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"Gone with the wind"

Song of the day:7years by Lucas graham

Dedicated to HappinessExpiresToo
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Evelyn was supposed to be reading this letter. But, I never found enough strength to knock on the yellow brown gate of her house. Never, found the right steps to walk to where she sat in class. And I couldn't bring my self to open her green locker, -it knew too much and held so much.

With a little squeeze, I crumpled the jotter, and waited for a time when, the speed of the car alternated slightly before throwing it (so the high wind wouldn't fling it back to my face), via the window.

I shrunk further into my seat, it was the only way, I could rest back against the seat. I was lucky to have gotten the back seat, I was getting enough ventilation from the window by my mom's side and one from the seat before ours.

It was also my luck, that we were just three at the back, if we were seated in line with the desires of the bus driver, we'd probably be twenty five persons, in an eighteen seater bus.

Our third companion, at the backseat was a fairly tall girl with fiery red Bob (I never knew that anyone could fix or wear a colour as bright as hers).  The red Bob, In no plain terms, fought with her light skinned complexion, but she was a pretty girl. That was her saving grace. She was also typing noisily, into her phone. Between her noisy typing and my mom's snoring, I genuinely weighed my possibility of finding sleep.

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I woke up from the jostling by my side. It was the girl with the fiery hairstyle, She hovered over me (she was standing, not fully, since she was tall and therefore had to bend inline with the height of the bus)  a distasteful expression clouded her face, she saying something but I couldn't make any sense of it, with enough struggle she pushed my legs aside and stepped out the bus.

With the noise and jostling, I realized that we had arrived at our destination. I formed weak fist with my hands and rubbed lightly against my eye. I was the last person to come down from the bus.

The place was dark, not thick dark, but I could tell it was past six. The source of illuminations, present were from mobile phones of other passengers and the stars that were appearing gradually. 

We had no issue, finding our luggage. Who could possibly misplace three giant neon green boxes?

"I was just wary of losing our luggages" Mom was saying, she had taken up a role beside the driver and bus conductor to inspect all the luggage.

"If I had left it to you, our champion sleep, I doubt if we will get our luggages complete"

"Mom" I groaned.

"What" she was laughing, "you slept for seven hours straight".

Do you believe that?

*
Spotting dad, was like adding zero to one, too easy. He was at the other side of the road, cladded in a green vest and white short knickers, his arms were folded and he reclined against his black Benz.  I tapped mom on the shoulders, her eyes were roaming the whole park, I was wondering why she did not see him. She turned and I pointed at dad who was waiting across the road.

We sorted our luggage, mom and I carried one box each and shared the burden of carrying the third. My eyes trailed the vehicles on the road like predator waiting to pounce on its prey, in reality I was actually waiting for a point where the road will be slightly empty and I could safely cross the road.
And, with the look of things, I was going to stand for long.

"Madam" I heard the distant cry, I was quick to recognize the conductors voice, I wanted to turn back and look who this 'madam' was an why he was calling her.

"Madam, with box" he called "madam with green box".

It was definitely mom, who else owned a neon green box? Mom and I turned, in the direction of the voice. Behold, it was the bus conductor smiling like he found money on the ground.

He was some meters away from us. "Bye bye" he waved, he was smiling still.

Mom shook her head, and waved back at him. I was still in dark, on how mom was able to get along with the bus conductor. If I was a champion sleeper, like she claimed, then this guy deserved an Oscar for most foul smelling mouth.  Luckily, the opportunity appeared and we crossed the road.

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With our luggage secured in the booth of dad's Benz, we entered the car and drove off. The only thing I was grateful for was the space, at the back, I didn't have to share it with anyone. Mom was in the front, chatting with dad, with so much vibrance and energy, I doubted if she was the same person I entered the bus with.

She was tapping the dashboard, trying to emphasis some random point. My eyes trailed the whole of the dashboard, it was shiny black. It wasn't a new car, therefore he had used his car polish. This reminded me of my first time seeing it, I wanted to spray it on my brown back to school, afterall I wanted black but mom preferred brown.

Dad was laughing hard, it drew my attention since mom did not join in, and was looking at him with a puzzled look.

"Why are you laughing?"

