CONFLICTED

Chapter 43| Snake plant

Chapter 43: Snake plant

Annabelle

I stared at my reflection in Suzan's compact mirror. What I saw was indeed beautiful but I was never going to truly admit that to myself. It was what got me into this shit in the first place, I daresay. Perhaps if I was born ugly, I wouldn't have been a rape victim, committed homicide and been on the run ever since.

I dropped the encased mirror on my bunk bed just as Suzan walked in clad in towel.

"Seriously?" I snapped, "You just had to spend the whole day in the bathroom."

Suzan waved me off and took the towel off her body, leaving behind her pink panties and nothing else.

"It's first day of resumption girl, relax. Even if it wasn't, I would step into that class with my head up and Mister Austin won't do shit." was her response as she applied lotion on her dark skin.

"He's our English teacher. At least pretend you respect him, maybe?"

She gave me a side glance and slid on her skirt with her breasts jiggling on her chest. "Look who you're talking to. Have you met me?"

Fair enough.

Her phone started ringing on our bedside table and while she picked it up and accepted the call, I picked up the mirror again and applied some gloss to my lips.

"Alright, I'll try to be there before noon... Yeah, bye."

"Who's that?" I asked once she dropped the call.

"My fucking editor. He wants me to be there to review some last minute changes. I won't know for sure unless I get there."

Her school skirt was down again and I watched as she hurriedly got a jean miniskirt and armless shirt from her wardrobe.

"Are you sure you're fine with the changes?" I asked in concern, "I mean you don't have to feel pressured by the company."

"Oh, I'm absolutely fine with it. I have total trust in my editor. Besides, I wrote that shit when I was fourteen. It needs a lot of work."

Suzan took off her bonnet after getting dressed to let out her afro, and then crouched to select a pair of high tops from the shoe rack.

"When will you be back?"

She looked at me and smiled. "Missing me already?"

"Girl, shut up and tell me."

"You're so gonna miss me." she concluded and smirked hard, "Well, I had to check in at the Porter's just to keep our mom's nose off my trail. To complete the whole process before coming back, I might take up to two to three weeks in Lagos. Do me a favor and get my syllabus from my class. I'll handle the rest when I get back."

"Stay safe, okay?"

"Will do." she grabbed her backpack stuffed with her clothes before coming to give me a peck on the lips. "Dream about me."

"Goodluck." I said after her and she was out the door.

Silence greeted me after that as the others hadn't resumed with their things yet. Shame. Suzan and I had been happy to have the room to ourselves for at least another day. Looks like it was just me now.

Taking a deep breath, I closed the foldable mirror and threw it in my bag before zipping it up and leaving for school. I considered taking a shuttle on getting to the roadside but then decided against it. Might as well take a refreshing walk and enjoy the scenery without the obstruction of tinted mirror and lousy kids.