A Loner's Journey Through Lemonade Making

Chapter 27|

There were some personality traits that were common among all RPSS students. Once they got admitted into the school, it became part of them and their DNA, it became infused in their blood. These traits were passed from student to student. No-one had ever escaped them, not even my introverted self.

One of those traits was the party animal spirit. RPSS students knew how to study hard and party hard. It was why the management always let us have the ridiculous amount of parties we had per term, and why our parties were never boring.

Our party had just ended. As we were getting our things together to leave the hall, Mr Obadina announced from his office that we JSS3 and SSS3 students could throw an after party. He said we wouldn't be involved in any parties until we were done with exams, so he wanted us to have fun and know that after that one, we wouldn't have another till graduation.

We yelled "Thank you!" excitedly, although we knew he wouldn't hear it, and hyped the DJ to start over.

He didn't disappoint. The neon lights flashes from the ceiling and the music blared from the speakers. We danced wildly, aware but unconcerned that Mr Obadina could see us through the CCTV cameras.

The female seniors had long taken off their wigs and shoes, and their boys had also removed their shoes and jackets. My friends, those wild girls, had taken their shoes off immediately we entered the hall. I had only taken mine off about five minutes prior, when Muna's shakes had almost tripped me.

"Dance baby girl, dance!" Kari shouted over the loud music. She took my hands and dragged me to the center of the room, where the seniors dominated. TK and Ebun were there, dancing among their mates. Tekena, as he had promised, kept his eyes on me to make sure I wasn't dancing with any boys, especially not his mates.

"Thank you Mr Obadina!" the seniors shouted, as the song changed to Yeba. They threw pieces of the fake naira notes we'd been given into the air.

Kari's purple jumpsuit was wet with sweat, and so were her face and arms. Our Dance Queens, Leilah and Ibidun, were there too, showing their skills off. As usual, they both had on their signature accessories: oversized black sunglasses and high heels.

Ibidun saw me watching her and pulled me towards herself. She, Leilah and Kari circled around me, not letting me leave and forcing me to dance with them. Munachi and Safia wisely stayed away so they wouldn't become like me.

But I wasn't upset. I loved my friends, and I loved RPSS.

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How juniors became friends with seniors and suddenly gained confidence and popularity was something that had always baffled me. I had never understood it, but now, with Leilah's help, I understood it totally and perfectly.

A week ago, after we had completed all our projects, my set girls and I went to the garden to get fresh air and talk. We sat on the grass, with a few high maintenance ones like Leilah and Adanna sitting on the white benches. We spoke about our set boys, new songs, upcoming artistes and instagram 'influencers'(this discussion was mostly carried by Leilah and Kari).

"It's a pity I'm not with my phone," Leilah had sighed sadly, "but when I go home for the holiday, I'm going to dedicate two hours a day to instagram, unless my parents have seized it, because, you know, exams." then she rolled her eyes.

The topic of gaining popularity in RPSS suddenly arose. And because Leilah was patently the most popular girl in our grade, we asked her.

"In this school, there are only three ways to gain popularity. The first way is by getting it passed down to you. Say your sibling or cousin attended RPSS, and they were very influential. When they leave and you come, everyone will instantly give you attention because you are related to that person. The admiration and popularity will just come to you without you seeking it out. Like Ada, her sister was the social prefect when we were in JS1." she had answered.