AN: So the next three chapters are throw back to Chief and Lydia's relationship. If you want to skip the throwback, present day will continue at the end of 51. This throwback was supposed to be the prologue for the book but I didn't want to spoil it for you guys. I almost deleted it at some point because i wanted to end the book at 50 parts by fire by force (lol) but i changed my mind.

***

Many years ago

Corper's Lodge, in a Secondary school somewhere in Bauchi

12:23am

Chief's POV

"Deji what are you studying for again? Do you have another interview?" Deji's roommate said groggily on returning from the bathroom.

Deji Bakare looked up at his roommate, startled, he didn't even notice when his roommate stepped out because he was completely immersed in the book he was reading; Mission to Kala.

"I am taking literature prep class tomorrow," He said and his roommate laughed wickedly then went back to sleep.

Deji has been regretting why he decided to take this class sef because he set himself up with it. He is a Civil Engineer, he hates novels, plays, and freaking poems, but he agreed to teach this literature prep class because he wanted the extra money.

He thought he could wing it; is it not just to read a couple of novels and poems then answer questions on them?, he thought it was piece of cake. Unfortunately for him, a literature fanatic that goes by the name Lydia attends the class and she keeps embarrassing him in front the whole class every session.

She is not even a current student! She graduated last year, but the girl returned this term to prepare for JAMB because she didn't take it last year. She was supposed to be married off like 99.9% of the girls her age in this part of the country. Some are even married off right after primary school, and if the husband or his family are nice enough, they'd send them to secondary to further their education, many girls in his class are married women.

However, this damn Lydia girl and her sisters escaped early marriage thanks to a northern feminist'ish group called JMA (Jam'iyyar Matan Arewa).

The group is actually the sponsor of the WAEC and JAMB prep classes. They are funding these classes in a couple of northern states to encourage parents and even husbands to allow their girls/wives further their education.

The group hires Corpers and University students as tutors and the pay is good, even better than his corper allawee. He is teaching six subjects and honestly, he should have just freed this literature class because the extra money is not worth the stress and humiliation he has been collecting from that girl.

She has read all the books in the syllabus and more. The other day she called him out (He was trying to show off) for a mistake he made on a George Orwell quote from the book Nineteen Eighty-Four, the book is not even part of the syllabus and it's not romance so he was surprised that she had even read it. That was the day he knew he had a serious problem and he couldn't half-ass the literature lessons anymore.

Which is why he started staying up late to read up these days, it is too late for him to back out, he has collected and chopped 2 months advance tutor fee for the class already.

He was a little bit nervous as he stepped into the literature class the next day. He started writing on the board and before he could finish his first paragraph, she pointed out a spelling error. He just sighed and corrected it in defeat. He was already exhausted from teaching regular school class (His primary Assignment).

Madam Shakespeare, you win!

And... the annoying thing is, whenever she starts you will see her evil sisters sniggering, laughing at him behind his back.

She was not like the other northern girls; they are well mannered, shy, and nice. She is bright o, but honestly, her father should have married her off because she is a nightmare!

****

3 Weeks later

Deji got to his math prep class one evening and he was met with a pleasant surprise. Lydia had joined the math prep for WAEC.

So here's the thing, 90% of the girls in the school and most northern school kids want to go to ABU, so the competition has gotten tighter lately. Two weeks ago, ABU updated its admission criteria; applicants must possess a minimum of a higher credit in both Math and English in WAEC regardless of their course of study. He actually noticed there were some new faces in the last class, about 2 of them so clearly she is the latest addition.

Looks like 'Madam Shakespeare' does not have a higher credit in math.

He smiled wickedly as he settled in. She was hiding at the back of the class and she was awfully quiet.

He had prepared a problem for class work, he wanted to use it to introduce new concepts, but he had a change of mind when he saw her in the class. He wrote out the question on the board, taking his sweet time he increased the complexity of the equation and threw in some tricky points to increase the chances of a slip-up, then he turned around.

"Who can solve this for us?" He announced.

The usual math gurus in front raised their hands eagerly but he ignored them. He strolled to the back where she was hiding and slowly placed the chalk on her desk.

"Lydia!" He said and she looked up at him. There was panic in her eyes but her arrogant demeanor masked it. She had to keep it up, most of the girls in the class were her juniors, some of them still call her 'Senior Lydia' plus she was a prefect during her time so she had enough haters too in the class.

