Ruthanne Georgeson High

💎 •The Test of Es•

| Dedicated to wryk_tah |

•••

"I'm so bored, guys," Odetta announced, strolling into the Diadems' Lair (at the Residence Building), and leaned against a wall, crossing her feet at the ankle.

Bolu regarded her with a blank expression. "Go suck dick."

Odetta rolled her eyes, brushing off the comment in familiarity to it. "Ruthanne has been no fun lately," she whined on and pushed away from the wall, walked further in. She flopped onto a couch, next to Renee, who was scrolling through her social media pages on her phone.

"Lately?" Elijah chuckled. "School just resumed like what? A few hours ago?"

Odetta sat upright. "That's what I'm saying! The first day is usually indicative of what the rest of the term will be like. And it's been hours since Assembly... "

"So, you suggest "what" to salvage this?" Bolu asked.

"I don't know - sneak out; throw a party..."

"Or play with the students?"-Elijah, wearing a mischievous grin.

Bolu and Odetta uttered at the same time: "Play?"

Elijah gave them an incredulous look, his eyes mildly rounded. "Yeah. We usually have a surge of maddening* plethora of enrollees at the start of every school year. And, we came up with an initiation thing to weed out the dirt. You know, naïve, worthless, and low class lowlifes wanting to walk on Ruthanne's floor. Whom we don't want tarnishing our reputation?"

Bolu's and Odetta's mouth shaped into an O in realization as their eyes sparked with glints of excitement.

"What initiation?" Renee cut in.

"The Es!" Odetta said, her heart bubbling with an impenetrable happiness. "Oh my God - hah. What do you say, guys? C'mon ... Let's do it!"

"Well, I'm in." Bolu raised a hand.

And a "Same here." from Elijah.

"Renee?" Odetta's peppiness didn't fail to emit from every pore on her creamy skin as they waited for Renee's reply.

Three seconds...

Five seconds...

Nine... They dropped it, getting the unspoken message loud and clear.

"Allrightt, let's go, guys," Odetta squealed and jumped up to her feet. The other two Diadems got up and filed out after her.

---

Pink is beautiful.

She loves the paleness, and lightness of it, and that softness of its hue is the most charming to her. The pink hyacinths and petunias complemented with the vivid colors of the rhododendron in the garden below - creating a striking appeal.

How can something be so wisp-like and still be animate?, Ivie thought.

It is not an intense color like red, or yellow, or green, yet it is noticeable.

She wishes to be the color pink or a flower. They blossom smoothly; open up warmly, and smell nice... epitomizing her longing to be that kind of a person.

She turned away from the window and faced the classroom. Illumination from bulbs carved into the ceiling bounced off the white walls and bathed the room in a brightness short of blinding. The air surrounding the block she's in, and even most of the school's buildings were sharp and unruffled. Doors with pane jammed in the distance every now and then. It was the first week of resumption, many teachings hardly go on.

A handful of students were in the classroom-one of the many in the Art Department Block-and were having a half-alive and a half-dead Literature class.

Ivie's pump-clad feet took her across the floor to meet the teacher at a desk in the front. He gave her instructions to take over the class and to treat the first chapter of one of the literature text the Art students will be reading for the term.

Getting a curtailed nod from her, he packed up his stuff and left the room.

Ivie picked an African literature book from the desk, turned to face the class and propped her waist against the table. She studied every face looking back at her till her scrutiny ended on Rahama who was adorned with everything gold, and makeup as common to most Muslim girls from the North.

Her hair was covered with a fancy-looking, creamy hijab that had a flower hair clip on it, and even her nose had a stud in it.

"Rahama." Ivie started. "Do you mind explaining to this class a theme from the novel"-She flipped the book's cover to herself and read out loud,-"Faceless?" She looked up.

Rahama's lower lip lolled, her blue eye-shadowed eyes expressing the block in her mind. She stood up, feeling like the most fucked up person in the world and gave a go at the question: "Love?"

Ivie's face was stony for a few beats. "Shut your mouth, dumb."

*

*

*

"Did you have to do what you did in class earlier?"

Ivie looked to the royal, and heiress to some Hausa Kingdom beside her and back to her front as they marched down the hallway. "Your family pays a huge sum of money for you to attend here. It shouldn't be going to shreds."

Rahama scoffed. "Oh, please." like anyone of them ever cares for their parents' money being spent, but that she didn't say out loud.

"Ivie." A voice called from behind.

The two Diamonds, of the second-ranking in Ruthanne's jewel hierarchy, came to a stop and twisted around.

Yvonna sauntered to catch up with them.

"Yes? How may I help you?"

"The Diadems have a message for you," Yvonna said, putting as much attitude into her stance.

Ivie's eyes roamed lightly. "What?"

"They said you should meet at the auditorium. You, and the other Diamonds. Some initiation stuff for the baby royals."

"Okay." Ivie dismissed the meeting and spun on her heels, walked away at the same time Yvonna was leaving the spot.

"What do you think that was about?" Rahama whispered-asked.

A shoulder shrug came from Ivie. "We'll find out."