If only it were a dream

As soon as we both got down, the bus speedily drove past us.

"Get home safe," The stranger said, not for once staring in my direction. "And don't succumb to death. It won't simply solve all your problems."

"Who are you to speak to me?" I asked but ended up getting ignored.

With that, he walked away into the opposite direction.

I simply stood there, not knowing whether to laugh or to throw insults at him.

After a few minutes of surrendering to defeat, I started walking into the street. My house wasn't far from the junction so it was just a short walk.

Despite how small the distance I was to cover, I could not help but ponder on thoughts on the stranger with blue eyes.

He didn't seem like someone who was sent to kill me or something like that. In fact, he appeared strange to me and in a way I could not explain.

On getting to the house, I was welcomed by cheerful noises emitting from the living room. As I stepped in, a look of mockery and scorn came to build a house on my face.

"Tilda, is that you?"

An annoying voice I had not heard for the past four years was suddenly playing in my ears.

With nothing but vivid disgust, I watched as the owner of the voice, a girl whose shape was not giving in the body hugging dress she wore, walked up to me.

She immediately threw her arms around me and with a high pitched voice, went into a short line of greeting that sounded rehearsed to me.

"Tilda, my love! Ah my beautiful sister! I missed you so much."

The way she stressed the word, ' sister ' made me feel like she was mocking me.

"Your sister is so excited to see you!" My mother squealed from excitement.

"She is not my sister," I wanted to say but ended up playing along.

"Tilda, it's been a while o," Sharon, the girl who claimed to be my sister, began as soon as we had both gotten into my room.

I would never have invited her if not for the fact that my mother had made us go in together as if we shared some kind of bond - a bond that would never work between the two of us.

"Mmmm," I responded with a lack of interest in my tone.

After the death of my father, a year had barely passed when I got to find out that my mother had another daughter even before marrying her recent husband. That daughter was Sharon.

At that point in my life, I felt betrayed and Sharon didn't make things any better for me by becoming a thorn in my flesh. I was a year older than this girl yet it seemed like she had come into my life to bully me.

I was very happy when she finally left our house to school in lagos but now, my happiness was shortlived and guess what? Sharon was back!

In one sentence, I greatly despised Sharon.

"It's sad that I had to leave lagos," She continued. Quite the talkative she was. "I mean, it's a place for big babes like me. You would never understand."

My eyes turned to slits to show that my tolerance had finally reached its limit.

"You can stop with your drama, Sharon. It's not like your parents are in here to hail you for being the good or cool child," I spoke with all sarcasm I could muster.

Just as I had expected, Sharon laughed.

"Which drama?" She asked, still laughing.

"Achievements, and not drama. If you are that bothered about how much my parents love me, go wake your father from the grave."

And that was what broke the last straw on the Camel's back. I had, had enough of her for the evening.

"Get out," I said as calmly as I could.

"I wasn't even thinking of staying in the first place," She scrunched her face in disgust and stood up from the edge of my bed.

Two of her fingers then moved over to clip her nose.

"It smells like a rat died in here," She spat and left, but not without her usual and annoying catwalk. More like the walk of a confused person.

The worst part about the whole thing was that Sharon would be coming to my school and perhaps, my class. I couldn't even begin to think of the amount of drama I would be dealing with at home and at school.

Abike and her minions were already giving me enough trouble. I didn't have strength to add another.

*.*.*.

It was another day of school.

And yes, Sharon and I were to be driven to school together.

We both sat at the back seat.

Even though a word had not been said between us for the past three minutes, the driver could sense the enmity we both shared.

Sharon was busy flipping through a modelling magazine. She was very much interested in modelling, despite the fact that, she had the worst shape in clothes than I had ever seen on any human in this world.

Perhaps that was God's way of punishing her for being a spoilt and arrogant child.

"Gigi Hadid is such an icon," I could hear her release exclaims at every second while I scrolled through Instagram on my phone.

Her unnecessary chatter continued till we got to school.

"Maybe I should get my weekend nails done like Adriana Lima's."

"I'll consider working for Louis Vuitton next year."

Wahala.

Getting to class after the assembly, the first lesson for the day was English.

Our English teacher was a petite woman whose sense of fashion was at its least. She wasn't the typical classy, curvy and beautiful English teacher many other schools had.

She was simply Miss Cynthia, the English teacher. We all loved her for her kind and genuine character. In spite of that, we nicknamed her, ' Madam pepeye '.

"Which of you can enlighten the class on the use of pronouns?" Her smallish voice rang across the class.

I wasn't in the mood of being Madam brilliant girl today but Kiki decided to put her hand up.

I was surprised. Kiki? Of all people? Putting her hand up to answer a question?

It wasn't that Kiki was dull or anything. She wasn't the type to really engage in classroom discussions but she still managed to come out between the fifth to tenth position at the end of every term.

"Yes, Kiki?" I was able to notice the tone of surprise in Miss Cynthia's voice.

"Pronouns are used to replace nouns in sentences and as such, prevent the reoccurrence of these nouns throughout a sentence," Kiki said with all confidence.

Trust me, the amebos in my class did not fail to whisper among themselves.

"She think say she know book abi?"

"See as e dey shine teeth because they new buy close up for house."

"I never knew that wayward people were smart too o."

I simply chuckled to myself at the few words I was able to grab.

These people could not be this serious. Out of all of them, I could recognize Abike's voice even without glancing at sides.

"So give me an example of pronoun usage in a sentence," Miss Cynthia further tested Kiki's knowledge.

"They are gossips who don't know how to wash their uniforms properly," Kiki spoke with a great air of pride hovering around her and I was beginning to differentiate between her and a peacock.

Miss Cynthia was as surprised as everyone else in the class but she couldn't deny that Kiki had perfectly given her an answer.

"Alright thank you. You may have your seat."

"You this girl ehn. God will save you. Don't let those people beat you one day o," I laughed as I and Kiki were eating at the cafeteria during break period.

"They should try me first," Kiki hissed before taking a long sip of the fanta on her table.

"Kiki, Kiki. The one and only Kiki."

The moment I heard that voice, the smile on my face faded just as a baby's would upon tasting bitter leaf.

It was the return of Sharon and she wasn't alone.

She had come with her friend that was fat like a fool.