His Pain, My Pain

My Pain: One

"Come on. Go talk to him" Amina nudges me when Atiq came passing by.
I just shrug.

Atiku Aliyu otherwise known as Atiq even by his parents, at least that was what I heard them call him. I don't know his age but I know everything else about him from his height to his favourite song.
He is in SS2, he is an art student aiming at being a Lawyer . He has only one older sibling, Mubarak, who graduated last year. He is 6'2 and he loves basketball. From what I know he has never dated any girl in our school. His father and mine are very close friends.

"If you don't approach him someone else will, believe me" She says throwing a gum in her mouth, she is always chewing gum.

"I have only seen that guy smile once and it was with Hakeem".
"Of course. Everyone laughs at Hakeem's jokes. I heard he is the class clown".

"Like you" I reply back.
"Stop trying to divert the topic of discussion here, why won't you just go for it?"

"Are you serious? I am in Js1 fah. He won't look at me twice".

"You've loved this guy since he came for your open day in primary four".
"Exactly my point. I'm sure he's going to start thinking that I love men too much for my age. Nope! I'm not confessing anything".

"Talking about Atiq again?" Salim asks. Salim and I have been friends since nursery school, we have been in the same class from the very beginning Meenah joined us in primary two.

"If you're done Kamal is here to pick us up" he says picking up my bag and walking away with it.

"Sexy Kamal?" Amina asks with a wink.
"Forget it, he's 12years older than you are". Salim says.

I walk away leaving her in class. I don't know what she does after school but I never ask.

Fortunately I caught up to Salim. As we approached the car I realised Atiq was actually walking towards us. "Is he..." I trail off imagining all sorts of things.
He stops in front of me and hands me a card "Give that to Uncle D (that's what he and his brother call my dad) he knows what it's for"

I nod and decided to take advantage of the moment.
"Oh so I don't have to give him a whole story before handing it to him?" I ask.

"Yeah. That's for Abba to construct".
"Okay. How was the test? I heard it did not go so well".

"Yeah. I just don't know how to make poems, the man says it should come from within" he says touching his chest.
"Yeah that's how they are constructed, at least that is what I heard, speeches, poems come from within".

"Anyway you should go, don't you have to go to Islamic school?"
"I do but I thought you go too".

"I'm a senior I can skip a few classes but you can't do that in primary four" he says before walks away.

It felt so demeaning hearing him say that. That guy takes me as a child when I have other plans for us, it's degrading.

"Let's go Shakespeare, look at the person trying to teach an ss2 student how to write poems. I doubt you have ever read one".

"Whatever" I walk away.

::

I enter my room and fall on my bed, exhausted.
"What are you doing?"

I raise my head and see Ammi standing over me with her hands crossed.

"I'm resting?"
"Get up! Eat and take your bath. You're going whether you like it or not" she walks to the door and turns back to look at me.

"Hurry! I'm dropping you off I have somewhere to go".
"What about Abdullahi? He's not going?" I ask.

"Your brother left ages ago! He left with Abbi, he's dropping him off".
When she brings up Abbi I remember the card Atiq gave me.

"Oh!" I delve into my bag and hand it to her "Atiq asked me to give that to him".

"Okay. Hurry!" she walks out.
If Abdullahi left early it must mean he is going to meet someone there, a girl.

::

"You're here?!" I asked surprised to see Amina arrive before I did.

"Yeah. Go to class before that man flogs you" she says rushing in even though as a senior she can't be flogged.

Amina has always been a bit too grown for her age, she's even a year younger than I am.  She is in SS3 in Islamic school, same class as Atiq and I'm so jealous. Her parents being Islamic Influencers take Islamic school really seriously, unlike most parents now for them Islamic school comes before School.

I walk away before I'm noticed standing late.

::

If it wasn't for circumstances I would not be here. The last thing I want is to be in the middle of Ammi and Salim's mum's conversation. They always talk about things I don't understand, at all and she always complains about me.

"Then you should see Suhaiba's room, it's a pigsty and she still sleeps in it, she lives like an animal"

"That's the same thing I go through with Salim every single day and I am sick am tired of it".
"But he is a boy, naturally alot of them are disorganised but I'm getting scared for her. All she does is eat, sleep, watch and repeat. At this stage who will want to marry someone who doesn't know how to cook, clean, or even look presentable. Whenever we are going out I'm the one who chooses what she wears and how she wears it, honestly I am tired".

I keep my head low when I see the disgusted look on Ammi's face.
"And immediately you start talking about it she hangs her head low like a hypocrite" I just stay quiet.

Salim peeps. "Mama I want to talk to Suhaiba about an assignment, I need help" he asks.
"Go" Ammi says with that kind of look that screams wait until we get home.
Atleast Salim saved me now.

I immediately jog out and we don't stop until we are outside.
"What if she asks you what the assignment is about?"

"Mama fears asking me about assignments because whenever I ask her for help I fail that assignment, she does not know but never wants to admit it so she avoids homework conversations" I say and we burst out laughing.

"I noticed the way Ammi was looking at you. You're fucked".

"I am. And she will never forget it" I joke but internally already feeling Abbi's belt on my ass.

"Wanna play ball?" he asks.
I beat him last week and since then he has been trying to win again.
"What if I beat you again?"

"I will accept defeat. Although I doubt that would happen, let me get it from Ya kamal's room" he runs in.

I need something to get my mind off that flogging anyway.

First chapter done!
Hope you enjoyed it!