The signs were there and they had been clear, but priorities had been shifted. Diverse goals had been involuntarily put in place.If Isabelle could go back to this very moment, she would have made different choices. She wished she had taken a different step. If she had paid just a little more attention, things wouldn't have turned out as they did. For coming late, Mr Edward had asked Emily to run laps around the track. It was unlike Emily to not have argued as she dropped her bag among the many others on the field and did as she had been told.Watching her best friend move with her mood as solid as a rock, Isabelle wondered what might have happened. Emily had come out a few minutes after Martin joined them. Martin hadn't been punished and had even been asked to sit at the bleachers or the bench set aside under the canopy on the field. He had chosen to sit under the canopy and watch. It was unfair he hadn't been punished, but then again he looked unwell. She didn't know him well and
Turned out the whole drama had been as real as the pain that accompanied the nurse' effort to treat Isabelle's wounded ankle.The sickbay was a sparkling white room, which had been divided into two sections — the male and female section. Each side had three beds on both sides of the room and was divided by white-painted wallboard. To get to the other side, which was the male's section, one would have to come out through the entrance/exit of the female's, walk a little to the right of the slightly spacious passage and would find the door to the other aide.Since Bankole had refused to leave, the nurse handed him a towel, as she did to Isabelle, and he took it and dried at a corner. Isabelle had cleaned up too but was dripping slightly and she felt cold.When done, the nurse excused herself for a minute, but no one said a word to the other.Isabelle had no idea of what to say. She felt humiliated and at the same time grateful."Are you okay?" Bankole bent to inspect her ankle and instin
Grace and Jessica had been going downstairs when they noticed Isabelle coming up. She had had her head down, trying to hide her face from passersby and hadn't noticed them till they spoke.The two friends took their sweet time to come down the stairs with their arms folded.Isabelle climbed up, hoping to pass them, but they blocked her — Jessica on her left and Grace on her right."Let me pass," Isabelle said."Let me pass," Grace mimicked.Sniffing, Isabelle wiped her face with her right palm.Jessica eyed her and she realized how bad she must look because she was slightly wet."This is just the beginning," Jessica said. "Since you think you can come here and stay for barely a month and steal my boyfriend, I'll make sure I fix your mentality.""Did I ever say I wanted your boyfriend?!" Isabelle spat.Jessica scrunched u
¶¶You never said I'm leaving,You never said goodbye,You were gone before I knew it.And only God knew why...~ Author unknown (source: google)¶¶“Your shirt.” Isabelle pointed at the stain her wet hair and tears had left on Joel's PE shirt.Joel frowned. “Yeah.”“I'm sorry.”“It's... It's okay,” he said.They both decided to go to the washroom — each to their gender-based section — to clean up and change their clothes.When they were done, they returned to their classroom, where Isabelle was greeted with a lot of snide comments and booing.“Here comes the bitch!” One girl shouted.“All hail the queen of bitch-Ville,” another girl said and the whole class laughed.“You guys should shut up,” one boy at the back got up to say. “Y'all are just jea
“Hell, no.” Loveth's disapproval was as blatant as Joel had inferred.Isabelle and Joel were seated across Loveth and Jemina and hadn't been allowed to settle down before Loveth made her rejection known.“Why?” Isabelle stared at everyone.“Because he's a silent monster — aderubaniyan ipalọlọ. He's the worst of their kind. I refuse to work with him.”“At this point, Loveth,” Joel leaned in to say. “You don't get to choose whom you work with.”“Yes, I do.” She pushed her chair back loudly, consequently attracting curious onlookers she didn't care about.Jemina stopped her from leaving and she glared at her.“I can't believe you knew and didn't tell me,” Loveth said. “What kind of friend are you? You know what he did.”“Can someone tell me what this is about?” Isabelle pleaded.“He hasn't told you yet,” Loveth said, shocke
Isabelle's life was governed by two major principles, which are: doing the right thing and getting it right.She had thought she had done the right thing by letting Bankole carry her away, but it had been the exact opposite. She hadn't even done it right.She had done the right thing by meddling in Loveth's business, but she hadn't done it right.Exposing Kelechi was the right thing to do, but she hadn't done it right.She had also done the right thing by wanting to go to the best school in Lagos, but hadn't even done that one right.“Honey! We're going!” Her mom called from the other side of the door.Isabelle rolled from staring at the ceiling with her teary eyes to her left side to hide her face and behave l
