CHAPTER 61

It happened in my high school days when I was in grade 9.
I often attended the extra lessons for candidates preparing to take the
final year exams. It wasn't my turn to take the exams, but my parents always
encouraged me to prepare early and bought the past questions booklets to aid my
preparation.
A friend of mine, Jane, in grade 10 was also
preparing for the exams so I usually tagged along with her.
Many of my other friends thought I was being too
enthusiastic about my studies.
Within our group of about twenty students, many of us were from the same school while a few others came
from nearby schools or they were private candidates.
One evening, my transport fare was stolen and my friend didn't come that day to school, So i followed a small group of students to trek
home. That was the first time I spoke to him. I
didn't even
know his name. All I knew about him was that he
was a senior at school, almost always showed up late to extra moral lessons and
sat at the very last seat at the back.
We were down to three who were headed in the
same direction and conversation was flowing. I realized he was actually funny and easy to talk to. When it was only both of us left, we
continued in a light air of companionship.
'What's your name? I can't believe I haven't asked all this while." He smiled at me.
'My name is Monica, what's yours?" I asked,
turning to smile
at him.
'Mine is Ryan."
' Ryan." I grinned.
⏭⏭⏭
I was brought back to reality when Stacy held my
shoulders and gave me a rough shake.
'What?" I asked as I shook my head slightly to focus.
'You spaced out. That's what happened."
'Sorry." I sat up and focused on what she was saying.
'I said the doctor called, she's awake."
The girl sat on the hospital bed looking healthier than the last time we saw her. An empty plate was on the table beside her along with a half-filled cup of water.
'Hey, how're you feeling?" I asked as I took a few
steps into the room with Stacy close behind me.
'I'm much better. The doctor told me what you two
did for me, thank you very much." She smiled.
I noticed there was a slight cut on her lip which made her wince after smiling.
She was a pretty girl with almond shaped eyes and
a round face. She was dressed in jeans and a crop top.
'My name is Sylvia." She offered.
'I'm Monica." I replied.
''Stacy." Stacy nodded.
'Can you tell us what happened?" I asked gently.
She looked away and fiddled with the hem of her
top. Her mouth twisted slightly and her brows crumpled
together.
'I was attacked." Was what she simply said.
'What kind of attack?" Stacy asked.
'There was a raid that night."
'I know we were in it too." I said. She still wasn't telling us everything.
'Some… stupid fucking guys …" She trailed off and her eyes watered.
The doctor walked in at that moment requesting a
brief check-up. By the time he was done, Sylvia was silent.
'You were saying something before?" Stacy
prompted.
'It was mistake, it was nothing." Sylvia said in a low voice.
Sylvia glanced at me, both of us thinking the same
thing.
She doesn't want to talk anymore. And we couldn't just
force it out of her. I sighed and shrugged at Stacy.
'You're sure you don't want to tell us anything? It's
the least you could do after we helped you." Sylvia said as she folded her arms across her chest.
Sylvia didn't respond.
I gestured towards the door and Sylvia rolled her eyes.
'Well, we're leaving now but here's my digits." I
said as I wrote it down on a piece of paper and handed it to her.
I wasn't too sure she would call but at least she could reach me if she wanted to.
Later in the evening, Lisa and Alison returned to the room.
'Where've you guys been?" Stacy asked immediately they stepped in.
'Aren't you aware that there was a gang raid
yesterday in school? I heard they even broke into the hostels." Lisa asked.
'Of course, who doesn't know?" Stacy rolled her
eyes. 'That
doesn't explain why you two disappeared."
'We stayed over in one of the staff quarters." Lisa
replied casually.
I frowned as Stacy and I exchanged a glance.
'How did you guys get into the staff quarters?" Stacy
asked exactly what I had been thinking.
'Mr David helped us out." Alison shrugged.
'What the hell are you two doing near that man?" I asked.
All three girls turned to look at me in surprise. I rarely spoke, let alone cussed.
