CHAPTER 4

Hey! It's Maria!" Bella announced as she ran towards me, drawing me in for a warm embrace, followed by Prisca and Rachelle.

"Oh, I'm so glad you resumed school today!" Rachelle commented.

"You look so beautiful," Prisca added.

"Thank you, girls. Let's go in," I responded.

We all walked into the classroom, meeting the unwavering eyes of our classmates. Some of them approached me to ask about my welfare, while others acted ignorant of my predicament. As I observed the class thoroughly, I realized that Joel and Christy were not in class.

"Where's Joel?" I asked Prisca, who was standing in front of my desk.

"I saw him earlier walking off to the library with Christy," she responded.

"What would they be doing in the library this early?" I asked rhetorically. Not wanting to think about Joel or Christy, I reached for my iPad and told Bella to send me all the lessons they had covered while I was away.

Soon, the lesson bell rang, and a teacher walked into the classroom, followed by some classmates who had been hanging around the school after the assembly. Joel and Christy strolled into the classroom, holding hands. As soon as Joel's eyes met mine, he quickly removed his hands from Christy's and came to sit beside me.

"Hey, Pumpkin. You fina…lly resumed," he stuttered. "I've been praying and hoping you'd come to school soon. I'm so happy you're here. How are you doing?"

I ignored all his questions, paying rapt attention to the teacher in front of the class. He readjusted his seat and engaged in the class as well. As soon as the class was over, I walked out, and Joel followed.

"Maria! Maria, wait! Please, wait!" he pleaded as he ran after me.

When I found a quiet space, I stopped.

"Maria, why are you treating me like this? I know you've been through so much, but you're pushing everyone away," he lamented.

"Are you trying to act oblivious to the fact that I saw you holding hands with Christy? Or how you're always in hidden places with her? Do you take me for a fool, Joel?" I questioned angrily.

"What? How could you say that? Christy has been there for me ever since you've been away. I've been sad, depressed, and overwhelmed by your absence. I haven't even recovered from what happened to you, but Christy was there to motivate me and make me believe everything would be fine. And now you're blaming me for accepting emotional help from a friend? What else should I have done, Maria? I came to your house with my parents on weekends, but you always locked yourself in your room. You never allowed me to see you. I tried so hard to talk to you, but you never responded to my texts or picked up my calls, no matter how much I tried. I was going crazy, Maria, and Christy was the only one there for me," he responded defensively.

"Ever since Christy became friends with you, I had to struggle for your attention. All the fun things we did together, you started doing with her even before my ordeal. You are the reason I disobeyed my father in the first place! If you had arrived a little earlier, maybe I wouldn't have been taken by those men. Do you even know what I went through?" I complained bitterly.

"Really? So it's my fault now, huh?" he questioned angrily.

"I needed time to heal, to accept my reality, and to be myself again, but in that short time of trying to get myself together, you jumped into Christy's arms. And now you're blaming me for not being available?" I responded.

"I can't believe you blame me for what happened to you. And I can't believe you think I'm using this as an excuse to be with Christy," he replied, guilt-ridden.

"Just be sincere with me, Joel! Do you love Christy?" I asked.

There was a brief moment of silence before he responded.

"I can't believe you would ask me such a silly question after everything we've been through together. You're destroying our relationship simply because you're so insecure," he said and walked away.

I sobbed quietly as I left for the restroom.

That evening, I eventually reconciled with Joel. I texted him after the argument, reassuring him of my feelings for him and apologizing for my insecurity. We got back together and continued our relationship. I wanted my relationship with Joel to work, regardless of everything that had happened. Being emotionally strong, I tried my best to put my experiences behind me, but that turned out to be the most difficult thing ever. Although I couldn't feel the pain anymore and had fewer nightmares, the memories of my ordeal lived with me every day. I also wondered how Joel would feel if he found out I hadn't told him everything. My mum warned me never to speak of it to anyone, as only my father had seen the video. I had kept it to myself ever since—not even my siblings knew about it.

Months passed, and we were finally in SS3. My relationship with Joel was going well, and his friendship with Christy was failing drastically. He chose me, and I was so happy about it. SS2 was full of ups and downs for me, but my family was happy again, and we moved on with our lives. I even stopped therapy and was out and about, having fun and living a good life. My dad stopped searching for the men who hurt me, and we decided to let it go and focus on ourselves. Joel's family still visited occasionally, but not as often since there was no longer a political agenda for our parents.

Meanwhile, my friends were doing great. Bella won first place in the Cowbell Spelling Bee competition, and we celebrated with her family. Prisca and Rachelle were excelling academically. We were all planning for university. Prisca wasn't interested in studying in Nigeria, so she didn't take the Joint Matriculation Board Exams with us. By the third term, we would write our WAEC exams, which would secure our university admissions. This was an exciting time for us.

To top it all off, we were preparing for our graduation dinner, or prom night, as Americans would call it. The school king and queen would be elected, awards and gifts would be given, and so many fun activities were planned. Prefects would also be recognized for their services. I wasn't a prefect because I wasn't in school during the nomination and election, but I was happy nonetheless, trying to live my best life.

The voting process for school king and queen had begun, and Joel and I were among the nominees. We campaigned class to class during breaks and offered acts of service to win votes. We balanced this with our academics, putting in our best efforts as first term neared its end.

"Hi, Pumpkin, where will your family be spending the Christmas holiday?" Joel asked.

"Well, my mum has been talking about the Maldives for a while now," I responded.

"That's a nice place. My family is going to Abu Dhabi," he said.

