Father Chibuike’s twin

 "How did you—"

 "Ivie!" Gaga called, coming from behind Itohan. "What happened to you?"

 "How did you get that?" 

 "Get what?" She looked at both her friends, one from another, trying to understand why their faces was edged with surprise and worry. 

 Gaga grabbed her shoulder and spun her to face the mirror on the wall. It was Ivie's turn to be surprised. On her forehead was dried blood, a tear visible on her skin. 

 "How did I—" she touched it, her voice trailing off. It was then she remembered the event from last night, the footsteps behind her, her turning at, the hit on her head.

 "What happened to you?" Gaga asked, coming to stand in front of her. 

 Somebody had tried to attack her last night and she couldn't help but eye Itohan quizzically. Not that she suspected her of being the culprit, but she looked too shock seeing her, like she didn't expect her to be there. 

 And it was not because of the wound on her head, she would be worried, not shocked, had it been the wound on her head. It was something else, did Itohan know something?

 "Ah, this?" She laughed awkwardly, trying to slow down her beating heart. Something didn't feel right. "I bumped my head into my door."

 "That's not true," Itohan countered. "You looked surprised when you saw it, like you were seeing it for the first time."

 Her heart drummed louder, and she feared they would hear. "I totally forgot about it, it was yesterday. I knocked my head on my door, I was too sleepy. I don't even know how I got in, must have driven me unconscious."

 "Were you drunk to knock on your door with your forehead?" Gaga joked. "It looks like it hurts."

 "Very well." It was a lie, it didn't hurt as all, it felt numb instead. 

 "You should go to the infirmary and have it disinfected. I'll tell Father Chibuike you're sick," Gaga blew on her wound. 

 "With the number of times you've given that as an excuse for her absence in class, do you think he'll agree to it this time?" Itohan asked. 

 "He should come to the infirmary and see for himself then." Ivie rolled her eyes, trying to get into act. 

——

 Sister Agatha was the attending nurse at the infirmary and she looked at Ivie as though she could not understand youngsters and their difficulty in staying out of trouble. 

 "What happened?" She asked as she wore her glove. 

 "I hit my head on the wall." She decided to stick with her story, except the first time it had been a door. 

 "For a hit this strong to leave a tear on your skin, that's a lie. But let's pretend it's true, you should be careful not to hit your head on a wall next time."

 "I'll try." Ivie's only reservation about the Sister was her entanglement with the other priest. She had tried to shrug what she saw off and even if she convinced herself that it happened way before they entered into the priesthood, she couldn't still completely let it go, maybe because they were still close to each other. 

 "What did you do before becoming a Sister?" She dared to ask. 

 Sister Agatha paused for a moment. "Nothing much," she replied. "After seminary school, I went to the convent to begin my training." She took a wet swab at the top of a surgical scissors and dabbed it gently on her wound. 

 "When did you decide to be a Sister?"

 She shrugged. "I've always known I wanted to be one."

 Ivie paused for a while, and dared to question further. "Was there no one you liked, someone who made you question your decision?"

 Sister Agatha's hand hung midair. "I never questioned my decision to work for God this way."

 "So there was no one?" Ivie pressed. 

 The Sister smiled, surprising her. "You came here and lied to me about your wound, I believe we all have our secrets."

 "Oh," Ivie managed to say. At least, she wasn't lying about it, or was not trying to be sneaky with her like Father Chibuike. She still wondered who ordained him as a priest. He had known all along that he had a cat and whenever she brought it up, he didn't give her the faintest hint that it was his. Not like he lied about it, but he wasn't completely truthful either. 

 "The cut is not deep, and it would heal faster it it's stitched, but that would leave a scar."

 "No," Ivie said instantly. 

 "I thought as much."

 A nurse, a younger Sister, came to Sister Agatha. "Father Ekene asks of you."

 Speaking of the devil. 

 "Tell him I'm busy," she replied curtly. "He said it's urgent, says he's unwell."

 "Tell him—"

 "I can wait," Ivie said softly. "The wound does not hurt anyway. That much," she added. 

 "Tell him I'm busy. If he insists on coming here then he has to wait until I'm done with her," she firmed, throwing Ivie a dismissive glance. 