'Well, since you're so concerned about us and our
whereabouts, he offered his place when he found us running.
Apparently, he was assigned to monitor the Fresher's party; like we need any monitoring," Lisa rolled her eyes. 'And when all hell broke loose he helped get us to safety."
'What did you guys think?" Alison threw up her
arms. 'That we
stayed the night for another reason?"
'Well what were we supposed to think with that
man's reputation?" Stacy asked.
'Whatever." Alison waved a hand in the air as if she
brushed
away Stacy's words. 'I heard it was THE REDS that was on campus last night."
My blood went cold. It was THE REDs? The same gang that we were warned about just yesterday morning.
'That's bad, really bad." Stacy said quietly. She
looked deep in thought.
'I heard that their leader is ruthless." Lisa chipped in.
'He also has a really strong liking for the ladies if you
know what I mean."
'Where do you guys hear all these things from?" I
asked. It was like I never seemed to know what was going on.
'You need to have the right sources of information."
Alison shrugged.
'And you can't have that when you rarely talk to anyone. 'Lisa added.
'Why do I need to do that when I have you guys?"
Alison laughed and shook her head.
'Trust me when I say information is necessary for your survival."
'And that brings us to your first task." Lisa cleared her throat.
'You have to make a new friend. Don't give me that
look." She held up her hand when I opened my mouth to protest. 'We've noticed the way you walk by yourself all the time and how you're always cooped up on your bed when you don't have lectures. Come on, just give it a try."
I sighed and studied the faces of my three roommates. They had no idea why I was like this. I couldn't help it
and a year
therapy hadn't gotten rid of my fears either.
'You never know who you could meet." Alison winked.
I raised an eyebrow at her in annoyance but she just
laughed it off.
'We expect to hear feedback." Alison said as she walked towards her wardrobe to pick out fresh clothes.
They were both in the same outfits they wore the previous night.
Later that night, I was restless. Their observations about me were absolutely correct. I avoided interaction and kept to
myself. Tonia, my therapist had encouraged me to
start over in a new environment. But I had no idea it wasn't going to be as
safe as I hoped. I remembered Sylvia and how I
found her lying on the floor looking bruised and battered. When she mentioned
something about guys, I just knew it was as I had suspected.
It scared me to know that if I wasn't careful either, history could repeat itself. As I closed my eyes, my mind was filled with images from the past.
Two years ago….
When Ryan and I walked a distance, I realized I was drawing nearer to my street. We'd spent the entire walk, talking and getting to know a bit more about each other.
I couldn't believe that such a guy attended the same school with me yet I'd never
spoken to him before. Our school was populated with a lot of students though so I guess it was normal.
'I bet you're a smart cookie. Straight A's student huh."
He teased. I was slightly embarrassed because it was actually true. There
was no way to deny it so I just played it down a bit.
'Trust me when I say school isn't easy at times." I
turned to look at him and nearly tripped on a rock as we
passed by a
Store.
'Watch your step." He said, grabbing my arm in a swift motion.
His grip was very strong and when he let go, I found myself rubbing my arm which hurt.
'Did I hurt you?" He asked, coming closer to look at my arm.
'It's fine, nothing serious." I brushed it off.
But later when I got home, I found that that part of my arm was slightly red and throbbed in pain. I lay a cold,
damp cloth on it to relieve the pain and fell asleep with it. When I woke up
the next morning, it had begun to bruise.
I was slipping in and out of consciousness, fighting a battle with sleep. I was tired physically but my mind was still active.
The sound of Stacy's voice cleared sleep from my eyes.
'Are you sure about this?" She murmured and I
realized she was on the phone.
'John, this is dangerous." 'I know but I'm scared for you."
'Okay, just be careful. This guy is crazy."
'I will. Good night."
I heard her sigh and roll over on her bed. After a few minutes, I fell asleep too.
