They say man wasn't born wicked. Instead, man taught man to be wicked. And this saying was actually true.
Bankole, Martin, Joel, Jessica, Opeoluwa and Grace: all six of them hadn't been born this way. They didn't use to be kids who derived pleasure in other people's sufferings, weaknesses or flaws. They used to be nice kids. That was until they realized how cruel the human race could be.
For Bankole, it all started with his mom leaving. His peers begun teasing him, saying no female would ever love him, since his own mom couldn't.
And Martin: his poor background was no news to anyone who knew his foster family. To his peers and many others, he was an abomination parading himself as Prince charming.
Always being compared to her older brother by her parents made Jessica an object of ridicule among her peers.
The clumsy nerd that used to be Opeoluwa caused her to be pushe
It was obvious from the way Mma's eyes widened that Isabelle's refusal was unexpected and considered abhorrent.“What did you just say?”Of course, it was as easy as collecting the bag from Mma. But no more could Isabelle pretend all was well. When the truth was, she was dying inside.A couple of sighs later, Isabelle said, “My dad says I should treat you as a guest, but how would you feel if another woman came into your own home and tried to steal your own dad from your family?”Mma's immediate response was a shocking strike across Isabelle's left cheek.“How dare you?” Mma shouted.Isabelle h
¶¶Depression is a monsterThat destroys both heart and soul.It tortures without mercyAnd consumes its victim whole...~ Pat A. Fleming¶¶"Is it going to hurt?""You're a virgin?" His question was one out of sheer shock, and Emily immediately shook her head in reply. "Sure?"She nodded, and a big smile appeared on his face. He tightened his grip around her waist, nibbling on her neck with an aroused moan."You'll be gentle, right?"He had looked her in the eye with a form of seriousness she couldn't explain, and then, slowly, he smiled. "Of course.”Could he s
¶¶Don't waste your life trying to impress others.~ Anonymous¶¶The church service was longer than expected, and Emily blamed it on the naming ceremony. Although, she didn't complain much, because the youth there were worth her coming. She liked their vibe and went with the flow. More importantly, they helped clear her mind of any thought regarding Martin.By the end of the service, Emily had collected and given out her number to a dozen number of people.“Emily, I've been looking for you!” One girl ran out of the church to meet her by the right end of the entrance. Emily couldn't remember the girl's name, but played along by plastering a smile on her face. She concluded that if the girl had made a solid impression, she wouldn't have had a hard time remembering her name.“I wanted us to take some selfies,” the girl told her, and she agreed. They were taking pictures, when a masculine voice boomed a greeting from behind them.“Jide, what do you want now?” The girl asked in her scra
Joel slammed the door shut and went straight to the kitchen, where he washed his hands and dried them.He felt his phone ringing in his pocket and took it out, frowning at the caller ID. Bankole can rot in hell for all he cared, he told himself, and threw the phone to the couch, then collapsed beside it.The party was still ongoing, but he had had just about enough. He was no one's puppet. He refused to allow his life be engineered, once again, by another.Although, honestly, there wasn't much he could do. Bankole had the upper hand. Which was exactly why he demanded he showed up at the party, despite knowing his extreme dislike for parties.Teenage parties always came with the crowd, and that, he despised. Especially the fact that these people didn't even care about them. They were only there for the free booze and an opportunity to get laid.Shameless! T
After walking through the front door, Joel stopped to give the house an unintended examination.Two years, and, of course, everything was different. The large, brown, leather sofas, that used be in the living room, had been replaced by navy blue sofas and an armchair. Even the expensive chandelier that loomed over the large room had been replaced by a smaller kind, which appeared a lot more sophisticated and expensive. Though the paint looked new, it was the same beige colour.“What are you doing?” Mrs. Sophia turned back to see him staring.“I'm coming.”He followed her into the kitchen and found it to still be the same: large and model-like. The whole place used to have a feminine touch — his mom's touch. But now, it had gone back to the magazine look it used to have when they first moved in.The maids were nowhere to be found, so he assumed his father must have retained the rule of gi
¶¶Depression is oppression.It's a deadly hidden message
Isabelle sat still, her opened Bible resting on her laps, as she stared straight at her mom's moving mouth. Juliet kept talking, but Isabelle couldn't hear a thing she was saying.This used to be her favourite time of the day. Up until this moment. Every morning, she and her parents would sit, after saying a short prayer to the Lord, to rub minds as they discussed the word of God.Presently, it was just the two of them — Isabelle and her mom. Her dad hadn't returned the night before, after taking his mom to his sister's. Neither was he picking their calls. It made Isabelle wonder, with a sad heart, if he hated them for what they did.Her mom would give her a look that asked if she was listening, and as if on instinct, she'd nod, then blink because tears were starting to blind her sight.One would think the calmness exhibited by her mom was a sign that she wasn't the least bit bothered. But that was far fr
Emily wasn't just Isabelle's best friend. She was also her sister, gist-partner, buddy, partner-in-crime.It was impossible not to know someone so well after spending ten years with them, living close-by, going to the same school and having almost the same group of friends. So, it'd be utterly wrong if Isabelle couldn't tell when something was seriously bothering Emily.Ten years, and barely nothing had changed.Whenever Emily was bothered by something, like she had always been the first time she moved in, she'd have this lost look on her face while biting her nail. And that was exactly how Emily was, seated beside her in the classroom.Watching her exhibit her usual disturbed look, Isabelle couldn't help but remember the day they started talking.It was a sunny, Sunday afternoon, and the move-in had just been completed. Isabelle's mom had invited Aunt Jane over for a glass of juice