"Would you do us the honor of solving this problem?" He said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

She glared at him at first, the look on her face read; 'Are you really this petty?'

He glared back at her, 'it is what it is, Madam Shakespeare'

He went back to his table and reveled in the struggle that ensued. She did try her best, but she did not stand a chance with the tricks he threw in, she was so confused but she was determined, she never gave up, she kept trying until she exhausted her time.

Coconut head.

After about 25 minutes, he announced that her time was up.

He looked at her workings, answer, shook his head in (fake) disappointment and declared it wrong........ with pleasure.

"Thank you, please go back to your seat" He said to her.

The other girls giggled subtly as she walked back to her desk. He hated how they were still afraid of her; they didn't even have the liver laugh to her face.

Goodness! She must of have been a terrifying prefect.

He gave the chalk to one of the frontbenchers and they solved it in less than 10 minutes.

After that episode, she stopped bothering him in literature class. She didn't even participate in the discussions and readings anymore. She just always had her head buried in some other book all through class. She stopped answering questions too. (Normally she would answer before he even asks).

Good. Now I can teach in peace.

By the third week though, he felt guilty. Honestly, she didn't do anything to him that he didn't deserve. She is the type of Student the Art Professors in his US University love. The type that keeps the class highly interactive and interesting. She was right to call him out in the beginning; he had no business taking this class unprepared.

Truth is, she actually challenged him to read more, and he genuinely enjoys some of these books now even the classics and the damn poems. He has been reading them in his spare time.....for leisure.

At the end of the next literature lesson, he asked her to wait behind after class. She looked him the eye as stood in front of him confidently while her sisters waited anxiously for her outside instead of proceeding to their hostel, they thought she was in some kind of trouble.

"Why are you inactive in class these days?" He asked.

"I don't know, you seem to be taking my contributions personally," She said spitefully.

Guilty as charged. lol.

"Why would think that?" He smile was tinged with guilt.

"You put me on the spot to embarrass me in math class," She said categorically.

"So you took that personal?" He smiled.

"No, I took it as a warning to stop contributing in your class"

Na wa o, it's not that deep now.

He sighed. "Look, I am not trying to suppress you, my job is to help you girls ace the exams. I just wanted to show you how......rude it can be sometimes to interrupt or ambush......"

"It's rude to correct you? You're the teacher, you should know what you're teaching," She said defiantly.

"You are right" He nodded. "But, i studied Engineering and literature is not one of my strengths," He confessed.

"So why are you teaching the class?" She scolded.

"There is no one else willing or available to take it" He gave her only half of the truth leaving out the part where his motive was money.

She looked like she was trying to process that for a bit then out of the blue she smiled and said "Then you should have said so on your first day,"

They sha called a truce and he asked her to keep contributing in the class because she was keeping him in check. He told her that he has developed a genuine interest for literature and she seemed proud that she did that to him.

She then admitted she was a little bit disrespectful and show-offy, He said he deserved it.

And....that was how they started talking every day like this for about 5 minutes before or after prep class.

She was not a full student so she was always hanging around school grounds in the afternoons during regular classes.

One afternoon, he ran into her in the school garden and they talked non-stop for about 2 hours, he started meeting her there often in his free time.

He would ask her to recommend books and they would discuss the book in depth. Honestly, it started out as a harmless friendship and their discussions were strictly academic.

"What are you applying for?" He asked her one afternoon in the garden.

"Political science or Law" She said "I want to be the President of Nigeria someday," She added jokingly.

"That's bold, most of the girls I know just go for nursing or secretarial studies or home economics" He pulled her legs. His initial guess was writer or journalist.

"Well, I am not most girls," She said.

"Indeed!" He nodded and she laughed.

"I could never be a nurse, blood makes me queasy, and if I ever become a secretary I think I might be fired on the first day and Home economics?... Why is that even still a course on the tertiary level?" She said with irritation.

***

The day she showed him her first WAEC result he was like; "You should try for an A in math, you can apply for a Federal Government oversees scholarship if you net up to 6 As"

"Really?" Her eyes brightened up.

"Yes, that was how I got my scholarship," He said.

She got excited but then it faded almost immediately "I don't know, I am terrible at math and I'm not sure my parents would let me leave the Country"

He offered to tutor her with his free time (during school hours) and told her to discuss it with her father.

