Pave way. Please, pave way.

I pleaded in my heart as I ran through students in the walkway. I was late for rehearsals.

I had gone to submit a file to my Legal Adviser, which consumed more than expected time. If I was lucky, they wouldn't have started yet. Or they could pardon me if they have. I was just a few minutes late.

I reached my destination, the chosen venue. And I met an empty space.

Where the fuck were they?

They must have changed the venue after they got here for reasons known to them. Or they changed it on the group chat. I didn't own a phone that could work with WhatsApp, so I always made sure to listen for the next rehearsal's time and venue when announcement were made at the end of a rehearsal. And this was meant to be venue!

They didn't even consider people like us with a phone.

I looked around and didn't see any traces of them.

Why did they choose this day to change the venue? Why did I come late today?

I felt like cursing my Legal Adviser. She wasted my time. After she had told me to take thirty minutes to arrange my file because she doesn't want to see any mistakes, she just collected and dumped it, then waved me off. She didn't even go through it.

I walked back to the places we had used before, but they weren't there. When I ran out of options, I walked back to the first venue and sat there.

I didn't know what to do again. I wished I could go home, but I couldn't miss a rehearsal. It would affect my scores.

Why couldn't they stick to the former venue? All these mistakes were bound to happen when students who considered themselves wise and unquestionable supervised another set of students. They don't have the brains to put others into consideration.

Morons!

I walked back to the school's Motion ground and sat a shop, thinking of how unfortunate I must be to miss rehearsal when I was busy doing nothing. I longed for someone from my group to come buy something so I would follow them back.

Like I had hoped, after thirty minutes, I saw a girl that was in the same group with me walking past me. I picked my bag and ran after her.

Her name was Sharon, but I couldn't bring myself to say it. I was afraid to call her name, she was a 'slay queen'.

I doubted that she would want to talk to me. She was popular, active, not shy, beautiful, rich, and everything I was not. She played the lead female role in our group while I played nothing.

I was always ejected from all parts because I couldn't do it well or not picked at all. It's not like I wanted or volunteered for any.

When I got very close to her, I drew in a deep breathe and let it out.

"Excuse me," My voice came out raspy. She turned around immediately, and I almost bumped into her.

"Yes?" She squinted her eyes.

She was beautiful.

Her long wavy weave-on sat well on her heart shaped head, her face was light and spotless. She had long lashes and almost zero brows. Maybe a naturally or artificially made black lips took a love shape on her face.

"I am sorry, please, I wanted to know the venue for today's rehearsal." I surprassed the urge to stutter.

"Rehearsal? Are we in the same group?"

Imagine that! Despite my clumsiness, I wasn't still known.

"Yes."

"Sorry, I haven't seen you before." She smiled. "I am also going for rehearsal, let's go. We are late."

She was nice.

I couldn't believe she was this nice. She even smiled at me. Maybe I was loved and wanted afterall.

"Why are you late?" She asked me.

Did she just try to make a conversation with me? Nice!

I fought so hard to bring out the right words. I didn't want to mess up this amazing opportunity to not be considered stupid by someone important. "I went to see the L.A."

"You have a good reason. Mine is so stupid." She turned to look at me, "I slept off."

To my utter disbelief, I chuckled. I didn't know how it happened but it did.

My chuckling migrated into a hearty laughter when she joined in.

"Director is going to chew my head for this and I am still laughing." She said after we had laughed to our heart content.

"I'm sorry for laughing." I apologized thinking that she could get angry.

"No, don't be sorry. It's funny and anyone would laugh. I have a compulsory rehearsal with a scary set of supervisors who had instill fears in everyone, and yet I managed to sleep off." She answered.

She was so nice to me.

"Did they change the venue on WhatsApp?" I asked her.

"Yes, they did. It was posted on the group chat when they were moving. The students using the building said our noises were disturbing them."

"Oh, okay."

"Didn't you see it?"

"Yes, I am not on the WhatsApp group."

