Chapter 5

Ten Years Back...High School.

Valery was average regarding weight and did not hide her love for food. Plump cheeks and a sharp jawline. Although her head was well-rounded and small, her thick black hair made it look twice its size. She had small eyes and a cute nose that complimented her appearance. Valery had dark brown skin, soft and glossy. Her lips were full and tainted with a light shade of pink on the bottom.

She went for the usual during lunch break; Jollof rice with fried chicken and potato salad. With much delight, she dug in, but an approaching presence made her lift her head after a few bites.

"So, where were you during the fourth and fifth periods?" Margret was curious. As much as they told each other everything, Valery knew not to mention where she was. Margret loved being a matchmaker and had already shipped her with many of their mates. Being paired with Derrick was the last thing she needed. 

Margret sat down with her tray and dug into her food.

Valery: "I was at the library. Did Sir York ask of me?"

Margret: "Yes, he did!"

The reply made Valery cough violently. She quickly dashed for Margret's juice box without asking and saved herself with a long sip.

Margret: "I'm kidding; he did not. Hahaha, look at you, I thought you'd be brave enough to face the consequences, but here you are choking on your food. You're lucky he didn't ask."

Valery took a deep breath, suppressing the cough in her throat. "Marge, you nearly killed me... wait, does that mean there was no Baptism today?"

"As a loyal member of the Baptism team, he would have noticed your absence if it came off today. You're the general secretary of the club. Bahahaha." Margret cackled.

Baptism was a name the maths tutor gave for his impromptu quizzes. Students who fell below the pass mark had to spend another hour after school to redeem themselves. And those who still couldn't make it did manual labour for punishment. 

Valery did Nothing but hide as Margret's outburst drew attention. "Shush, people are watching!" she whispered.

"Boo Hoo, I don't care. Let's hurry up and leave anyway; I don't want to miss the next class. You fear math; I hate Social Studies. They always talk about dead people. Isn't it sad enough that I have to know their date of birth and death when I can't even remember my grandma's?" Margret yapped.

Valery: "You have a huge problem, but I couldn't agree more. Haha."

Margret: "Hmm, we should let them rest in peace."

Valery: "Shut the hell up, ungrateful citizen! Hahaha. Do you want their ghosts to look for you?"

Margret: "They can try; my grandma will beat the patriotism out of them. Okay, I won't joke anymore. I know why I must study them, so I guess that's that."

***

A few weeks passed, and Valery went nowhere near Leo's secret room or skipped math class. Eventually, she faced Baptism sometimes but kept trying harder to improve her scores. At times Margret helped her cheat, and she, in turn, did the same for her friend when it came to social studies and other subjects. 

Although she and Derrick naturally bumped into each, Valery acted like he was invincible but took short glances behind the scenes. This, of course, did not escape Margret's eagle eyes. Anytime she asked about it, Valery denied it.

One day Valery could not meet the mark for Baptism and had to wait an hour after school. However, there was a special occasion that required her presence at home. She tried explaining the situation to the teacher during the period, but he did not give her a chance as he was in a hurry. 

The class president, Steven, gave her an idea. "Write a letter. That way, he would have to let you go."

So, after class, Valery had the letter ready, sealed in an envelope. She waited thirty minutes for Mr York, but he was caught in a staff meeting. Thus, Valery leaves the letter on his table in the teacher's office.

The next day, Valery suffered one of the most embarrassing moments of her life. Morning assembly in a Ghanaian setting was only fun for the younger ones in nursery and pre-school. Their routine generally consisted of singing rhymes and saying short prayers.

For students in High Schools, it was full of announcements about fees, incoming projects and programs, counselling sessions and the humiliation of students who flaunt rules. 

Valery was among the clowns getting punished for Baptism on that oddly bright day. Her punishment was doubled for not redeeming herself after class. Valery tried to explain why she had to leave to the teacher, but it backfired.

"The punishment is not only for missing yesterday's Baptism. I've noticed you slack off in my class. I want you to excel as my student. If l go easy on you because you're a girl, it will not change. No matter what the issue is, try and complete your punishment. Moreover, you will do it today since you did not partake in yesterday's Baptism. If you fail, more work for you."

Valery stood frozen, not knowing whether to leave or say anything else. If there was one thing students knew about teachers in this school, they hated excuses, no matter how serious they were. "If that is all you may leave." Mr York readily dismissed her. 

Benson stood at the entrance for a few minutes, gathering herself for the inevitable. As she turned to leave, she instantly crashed into someone. "Leo?" she muttered as she was steadied by the young man.

