The Hidden Toxin ✔(#6 in the Our Side of The Dice Series)

Chapter 2: Fighter Attitude

Sunshine over your eyes, I guess you must be one,
Do your thing. It's showtime,
~ Maayaa by Juls, Tiggs Da Author, Santi

Ebun's scar was a lot worse than it physically appeared to be. Her father realized how daft he was to have assumed that she could treat a wound as deep as that on her own, but he was furious at that moment.

The following day, the pain got worse. She couldn't make even the slightest movement with her lips, including brushing her teeth. Brushing her teeth wasn't even a small activity because she would have to open her mouth wide to let the bristles in the brush scrub her teeth.

Slight movement of the lips, such as swallowing and minor chewing that she was unable to do, was what made her parents realize that a lot of damage had been done, so they had a doctor visit that same day.

Her lower gum had been damaged. Was it all as a result of a fingernail scratch? It didn't seem possible, but while stitching her lower lip, the doctor found a broken nail hinged deeply in her gum and the whole procedure only made her face feel so heavy with blood, and her entire jawline felt like granite.

Worse off, she couldn't even scream or dare to move a muscle to express her pain. She could only seeth her teeth lightly from time to time. After the surgery, she was placed on anesthetics and antibiotic pills to sleep off the remaining pain that was left to feel.

She couldn't go back to school any time soon with that much pain, but three days after the surgery, she could swallow liquid from a teaspoon. That was a commendable improvement.

During her stay at home, she had more than enough of having her family worry over her. Especially her mother.

Truthfully, Ebun didn't want to keep fighting dirty. At least, she never wanted to sustain an injury like this ever again. One would wonder why a twelve-year-old girl was busy fighting and throwing fists at older people. Still, Ebun had taken it upon herself since she was eight years old to learn how to fight at all costs because she didn't want to end up being defenseless like her elder sisters were.

Especially Cassandra.

Since the abduction and the slavery experience, Ebun knew she wasn't safe, too, and worse things could happen to her. It was more of a reality that only needed time to be actualized than a probability.

If her siblings encountered near-death experiences, the chances that she would be exempted were very slim. The least she could do was prepare herself in the best way possible for it, and it was tough because she was the last born child, and it was expected for her older siblings to be the ones to look after her, but what was the assurance she could rely on that they would be able to protect her at all?

Even her eldest sister, Yemisi, a lawyer, had lost in some situations due to her inability to engage in physical fights. Ebun knew she had to help herself because no one would even if they tried. She had to learn how to defend herself effectively. If she let the pattern of defenselessness repeat itself, she would only have herself to blame.

But above the need to protect herself, Ebun wanted to defend the defenseless if the need arose. When Cassandra went missing that year, it made her so sad that there was nothing she could do to prevent that tragedy from happening to her favorite sister but the only reason it didn't eat her up very much was that she was just seven when it happened.

A seven-year-old girl with super protective parents that won't let her leave the backyard even. Not like they allowed her now, but she was a bit older and was in high school, so it was best she learned while her bones were still young so she could fight for other people who were visibly unable to defend themselves.