In between this 'special math' lessons, they started talking about their lives. He shared many stories about America, and she was captivated, she wanted to experience it too. She was super motivated to get the A.

He learned she was the first girl but her father's sixth child. Her Mother was the third and youngest wife. He too was from a polygamous home.

"My father has a lot of wives and concubines, I don't even know my Mothers spot, I just know she died during child birth and I was handed over to a senior wife to raise". He actually said this nonchalantly, but she felt deeply sorry for him, her beautiful slender hands covered his on the table, she squeezed them softly and said she was sorry about that.

He was very touched by her small kind gesture it warmed his heart immensely.

And my dear readers, that was how feelings started flying about.

Lydia's POV

So, the school was a FG girls boarding school but she was only attending the JAMB/WAEC evening prep classes so she was like a special day student. Special because she resumes by mid-morning then she would hang around the school premises to study on her own before joining the prep classes in the evenings then leave for home before sunset.

Usually they give her home cooked meals to bring for her 4 younger sisters who were boarders and at some point she started packing food for Deji too because one time he lamented about the horrible Corper lodge food which was actually the same food they were serving in the boarding house.

Her father was a wealthy farmer, her family owns one of the biggest farms in the state they never lacked food, in the house they cook like there is a wedding every day because there were a lot of people to feed. Her father was also taking care of his siblings and their children too.

Deji tried out different northern dishes for the first time with her, and he loved them all, he likes food too much, she enjoyed watching him eat.

One day it rained heavily during prep class and she had to wait longer before leaving for the house. He waited with her in the empty class because the other students were boarders and the hostels were close by so they were able to dash to their dormitory. Her house was a 30-minute walk from the school so she couldn't try it, the rain would have ruined her books.

On this particular day, she asked him more about his life in Lagos and why he was not yet married, he was 25 at the time. He told her about how he moved to Lagos after secondary school to work, he worked with a small construction company as a bookkeeper for some months.(Back then it was very easy to get an office Job, as long as you can read and write).

He had no plans of furthering his education he just wanted to make money, his brothers and sisters were making money already. However, an Engineer that worked there told him about the FG scholarship and he put him through on how to go about it.

"So are you going back there to work after your NYSC?" She asked and he laughed.

He said no, "I am too qualified for them now, I am going to join the biggest construction Company in Lagos" He said he wanted to be one of the people that will build the bridges and the skyscrapers, he was very passionate about it, and he was super confident he was going to get the job.

She admired him so much, he knew what he was doing with his life.

He walked her home after the rain, all the way to the major road where all she had to do was cross to the other side to get home and she did something that surprised even her before leaving.

"Make sure you revise the exercises before you go to bed," He said to her and she nodded.

"Goodnight" He smiled wistfully at her. They were standing way too close to each other, it was very dark and no one was outside, so she kissed him quickly on the cheek and crossed the road then rushed into their house.

A kiss on the cheek is not a big deal right? She thought to herself restlessly that night because it was weird. He froze when she did it and he kinda looked surprised.

What if he starts thinking I am wayward?

But that is how French or Spanish people greet each other right? He should know this.

She has seen some tourists in Yankari game reserve kissing each other on the cheeks

But, are you French?

As the night progressed sha, the embarrassment increased and she started regretting it.

why did you even do that? She scolded herself.

You like him...., she smiled foolishly and she covered her face with her palms.

"What are you laughing at? Idiot!" Her mum yelled at her from the bed. She quickly snapped out of it and faced her book.

***

The next day she was super nervous as she waited for him in an empty class for her 'special candidate' math lesson. He placed his books on the table quietly, she noticed he was not smiling as usual.

"Why did you do that yesterday?" he asked her, she couldn't tell if he was angry or just upset from the look on his face.

She froze and her heart sank. "Don't do that again," He said coolly as he started writing on the board. She wanted to die of embarrassment.

She wrote a note to him to apologize because she was too mortified to even address it or apologize to his face.

They stopped chatting about non-academic stuff during her special lessons and she couldn't look him in the eye for days.

A week after he probably realized that she was still struggling with the humiliation because the tension between them was growing so he paused the lesson midway and said.

"Lia (He calls her Lia), you are my student, we are not allowed to...have relations with.."

"But I am not a student" She said. She is not a student now, she does not wear the uniforms sef.

