Eartha

3| Eartha {II}

Sorry about that, she's always that way,' a girl said beside her.

She jumped and swiveled her gaze to her, not knowing when she had sidled up next to her. She was a petite girl with rich chocolate skin and twinkling coal-black eyes. Her forehead was tight and shiny from the new Allback cornrows her hair was plaited into and had a fragrance of all those haircream that smelled like they should belong to the confectionery. An old, jagged scar, shaped like a crude line and about an inch or two long protruded from the skin of her shiny forehead, marring the reflective flawlessness.

'Sorry if I startled you,' the girl said, skipping forward, and Eartha continued walking to keep up with her.

'She's the head house mistress and believes being grouchy is in her job description or something.'

'She's always like that?' Eartha asked, laying emphasis on the 'always'.

'Always,' the girl confirmed. 'So, don't feel like she singled you out or something. You are even lucky to get off lightly like that. When she's extremely offended she would have beat you with anything near her.' The girl tsked and then shrugged.

'Although I think she isn't doing that now because parents are around,' she continued. 'Let them be gone now and real punishment starts for any girl unlucky enough to annoy her.'

Eartha shuddered in fear. 'And nobody reports or something?'

The girl laughed. 'Report to whom?' She laughed again. 'Welcome to hostel life. You'll get used to it.'

She had a slight dimple on her right cheek which showed whenever she smiled or laughed, and she looked like she did a lot of that.

Eartha recognized a talkative when she encountered one.

'Wow,' she said.

'I like your name, by the way,' the girl said, slowing down as they manoeuvered through cars and crowds. 'Mine is Yaseerah.'

'Nice name,' Eartha said. 'Is it a muslim name?'

'Arabic,' Yaseerah said. 'It means 'rich woman'. And, yes, I am a Muslim. What does your name mean? I've never heard it before.'

'Um, it's a coinage from the word 'earth'.' She had explained this to so many people that it was now more of a mantra than an explanation to her.

'Wow.' The girl's twinkling eyes went wide in awe. 'I like your parents.'

Eartha wasn't sure why she had said that, but she just smiled in reply and asked, 'What class are you?'

The girl looked around her age or younger and she was a resuming student because she was in the house wear, too.

'JSS3. What about you?'

'I'm starting SSS1,' said Eartha. Mr Kosoko's car appeared in view and it suddenly occurred to her that her new friend might have passed her parent's car.

'Where is your parents' car? Or have you dropped your loads already?'

'No. They're at the parking lot there.' She pointed to the second parking lot Eartha had seen on their way here. 'Thank God my box has tyres, if not, I'd have had to carry it all the way down here. They don't allow parents to enter the hostels, you know.'

'Oh,' Eartha said. She hadn't been expecting that news. Mother was going to be displeased on hearing this.

'That's the car I came in,' she said, as they reached the front of the red Nissan. There was another man at the car now and he was deep in conversation with Mr Kosoko. Mother was at the boot of the car, facing away from them towards the school buildings in the distance.