All of Grace's friends could tell she was the least enthusiastic about their graduation coming up in two months. Of course, she was glad and eager to leave high school after six years of tolerating "irritating teenagers, frustrating teachers, and a silly excuse for a principal" as she fondly puts it. Bottom line, she was angry and it didn't help to see everyone happy about it. There was nothing she could count as memorable in all her years in Ketu town. It was a boring school and a boring town and although she didn't want it to end that way she had no choice but to settle in for what fate gave her until she saw a tiny opportunity to turn it all around and she was damn well going to make work.
"Something's got you in a good mood. It's a boy right?" June teased.
"June, Haba even if it's a guy, it's not your business." Joana countered "Or are you jealous that you might soon be the only one among us without a boyfriend?" She added and shifted her attention to John, the captain of the football team, and her boyfriend who was in the company of his fellow teammates. Somehow he caught her staring and beamed her a smile which she returned and for a while the attention of the four friends we were drawn to masculine display at the far end of the class until Margret brought them back.
"Eew! Okay, that is enough." She said, feeling somewhat guilty for staring so long.
"You know every time I wonder if the two of you are twin sisters?" She said addressing June and Joana "Both your obsession for boys stands as proof, always.
The two sisters chuckled.
"And it's not about a boy, thank you. I finally found a way for us to have a memorable high school moment."
"Here we go," Margret said, folding her legs on her seat while June and Joana let out a sigh.
"Wait guys, hear me out," she said dropping her bag on the floor and grabbing a seat beside them. "This one's not just a fantasy, and she has been with us for about two weeks now."
No response came from her friends and she realized they were confused.
"Guys am talking about her!" She said using her head to gesture towards Veronica.
"What are you saying?" Joana queried.
In all her years in Ketu High, she had never seen a new student who was as strange as Veronica. At first, she thought it was because she looked too old to be in a secondary school which she was, but it didn't help with all the speculations that spread around the school about her. Some said she was once pregnant and after the whole ordeal, was forced by her parents to finish school, some said she was a criminal offender and her rich parents used their way to get her to this town so she could have a fresh start. Others said she was mentally ill and although Joana for one didn't approve of such theories she sensed something off about the new girl.
"That girl is bad news." she continued "No one has ever considered making friends with her and it should stay that way."
"Joana's right Grace. I mean, you have been hearing all the rumors about her right?" Margret chipped in.
Grace rolled her eyes in frustration.
"Why una dey talk like this! Those are just fables... And so what if she is 20 and we're all like 3 years younger? She is in the prime of her youth! Which means she has experienced things we haven't. Think about it."
Her friend's faces were long with skepticism.
"Look this is an opportunity, you can't say you don't want to have fun as bad as I do."
Grace was wrong, they didn't.
"We don't." June countered " You haven't thought this through. Even if all these things aren't true, it doesn't mean she is gonna be as fun as you put her to be. She might just be a bore or a low key psycho. You can't say."
"Well, that's because you haven't gotten to know me have you?"
* * *
Veronica had first told herself she was going to sit and ignore everyone as usual when she heard her classmates talking about her again. It wasn't their fault anyway. And it wasn't hers either. It was just an episode. Just one! And she had responded well to her treatments but no, her dad wanted her to go the extra mile to prove she wouldn't have another episode when she started the university so that people won't say the daughter of the rich and famous Mike Badmus was a mental case.
Her father had pulled some strings to bring her to this town, he had spent up a guardian for her and his connection with the principal made admission into the school a walk-through, no question asked even though it was at an odd time when the students were about to graduate. It was just going to be for a month. All she had to do was put her head down and mind her business. But it wasn't easy, not when everybody was going about cooking up stories about her. And now these girls were too!
And it made her mad inside, the fact that they reminded her so much of how she was a year ago. Before all this!
'Stop being pathetic! Aren't you tired of them humiliating us? At least it was better when they said it behind our backs. Now look at them, they aren't even scared to blab in our presence. Go! Show them what we're capable of!'
Veronica knew too well the voice that spoke. It was the same voice that had been tormenting her all through since her first episode and it time it spoke, it was always a struggle not to give in and let it take over but she always tried her best to and she did.
She shrugged the thought off and wiped out the strands of hair resting on the side of her face to the back of her ear. The voice was right though, she thought, a little confrontation would help make them lay off her for a little while. Without any further thoughts, she got to her feet and walked to the corner where Grace and her friends sat.
"Well, that's because you haven't gotten to know me, have you?" She asked, jumping in from the last statement she heard clearly.
Not noticing when Veronica got up from her seat towards them, the four girls felt mortified but Grace wasn't going to let the opportunity go to waste.
