Little Lucy - S02 E03

2 years ago

Little Lucy - S02 E03

Read Story: SEASON 2 EPISODE 3

Efua’s renouncement of the LILIES spread like wild fire amongst the girls who were aware of her membership.

Nobody knew her reasons for leaving but I had a feeling it’s something that’s got to do with Collette and I.

” Is she really going to die if she gets a boyfriend before graduation?” I asked Collette. We were ironing our uniforms.

Collette took a hanger and removed her skirt. She inspected it and decided it needed to get ironed.

” Yes, she’s going to die once she gets a boyfriend.”

I was becoming Soo uncomfortable with this new turn of event. ” Collette….what about you? Are you also renouncing your membership?”

” I was going to,” Collette answered. ” But MÔM wouldn’t let me break out. It’s risky to breakout before graduation. I decided I would take the risk.”

” Which meant you’re no longer a member?”

Collette shook her head. ” It’s complicated. I’m one foot in, one foot out. You just can’t break out like that without MÔM’s say so. I’m partially a member until MÔM says I can leave.”

Which meant she was still a Lily but partially because Vee hasn’t given her an approval to leave just yet.

But Vee allowed Efua to leave. I wondered why.

” Haven’t you spoken to her yet?”

” Who?”

” Efua.”

Collette sprinkled water on her skirt and pressed the hot iron over it. ” Why do I have to speak to her? She made her decision and so do I.”

I pouted. ” But you still care about her, don’t you?”

” I don’t see how that is any of your concern, Lucy,” Collette answered rather stiffly. ” Exam’s next week. You should be focused on your books.”

” And you should also be focused on your best friend, Collette,” I snapped.

She stopped ironing and glanced up at me.

I began speaking fast. ” All you ever talk about is books and your chess tournament and maths competition. You ever care one day to make an effort to speak to Efua?”

She didn’t reply me but that didn’t discouraged me.

” Efua’s going through a lot of sh*t, Collette. There’s something bothering her. Something deep that’s made her quit the LILIES. Don’t you think now’s the Time you two seat together and work on your differences? I know you two lost your friendship a long time ago but can’t it be fixed? Must you two go on being rivals forever? I love you and Efua Soo much although I love you more. Still, I believe you two can become real friends again if you’ll only make an effort to speak to her.”

Collette switched off the iron. Her forehead was creased with a frown. ” What coolval stories makes you think we can ever become friends again?”

” Aren’t you worried about Efua?”

She didn’t look at me. ” Not at all.”

” You’re lying!”

Collette hanged her skirt and settled down on the reading table. ” Lucy, don’t let us fight about this. You’re raising your voice.”

I followed her to the table , placed my hands on the table and leaned over to her, my face set, my eyes serious.

” I’m just getting started, Collette. I’ll raise my voice until it gets into your head what you’re supposed to do.”

” And what am I supposed to do?”

Her coolness was becoming irritating to me. She was as expressionless as a Chinese mask.

” Go to Efua’s room, have a seat before her and try saying something to her. Don’t pretend like you don’t care. You care. I saw your countenance when you delivered the news to me on Sunday last night.”

Collette smiled up at me. She crossed her arms regarding me closely with interest. ” It’s funny how you’re beginning to order me around, Lucy.”

I banged my fist on the table. ” For crying out loud, Collette why are you soo serious about everything?”

” Like I said,” she sighed, looking away from me. ” She made her choice and so did I.”

” Well that’s not cutting it with me,” I said through clenched teeth. ” If you’re not going to talk to her, then I will.”

Collette shrugged but her mouth didn’t open to reply me.

” What’s with you anyways,” I raised my hands in the air. ” I thought you were once friends with Efua. Friends always watch each other’s back. Why aren’t you watching her back?”

” That was a long time ago, Lucy,” Collette said. ” We’re miles apart now and we’re never coming back together.”

” Ever?”

She nodded, her eyes sad. ” That’s right, ever!”

I decided I wasn’t going to seat down and listen to Collette anymore. I walked away from her towards the door and left the room.

I headed for Efua’s room. I realized I’ve been pushing her away from me because of Collette when she needed me the most. Of course avoiding Efua was for my own good but abandoning her was a mistake I made.

When I got to her floor, I saw Efua’s roommate, the junior student I despise Soo much. She gave me a bleakful look, pointing at the door.

” Well, thank goodness you’re here,” she said. ” I was about going to call the council.”

” What’s the matter?” I asked, ignoring the fact that she wasn’t taking the cue that I was a class older than her. ” Why are you outside?”

” She’s at it again,” she rolled her eyes, waving at the door. ” Efua wouldn’t let me in. The door’s locked from insides and I hadn’t my spare key with me.”

I approached the door and stared at it for sometime. ” How long have you been outside?”

Efua’s roommate scoffed. ” About twenty minutes.”

I knocked on the door to Efua’s room and waited.

No answer. She was supposed to be in. During exam weeks we don’t do evening lessons so everyone could get the chance to study and prepare for the forthcoming exams.

I Knocked again. Still no answer.

Her roommate paced up and down the hall, glaring at her wrist watch. ” Hurry the hell up. What’s taking her Soo long?”

” Oh will you fvcking shut up!!” I snapped. ” If you really want me to help you, you’ve got to watch how you speak to me, okay? You and I are not mate!”

