In the media above, is our very own RMD as Mr Richard Kalu😌 Just imagine he has a resemblance with Jidenna's faceclaim😂

~i am truly my father's daughter~

⊱𝙸𝙳𝙴𝚁𝙰𝙾𝙻𝚄𝚆𝙰 𝙽𝙾𝙴 𝙰𝙳𝙴𝙻𝙴𝙺𝙴⊰

  ~~•~~

The ride to school was quiet and all the while, my eyes were fixed outside the window watching children and teenagers in their various uniforms make their way to their schools. Some walked alone, some walked in groups, and some had their parents accompanying them.

Kiosks, small shops and supermarkets were opening up and getting ready for today's activities. Hawkers had begun their daily sales already.

The windows were wound up because the air conditioning unit in the car was on. So I couldn't really hear the sounds of the morning's hustle. Plus my Dad had tuned to his favourite radio station.

This morning's discussion centred on interracial marriages, the pros and cons and other things concerning those kind of marriages. A topic I expected Dad to avoid because it reminded him of his marriage.

And his late wife.

But he didn't change the station or turn the radio off. He just let it play, and we sat there, listening to every word they had to say.

One of the points raised was acceptance by the families. In my parents' case, Mum's family were very welcoming and accepted Dad wholeheartedly. But it wasn't the same for Dad's family. They didn't want the marriage at all. Not all of them, just most.

Their son taking a wife from a country that wasn't Nigeria or even Africa was something so unfathomable to them, so unbearable for them. They despised and were so very disgusted by the idea. To make matters worse, she was a famous top model. 

A model who walks the runway in a bikini, poses half-naked for cameras, and wears super revealing clothes. In summary, a woman who displays her nakedness to the world for a living, all in the name of modelling.

Double abomination.

They would rather die than see the abominable union exist. To see their son marry an indecent woman with obviously no home training. Because if she did, she wouldn't be out there, showing her private parts to the entire world under the guise of modelling. And they tried to break them. They really tried. They did everything within their power to ruin my parents' happiness. 

But like they say, true love conquers all. 

The absence of Lagos traffic this morning made the ride to school very smooth and soon, Dad made the turn into my school street.

Laurel International College wasn't far down. It was just 6 buildings down the street and easy for one to spot due to the large billboard set up right beside the school.

And seeing that billboard now made my heart beat faster. I rubbed my cold and clammy hands on my skirt, trying to give them a little warmth. The closer we got to school, the stronger the urge to unlock the door and jump out of the damn car.

I knew Dad's main focus would only be on why I slapped Jidenna and nothing else. But that's not the reason for my worry. Principal Johnson bringing up my grades was my main reason to worry myself to death, and there was a 99 percent chance of that happening. 

Who am I kidding? It was a sure 100 percent. That man was definitely going to bring it up, and if not him, my Dad was going to ask. It's all they ever talked about any time they were together.

God, please just let this day be over quickly.

The car stopped in front of the school gate, Dad waiting for the security guard to open the gates so he could drive in. My heart slammed in my chest as we drove into the vast school premises to an empty parking space.

Once parked, Dad turned off the car, picked up his phone and got down without wasting time. I knew better than to waste a second. I held on to my bag and got out of the car.

Assembly was still on. I could hear the voices of the students from the assembly hall as they recited the school's pledge.

I walked right behind Dad, greeting the teachers who exchanged pleasantries with him until we finally made it to the administrative block.

"Good Morning, Mr. Adeleke." Miss Cherish, the receptionist and a beautiful young woman in her mid-20s greeted her with a bright smile.

"Good Morning, Miss Cherish." My Dad responded equally with a smile. "I am here to see the principal."

Her eyes darted to me then back to Dad.

"The principal is addressing the students in the assembly hall. So, you will have to wait a bit, sir. He won't be long." She said to Dad.

"Okay. Thank you very much." 

"You're welcome, Sir." She beamed and then waved at me as Dad sat, which I responded to with a small smile. That was all we did, but there was a brief moment of communication between us.

Jidenna's parents hadn't arrived yet. And honestly, I didn't want them to. Even if they didn't come, that wouldn't stop Mr Johnson from doing whatever he wanted to.

The beat pattern of the drums signified that the assembly had ended. My heart picked up again and my stomach churned for the 100th time this morning today. At this rate, I might have a heart attack or puke my breakfast.

