Days went by and Uche continued to tutor Matthew, still oblivious to the fact that she was fanning the flames of Ada's furry, and that she was planning her revenge. I was three o'clock in the afternoon; Uches' free period and she decided to use it to tutor Matthew.
"Wow! Thank you. You have been of great help. I now understand it to perfection" Matthew thanked Uche after their session was over.
"You are welcome" Uche responded.
"Please I would like to pay you as a sign of my gratitude. Please don't refuse" Matthew stated
"I don't think that is necessary, all you have to do is continue to read and endeavor to understand" Uche said kindly rejecting his kind offer.
"I'm sorry but I won't take no for an answer" Mathew countered before placing four thousand naira in her palm and walked away. Uche stood still, shocked to the marrow, not knowing what to make of what happened. While gathering her belongings from where they studied, she noticed that Matthew had forgotten his textbook behind and decided to return it back to him the next time she saw him.
Stopping by her room to get something, she met her books on the floor; some torn, some stepped on, some burning. She panicked. Her bag dropped to the floor in an instant as she rushed to her books trying to put out the ones that were still burning, burning her hand in the process. Picking up her book from the floor and dropping it on the table, she scanned the room to find the culprit of the damage; in that moment, her eyes locked with that of Ada and Stella who were sitting comfortably on her bed with smirks on their faces.
"Are the two of you mad? Why would you do such to my books?" she questioned while charging towards them.
Before she could reach them, Stella got up; obstructing her path and slapped her. The slap echoed through the hallway, heard by all passersby, therefore creating a scene for the eyes that watched from outside the room since their door was still open. Ada emerged from behind Stella and slapped Uche once again, causing her to fall to the floor. As if that wasn't enough, she took her by the collar of her shirt and continued to slap, beat and kick her before pushing her to the floor and stepping hard on her burnt hands
"Is it us you are asking that question? You must be insane. Now I want you to listen good and carefully. This is just a small lesson. Stay away from my man, stay away from Matthew or else I will severely deal with you till you wish you were dead" Ada shouted; her voice laced with furry and walked away. Uche gathered all the energy she had left and decided to be bold for once.
"Sorry I wasn't aware of that...I'm not even trying to take him or anything, we were just reading... " 'big mistake', those words echoed continuously in her head, but it was already too late, the words were out before she could cover her mouth. Ada stopped in her tracks and turned around immediately Uche finished: her eyes red like fire; you could feel the anger radiating off her. She walked towards Uche and puncher her.
Uches vision blurred but she could hear Ada's distant voice "Next time don't talk back. Just listen". Everything went black.
Uches' eyes opened slowly, trying to get used to the blinding light that shun directly into her eyes.
"It is good to see you are alive and well. Your friend is outside. I will go and call her" the nurse beside her said before stepping out.
"Oh, my Lord! Uche are you okay? I was so worried" Bukola shouted while running to her friend. She embraced her wholeheartedly; unaware of Uches pain, though Uche endeavored to smile through it.
"I was shocked to see you on the floor when I returned around past six. Your hands were burnt, the smell of burning paper filled the room and you looked beaten to a pulp. Painful thoughts invaded my mind" after breathing a sigh of relief, Bukola questioned Uche about what happened.
