02 HUSBAND AND WIFE

I inspected the scar on my back through the mirror. It was as painful as it looked. There were outlines of purple-black lines from where the cane had hit me. I didn't dare touch it. It was too painful.

Aunt Thelma had severely flogged my destiny away after she walked in on our little slapping contest with her daughters. I should've known better than to pick a fight with those she-devils I had as cousins but they'd pushed my buttons so many times.

To cut the long story short, Patricia and Cynthia got to walk away without any punishment while Sebastian and I got a few scars as a souvenir from aunt Thelma's huge cane.

I quickly put on my uniform and as I packed my notebooks into my bag, I couldn't help but imagine what school would be like without my best friend, or ex best friend. I couldn't help but wonder if Empire High School would be a better place without all the hierarchy, discrimination, fear, pressure and tension some certain people brought to it.

I still wasn't comfortable going back but I had no choice. It was either this or nothing.

Uncle Harry had driven us to school that morning. I could tell with the look on Patricia and Cynthia's face that they weren't happy but I didn't care.

Aunt Thelma had given her daughters some money for lunch but she had given us nothing. Not even breakfast.

We got to school in not more than six minutes and I reluctantly got out of the car and I was faced with the atmosphere I knew too well. Patricia and her sister bid their dad goodbye while I increased my pace with Sebastian following suite. Uncle Harry called me back before I could go far and I nearly rolled my eyes at him.

I made my way back to the car while my cousins shot daggers at me before heading towards the school building.

"Take this for you and your brother," he handed two five hundred naira notes and I gladly took them.

"Thank you, sir" I said and he smiled a mischievous smile before driving off. Something didn't seem right. Since when did Uncle Harry become nice?

I gave Sebastian his own share of the money and we walked into the school building together. I tried to ignore the other students staring and murmuring. They looked surprised to see me. I wasn't taken aback by their behavior because the last time they'd seen me in school, I was handcuffed and being escorted by the police.

"You're very popular," Sebastian joked.

"And not in a good way," I added. "the junior classes are over there, do you want me to come with you?" I said to my brother pointing to the direction of his class.

"No, I'll be fine," he said, "see you later," Sebastian walked towards the junior secondary block.

I let out a heavy sigh before I kept walking towards my classroom. Some people smiled and others waved. I tried to pretend like I was normal once more without being the talk of the school.

I walked into the familiar room and I was greeted with different pairs of eyes looking at me like I'd fallen from the sky.

It wasn't that bad. My classmates smiled and greeted me, I could notice a few new faces here and there, but to them I guess I was the newcomer.

I noticed that my former seat was empty and I decided to reoccupy it. It'd been the same desk I'd shared with Jay and for some time, Amanda.

"Rachael!" I looked up to meet the familiar face the voice belonged to. Aisha. She looked well. Mostly excited to see me as she leaned and gave me a small hug, "I've missed you,"

"I've missed you too," I said with a weak smile. "I didn't think you'd still be in this school,"

She shrugged and said, "I had no reason to go anywhere,"

I nodded in agreement as I thought of everything I must've missed while I was away.

"I have to go now but we have a lot of catching up to do," she said when she noticed the Physics teacher walk-in. I nodded my head with a smile and she returned to her seat which was behind me. A girl sat next to me and I realized she must've been my new seatmate.

After about twenty minutes into the lecture. A boy walked in breathing heavily like he'd just ran a eight hundred meter race. He was tall and slim with a light skin.

"Tunde, why are you late?" Mr. Paul the physics teacher asked the boy at the door.

Tunde did not seem to be in the mood for any sort of interrogation and I knew he was so close to rolling his eyes. "Sorry sir," he said politely without answering the question he was asked. Mr. Paul let him in and he walked swiftly into the classroom.

Before I knew it, he was standing in front of my desk with a scowl on his light-skinned face. "That's my chair," he deadpanned. I looked at the girl who had sat next to me a few minutes ago and she nodded confirming that it was indeed his chair.

A part of me wanted to hit the girl for not telling me the seat belonged to someone else and another part of me didn't know what to say to Tunde.

"Find somewhere else," I was about to ask who said that? before I realized I was the one.

"You must be clinically insane," he said with disgust and everyone chuckled. Now, I was pissed off.

"Get out of my site before I show you how insane I am," I spat back. At this time, people were already murmuring.

He scoffed and said, "Can someone tell this thing to get out of my chair before I do something mesmerizing," he obviously felt good because he thought he'd blown grammar. In his head.

"When you're done blabbing, you can go and hug the transformer outside," I smirked as the class burst out into a fit of laughter.

Tunde was dumbfounded. He opened his mouth to say something but Mr. Paul had beat him to it, "Keep quiet everybody!" Mr. Paul hollered, "So, I'm in this classroom and you have the guts to be throwing insults at each other like a seventy years old married couple,"

I was sure the school building was going to collapse from the loud fit of laughter coming from my classmates. Some of them were rolling on the floor while holding their belly. I was so abashed.

"Now, Tunde find another seat and during break the both of you should come and see me," said Mr. Paul when the class had quieted down a little.

"Don't worry," the girl seated next to me said before she got up and packed her books and bag, "I'll find another seat. Tunde, come and sit down,"

Before I, Tunde or even Mr. Paul could oppose she was already seated comfortably at the back. Tunde reluctantly sat next to me and I rolled my eyes. Great.

During the break, I went to meet Mr. Paul without saying a word to Tunde. I got to the staffroom where all the teachers stared at me. I greeted them before making my way over to Mr. Paul's desk.

"Good afternoon sir," I greeted him before he looked up from his phone.

"Where's your husband?" he asked and all the teachers within earshot burst into laughter. I guess he'd told them about what happened in class. That was when I learnt that even male teachers gossip. "Go and call him fast!" he ordered before I stormed out of the room.

Now, I knew I had no choice but to talk to him.

As I slowly walked down the hall, I met him heading to the direction I was coming from. I stopped in my tracks but he didn't even spare me a glance as he walked past me with his hands in his pocket. Arrogant fool.

I turned around only to bump into someone who was walking awfully fast and our foreheads collided.

"You blind bat!" Patricia nearly screamed with her hand on her forehead where mine had hit her.

"You sleep walker!" I said before rubbing my throbbing forehead with my fingers.

"I don't have time for this," she said before walking away. I thanked God she was in the art class. "Hey," she called out and I turned to her, "Here in school, I don't know you and you don't know me, got it?" she whispered to me. I hissed and walked out on her.

I walked into the staffroom and heard Mr. Paul saying, "...clean the library everyday after school,"

I was so close to passing out.