Chapter One

The cafeteria was rowdy, and almost all of the benches and tables were occupied. There was a lot of noise and it felt like it was almost at the brink of chaos. Some of the students who were really hungry devoured their food greedily, while some engage in their chit chat and gossips even with their mouth full. The cafeteria isn't just any lunch place in Winstonville; it had been turned to a place of gossip and somewhere to run to when the students want to skip classes. So lunch time was the only time the cafeteria is always full and in a festive mood like. The counter is always crowded with students, even, there is no such thing as a 'Queue'. Most of the students just shout aloud to attract the attention of the cafeteria operators in order to make the first purchase.

Sometimes the operators are not able to meet the demands at once and they sometimes lose their patience and pull long faces.

Jamal was walking so fast, he almost slipped on a banana peeling someone had thrown carelessly on the floor; his heart was beating so fast with excitement that he couldn't wait to get to the losers table. He hastened his steps and when he got to the table, he slammed his tray of food on the table and the other occupants jumped up with a start, looking at his with a questioning look.

"What is it?" it was Misha that asked first "You look like you shoved a coffee bean up a chicken's butt and went to fetch a cup of water at a stream" she threw a handful of green beans into her mouth. Jamal ignored her and sat face straight with Finn.

"You won't believe this dude!" he said with ultimate amazement in his voice

"What is it?" Finn asked with apathy, he was peeling a banana, and he was trying not to let the soft banana break into two

"I was walking down from Mrs. Dupe…."

"Mrs. Dupe?" Babatunde cut him off short

"Yeah, that frog faced woman who is always saying there isn't Chic Choc on the school Confectionary cart"

They all nodded, even Finn

"I was coming out of her box you, trying to coax her into selling me some Chic Choc you know? And when she said it wasn't on the School confectionary cart once again. I stormed out of her stall and was walking past Bella's table."

"I heard her said 'I wonder what Finn kiss would be like' and Joke was like 'I bet he is also good on bed also" and the other one, I don't know her name said 'I bet he is good also at bunk bed sex"

Misha burst into laughter: a crackly laughter punctured with her banging her fist on the table and all heads were turned at their table, she didn't seems to have seen them while she continue laughing so hard and wiping at her eyes, and when she finally stopped, she realized the whole cafeteria was silent except for her boisterous outburst. Everyone turned back to what they were doing and saying and once again the cafeteria was noisy. Jamal gave her a long, dry look and she sobered up.

"Did I said something funny?" he arched a brow at her

"Come on, don't be such a buzz kill, you know that was funny. Bunk bed sex, I've never heard of that, I bet that manipulative bitch made it up" she reached for Jamal's tray and snatched off his bottle of diet coke. He gave her a look to kill her, and she only smiled back at him sweetly.

"Do you have something against them?" Jamal asked

"Do I have something against them?" Misha chuckled

"You sure that was what they said?" Babatunde interrupted, his voice dripping with interest as he edged closer to Jamal

"I am sixteen and I have pretty good ears"

"Do you know what that means for us?" Babatunde turned to Finn who was still figuring out his banana

'What?" he asked carefully. He didn't know where Babatunde was going with his question, and he was picky with his answers.

"If you date one of them Finn, do you know the kind of respect we will be given in this school? They will surly throw flowers at our feet and make way for us whenever and wherever we go in the school" he said dreamily

"Why would I want to date someone like Bella and her minions?"

"Excuse me, these girls are the top of the Clique in this school, do you know who their fathers are? Senators... Fucking senators" he emphasized on the last words to make Finn understand what he was proposing.

"Just shut up already" Jamal said with a look of disgust on his face

"No, you shut up"

"Lovers' Quarrel" Misha mumbled

"Guys, come on, chill out. Tunde..." he said the name placing more emphasis on the first syllable than the last one.

"I am not dating any of those girls; I don't really find anything original about them, and moreover they aren't in the club" Finn finally bit the top of the banana off and chewed as if in slow motion with his eyes closed

"So, it that a rule of law now?" Babatunde asked with an edge to his voice

"What's that?"Finn opened his eyes and looked at Jamal through the corners of his eyes

"We can only date members of the club now?"

"No, I didn't meant it that way, it just that I only think you guys are the only real people in the school"

"So, we can date anyone we like?"

