THE WRITER’S INTERLUDE (Part 1)
A lot happened on resumption day. The students of B. I. college went through the process of checking themselves into the school building, which began their attendance record for the third term.
Their parent(s), on the other hand, went to the admin building to collect their receipts which allowed the students to be searched before they can enter the hostel to begin unpacking. But that is just the resumption process, the best part of resumption day is the drama. Let's begin with Hadiza.
Hadiza came to school with Uncle Eddie AKA Onari's dad, Onari, and Madam Bella and her twins. While Uncle Eddie collected the receipts for their fees, the rest of them carried their luggage to the hostel.
There was a car queue to the school parking lot that depended on when the parents that came with convoys decided to leave the school grounds. With each of them that left three or four parking spots would open up. The parking lot of B. I. college always showcased a fleet of luxury cars. It was as if resumption day at B. I. college was an ostentatious car and fashion show. Every parent, staff and child was in their Sunday best.
Most of the students of B. I. college were wearing their Sunday wear. The Sunday uniform was a cream button-down shirt for boys and a cream blouse for girls. All senior school students had on a dark red blazer and plaid tie, which senior boys paired with plaid trousers. Senior girls like Hadiza, Onari and Angel were wearing their heavily banded black and red pleated plaid skirts, white socks and black shoes. In contrast, all juniors wore plaid bow ties, junior girls wore theirs with red and black plaid pinafores while the boys wore vests in the same plaid colour, along with red shorts.
Angel sat in the back seat with her mom in her mom's Mercedez. The driver had earphones plugged in because her mom didn't want him listening in on the conversation. Angel wished she could also use earphones to mute this awkward conversation.
Angel's mom, Patience Godwin was telling her daughter how she had to act like everything was normal in school, but Angel was looking out the window zoning out. Midas' family was in the Audi jeep in front of Angel's mom's car in the car queue.
Midas was panicked he kept tapping his legs with his hands, "We should have left earlier", Midas said looking agitated. He had rehearsed this scene at the hotel in Abuja severally, he even paid one of the hotel staff to role-play Hadiza. He had done three successful attempts with the fake Hadiza. "It was going to work", he reassured himself.
He wanted to get to school at the same time as Hadiza, so Onari and him had planned to leave at the same time but Marvellous-Fiyin his younger sister had to forget her shoe suitcase. Midas shot her another glare and Fiyin scoffed, "It's not fate if you plan it", Fiyin told her brother.
"Grinch of romance Fiyin! I already believe D is my fate, I just need her to believe it too", Midas was annoyed that his sister couldn't just be happy for him, "I worked hard to plan this Fiyin, and you just had to mess it up".
"You're insane!" Fiyin says and her mom glares at her through the rear-view mirror warning her that she was walking on thin ice. "I just want Hadiza to share my insanity", Midas said scanning the entrance of the school for Hadiza, he could even recognise her shadow.
"Don't", Fiyin started to say but her brothers' reaction to finding Hadiza was instantaneous. He leapt out of the car that was slowly moving due to resumption day traffic and ran towards Hadiza. "God! It's either that boy has tunnel vision or Hadiza has jazzed him", Fiyin shakes her head in disappointment. "He's like her puppy, is this how all people act when they are in love."
"Fiyinoluwa I've told you time and time again Midas is not your agemate", Midas' mom warned her daughter sternly. "He used two whole years to senior you and you keep talking to him like he's your mate." Midas' mom, Mrs Emem Adepoju turns to face her daughter Fiyin in the back seat. "Are your ears for fancy? I've told you not to call my son a dog", Midas' mom says twisting Fiyin's ear till she cried out in pain.
"Marvellous, your brother is just a teenager boy, that's how they act when they like someone", Midas' dad, Mr Durojaiye Adepoju explained to his daughter. "I used to be like that", Mr Adepoju started but his wife's glare made him realise he had just verbally shot himself. "It's not love, it's just infatuation, it doesn't last," he said smiling at his wife.
Angel watched Midas through her window, she watched him come down from the car and run towards Hadiza like he was in a Christmas time romcom. She saw him lift Hadiza and twirl her around, Angel wanted someone to do that to her.
