chapter 27

It was the day of the excursion. All the students who were to go had gathered in front administration building. They were asked to be there by exactly 10 O'clock. And they were also instructed with come along with three pair of their uniform. It was already 10 O'clock, all the students were there with the exception of Fatima."Why hasn't Fatima arrived yet?" Sadik asked Hafsat."I don't know really know Sadik" Hafsat responded."Perhaps you should go to her hostel and check if everything is ok with her" Sadik suggested."That's a good idea" Hafsat agreed."Who is the student that still hasn't come?" Asked Mr Ahamed their Mathematics teacher."Is Fatima, the acting health prefect" one of the students replied."Then why don't we just go and leave her? Since she is not serious about it" Mr Ahmed suggested. Sadik looked at him with a surprise when he said that."I don't blame Fatima for hating him" Sadik whispered to Hafsat."Oh you have not yet seen anything if it is Mr Ahmed" Hafsat whispered back."Let her friend go and check if everything is okay with her" Sadik said loudly."You have 10 minutes to go and come back, if she is not ready, just come and we will leave without her" Mr Ahmed instructed.

At that moment, Fatima appeared with her school bag on her back."Do you think we are going to a party or a play ground where you can come anything time you wish? You are never serious in your life. And for your information, if you misbehave there, I'm going to seriously deal with you" Mr Ahmed warned. Fatima passed him without saying a single word to him, she moved straight to Miss Susan."Good morning Ma" she greeted."I hope everything is okay with you?" Miss Susan asked."Yes Ma, I suppose so" Fatima replied."Then can you provide a reason for your late coming?" Miss Susan asked."Absolutely Ma" Fatima replied."Okay Fatima, tell us why you come late" Miss Susan requested."I was on my way here when someone called me in Prince House that a girl is seriously, and as the acting health prefect, I'm shouldered with the responsibility of taking care of students. In the process of taking her to the clinic, it delayed my coming here" Fatima explained. Sadik was satisfied with the answered she had provided, and the way Miss Susan tried to find out the reason why she came late before judging her unlike Mr Ahmed.

Mr Ahmed asked the students to take a seat in the bus. The bus was so big that the students could not occupy half of it. There were 10 boys and 15 girls. Mr Ahmed as the last to enter, and he sat with the driver.

Their journey started around 10:30 am. Miss Susan, Fatima, Hafsat and James were sitting in the front seats while Sadik was sitting in the middle. Mary isolated herself and Sat alone in the last sit. For the first two hours of the Journey, the bus was full of noise. The students kept making fun of each other as they journeyed, while James was trying his best to make Fatima talk to him. In the third hour of the journey, the bus became so quiet. One can only hear the sound of the moving bus, because most of the students had slept. When they got to Benue state, they stopped at a filling station. The Muslim students had their prayers, and Mr Ahmed and Miss Susan bought a lot of things for them to eat. Including cakes, drinks, biscuits, snacks and roasted meats."If they knew that the journey is this much, why didn't we take a plane to make it things easier?" James said while their teachers were away."We do enjoy it this way, at least we've seen a lot of new places" one of the students replied.

They went back to the bus and continued their journey. They moved for two more hours before arriving at Obudu cattle range Cross river state. The place was surrounded by mountains with beautiful vegetations. The students who were there for the first time began to wonder if they still were in Nigeria. They arrived at 3 O'clock. Due to the exhaustion they had during their journey, they decided to start their excursion program the following day. They went to two hotels and logged in. The boys were with Mr Ahmad while the girls were with Miss Susan in a hotel opposite to that of the boys.

In the night around 7 pm, Miss Susan came to the boys' hotel and met with Mr Ahmed. She told him that a friend of hers whom she attended the same secondary school with and hasn't seen for years had gotten married and will be having a party for her weeding in a park which was not far away."So do you wish to attend the party?" Mr Ahmed asked."Yes, and I hoping you will let me go with the students" Miss Susan requested."Oh you know the situation we are, if anything happen to any of these students, we are to be blamed for" Mr Ahmed complained."Oh come on, you know very that this place is well secured. Besides, I will ask my friend to give the students an extra security if that's all it takes" Miss Susan assured."Is okay if you are so sure" Mr Ahmed agreed. As soon as he agreed, he heard the girls outside rejoicing."So you girls are even here" Mr Ahmed said."Yes they are" Miss Susan smiled.

Mr Ahmed called out the boys and their driver and they all drove to the weeding party. The park where the weeding parting was taking place was decorated with beautiful sparkling light. A lot of people were there at the party all of which looked to be rich. There were many expensive cars parked outside the park. They stopped and parked their bus outside and went to the gate. Miss Susan called the bride, and the bride called the security man to let them into the park. When got into the park, the bride and Miss Susan ran and hugged at each other."I can't believe is you Susan, I never thought I would see you again" the bride said as tears of happiness rolled down from her face."I've forgotten when last I was so happy in my life like I am right now, I missed you so much Amina" Miss Susan said crying too.

The people there watched with pity and happiness as the two friends got themselves united."Are these really your students?". The bride asked."Yes they are" Miss Susan replied."Ok please let them come and have a seat" the bride said, and one of the workers led them. They sat there and watched as the occasion take place. There was plenty of food and drinks at the place. Some of the students especially Sadik eat until they had their fill.

Sadik saw Fatima standing alone away from the crowd of students."What's the matter? Aren't you enjoying the party?" Sadik asked when he walked to her."Yes of course, is just boring" Fatima responded."Oh really? But I think is not so bad" Sadik replied."Well, I hate parties" Fatima announced."Sadik, can we do something naughty" Fatima smiled at Sadik. When Sadik heard this, his heart started beating fast."Like what?" He stammered."While we were coming, I saw a cinema behind that super market, would you accompany me there?" Fatima requested."Aren't you scared of Mr Ahmed if he finds out you are not here?" Sadik asked."Now who's the scared kid?" Fatima laughed."Okay let's go, I'm not a scared kid" Sadik said with confidence. Sadik thought Fatima was only joking, he thought she would give up and walk back. But he was all wrong, they walked out of the park and started walking close to the road with street lights shining above them. They were both wearing the Queen house wear which makes their uniform identical."Hey are you really serious that we are going to a cinema?" Sadik worriedly asked."And besides, where can we get the money to pay for the cinema" Sadik asked again."Just relax and trust me scared boy" Fatima laughed.

Sadik was so surprised at the way Fatima was acting. He couldn't believe this it was the Fatima he really knew doing all that. At first he had a feeling that he should go back, and at the same time had a feeling that they should just keep moving. Besides, it was not just anyone, but the Fatima he loved very much. He felt like he can do anything for her. They went to an ATM machine opposite a super market. Fatima brought out an ATM card and withdrew a lot of money beyond Sadik's thinking."Is that your ATM card" Sadik asked confidently even though he was so scared inside."Of course is mine" she answered."Which school is this? I've never seen this uniform around here" a man said from behind."Actually, we are not from here" Fatima responded and they quickly walked away."That's what I am trying to avoid, we need to get rid of this uniform" she smiled. Sadik was speechless, he was still finding it difficult to believe what was happening.