"The last time I checked this club is a democracy and not a dictatorship and is that even supposed to be a question?" Misha asked undoubtedly surprised at the question

"Babatunde should really check out Mrs. Dupe, she's hot" Jamal said snickering

They all burst into laughter except Babatunde who looked at Jamal with a look of daggers.

"At least, I would have someone to date, what about you? You are just sad you are going to be alone and miserable your whole life"

"I think not lonely is overrated"

"Sometimes being lonely is good, you know? No one just pops up into your life and messes it up" Misha said

"The voice of experience" Finn mumbled

"Shut up!" she barked at Finn

"What about you?" Jamal asked

She turned to him

"What about me?"

"You have someone in mind?"

"Na"

"Anyone else?" Jamal asked

They all stared at each other; it was Finn who spoke again

"Well... Looks like we are losers after all" he threw the last piece of his banana into his mouth

"Well…. Not me?" Babatunde defended

"Oh... Oh… let know who it is then" Finn said already looking at Babatunde

"Bet you a thousand naira, it is Mrs. Dupe" Jamal said already nudging Finn

"Jamal, do you have a thousand naira and can you please try and be sober for just once?" Misha chided

"Yes Ma'am" he touched a hand to his head in mock salute

"She is a day student and just a friend I have escorted to the gate twice while we talk about…. little things"

"Hmmm, Mr. escorter, I am going to get an ice cream. And please don't escort me O" Jamal deadpanned as he got up, he whistled and strolled towards the cafeteria counter

"Sometimes, I wonder what I saw in that idiot" Misha said as she watched him go

"What?" Finn asked

"What?" She shot at him

"Noting" He mumbled and drew the corners of his lips

"Babatunde, you know you don't have to take Jamal serious at times, you know that right?

"Knew that from day one"

The bell ranged four times, and the speaker in the cafeteria came alive. It was statics at first and everyone in the cafeteria plunged their fingers into their ears, then the voice of the Vice Principal came on it

"Can every student make their way to the basketball court, please?" the speaker went dead after that

"What is this? A general work out session?" Misha asked still looking at the speaker as if the Vice Principal was there

"Glad it isn't an emergency, or everyone will be head over heels out of the cafeteria" she murmured, remembering the last time someone had spread rumors that a group of terrorist were targeting the school to kidnap the rich people children and make them pay ransoms and they all thought the emergency bell was to get them back together in the basketball court for protection only to turn out it was because some students were caught kissing in the female toilet and it made her wondered how the boy even got there in the first place.

Jamal came over with two Ice creams and handed one to Misha, pulling her out of her thoughts. She took it muttering her thanks

"Hey, where's mine?" Finn asked as he packed his textbooks and notes that were scattered on the table back into his bag

"You didn't ask for one, did you? he eyed Finn with both eyebrow lowered

"Neither did she" Finn mentioned to Misha, who had slung her bag over her shoulder and was licking her ice cream with delight

"She is the only female around here; she is entitled to certain rights"

"Certain rights my ass" Babatunde said as he threw Jamal his sweater, he popped his leg on the chair he was sitting on and tied his shoe lace. They all walked out of the Cafeteria with the rest of its occupants. Everyone one was talking at the same time as they crossed the field to the basketball court, while they all looked like new recruits for the military. They walked into the basketball court and everyone took a seat at the long wooden steps and benches. The losers club sat with each other, with Misha beside Babatunde. She still had her ice cream which was melting now and running down her hand, Jamal reached across Finn and handed her a face towel he had whipped out of somewhere, probably from the pocket of the boy sitting next to him. Finn looked at him with a dull face that would have been interpreted to "Seriously, I never knew you are a gentleman".

The Vice Principal came in and a hush silence fell over the student. The Vice Principal was a man in his mid fifties. He was going bald and he wore half moon spectacles that the students once nicknamed him Professor Dumbledore. He stood in front of the students and seems to scan them under his gaze with his brows furrowed. No one dare move an inch; he was a very strict man. He was known to have suspended a student because he scratched his head while the national anthem was being sung. He rests his gaze on Finn and he felt uncomfortable.

"I figure out all of you are here, right?" he asked in a voice that was unsurprisingly loud for a man his age.