Her face becomes teary when their eyes meet, but she lowers her head. Valery gently pulled her hands from Derrick's grasp and then walked away. Luckily Derrick did not stop her. 

Valery seemed like someone other than the type who took well to being embarrassed in public. He could feel her vulnerability. She seemed delicate-unlike the girl who made him ask to keep a secret. The same one that would not be intimidated by him.

After the third period, Margret accompanied Valery to take her punishment. Her friend was to scrub the washroom on the fourth floor. What made the task more daunting was that the Punished was to refrain from using the taps in the restroom. This meant carrying buckets of water up on their own. The school was always full of water supply, and pipes were everywhere, but this was done to make their punishment dense. While others were in class, they would be working.

After the third bucket went up, Valery thanked Margret and asked her to return to class. Her friend was able to help because the English teacher was not in, but the next period was near. The Science teacher was always punctual.

While dragging the weight of a bucket up, Valery misses a step and slips at the edge of the stairs. The bucket of water poured over her as she fell eight steps down and ran down the third floor.

"Damn it! Now I have to clean this up... Ahh!" She got furious, not even realising how badly she had wounded herself.

Valery grabbed the handrail, but the sharp pain slowed her down immediately. She then discovered how far bent her left foot was and the uneven scrapes on her knee and below. A fresh burn made her jerk forward when her elbow touched the wall. The shock was too honest to cry right away; things were yet to sink in. 

Taking in short breaths, Valery attempts to hop on the right foot, careful not to slip the second time on the wet floor. After some effort, she paused. The ache climbed up her waist as she whimpered, biting her lower lip and thinking, 'Of all days, I picked this one to be clumsy.'

 When a splash dampened his neatly trimmed hair, Derrick was on his way up. A bit agitated, he climbed up to see which student that just made it to his naughty list. But after finding Valery in an awful state, all that anger vanished. Her innocent face was soaked with tears, her skirt crumpled and wet, and blood trickled down her leg. Derrick was shaken by the scene but kept his composure to not freak her out the more.

"Violet, how did this happen?" He asked, but only Valery's cries could be heard.

"Let's go to the sick bay." Derrick offered a hand, but the other shook her head. "Why?" Now was a lousy time to be complicated. Valery glanced at her injured foot and then back at him, drawing Derrick's attention to the most significant setback.

 "You can't walk." He concludes. Valery nods. "I'll take care of this," Derrick said.

 Gently sliding a left hand under Valery's knees, Derrick lifted her slowly. Valery bites down her tongue as her legs go up. Her left foot had shifted far to the right, hanging loosely. She grabbed on tightly and buried her face in Derrick's neck, writhing in pain.

"What are you doing? Put me down...and go get help." She cried.

 "No time for that. I'll get you to the infirmary," Derrick cautiously proceeded down the stairs.

Four students on their way to class were met with the scene of Leo carrying another student, and that raised the alarm. They offered to help carry her, but he told them to move out. 

In no time, students below turned their heads in their classrooms, watching in awe as Valery was carried through the compound. They could not see her face, but she was still ashamed. The feeling of helplessness washed over her like cold water.

Soon, some students in the classes above came out to look at the commotion. 

"It's Leo. But who is he carrying?" Students conversed amongst themselves. 

Margret, after squeezing hard enough, realised that it was her friend. Startled, she runs down. With her rushing towards the two, most students guessed who the damsel in distress was. Margret only moved around with her plus one.

"Don't cry; we'll be there soon."

 "They're looking at me. They'll laugh." Valery sobbed.

"Keep holding onto me like this, and they won't know it's you."

At that moment, Margret crowed. "Valery, what happened!!"

"Too late, your friend blew your cover," said Derrick. That statement caused Valery to cry louder.

The teachers' attention was drawn to what was going on, and they, too, tried to get involved, but Derrick insisted he could not let her go. So, they focussed on forcing students back into their classrooms.

 In a few more minutes, they made it to the sick bay. Derrick offered to help the nurse, but Margret took over and told him to wait outside.

The school nurse removed Valery's shoes and her discoloured white sock. "It's dislocated," the middle-aged woman commented as she took a moment to examine the foot. "Where is the boy that brought her in?"

"He is outside," said Margret.

"Get him here now."

Margret returned with Derrick in a flash. "I found her like this on my way up the stairs. She had a bucket in her hand. I believe she was carrying water up but slipped," he explained.

The nurse was disturbingly quiet. The situation was severe and out of her hands. She called the nearest hospital and gave details of the accident to prepare for their arrival. 

