Munachi Odumba

Did my dormitory get smaller? Or was it just my eyes?

SS2's dorms were usually the second biggest dorms in every hostel, because comes class comes grace.

And grace comes responsibilities—juniors.

But yet this dorm felt smaller as I stepped in.

Jasmine instantly shrieked when our eyes met, she jumped off our bunk and ran towards me then wrapped her hands around my waist and I was engulfed in her perfume.

She smelt like coconut milk and vanilla but her skin always smelt like cocoa butter dipped in goat milk, I think she used the best body cream to ever exist...

I dropped my luggage box and my provision bag to give her the tightest hug I could mutter, squeezing her until she started shrieking.

"Why did you carry these now? " Jasmine pulled away from me and stared at my belongings with a condescending gaze directed at... me?

"What do you mean?"

"Juniors! They're a lot of juniors down there, why didn't you select at least two to help you?"

Of course, Senior Jasmine in action. Senior Senior.

I smiled weakly at her. 

"I still have two more bags down there and I'm still not calling any junior to assist me. " the disappointment in my voice was heavy.

I did not dislike Jasmine but Senior Jasmine had a way of annoying me, especially as she was already so tall and intimidating to some girls in our grade, so I hissed softly then picked up my bags and moved towards my locker.

"You don't have sense!" She exclaimed at me and followed me while speaking, "Doing good senior. When we were in their stage was there any good senior? In 8th grade my first day of resumption 3rd term two SS3 students made me drag both of their gigantic provision Ghana must go—at the same time up to their room! One girl self almost sent me to help her little sister in SS2 carry her box upstairs can you imagine and I did all these while dwindling my fingers because I knew! I knew the sun shall soon shine!

Those horrible girls my brother dated had it out for me. So this is our chance! " She practically screamed at the ending, took a deep breath then continued.

"Take it! Punish them, the way we were punished! "

Oh Senior Jasmine was unbearable!

I groaned and yawned dramatically at her hoping the nonverbal communication was clear enough before I started unloading my things into my personal locker, right next to my wardrobe.

"Munachi, you're an ode(Fool) I'm going to do your work for you. " She walked out the door in a mini run.

I rolled my eyes and focused back on my arranging.

Jasmine was always the first person to arrive in our dorm,

She didn't even live in this state.

But her family booked hotels nearby two days before resumption day and that made things easier for her...

It was a family tradition started because of George—her older brother.

When he was in SS2 second term, he resumed just a school day late by resuming on Tuesday when everyone came back Sunday, and so he had to copy a lot of notes the next day, which interfered with him copying that day's note and it continued like that up until mid term when he could finally catch up and update his notes..

His first term result was lower than usual for George, and copying all that note affected his sleeping schedule and gave him stress which made two pimples appear on his face—which would've been irrelevant if everyone didn't already know him as 'smooth face George ' so because of that stress and his academics he swore to always be in school earlier than most people.

Which earned him his punctuality post.

It was an unfortunate family tradition that Jasmine and her parents—mostly just her mom had to uphold.

••

Thirty minutes later, I was done with my locker, Jasmine kept true to her words:

Twenty five minutes ago, she'd walked in with two juniors dragging my bags while she picked at her nails.

She towered over them in her singlet and black tights.

She was 19 and the oldest among us three,

She just turned 19 last week and now she was age mates with Arthur, well until December.

So she had this mature air about her that fit perfectly with her tall legs and long oval face.

"Babe, where's Silvana now?" Jasmine asked and swung her left leg over her bed, dangling her fair complexioned leg besides me.

"I don't know. " I muttered to her.

"Okay. So I have gist! And I can't wait for Silvana anymore!" She jumped down and sat beside me.

I laughed at her.

"Go on, I'm listening. "

"Ehhn, see your face. It's only gist that you care about. "

"Shut up and talk ee . "

"Okay, so you know Diana. " I nodded.

Diana, was a new student who transferred this term.

She was in blue house and although she didn't have a 'Maka' in her name, she was always seen with Chiamaka and her friends.

Which was weird because Chiamaka was always picky with the people she was seen with-But then again Diana was a senator's child and he was aspiring for governorship role in his state..