"Alright." She ended the conversation as we approach our journey's end. I knew we were almost there as I saw my colleagues sittings on the floor as usual.

Another open field.

I believed she would have said more if we were not at the place yet.

"Why are you just coming?" The Director bellowed from nowhere, I would have peed on my body if Sharon wasn't beside me because everyone turned their neck to our direction.

I turned around to see Director moving menancingly closer to us, and I felt my legs shaking tremendously, while the corner of my eye caught Sharon as she rolled her eyes.

"Are you deaf ?" He shouted into my face after he must have seen Sharon's indifference. His breath was fresh. Too fresh for such an awful person.

"I... I ... I went to submit my file to the L.A." I stuttered.

"You went to see the L.A when it was time for rehearsal?" He paused, "you are so stupid."

I wanted to explain that I had  gone before the time for rehearsal, but the L.A wasted my time, and how I missed the venue for rehearsals because it was changed without a warning. But I couldn't. I couldn't just get anything out of my throat again to someone that was bent on embarrassing me.

"Don't stress yourself, I will just give her three absent in the register." The Stage Manager chimed in.

"S.M, chill na, we went to submit our file because today is the deadline. Today is the deadline and we've been told to complete all form of registration today, or all we've done and paid for will go to waste, including these rehearsals." Sharon informed and students nodded in affirmation.

"Why didn't you take permission then?" Director shot back.

"My phone was dead." She replied.

"What about you?" He turned to me.

"She doesn't have your number." Sharon answered on my behalf.

"Why don't you go and sit your ass down and let her answer her questions herself." Director gritted through his teeth.

"What questions do you have for her again?"

"Are you her mother? I thought I heard Director tell you to go sit down." The Assistant Director joined in.

At this point, I was almost hyperventilating. The students sitted on the floor were staring at me and whispering among themselves, the supervisors were all sending daggers at me.

I didn't know what I had done that made them go against me this much.

"Free us both then." Sharon replied.

"Who the hell do you think you are to go against my orders?" Director yelled.

"Oluwadare Sharon." Sharon stated and our mates cheered.

I was dumbfounded myself, saving my being impressed for later.

"Shut up." Director roared and they went mute.

"This girl is spoilt fa," S.M informed, "Walahi, she has grown wings. Is it because we gave her the lead role, or what?"

"I don't understand." A.D answered her.

"No problem. Now I want you both out of my rehearsal. Out!" Director bellowed authoritatively.

Anger was now evident on Sharon's faceand made to leave, but our mates signaled to her not to go, they rubbed their palms together to tell her beg rather.

After some seconds of maybe, pondering, her face soften up and she moved closer to Director. "I am sorry, please."

S.M and A.D hissed.

"Get out!" He repeated pointing to the route out.

"It hasn't got to that na, please, I was just being stupid." She turned to S.M's direction. "S.M, A.D, A.S.M, Songito, I apologise to you all. Please help me beg Director." She beseeched, bringing her palms to face each other.

"Now, you are talking." S.M stated after eyeing her. "Israel, abeg, forgive am. (Please, forgive her)."

Director shook his head to say no and almost everyone muttered words of apologies.

"It's okay. Go sit down you two." He told us after eyeing us all.

I walked to a secluded space at the back and sat. Sharon went to change into her rehearsal kit. When she came back, I half expected her to come sit with me, but she didn't, she went to her friends.

Of course, she wasn't my mother.

We started rehearsal. Or should I say continued rehearsal.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I alighted from the taxi that dropped me at our junction and started to walk in sluggishly.

I was so tired from today's rehearsal. We were given a lot of punishment. Even though they gave us all together, I believed it was mainly to punish me and Sharon.

I pulled my phone out of my bag to check the time, it was bombarded with calls from my mother.

The time was 9:46 pm, I should have expected that. We finished rehearsals around 8:30 pm, thanks to Director that was bent on making our lives hell.

I walked to Mary's shop where she worked as a salesperson for an Alfa selling card. She always stayed in shop till ten because business still bubbled till then.

