Preston High

Chapter 1

Posi's POV
As I headed downstairs I heard the all too familiar and deep voice of my father complaining bitterly to my mother

'Kemi,your son has started again o. My friend Adebambo told me that he got some food from Ayo's restaurant,can you imagine?'
'Oko mi,there's nothing wrong with what Ayo is doing and you know it. He is only trying to make a name for himself that's all',my mother replied with her shrill voice.

'Kaa ro daddy',I greeted as I sat at the table.
'Kaa ro Posi mi,how was your night?',he asked
'It was fine dad'
'I hope you are ready for the session? It's your final year and I expect 9 a's in your WASSCE and nothing less than 300 in JAMB, am I understood? '
'Yes dad',I reply and inwardly grimace.

My father has always been like this with his high ambitions for his children which is why he is particularly angry with my eldest brother Ayo. Ayo was the ideal son until the pressure became too much and he decided to toe his own path in the culinary world. I'm especially proud of him because he is the only one that has been able to stand up to dad. Femi,the second eldest and Tomisin, my immediate elder brother,both pursued law and architecture respectively at dad's instruction. In all honesty,they are good at what they do though they are not happy which explains their strained relationship with dad. Heck who am I kidding,no one in my family has a good relationship with dad ,not even my mom. I sometimes wonder why and how they are still married.

As if on cue my younger siblings,Kitan,Olamide and Tayo came downstairs and all genuflected in respect to mom and dad. Tayo is the eldest among the lot. He was born two years after I was born. Kitan was born nine months after Tayo. Most people are often surprised as to why and how my mother got pregnant immediately after she gave birth to Tayo but explaining the reason to them would mean delving into depths that no one wants to get into. Since they were born with just months separating them,they started school the same time and are currently in the same class, SS1. The last born of the Coker family is Olamide or 'Mide' as we like to call him. He is only 10 years old and is quite the character. He is undoubtedly the only one in the family who has never been depressed or stressed by my parents ambitious and uptight nature but I guess it's only a matter of time.

'Good morning sister Sandra',they all said and I muttered a reply which they didn't even bother to listen to.
I sigh,watching my brother's scarf down so many pancakes at a time and it's only a matter of seconds before my mother's shrill voice is heard scolding them for their hastiness. I quickly tune them out for the sake of my sanity. Stuffing the breakfast down my throat, I wrap it up quickly,muttered thanks to my parents,dropped my plate in the kitchen and headed outside and into dad's car, waiting for the painstaking drive to school.

Ugh,I hate Mondays!

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The soft humming sound coming from Sandra's lips ceased the moment her father stepped into the car bringing with him a very cold atmosphere. She silently wondered why he insisted on taking she and her siblings to school when he could obviously afford a thousand chauffeurs to do the job. With her younger brothers arguing over a new video game and her dad shouting at someone over the phone about an important business deal,the ride to school was definitely going to be "amazing"

At exactly 7:26 ,a black 2022 subaru ascent drove into the large driveway of Preston High. Mr Coker had already had it for the day. First,he had to wake up to the upsetting news about his own first son selling food to his friend as though he were some pauper and now his colleague is trying to ruin a deal he worked hard for.

'Get down kids and make sure you study hard!',he said after a long stare at them. 'Also,I think it's high time you got a driver. I'll send one to pick you guys up after school. Be respectful',he warned. He had purposely added that last part because he noticed how his children, the boys in particular treated their workers. They had to learn how to be respectful at a young age.

'Yes dad!',they chorused in a sing song manner and walked into the large buildings of P.H.C. in different directions.

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'Posi my pussy!',a deep voice called the moment Sandra stepped into class. The whole class thundered with laughter at Jeremy's statement. He was more or less the God of the class and the school. He was highly revered by his peers and those beneath him. To match his cocky nature,he was someone most people will refer to as perfect. He was the captain of the school's award winning basketball ball team,tall,charming, smart and had perfect dentition. As much as Sandra hated admitting,he was truly perfect.

'Oh please shut up you pervert. Go and insult someone your size and stop acting foolishly",Yemi thundered at him and took Sandra's hand in hers as they walked to her seat. Taking a seat beside Yemi,Sandra was nearly squeezed to death by her embrace. Yemi and Sandra have been friends since they could crawl or maybe even before that. Their mother's were best friends and just like Sandra,Yemi was the only daughter of the Mateola's

Yemi was undoubtedly the social and energetic one. She was in the girls football team and had dreamt to become captain since JSS1. She was tall and a little bit lean, although she had fat in all the right places. Being dark skinned also helped with her rough nature because she didn't have to worry much about an injury knowing that if it leaves a scar,it will be barely visible. Sandra was the exact opposite of Yemi. Sandra was of average height and quite thick. She was light skinned and soft spoken which made her the target of bullies. She mostly did all her arguments with people in her head and acted sweet and kind in the physical. Yemi had always joked that being different was great for them because sour and sweet are one of the best combinations.

After the morning assembly which started at 7:45 and ended by 8:15am,the students loudly trudged out of the school's multipurpose hall in pairs,hugging and chatting loudly with one another on how their summer went. A few minutes later,decorum returned to the school as classes began in earnest.

'So class,the first thing we would be learning this term is Civil society and I'll be handing out the week's worksheet at the end of the class',Mr Molade,the ss3 civic teacher said and received nods from the students in response.

'There are numerous types of civil societies,some of which include:the civil liberties organization,otherwise known as C.L.O. We also have the Committee for the Defense of the.....'

'Mr Molade,a moment please',Principal James voice called from the doorway. The attention of the class was now directed at her and the tall figure behind her.

She walked into the classroom with the tall figure following her trail and the moment he was in sight a collective gasp was heard from the students.

'SS3 science,this is a new student and your new classmate,Simon'
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GLOSSARY
*SS3-'SS' means senior secondary and SS3 is the last class in senior secondary before external exams and graduation from high school
*Kaa ro-This can also be said as'ekaaro'. It means 'good morning' in Yoruba language in Nigeria
*Oko mi-This means'my husband' in Yoruba language in Nigeria
*WASSCE and JAMB-These mean West African Senior School Certificate Examination and Joint Admission Matriculation Board respectively. They are examples of the external examinations written by SS3 students in order to enable them further their education in the university.
*Mi- It means'mine'. It is added to names as a form of endearment.
*JSS1- This means Junior secondary school 1. It is the first class one enters when he/she starts secondary school.