"Yes sir" Chorused the whole basketball court

"Great. Now I have an important announcement to make" his face was lit with a smile

"The Williams Art Gallery and Cultural Nexus Museum had been so kind enough to lend the school an artifact in the history of this country. A lot of lives have been lost and lot of bloodshed battles, as tribes fought over the possession of this artifact, this... this magnificent cultural artifact"

"And now it is being brought here to Winstonville to be seen by all of you who are interested in the cultural art of this country and of course its grand exhibition is to take place in the school which the date will be made known to you"

"We would have loved to organize a trip, but due to certain circumstance, which are best known to the administration of the school, and we are going to have it here… Here at Winstonville. The ark of nobody" he said the last part to make it sound grand, but his speech was met by a loud silence as the students looked at him and said nothing. If a drop of water was dropped on the floor it would have been heard.

"You ungrateful lots, don't you know this means…" He didn't complete his words, as he was interrupted with loud applauses and whistles and yeah yeah peppered the applause. The vice principle face was lit with a smile for the second time.

"What is wrong with that man for God sake?" Finn asked after the meeting was over

"Do you get a look at his face when we finally applaud him?" Misha said and laughed

'He was like, yeah, yeah, that what you are supposed to do" they all laughed except Babatunde

"What's up man? That was a good one" Jamal said and when he got no reply from him, he realized he was staring at something or someone. He followed his gaze and it led him to a girl. She was still sitting down there in the basketball court and she looked like someone who has lost hope of life, she was looking dull and gloom. He wasn't sure if she knew what was going on around her as she sat down there, she seemed to be focused on something else rather, something she was holding in her hands, and she hugged her knees closer to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut. Jamal returned his gaze to Babatunde and found out he was still staring at her. He nudges him in the ribs

"What is it this time?" he asked irritated

"You should go see to her" Babatunde searched his face to see if he was kidding or actually serious

"You think so?" Babatunde asked nervously

'Yeah, looks like she needs you"

"Thanks man"

"Anything for a brother"

Babatunde walked over to the girl

"I think she needs the club more than she needs him" Jamal said

"Shut up" both Finn and Misha replied at once

"Ok, of course, what do I know?" he asked shrugging his shoulders

"See you guys later, I have a biology class to attend" Finn said and walked towards the exit

"Don't you too?" Jamal turned to Misha after he heard Finn footsteps going away

"Yeah, I should probably get going also" she picked up her bag and stood up

"Finn, wait for me" she shouted after him and Jamal watched as they both walked out of the basketball court. He sat down on the wooden bench as he watched Babatunde and his new found friend sat huddled up on one of the benches in the basketball court. He thought of Misha then, with her black hair which she always tie up in a doughnut, the way she moves her feet as if she doesn't want it to touch the floor before she takes another step. She had made quite an impression on him, a good one. She was one of the females he respects in his life. She was cool and tough, but under all the layers of toughness, there was a soft, caring girl there.

Well, he shouldn't be sitting here having thoughts like that, he wasn't even sure if she feels the same way for him, she was always tough on him, and not the others. Maybe because I act like a dickhead at times, he wondered. He stood up and went out of the basketball court, he was walking across the field when he heard the sound of a car, and it was a white van driving into the school with what seems like a mini convoy of armored military trucks. They drove in and parked beside the flowers he remember being part of the group that planted it. It was actually as a punishment for staying up late at the library, he had fell asleep in the library till the next morning and the watchman caught him there around dawn when he was opening the library and was reported to his house mistress after which she made him tag along with other offenders, and it made him wonder, was he really that irrelevant, nobody noticed him gone in the whole school. He hadn't known Finn then, or else he would have raised an alarm and he would have been searched for. The van doors opened and two men in white overalls with Williams Art Gallery and Cultural Nexus Museum printed on the back in block letters. The men jumped out of the van, strolled out to the back of the van and opened the door, soldiers were beside the men in overall now, and he watched as they brought something out of the van. He couldn't see what it was, it was covered with a black cover and they carefully took it to the principal building, he tried seeing if he could see what it was, but the soldiers were now blocking it from view. He looked up and somehow was staring in one of the soldier's eyes, he swallowed hard and gave a forced smile, getting no response from the soldier and he hastened his steps and took off in the direction of his hostel. Barclay Hostel is one of the finest hostels, and he was lucky to have gotten in, it was one of the hostels that have a common room. The common room is a room where everyone in the hostel get to sit together, to play games, chit chat, and sometimes gamble that is without the consent of the teachers or house mistress of course.

