☆PRISCILLA ELZER SOUTH☆

"Didn't you guys hear the bell for assembly?" Mr Allen yelled.

Adamant classmates of mine who had no intentions of leaving after what just happened, began leaving one by one with sullen looks and inaudible mutters.

I pulled away the brass knuckles from my hand and glared one last time at Rosanne who was wailing and making irritating sounds before trying to walk past Austin and the two teachers who were now right in front of me.

Austin pulled me back with one hand and I flung his hand away as though it was hot lead.

"Take Rosanne to the school clinic." Miss Ndidi whispered, looking at me with that kind of look I so much despised.

Austin swept Rosanne off her feet like a knight in shining armor, making me roll my eyes so hard. He was nothing but a pathetic loser.

Clearing his throat, Mr Allen took an intimidating step towards me. It had no effect as I stared right back at him. Suddenly, I felt his hand tight on my right wrist. His fingers were digging into my skin, literally.

I drew in a sharp breathe, flinging his hand away as I barked at him venomously. "Hands off!"

"Mr Allen," Mrs Ndidi gasped. "She's a pyscho but you shouldn't be doing this!"

I gave her a disdainful look before letting my eyes dart to the drops of dried blood, all over the marbled floor.

What a miserable stain.

"Pack your things and head to the Principal's office right now!"

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Principal Roban was the last person I wanted to lay eyes on, today. The mere sight of her could send my day from zero to minus one.

She was that horrible and terrific.

"You can excuse us," Principal Roban told the teachers that escorted me here, with a little smile curling its way up her black, plum lips.

I stared at the huge picture frame behind her table. It was taken exactly five years ago, when she was introduced as the new principal after the death of Mrs Rivers.

Intel high school never remained the same after that day. She had brought all manner of trash into the system. And if you wanted to find the word corruption, she was the human form of it.

She oozed it.

"Priscilla,"

I gave one last look at the picture frame of the smiling woman on pink suite. She had a deceiving smile, always glued to her ever cheerful face.

"I need to sit." I said dryly, helping myself with one of the chairs directly opposite hers.

She scoffed. "We agreed to respect ourselves and stay out of trouble, last term. How could you start this new term with such level of craziness?!"

Her voice was scolding. It was obvious, that she hated seeing me too.

It was a mutual feeling.

"You know what you have to do so get it done, lady." I snapped, trapped between anger and frustration.

"Lady?!" Principal Roban cried in shock and acrimony, as she struck her fist on her table.

I didn't flinch.

Nothing but the truth was all I said. She was too young to be appointed a Principal but she got it because of her dirty connections. Nobody may know, but it was well known to me that she slept around with parents to find favour.

What exact right did she have to act all high and mighty?

"If you're doing this because of my father, then I'd advise you to quit wasting your time. Hand me the suspension letter and we'll both have our peace." I rudely stated.

Father had paid her hugely to have me become a prefect. He thought it would add more colour to his pride if his friends whose kids also attends Intel High, got to know that his only begotten, sweet daughter was not just an all distinction student, but the head girl.

He either failed to remember that everyone knew me for who I was. Or he didn't give a shit, at all.

I despised the very thought of being a prefect. But of course, my hands were tied in a situation like this.

"You really are something else! Go pray to whatever God you serve that Rosanne's parents will choose to settle with your parents, or you'll be a dead meat. The head girl position will no longer get to be yours, Priscilla. And you know what your father will do to you, right?"

Principal Roban stretched her lips into the widest smile I've ever seen. I've always known to her to be anything but the good she poised herself to be. This smile- this hellish, manipulative smile on her face made me see her in a whole different dimension.

She was a bitch. No apologies for that.

I stared down at my arms hidden under the long sleeves. Swallowing the hard lump that had formed over the small talks, down my throat; my jaw clenched and my chest constricted with it all.

Acrimony, fury, name it.

"By chance," I looked up to hold her gaze. "Is my father- Mr Christian South among the list of men you fuck in Intel high?"

Her demeanor changed within a blink of an eye as she stared daggers at me, tongue tied.

"What?" I raised a brow. "Was I too vile with my words? I guess I have to rephrase it too."

I drew my seat closer, staring at her devilish but perfect looking face.

"Are you also having se-"

"Priscilla!" Principal Roban screamed.

"Get out of my office right now." She said, her chest heaving up and down, as though she had just participated in a hundred or more meter race.

"Don't deny me that answer, Lady." I stood up and strode towards the door. "I will be waiting for it, alongside my suspension letter in the reception office."

Then I walked out, slamming the door so hard, I thought the hinges would snap.

The pain in my chest doubled. I couldn't even fucking breathe properly, knowing that my father was cheating on my mother.

With who again?

Principal Roban of all women?!

I let out a deep sigh, flipping my hair harshly to the back as I got to the conclusion- that they both deserved themselves.

{}{}{}{}{}{}

The television was on in the reception office. The air could be said to be warm and welcoming to other persons. But it was just a step less suffocating than Principal Roban's office.

"The Principal asked me to wait here." I muttered as I passed the receptionist who gave me the stink eye.

I could bet my life that she already heard what transpired few hours ago in my class.

The speed at which rumors spread round in Intel High needs to be studied. Ridiculous, how bad news did spread faster than the good ones. And people were always ready to chip in one or two moronic, insensitive words about whatever news their ears caught wind of, without caring to verify if it was true or not.

