A Terrible Night

Sylvia's heart was beating fast as she sat in the big hall during night class pretending to read. Read? Of course not! She couldn't get herself to read a word on her English Textbook. Not when her whole thought was about meeting Senior Clinton later that night. She felt a mixture of fear and excitement as she thought about venturing into the dark to meet the senior she loved while other students were attending night class.

Absentmindedly, she smacked her glossy lips to make sure it was still in place. She had taken so much time in decorating her lips by spilling almost half the content of her lip-gloss. Her lips were so shiny, it was the first thing anyone would notice when they looked at her. And she did it all to impress senior Clinton.

Mrs. Gracious was still wide awake, moving from desk to desk to make sure everyone was reading. And Sylvia was growing more restless as she waited impatiently for Mrs. Gracious and the other teachers in charge to sleep off or get distracted. Leaving the reading hall was often easy since there were just three teachers monitoring the entire junior classes. People often snuck out to secretly hang out with their boyfriends or do some other stuff prohibited by the school. But sometimes some of those students were caught by Mrs. Gracious or other teachers and were severely punished after. And Sylvia didn't want to be caught, which was why Sylvia took her time observing their teachers. And when she got her chance, she escaped from the hall into the eerie night. 

Anna had noticed how nervous her friend was and how her little eyes darted around the hall like she was in search of something. She had no idea why her friend was acting so strange and she didn't ask. She was not yet ready to talk to her friend. Anna was still wondering why Sylvia was acting strange when she saw her running off into the dark night.

Why would anyone want to do anything as reckless as sneaking off into the empty scary school compound? Anna mused as she wondered why Sylvia was acting so foolish. Looking through the door into the darkness outside, she shook in fear as she remembered the night Senior Pablo and his friends accosted her. It had been one terrifying experience. And since that night, she had promised herself never to venture into the dark school compound alone, for fear of the unknown. Turning her attention to her book, she silently prayed for her friend's safety.

Sylvia didn't know what gave her the courage to sneak out of the reading room or what kept her moving through the dim school compound towards the back of the boys' hostel. She wasn't a rebellious student, but tonight she was ready to be bad for Senior Clinton. He was in love with her… the letter had clearly stated it… He was in love with her and couldn't stop thinking about her… Sylvia smiled, feeling warm despite the cold of the night.

The night was so quiet she could only hear crickets chirping. No students were outside chatting or hiding from the teachers, not even one soul was outside! And that was super scary… But she kept on moving. At a point she stopped wondering if she should go back and disappoint senior Clinton yet again. No! She told herself as she willed her legs to keep moving. She wanted to hear him profess his love for her face to face! It would be so delightful. She giggled a bit before closing her mouth to stop the sound from escaping into the silent night.

Once at the back of the boys' hostel, she sat on top of an abandoned desk close to a gigantic tree, waiting for her lover. Though it was well-hidden, she still wasn't completely comfortable defiling the school rule. She looked around fearfully, praying no one would find them in that hidden place.

 Her heart tumbled when she sighted Clinton walking in her direction. A mixture of excitement and anticipation overtook her, making her smile nervously.

"Senior Clinton, my love." She whispered to herself as she watched his tall, attractive figure strutting closer to her. His light skin shining even in the dark night. She bit her lips nervously when he reached and sat close to her, staring directly into her pretty face. His unique and rich cologne making her brain dance with pleasure.

"You came… I was hoping you wouldn't disappoint me." Clinton's baritone voice rang into the quiet night.

"Yes, I came. Why would I disappoint you? I read your letter." Sylvia said bashfully.

"Did you mean all those beautiful words you said to me? You… feel those things for me?" She asked, waiting to hear him confess his love for her.

Clinton merely scrutinized her, noticing her shiny lips and the shy way she was looking at him, feeling sorry for her for ever thinking he was the type to do foolish things like falling in love. No… not a Bernard! A Bernard could never fall in love. That much his father had taught him after his useless mum had left them.