He smiled smugly "I did not know bus conductors were your thing".

Ah ah

Using one hand, I clasped my mouth, my body rocked with mirth. I never knew that dad had witnessed, the bus conductors scene.

Mom was silent for sometimes, her face was glowing, she was looking at dad, with her 'funny' death glare. All in all, she was obviously fighting the urge to join us in laughing.

"Oh, you don't know" she was faking heat, by using her hand to fan herself  "he's very handsome"

Dad's face scrunched, he was trying to u-turn, so his attention was on the road, when we passed that point, he resumed "Please spare me the horror, that ugly duckling."

"Good- lucking duckling" Mom retorted.

"You wish, am just so handsome just look at my beautiful daughter".

Trust dad to bring me in to it.

Mum had no comeback after that, they both ended laughing.

What if she had?
Oh no!
I face palm
Am i ugly?

It was very dark when we pulled up in front of a gate, it was black just like the one in our former house. He pressed a button and the gate, rolled away, as he swerved in the parking lot, he added to my burden.

"School starts next week, mide".

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Two weeks later.

I yanked the door of mom's grey sedan, carried my medium sized brown bag and came down. I jammed the door, and waved a goodbye at her.

I glanced at the massive structure in front of me, decked in deep blue and muddy brown. Then, I zipped the bag open, and fished the school map out of it.

With the aid of the school map, and the fact that I had been to the school three to four times in the last two weeks. I was able to locate my class easily, I liked the fact that I didn't have to stop a random person and ask where my class was located.

"Senior secondary one". It was the first thing I saw, as I transferred my attention, from the school map in my hands. It was written on a golden plaque, and placed against a brown door.

I walked slowly, into the class, pausing a bit at the front desk. The class was divided into three vertical rows. I didn't want to seat in the middle, the middle was the first row anyone would noticed. I weighed the option of seating at the left row or the right row.

I took the left, the windows faced somewhere out side the school, unlike the right. Its window was close to the hallway. I flopped on a random chair, it was exactly five chairs from the front.

I was cleaning the desk, to my relief, there was nothing inside.

"Hey, newcomer" someone walked to my desk, it was a tall girl, she looked out of shape in her uniform, like the tailor used a wrong measurement for her, it was too long.  "That's my seat".

"Am sorry, what did you say?"

She rolled her eyes, and folded her arms "I want you to leave this desk".

I ignored her, and dabbed at the dust on the desk.
She hissed and dropped her bag loudly on the desk I was cleaning.  before she could utter a word, one stout boy, who had been watching "our little drama" pleaded with her.

"Jessie abeg leave the girl, just sit  down near her".

Her shoulder slumped, but that did not stop her from kicking me to get into the second space.

I flung her bag at her desk, it missed the target and dropped to the floor.

I guess it takes two to tango.
Doesn't it?

A few minutes later, a fat girl walked up to my desk, she was breathing heavily. Did she climb a mountain?

She bent over my table, her uniform was pressed tight against her body, threatening to tear.

"This is my seat" she breathed against my face.

I turned my face, the other way, her mouth was not smelling, but I didn't need her breath on my face. Here we go, again.

"I don't think so" I informed her.

"Just get up" the fat girl insisted.

"Vanessa, get lost" Jessie's irritated voice chirped.

"Is it your business?" Vanessa was glared at her, it seemed she had no problem, arguing with two persons.

"Yes".

"Look Vanessa, am not getting off this seat, if you really want to seat, you will  find one" I added.

This madness was getting on my nerves.

"Do it quick and get out of my sight".  It was Jessie, she even drummed the desk for added effect.

"Idiots" Vanessa muttered with a red face, we had obviously won this battle. I couldn't even bother myself with flipping her off.

"Thanks Jessie" I eyed her accusingly, as Vanessa left our desk "Though, you repented few minutes ago".

"Friends?" She raised her palm for a high five. I hit her palm hard with mine.

Yikes!

Sidelines
This chapter maybe short buh I do have my reason.
I dedicated this chapter to strawberry because after reading her book,I felt the urge to write again.
I don't know how silver Lining may end but I want to give it a try.

Hit, the vote button if you like how this friendship has bloomed.

Comment, 'sleep is bae' if you are a champion sleeper!!