Babatunde had once written a letter to get transferred to Barclay hostel and have been declined many times by the Hostel mistress Mrs. Adeyemi. There are four more male hostels in the school: Oitaro Hostel, Bamidele Hostel, Eko Hostel (The hostel master was once a manager at the popular Eko Hotel), and Jihad Hostel (A notorious hostel for Muslims) He walked into the hostel and into the common room, some of the students were there, and he recognized Muhammed. He was one of the junior students that were admitted to the school through a scholarship program, the boy was a genius, and he took a great liking for him apart from the fact that he was bearing his surname. He was black skinned, so he was able to identify him easily in the midst of the light skinned juniors he was talking to. He seems to be explaining something out of a book to them, because he was gesturing wildly with his hands. Jamal smiled and walked into the rooms that housed the beds. There were a few twin bunk beds in the hostel, and they are for people who couldn't bring their own bed from home. Some of the other students prefer sleeping on a bed alone. Well, obviously the school is for the rich and he was lucky to have got in, and met Finn, or he would still be sleeping in one of the bunk beds, which he could recall well enough, was discomforting. He sat on his bed and opened a cabinet in his drawer, it was empty.

"They have started again" he muttered under his breath. He remembered putting his chocolate into the drawer. He walked over to Finn's bed, looked around, making sure no one was looking at his direction, he ran his hand underneath Finn's mattress and found the key to his drawer, he unlocked it and took a bar of chocolate, he locked it and shoved the key back to its rightful place. He walked back to his bed; he sat and kicked off his shoes before lying on the bed. He opened the chocolate and took a bite. He wasn't having class until later.

Finn sat through the Biology class with an air of unrest and apathy, the mere forty minutes practical was boring and uninteresting. Maybe Linsin Michael was right after all; maybe it was because the students' sits so long and the teachers talk too much, he thought. The practical wasn't going well for him, not with Faidat sniffing his hair from behind him and giggling. He touched his hand to his own hair and sniffed it, there was nothing wrong with his hair or was there? He questioned himself, and when he couldn't take it anymore, he turned his face backwards to her and spoke with a painstaking slowness.

"Would you please stop sniffing my hair?" he asked with a dull face and he got really mad, when all he got was a giggle and the battling of her lashes at him. She was really getting on his nerves; he looked at Misha, who was drawing a butterfly on her biology notebook and was going to label it later because she drew horizontal and vertical lines on its antennae, and it wings. He edged closer to her

"Misha?" he said quietly as he could manage because the biology teacher was in a foul mood

"Yeah?" she replied without looking at him

"Can you please sniff my hair and tell if it smells?"

She dropped her pencil and looked at him with a look of skepticism and a little disgust

"Why would I want to sniff your hair?" she picked up her pencil and resumed her drawing. She stopped a moment to survey her drawing, turned to look at him, looked at her drawing and then continued.

"Never mind" he looked towards the window and saw a white van driving into the compound, was there a need for a Convoy? He asked himself when he saw the military trunks. He knew for sure it was the ark the Vice principal was talking about. He sat through the remaining excruciating and agonizing minutes while trying to act like he understood everything the Biology teacher was saying. He was grateful when the bell rang, he packed his books into his bag and on a second thought, he threw them into his chair locker, he wasn't going to read them anytime soon from now. He slung his bag over his shoulder and made to leave the class when someone block his way, seeing the top of whomever it was made him groan. He looked down on her. It was Faidat and she stood firmly in front of him. She was a few inches shorter than him, with hairs long enough to strangle herself and she wore glasses bigger than her eyes: it was because her contacts itches her eyes and her dad brought a wire rimmed spectacles that cost the school fee of a student here at Winstonville. Of course, he never asked her about herself, but she had all the same blabbed it out to him. He made to move past her, and she blocked his way, he put his hands on her shoulder and tried moving her to a side, but she did something he didn't even anticipate, she slumped against him. He held her against him, fearing she would hit the floor and God forbid if he was there when she dies or be the cause of her death. He heard her moan in his arms, and sensing what she was doing, he let go of her and as if in slow motion in one of those soap operas dropped her on the floor, the remaining students that were lingering in the class burst into laughter.

She hit the floor with a soft thud and when she looked up at him; her eyes were filled with hot tears. She covered her eyes with her hair, stood up so fast and dashed out of the room. Finn didn't know what to do, run after her or just stay put. He didn't mean to have dropped her like that, but he felt sexually harassed? Misha walked past him and muttered as she stormed off

"That wasn't cool" He turned around at the class, and they were all still laughing, some of the guys looked at him with a look of absolute disbelieve but the girls were all still laughing. He stormed out of the class into the corridor, he pumped into someone and didn't even bothering know who it was. He saw Misha's yellow sweatshirt and ran after her. He got to her before she opened the door leading outside.

