Itanife: The Book Of Ifa (Orisha Chronicles) #NaNo2015Winner

HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW? - Part 2

                                               A friend is someone you share the path with.

                                                                                                     African proverb.

I sit at the very back of the bus wondering how this has happened. I had begged and pleaded with mum and dad about not going on this trip. But dad had been very insistent. He felt I needed to participate more in school activities and apparently a field trip to visit some goddess's shrine with my classmates will supposedly bring us all closer together. Not. According to him, security would be guaranteed, (one of my objections, security being very important to me), so there was absolutely no way out of it.

Now I find myself on my way to the Osun-Osogbo festival with twenty three of my classmates. Eleven of whom think they are god's gift to the planet i.e. Kemi and co and their male counterparts, with Sheni leading the loud boisterous gang.

Although truth be told Sheni has been rather subdued today. I have caught him a few times looking my way and even before we got on the bus, there seemed a moment when he looked like he was coming to speak to me, but queen Kemi stepped in and he turned away from me like I had leprosy. I try not to feel hurt by his dismissal but it is a losing battle I fight with myself.

The rest of us are split into our very specific groups and don't we know it. There are the three nerds, as there always seem to be. I wonder why that is? It's like they walk around in a force field of triplets as a shield against those that belittle them. Four clevers, Abi being one of them of course, four normals which I happen to be a card carrying member, and I hate to say it but the obligatory fat kid. It is almost impossible that in a class this size there would be no fat kid.

Poor Kingsley. Kemi made his life a living hell last year, I hope she doesn't start that again with him on this trip. He had to take time off school after all the bullying he got from the popular kids.

Of course the school did nothing. Our school policy should read 'survival of the fittest' just like I am sure is our country's unofficial motto. It really seems to be the ideology practised and encouraged by the staff. And of course it doesn't hurt when your father happens to be a government minister as Kemi's is.

Our principal Mr Obaye would rather chop off his own arm than cross the great minister Alao. It really made me sick. Speaking of being sick, Abi is fidgeting and making low whimpering sounds next to me, she doesn't do well on road trips. I know it's mean but I'm glad she won't want to chat the whole way there. I've spent a lot of time avoiding telling her about my 'date' with Sheni and I know she's been waiting for time alone with me to discuss and dissect all the ins and outs of it. Luckily she forgot how car sick she gets so now instead of bombarding me with questions, she's concentrating on not throwing up.

I smile, I know I'm a bad friend at the moment but I'll take any free pass I get.

"So tell me what happened with Sheni". She mumbles. My god I can't believe this chick. She is so persistent, its almost admirable.

"I told you nothing happened". I say with my standard eye roll.

"Tanny......". She shoots me the evil eye. At least what she considers the evil eye which at this moment just looks like she's in mortal pain.

"Okay, okay". I relent. I have a heart after all. "Nothing happened really, he just asked me lots of weird questions". I whisper to her. I don't want anyone over hearing our conversation.

"Weird how?". She asks back, I see her eyes full of curiosity and think oh no, detective Abi alert, but it's too late. Now she definitely will want to hear everything.

"Well...."I stall. I don't know how to tell her what he asked without revealing what's been happening to me.

"Tanny just spit it out, I'm dying here". I glance at her and see she's not joking, she really looks like the suspense will kill her and I make the decision there and then to tell her everything.

In that moment I realise that I need to tell someone what has been happening. Abi is my best friend and I'm tired of pretending to everyone that everything is normal. And if I can't tell my best friend I have been having hallucinations and hearing voices, who else can I tell? Even if, it is only to stop myself going crazy and worrying about it every single moment of the day. I need to share this burden with someone else.

And so I do. I tell her about my first memory of seeing things that weren't seen by other people. How it scared me.

How I told our then housegirl Offiong. A sweet motherly Efik girl who made me promise to never tell anyone what I saw. How she would sleep on the floor of my room to comfort me from the nightmares induced by my hallucinations.

How my dreams don't feel like dreams, how I keep hearing random voices and thinking I'm seeing things. Worse how lately they had increased in frequency and I seemed to be loosing time, even though it was only a few seconds at a time, it was still frightening.

How Sheni asked me about all this without my ever having told him. How scared I was and totally freaked out. By the time I'm done she's quiet and looking straight ahead away from me and I'm so afraid that she's going to tell me that I am crazy or worse possessed. I'm holding my breath and wishing I had kept my mouth shut. I see our friendship withering away like a dying rose with first one petal falling, then two, three...a cascade of falling dead petals until there is only the shrivelled old bud left. With no hope of regrowth.

"The real question is how Sheni knew about all this to ask you about it and why he would. Most importantly what it all means". She finally says looking me in the eye. I'm so shocked I can only look at her.

"What's wrong? why are you looking at me like that?". She asks

"You don't think I'm mad?". I ask tentatively. Almost afraid of her answer.

"Mad? Of course not. Why would I think that?". And its not her question that does it, its her sincere confusion at my question that makes my eyes water and I reach in and give her a tight hug. So tight I am sure I am hurting her. But if I am she doesn't show it or tell me. She just hugs me back tighter.

I am so happy and relieved that someone else knows and doesn't hate me that it's all I can do not to start doing the moonwalk down the bus aisle.

'Oh my God! I'm so happy you don't think I'm crazy". I whisper sob into her shoulder.

"Well let's not rule that out yet, you still might be or worse possessed". My very practical best friend says as she pats me on my back.

For a second I freeze then I start laughing hysterically which sets Abi off as well and then we're both laughing and I know whatever happens from here on, I'm not alone because I've got the world's cleverest best friend on my side. My very own Hermionie. And in true Hermionie form she starts interrogating me again. About every detail. And this time I am no longer scared when I talk about it. This time I no longer feel as if a great weight is on my chest. For the first time in a long time I feel light and free.