¶¶
In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.
It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.
Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one w
Kelvin informed Joel their dad would be home soon but had said to let him into their bedroom if he arrived.It had been long since Joel saw his cousins, so it took him a while to recognize the boy and girl that had almost jumped on him when the door had been opened. How they had recognized him could be explained from the many times Uncle Sam forced him to take a picture to send to them. He hadn't asked for a picture of them because he wouldn't know what to do with it. But seeing how happy they were to see him filled him with sorrow."What of your mom?" he asked Theresa, whom he carried in his arms. Theresa was ten years old and her brother, six years older."She's—" The door opened and Joel turned to see Mrs. Lawrence, Uncle's Sam's wife. She had a bowl covered with a ceramic plate in her hand and the reason he never visited on her face. A resentful glare."Good afternoon, ma," Joel greeted.She looked him from head to toe and walked around him. "Your uncle told me you've decided t
¶¶Before seeking revenge,first dig two graves.Because when you seek vengeance,you hurt yourself as well, if not more.~ a famous saying (by unknown)¶¶Martin was finally in school.Emily had been trying to contact him to no avail. She couldn't go to his house, because she didn't know where he lived; and although she had his number, it had been directing her to voicemail.She had started to get worried and even wanted to go and ask Jessica or Grace if anything was wrong, but that was a bad idea. Ever since she started speaking to Jessica's older brother, Jide, those two had somehow gotten off her back. Though she sometimes looked over her shoulder with worry, it was clear they weren't unto her anymore. Isabelle appeared to be the new target.Bankole asking her best friend out was karma coming to bite Jessica's
¶¶The world's a messed up place.No one's to be trusted, so you gotta hurt them before they hurt you. ~ Martin Adekunle - ISSY (easy)¶¶Martin wouldn't even spare her a glance. They had crossed paths a few times and the boy had walked on like she didn't exist. She needed to talk to him. To set things straight. Whether they liked it or not, they were still in a relationship and things were in a bad place.What she felt for Martin wasn't love. But the embarrassment she'd get if their relationship was dissolved before it even got to bloom would be terrible. Martin was a nice and likeable guy and one of the few that hadn't looked down on her because of her height. It was impossible to find guys like him, and she was willing to hold him with both hands, to ensure this worked.Although, there were nights she'd jolt out of her sleep because the night she lost her virginity to him haunted her. It wasn't the fact she had lost it that troubled her, but the emotionlessness Martin exhibited
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