make me look streetwise. For me, that included acting like I thought everything about him was cool, and using street slangs when necessary. These were the only things I thought could save me from incurring his wrath.
"Fine girl, how are you?" He said to me with a strong Yoruba accent.
"Fine, thank you", I smiled, trying as much as possible to remain calm.
"Your necklace is also fine like you", His eyes left my face and landed on my necklace. Right then, I blamed myself for not protecting mom's keepsake, by keeping it in my wardrobe as I used too.
Funny how I don't even use jewelries on a normal day and someone decides to steal it on the first day I tried.
"Thanks", I smiled nervously.
"Since it's worth thousands of naira, may I have your permission to steal it?" He smirked.
"You should know there are repercussions for stealing things that belong to a dead person", I tried to scare him off.
"Only actors of Yoruba movies face that, fool!" He made fun of me.
"Do you know what it means to mess with me?" I frowned.
"Who the hell are you?" He raised his voice and moved closer to me.
"Funsho Balogun's girlfriend", I replied, hoping to save myself from further threats.
"You just got yourself into more trouble", He grabbed my hands forcefully and took me to an uncompleted building where other guys like him holding sticks of cigarettes within their extremely dark lips, were having a rowdy meeting.
"
My classmates and I love it when our Civic Education teacher comes into our homeroom and decides to talk about cultism. We found it easy to recite the names of cult groups than the first twenty elements, yet none of us wanted to have an experience with them since he told us the result is always terrible. In fact, I was so terrified by this that I planned to persuade my dad to get me an apartment off campus when I gain admission into the university to avoid constant harassment until my cousin who was a 200 level university student told me cult activities are worse in those areas.
That very day, I realized the meaning of the adage, "You can force a horse to the river but you can't force it to drink water". Despite all the moral training, we received in school, I never thought Appa would decide to be a member of a cult group even though he was tough. I thought he wasn't capable of engaging in criminal activities but I was wrong. The only reason that guy abducted me was because he had an issue with Funsho and his cult group. That was why he didn't hesitate to inflict pain on me for being associated with them.
"I hear you're Funshy's girlfriend. Why would someone like you be with that gorilla?"Their leader mumbled as he circled the pillar I was tied to.
"I'm not his girlfriend..."I replied with eyes decorated by fresh tears.
"Didn't your mom tell you lying is bad?" The other guy hit my face and pinned down my neck in an effort to cease my breath.
A/N:
Oh..poor Lily. Do you think she deserves what happened to her? If you were in her shoes, what would you have done? Please, let me know your view about this chapter, and don't forget to click on the star icon underneath and share it with everyone you know that loves reading teen fiction books. God bless you 😍😬. More also, a big shout out to other Nigerians like me who are still standing strong despite the state of the country. May God restore total peace, law, and order in our beloved nation.