Maami didn't like the fact that she stayed late, but since she couldn't stop her from taking the job, she always sent Susan to come stay with her at 6:30 so she wouldn't be walking home alone. The journey wasn't really far though.

When I got to her shop, I saw Susan at a corner, dozing. I noticed how beautiful her skin was, perhaps because of the dim light at such a dark night. I didn't see Mary or Alfa.

"Susan," I tapped her when I got closer to her.

She didn't answer. She was a fucking deep sleeper. "Susan!" I yelled as I slapped her head.

She jumped up, and so did Mary and Alfa from inside the shop.

What the fuck was happening?

"Pick up the remaining cards and come tell me why the money isn't complete." Alfa stormed out into the outer part of the shop where we were standing.

Mary face was disoriented and she was also sad at the same time.

This had to do with more than missing money.

"How are you, Idera?" Alfa asked.

"Fine. Good evening." I answered. "Mary, we will be waiting you outside."

She nodded and I dragged Susan out.

"Bitch, why did you hit my head that way?" Susan was still rubbing her face from sleep.

"You should enter a sleeping contest for Nigeria, blockhead." I told her and she eyed me. "What's going on inside?"

"Mary is making account for today's sales to Alfa." She answered nonchalantly. "Have you gone blind?"

Idiot! She must have probably been sleeping her head off.

I moved closer to her, my height shadowing hers, I stretched my eyes to pull her ears but she quickly ducked out of my reach.

Mary came out the shop. She looked as if she was scared.

"Are you done?" Susan asked and she nodded. "So soon?"

"What's wrong with you?" I moved to her.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yes, nothing."

"What should be wrong with her?" Susan asked me.

"What were you doing inside with Alfa?"

"What's up with that question, you asked me before?" Susan looked at me as if I was crazy.

"I wasn't talking to you." I shot back, and turned to Mary.

"Nothing is wrong with me, and I was making an account to Alfa inside. I am sad because I lost some money." She explained. "And please, don't ask me anything again."

I wanted to touch her and she moved away, something was wrong with her. But I didn't press her further, at least, not with Susan here.

She started walking towards home and we followed.

"Mum has been trying to get you, she called me." Mary started a conversation.

"Phones aren't allowed at rehearsals."

"You should have called immediately you left then, she was troubled."

"The struggle to get a bus home from school around this time isn't something words can explain, I couldn't check my phone."

"Ok."

And there was a lull in the conversation.

We walked silently for some minutes, each lost in thoughts before Susan broke the silence.

"Guess what, Idera." She shrieked.

"She was appointed as the school's Head Girl." Mary rolled her eyes.

"I didn't beg you to say it for me. Oversabi." She frowned.

"Congratulations." I smiled at her.

"Thank you, my nice sister." She held my hand and eyed Mary. "I knew you would be glad for me."

"Why are you so happy? You already knew the position would be given to you na." I said when I saw the smile plastered on her face.

"Yes, but I wasn't expecting the perks that came with it. You won't believe that Joke and her friends came to apologise for what they said before, and they even offered me an invitation to join their gang..." She started ranting about her success story, and how it brought her to her school's limelight.

I envied her.

She was a quiet girl like me too, but she could always stand up for herself. She would feel nervous but definitely talk in front of a crowd. She was the better version of me.

I felt sadness tugging at my heart strings slowly.

"Let me tell you something too. I challenged my Director today." I dropped in a bid to lighten my heart.

"What?" Mary eyes widened.

She and Susan loved all these types of talks, they seemed heroic to them. And me too.

"Cool." Susan danced. "Please tell us about it." Mary also nodded in agreement.

I laughed.

I told them everything about me and Sharon's ordeal word for words, just that Sharon and I switched roles in my story. She was me and I was her.

They were happy with me when I finished my story and said sad things about Sharon. I didn't let their words get to me as I convinced myself that I was Sharon in the story. So funny.

I wanted to feel bad for lying, but I didn't. The pain of knowing that my real story can't bring smile to their faces like now surprassed the guilt.

I just wanted to be like her.