《 Chapter 8 》

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Dedicated to thelocahxxwrita for making this beautiful book cover for me. I really appreciate you.

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"Sir, I would ask someone for the explanation.  You don't have to worry."

"Who would you ask? You don't have any friend in this class.  Or does she?" It was the girl who had first accused me earlier.
"Not at all." The class responded  her friends' voices the loudest  and I sighed heavily.
"So who would explain this note to you?" Mr Olu folded his arms.
I was speechless.  Time was going. I glanced around and saw my driver standing at the door watching me with a worried look on his face. He must have come when he didn't see me. I glanced at my watch again: 4:05m. Tears slipped out of my eyes.
"I would find someone,  sir. I really need to go. "
"Are you the only one with a driver here?  I only need ten minutes to explain. What's your problem? I could have gone somewhere in my explanation by now. Why are you delaying us?"
I felt like screaming at this teacher. Didn't he get it? I didn't even need his so-called explanation. I could read the notes and comprehend it without anyone explaining to me.

"I'll  explain it to her." I heard someone say and my eyes lighted up. I turned sharply to look at my saviour.   It was from Peter. He wasn't looking at me. He was looking at the board.  
I didn't wait for Mr Olu to reply before I dashed out of class with my driver tagging along. We got into the car and drove out. My driver drove at the highest speed and I felt we would have an accident.  Actually,  I preferred to be in an accident than face grandma's wrath.  We got home by 4:18 pm.  Two minutes late. 
I retired to my room waiting for my punishment but to my greatest surprise, nothing happened. Grandma only came into my room to ask how my day was. It was not until the next day that I discovered what was responsible for my miracle.
The wall clock was three minutes early so the housekeeper had told grandma I got home 4:15 pm.
I smiled to myself. Maybe God was intervening in my affairs.
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I couldn't get what Peter did for me out of my mind. It was still like a dream to me that Peter of all people — after how I treated him — would help me out of my situation.  I knew I needed to speak with him and explain things to him.   If not for anything but to express my gratitude.
As I sat on my chair staring at the back of his head, I drafted plans upon plans on how to approach him. I didn't know how he'd react and so I needed to be prepared.
I decided to speak to him during break hour but to my horror, he dashed out of the class with his friends. I stood up immediately and followed them closely.
They headed to the school's football pitch. Other boys were standing with a ball in their midst. It dawned on me then that they were having a match. Some girls had also come to cheer them up.
Amara was standing by Peter's side. She had always clung to him right from the very first day he got admitted to the school. Actually,  almost all the girls tried to get his attention but Amara was the highest.
She was also my biggest tormentor. She was the brain behind the countdown; the one that said I ran like Usain Bolt. It was she who questioned me in Mr Olu's class.
I had never paid attention to all her torments and that provoked her even more. She had been casting dark scowls at me ever since Peter started showing interest in me.
This was one thing I had always wanted to avoid.  I had read about stuff like this: where a girl gets jealous because the boy she liked was showing interest in another. I didn't want such hence one of the reasons I was so fierce with Peter. 
I wondered what he saw in me. There were thousands of girls who would gladly be his friend without him having to plead. I was just a girl with a weird character and oversized clothing.
I sat on a secluded chair watching the boys play. I had never watched a football match before so everything was a mystery to me. Why were they running after one another?  Why were they dribbling one another? I couldn't understand.
Many of the boys playing on the football field were my classmates, the same with the girls waving and twirling their waists. I wondered why they were cheering the boys up. I sat quietly as I watched Audu pass the ball to Peter. 
Peter was an athlete. He ran at jet speed but the guy at his back was tactical. I couldn't comprehend what he did with his leg but all I saw was he had the ball that was in Peter's possession.  I watched Peter's countenance fall.
It felt good to be somewhere other than my classroom or the library.  I had never gone out to the field ever since I got admitted; I had no reason to. There was no one to watch and no one to cheer up so why should I go?
As I sat, I watched my peers play and laugh in reckless abandon. I wondered how it felt to be free; to make friends and to live life. There was a big difference between being alive and living. I was alive but I wasn't living.
The match came to an abrupt end immediately the bell rang.  I watched as the opponent rejoiced with one another for they had won. It dawned on me then that my class was playing with our juniors  the SS2 students. No wonder my classmates looked so beaten.
It was an understatement to say that I enjoyed the match. I loved every bit of it.  Where I was fascinated most was the boys' jubilation when they scored a goal: The scorer of the goal ran very fast with his hands flying in the air and his teammates ran after him in a bid to catch up with him.
I loved the happiness that shone on the boys' face. It was priceless. I wished such happiness could reflect on my face too.
I stood up to meet Peter but Amara and her friends crowded him before I could, making me wonder what they were talking about.  After some minutes,  Peter and some of his friends began to walk away. I tagged along slowly. 
Surprisingly,  they weren't going to the class and I wondered why. The moment I saw the tag: Male's  Restroom, I understood.
"Peter!" I  called out and he turned around immediately. Surprise consumed his face for a moment but it didn't take long before it disappeared.
I watched his forehead furrow as he folded his arms; the muscles at his arms contracting. Sweat glistened on his forehead and beneath his lips.
"There's something I want to speak to you about but today is far spent so let's meet tomorrow; break time? I'd be glad if we do. Thanks!"
I turned on my heels and ran to the class without looking back. I didn't wait for him to reply; I was scared as I didn't know how he'd respond.
Two minutes after I came into my class, Peter walked in with his friends looking all freshened up. It was then I understood what a certain author meant when she said boys were made up of speed element. I took more than thirty minutes to freshen up.
Peter didn't look at me when he walked into the class. He didn't look at me when he walked to his seat either. This gave me the impression he didn't hear what I had said to him.

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