Midas hadn't thought his grand gesture through because Hadiza was angry. "Oh god! Midas thank you for showing my pant to the whole school", Hadiza said slapping him the moment he put her down and Angel laughed.
Angel wished to have a boyfriend like that or even a friend like that but instead, she was the girl that had to listen to her mom tell her how to pretend she wasn't raped. "Angel just smile, act like nothing happened", her mom said.
Angel wanted to tell her mom that the more she talked about it the more it would be hard to pretend it didn't happen but instead, she just kept quiet. Her mom had been hanging by a thread since it happened and Angel didn't want to give that thread any tension.
Midas had taken Hadiza's suitcase from her, while he rubbed his cheek. He had forgotten about his suitcase that Fiyin was now reluctantly dragging along with her own out of the car. "Sorry", Hadiza said as they walked silently beside the school gardens.
"So, who's idea was this scenario", Hadiza asks, facing her two best friends and Midas shuts his eyes in embarrassment and lifts his free hand. "I told you, you should have done the 'Love, actually' paper scene", Onari said and Madam Bella stifled her laughter.
"Midas, I thought it was romantic", Madam Bella said, and Onari glared at her.
"Nobody asked you", Onari informed Madam Bella. "Shouldn't you be wondering where your sons are instead of minding our business", Onari said with a lot of attitude in her voice. Madam Bella hadn't noticed when her sons had wandered off. As Madam Bella went in search of her sons Onari hissed, "She's such a pokenoser, why is she even here?"
"You know, we had discussed doing a spin-off of the lawn mower and speaker scene from Easy A", Midas said changing the topic. "I was going to beg my dad to slowly drive towards you, while I stuck my head out of the car's sunroof loudly playing Adele's Hello-" Midas started saying and Hadiza immediately stopped walking till her friends noticed and turn back.
"I will shoot you if you ever do that", Hadiza said glaring at both of them and Midas starts sulking. "Okay get it over with", Hadiza replied because she knew that was the only way to stop Midas from sulking.
"I missed you", Midas said even though it had only been a day since he last saw her, then he smiled and added, "Will you go out with me", and Hadiza smiled back at him, "You know my answer is always no, please don't show my pant tomorrow, okay", Hadiza giggles and takes her suitcase back from him.
"Midas please go and help Fiyin she's probably swearing for you for making her carry two heavy suitcases", Hadiza said mouthing a sorry at Fiyin who is struggling way behind them. Beside Fiyin was the girl from the Ego awards, the girl Hadiza had been trying to forget, Angel. Seeing her shocked Hadiza so much she tripped on her own feet and fell.
Junior who was passing by Hadiza immediately helped her up, "Be careful" he said walking away. For some reason Hadiza looked at his shoes as he walked off, she recognised those shoes from somewhere. "D are you okay?" Onari said scanning Hadiza back and forth for any sign of an injury. She had been writing down their details for the third term resumption booklet at the school registration desk when Hadiza fell.
"Did Midas have similar shoes?" Hadiza asked herself, but she knew that wasn't the case. She wasn't a fan of shoes. She barely even recognised Onari's shoes and sometimes she forgot which shoes were her own when she sunned them in the courtyard of the hostel. "Don't worry I signed you in", Onari said as Hadiza went towards the desk, Hadiza turned back and almost bumped into Angel who was going upstairs with her mom and the principal.
"Sorry-" Hadiza started to apologise then the memory hits her.
Hadiza was crouched on the bathroom floor. She watched one leg of that shoe Junior was wearing roll by as it was accidentally kicked away by one of the rapists. She remembered fighting back every fibre of her being that wanted her to come out of her hiding place to pair those shoes together.
Hadiza had been holding her breath since the memory hit her, it was like she forgot she was meant to breathe. "Junior was in that room at the Ego awards, he was one of them", she realised as she passed out.
"Hadiza!" Onari called. "D!" Onari screamed as she shook Hadiza. Midas on seeing what had happened immediately abandoned his suitcase and ran towards Hadiza.
After being embarrassingly spun around, in front of parents, staff and students outside the admin building, Hadiza had just fainted in front of the school building. Resumption day really wasn't Hadiza's day.
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