She glared at me but her mouth was shut.

That’s Soo much better. I returned back to the door and knocked again, straining my ears against it to listen for any sound. But I heard nothing.

Just when I thought I she wasn’t in, a faint voice came inside the room. Efua’s inside but why doesn’t she want to open the door?

I looked through the keyhole of the door into her room. To my shock, I saw a chair arranged in front of a noose made from some blankets dangling from the ceiling.

I saw Efua’s feet stepping on the chair towards the noose.

Cold spider legs crawled up my spine. With realization, I suddenly knew what she was up to.

Efua was about hanging herself

My eyes grew a trifle wider and I screamed at the top of my voice. ” Oh, my God. EFUA Don’t do it!”

Efua’s roommate started out of her skin at my screaming. ” What’s wrong?!”

I didn’t answer her. With all the strength I could muster, I rammed my shoulder hard against the door.

It banged from impact but the door was held stong.

A deadly sense of Alarm blew up in my mind. I rammed my shoulder against the door again.

It thud but didn’t open.

” What the hell are you doing?” Efua’s roommate yelled at me. You gon’ crazy or what?!”

I grabbed her by the shirt with my fists and shooked her roughly. ” Will you shut the fvck up and go get help? Your roommate’s about to hang herself in there!”

Her face went white. Her lips shooked. ” Hang?”

” What’s going on here?” I heard a familiar voice behind me.

It was Collette.

She was heading towards me with Temi. The joy and relief that ran through me was chilling.

I shoved Efua’s roommate away from me and ran up to Collette. I fell in her arms and gripped her shirt.

” Collette you’ve got to help her….she’s… she’s…”

Temi screwed up her face. ” What’s wrong Lucy? You’re speaking too fast.”

Was I speaking too fast? O didn’t know and I didn’t care.

” Lucy,” Collette’s soft voice came to me. ” Talk to me. Did something happen?”

I swallowed my saliva and took in a deep breath.

” It’s Efua,” I whispered. ” She’s… she locked herself inside. There’s a chair and a noose and…oh Collette please save her. I think she’s wants to kill herself.”

Collette didn’t let me finish. She tore herself off me and ran up to Efua’s door and pounded her entire weight against it.

The door didn’t move.

” EFUA! OPEN UP!”Collette screamed, pounding harder on the door.

She went berserk, throwing herself against the door to force it open until I thought she’d hurt herself.

” Stand back!” Temi came running after Collette with a bunch of keys in her hand.

Collette didn’t wait for her. She snatched the keys away from Temi and with feverish hands slipped one key into the slot.

The door flew opened and we all dashed inside like police against a robbery operation.

I came in last and what I saw tore me to pieces.

Efua was dangling in mid-air, a blanket noose taut around her neck. The chair had been kicked down.

” Oh my God!” Temi exclaimed. ” Oh my God! Oh my God!”

” Help me get her down!” Collette yelled as she and Temi grabbed Efua’s legs and struggled to support her body.

” Lucy, quick! Get a knife and cut down the blanket.”

I was hysterically crying, my hands shaking as tears rolled down my face. I didn’t even hear Collette when she yelled at me.

Efua was dead.

“CUT THE GODDAMN CLOTH!” Collette screamed.

Efua’s roommate dashed in with a sharp knife. She raised the chair and got on it. Within seconds, she’d cut the cloth.

Efua’s body slumped forward and fell to the floor.

Instantly, Collette rolled her over on her back and started CPR.

” Hurry!” Temi said as Collette pinched Efua’s nose. Taking a deep breath, she tried to breath life back into her friend.

” She’s dead,” I said, crying as I stared at the blank face of Efua.

” GET LUCY THE HELL OUT OF HERE!” Collette yelled at Temi.

” Lucy go downstairs,” Temi shouted. ” Go call an ambulance.”

But I couldn’t move. I wasn’t even listening to what they were saying. I could only stare at Efua’s blank face, crying with chokes in my throat.

Efua’s roommate ran out of the room probably to go call the ambulance. Already, some girls were moving out of their rooms towards Efua’s room.

” There’s no pulse,” Temi said, holding Efua’s wrist.

” She’s getting white and hard!” Collette cried, futilely filling Efua’s lungs with air as Temi supporter her in administering CPR.

” Don’t stop!” Collette screamed, reading Efua’s face. ” Let’s keep going.”

Once again the two girls tried to bring back Efua. They pumped against her chest with their full strength, and did everything they could to elicit any sign of life.

Temi listened closely for a heartbeat. She eventually pulled away, giving up. ” Forget it, Collette. It’s over. She’s dead.”

” Let’s keep trying!” Collette screamed at her. ” She can’t die. We can do…”

” Collette, it’s over.”

” Help me get her downstairs,” Collette demanded and it broke me to see tears streaming down her face. ” Maybe the ambulance can revive her. They got that shock machine, don’t they—”

” It’s too late,” Temi sat on the ground, leaning against Efua’s head. ” She’s gone. She’s not coming back!”

” FVCK!” Collette yelled, banging her fists on Efua chest. ” FVCK! FVCK! FVCK! EFUA GET UP! GET UP YOU QUITTER! GET UP!”

I fell on my knees, grinding my teeth bitterly as some teachers in white coats ran into the room.

I shut my eyes and cried.

Efua….d--n you!!!!