The next day, campus was buzzing with news
I heard it from Lisa who still insisted that I need to interact with other people more.
The news was that a few students who had skipped out on most of the semester were back on campus.
Lisa told me that she heard they were quite notorious and popular for throwing wild parties, the highly unsupervised kind.
They were seniors who were in 3rd year and upward.
'So, you're telling me that they skipped out of school just like that?" I asked bewildered. Lisa nodded.
'Yes, just like that." She repeated.
'I can't explain it but sometimes it's like the school authorities fear them."
She animatedly waved her spoon in the air when suddenly she stopped and stared at something over my shoulder.
'I'll catch up with you later, okay? I need to talk to someone." She finished her meal within seconds and left me there, staring at the place she'd been seated just moments ago. A minute later, a voice spoke behind me. 'Is this seat taken?" I looked up as the guy
now stood where I could see him. He was of
average height and fair in complexion. I sighed beneath my breath. When I get my hands on Lisa, I'll-
'Hello there?" He said as he took a step closer.
'Yes?" I responded.
'May I sit here? 'I nodded and turned my attention back to my food. I was halfway through with my meal so if I was lucky, I would be out of there in a few minutes. We spent the following moments in silence before he finally spoke.
'What's your name?"
'Monica."
'Nice to meet you, I'm Yousof."I nodded again.
'You don't talk much, do you?" He smiled, starting to seem a bit uncomfortable.
I pitied him, really. He had no idea what he had gotten himself into. I shook my head for ‘No'. 'Okay then."
We didn't exchange another word until I was through with my meal. I got up and slung my bag over one shoulder, not bothering to glance at him once.
I arrived in the hostel about an hour before
Lisa showed up and I was fully prepared to confront her. She walked in and once she saw me, she grinned expectantly.
'So, how did it go Moni?" She dropped her
bag on her bed and pulled off her shoes. 'Don't you think Yousof is nice? "You really didn't have to do that Lisa." I crossed my arms across my chest.
'He's a nice guy." She shrugged. 'It doesn't mean I'm interested in getting to know him."
'Okay, you need to calm down." She said. 'I'm not saying go and marry him, just wanna help get a friend''.
'I do have friends."
'Where are they?" She raised an eyebrow.
'That doesn't matter." I snapped.
The door opened and Stacy stepped in, closely followed by Alison.
'Whoa," Stacy said. 'What's going on here?"
'Lisa's trying to set me up."
'With a guy, is that so bad?" She looked thoroughly confused.
'I'm not interested."
'Okay, you guys need to calm down and explain." Alison said.
I quickly gave a brief version of what happened in the cafeteria.
Stacy looked like she was trying to hold her laugh while Alison didn't hide.
'Listen Monica, Lisa doesn't mean any harm okay?"
'She just loves to play cupid at times in the most infuriating way possible." Stacy chipped in.
'B-but I-" Anna sputtered.
'Nope, you can't even deny it." Alison raised a finger. 'You should've seen her handwork at the party before things got out of control."
'I just like happy endings." Lisa mumbled, brushing her hair round her fingers
'Well not everyone is up for your experiments." Stacy rolled her eyes. Lisa sighed in annoyance.
'Whatever. "Glad we've sorted that out, now I can make an important announcement." Stacy cleared her throat and paused for dramatic effect. 'Next week Friday, John is throwing a pre-birthday party and you're all invited."
'Seriously?" I asked. 'What?" Stacy turned to me.
'Even after what happened yesterday, he's planning a party?" I said.
'It's kind of a way to make up for the disaster that happened yesterday. It's strictly by invitation though so not everyone can get in." 'I'll go." Lisa said.
'Me too." Alison seconded. All three girls turned to look at me as they waited for a response. 'I…"
'Don't even think about skipping out of this one." Lisa said.
'You need to get a social life."
'My social life is doing just fine."
'Nope, it's non-existent. That's what it is."