A few minutes later, the principal walked into the reception and exchanged pleasantries with my Dad.

"Good Morning, Sir." I greeted.

"Good morning." He simply replied without even sparing me a glance.

Pfft. Just that? 

What else do you expect him to say? After slapping someone in his office.

"Have a seat, sir." Mr Johnson said to my Dad once we entered his office.

"Thank you."

I sat down on the row of customised office seats by the window, but facing the side view of my Dad and Mr. Johnson.

I had gotten a bit calm surprisingly, but that didn't mean I wasn't still scared of what the outcome of today's meeting might be. Anything concerning me, school, and my Dad, has never ended well before.

"From your presence here, your daughter must have passed my message across to you." Mr Principal began and Dad nodded.

"So, we are awaiting the parents of the other student involved. Once they are here, we can proceed."

"That won't be a problem."

"In the meantime, I would like to discuss her academic performance with you."

At this rate, I could get a damn heart attack. Dread gripped me as I could see the drastic end of this summoning play out. 

"To be frank with you, she's doing very poorly. She doesn't seem to be improving at all. And I don't know how she'll be able to write her finals with this kind of performance."

Take deep breaths, Idera. This will all be over soon.

I gripped the sides of my school bag tightly and tried to take deep breaths, shutting out the voices of the Principal and my Dad. I didn't want the negative comments lurking around in my head to come to the surface.

It's not like I don't try. God knows I do. God knows I try so hard to improve. And then after studying my ass off, this is what I get. I'm still failing. Or is my best not even good enough? Am I just wasting my time?

"Mr. Principal." Dad's voice brought me back. "Is there any chance she can go back to start all over again? From Ss1 precisely."

Is this playing?

My eyes widened as my head snapped up at Dad. This had to be playing because there's no way he would want me to go back to SS1. From SS3 all the way down to SS1? That's terrible! Surely, I can't be that dumb for Dad to consider taking me back to SS1.

I've heard my Father say the most absurd things, but this had gone way beyond the scale of absurdity.

This is definitely playing.

"Because I've been considering that option for a long time now."

Unconsider it in Jesus Name.

I thought every parent's one prayer is to see their children succeed and progress. So why was my Dad doing the complete opposite? He wanted to see me demoted? He was even considering it? My mates will graduate and start a new phase of their lives in the university, and I would be stuck in fucking SS1.

God forbid bad thing in Jesus Name.

"That is a good suggestion, sir. But I don't think that would be necessary."

At all. It won't be.

"Oh, it will. You said it yourself. Her finals are at stake here."

"But sir, that doesn't mean she has to go back. We can organise special back-to-back tutorials for her. Maybe even assign a teacher to personally tutor her at home. That should push her."

I was nodding along to the principal's words as if that alone would convince Mr. Dayo Adeleke. But seeing that Mr. Johnson still had a little bit of faith in me made me feel better and gave me a sense of hope that I could still improve.

"Or maybe if her mates and juniors graduate before her, she'll be pushed to sit up."

The door opened, not giving me a second to process that statement, and two huge men in black suits walked in. With the stoic look plastered on their faces, they looked like men straight out of a James Bond movie.

One walked further into the office, while the other one stood by the door and held it open.

We all smelt him before we saw him. The cologne strongly announced his presence. That ridiculously expensive thing filled the air. It was almost choking, and enough to throw an asthmatic patient into an attack.

Mr. Richard Kalu walked into the office with that smug look and air of arrogance that was all so familiar. 

His stance, his ambience, everything about him commanded authority. He reeked of power, and the most obvious one, wealth. 

Who wouldn't be intimidated?

Jidenna definitely didn't take his father's looks or complexion. And he certainly wasn't as intimidating as his Father. Maybe to others, but not me. Never to me.

"Welcome, sir." Mr. Johnson had already gotten up to welcome him as he walked in. The bodyguards pulled out seats for him and his son and went back to their positions.

Jidenna was just Jidenna. Customised uniform, a different cologne, an expensive wristwatch, and of course, his regular stupid self.

"Good Morning, Mr. Kalu." Mr Johnson greeted once he had settled down.

"Chief, please." The man smiled. A smile that was more of a smirk. An arrogant one at that.

"I just got a chieftaincy title yesterday."

Wow.