"Misha" she didn't wait for him. She opened the door and ran down the flight of stairs so fast that he was breathing hard by the time he caught up with her. He held a hand to her shoulder but she shrugged it off angrily.

"Misha, I am sorry, I didn't know what to do, I felt harassed"

"Sorry about that" her voice was thick with a sob.

"You are not even the girl I dropped to the floor. Is there something to this, that you aren't telling." he was still following her, they were crossing the lawn now towards the girls hostel

"There is nothing" she was almost sobbing now, her back was turned to him so he walked right in front of her now, walking backwards while she walks towards him. Her face was turned down, he saw a tear fell down on her hand; she was holding her textbook to her chest. They were getting closer to the hostel and the security man was doubting if he was going to enter with her. He knew he had to go back now or he was going to be reported to his house mistress or worse still the Vice principle. He stopped as she walked around him towards her hostel; the security man sat down back but didn't take his eyes off him.

"Misha!" he yelled after her throwing his hands in the air in frustration and when he got no reply as she entered her hostel, he kicked at the grass and walked back to his hostel. As he passed by the ICT laboratory, he could hear everyone sitting there laughing, and something tells him it was about what happened at the biology class. He walked with a confused air around him into his hostel, he sat on his bed. Jamal was walking towards him dressed for class.

"Hey, what's up?" he sat beside Finn as he wore his shoes. He took his time to reply as he dropped his bag beside his bed and start unlacing his shoe.

"It is Misha" he had barely finished his sentence before Jamal head snapped upwards, his voice was full of concern

"What is it? What happened to her? He was up now

"It is noting to be alarm of, well-maybe not for you, but she made a pretty big something out of nothing?"

"What happened?" Jamal asked again and sat down

Finn stood up and pulls his shirt over his head; he was bare to the chest now

"You know Faidat right?

"Your avowed crush?"

"What?" he looked at Jamal with his brows furrowed "No, she isn't my, whatever, just forget it… She made a scene right there in front of the class and….."

"She tried to smooch you?"

"Do you want me to finish?"

"Yes my lord"

"Well, she did somewhat tried to smooch me" Jamal eyeball widen, but Finn ignored him altogether

"She kind of tried to smooch me and I might have dropped her to the ground, because she was in my arms"

"What was she doing in your arms?"

"That a pretty long story, anyways, I dropped her to the floor and the whole class burst into laughter and Misha, she just stormed past me on the way out and said 'That wasn't cool" he threw his hand in the air letting it fall beside him

"It wasn't…."

"Will you just shut up and let me finish?"

"Absolutely"

"I took off after her..."

"Hold on, Misha or Faidat?" Jamal asked getting confused

"Misha of course, and she wouldn't wait up for me and the next thing I knew was that she was crying"

Jamal face became tensed

"Crying... Like really crying?"

"Yeah"

"And you didn't say anything to her that might have ….." he trailed off

"Of course not, everyone knows you are the smart mouth"

"Yeah, yeah" he said looking at Finn doubtfully

They both stayed silent for a little while and the light in the hostels came on, everywhere was flooded with the halogen light bulbs."What do you think is up with her?" Jamal asked

"I honestly don't know"

"We should meet up at dinner and talk to her"

"Yeah, sure" Finn said

Jamal stood up and walk out of the room, some of the students were trooping in now and the room was getting crowded. Finn watched him walk out and somehow he hung his head down and seems to have lost the little bounce in his steps. He stood up, grabbed his towel, a change of cloth and head towards the shower.

Babatunde helped Deborah up and handed her his handkerchief, she wiped her face and smiled at him, and he felt something squirmed in his stomach; he forced himself to smile back. He handed her, her bag and slung his over his shoulder. They both walked outside of the basketball court in silence, they were on the field now. He could see Jamal making his way towards his hostel.

"I have a class to attend" she said and stopped when they got off the field

"Oh… Ok" he said and swallowed hard, he couldn't figure out why he was always nervous wherever she is.

"I wanted to thank you… for you know, everything you said back there"

"It noting" he replied as coolly as he could manage

She gave him a look

"No, I actually meant, no qualms, you know…." he trailed off and stared at his shoes

"Tunde? He looked up at her, she was smiling now, and this time he felt happy, happy he have it in him to make someone smile while behaving like a sheep, he almost laughed out loud at the thought.