Diana was also the pure definition of black beauty, melanin popping and everything.

"You remember when she came, that first week eh, she was so modest and was a good girl. I'm sure she wasn't acting it out, she was really modest and she was very nice to everyone and-"

She wasn't going anywhere with this, I just had to interrupt her. "-Jasmine. Straight to the point. "

She hissed.

"Yeah. So um, then later Chiamaka them, were now always around her 24...7." I interrupted her again with a deep sigh

Why's she telling me things I already know?

"Okay fine! Well when I came to school, after I've packed and everything, I went over to Blue house hostel. My brother sent me to do one stupid work for him- Give one girl in Ss3 one stupid letter like tha-"

"-Jasmine... " A new voice called which made us both freeze and turn towards the door.

A girl in yellow house wear was standing outside the door and from the way she kept tapping her feet on the floor, she looked impatient.

"Me?" Jasmine pointed at her self, the girl nodded.

She didn't look like someone I knew.

Jasmine sighed heavily and stood up before walking over to meet her.

I stared round the dorm, few students were in here.

Most were busy arranging their lockers, some were eating from their cereal bowls and Belema was surprisingly on her bed with a text book.

Surprisingly.

Belema of all people? Reading a book?

Two minutes later Jasmine walked back to my bed.

"School mother probs. " She explained and I nodded.

"Where was I? "

"Letter like that, your brother, something something something. Blue house."

"Ehen! " She exclaimed while clapping her hands.

"You know Blue house hostel isn't like ours. SS2's and SS3's are sharing one floor that's up up. " I nodded.

"And SS3's at the end. " I groaned and nodded.

"I was about to pass and then I heard Diana's voice, she was wailing, as in seriously shouting oh. "

"Why? "

"She thought she was pregnant! " My eyes widened at that statement.

"I continued walking so they wouldn't suspect me, but I came back and hid. She was telling Chiamaka in a hushed voice now that, she was pregnant for Kenelum."

Kenelum.

"She'll abort now. " I blabbered out and realized I was now desensitized to unwanted pregnancies thanks to this school and stories I'd heard..

"That's what Chiamaka was telling her to do, that dangerous thing they use clothes hanger to do, that thing is horrible and I can't imagine how a girl would spread her legs for her fellow student to put metal hanger in her." Jasmine's nose scrunched up in disgust as she hissed.

"Don't they use that pills stuff to abort instead? "

"Yes, but that one is like different, I think it's even prevention self, to prevent pregnancy not abort. 24 hours stuff or something like that, I don't even know the purpose.. what do I even know about premarital sex? But it's like her 'pregnancy' was discovered late. " I arched my eyebrow at her when she air quoted the word 'pregnancy'

"You'll understand soon. Well, Diana was crying and yelling about how it's all Chiamaka's fault for setting her up with Kenelum and you know, Kenelum's not that ugly-"

"-Eh!?? " I yelled out my interruption.

She laughed.

"Seriously, he's not. Forget this hating stuff, you guys have going on. He's tall and he has that Anambra swag, almost looks like Tekno self-"

"-Moving on!!! " I yelled and air gagged, shutting her up.

She bent over to laugh and I smiled at her tiny cute voice.

"Chiamaka now vexed and told her to drop that holy girl act. More insults were thrown, voices increased and then Diana yelled something funny..."

"Funny? " I asked, Jasmine nodded and then. started laughing hysterically.

"She shouted: 'It's your fault! You told me to touch him down there! You told me that.. '" Jasmine almost rolled on the floor with the force she used in laughing, so my eyebrows jerked up.

Because... What's funny?

"She said, she said... She said, oh my gosh " Jasmine wheezed out while repeating herself and my eyebrows raised higher,

“She said, 'I should pleasure him! You didn't tell me, he'll put sperm in my mouth! Now I'm pregnant! I'm pregnant because of you!' She said she's pregnant because she swallowed sperm!" I blinked fast as Jasmine fell on the floor laughing.

Wait? Pregnant for swallowing... Sperm?

I chuckled a few times and erupted into full laughter.

I want to believe she was just scared of being pregnant for Kenelum of all people.

Pregnant for Kenelum because she swallowed?

