PERFECT FLAWS

Perplexing situations

I was awakened from my slumber by several knocks on my door. My entire body felt like lead and my eyelids were heavier than dead weights, or so they felt at that moment. I had a terribly restless night which was punctuated with nightmares I never want to remember. I had managed to catch some peaceful sleep towards the wee hours of the morning and that was about to be prematurely aborted.

Just great.

Exhaustion crawled up my limbs and I inwardly prayed mother would come back later but she was quite persistent. When I heard the door crank open, panic caused adrenaline to flood through my body and I was up in a flash.

“E kaaro Ma” I greeted, springing up from my bed like it stung.

“I’ve been knocking on you door, or didn't you hear me?” Mum's steely gaze held me on the spot.

“I...” All words disappeared from my vocabulary and so did every trace of drowsiness because I knew I was in trouble.

Oh no.

“You need to see what's happening on the news. It must have been over now because you didn't open your door on time.” She rolled her eyes.

My racing heart did not reduce in pace. What was possibly going on that would cause mum to wake me up so early on a weekend?

I apologized, pulling out my device only to find lots of notifications, with more causing incessant buzzing on my phone.

What caught my eyes first was the daily headlines on Legend newspapers from my Firebird browser:

WAEC Postponed indefinitely as fire gut WAEC HQ in Ghana

What a news to wake up to!

I headed to my class group chat and our form teacher confirmed it, urging us to continue studying until the new date was released.

I wasn't sure how I felt about this news.
It was a mixture of disappointment and excitement. By jove, I've been looking forward to getting out of this phase of my life and now I was being told I would be kept there indefinitely?

Disheartening, really.

But another part of me exhaled in relief because of one person.

Carol.

For obvious reasons, I was convinced all of nature was responding to her absence. Something just had to happen for WASSCE to be postponed, all in favour of Carol. Deep down, I earnestly prayed that she would be awake in time for the exams.

It had been a few days since I saw her at the hospital and I honestly didn't look forward to going back there.
What good would it do watching my friend in such a fragile state? She's literally a breath away from dying and it could be any second.

That thought alone rendered my mouth dry and my chest suddenly felt heavier. I knew I needed some fresh air, so I quickened my pace as I got my chores done. Before I finished up, mum had already gone for women's meeting in church so I freshened up and stepped out into the humid air for a walk.

They said walks were therapeutic, but I couldn't say the same that day. Every step felt heavy as I found myself strolling down the path Carol and I usually take on our way back from school. Nostalgia wasn't helping matters as well, replaying each memory of us in lucid clips without my consent.

I inhaled the dewy air from my nose and exhaled in slow burst, trying to calm myself.

Carol.

Every memory amplified the beating of my heart and I knew it was only a matter of time before I reach the climax of emotions surging through me in torrents.