Blacks And Blues

9| Soccer Balls and Pretty Nurses

"Gina do fast, joor. They're playing truth or dare in class I don't want to miss it o!" Hannah whined making Gina to roll her eyes.

She was already shovelling her spaghetti into her mouth but Hannah kept rushing her like she was eating it string by string.

This stuff is peppery for God's sake! Do you want me to choke and I die or what?

Nifemi was in tears. She'd been laughing so hard at Gina's mad attempt at eating fast that a string of spaghetti had "entered her brain" and made her cough till it shot out her nose.

It'd been a traumatic experience for all of them.

That's a very good reason why I shouldn't be eating this fast!

"You can just give the remaining one to Runor na." Nifemi told her, taking another sip from her sachet of drinking water. She was still sniffling but at least the tears had stopped.

"Give me wetin? Did I tell you that I'm hungry?" Runor asked, her eyes on her short and neat pink nails.

"It's like you want to kill yourself abi? You'll not eat food, be there looking for figure eight. Until you'll just disappear."

Runor rolled her eyes, hissing. "Just because I'm not fat doesn't mean I can't add weight. I'm going for a wedding next week sef, I have to look perfect."

"See your head like perfect," Hannah mocked, pushing her empty plate forward. "Is it you that they want to marry?"

"Hannah, I don't have your strength, just leave me alone and mind your business." Runor said, raising a fair hand in front of her but glancing down at her stomach by habit.

Nifemi watched her friend admire her flat belly and smiled to herself. "That's how you'll go and kill yourself. If you like, be doing daily fasting. That one concern you sha."

Runor ignored Nifemi and looked at Gina just as she took her piece of meat in her fork.

"Why's the meat so small?" Gina asked, frowning at the tiny thing hanging from her fork.

"The lunch ladies are eating it." Runor accused and playfully narrowed her eyes at the women chatting behind the serving counter. "See how fat they are."

Hannah guffawed, "Abi o! They probably eat more than the students sef. When there are people like you, there will probably be a lot of left overs."

Runor's eyes rapidly flicked up and down the part of Hannah that was visible above the table. Coupling it with that distinctive hissing sound Dumebi had used with her, she looked away, her nose in the air.

"Oya, it's okay," Nifemi consoled Runor. "You know she's just joking, right? See as your just eying her. We just don't want you to mysteriously drop dead one day."

"Or disappear." Hannah mumbled and Runor gave her a look and she raised her hands in defence. "What now? You're barely even visible. No meat in your bones, nothing nothing."

Before Runor could open her full lips to respond, Gina swallowed her meat and beamed. "I'm done! Let's go."

She got up and glanced back at her friends and they began to follow her. They walked with quick steps and within seconds, they were at the West wall, dropping off their plastic trays with the other stacks and dumping empty juice boxes in the trash can.

"Kai! I wished we'd stopped at table eight, I wanted to see the writings," Hannah whined and Gina unceremoniously choked on her spit. "The talk on vandalism and respect for teachers that Mr. Ire gave at the morning assembly made me even more curious, to be honest."