 Few minutes later, Father Ekene arrived. "Hello there, our friend." He waved to Ivie, wearing a pleasant smile. "What trouble did you get yourself involved in, girls fight over a boy?"

 Ivie stared at him. It had been so long she heard that expression it sounded new to her. 

 "I suppose not," Father Ekene concluded. "The big girl in school, the Big Bang, fighting over a boy? That would make quite a headline."

 "Did you come here to talk about what would make a headline and what wouldn't?" Sister Agatha questioned him. 

 "Hardly, I came here for medical attention. I feel like I can't breathe well these days. If you place a hand here," he explained, bringing his hand to his chest, "you'd observe that my heartbeat is very faint. Come, place your hand here."

 Sister Agatha glared at him. 

 "I'm serious, I feel like I'm having a heart attack. What did you think, Ivie?"

 What Ivie? What's with the priests poking her? She wondered if she should have told the Sister she didn't want the company. "I don't know."

 "C'mon don't be shy and tell me, you must think something is wrong with my heart, right?"

 "Ekene, she's a patient." 

 From the way she said it, Ivie was sure she too wanted to curse at him. 

 "But she's our friend, definitely she must know one or two things about me."

 Just when Ivie thought she had seen the worse with Father Chibuike, she sighed internally, the devil sent his twin brother. 

 "Oh she—"

 "Sit down and wait for your turn or I'll sew your mouth with a needle and thread," Sister Agatha cut him short. 

 "Did you hear that? She says she's going to sew my mouth with a needle and thread if I don't sit and wait for my turn," he repeated to Ivie as though she hadn't heard, and obliged. 

 When Ivie's wound was clean and neatly plastered, she stood up and thanked the Sister. 

 "Look out for walls, who knows which one would break your skull," Sister Agatha warned and watched her retreating figure until she was out of the clinic. 

 She was quiet for a while, deep in thought. Then she said, "She asked if I had questioned my decision to be a Sister." She turned to Father Ekene. "Asked if there was someone who made me question my decision to be a Sister."

 The levity left Father Ekene's voice when he asked, "What did you say?"

 She shrugged. "Let's fix your heart before it kills you."

——

 Ivie left the infirmary to see Gaga leaning on the wall, one leg raised, waiting for her. 

 "You didn't say you'd wait."

 "I wasn't going to but—" she looked around to make sure no one was near. "What really happened last night? The Dean requests for your presence in his office."

 "The Dean?" She crooked her brow.

 "Ivie, Father IK does not usually call students, he talks to their form teachers instead. Look, I know it's not everything you'd want to tell me—"

 "It's not like that."

 Gaga held up a hand for her to pause. "There are things I keep a secret too, like how, sometimes, I wonder what colour of underwear Father Chibuike has on."

 "Gaga," Ivie called in a drawl. 

 She laughed. "Just the colour. It's a harmless thought if you ask me and if you compare it to my other thoughts. Sometimes, I even wonder if JohnMary would be good in bed."

 Ivie opened her mouth and closed it back. "I'm short of words."

 "What? I can promise you that he has such thoughts towards you too, you think everything he does is platonic? Wait until he sees this thing on your head."

 "It's not like I intended to keep this," she pointed her wound, "a secret, I just wasn't ready that morning."

 "Or you just didn't trust IT," she stated the obvious.

 "You needed to see how surprised she was when she saw me, I think she knows something." She paused. "Somebody attacked me last night when I was going to my room. I heard some footsteps behind me, turned to check and something hit me."

 Gaga stepped forward. "Are you okay? Are you sure this is the only place that hurts?"

 "Surprisingly, it doesn't hurt." She touched it again to be sure, it didn't. 

 "Do you think somebody overheard our conversation last night, somebody that's involved in the whole Precious thingy, somebody who doesn't want you to snoop around?"

 "That would make sense. But for the love of God, Gaga, I don't know how I got back to my room."

 "Maybe the Dean wants to explain that to you. Should I come with you?"

 She shook her head. Just yesterday she found out about Father Chibuike's cat, she was attacked the night of it, and now, after her once-in-a-year visit to the infirmary, the Dean has sent for her. 

 "But if you can," Gaga said with a sly smile, "try to peek and see what colour of underwear the Dean is putting on."