Isabelle stared up at the ceiling. “You don't understand. What can I do about it? I told you, I'm grounded. Moreover, how are we going to save Loveth if she's going over to Mr Stanley's this evening? She doesn't trust you and I don't even have my phone with me. There are a lot of obstacles now.”Joel pondered on what to do for a while. “When do your parents come home?”“I don't know. It depends. My mom forgets stuff a lot, so she comes home midday to grab whatever document she must have left behind. But asides that, at least 8. On busier days, 11.” She sat up. “Why do you ask? Hope it's not what I'm thinking?”“It's the only way.”“I can't leave. My dad will kill me. I'll be in deeper trouble.”“But your conscience will eat you alive before your dad kills you. This is our only shot at this and if we let it go... You said Loveth doesn't like false hopes. You've raised her hopes high. Now imagine what it'll do to her if you don't try your best to get her out of this situation.”He was ri
“I'm not,” Joel had replied Isabelle.He kept his gaze ahead as he continued. “I'm not any different from my friends and I tell myself that every day. The fact that I had no hand in all they did doesn't excuse the fact that I knew and kept my mouth shut. If I can say sorry over and over again to those who have suffered at our hands, I would. “Until now, I didn't realize how bad my silence had been. I used to think as long as I wasn't involved, my sins were less. But as time led on, I realized I had played a bigger role in everything.“Hearing Loveth talk about what we had done to Tope... It, it made me sad and I want to apologize. I want to let her know I didn't mean for any of those things to happen to her, but I don't think she'll listen. She must be too hurt to want to even see my face.”There were no words to make this better, to make him feel better. His silence was his mistake, his sin and it was great. If only he had spoken up, Tope might still be a scholarship student. She wou
Everyone had decided to start all over again.Martin had been discharged and since Badmus High was on a temporary lockdown, he decided to use the free time to intern at an automobile workshop.BHS' football team had been automatically disqualified from the soccer tournament, giving Bankole a tough time to decide what to do with his time. Soccer was all he knew. Since he had decided to abandon his vulgar ways, he couldn't go to the bar or visit any of his old friends.A few days later, his mother showed up again, and this time he had sat down to listen. She hadn't remarried since she left (she couldn't bring herself to do so, she had said) and would love to take him and his sister, Gbemisola, with her. Bankole hadn't been sure at first, but after a few more visits and during a loud disagreement between both his parents, he decided to move in with his mother. Gbemisola wanted to follow her older brother, but Mr Davies wasn
Tope was doing fine, although she felt too ashamed to face anyone. Her parents, especially her mother, had been very disappointed in her but later concluded pointing fingers would do them no good.Loveth was forgiven and so was Joel, but Tope also pleaded that they gave her time to gather herself, to which they agreed.A few days later was the death anniversary of Joel's mother. The whole family — Joel's uncle's family included — had gathered for dinner.Joel had wanted his friends to come along, but they believed it wouldn't be logical if they did. It was their first dinner in a long time as a complete family, which meant there was a lot to talk about. But they promised to tag along in the next one.It was a nice evening, where everyone put aside their differences and had a good laugh. There had been a kind of silent agreement that Victoria Edochie wouldn't want their first dinner as a family to be
Bankole walked into his father's establishment, determined to speak to his father and get to the bottom of this absurdity he had just heard."I'm sorry, but you can't go in. He's in a meeting right now," the receptionist told him, but her stare kept flickering from his face to behind her.His right eyebrow rose slightly at her panicked state, and a mix of laughter suddenly broke the silence in the tensed air as he also heard the elevator doors closing.The receptionist's head snapped to the back as he also looked the same way.A wave of fatigue long-gone returned with an incredible force, almost knocking Bankole off his feet as he found his father's arm draped over a lady young enough to be his daughter.His father's eyes had widened for a split second before they narrowed shot his receptionist a hard glare.~~~Bankole couldn't tell wh