"You are MY student, these rules exist for a reason" He took her hand in his. "Look, I like you too..... a lot and I care so much about you"

"But I need you to stay focused, you don't know how much potential you have" He gazed deeply into her eyes. "I want you to succeed, I want to get that A"

She nodded.

Her heart melted when he said that, she knew he liked her too but hearing him affirm it for the first time with words was divine, it felt as though he put a seal of approval on her feelings and she fell harder for him without any restraint or fear.

***

"Did you tell your father about the foreign scholarship?" He asked her, another day.

"He said no," Her father said abroad is too far, he won't even let them go to the south and he said she has to graduate in her 'Husband's house'.

"Then you'll graduate my house" He said boldly.

"You are Yoruba and a Muslim" She laughed, "We are not even allowed to marry Hausa" Her father does not trust any other tribe.

"I can change his mind, trust me" He said confidently and she chuckled.

"I mean it" He lifted her chin and caressed it gently as he locked her gaze with his. "I love you, I would do anything to convince him trust me. As soon as I get the job I'll come see him and ask for your hand" He assured her.

She believed him, plus she is her father's favorite, if she can talk him into sending her to Uni before marriage, she should be able to do this too.

.

***

The week she wrote her final paper he was away in Lagos, he said he wanted to go follow up on the job he applied for with the 'Big' construction Company. She snuck away to his place the night before he left and he kissed her for the first time. That was her first kiss! She was glad she saved it for a good kisser like him and not some local champion.

"I thought you said I was your student," She said shyly when he released her.

"I don't think you will be needing any more prep classes" He said confidently. He had more confidence in her than she had in herself.

So the day he returned from Lagos she snuck away again to his place, she was done with the exams but no one was paying attention to her at home they sha knew she was writing her exams and she had to go to school every day to prepare they didn't know her exam timetable and they didn't care.

"How did it go?"

"Piece of cake" She smirked.

He held out his arms and swept her off her feet, literally.

He brought some gifts for her from Lagos, a dress, a hat, some jewelry and a lot of books.

He was supposed to be away for about two weeks but he cut his trip short because there was no update on the job application, they asked him to check back in 2 months so he had nothing else to do in Lagos "And I was missing you" he added.

She stayed with him all day and this was the first day they did it. He was sweet, gentle and kept asking if she was sure the whole time. It hurt but she was prepared for the pain, she had heard all about it from her married friends. Moreover, it wasn't that bad or perhaps it was just because she was with a man she loved with her whole being so she didn't really feel it.

***

POP day (NYSC Passing out Parade) came and she couldn't stop crying as she helped him pack his stuff that evening, he was going to take a night bus back to Lagos. He paused and took her in his arms again for the umpteenth time that evening.

"Why can't you just find a job here?" She said as fresh hot tears poured down her cheeks.

"They don't have a lot of construction companies here" He explained why he needed to join the big construction company in Lagos. He said they are the best and he wanted the work experience with this particular Company because he wants to start his own construction someday.

"I want our country to be like America" He said passionately "We have all the resources we need to develop this country right here, concrete, steel we just need more people like me to take the initiative" He smiled. "And someone like you to be our Civilian President.... after the military hands over" They were alone in the corpers lodge, others had left, but he whispered the last part before IBB fans would come and beat him. It was the year IBB ousted Buhari, he was still fresh in office and his supporters were like Pasuma fans of today.

"I'll be back for you Lia," He assured her. He drew up a plan for their future. Which includes him coming to visit her in Zaria every month if she ends up going to ABU. And how he was going to send her money to come over to Lagos for a visit after her Matriculation.

"Why are you even crying? I am coming back next month to see you," He said as he wiped her tears. "You think I can live without you?" He asked her.

He took off one of the brown beaded bracelets he wears all the time and held it up. "This is the most important keepsake to me in the world, they said it belonged to my mother" He placed it in her palm "I want you to keep it,"

She shook her head, she couldn't take that from him, it was too sacred.

He took her hand and put it on for her himself then smiled. "Keep it for me, you are the most important person to me in the world, you can give it back when I return....in month okay" He said then kissed her passionately again. He walked her home that evening and this time around, he even crossed the road with her and followed her to the entrance of their house.

"I'll soon be back," He said, she nodded and smiled because she believed him. She clutched the bracelet that night as she cried herself to sleep.

Well, that was the last time she saw Deji Bakare.

Expect 50-51 tomorrow, 52-53 on Sunday..... for real.

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