Lisa snickered. My mouth tightened in irritation. This girl just couldn't give me a break. 'I'll think about it." I shrugged.
They agreed to that and finally gave me some peace of mind about the issue.
That was how I found myself the following Friday, sitting in a roomful of inebriated people and sipping from my drink.
I kept tugging at my blouse to feel a bit more comfortable until Alison grabbed my hand. 'Stop fidgeting." I shrugged uncomfortably without saying
anything.
'Listen, I'm going to the restroom, try not to look like this is torture." She laughed as she walked away, hips swaying despite the loose, knee-length gown she wore.
I sighed as I remembered another party I attended a long time ago.
************
Two years ago…
I dabbed on some of the red Italian lipstick that Jane
handed over to me when we were in the ladies' room and rubbed my lips together to spread the color.
'Is it too much?" I asked nervously.
'Nope. you look hot." She winked at me.
I laughed and swatted her shoulder. I'd gone along
with her to Jev's party that night and she had hinted at me that there was someone special who wanted to see me. I'd made an extra effort to look good that evening after taking an excuse
from my parents that I only wanted to attend my friend's birthday party. They let me go because I'd been cooped up in
the house for days since we were on vacation. I adjusted the hem of my gown and walked out with
Jane.
She led us straight to a group of her friends and as I looked at the faces of some of the party goers, I realized only few of my set-mates were present. This was what was termed an ‘Exclusive Party'. It was the kind of party that was thrown by a senior
and only a few selected students in lower classes got to attend.
Jane had convinced Jev to invite me when she heard
Ryan might attend.
I snapped to attention when she nudged me
gently to the left. My gaze followed her gesture and when I looked back at her she smiled knowingly.
'I was hoping that I'd see you here." It was Ryan and
he stood behind me.
I'm quite ashamed to say that I grinned like a dimwit.
'Do you wanna dance?" He nodded towards the dance floor where several gyrating bodies were displaying their dancing
skills.
'Um." I hesitated. I didn't really know how. 'If you don't want to, it's okay." He shrugged. I sighed in relief.
'We could just talk, you know, hang out." Ryan said and I agreed.
We spent several minutes talking and I fell deeper and deeper with each minute that passed. I didn't know what came over
me, but I pulled him to the dance floor even though I was clueless on what to do. But he seemed to know exactly what he was doing and very soon we were swaying with an easy rhythm. When we were tired of dancing, We found a couch outside to sit on and I relished the cool, fresh air. Inside had begun to smell dank and nauseating.
'You know," He started. 'When Jane told me
you would come, I knew I had to show up just to be sure.
I grinned silently and nodded.
'It's funny how we don't talk at school. Don't you think we should change that?" His eyes held a teasing look in them.
'I'd like that." I replied. I was elated. I couldn't believe this handsome, cool and sophisticated senior guy wanted to hang out with me. Me!
'Good."
Suddenly, I felt warm when he put his arm across
my shoulders, drawing me closer. I was stiff for a
second before I relaxed into his hold. This felt nice.
His hand drifted down to the curve of my waist and I stiffened again.
'Relax." He chuckled. I tried but couldn't. My heart had begun to beat at a fast pace and I tried to sit up but he held me firm to his side.
I remembered how strong his grip was the day I tripped and how he bruised my arm without knowing it.
'I really need to get going." I whispered. 'I'm sure Jane is looking for me by now."
'I'm sure your friend knows you're with me, she saw us leave together." He countered my concerns.
'Now, I've been meaning to ask. 'I was quiet as I waited for his question.
'Have you ever had a boyfriend before or do you currently have one?"
'What?" I frowned as my eyebrows scrunched together. 'You know, a guy and girl-"
I waved his explanation away. 'I know what it means."
'So, have you?" He asked again. I gave him a quiet and hesitant reply but it seemed to be
exactly what he wanted to hear because his eyes lit up with a strange light.
'Perfect." He smiled. 'You're perfect."