"Can I come along?  She fears hospitals and would feel better if she had a friend with her. The teacher handling my class will not be coming in the next period. So, let me help." Derrick was humble and polite.

His request was so heartfelt that the nurse saw no reason to deny him. On the other end, Margret gaped at him, astonished. Since when did Valery have the chance to talk to Leo, and how did he know she hated going to hospitals?

'A friend? What am I then?' She thought to herself. All the same, she sealed her lips.

The school had a van for these kinds of problems, and that spoke highly of the administrators. Only a few schools considered this.

On their way, the nurse stayed in the front seat with the driver whiles Derrick and Margret remained in the back with Valery. Margret stared at Derrick, who, in turn, was fixated on Valery. Occasionally he would hold her hands and squeeze gently when her endurance failed.

 "Are you two dating?" Margret asked without hesitation. Derrick seemed to be stung by the question; he did not reply.

"Stop talking nonsense," Valery said through clenched teeth.

"How is that nonsense? I see the tension between you two. Sorry if I'm not the type to hold my thoughts in, but you're my best friend, and I notice how you stare at him when he..."

Valery shot herself up and replied harshly. "Will you shut up! The fuck!"

Margret closed her mouth briefly, peeping to see if the nurse had heard them. Derrick held onto the injured, supporting Valery's back in the sudden jolt. He sighed silently, keeping his head down and trying hard not to expose the laugh on his cheeks.

Margret raised her palms to Valery as a sign of surrender. 'Wow, she's wounded but blushing. Her face would have turned red if she had a very fair complexion.  Look at them; they can't even look at each other. This is so not over. I'm sailing this ship to shore.' Her thoughts never changed.

***

The hospital received them well, and Valery was treated. She sustained a moderate tear in her ligament, but luckily, it did not require surgery. The foot would take about three to five weeks to heal.

The doctor kept her admitted for a day or two to check for any internal injury. Then came the tricky part: letting her parents know she was hospitalised. This was sure to get the school in trouble. 

Meanwhile, Valery was left in the room with Derrick, and the silence was almost deafening. Margret left to get some juice at the cafeteria. Pumped with painkillers, Valery's mind was less disturbed. 'Why did he take care of me like that? We barely know each other?' She did not know how to feel. 

"Did you have to come?" Valery mustered the courage to speak. Eyes shyly low.

"Yes," Derrick answered calmly.

Valery peeped at him for the umpteenth time, "You could have just called for help and not carried me down. What if we both fell on those slippery stairs?"

Derrick chuckled. "Am I being scolded for aiding?"

"No, I'm just surprised... I'm sorry, thank you," Valery swallowed her spit.

Derrick looks at her with a smile. "No need to. You did give me quite a fright." He brushed the back of his palm on her cheek.

Valery looked away, shutting down internally. "About what Margret said earlier... ignore her; she's a hopeless romantic." To be frank, Margret's theory did startle her. Valery felt like a spy who had no idea another spy was watching.

"Pfft! You don't have to explain. After all, this is not a movie where the girl falls in love with the guy because he saved her life or protected her." Derrick spoke her language. Valery raised her head sharply. The symbolism made her heart race and her lips curve faintly.

"Why did you not return to the haunted classroom?"

Valery edged her gaze, confused. "Was I not meant to stay away?"

"Did you not like the room or the chocolate bar?" In a way, Derrick had been waiting for her to reappear.

The first time was a mistake, but Leo intentionally left the door unlocked the days after. Hoping that a certain someone would want to run away from math class. But that someone never came.

 "Just say what you want to." Valery did not appreciate the sudden uneasiness.

Derrick laughed. Today, he appeared gentle and less intimidating. "You can come to my hideout anytime you feel like it. I don't mind having you around. What's a ghost if he can't scare you occasionally."

Valery averted her gaze. Those words made her blush, and she did not want to expose herself. It was strange hearing a feared bully say that.

 "One more thing, next time you get punished for something as silly as baptism, just let me know."

"Leo, what are you up to?" Valery said.

Derrick suddenly had to satisfy an urge to touch her hand. "Nothing, don't overthink about it. I will be distraught if you ever get into trouble and fail to run to me. Again, call me Derrick."

Valery was awestruck. There was Nothing wrong with making an unexpected friend, even if he was a wolf that did not hide in sheepskin. There ought to be a good reason why Leo was feared by most of their seniors. 

Valery exhaled, unsure how Margret would react if she knew about this conversation. 'She does not need to know.' Her heart and mind agreed as she turned to Derrick with a full grin.