I adjusted the clip on my head and for the first time in a while I smiled.
Today the sun left an ethereal glow on the old brown paint of my dingy room, and the air smelt like hope.
The same strange sensation pulsed through my veins.
Grabbing my phone from the floral comforter I send a final text to our friend groupchat before I would see the two in the Hall.
Nimisco: Who's ready to graduateeee!
Without waiting for a reply I slip my phone into my silver purse, and close the room door after me.
The bible was nothing new to me, but in my darkest moment I had found a surprising light.
One that didn't take away the problems, yet filled me with a love that assured it would be okay no matter what.
"Oya let's be going." my mum snaps, wasting no time to take her 1inch stilettos to the door.
Even at the meagre distance it looked like her feet were defying gravity, and I feared the worst for those heels.
"Ah Nimi you're ready, okay after you my dear." my dad says rising from the sofa when he sees me.
He smiled gently, a solemn reaction to the realization that the seed he once knew had become a flower in full bloom.
And despite the fractured relationship between I and my mother, her cheeks swelled with pride before she dissapeared out the door.
Eager to bridge the awkward silence I follow after my mum into the car and take in the sky around me.
Old pines whistled with the wind, as the sun warmed the breeze all around them.
For a brief moment I savoured the calm of the atmospehere before I plunged into the chaos of the car, and no doubt the rest of this day.
......................
Victoria beamed from ear to ear in her timeless Hollywood glam, and understated diamond earrings that matched with her mother's.
Mrs. Nwaike wore a soft smile, her lips a baby pink contrast to her fair skin and hair donned to perfection in royal waves.
"Congratulations my daughter." she says, bringing me in for a motherly hug.
I drink in the floral scent of her perfume before I'm doused in another luxurious round by her younger copy.
"We're graduating!" Vic squeals, bouncing dangerously in her 4 inch platforms.
A tear of joy slips as I bask in the old enthusiasm that had only been making brief returns as Vic dealt with the aftermath of her abuse.
"Yes we are, finally." I say, sniffing when she pulls away.
"Where are your parent's?" Vic's mum says and I look behind me to where my parents are seated comfortably in the east wing of the hall.
My mum waves her over and Mrs Nwaike's eyes light up in recognition. Today was no doubt a day for the parents as well as the students.
"Have fun okay, let me go say hi to your parent's." Vic's mum says, the shared extrovertedness between the two evident.
I loop my arm with Victoria's as we steer our way through the hall.
More of our mates with their family member's trickle through room as the event begins to come alive.
The invitation sent had said 12:00pm sharp, but at 1:00pm the school only looked ready to start now.
YOU ARE READING
Gone Bad (Nigerian Novel) -Editing
Teen Fiction"Nimi, a frustrated church girl, encounters her biggest temptation yet when she lands herself in the arms of Lagos' most eligible bachelor..." Nimi is tired of being a 'good girl', so she decides to take a risk for once in her life. Yet, she never e...
