A Loner's Journey Through Lemonade Making

Chapter 40|

The week after midterm break was one of the most uneventful ever. I got back into the school groove and started to prepare for our first mock exam.

As the days passed, I found myself spending a lot of time in my head. I'd been doing a lot of reflecting and cerebrating lately, forecasting my future and wondering what it would be like. Whenever I closed my eyes and tried to imagine a future with Joju, I saw nothing, absolutely nothing. Only once had I ever seen him, and he was gone a second later.

One of such days when I thought about my life was this Monday morning.

"Yewande!"

A painful slap on my arm came after my name. A body fell beside mine with full force, forcing me to jerk up.

One hand held my chair for support and the other was on my chest. I exhaled, my panting gradually ceasing. "Nina."

"It's almost seven," she said, rolling off my bed. She tapped my forehead with her pen as she walked away. "Get ready."

"I've heard."

We had gone back to bed after morning sports. A few minutes after tossing and turning, I realised I wasn't sleepy anymore. I sat up and started thinking about my future. It seemed bleak, and I constantly got a bad feeling about it. It made my stomach knot.

I shrugged it off, not wanting negative thoughts to accompany me into the new week.

I started straightening my bedsheet. While I was at it, the door opened.

Muna entered. She wore a frown on her face, a towel around her body and black slides on her feet. She swung a bucket in her right hand.

"Wetin do you?" Kari asked.

Munachi walked further into the room, plopping on her bed. She dropped her bucket and rested her chin in her palms, then exhaled frustratedly. "There's no water."

"What?!" I shouted.

"Ehn?!" Kari exclaimed, closing her textbooks.

Nina's head shot up from her books. "What do you meann?"

"We start mock today! How will we get ready?" I worried.

The door was opened from outside again and Ibidun entered.

"I've spoken to the hostel mistresses." She informed us. "They're looking for a solution."

Muna beat me to asking the question everyone had. "Why's there no water?"

"You know the JSS1s and 2s did that community service thing where they washed people's cars?"

"Oh."

"And the swimming club had practice during the weekend." She explained.

I fell backwards onto my bed. "Chai."

"I wonder why water wasn't pumped." IB hissed, kicking her slippers off at the entrance and going to her bed. "They always expect me to do everything, like I'm a worker and not a student."

"Maybe the pumping machine has spoilt." I thought aloud.

They mumbled words in agreement and silence befell us.

The silence was short-lived, as it was soon broken by a knock on the door.

It was Leilah.

"Good morning." She greeted.

We replied lifelessly.

"Ms. Mosun said we should come outside with buckets. Ibidun, please send word." She left afterwards.