I had no words for this. Not a single comment.

"Okay then. Chief Kalu. Congratulations, sir."

He smiled, pride oozing off him and it was clear that the apple doesn't fall far from the damn tree. A one-on-one encounter is something I've never had with Jidenna's father. And now that I have for just these few minutes, I never want to experience it again. 

It was just like watching an older and worse version of Jidenna. 

"So why am I here? My son, Jidenna, told me you would like to see me in school today."

"Yes, Mr—"

The man raised a hand casually to stop him. 

"Chief."

I noticed the slight shock on Mr Johnson's face, but the man could only nod and correct himself. 

"You and Mr. Adeleke here were summoned to address an issue of misconduct between your wards."

Chief Kalu gave a nod.

"Yesterday to be precise. I called both of them to my office to address an issue, which resulted in the girl here slapping Jidenna."

Jidenna's Dad abruptly sat up, startling only me and Mr Johnson. Not Jidenna, surprisingly not my Dad, and not those bodyguards that aren't even supposed to be called humans. 

"She slapped my son?" He thundered. I could see the strain of his vein from his forehead which looked like it would snap if he didn't stop being a drama queen and calm the fuck down.

For fucks sake, I slapped him. Not break something on his head.

"And will you let them explain themselves before you start defending your son?" Dad retorted and didn't bother to hide his annoyance.

Glad to see we're on the same boat here pops.

Jidenna's Father tore his angry eyes away from Dad and sat back into the chair still fuming.

"Go on then, Jidenna. What do you have to say?"

Jidenna Kalu was about to begin his bout of lies, and Idera Adeleke was fully prepared for him.

"I was seated on my table with my friends, Ethan and Hugo during lunch and we talked as usual."

True.

"Then Ethan mentioned that Oma, a classmate, had told him something bad about me. Which I definitely know is to dispute our friendship."

God of mercy.

I noticed the pause and realized I had said that out loud. I muttered a quick sorry, and he continued.

"I was angry that she could come up with something as vile as that, so I went over to her table to confront her. And that was when Idera, from nowhere, decided to interfere in my business. I told her to back off, but she didn't want to."

Total bullshit.

My hand went up.

"Yes, Idera. Do you have something to say?"

"My own side of the story. The actual version. The truth." 

I could feel Jidenna and his father's despiteful gazes on me, but I didn't give two fucks. Father and son can go to hell.

"Are you done, Jidenna?" Mr Johnson asked.

He wanted to say more, to spill more lies and paint me as the bad guy. But that wasn't happening today. Not today satan. 

A hesitant Jidenna finally replied. "Yes."

"Okay. Go on, Idera."

With all pleasure.

"I was eating on my table peacefully with my friends, when all of a sudden, Jidenna stormed over to our table and began yelling at Oma. He yelled without even being cautious that his saliva might be contaminating everyone's food on that table. I was irritated. Very irritated. So I called him out and told him to stop yelling or take it elsewhere. And that was when he grabbed my arm and even went as far as threatening me."

"I didn't threaten you."

I whipped my head in his direction.

"Yes, you did." I raised my right arm and gestured to it with my other hand. "You grabbed my arm, and almost even hurt me."

"Okay. That's enough. This bickering is exactly what led to you hitting him."

"So why exactly did she slap him?" Senior asshole asked.

"He called me dumb," I replied almost immediately.

"Is she?" He asked Mr Johnson without even sparing me a glance. I couldn't help but raise a brow at his question. Is that seriously his next move?

"Chief, we don—"

"Is the girl dumb?"

"No sir. She's just experiencing a little academic problem which is due to personal issues. But Chief, we don't encourage students to prey on others' weaknesses, so what Jidenna did is very wrong."

"So Jidenna is right. She is dumb." 

Something went off in my head immediately.

Those words? From that man's mouth?

Deep breaths Idera.

I tore my eyes away from the man and fixed them on his son only to see a ghost smile playing on Jidenna's lips. It shot through me, and a faint shade of red was beginning to appear at the corners of my vision.

This had turned into a fucking amusement show that made him smile??

"Excuse me chief, or whatever you call yourself.  Our children both faulted in various ways. But what I will not have is you insulting my daughter. What your son did was very wrong, and the only thing you can do is to defend him?" I heard Dad's voice, but my eyes were fixed on Jidenna.

