Friend or foe

"Darbs, we're gonna be late". Darby had overslept because her, Mia, and some other girls on the block decided to have a truth or drink session. Mia wasn't one to subscribe to such trivial acts, but she liked these people and they made her happy.

"No, just a little longer", she whined as she rubbed her eyes intensely. Mia went towards the windows and pulled the curtains open sending very bright light to pierce through her eyelids.

"Okay, okay you win, I'm up", she said in a defeated tone as she jumped out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. She took a cold shower that jolted her awake.

Mia and Darby had classes on the same side of the campus so they decided to go to school together. It was Wednesday, and as per tradition, the school was going to have a pop quiz.

After the first week of being in Winnington, the school decided to have a test to give its students a sneak peek of what they are they were actually up for. This quiz accounts for fifteen percent of their total grade.

Every morning, to get to the school which was at the center of campus, a good distance from the hostel. Students must meet up with the morning bus which arrives at six- thirty and departs at seven O'clock. The next buses arrive thirty minutes after.

"Hey, y'all ready?", Jenna from block C asked. Jenna was one of the first people Darby made friends with, so by default, she was Mia's friend too.

"Yes", the girls chorused. The three girls walked to the elevator, then to the lobby, and into the bus.

The bus was quite full today, the reason being the busses for the main campus was set for repair, so students from the main campus had occupied their bus.

Mia sat at the window seat directly behind Darby and Jenna. Even though she had her headphones in her ear she could still hear, very clearly, the squealing of two teenage girls in front of her.

It seemed they had found a boy wordy of admiration. They were so ecstatic and couldn't contain themselves.

"Talk to him, you like him don't you? ", Jenna smiled a wide one as she tried to convince Darby to approach the male prospect.

He was in his third year at the University and the only reason he was on this bus was because of how the schedule suddenly changed.

"You don't like him?", she asked.

"No, it's not like that", Darby responded.

"Suit yourself", Jenna shot out of her chair and strutted to the back seat of the bus.

The boy Ethan and some other seniors sat at the very end listening to music-- which could be heard out from their headphones.

They were also drinking a strong liquid which Jenna presumed was alcohol trying to hide the smell by occasionally spraying perfume in the air. Darby keep her window open and all times and Mia was on standby with an extra inhaler.

Jenna sat down in between Ethan and his friends talking for about five minutes. During the conversation he had his hand on her knee, they talked so fondly like they had known each other before. She moved his hand from her knee, Darby sighed in relief.

Ethan got closer to her, close enough for his breath to send chills up her spine. She moved closer and pulled his hand up to her inner thigh.

Darby instantly turned pale, staring out of the window for a while but by the time he had his tongue in Jenna's mouth, she was done watching. She had seen enough.

Jenna didn't return to her seat for the whole bus ride, she was too busy getting kissing lessons from a guy she met less than twenty minutes ago.

As their stop approached, the kissing intensified and then stopped. He put his hand into her purse and pulled out her phone.

"What are you doing ?", she asked, chuckling softly.

He pulled her index finger and licked it. She smiled widely as the pleasure started to intoxicate her. He dialed his number into her phone and saved it.

"This is me ", she said as they came to a halt at the academy's bus stop. He stared at her, confused. The bus emptied quickly as everyone made their way out.

Jenna was already out of the bus when Ethan screamed "You said you were a senior". All of his friends began to laugh at his petty display, Ethan Johnson fooled by a seventeen-year-old.

He had quite the reputation and a huge ego as well, he was not going to let this slide. Ethan quickly fondled through his phone in an attempt to delete her number.

"I don't care what he's going through, he cannot drag the family name in the mud—perfect . That's all he is, that's all he must be". Jerald screamed at his wife Patricia. Tim knew they argued a lot about him, he didn't like it very much.

His mother always tried her best to defend him and most times it worked. Jerald Rogers was a US Marine but got relieved of his duties because of self-sabotage. He was tired of the long trips and missed his family so much that he deliberately failed a drug test.

He regrets his decision quickly. He was at home often and got angry at everything. His family grew weary of him.

"He has to be perfect! , Not like me", his voice became shaky as he began to sob.

That's all Tim did, tried to be perfect. The best grades, the best friends, the best hobbies—ones he didn't even like.

"Baby, baby come down he's gone", Patricia called to Tim who was hiding behind the stairs to avoid his father. Today was the day of the pop quiz, it was a surprise test.

Normally no one would know about it but Jerald was friends with the director, so they shared a lot during their weekly golf meetups.

Tim had lost himself so much so that his father was all he lived for, he lived to please him in everything.

"Hunny, you don't have to go if you don't want to", Patricia tried to assure him.

"No, I'm fine – I'll go and make Daddy proud", he smiled faintly. All his mother was--was concerned. Concerned for his health, physically and mentally.

"Okay, if you say so", she said hesitantly as Tim lugged himself and his huge backpack outside and then into the car. His Mom strapped her seatbelt making sure to take regular glances at him through the rear mirror.

She drove for about forty-five minutes before getting to the school and immediately took a U-turn because she had a hospital emergency. Patricia Rogers was a pediatrician, a great one at that.

"Bye baby", she said as Tim alighted.

As a result of a serious epidemic that had occurred, the school put in place a series of safety measures and of course, they were heightened because of the background of kids who attended the program at Winnington.

One of the measures was a routine temperature check, carried out on entrance and exit of the school premises. Tim had a serious ailment which caused him to have regular seizures.

He skipped the normal procedure because he wanted to write the test badly and prove to his dad that he was worth it, he really was—he just didn't know it.

"Hello everyone", Mr. Callum said as he cleared his throat. "I hope you all are enjoying your stay here".

The class was filled with murmurs and indistinct conversations. The chatter stopped when the director of the program walked it.

"Good morning everyone, it seems that you all are giving Callum here a hard time", he held Mr. Callum on his shoulder and gave him a pat on the back.

"I don't know if you heard or you were told—oh they're here already", three exam officials came through the front door close to the platform where the director stood. The rolled carts are full of paper and make their way to each exit of the class.

"Surprise we're having a test, I know you guys did not—".

Tim sat there slowly drowning out the sound of the director's voice with his loud heartbeat.

"Ahhh", everybody turned to find the direction of the scream. It came from the middle part of the class. It was Tim's friend, Randy—one of the "overachievers" Mia hated.