BLOOD

John went to school very early on Tuesday, hoping to be the first and to avoid questions about his suspension from the students.

He was dressed in a suit because it was their Tuesday wear. He walked into class and was surprised to see Shelly sitting down alone. She also came to school early for the same reason. They both looked at themselves in bellicose.

John sat down, they were alone for a very long time before other students started arriving.

After assembly, the whole class stared at them. Shelley was unabashed by what they would say. Ruth Esther was one of those who liked to gossip very well.

She went to the front of the class and made jest of Shelly and John. John was embarrassed at what she said, but Shelly looked at her as a foolish and useless girl, because someone who has something reasonable to do will do no such thing.

Shelly was tired of hearing her rubbish comments, and went to the front of the class and damned her actions. She called her a useless person, saying she was jobless and that if she had any important thing to do with her life, she wouldn't have the time to talk about other people's matters in front of them then she went to her seat.

Ruth felt embarrassed as the class laughed at her, she couldn't take it anymore so she ran out of the class, then Shelly followed her.

Shelly saw her in the school garden crying, she went to console her and told her she didn't mean to hurt her.

Ruth apologized to her, she forgave her and they both went back to class. Shelly met the whole class still talking about Ruth, then she shouted at the class saying it was enough.

Everyone kept quiet instantly but did not know why. Ruth thanked Shelly and went to her seat. Shelly sat down and John thanked her for saving them, she told him it was not a problem. Teachers later came to teach them, soon it was the last period to break.

It was break time, and Shelly decided to stay in class again. Rita and peter stopped by their desk and asked if they were not going to get lunch.

Shelly lied that she would join them later, saying she was busy. John told them to go ahead and that he was going to join them soon, so they left. John stood up to leave but noticed Shelly was not even ready to leave and found out she wasn't busy.

John asked her if she wasn't going to the cafeteria, and she told him that she want to be left alone. John went back to sit down and persuaded Shelly to go for lunch, he did not stop. He continued to persuade her, but to no avail.

When it became too much for her, she stood up and wanted to leave. She told John, she was going to the library. As she was going out of the class, John shouted for her to stop. " There is blood at the back of your skirt", he said. " Blood? where! when! how!" she said and looked at the back of her skirt and found out it was true.

She did not know what to do, she rushed to her bag looking for her cardigan, but could not find it. John gave her his cardigan to cover her skirt. John followed her to the school clinic, he waited outside and she went inside.

She explained to the nurse what she has been experiencing and told the nurse about the blood she found on her skirt.

The nurse laughed silently and told her there was nothing to worry about because Shelly was looking worried. She was told it was her menstruation, that it happens to all teenage girls saying it was normal.

She was given a pad and other things and she was asked to clean herself up, she did so and thanked them. She wondered what they meant and couldn't stay because she had class.

when she came out, John asked her what the blood was about. She told him it was nothing, then they went back to class and found their home economics teacher in class. The teacher asked them the reason why they came last to class.

John told her something happened and he took Shelly to the school clinic. The teacher asked them to sit down and she started teaching.

Her topic was puberty and under it, she was talking about menstruation also called a period. "It shows that a girl has reached the age of puberty, it happens on average between 13 and 15 years of age. Some girls start earlier or late, according to their heredity, diet, etc " she said.

She told them it is not a punishment that it is a blessing, it was a sign that they can be a mother anytime. Saying there was no need to be ashamed on the first day it shows up, saying they should thank God they didn't have to wait for a long time for it.

She told them that under normal circumstances, a monthly menstrual flow is expected to occur every 28 days, because many months are more than 28 days it may not be possible to expect it on exact dates. For example, the 1st or 22nd of every month.

To be on safeguard they should count 28 days from the 1st day of the last menstrual flow then they should expect a flow anytime in the next four days.

She told them some girls have regular dates of menstrual flow, even for such girls, other factors like change of diet, mood, and state of mind could punctuate the regularity. Saying for some girls the duration of menstrual flow was 5 days others 6-7 or even less.

She finally told them that it is important that a girl should maintain a high standard of hygiene before, during, and after menses, especially during the menstrual period.

" Use a nice sanitary towel to absorb your flow. The use of toilet rolls during menses is neither safe nor hygienic. Many are not being prepared under sanitary conditions this day. To avoid infection use disposable pads. To control the odor of stale menses, bathe regularly each time you change your pad. Dispose of all use pads neatly rapped", she said.

All the boys were uncomfortable and Mrs. Jones noticed it and told them they should not feel uncomfortable that they are going to have wives and children one day, or they may even see their sisters experiencing it, that they would not be ignored for what it means.

She told them she would talk about menstrual pain in their next class, and she finally said and left the class.

John turned to look at Shelly, she bowed her head so that she would not see his face. Shelly then turned to him and begged him not to tell anyone, he agreed and she was relieved.

later the English teacher came to class and asked Shelly and John to get some books from the library. On their way back, they were still discussing the whole period thing.

She didn't look at where she was going and pierced her leg with a nail, she shouted and John went to help her, she was on the floor crying and the only way to get to the clinic was for him to carry her there.

She declined at first but as she saw that the blood was gushing out fast, she agreed for him to carry her. He took her to the clinic and went to tell the principal about it.

He later went to class and told the English teacher what happened, he immediately left the class. After treating her, the principal called her parents and told them to come to pick her up.

Her mother came personally and took her home, when she got home she was allowed to rest. When she woke up, she took her dinner and told her mother about her menstruation, her mother apologized for not telling her about it.

Her mother told her that she would go to the supermarket later and buy her pads. After the school closed, Rita, Peter, and John were discussed. Rita told them that she felt pity for her and that they should all go to visit her later, they agreed and they all went home.

John got home thinking deeply of Shelly, he felt sorry for her and the thought of how he carried her, flashed back to his memory.

He knew test week was coming up, so he had to concentrate. John also thought of going to confront some boys that he overheard talking about drugs.