'I….." she seemed to think over what she wanted to say, but instead she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. She looked at him and walked away. He stood there and watched her walked away, and when he got back to his senses

"Ode" he cursed himself and smack his head "Idiot"

He waited for her to walk out his sight and he head towards the A.V lab. The only place he would pretend to be figuring out sound waves when he knew absolutely nothing about sound waves, but only to listen to some of the Phil Collins tapes that were lying around in the lab. He walked in and found Mr. Jaiyeola, the A.V lab keeper. He was with someone and there were talking about stereos and speakers, he must have heard his footstep because he looked up.

"Ha! Mr. Bankole" Babatunde was used to being addressed by his Surname by the lab keeper

"You will have to come back tomorrow, we are making some changes in the lab, you know…. turning a few bolts and nuts" he made a show of turning a bolt with a spanner and he chuckled

"Ok sir, thanks sir" he walked out of the lab and head towards his hostel. He replayed the whole thing he had with Deborah in his mind till he fell asleep when he got to the hostel and flop down on his bed. He woke up with a start and looked at his wristwatch, it was 6:43PM, it was seventeen minutes to dinner. He sat up and touched his feet to the ground, hoping for the cold floor to welcome his hot feet, and when they touched the floor, he realized he still had his shoes on. He kicked them off as if they were his enemies, and the bell for dinner ranged.

"What the hell?" he groaned; he was supposed to have sixteen more minutes. He knew the consequence of not going to dinner on time; you get served what you might not like. He smelled the inside of his shirt

"Yes, I should shower first" and jerks his head back from the smell. He opened his drawer and took out a towel, a change of cloth and head towards the bathroom, he met a couple of students coming from the bathroom, they had on only towels and nothing else. He has always been embarrassed to be shirtless even in the boys' hostel. He talked only to few of them and it was only when they need a spare mattress or borrow his provisions which they never return. The losers club was all he had in the school. He has written a lot of transfer letters to the Barclay hostel mistress but the witch of the hostel mistress wouldn't accept his transfer, saying there's isn't enough space to accommodate another bed and she can't risk packing the boys there together like Christmas chickens, and when Finn had offered to share his bed with him, she went nut saying she doesn't want such in her hostel, like it wasn't weird she is the mistress of a boys hostel. He walked into the bathroom, it was sparkling clean as always, he heard voices in the bathroom, he walked around the stalls and found his favorite one, it was a yellow stall, and has a water heater. He opened it and went in, striped his clothes and hung them on a peg he was sure was designed for something else, he hit the shower button and the warm water was pouring all over his body, he took his soup out and rub it all over his hair.

"The guy is a pussy, I tell you" he heard someone said, the voice was thick and bold, he couldn't trace it to anyone

"Confirm Mumu guy" another voice said, the voice sounded small and he recognized it right away, it was Samuel. His father owns a string of factories in the mainland and he had always boasted of how he was going to see Aliko Dangote after the third term examinations, because he invited his father to dinner. He was of course trying to get the females attention, and they all did fell for it.

He washed the soap off his face and held his breath to listen to listen to whomever they were and what they were talking about.

"Faidat is a very beautiful girl, and her father is very wealthy, what else does the idiot doesn't get" the unfamiliar voice said

"I don day ask that girl out since J.S.S 3, and one idiot just came out of nowhere and she day fall for am" They talked both in Pidgin and English

He wasn't sure if they knew someone else was in the bathroom with them, because they talked like no one else was there with them.

Babatunde stopped eavesdropping and continue with his bath

"You know say he be Yankee guy na, na all of them day fall for am"

The soap fell from his hand, and he knew who they were talking about. It was Finn. He stopped once more to listen to their conversation

"The guy don get many chance with all the chicks way day this school, na small go remain way he go day bang all of them" Samuel said

"Wetin you talk make we teach am lesson way he no go forget"

"Me I no know that one O, I no fit get suspension O" "I don't know about that one, I can't afford to get suspended"

"No worry, I go arrange am for una"

"Wetin you go do am?" Samuel asked

"Beat shikini sense for him head" "Beat small sense into his head"

"When you go run am down?"