"She's offering Biology right?" I asked

But still! The horror of being pregnant for Kenelum, I'd cry and throw a tantrum too.

The thought of Kenelum being a father dragged me down besides Jasmine, I held my stomach as I vibrated on the ground, feeling breathless too.

I was almost dying from laughter.

Imagine getting pregnant for Kenelum!

But thinking you could pregnant because you swallowed!

Oh good Lord!

I watched our roommates turn to look at us but still we both continued laughing.

Jasmine was the first to recover, so she sat up on the floor and said. "Pregnant because she gave Blowjob.. I told you that girl was a good girl, Chiamaka just wants to spoil that girl. "

"What now happened? " I asked wiping my eyes.

"Chiamaka hissed and told her she's very very stupid and useless, capital and raised to power very! And the stupid was now not enough, she still called her useless too!" Jasmine exclaimed and I started laughing at just the thought of that.

Chiamaka being irritated was something I would pay money to see.

"Then she walked out and our eyes jammed. " Jasmine sat back down.

I crossed my legs on the floor.

"We were outside starring at each other oh.. Till Diane came out, I told her i heard all she said and she dropped on her knees telling me not to report her to the school authorities."

"She seriously thought she was pregnant? "

"Yesso! She was blaming the devil, blaming Chiamaka, blaming Kenelum for 'ejaculating' in her, in fact she was dishing out blames. Chiamaka was standing behind her shaking her head and slapping her forehead. Then she'd just eye her small and hiss! " Jasmine started laughing again.

"Ojore(Oh!) I got tired and told her she's not pregnant. Chiamaka was now like 'Tell her oh!.'

I forgot what I came to do in blue house hostel and started explaining the topic 'Reproduction' to her, from scratch oh. All the while Chiamaka was just shaking her head at Diana. In the end, Diane thanked me and Chiamaka hissed and walked out. Then I went to deliver the letter to that girl. "

"Did you read the letter? " I inquired.

"For sure now. He was like, he really likes her bla bla. Like they even met this midterm or something like that, who dey even epp? " Jasmine rolled her eyes.

Jasmine's brother... Was hot!

Literally, model material.

Tall... Really tall, his eyebrows were perfectly carved but it was still as thick and curly as Jasmine's, that was the only similarity they shared. He sometimes wore contact lenses that made his eyes blue, straight nose with two piercings on each sides in different positions, one was a ring around his nostril and the other was a tiny white earring underneath his other nostril, he also pierced his ears and wore silver earrings on his left ear.

His lower lip was also pierced, back when I was in 8th grade and he was in SS3, those piercings weren't there...

Back then, our teachers were either too strict naturally or too strict because they wanted to please the principal or send out that, 'Do-not-dare-disobey-me-you-spoilt-rotten-brats-i-beat' vibe.

Back then, he just gelled his hair and since he was in the final grade, no one but the principal ever did anything about it.

So the attention he got was expected.

But yet with all the attention he got he was still friendly-Too friendly with most girls.

Just like Rooney's brothers. The three of them all enjoyed the beauty privilege they got.

••

"... No one's going to obey you guys if you keep acting like fools. " His voice had this deep angry mellow to it.

First rehearsal after midterm and we had SS3's yelling at us like we were juniors they could control.

It started when Arthur and his friends came in three minutes ago, they were as usual fashionably late.

And Ngozi stood up and yelled at Arthur-As usual.

But she was unfortunate today because Kenneth wasn't in a good mood and he'd shouted at her also.

Her friends too joined in and Arthur involved himself.

He wasn't too involved in it until someone called him a bastard and he got angry.

Kenelum surprisingly hadn't slapped any girl.

Nonso on the other hand looked too tired to partake in the diss war.

"I swear you guys keep making noise about seniority, truth is we won't fool our lives the way your set does. " Dominique supported Arthur.

I nodded.

Without shooking my mouth (getting involved), I just nodded silently.

"Guys abeg(Please). Let's end it, you're not their mate. If someone slap you Ngozi eh. " Somto, a dark sensible senior advised.

"Let anyone of them lay their filthy hand on me, they'll know who my father is-"

"-Who the fuck is your dad? No, no, no. Forget your father, who the fuck are you?" Chidinma shouted, stood up and pushed her chair back.