"Tell me, do you like me? How did you feel when you read my letter? Did you feel like kissing me?" He asked, in a seductive voice, squinting his eyes in a way that made him look cute, like a cat, as he continued to stare at Sylvia.

"I… like you. That's why I came." Sylvia confessed, wringing her hands nervously.

"When you read my letter, it made you feel like kissing and hugging me, right?" Clinton repeated his question while Sylvia smiled bashfully, unable to look into his eyes.

Clinton was enjoying their flirtations a bit more than he should have. Somehow he wished he could stop what was about to happen to innocent Sylvia, but the plans were already in motion. Sylvia must learn a lesson about playing with fire.

"So, that means you are ready to do what boyfriends and girlfriends do? Right? If you like me, that means you are ready for sexual intercourse with me tonight." He asked blatantly, like it meant nothing.

Sylvia's eyes widened at that shocking question because the night was suddenly taking a different turn. She hadn't expected senior Clinton to be so straightforward! To be so deceitful!

"What? Here?.. I thought you wanted to tell me how much you loved me. To maybe hold me and make me feel loved." Sylvia muttered, sounding foolish in her own ears. Clinton said nothing.

Still in shock about what senior Clinton had asked, Sylvia didn't notice when he moved closer and grabbed her waist and slim neck as he forced unwanted kisses on her glossy lips. His hands moving eagerly all over her body, alarming Sylvia. Sylvia tried to push him off but he wouldn't budge and the whole thing was overwhelming for her.

"Wait! Senior Clinton… is this why you wanted to meet with me? I thought you cared about me… you said you loved me, but you are only interested in doing nonsense with my body." Sylvia asked, feeling flustered by the unexpected kiss and invading hands of senior Clinton. "I can't believe this is the reason you asked me to meet you here"

"What do you think people in love do? You silly girl, you better relax. What did you think was going to happen when you agreed to meeting a boy in the dark?" Senior Clinton snapped at her, gritting his teeth in anger, as he let her go.

Clinton's handsome face suddenly changed to a brutal one and fear swept over Sylvia like a gush of wind, and left her wondering what she was doing in the dark with a boy. She could get expelled if someone saw them… or hurt, Anna would have advised her against. This is wrong and unsafe! Just like Stanley said… Clinton was bad, just like Stanley had said, she told herself as she stood up to leave before things got worse.

"I can't do this. This is not love! This is wrong! You are a liar! You want something else and I am not ready for it. I need to go back to the reading room. Someone might catch us." She said in apprehension, suddenly coming to her senses.

"So, now you want to go? Just like that? This is not the first or second time you have belittled me. I start something with you and you run off every time. Do you know how it makes me feel? I am not a toy you can mess with. I took my time to plan this night and you can't run off without doing what I want like I am those idiotic boys in your class that you play with. Don't you know who I am?" Clinton asked, raising his voice while Sylvia trembled.

" Senior, I'm sorry. I'm just scared. So sorry, but we can talk about this during the daytime. Right now, I need to go. Sorry!" Sylvia mumbled as she turned to run back to the reading room.

Three guys were suddenly in her path and she had no idea where they had appeared from. Nervously scanning the not-so-familiar faces of the boys, she finally recognized the notorious Pablo and her poor heart started pounding really hard. Everyone in school knew how heartless Pablo was, and there were rumors that he was a leader of a secret gang in school.

Scared and uncertain about what to do next or where to run to, she ran towards senior Clinton, hoping he would save her from them. But he was staring at her with a vicious look that marred his handsome face, making him appear as evil as Pablo.

"All these little girls don't ever listen when they are told not to step their stupid legs out of the dorm room at night. They feel they are sleek and hot, and can do whatever they want. They don't know Pablo is on the watch waiting for when he will pounce on them." Pablo said menacingly, his enormous eyes on his massive head widening, while the other boys circled a scared Sylvia. Sylvia couldn't stop herself from shaking visibly as she watched Vicious Pablo. Everything about him was scary, from his stocky body, big-boned hands and legs, big head to his scary voice that sounded like that of Chucky. She was in deep trouble!

