Sing Of A Tree In The Wild

The Scandal

It feels extremely terrible to be back in school after such an amazing mid-term break.

Between today and Friday, students of Grace High School will be receiving their test scripts. As usual, it would be delirium for some and despondency for others. As for me, I do not know yet. I can only hope for the very best.

Walking into my classroom after the assembly, I act on a subconscious impulse to scan for any sign of Elfrida. No sign of Elfrida yet. That was really stupid of me, but like I said, it was a subconscious impulse.

"Dennis! What's up?" A classmate of mine just called out to me, excitedly. "Saturday's party was fantastic!"

"I guess." I mutter, chuckling.

"And controversial."

"What do you mean, controversial?"

Right now, she is giving me a surprised look. She draws closer to me and whispers, "You haven't heard?"

I really don't know what she's talking about. But I can tell that it's nasty. I shake my head. She hesitates before blurting out, "The video of you and Kofo has gone viral. Remember the intimate moment you guys had at the party? While dancing?"

My eyes and mouth widen in realisation as I sink to my seat. I clasp my head in my hands afterwards.

The moment before Ehis texted.

The moment before I stepped out of the house.

Someone...someone recorded it?

Oh, no.

"That's not all, Dennis. Tooni found out, and people are saying he's really furious. You should avoid him for as long as possible. He may be out for blood."

"Thanks a lot for telling me," I say as I let my head fall to my desk. This can't be happening. Not when things have started well between me and Elfrida. She must not see that video. In fact, it's a good thing she's not in school today. How am I seriously going to clear up all of this? Still deep in thought, a teacher just walked into the classroom. It's time for Government.

*****

School has closed; I'm headed for the football pitch for practice. I'm in the school team, and we practice on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I'm totally pumped for today's practice because I know that Tooni has already gone home; he's not in the team. Yes, I've been dodging him all day. Call me a coward or cissy or whatnot, I'm not ready to engage my ex-girlfriend's new guy in a fist fight. At least, not now. And speaking of Kofo, I didn't see her today. Maybe she avoided the public eye. Maybe she didn't come at all, like Elfrida. Brushing these thoughts aside, I take to the pitch.

Standing in wait is our coach, Coach Jide, popularly known as 'Coachie'. He's wearing a baseball cap, a Nigerian jersey, a green tracksuit and a pair of trainers. I must not forget the whistle encircling his neck.

"Boys! Hurry up! Jog like men; you're trudging along slowly like pregnant women!" He rants. I won't blame my teammates, though. They probably flunked their tests. In fact, Isaac told me that almost everyone in the sciences flunked Chemistry.

"Isaac! What is wrong with you? Forget Chemistry for now and focus on training!"

I guess Isaac was right.

Isaac stubbornly takes off his school shirt and tosses it on the turf without giving Coachie eye contact. From Coachie's countenance, I surmise that Isaac wouldn't be starting against Saint Gregory's football team on Thursday. I know Coachie too well; disciplinarian cum laude. He flips open his notepad and scribbles down something, possibly a reminder that Isaac would be warming the bench come Thursday.

As customary, we jog back and forth the pitch thrice. After that, we walk back to circle Coachie for a pep talk.

"Listen up boys." he begins, "As you know, Saint Gregory's beat us two-nil before we went on mid-term break. Any slip-up on Thursday will see us crashing out. Don't forget, this is the quarter-final stage. We've been dumped out of this very stage for three years running. We are on the verge of continuing that trend, but I say no. It has to come to an end. I want you boys to go all out on Thursday with all determination and vigour. We are playing here, in this school. Let's make everyone proud. Grace!!!!!!"

Coachie's last statement sent shivers down everybody's spines. It was so unexpected and militant.

****
Training went well. Now, I'm headed for the touchlines to get my bag. I can see some boys in uniform standing in wait. I have my suspicions, but I really can't make out their faces. Soon, I'm very close. And I can make out their faces.

One thing is clear to me right now.

Tooni hasn't gone home yet.

Right now, I am frozen to the ground, mentally compiling my obituary. Some of you may be wondering, 'Why do you fear Tooni so much?'

Answer: Tooni is taller than me and way more muscular than me. I don't know any boy in the set that can pummel him, plus, I'm not exactly one of the strongest guys. I have to try dialogue; it's my only way out of this quagmire.

"Dennis! What's up?" Tooni says excitedly as he approaches me. "Saturday's party was the ish, man."

I am speechless right now.

"Guy. I'm not here to fight you. In fact, I'm not even angry; I never was." Now, he's very close to me. "I just came to clear things up. She approached you, not the other way round. She 'seduced' you, also not the other way round. How did you react, from what I saw in the video? You pulled out your phone and went away!"

When Tooni said 'seduced', he made a quote sign with both index fingers. Moreover, he's talking in a relaxed, light-hearted manner. He is clearly NOT done.

"Trust me, many boys would have ignored the text or call or whatever notification you received. I myself would have, assuming I and Kofo weren't dating.

"Really?" I finally speak, asking.

He closes his eyes and exhales noisily. "Yes. We broke up. You would have done the same if you were in my shoes. Any boy would have. And about the video, I convinced the guy that uploaded it to take it off YouTube. By the way, everyone was too engrossed in it to download it. So you have nothing to worry about. And we're cool now, aren't we? No more dodging!" He says and laughs. His squad members join him in his laughter. He stretches forth his hand for a handshake and I take it lukewarmly. Soon enough, he's off, leaving me dazed and speechless.

"You thought he was here to fight you, Dennis?" Isaac asks. I totally forgot about the rest of my teammates. And speaking of Isaac, shouldn't I have killed him by now? Bloody liar.