This girl has mind oh.

But, the tomboy in her is bigger than the girls in them.

"Chidinma, abeg! abeg! abeg! abeg!!  (please please please please!)No one talked to you! Don't let me slap you oh! " One of those girls yelled, she was a tomboy too in some ways and she was also in yellow house.

"Slap me! I dare you. " Chidinma shoved her backwards.

She fell over and SS1's around us started laughing.

I stared at the girl on the floor, she was vibrating...

She slipped off her left shoe that looked like it was made out of metal but I was sure it was purely plastic but right now it just looked metallic, her hands shaking as she did so.

She looked super enraged and the laughing juniors did nothing to soothe her.

Chidinma was unaware of what she was about to do, she was smiling at the juniors who were cheering her.

I looked for Arthur and he too was staring at the girl on the floor.

His eyes widened as she stood up and ran towards Chidinma.

My eyes widened too,

Woah, she's a runner.

Chidinma turned to look at her once she started yelling,

She looked like she was contemplating between running and standing to fight a girl with a metal-rubber shoe.

Dominique stood in front of Chidinma, helping her decide...

Stay, protected.

No way that girl could handle a boy, not to talk of a boy with Dominique's size and height.

That didn't stop her from slapping her shoe against Dominique's chest, staining his school uniform with her shoe.

Arthur dragged her away from Dominique probably for her own sake because even if Dominique was just a big softie, if he pushed her away in self defense she'd definitely fly out of the auditorium.

Arthur then walked out the auditorium.

Kenneth followed, Kenelum did the same, Segun hissed and joined and Nonso.. Nonso just sighed and followed.

Lately he's been looking and acting exhausted.

Dominique held Chidinma's hand and walked away.

I didn't get why these SS3's were like this, in all superiority our grade had more dancers this year.

We were 12 and they were 7.

Our class was known as the talented set. We didn't bully our direct juniors like them at all—We barely even acknowledged their existence.

Yet SS3's still wanted to control us. I understand that they have written some exams we haven't yet, but still their demand for respect was getting out of ha-

"-Nana." Arthur's voice interrupted me and I looked up, he had his hand outstretched to me.

Awwn! He came back for me!

I smiled and he smirked, I took his hand and marveled at how long his palm was.

We walked out and I caught art girls in my grade eyeing me.

We were now divided into three classes... Science, art, and technical.

Arthur, Silvana, Segun, and I were all in Science class-Arthur wanted to be a doctor, Silvana a biochemist and Segun... A farmer. But like the science part of Agricultural Science.

Jasmine was an art student, so was Nonso, Kenelum and Williams.

Dominique and the rest were in technical.

"Are you ready to stab(miss) rehearsals for the first time?" He asked.

I nodded.

He looked down at me.

"No, you don't understand. Are you ready to staaaab rehearsals? As in. Vandalize Ngozi's class?" He tightened his grip on me.

"Her whole class? " I felt a chill go up my spine.

"Yes. We'll focus on her locker. And then.. "

"Arthur... "

"We'd spread out to her entire clas... "

"Arthur... "

"Kennelum has that stink bomb stuff.. Made out of garbage water and rotten onio-"

"-Arthur! I can't do that stuff, missing rehearsal is adventure enough. Vandalizing? Stink bombs? Really!" He sucked on his lower lip while I talked.

"I love you. Munachi, I never stopped and I don't think I'll ever stop. " I gulped and stared at him.

"Guy, make we dey go. Ngozi them go soon come out(Bro, let's go. Ngozi will soon come out.) " Kenneth interrupted us, he stared at our hands interlocked together then at Arthur who just tightened his hold on my palm.

Kenneth smirked and walked away again.

"Munachi, we won't get caught. Trust me. They'll just suspect us, that's it. They might report but fuck them and their whahala(Trouble). You really need to get loose. " Arthur held my cheek and I nodded.

Somehow his words were just so comforting and... Inspiring-enough to get me to break some rules.

He dragged my hand as we joined his friends at the walkway.

Nonso still had that tired, bored look.

Arthur nodded at Dominique and we started running.

Running back to school...

To break some rules...

凸( •̀_•́ )凸

Can you guess how that'd turn out?