"Senior please, I didn't know… I won't come out…" Sylvia pleaded before Pablo cut her short

"Shut up, Youngie… Who asked you for stupid explanations? See, there is a reason you guys are called youngie. It's because you are all brainless like chickens, and do not think before acting. Look at you running into the dark to play with my boy's heart. Idiot… Do you know who he is or who we are for a little sissy like you to keep messing with him? You are not ready for sex yet you want to be his girlfriend? You are mad!" Pablo barked at her, pushing her forehead violently with his thumb.

"Senior Clinton, please… help me. Beg them for me." Sylvia pleaded with an unconcerned Clinton who was busy rolling up his sleeve as he watched Sylvia quake in her shoes.

"Shut up your mouth! I can slap madness into your little pretty empty head if I hear another word." Pablo snapped at her before pushing her on the floor.

"Mehn! This will be fun. I have always watched her do shakara with her small waist waiting for this day!" One of the boys chuckled as he reached for his button, slowly unbuttoning them as he waited for Pablo's go-ahead.

"Guys, wait… are we really doing this? We can just scare her a bit. We don't have to do the actual deed." One of the boys said, voicing out Clinton's concern. He also only wanted to scare Sylvia. Going farther than that was being too extreme and may have consequences.

"Are you a coward? Do you want to run to your mummy crying?" Pablo asked, as he shoved the other guy. "Do you know what gang you belong to? We don't condone cowardice here. So, if you are too scared to deal with this weakling now, better run to your room. But you should know what will be waiting for you in the midnight. Do you want to relive that terrible night? Cause I will cripple you this time!" He barked at the boy, who said nothing in reply. Pablo pushed him in his face before facing Sylvia.

"Let's do this! Being evil is fun!" He announced before lowering his trousers as he stood over Sylvia.

Sylvia's eyes widened in fear as she suddenly understood what they were about to do. "Oh God! This can't happen to me in my own school!" She screamed in her head. She was going to scream and alert the entire school. She didn't care if she got expelled. But just as she was about to open her mouth to scream with all her might, someone's hands suddenly covered her little mouth, making her gasp for air. She looked up to see senior Clinton's face, his soft hands over her mouth. Tears rolled down her eyes as she wondered why Clinton was doing do this to her. Pablo, she could understand… everyone knew he was vicious, but not Clinton.

"Clinton, this is how it is done! This is how to humble these little girls. After today, she would respect you, trust me!" Pablo bragged to Clinton, who looked a bit confused.

He hadn't planned for this to go this way. All he wanted to do was scare Sylvia, but he had already made a promise to Gloria and also involved vicious Pablo. There was no going back!

Pablo was the leader of their secret gang in school and evil things like this made him happy. And Clinton wasn't going to falter, not when belonging to a gang and doing dirty deeds like this made others fear them. He enjoyed being feared above every other thing. He didn't want to be like other guys who were constantly bullied and beaten in the hostel because they were not gang members. Being a gang member made him feel almost invisible in school. So, he squeezed Sylvia's mouth harder as Pablo lowered his trousers to defile her. He could feel her shaking in tears but he couldn't do anything… Not when vicious Pablo was enjoying himself.

Sylvia had been gone for too long, Anna noticed as searched the reading hall for her friend. Something told her that Sylvia maybe in trouble and she wanted to go look for her even though she was afraid to go out alone. She looked around for Stanley, but he was nowhere to be found. He could have escorted her into the dark night. As if that would make any different if those vicious gang of boys caught them. It was no longer news that a secret gang existed in their school, and yet the school authority did nothing about it. There were so many scary stories about the terrible things they did to other students, yet nothing was being done about it. It was as if the school authority was deliberately acting like they were unaware of the evil things happening in their school. "What kind of school was this?" She wondered.

Mrs. Gracious was dosing off in her seat in front of the hall when Anna checked her time and made up her mind to go out in search of her friend. They may not be on talking terms, but Sylvia was still her friend and she may be in trouble. She hurried out of the reading hall into the lonely school compound in search of her friend. The chilly night air making her tremble. "Where was Sylvia, and how was she ever going to find her?"