[Story] Love, Lust And Lost

Episode 8 years ago

[Story] Love, Lust And Lost

“Sarumi, Saheed, Ramota, Aishat Y. and” she paused for a moment and stretched the piece of paper out into space. Her head was tinted backwards and her eyes slightly short as if she couldn’t see.

Adefemi stood up and was walking to the front without even hearing his name.

“Hey George, where are you going to?” The Maths teacher asked but rather than getting a reply, the clark called out.

“And Binitu” and she left as the last person, a girl named Binitu followed her, limping a little and raising her hands to her head; her skirt also to signify, she is dead – a form of uneasiness and regretting act.

Adefemi almost ran up to the Maths teacher to grab him and hug him tightly. Sweat was dripping down his face. He could swear he had wet his pants already. His heartbeat started returning to normal as though he were a patient battling with life in the theatre.

“Yes?. Where were you heading before?” Mr. Ajumo startled him as he was going back to his seat. Those who knew what he was up to, just looked at him in such a pitiful way. Poor boy, imagine such boy associating himself with all these Yoruba dullards, some students had murmured.

“Ermm! Ermm!! Sir!. I wanted to clean the blackboard for Assignment purpose” he lied without considering how irrelevant his lie was.

“Oh, I see, so you’ve now turned the class duster?”

“No Sir!. I just wanted to help since she already spent almost the remaining time of your period”

Mr. Ajumo got up from the desk he had sat and said “from now henceforth, Chinedu won’t be our board-duster. It has now been conferred on you to be the new duster”

“Arh!!!” Some students shouted, others gave a silent laughter.

“But sir!,……”

“Don’t but anything. And by the way, you all are not leaving here until 3:00pm”

“Arhhhh!!!” The class exclaimed.

“Did I just hear someone shout Arh?”

The class didn’t reply, all the student just held their peace, rumpled faces and disgust to themselves. Nothing would they do to change Mr. Ajumo’s mind. Today na today, Maths class has to run beyond its period.

“So any student anticipating going home on time, should better start solving page 65 of the General Mathematics. That would be your Continuous Assessment Test.”

Immediately they submitted their notebooks after the Maths class, Adefemi quickly picked his bag and raced towards the Bus-stop but felt like Peter who had denied Jesus 3 times when he met her sad, swollen and wet face at the Bus-stop beside her mother. Her face was swollen like ripe red potato, it was obvious she had been mercilessly flogged and had cried her eyes out.

He felt as though he were in the very temple Peter denied Jesus but she had already been crucified with canes and the J0yst!ck had not crew to allow him race away. He couldn’t move, did not even think to think he should move. It was as if her eyes rooted him to a spot, perhaps she had turn a sorceress.

If a bus had not crossed their path and interrupted their gaze, he could have wished the ground could open and swallowed him.

In her mind, she was thinking how she had disgraced herself. Even her boyfriend had suddenly started seeing her as a bad egg. She would have less friends now. No one would trust her again, not even her mother. But this was the time she needed him most but he seemed to have also lost the love he had for her, she thought as tears dropped down her face.

He never talked to her afterwards till this very day she had asked him for a dance and at the end a kiss.

“Can I have a kiss please?”

`A kiss’ she requested seemed to glint Adefemi’s eyes. Someone who had never kissed before. The request unsettled him but so as not to be seen as a dunce, he had to let her have her way. He stood on one spot, hands beside him on either side as she crossed her hands behind the nape of his neck and gave him a brush-kiss.

It was very evident of an amateurish kiss. You could imagine just bringing each other’s mouth/lips together and the sound `Muah!!!’ Would explode in the air. That was the kind of kiss she gave him but a kiss was a kiss to him, so long it was his first.

“Today, some people would be singing for us `it is a good thing that is happening’ with serious cane landing on their back” Mr. Oriyomi proceeded though Adefemi wasn’t back from the paradise of kiss his mind and thoughts had taken him.

He was busy nurturing in his mind, the courage he could gather to ask Tosin for another kiss after assembly. `mehn, that thing called kiss sweet o. How I go take ask this girl for another one now, make she no go think say na my first time to kiss be this o.’

“A group of boys brought Knockout to the school today, JSS3 students for that matter. Because they think they’ve passed out and can do anything they like, brought knockout and decided to turn the school to China or a show were Knockout (Fire-works) are blown every time. They’ve decided to turn the school to Christmas Eve,” he appeared to be saying as if he was reading it from a book.

“They decided to turn the school premises to Christmas Eve gathering as done in their various barracks; blowing knockout here and there.”

If it had occurred to Adefemi what Mr. Oriyomi was saying, he could have brought his thoughts to an abrupt end but he was far off life.

“As I call your name, make sure you come up here like a lightning. Izuchukwu, Maxwell, Victor, Tunde, Sam and Moses, Kelvin, Nathaniel, Ugochuckwu, Abiola and Adefemi”
Mr. Oriyomi rolled the paper and made for his office.

Adefemi didn’t hear when his name was called, he happened not to have heard it but as the Junior students exclaimed “Punctuality Prefect,” he was brought back to reality.

“What is it” he asked suspending the smile that stood so long on his face during the reverie.

“You are asked to come up with those called out for blowing knockout on the field today” Fatimah explained to him.

“Mogbe o (I’m dead)!” He muttered and left the assembly ground. His movement was weary as though he had bumps between his thighs.

Who had written their names down without their knowledge, he thought as they got to the first floor.

Today na today, people wey dey dance their sweat out say dem don finish Junior School and free of all this wicked teachers wey fit beat madness out of person, na flog them go flog all the dance commot for their body like evil spirit.

Why had they not called them earlier, why now that the party was about starting fully?.

“lie down flat” Mrs. Oladipupo shouted seeing them standing. “Oris, please bring all the canes out, let’s soak them in water.”

To Be Continued….