The Song of the Masquerades

It was the third term of my eleventh grade year. I can't wait to be promoted to the next grade. Following our unlawful actions last term, we promised the school administration that we would be on our best behavior the following term. Meanwhile, Angela had been devising a completely different strategy for us that term. Of course, we had grown so many wings that the school administration couldn't handle them. We were on the move to do what we wanted at school, after all, I no longer rely on my parents for money for food. I barely had time for my studies and classes. All I had in mind was money and the freedom to travel wherever I wanted. And, just as Angela did when she was admitted to our school, we would always blame our absences on an undisclosed illness. It was insane that the teachers would always believe that. It was up to us to decide when to study and when to participate in any school activities.

After our plan to sneak out of the school grounds the other night was foiled by the school gatekeeper, Angela decided we'd try another method. Chioma and I assumed she was going to bribe the gatekeeper with money to let us out, but I later discovered that the gatekeeper does not entertain any students while on duty, let alone ask for any gifts or money from them. In that case, we had no idea what Angela had planned for us. We had no idea about the man who sent her money, but he has been on her neck, requesting to see her as soon as possible. We were perplexed as to why Angela never cancelled his appointment, as she did with the other men. Despite Angela's many promises to make amends with the man, he refuses to let her go.

On Friday afternoon, after the Civic Education class we managed to attend, Angela summoned Chioma and me to the dormitory lavatory, where we usually have our dirty little discussions and secret plans. She took thousands of naira from her belt bag and split it between us. 

"These are from the man who requested to see me, and there's also a letter inviting us to his birthday party. I'm confident that leaving the school as soon as possible will result in more money for us." She spoke to us.

I couldn't believe what I just witnessed. My eyes were wide open, yearning for more. Chioma knew her parents had never given her such a large sum of money for her pocket money before. That was a lot of money to convince Angela to grant the undisclosed man's difficult request. This time, we were invited to attend birthday party with Angela.She told us about a man who came to see her disguised as a family member in order to give her a lunchbox containing the money she gave us. He had told her to come with a few of her friends. Chioma and I had to persuade her to hurry up with the plan she had been working on so that we wouldn't miss out on the big opportunity that lay ahead.

Saturdays are free of studies, with the exception of cleaning the school grounds and participating in random sports activities to keep us energized. That fateful day, we had hoped to carry out our plan of sneaking out of the school grounds. We waited until evening to see if the school activities had ended before carrying out our plan. It was late at night by the time all of the students had gone back to sleep and the compound was quiet. We sneaked into the dormitory lavatory to get ready for the birthday party.

We had to dress in black to blend in with the nighttime because we didn't want to be caught or noticed by anyone at school. Angela, being the smartest of us, had to go out and inspect the school environment before getting back to us. She returned a few minutes later with the news that the gatekeeper was fast asleep beside one of the gate posts, and she signaled for us to follow her. We went through the narrow part of the school grounds and then returned to the opposite side of the school dining hall, which was close to the fence. We were taking precautions at that point to avoid being caught by anyone else. Angela was the first person to successfully jump out of the fence. Despite how low the fence was, Chioma and I found it extremely difficult to cross. I was able to get through the fence, thanks to Angela, who had climbed on top of it to help. Chioma was the last person to cross the fence. She was too strong and heavy to pass through the fence, so Angela and I had to struggle to get her up to the top before she jumped down, almost injuring her knees. I nearly died as we helped her over the school fence. According to our plan, we walked a short distance from the school before boarding a taxi to the home of the man we would meet that night.