I made up my mind there and then, that after our fathers had left school, I was going to give the motherfucker more than a piece of my mind.

Slap him again if need be. Consequences be damned.

"Do you know who I am?" That was Chief Kalu ready to flaunt his rubbish status and wealth right in our faces.

"I know very well who you are, and if you think you can use that to intimidate me like you do to others, then you are very wrong." 

My anger slowly dissipated as soon as I heard that. My Dad was confronting a Senior asshole, and he was doing it with a confidence I had never seen before in my life.

"As far as I am concerned Mr. Principal, my daughter here did nothing wrong. I'm very sure your son would have done worse if those words were said to him."

Too stunned to speak, too stunned to even think because my father was defending me! Mr. Dayo Adeleke was standing up for me, his only daughter!

"That's where you are wrong." Mr Kalu adjusted himself on the chair so he could face Dad. "My son isn't...how did he put it?... experiencing little academic problems like your daughter."

Then I saw it. It was clear, and it scared me.

"Daddy." I quickly called, causing him to glance in my direction. What surprised me was how fast his features softened. Like I just imagined what I saw.

He took in a deep breath and faced Mr Johnson.

"If there is nothing else to discuss, I would like to take my leave Mr. Principal." He said and gestured for me to get up as he did.

"Mr Adeleke, what about what we discussed —"

"I will send you a text concerning that Mr. Principal." 

My father walked out of the office, and I followed right behind him, my mind replaying the last few seconds in that office.

I'm sure I didn't imagine what I saw. I didn't imagine the hell that was almost unleashed right there. Whatever that was, I had never seen it before. I can't even begin to think of what would have happened if I hadn't called out to him.

We left the administrative block and I was about to take the turn into senior's block, but Dad called me back. 

"Take care of yourself. Ini will pick you up from school." He said, and I nodded as he walked away.

"Idera." I turned back to see Zina, Lora, Dami and Oma approaching me. 

"What happened? Dami asked, but Oma butted in before I could reply Dami.

"Give us gist Biko."  She flipped her long black braids off her shoulder. I'm pretty sure Lora's announcement on Friday was Bob Marley braids with no form of extensions.

"Why was your Dad looking that angry?" Lora asked.

The girls were all eager to know how things went down in the Principal's office, and I was more than eager to tell them. Especially about Jidenna's Dad.

"It's Jidenna and his Dad. Now I know where he got that dirty attitude from. If you think Jidenna is so proud, you should meet his Dad. He's a hundred times worse. A senior asshole sef."

My mind went back to how the man bragged about the chieftaincy title he just got. It was exactly the way Jidenna subtly, but effectively rubbed it in everyone's faces when he was appointed as the sports prefect. Only God knows how terrible Umar felt that day.

"Mad oh!" Oma exclaimed with laughter in her tone, which caused Dami to snap.

"You sef shut up! Mad oh, mad oh since morning. Let somebody hear word abeg." She glared at Oma, then drew out a long hiss.

Oma didn't seem too offended by her outburst and even had a surprised but amused look on. "What is your issue with me this morning,  Damilare?" 

That only seemed to irk Dami more, and she was about to blow up again, but Zina intervened.

"You two should calm down." She stood in between the two girls, slightly pushing them apart. 

"Did Mr Johnson give you guys any punishment?" Lora asked again.

"No. And thank God for that. Technically, I didn't do anything wrong, so why would I be punished?"

"So your Dad didn't scold you for slapping Jidenna?"

"Omo, e shock me oh. You need to see the way he spoke back to Jidenna's Dad." That was a moment I wish I had gotten on video.

Oma opened her mouth to speak.

"If you say mad oh one more time," Dami warned through clenched teeth, effectively halting her. Zina called her name as if pleading with her not to do anything to provoke Dami further.

Oma got the memo and raised her hands in surrender. "Sorry boss." I didn't miss the way the corners of her mouth quirked up. 

This babe and trouble.

"Let's go to class girls," Lora said to us, to avert any brewing crisis. The rest of our discussion could continue at Oma's place.

───────•••───────

How are we all doing? 🙃

So we meet Mr Richard Kalu once again. We all now know the source of Jidenna's assholery.🙂 Like father, like son.

This is to thank you all for 2k+ reads🥺🤧🤧❤️
You all are the real MVP's❤️🍾

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