Judy
Find a teacher but where were all the teachers? Was this school experiencing some scarcity? Why were some of the classrooms empty? I decided to ask three girls chatting outside their classrooms.
"Excuse me." I plastered a smile, "I'm looking for a teacher."
The fat one replied, "Hi. Which one?"
"Anyone?" I rasped and she gave me a weird look.
She shrugged, "Omo me I don't know. We're supposed to have technical drawing but I've not seen any teacher. Abi?"
"Yes o!" Her friends said in unison and they resumed their loud chatter.
I shuffled past the classes, someone was saying, "Hi Judy." but I didn't pause to respond.
I was jogging around my floor the second time when I thought I heard someone ask "How?"It sounded like a mature voice. But where was the voice coming from? I stopped and listened.
This time the person screamed, "My father!" I ran forward. It was from the class on my left. It was a female teacher, standing close to a wall. Her phone was close to her ear and seemed like it was in loudspeaker because all the girls in that class were listening attentively.
Her phone dropped from her hands sliding to the ground and she stared into thin air.
"Ma!" The girls around her screamed trying to shake out of her reverie. She shivered and when she managed to open her eyes it met mine.
I rushed to pick up her phone but the screen was already shattered.
The teacher rolled her eyes muttering, " it's happening . It's happening. It's happening."
Was she having some sort of seizure? Someone tried to sprinkle water on her.
She held the girl nearest to her and screamed, "The revolution is happening. We have to run."
"What's a revolution?" I asked and all eyes turned to me.
She cried rubbing her tummy, "It's some sort of manhunt. I heard about it and I was a fool. I thought it was some sort of fairytale and now I'm going to die. My baby is never going to get a chance to grow up."
"Wait!" A girl from the back screamed closing her novel, "are we going to die?"
The teacher ignored her,
"There are some terrorists who've somehow gotten into this school. They... they say they're like boko haram and they've started kidnapping girls, anyone who resists is killed."
"You mean....?" Someone was saying before we heard the screams and loud gunshot.
"They dun come!"
"We are going to die!"
"Jesus!Jesus!" We heard terrified shrieks over. Some girls ran past the class probably heading for the stairs.
A masked man stepped into the classroom holding a gun.
"If anyone moves we shoot!"
Who is the we?
"You!" He gestured to a cheeky girl in the back.
"Come!"
She nodded no. She hid behind her friend making no effort to stop the tears sliding down her cheeks.
"One... two...." He was counting but she refused to move an inch.
His eyes settled on the teacher .
"You!"he motioned her over with his gun.
She stood up slowly and walked towards him. He looked her up and down, nodding his head in affirmation.
"Lie down!" He ordered.
Someone from the back shouted, "No!"
The masked man fired randomly and it almost hit a girl.
"Do you think this is a beer parlor abi I resemble your papa? Lie down? All of you!" He ordered.
We obeyed at once.
He moved closer to the teacher.
"Are you married?" He eyed her wedding ring.
The teacher did not respond instead she silently sobbed.
"Abi no be you I dey talk to?" He thundered.
"All of ona dey crace! Fine fine girls Dey waste for here! Look at your teacher."
He pointed the gun to her head, "listen shebi you see this student for here, if you do anyhow i go shoot anyone wey I like you understand?"
She nodded.
The next thing happened in slow motion. There was a gun shot, but the teacher wasn't the one sprawled on the floor but the masked man. She closed her eye in horror but opened it once again to see a man standing next to her.
"Oh Rosa!" He said touching her shoulders.
"Are you okay?"
She sobbed in response. He held up his gun and said, " as long as I have this you will be safe."
"You're a fool. You could have escaped with that gun and survived." She smacked him.
He bent staring into her eyes, "But Rosa I'm a fool for you. Even if the stars fall from the sky and the sun says goodbye I will be loving you."
"Awwww! I go love oh!" Someone at the back echoed.
"Sooooo!" I drawled as everyone stared at me.
"Just how do we plan to leave here alive?"
*****
Last chapter coming. Anticipate🤩🤩
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Her silence
General FictionAt a very young age, Abi witnessed the death of her father. She watched him die in her arms. The traumatizing event that led to her loosing her voice. The doctor claimed that that was nothing wrong with her and she would soon regain her ability to t...
