A friend to remember

23: Sweet taste of vengeance.

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"What happened to your back, Denise?" Shettima glanced at her, and Denise stiffened. She didn't want to remember what happened today, and she was going back to that school tomorrow. To face the same people who tortured her.

"Her back?" Sheila turned to her. She noticed that Denise had been straining her back, "what happened to your back?" he asked again. "My teacher..." she hesitated. "He beat me," she finished.

"Beat you?! For what exactly?" Shettima's voice raised. He was angry, "what sort of nonsense is this? He beat you to the extent that your back is bleeding!" Shettima sneered. Sheila covered her mouth, "what? What the hell? Bleed?" Sheila turned to her. "Is that true?"

Denise felt ashamed, she was already feeling bad and now they were going to yell at her. She nodded, she had no choice but to nod.

"What happened? Why?" Sheila asked. "I didn't do anything, someone... someone stole money and I tried to know who it was, Mr Olayiwola didn't like the way I spoke so he canned me."

"So you are telling me that, the money I gave you in the morning was stolen? And you were canned because of it?" Oh, how he wished he could drive to the school right now and pounce on the principal. Denise was light-skinned, so the bruise was showing and it looked very bad.

"I didn't do anything but... my classmates. They don't..." she didn't know if to tell them that. "They don't what?" Sheil encouraged. "They think that Daniella lied online and they would not let me hear the end of it. I tried to ignore them all day but they would not leave me alone, one of them stole my money and they banned together to lie to the teacher." She explained, looking down.

Shettima nodded at himself, he needed to call the commissioner of police for Lagos state. Queens College was going to see him tomorrow.

"So how did you eat? Because I am sure you didn't eat anything from home?" Shettima looked at her through the mirror. "I didn't, I used the remaining money with me to carry a cab back to the island. I didn't know Mr Tunde was coming."

Shettima swallowed, it made him feel worse. How could people be this cruel? He wasn't going to allow this slide. He was going to make sure that all of the people who caused Denise misery paid.

"Oh darling..." Sheila pulled her into her arms, Denise flinched and Sheila apologized, quickly. Denise nodded and forced a smile. She was still in pain.

"The doctor said you need bedrest," Shettima informed, he glanced at Sheila and continued driving. Soon, Denise fell asleep.

"What are you going to do Shettima?" Sheila asked, suspiciously. She knew her husband and with the way he gripped the steering wheel, he would make hell rain on them.

"She is not going to that school again, and I don't care what she thinks, what the hell is wrong with them? How could they do that? If you see the bruise on her back? It was like he had a vendetta against her!" Shettima was fuming. He didn't think he could see straight. The anger he felt when he remembered what he saw on that chat.

"Please calm down Shettima, Denise likes the school, if you ask her not to go how would she feel?" Sheila pointed out.

"I don't care! Goddamit!" she screamed. "You were not the one that saw those marks? I am sure that she is not telling us everything that happened today, she held back! And how will you feel if she goes back to that sort of school? Where they are beating kids like their criminals! She didn't eat anything today, and they stole the money that I gave her."

Soon, they arrived at their house and Shettima stopped the car in front of their front door. Sheila tapped Denise, Who jolted awake, she looked around in panic, wondering where she was.