Boys like you ||Completed||✓

Four

'Go smallie! Go smallie!', the class chanted after school on friday.

Snr Maluchukwu was standing at the class door getting a front row view of the impromptu dance competition in the class. Snr Charity from B class soon joined and the other four prep supervisors for JSS2 soon caught up.

She was in her element. Her jacket was long forgotten as she broke into moves that had her class hailing her. Suddenly Snr Helen left the other supervisors and joined the dance off.

The class hailed her and her superior skills which Esther watched, learned and reproduced almost immediately. Snr Helen later conceded as she couldn't keep up with Esther's energy making the class go wild.

'Told ya!', Snr Maluchukwu said when she returned to his side.

'She is a ball of energy', she said breathlessly while the little thing was still throwing moves.

Finally they rounded it off and she received a bottle of water from Snr Emmanuella and five hundred naira from Snr Maluchukwu.

'But Senior!', she protested but the said senior was already on his way to senior's block and absolutely no junior student dared cross the passage linking the two buildings.

'Bia obere oche, let's go home before we answer to things that don't concern us', Shola glanced discreetly but meaningfully at the group of boys converging at a distance.

'Yes, and stop calling me that rubbish. You be making people question if you're truly yoruba with the way you speak igbo',

'E concern dem o, born and brought up here. What were they expecting?', her phone rang at that precise moment.

' E kaasan sir!', she greeted and listened for instructions. She beckoned Esther for them to walk faster as she spoke. 'Yes sir, I'm already on my way home.... yes sir..... okay sir..... bye'.

Placing the phone back in her bag she said,' Enyi,  no time o. Before this man thinks I've joined gang, oya double your steps. Inshort let's run'.

After about two minutes of sprinting they got to the intersection where they parted ways to go home and then they started walking home.

*****

'Mummy, potato chips and pepper sauce two hundred!', she yelled to her mother who was just bringing down a fresh batch from the fire. Her brother was supposed to be blending the fresh pepper for the sauce but she didn't want to say anything about it just yet.

'Madam your change, thank you ma. Sir what do you want?', It was a good thing tomorrow was saturday because the events of the day were beginning to catch up with her.

"Mummy come and put more change in the bag o! Sir what do you want?', and so they worked till it was almost midnight and there was no more yams, potatoes or plantain to be fried.

'Ada get up o, if you sit there the exhaustion will catch up with you. Get up and let's pack up. You can spend the morning in bed', she pulled  herself up and packed up the unwashed containers. After washing them she placed them in a way they would drip water and moved to sweeping, mopping and locking the doors.

Her mother had dragged her brother home at one point but now she was alone and walking the short distance to their home.

She heard the area boys before she saw them, but she was determined to get home before anybody made a sound in her direction.

Shutting the gate firmly behind her had her exhaling, thankfully nepa light was on so she was happy. At least she would sleep with the fan on, hopefully all night long.

*****

'You should be good in a week or two. The cream your father bought should help bring down the swellings considerably faster-'

'Can i do without it? the cream',

'Doctor don't mind him, finish what you were saying', his mom said giving him stern look.

'Alright Mama Daniel, but to answer your question Daniel yes but the swelling will take longer to heal. Take these for the pain, and as i told your mother if you start feeling anyhow come to me. I would suggest you be taken to Central hospital but your father won't agree. Take care you hear',

They both left the clinic that had become home in the last three weeks. 

Exams were coming up soon and he could only imagine the number of tests and assignments he had missed.

The one thing he was proud of aside from his looks was his academic record. He would have to find a way to cover up. Kasper had promised to help update his notes and do assignments, he only hoped he did them well.

Thanking God for friends like Kasper he laid on his bed and welcomed sleep.

Sometime in the night he woke up to his mother putting something on his face,'mom stop it. let the swelling go on its own',

'Shh, go back to sleep', she said as he heard her praying in tongues over his head.

The only prayer he wanted to hear at the moment was declarations of his father's death.

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