"Him go day dinner hall with him losers members, them day always walk together after dinner to their hostel, na then we go run him matter"

"If they catch you nko?" "What if you are caught?" Samuel asked in his small voice

"Na that Chemistry lab them day always pass, person no day plenty for there"

"Ok na" Samuel said with excitement in his voice

Babatunde lost all sense of reasoning at once, he washed the soap sods from his body, and he grabbed his towel and tried to leave the bathroom without them noticing he was there at all, he went back into the room, everyone had left for dinner and he dressed too quickly he forgot to put on a sweater, it was cold outside. He ran towards the dinner hall as fast as his legs could carry him. He passed the night watch man. He directed the beam of his touch in his direction and he felt like there was a spotlight on him

"Hey! Stop, why are you running like you are being chased?" the watchman shouted after him

"I have a life to save" he yelled without looking back as he continue running towards the dinner hall. He stopped as soon as he got to the entrance; he pushed the door open and scans the students in the hall, as always the teachers on duty were standing in the corners. He saw Finn and Jamal sitting in one of the corners away from the other students; he made his way towards them in the middle of long wooden tables and chairs built with the tables, the table was only inches higher than the chairs. He walked past a teacher and he tried smiling at her but his lips seemed stiffened. He got to the table they were sitting on and noticed Misha wasn't there.

"Hey, look who decided to show up" Jamal greeted him as he sat down, he was spreading butter on a slice of bread, then he put another on the top of the bread and rolled it up before he stuff it into his mouth whole. Babatunde turned to face Finn

"What happened today?"

He was shoving rice into his mouth

"Oh, you have heard also" he said through mouthful of rice

"Just tell me what happened" Babatunde asked hastily

Jamal reached over the table and ruffled Finn's long hair who shrugged his hand off, he sat back, looked at Babatunde

"My boy here, the Finn of Finland here, was almost smooched by Faidat, and being the modest dipshit he is, dropped her to the floor, isn't that right Finn?" he looked at Finn who was still shoving rice into his mouth, he drank from the juice on the table

"Well, he might have made himself a few enemies" Babatunde said as he drew a plate closer to himself, he knew they had collected his dinner for him. They did that often, when one of them doesn't shows up early for dinner. He took off the cover, it was porridge. He noticed another covered plate beside Jamal; he knew it was for Misha

"What are you talking about?" Jamal asked as he drank leisurely from the glass of juice on the table

"I was in the bathroom, and I overheard Samuel and someone talking about Finn, that because he came from New York, all the girls wants him"

"What did they said?" Jamal moved forward looking interested

"Well, they are going to beat some sense into his head"

He was hoping a reaction from Finn, but instead he kept eating like he didn't hear him or he wasn't being mentioned. Babatunde got frustrated and smack him on the head

"Hey, what was that for!?" he snapped at him

"I didn't shower well enough. I dressed hastily that I forgot to put on a sweater and now I am cold. I sprinted here with the watch man asking what was chasing me, just to tell you this. And now you are asking 'what that was for? Those guys really mean what they are saying" he was flaring when he finished

"This is not the first time I am being beaten and come to think of it, how can someone hate me because I am British. I will tell you guys something, there is some racist shit going on here"

"Well your ancestors did us wrong" Babatunde said flatly

"But I wasn't there!" Finn almost shouted with disbelief in his voice

"Atta boy" Jamal said and continue sipping from his glass

"I mean Tunde, come to think of it, where do I want to run to? I will eventually be caught up on and beaten nonetheless, and I honestly don't know what wrong with people"

"If you are going to be beaten, that day is not today, and not when I know you are going to be beaten. We won't be taking the chemistry lab route today; we are taking another route to the hostels"

"We will get through this, group hug" Jamal said as he made to stand up

"Don't" Finn growled

"Ok" he mumbled and sat back down

"Where is Misha?" Babatunde asked looking at the covered plate

Jamal looked at Finn

"Mr. Modest here managed to piss her off today so much she was crying"

"Crying? Misha cried? What the….? Babatunde exclaimed as he looked from one friend to another and settled his eyes on Finn

"I didn't pissed her off, she just sort of had an emotional breakdown"

"An emotional breakdown?"

"After what happened with Faidat, she stormed out and I went after her and she was crying" he has finished his plate of rice and was tying his muffler around his neck in different styles and knots in a relaxed position.

"Where is she?"