"Veronica, hey," Grace said forcing a convincing smile "We weren't Uhm, actually gossiping about you in the actual sense..." She paused to find support in the faces of her friends but she got guilty faces and June mouthing the words 'we were'. She quickly turned back to Veronica and continued "Okay, we were. But it wasn't about another random story about you, I promise."
She paused briefly again to affirm she had the new girl's attention.
"We were talking about how we thought you're cool and how hanging out with you will be fun."
Veronica raised a brow.
"What?"
Grace's eyes were once again on her friends begging for support. The appeal was much stronger on Margret as she was the first to speak.
"Yes, we were all wondering how nice it would be... Right, Jojo?" She said and nudged her elbow at Joana who was closer to her.
Joana gave a stubborn look at first before replying. The golden rule among them was to always be there when one of them needed help. They had all been there when her relationship with John started as a small crush, and even though Grace was the least interested, she helped. So she had to now, even though she didn't approve.
"Yes, we were." She said in a not so convincing manner.
Grace didn't bother waiting for June's comment, she switched gears immediately.
"So, will you be down for or do you have other plans currently? Because we can make another time..."
She tried not to sound desperate but it didn't work.
Veronica on the inside was about to burst with amusement. It didn't go the way she expected although she didn't expect anything from this anyway. Do you have other plans currently? Did she? The embarrassment of the whole DID issue had made her lie to her friends that she was traveling abroad for further treatment rather than the one-month precautionary test which it was. At the moment, she was bored. There was no one her age to talk to except video calling mummy and daddy at night. Also, her guardian was never around most of the time.
But now, to her surprise, four girls were offering to be her friends, kind of. She realized they saw her as a big girl who was capable of taking their boredom away, at least the desperate one did. And just like that, she had an idea.
"Well, I was thinking about having a party at my place this Friday." She said finally. These girls want to have fun, let's have fun. "So you guys can come over." She added.
Grace's face lit up in excitement and Veronica smiled back at her.
"Will your friends becoming too?" June asked.
"Yeah, sure."
'Thank God!'Grace thought. It was something Grace wondered too but June was quicker to ask. The girls were all showing how happy they were to know that they would be attending a night party for the first time in their lives until Joana remembered something.
"Wait, this Friday? Am sorry I can't." She said painfully.
"What! Why?" Grace asked with a frown.
"I've got plans with John, it's our anniversary... Am sorry."
"Ugh! And I know you know that the guy will have some kind of romantic stuff planned so there will be no need convincing you guys to come over." Margret said.
Joana smiled. "It's okay guys, you can go without me."
Margret tapped her on her shoulder and smiled. Nodding her head, Joana smile assuring herself and her friends it was okay.
"Okay, it is settled then. I will see you --" She said then remembered that she didn't know their names yet. They noticed and called their names one after the other.
"Right, I will see you guys on Friday. Ciao" She concluded and went back to her seat.
Hakim Bello had always been grateful to the Badmus family for assistance after his father who was Mike's driver, died of a tragic illness. So it didn't cause any problems when he got a call from them asking for a favor in return, especially when he was going to be compensated for all his troubles. He was a lanky man in his forties, had a small mouth and pale eyes that could keep one staring at his face for a long time but somehow, the boss had chosen him as the perfect guy for the job. He just had to act as a guardian to their only child, Veronica while she proved she could handle settling back in with her peers by proving it in a town she didn't know anyone. Easy, he had thought had first. Veronica although from a rich background wasn't a brat. She was as respectful to him as anyone younger could be and she always minded her business but Hakim was starting to get worried. It was already two weeks and from what Veronica had told him, she wasn't fitting in, rather she was being isolate
"Joana!" John called softly from the end of the chair where he sat opposite Joana. He had taken her to a fast food restaurant- the same place they had special dates like Valentine's day and birthdays. It wasn't too much for a small town but Joana seemed to like the food there so they always went there. Ever since they got there, she seemed lost in her thoughts and oblivious of everything else that was going on. 'What's going on with her.' He thought as he watched her. Her eyes were fixed on the menu she held in her hands. He called her name again."What?" She said taking her eyes off the menu."What are you ordering?" He said with a concerned look in his eyes."Huh?""This man has been standing here for a minute now waiting for you. What are you ordering?"Joana's attention came back immediately as she saw the man standing impatiently by her side."Oh my God! I'm so sorry... Just give me what he is having."The waiter shot a glare at her which she wasted no time to return. He then ro
