Teenage Tendency

Chapter Six

Our footsteps were quick, but we weren't looking back. We didn't think anyone followed us, but we didn't want anyone to catch a whiff of where we were going. The piggery was smelling very bad, and I wondered if the sow had eaten her piglets yet.

"Let's sit over there." Miriam said.

There was a log on the floor close to the shadows of the pig house, and I wondered how I hadn't noticed it before.

We sat on the log, and Josephine got out a stick of cigarettes. It was white and thin, just like in the movies, and while I stared at it, I felt like my mind would be at rest. I've heard actors in American movies talk about how smoking helped them cope with the stress of life.

It was a stress reliever, and I had a picture in mind. I would smoke, and my head would be clear. I would be at peace, and I would cross my legs and smoke with reckless abandon. It didn't happen that way.

Josephine lit the cigarette with a matchstick. She inhaled a mouthful and started coughing. The smell was sharp, and I felt like my eyes would start watering. She cleared her throat and spit mucus on the side before taking another drag.

She passed the stick to Amaka, who took two drags like a professional, but after she passed the stick to Miriam, she started coughing.

I chuckled and waited for the stick to get to me. I was the last person on the log, and as I took the cigarette, I crossed my legs and took one drag, but the smoke clogged my larynx and pharynx, and I started coughing.

My cough lasted longer than the others, and I was embarrassed.

The others were laughing while Lillian was slapping my back repeatedly.

I cleared my throat and spit out mucus from my throat. I took another drag and another in order to get used to it.

"Are you planning on finishing it?" Amaka asked.

I passed it back to Lillian, who took another drag before passing it to Miriam. I looked up at the night sky and started counting the stars.

What is wrong with me?

It's been a long week, and so many things have happened throughout that week. I was no longer turned on by whatever Cynthia had to offer, and she tried.

We did a threesome with a few of the girls, and I still wasn't feeling it. It made me feel like there are better things that need my attention, like Norah and Adanne's situation.

The rumor had spread very quickly among the senior students. I don't know if the juniors have heard it yet, but I wouldn't be surprised.

At this juncture, the school might get involved, and there would be an internal investigation into the rumor.

I hadn't realized how inactive I was until Josephine mentioned it. She was the one who threw the idea of smoking into the air. She got the cigarette from a senior 1 student who had a stash in her locker. It made me believe that our school was never as boring as I had thought.

"Your turn," Lillian said.

I took the cigarette and took a few drags before handing it back to her.

"Mrs. Sonia was on fire last night."

Miriam said, "I came multiple times."

You could tell she was grinning.

Amaka says, "There's more to that. Have you tried masturbating?"

Miriam took a drag and continued,
"I did, but I was... fumbling. The idea is to enjoy it."

Lillian interrupts her, "How many times have you kissed?"

Josephine replies, "Not into that shit. It disgusts me."

Amaka cuts in, "I can't kiss Odita, but she's always asking me to. She says it's a turn-on for her."

Miriam says, "How much?"

Amaka chuckles and replies, "Animalistic?"

They started laughing.

I didn't have to be Sherlock Holmes to know who they were referring to. I was the animal-the horny animal-that took from them without giving.

"Who's there?" A loud voice interrupted the laughter.

It was Mrs. Agusi. She had a booming voice that could never be mistaken. I stood up immediately and started running towards the agricultural practice farms.

I know my destination, but I also know that no one will join me.

The agricultural practice farms, at this time of the year, are usually devoid of green plants or any source of plant foods. You can call it a wasteland, and like all wasteland, they never hide anything. A shadow will always remain a shadow, a tree will remain a tree, and a moving person will always remain a moving person. Still, I ran until I got to the hole.

I looked back and was surprised to see no one behind me. I bent down and hid behind dry maize leaves.
In the distance, I could hear Mrs. Agusi scolding someone, but I couldn't make out what she was saying.

After a while, her voice started getting further and further away until I couldn't hear it any longer. I stood up, wiped the bottom of my dress, and left the area. I'll never smoke again.

The next day was Sunday. On Sundays, we are allowed to dress up-in decent clothes, of course. I wore my dorm uniform with a strap sandal and waited for Amaka.

"You are wearing that?" she asked.

"Is it blocking you?" I retorted.

She shrugged and said,
"Just saying. We wear that gown all the time. It's starting to look drab in my eyes."

"For you!" I shrugged.

We had different sections on Sunday. I'm Catholic, so I stay in the Catholic section. We have mass in the school cafeteria.

The students will push the tables against the wall and stack the benches on top of each other on the table. The space in the middle is big enough for the plastic chairs we will borrow from the school hall.

I still don't understand why we can't use the cafeteria benches. Someone mentioned that God likes beautiful things, and benches are ugly in that respect. I still don't understand what that has to do with anything.

The Anglican section is held in the school hall. The number of Anglicans in the school is so small that they don't require much of the plastic chairs. That might be probably why the Catholic students like taking their chairs.

The nondenominational section is held in the senior 3A classroom, and this lot is smaller than the Anglicans. All they do is pray in loud voices for an hour or two hours straight. I don't think I can handle prayers like that.

As we were passing their vicinity, I could hear the pastor's loud voice.

"Pray! Not praying takes you to hell!"

Somebody was running towards us, and I waited as the person waved at me. It was Adanne. She stopped and placed her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

"Can I talk to you?"

She didn't wait for me to answer. She took my hand and dragged me away from Amaka.

She took me into an empty classroom and said,
"Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"The rumor? Who told you I was pimped out?"

She took a deep breath and held it for a minute before releasing it. Her hands were either fiddling with the ends of her hair or they were in her mouth as she bit her already short neck.

"Were you?" I asked.

She paused her movement and looked at me.
"Does it matter? But I wasn't."

"Good. You don't have to fret over something you didn't do."

I put my hand on her shoulder, nodded at her, as if I were giving her emotional support, and left the classroom. I have to do something about this before it becomes a fungus.