Despite the crazy things happening, the soccer tournament was going great for Badmus High; and at this rate, coach believed they'd be taking the cup home this time, just as Bankole would be recruited by coaches of national teams.Pumped with excitement and determination, Bankole increased his pace, covering more ground as he ran round the school's track. Although it was getting late that Saturday evening, the anticipation hadn't allowed him to sit at home or do anything else. If all eyes were on him this season (being the highest goal scorer on record), he needed to be at his best.It was almost eight when his muscles finally gave in, and he slumped on the grass, beside his bag-pack, panting. After drinking from his bottled water, he sat there for a while, his hands stretched out behind him as he threw his head back, drinking in the cold air that also cooled his skin.As he remained that way fo
¶¶To whom it may concern, be careful of the decisions you makebecause they don't just affect you.Be careful of the path you choose,'cause when a fire is left uncontrolled,it consumes everything in its path.Everything!~ Amberdorn.¶¶Loveth knew her first visit hadn't been accepted with open arms, but what she didn't know was the horrifying effect it brought upon Tope.Joel could tell Loveth was as nervous as he was as they approached Tope's home. Although he had never seen Loveth nervous before, and this did no good to his nerves. She kept running her hand up and down her bag's strap as she stared at the ground beneath her feet.Pushing his emotions aside, he held her hand, stopping it midway down her bag's
She was quiet as he kept his head down. He stole a glance at her face and saw her smiling."It's stupid, right?""Of course, no.""It's stupid. Forget it."She slapped his arm lightly. "No, it's not. Chef Joel."He let out a soft chuckle. "You really think it's a good idea?""Yeah. How long have you known you wanted to cook?""I don't know. I guess because Isaac kept suggesting it and it kind of stuck. At first, I cooked to survive. Then I realized I enjoyed doing it. It became a habit to check magazines for new recipes and also try them."But I never really realized it was something I wanted to do until I looked around and saw we all can't be doctors and nurses. Someone has to make the bags we carry, like Loveth does. Someone has to mix the drinks at the bars or events, like Isaac. Someone also has to teach girls and women to be wise and stan
The past three months at Badmus High had not only been daunting but also life-threatening. Lives were tweaked by fate and their owners either danced well to its tune or broke a leg while dancing very differently.Those who had danced well were rewarded with new perspectives and another shot at being a better person; those who broke legs weren't sure if a future existed for them, and these people included Emily.Emily had finally recovered, physically that is, and was discharged to go home to her family. She came out with her hand in a cast and a mind twisted with horror, but everyone advised her to be at least grateful she came out alive. Many had lost their lives in cases like this, but God had been faithful to her.Emily wanted to believe God had been merciful, but after all, she caused herself and everyone around her, could that be true? Sadly, she didn't believe so.Her parents, being too scared because of
Isaac had gone to his workplace to request for leave since exams were coming up, and he needed more time to read. But it was mostly because he was more concerned with finding Emily and was starting to feel a little ill. His boss had granted him the leave, albeit reluctantly, and he had been leaving the place when he saw Jide emerging from his car.Jide had stopped to get something at a pharmaceutical store close by, and Isaac only crossed the road when he saw a female seated in the front seat.It had taken him a while — after he crossed the road — to recognize that the girl was Emily. Her face was battered up, malnourished, and she was coated in an oversized jumper. Isaac had been attempting to open locked the door when Jide came out.When he confronted Jide, the two had got into a huge fight that attracted passers-by, who were the reason the fight was ended.While Isaac tried to explain Jide was a kidna
Loveth wasn't so discrete in hiding her disdain for Jessica, neither was she trying, and the same went for Jessica, who glared hard at her before returning to what she was telling them.“Look, I know this might be hard to believe,” Jessica said. “Especially since it's coming from me—”“I'm glad you know,” Loveth interrupted Jessica for the umpteenth time since she began talking, and if it wasn't for Jessica's need to prove she was telling the truth, she would have shut Loveth up the hard way.“Isabelle,” Jessica called softly. “I know what I saw, and honestly, I don't see what I'll be gaining by lying to you.”Isabelle had felt light-headed by the news Jessica relayed to them and, with the help of Joel, had sat on the bench.They had reached the bus-stop —where they found Lovett who was waiting for them, so they'd go to Joel's house and see what else they could come up with — minutes ago, when