Grace, June, and Margaret let themselves out of Veronica's house that night. None of them thought about going up to check on Veronica, they were all busy wondering about what happened and what it meant. As they trekked home in silence, Margret was angry that she allowed herself to believe Grace's preaching on wanting to do something exciting before Graduation. "What the hell was all that?" Margret asked Grace after she couldn't bear the silence. "Was that the excitement you were yapping about all these while?"Grace didn't know what to reply, she was busy being sorry she led her friends into whatever was going on."I-I don't know." She said."You don't know? We just told that bitch our deep dark desires and you're saying you don't know?" Margret raised her voice."I'm sorry."Margret scoffed."Sure you are... Just so you know, whatever happens from here on, it's all on you." She said pointing a finger at Grace's face.June was the worst of all of them. She could feel herself shaking
Margret felt a tad bit hazy as she woke up. She had no idea why she had a kink in her neck. She rose a little, supporting herself with an elbow and massaging her neck with her other hand. Struggling to open her eyes, she wondered why couldn't feel her pillow, or why her bed felt hard like the floor, and why her shirt felt soaked. Slowly, she opened her eyes to a shocking realization. The cold eyes of a lifeless Sylvester staring back at her! She became fully awake instantly. Sickened by a pool of blood all over her, she quickly jumped to her feet, tossing the stretched arm of the body wayward. She started walking backward, her steps in sync with the rhythm her pounding heart was making till she reached the bookshelf separating her from the wall. Immediately, images began flashing to her head, and the pounding in her chest increased with every horror she saw. The horror of what she had done. * * *It was very unlikely for Margret to ever miss school. She was the most serious st
The ride to Veronica's had been a silent one. Grace had nothing to say to her and neither did she. And she understood why they were all angry at her. She had lied from the very beginning and now it seemed like everything that was happening was her fault. She knew that Grace had been keeping a close eye on her since that night, and she had used it to her advantage, acting loose so she could figure out what they would do next. She wasn't expecting a dead body when she trailed the girls from school to Margret's house, but she had hoped that this would help take some of the guilt away but it was clear from Grace's expression that that wasn't going to happen.Veronica didn't bother calling Hakeem, he was always at home although often left the house when she was around to give her space. She was counting on the former and it was indeed so. "Veronica, what are you doing home by this time? The game is over?" Hakeem asked as Veronica and Grace barged into the living room. He threw a curious
"Oh, my God Jo what have you done?!" Margret yelled staring at Francis's motionless body on the floor. Joana dropped the remainder of the broken vase in her hand."I-I don't know, I panicked." She stammered. "I thought were going to be caught... I can't go to prison." She started pacing back and forth a few steps, trying to catch her breath. Just then she remembered the front door was still open. She quickly closed it shut, turning the key in its mouth to make sure it stays closed. They all went silent. She might have saved them there, but it was only momentarily. And it could go worse from there. "Is he dead?" June asked sending Joana into action as Margret and her watch. She bent down towards Francis, reach for his upper neck with two fingers, looking to feel a pulse. While she did she held her breath in a short prayer as the story of her life flashed before her eyes. Lord knows how she did her best to stay away from trouble. She only wanted to be happy, grow up to be a fulfille
We had gathered all we needed to bury Sylvester's body. Margret had called her mother explaining to her that everything was fine. Everything was going according to plan. You might probably be wondering how a cute little rich Nigerian girl like me could come to have all of these ideas. It's simple. Back when I was younger, when all the other girls were engaging their fantasies with romance novels, I was a fan of murder mysteries. I read stories, watched movies, studied cases, and analyzed all of them. And don't get me wrong, I still had friends and I had fun. It was a weird hobby to my parents but it never stopped me from getting the materials I needed to continue. Who would have thought it would come in handy?It took our combined efforts to carry the folded rug outside to the back of the truck. I stood in front, peering my head out the door to see if the coast was clear before staggered out and dropped the body with a thud."Phew!" I exclaimed wiping off the sweat that gathered in
I got home that evening to find my mum waiting for me on the couch. I had frozen at the glimpse of her figure that was barely revealed by the dimly lit room. "Where have you been?" She asked coldly. "I was with my friend's ma," I answered as I walked into view of the room and tried my best to avoid eye contact as I did. "Since? And you took Stanley with you?" She yelled springing to her feet. I was tired, I was frustrated and most of all I was in shock. I was used to her shouting, her usual way of dealing with her stress was transferring her aggression from work to me. But I couldn't take it now, not this night. "And who was I supposed to keep him with? No one else was at home.""What about Sylvester?"Veronica had made me rehearse what I would tell my mum over and over during the ride back home. It was supposed to happen while she was relaxed and calm, the direct opposite of what was going on. Oh well, no time like the present, I thought."He is gone, mother! Your boyfriend aban