MEMORY

Ruth is smart. As much as I hate to admit it, she is, but it is a wasted gift on a person like that. She's tall, one of the tallest in the class and thin. I heard she starves herself when she feels she's adding too much weight.

Her facial features are small, eyes, nose mouth and all that with a square jaw and a really loud and annoying voice.

She's the kind of person that demands attention, it's almost like she's lifeless if all attention isn't on her, so naturally someone like her would love drama. Exactly the kind of person I should be staying away from. I tried but something or someone from my village must really not like me.

First Edith and now Ruth, [what is wrong with human beings?!]. Right now I'm currently waiting for my brother by the gate, hopefully someone would tell him I'm here. On cue Ebube walks up to me with David in tow, "Hurray!" I mutter sarcastically.

"Emma! Emma! Emma!" he pauses, then he adds, "Smile", I ignore him with a shake of my head and turn to my brother,

"Did you feel my skills?" I say with a grin, instead of admitting it, he denies like

always, "what skills? It's just because I was played with that girl."

The way he says it makes me laugh because he said 'girl' like it was an insult. "True though", I have to agree with him there.

"That's why you're twins, you're both wicked", David says "Hush biko!" (Biko- please in Igbo)

I and my brother both say in unison, He just laughs. I frown,

"What are you doing here anyways?"

"I'm your knight in shining armour",

"So is it my job to be the damsel in distress now?" he doesn't reply, just smiles.

"He said he wanted to walk with us", my brother says and that's when I notice his bag hanging on one shoulder. I sigh and start walking first, they follow behind.

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We got home a little while ago. We split up with David at some point on the way back. I wasn't paying attention before because my mind was still in that moment.

Now I'm in the parlour and my parents aren't home. I'm watching chopped on the food channel to try and take my mind of it. My sister walks into the room,

"Aren't you supposed to be reading?"

"It's Friday. If it were you would you be reading?" she laughs and sits beside me.

"Let me even gist you what happened today". When I'm done telling her, the idiot laughed for 2 whole minutes. After the first minute her laughter died down butshe couldn't get what she wanted to say out the next minute

[God, the kind of siblings I have].

"Are you done?" I ask with a completely expressionless face. "What now? Its funny biko allow me to laugh. Well if it were me I wouldn't care." [Yeah I wouldn't either if I didn't already know what could happen]

"Whatever", Nora chuckles again, " 'Sha' (well) just ignore her, if what you said is true then she's just looking for attention per her usual way." I sigh and readjust the mini pillow in my lap, positioning it under my head.

I use my feet to give Nora subtle nudges meaning I want her to find her own couch because I was on this one first. "You're just a fool", she says with a laugh when she gets my hint, then she moves.

I'm just about sleeping when my parents get home. I glance at the clock, it's a little after 6, "why now?!" I hear my brother mutter in disappointment as he comes downstairs to greet them. It makes me laugh because I feel the same way.

After all the unpleasant parts of womanhood, the cooking and all that was over with, I went straight to my room to continue that amazing sleep that I wasn't able to finish. After taking my bath I fall asleep as soon as my head hits my pillow.

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When I open my eyes, I'm in class, but something is definitely not right. For starters I'm not at Emerald high.

The classroom looks familiar but darker even though its daylight, but I can't remember where I saw it, the uniform too. For some reason I couldn't read the school badge.

Then to end it, everyone in the classroom is faceless and nameless but they seem to know my name. A teacher is currently teaching and I can hear what she's saying but at the same time I can't.

I look around the class again but everyone is still faceless and fear runs through me. In an instant the teacher is gone and she's replaced with a woman and two girls, twins I think, but I don't know how I know.

It's their birthday today so they brought a few things to celebrate with the class. When I look beside me, a girl is sitting close to me, I don't know who she is but somehow I know we don't get along.

In an attempt to try and make light conversation I say, "Their mum is pretty", I don't know how I know that when I can't see her face, "Yeah. I love her hairstyle", she replies.

The scene changes again, this time I'm crying, half of the class is yelling stuff at me and somehow the class got even darker.

"Do you think you're fine?!"

"Why are you like this? Why can't you be like your brother?!"

"I wish you were in another class!"

"Why would you call someone's mother ugly for no reason when you yourself don't even look any better?!"

Through all the shouting I can distinctly hear the girl from before talking, "Yes I heard her when she said that your mum is not fine. She thought i didn't." She's probably talking to the twins.

Suddenly they all start laughing and I cover my ears to try and block out the sound but it doesn't work. It just keeps getting louder and louder until I can't take it anymore so I scream.

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I wake up with a start, my heart beating in my chest in slow but heavy thumps. It sounds like a bass drum but that's probably just me hearing things.

Despite just having a bad dream, I'm not sweating, i can also remember everything that happened and it wasn't just a dream, it was a memory. I sit up in bed and let out a heavy sigh.