Trapped

5. THE FLASH

THE FLASH

"What are you going to do about Dart?" Oscar asks as we walk. I have been worrying about that too.

"By the way, have I mentioned that that's such a cool name for this little munchkin?" Owen comments, patting Dart's small head.

"I'm getting jealous. I should have kept him for myself," Cordelia muses.

I playfully jab her side then sigh.
"I guess I'll have to keep him somewhere in close range to me but safe from prying eyes."

Cordelia nods and says, "Check the box he came in. There's a leash and a small dog food pack to keep him occupied till school's done."
Looks like my bestie has figured everything out.

"You're a lifesaver," I say as I hand Dart over to her and reopen the box to fetch the items.

Soon after, we reach our class and enter, taking our respective seats.

The class fills up and I hastily tie Dart's leash to the leg of my electrodesk before too many people notice him.
Guess I'm too late 'cause the gossip blog news has spread fast and all my classmates are looking at me like I've gone bonkers for daring to bring my pet to school.

I can't explain to all of them the circumstances, now can I?
Now that I think of it, Cordelia could have brought the gift straight to my house after school, but she likes to go big.

My friends' seats are close to mine. Owen to my right, Cordelia to my left and Oscar behind me. Perfect arrangement. Actually, it's because here at Lukan High, students' individuality is highly valued, so they allow us to choose whatever seat we want. Though, at the beginning of each school term, it's always a silent tug of war between the students of high status and the others, we always manage to work our way around it to our liking.

Our biology teacher, Miss Pels, enters the class. I suspect that her original name is Pelumi but, since Yoruba is close to extinction, she wants to sound more trendy and has decided to ditch her beautiful name for this bleh-sounding one.

After the exchange of pleasantries, she puts on her own iPad and scribbles something on it with her screen-sensitive pen—our next topic: The basics of genetic engineering. Thereafter, she sends the lesson slides to the class group and we all access them online on our iPads.
She continues to speak as she makes sketches on her iPad to explain her point and, to achieve a traditional kind of teaching experience, the notes and sketches she makes are projected automatically onto the electroboard in front of the class.

I am already too familiar with this topic. Tons of textbooks filled with science mumbo jumbo pile my parents' library and during my moments of boredom, I would devour them.
Mom talks about medical jargon around genetics, especially since the recent epidemic broke out which she is convinced will later cause genetic mutation in the populace.
Dad is ever tinkering with experiments that aim to understand how DNA operates, on a small scale of course.

I can say that this topic flows in my blood.
So, I zone out and look out the window.

Luminescent flowers and artificial trees frame the window of my class.

Lukan High, today, is one of the few schools in Nigeria that can boast of vegetation ornamentation. Big deal when you consider that plants are now rare.

I focus on a particular bright orange butterfly that flits across the flowers. It looks so beautifully natural and out of place in this world. I wonder about the disappointment it'll experience once it realises there is no nectar in these 'beautiful' flowers. Looks can be deceiving.

A lot of things flood my mind. It's my birthday but life is just this bleak routine that I have to wade through.

As though a switch was turned off, the outdoor atmosphere turns dark and eerie. My brows scrunch in worry and I am suddenly afraid.

Before I can say anything, something like a cloud passes through the scene I was just watching.
The artificial plants shrivel and turn black. The butterfly freezes and melts to ashes.

Out of nothingness, the globs from my nightmares emerge. This time, they seem intelligent and bent on destruction.
They draw nearer, siphoning life out of all in their wake.

With a gasp, I jerk out of that flash vision, my heart pounding so hard it hurts my chest.

What for Heaven's sake was that? Is my nightmare now haunting me in broad daylight?

"Are you fine?" Cordelia asks in a whisper, looking at me with concern.
Was I that loud?
I am not fully recovered enough to reply to her.

Miss Pels pauses her teaching and looks at me piercingly.
"Is there anything you'd like to share with the class, Naomi?"
Her eyes glance down and she sees Dart but she says nothing.
Oh boy, I will be in big trouble if I don't exonerate myself.

I look at her with round eyes, my mind working fast. I'm still trying to recover from what I saw.
"I- I-" My mouth is dry. I get up shakily and say, "I ha-have to go to the restroom."

I faintly hear Oscar's concerned voice calling my name, but I stumble out into the hallways without even waiting for Mrs. Pels to officially give me a pass.

I enter an empty restroom marked for those who 'identify as female'.

Sigh, that's another long story. It gets really weird seeing boys who should just let themselves happily be boys as God made them, dressing, acting and talking like a girl. They call it UII— Universal Identity Inclusion; I see it as near insanity.
It hurts me to see people so confused about what's obviously true and what is an illusion. But that's not my present worry.

I grasp the edge of a basin and look into the mirror till my heart and lungs are still.

I open the tap, wash my face and tap my cheeks with both hands. 

"God, what was that? I- I can't be seeing—"

A sharp sound from one of the cubicles in the restroom startles me. 

I snap my mouth shut, heart thudding.
Is someone in here? Oh, God please, let it be a real female.

~~~

Author's note: Hello guys! Here's the update for today. I hope you enjoyed it. Are you as worried as I am for poor Naomi? What exactly is going on? And on the day of her sweet sixteen birthday at that!

If you want to find out, then don't miss the daily updates on this book.

Please do well to leave your comments and observations/suggestions. You could also recommend this book to a friend. I'm sure they will enjoy it as much as you do.

Can't wait for the next chapter.

I love you.