CHAPTER 3: LOVE LETTER

I was in senior secondary school 1, when I noticed that our head boy, Chukwuemeka Adam was always taking glances at me. Sometimes, he even granted me favours and freed me from punishment, I didn't find it funny at all but I didn't tell my parents .He was in senior secondary school 2, just a class ahead of me.

One day, I was outside practising for the oncoming graduation party with other students, when all of a sudden I started having an unusual urge to go to my classroom. Although I tried to ignore the feeling, I just couldn't help it. I went to my classroom .On my way there, I saw Tochukwu Chuka going to my class too, I hid but I was able to see him, I saw him putting an envelope in my school bag.

When he left, I took the envelope, read the letter inside and kept it back in my school bag. I went back to the other students and we continued with our rehearsals.

When the school closed, I went home and showed my parents the love letter, they were furious, they told me that the following day they would follow me to school.

The following morning, I came to school with my parents, the morning assembly has already been completed. I and my parents went to the principal's office. The principal (Mrs Patience Okoye) was furious, she called the students together and asked:

"Who is the foolish goat that put this love letter in Ebere's bag?". When she didn't get any response, she said.

"Fine! if no one is willing to tell the truth, I will find it out myself. Teachers will have a meeting" she said and stormed out of the place.

After the teachers' meeting, they said all the students should carry their notes, the principal and other teachers were searching for a corresponding handwriting of the secret admirer (that was what the writer of the love letter called himself) . They checked continuously, when it was Tochukwu Chuka's turn, I saw worry in his face. His handwriting didn't even look like the secret admirer's. He heaved a sigh of relief after his note was examined.

My mind was like an express of different thoughts, did he pay someone to write it for him ? or was he paid to drop the love letter in my bag?,what is happening? this is getting complicated.

Finally it was the head boy, Chukwuemeka Adam's turn to be checked, the head boy who helped in checking the students notes. Most teachers didn't see any need of checking the head boy's note but the principal said otherwise. The head boy looked worried, he has a very lovely handwriting but that ironically, was unfortunate for him because the secret admirer also has a lovely handwriting. There was a way he wrote the letter 'T' which incidentally was identical to that of the secret admirer. His handwriting looks the same with that of the secret admirer, so obviously he wrote the love letter. The teachers were surprised, shocked and disappointed at the same time. The head boy was a quiet, smart, well behaved boy who could not have written a love letter, it was unbelievable. In fact, there was an atmosphere of mixed feeling from the teachers. A teacher who loved the head boy was more surprised and disappointed, her name was Mrs Martha, she walked up to him and slapped him.

"Emeka I am so disappointed in you, how could my son do such a thing, at your young age you are writing love letter, really I'm sure it is not the first time, is it? " she said with anger and disappointment written all over her face.

"Emeka, your parents called me just last week telling me to talk to you that you now keep late nights, hang out with bad boys, being rude to your parents and even smoke cigarettes" .she further said.

Mrs Agu the head boy's form teacher also loved the head boy, in fact everyone in the school and community loved Emeka because of his good looks, obedience and quietness. Mrs Agu couldn't just believe what she heard. She came and held Emeka close on his shoulder .

"Emeka,please tell me its not true, tell me you don't smoke cigarette, please tell me its not true" she asked . Mrs Martha cuts in,

"Now I regret telling your parents that you don't exhibit such characters in school, that maybe they misunderstood your actions not knowing that you are a wolf in sheep's clothing, you would have led Ebere astray with your very romantic letter, Mr. romantic". She said and hissed and gave Emeka a very disgusting look.

The principal told Emeka to call his parents, Emeka went home to call his parents. His parents came to the school, I expected Emeka's parents to plead for Emeka to save him from expulsion, instead his parents even brought the idea of expelling him. Emeka's face was now filled with so much worry because he knew if he was expelled the hope of attending school has ended. Emeka began to plead for forgiveness from his parents and principal, he fell on his knees and pleaded more than a beggar who hadn't eaten for days.The principal had mercy on him and pleaded with his parents to forgive him that he is still a child, and coping with puberty is very hard.

" It is not a matter of forgiveness, I want him to learn a very important yet bitter lesson, I know his dream of finishing school, being a doctor, become rich and all of that. He knows that if he gets expelled I will not spend a dime in his education, unless he does odd jobs and get money for his education. "Mr. Harry Adam (Emeka's father) said.

Seeing how things are turning against Emeka, Mrs Martha came to give suggestions so that Emeka won't be expelled.

"Mr. Adams, you are right about teaching him a lesson but expulsion is too high a punishment, I will suggest Emeka make a promise of never keeping late nights, hanging out with bad boys and never smoke cigarettes again." Mrs. Martha suggested.

"I promise, I promise I will never do such things like being rude, smoking, keeping late nights". Emeka assured in tears.

"Emeka you will still be punished", Mrs Martha continued.

"You will sweep from Jss2 to ss2 every day till the end of this term and you have no right to send anybody to do your duties and you are suspended for two weeks, Principal, Mr and Mrs Adam how do you see my idea?" She asked.

"Well, I reason with Mrs Martha because he will learn, but he should also be flogged, Emeka is a good and bright boy just this letter should not shatter his destiny." said the principal.

"I reason with your idea, he will learn." Mrs Adam said.