I settled down on the sofa, dropping my school bag beside me as I crossed my legs. Her eyes were boring holes at me, but I did a good job of totally ignoring her existence as I stared at the flat TV screen and watched the news that was being broadcasted at that hour.

"Cilla."

My fist clenched. That voice belonged to Austin and he was the least on my scale of preference of people I wanted to see right now.

For fucks sake he should be ashamed of himself. How could he still want to face me right now after that shit he did?

My eyes remained glued on the television even though I was watching nothing. It was more like a damn movement of figures.

"Let's get you changed." A pair of firm large hands rested on my shoulders and there was his ever familiar form right before me, obstructing my view.

Shrugging his hands off me, I had no choice than to acknowledge his presence by staring right into his eyes.

Those stupid meek eyes that first drew me to him exactly four years ago when he was bullied and tossed around like trash because the ring leader of some stupid boy group got something crazy on him.

He was that helpless boy.

I made sure every single one of those boys who made his life miserable apologized to him on their knees. And not only did that bring us closer, but many dreaded me.

His eyes moved to my shirt and impulsively I looked down too to know what he was staring at.

Definitely not my boobs.

"So?" I noticed the stain on my shirt. Dried blood had given it a different look.

"Let's talk outside." Austin pleaded, grabbing my wrist.

"I'm sure you both haven't forgotten that this is a reception office. And what happened to your shirt, Miss South?"

Was that the reason she had been staring at me since?! She never asked until now because she knew she would never get anything out from me. And Austin was prone to talk more than he should.

I stood up from the sofa as though it was hot lead and grabbed Austin's right arm.

"Let's get out of here."

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

The very moment we exited the reception office, I slipped my hand slowly from his arm and reduced the space at which I walked as I let Austin lead the way.

I was filled with rage within me. More than I was at him, I was angry at myself for following him all the way to the dance hall because of some bullshit he would certainly spill out.

The dance hall was empty. But I could visualize the dance club members dancing wildly, showing off moves and goofing off just like they did every friday noon and evening.

But today was Tuesday.

"Here," I stared with a raised brow at Austin who handed me his jacket.

He needed that shit more than I did.

"Don't act stupid and put that back on, Austin. You owe me more explanations than an act of good deed." I spat out.

He sighed, saying nothing as he did exactly as I said.

"Acting stupid was what you did back then in class. Being stupid is exactly what you're doing right now, Cilla. And I don't care which of them you want to stick to but you should have known when to stop."

I stopped breathing for the next ten seconds as I stared at him as though he was an alien.

"You should have listened to me back then when I asked you not to hurt her. But you went all out to... to bruise her with that brace knuckles. What if she died?!" He continued, his voice rasing an octave with each word that left his mouth.

I forced a dry laugh out of my sealed lips. This was too mortifying to be true.

"Yeah..."I smiled. "How could I have forgotten so soon that I'm the reason prince charming's little bitch is in the school clinic?"

"She was taken to the hospital, Cilla. Get a damn hold of yourself for goodness sake!" He yelled angrily.

I've never seen him this mad.

Never!

Not when I broke his phone because he lied to me. Not even when I broke his family's generational flower vase. But here he was raising his voice at me because of a stupid crush on an imbecile who wouldn't accept him for who he is, should she find out his most guarded secret.

I swallowed the painful lump that formed at the back of my throat as I took a step towards him, digging my teeth into my bottom lip.

"You never cared to ask if I was fine. You told your parents I came around, didn't you? You have no idea what fire I passed through last night because you couldn't even cover up for a friend. Not just a random friend, Austin, but your best friend!" I screamed the last part so hard, I thought I'd lose my voice.

His eyes moved to my covered arms. He couldn't dare unfold the sleeves of my shirt to have a look.

"And why should I cover up for you? You broke the flower vase. Just how much more of your mess should I keep cleaning up?!"

The echo of his voice maddened me. I wanted to pull my hair off and shove it into his mouth.

"I'm so not doing this fucking blame game with you. You think it's all my fault? Fine. Well, you should rather run along to the hospital Rosanne is admitted to if this is the reason you called me out of the reception office." I stated.

"You know, Priscilla, it's not too late to accept that you aren't sane and ask your parents for a therapist." Austin said, staring at me with that fucked look on his face.

I so wanted to gouge his eyes out.

Bitterness filled my being and as much as I wanted to cry like a regular teenager that I just had a major fight with my best friend, I couldn't.

"You're such a two faced bitch, you know. White, black... you're neither an angel nor a devil. And that's more pahetic." I raged.

He never asked why I did that to Rosanne. He never gave me a benefit of doubt that no matter what everyone else said, I wasn't what they termed me to be.

"I wanted to ask her out by the end of this week. But you just had to ruin all my plans because you're the most unsupporting person I've ever met."

My lips stretched into a wide smile. It was disgusting that a moment like this would ever occur but I masked up the hurt he had caused to me.

"Don't regret your words, Austin."

I turned my back against him and walked towards the door. Then I paused.

There was no damn way his day would go on just the same after worsening my mood and ruining mine.

I sighed, watching him briefly before parting my lips.

"Rosanne doesn't truly know who you are, does she?"

A wicked laughter erupted out of my mouth as I watched in utter contentment, the sudden grotesque switch in his facial expression.

.
.
Just what I wanted!

Author's note:

Omo, this two best friends just had to fight...☹😒😤

And today was definitely a tough one for poor Priscilla.😩😭

What are your thoughts on:

Principal Roban?

Austin Ndu?

And this chapter as a whole??

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