Rats, Roses And Paper Bones

chapter 19: A trip down memory lane.

Five months ago......

Baptist Model College was a prestigious school, well known for its academic and athletic achievements.

The facilities were some of the best in the area, and, as expected, the fees were ridiculously high.

But just like students in every other school, the students of Baptist Model College had somehow managed to divide themselves into different social classes.

There were the rich, smart and popular students—the ones who seemed to have everything, including good looks.

Then there were the rich and popular ones who had the looks but not much in the brains department. But who cared? They were rich and popular.

And then there were the rich, popular students who were smart but not particularly attractive. Their looks didn't matter either. Their money and popularity more than made up for it.

Oh, sorry.

Their parents' money.

They were always more than happy to remind everyone else of the difference between them and the less privileged students.

And then there was me.

The less privileged one.

The girl with average looks who wasn't rich, wasn't popular and wasn't particularly interested in becoming either.

The smart nerd with no friends.

Well, I had one friend.

Or at least, I used to.

She had recently walked out on me because of a boy.

And who was the boy?

One of the rich, popular kids with looks but absolutely no brains.

I wasn't exactly surprised.

I'd noticed her drifting away from me from the moment she started talking about how she'd fallen hopelessly in love with a guy named Bayo.

Not long after that, she began trying to get into the clique of rich, popular braniacs who had somehow managed to combine intelligence with the worst manners imaginable.

I suspected she was doing it because she thought it would bring her closer to Bayo.

She had been new to the school when we became friends. I helped her settle in, showed her around and gave her whatever advice I could.

We clicked almost immediately.

We studied together.

We prayed together.

We walked to class together.

We ate together.

We did practically everything together.

She became my best friend.

My only friend.

And then she threw all of that away because of a boy who already had a girlfriend and an invitation to one of those ridiculous “hangouts” the popular kids loved so much.

She had always dreamed of being invited.

So when the invitation finally came, she didn't hesitate.

Not even once.

She pretended she didn't know what happened during those hangouts.

But I knew.

Everyone knew.

Every two weeks, the girls would sneak out of the hostel at night and make their way to the back of the school. From there, they would climb over the fence and disappear into the night.