"And also the 2 weeks suspension should not hinder you from copying notes, after the suspension, in 3 days you would have finished copying all the notes" said the principal .

After the love letter issue, those glances stopped, those favours and freedom from punishment also stopped. Emeka now avoided me, looked at me with anger and hatred. He actually made living miserable for me, he started seeing unjust reasons to punish me, if everyone is generally punished mine will be times 5. He hated me just because of the love letter issue and he even accused me wrongly most times just so he could punish me unjustly. I knew I couldn't continue living like this, being punished on no just cause. I had to confront Emeka somehow, someway.

The opportunity for me to confront Emeka came and trust me I didn't miss it. Everyone in ss2 went out for break while Emeka was writing from his teacher's lesson note since he has a very good handwriting both on the chalkboard and on the note. Many teachers gave him their lesson notes to copy into his note and distribute it to the entire class. That fateful day, he was alone in class, I had the chance to stop his stupid revenge once and for all.

"Good morning senior" I said.

"What do you want? and what are you doing here?". He asked in a harsh tone.

"I said good morning senior", I said trying to ignore his questions.

"And I asked

what do you want and what are you doing here" he said in a harsher tone . I just went and sat close to him in his seat.

"Senior, you asked what I want, I want ... I want..." I began to stammer, the words in my heart were too heavy in my mouth, I searched for some courage and found some.

" Senior, I want to know why you hate me so much after the love letter issue". I said with my hands shaking.

"Correction, Ebere I don't hate you" he said without looking at me.

"Then you are angry with me" I said, this time he didn't answer me.

"Senior, I know you are angry with me because of the love letter 'thing,' but I was as helpless as you were, I had to tell my parents, you know right from a toddler keeping things from my parents has been very difficult, I just couldn't hide the love letter from them. They would have seen it and it would have put me in soup". I explained.

"What was the instructions on the letter after reading it?" he asked in a mean tone, still not looking at my face.

"That I should burn or tear the love letter to pieces after reading it". I said facing down.

"Then why didn't you do it?"he asked still not looking at my face.

" I have answered that already ooh but I tore it anyway". I lied ( i wanted to show my future girls. )

"Ebere, I think you should leave, he said with his eyes fixed on his books". I adjusted a bit to see his face clearly.

"Senior, I am sick and tired of this eyes of yours looking somewhere else as if no one is talking to you". I said and stood up, anger was already stirring up in me.

"Senior, that's what everyone calls you but you are acting so immature and childish, Emeka, I wasn't the cause of your severe punishment. It was because of your misbehaviours and besides I wasn't the one who sent you to write love letter you did it out of free will". I said

"Honestly, I am just pouring out my heart to you, senior, fine if taking blame will end this madness of yours. Fine, I take the blame, l caused it, are you satisfied?!!!". I said almost screaming and stormed out.

Those words were flying out of my mouth, I never knew that I would ever get that angry, anger can't describe it enough. I was furious. I came to my class after storming out of Emeka's class, trying to let out the anger. Emeka walked in, lucky enough most classes were empty so even if we yelled at each other we wouldn't have been heard.

"You said that I was acting immature and childish, well it's not immaturity, do you know how people started looking at me like a thief, they gossiped about me when ever I passed and now I totally realize that gaining people's trust again would be impossible and each time I see you, I have a hunger for revenge. I want to see you cry and go through pain". He said.

"Look, the love letter issue didn't raise the dust or mistrust for you, your misbehaviours did. People wouldn't have mistrust just because of the love letter, it was your smoking of cigarettes, keeping of late nights and so on" I said.

"Ebere, you don't know how my parents expressed their disappointment towards me that I don't want to talk about, I have changed but their words still linger on my head, voices in my head tells me that I am a terrible person." he said in a sober tone.

"Even from what you've said, you see it's not my fault, you are suffering from guilty conscience and you are putting the blame on me. I don't want to put you in trouble, couple with the fact that you wrote the love letter you could have been in hotter soup, but instead of reporting I endured", I said.

"Look, senior, those evil deeds of yours are now the old man okay, you are now a child of Jesus Christ, the devil is trying to make you feel pain, shun the guilt. Anytime the guilt starts pricking you just take a Bible and read ," I took a look at my wrist watch on my right hand.

" Senior, I think you should finish that teacher's note soon students will start trooping in and seeing me and you will bring rumours" I said.

With that, Emeka left my class. I didn't know if his partiality would stop or continue. His partiality and unfair attitude did stop at least that's what I thought. A week after our conversation, I met him again this time I thanked him.

"Senior", I called him, he was alone in his class ,he was this type of person who likes being alone . He looked back and said.

" Ebere, what brings you here?" he said in a friendly tone.

"Senior , this is my school, I have the right to go round the school", I said playfully.

"Correction, you are just a student here The school is not yours" he said in continued play.

"Which makes no difference" I countered.

"Abeg lawyer, you win" he said smiling to end the argument.

"Thank you",I said.

"For what?" he asked .

"For stopping your partiality and unfair attitude," I said .

He didn't reply,he just smiled.

"See you later, right?," I said .

"Sure." he said.

Then I noticed moments later that he was moody, after I left, l wondered what must have happened that would have made him to be in such a mood.

Well,we have settled our differences, we're friends I thought