"I don't know"

"I am sure she isn't here though" Jamal said but looked around the room

The bell ranged signifying the end of dinner time, the students bowed their heads while one of the teachers said a short prayer and they all filed out. Some of the student pointed at Finn and laughed

"Just let them go" Jamal said and held his arm. They went out of the hall and head towards the A.V lab; it was another route to the hostels, a long one. It was very dark and the moon had disappeared behind a dark cloud. They walked in silence for fear of being heard in the dark by the watch man or still Samuel and his companion or companions. It was silent except for their footsteps and the crickets chirping loudly. They heard footsteps, it sounded like hooves, and it was approaching slowly.

"Quick, hide" Babatunde cried

They hid behind a thick shrub besides the A.V lab, holding their breath and tried to steady their breathing. Babatunde heart was pounding; he held Finn's hand and shut his eyes tight. The hooves were approaching their direction now and that when they perceive the smell. The stench of rotten flesh was definitely in the air; the stench stung their nose and tickled their lungs and they covered their nose with Finn's muffler. They couldn't take it anymore even with the muffler covering their nose and they all rose up to breathe in fresh air and were gasping for fresh air, but somehow the air was still polluted by the horrible stench of rotten and burning flesh. They forgot about the air, the horrible smell, the situation they were in, the implications of being caught, and the threat of being beaten when they looked right in front of them and asked themselves

'What in the world was standing feet away from them and looking like the worst creature they have ever seen. These kinds of creatures were only found in the movies or a fiction book, not in real life, and not particularly standing in front of them. Was it a horse or a man? It had horns that were long and curled at the end like that of a goat and its head-it seemed to be shapeless at first until they had a second good look which they later came to regret because when it turned to look at them, it eyes were glowing red, and it razor sharp teeth stopped its mouth from closing around them.

They knew they had to shout, they had to call for help or run, but their body couldn't respond to the commands their brains were sending out. Jamal must have opened his mouth to scream but he sounded like he was being strangled. Whoever it was or whatever it is must have been afraid with the sound Jamal was making or was scared to see them as they were of it because it took off so fast they wondered if he was ever there the first time and the air was pure all of a sudden. They breathed it in and they were back to their sense; Jamal took off first and they ran after him, their breathing echoing in the dark empty night, the moon was out now and it beam shone on the school compound. They heard footsteps behind them, it sounded like several people were running after them now. They kept running and running and they heard someone fell.

"Guys, help me up" it was Finn and he shrieked in alarm. Jamal and Babatunde turned back and saw him on the ground, they ran back and helped him to his feet, they all turned back and Babatunde saw Samuel and his minions running towards them "Run" he pushed Finn and Jamal forward. They ran till their legs almost gave out.

"You will have to smuggle me into your hostel, I can't sleep in my bed tonight, those guys will murder me before sunrise" Babatunde said as they were about to reach the hostels. They stopped when they realized they were not being chased anymore, they slowed down to a walk to catch their breath. The watch man was out, and he shone his touch on them

"Where are you coming from? He asked as they approached him

They looked at him as he directed the beam to their face

"We kind of got … lost on the way here" Jamal said and rocked on his feet

"You got lost?" the watch man looked at them suspiciously

"What he meant to say was, we passed by the A.V lab and we couldn't find our way quickly because there was no electricity there"

"Oyinbo boy, are you sure?" The watch man asked and looked at Finn

"Yes sir" he replied in a confident tone

The watch man looked at Babatunde and moved closer to him, shining the beam on his face, he frowned his face

"Who are you?"

"I am Ba…"

"He is Bamidele" Jamal cut him off

"Let him answer on his own" the frown was still on his face

"He is a stammer" Jamal said quickly

"Oh, but I never see this one for here before"

"Yes, because him no day talk very much for here, we just became friends" Jamal smiled and signaled to Finn, who plastered a fake smile on his face

"Oh... Oya enter, no let cold catch you for this outside" the watchman said "Enter and don't catch a cold"

They walked in into the hostel, the lights were on. Babatunde walked behind them as they walked into the common room

"We can't sleep in the rooms tonight, someone might spot you. We will have to sleep here tonight and you have to get out first thing tomorrow morning" Finn said to Babatunde. They took a couch each and wrapped their arms around their bodies. The hostel was dead silent except for snores coming from the rooms.

"Anyone want to talk about that thing?" Finn asked

"No, not tonight, I don't want to remember its face, least it comes to me in my sleep" Jamal said with a note of finality in his voice. He turned his back towards them and they drifted off to sleep, never knowing it was the beginning of their woes.