December Third✔

Chapter Two

My parents decided to move to Victoria Island since our lives had miraculously upgraded. I was the happiest child alive who could have whatever she wanted. Thoughts of going back to Italy surfaced but were pushed aside until I was to obtain my Master's degree.

I was enrolled into Corona International School, Victoria Island. I had a few white students in my class, during the weekend, Signorina Grazia, my Italian teacher from Venice, taught me Italian which would be of help to me when I grew older. Sometimes, during the long third term holidays, we flew to Italy and reconnected with some of my relatives over there.

What can I say, my family loved Italy!

When it was time for me to attend high school, I was enrolled into Lekki British International School. There, I made lots of friends and was quite popular in school. I wasn't the most intelligent but was fairly good with my academics. I could brag about being top five in a class of thirty. My parents were proud of me!

But I was a wild child!

I partied frequently, had a lot of boyfriends, drank alcohol and in my last year of highschool, smoked weed. I never viewed it as a wayward lifestyle. To me, it was the highlight of my teenage life and I wanted to make the most of it.

One night after my my valedictory service, my classmates and I teamed up to organize a party at Ade's house. Ade, the son of a commissioner of Lagos State, was a party freak as I was. He always had enough booze to go around. I dated him in Senior secondary school one (SSS1), but we broke up just for the fun of it. We were all so full of one another that we dated and broke up whenever we wanted. It was never a big deal.

This exact party was to mark the end of our lives in secondary school and beginning of adulthood. I had just turned eighteen then. We got high as usual, danced and partied hard, all night long. My parents had no idea of course, they never did. I always found a way to sneak out of the house and was never caught. I was so good at it, you could call me a pro.

"Let's get out of here for awhile." suggested Ade, we had just finished playing Truth or Dare.

"Where would we go?" I asked, checking my phone, I realized it was still a few minutes past midnight.

"Let's just drive around, yeah? It'd be fun!" He explained. 'Fun' was my favorite word so I agreed without much convincing.

"Let's just stay here. We don't need to roam around the streets of Lagos. Besides we're wasted so that's dangerous you know." Diana chipped in. She had a fairly good point, I found myself nodding.

"Meh! Don't be such a party pooper! I'm not so drunk. Haven't you heard that the best moments in life happen when you take risks?" Ade countered her words. The rest of us conceded and off we went.

"You guys, wait up! I'm coming with!" Diana called after us making most of the guys chuckle at her immediate change of decision.

We were six in number-Ade, Tayo, Chiamaka, Jayden, Diana and I-who rode in Ade's silver sedan. It was a convertible, very fast and awesome car, I found myself wishing my parents could get me one just like it. As Ade drove, we whistled and swayed our hands and heads to Wiz Khalifa's 'Young, wild and free'. It pretty much suited the setting we found ourselves in.

We hadn't driven for more than thirty minutes when Jayden and Tayo complained about their bladders being full and needed to be emptied. Ade complained that the brake had failed and couldn't pullover. Everyone switched to panic mode as beads of sweat cascaded from our foreheads. Our euphoria had suddenly disappeared and no one seemed high. Danger seemed to be the only thing occupying our minds.

"Oh God! Why did I decide to tag along?" Diana wailed. She was in a frenzy and had begun to cry.

"No matter what happens, I just wanna say I love you all. You made highschool awesome for me." Jayden added completely forgetting his full to the brim bladder. I was also overwhelmed with fear.

At this point, I realized there existed only a thin line between life and death.

All of a sudden, the earth seemed to freeze as we all watched Ade head towards the Railway Station at Yaba Oyingbo the same time a train was set to pass by. With so much regret, I confirmed Ade was indeed still drunk or high over his mind.

They say your life suddenly flashes before your eyes when you're about to die, I guess whoever stated that was right. My life flashed before my eyes and I realised how foolish and wild I had become. I had lived in the moment and forgotten about the future. I had lived carelessly!

Oh God, if only I could get one more chance, I would live differently!-I prayed.

Nevertheless, I had no idea if I got my wish as our car collided with the train which left me lost, broken and in darkness.