"Wow. Have a lot of fun! We'll keep in touch," I assured him.

"And streak me on Snapchat frequently," he added.

"I will," I said, leaning in for a hug. He tried to kiss me.

"Hey, Joel! We're not 18 yet," I reminded him.

"A little kiss won't hurt, Pumpkin. Plus, I'm not in a hurry. You'll always be mine," he assured me.

I smiled happily, but I was soon slammed with the reality that I was deceiving Joel. I felt disappointed and ashamed.

"What's wrong, Pumpkin?" he asked, cupping my face in his palm.

"Nothing, Joel. I'm fine. Let's go home," I responded.

"No, Pumpkin, my driver isn't here yet, and I still want to spend some time with you. I won't see you again until second term. I need more time with you. Can you hug me more tightly?" he asked teasingly.

I adjusted and drew him in for a tighter hug. "I love you, Joel," I confessed passionately.

"I love you too," he responded.

My driver arrived, and I had to say my goodbyes and leave with my sisters.

"How long will you continue to hide me?" Christy asked as she walked toward Joel. "I'm tired of being hidden. Watching you hug her, kiss her, sit beside her in class, and act like I don't exist sometimes. You only display your love and affection for me in the dark. I'm fed up," she lamented.

"Listen, baby, I can't just announce to the world that we are dating. It would come with a backlash. You will lose your friends, and everyone will make us the talk of the school. I really love you, and you know it. Just have some patience. We are almost done with school. After we graduate, I will break up with her and focus on us," Joel promised.

"I can't believe I have to endure this for two more terms. That's almost six months. It's a really long time for me to keep sneaking around with you. I don't care about the backlash or what people have to say. I've given you everything already. Maria won't have sex with you, but I did. I've done everything you ever wanted just to prove myself to you. What more would I do for you to leave her as soon as possible?" Christy responded.

"Baby, please don't sound like this. We do spend a lot of time together. I visit you all the time. We even go on dates and picnics together. The only place where I don't show you off is in school, and that's because I can't stand people judging you or calling you names. I just need you to understand that after school, you will get everything you want, okay?" he assured her.

She nodded in agreement and leaned in for a hug, but Joel rejected it, pleading with her that people were watching and would tell Maria about it. They both separated and went their various ways.

How time flies. The Christmas holidays were swiftly over, and all the hustling and bustling of Lagos resumed as usual. Christmas in the Maldives was amazing, and I would love to go again. Meanwhile, we had to get ready for second-term resumption, and there were so many bills to be paid. My sisters and I went shopping for school, and we got a lot of nice stuff. As usual, I got my friends resumption gifts. I also got Joel a Christmas gift, a New Year's gift, and a resumption gift. I had missed him a lot since we hadn't seen each other physically for so long.

Our communication during the holiday was intense. We would always video call, text, streak each other, and post from time to time. Yet, it felt like a part of me was missing since he wasn't with me physically. I couldn't wait to see him at school.

I got my hair done and a new set of manicure and pedicure. The first day of school resumption was finally here. I got to school quite early, but Bella and Prisca had not resumed yet. It was just Rachel and Christy. After about twenty minutes, Prisca and Bella arrived, followed by Joel. By the time the school assembly was over, I saw Joel alighting from his father's car. I ran to give him a hug, greeted his dad, and wished him a Happy New Year.

We walked back to the class, where I ushered him to our desk to show him all the gifts I got for him. He was so excited as he unboxed them, showing them off to his friends. The lesson bell rang, and we settled down for our class to begin. Our teacher eventually came in, and lessons started. During the break, we talked about our travels and all the new stuff we got during the Christmas holiday. Bella also reminded us that her birthday was coming up at the end of January, which was just two weeks away. She was going to be hosting a very big party. She Invited us and requested a nice gift.

Her birthday plans was what we talked about all week. We helped her select a beautiful outfit, hairstyle, heels, jewelry, and everything she needed for her birthday. Bella is usually indecisive, so she always asked for my help to make decisions. She proceeded to share her invitation and color code at school, inviting interested students to her birthday party. It was going to be a big event, and everyone was super excited to be there.

As the party approached, I told Joel to come with me to shop for our outfits. He got a blue suit, and I got a pink gown. We tried on so many other outfits, but pink and blue were our best picks. We even took pictures together.

Finally, Bella's birthday arrived. My sisters were so slow in getting ready. The driver was also off that day, so we had to wait for Mum to drop us off at Bella's residence. I kept communicating with Joel and the rest of my friends, and everyone was already there. My mum finally arrived and drove us to the party.

I made my way through the crowd to look for Bella, bearing my gift.

"Christy! Christy!" I heard someone call as she tapped my shoulder. I turned around to look at her with a confused expression.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were Christy," she apologized.

I nodded and proceeded to look for Bella. I met her dad on the stairway, greeted him, and asked where Bella was. He directed me to the living room, so I made my way there.

"Hi, guys!" I greeted loudly and excitedly.

"Oh my God, it's Maria!" Prisca announced as she and Rachel approached me, giving me a hug.

"We thought you wouldn't make it," Bella said.

"I'm so sorry for the delay. My mom took a lot of time before she came to pick us up," I responded.

There was a sudden pause followed by stares. Everyone was glaring at me and looking back at Christy. I looked up at Christy, who had a grin on her face. She was wearing the exact outfit and shoes I had on. I was confused for a moment. I couldn't wrap my head around what was happening.

"Did you guys shop from the same store?" Bella's sister asked, staring at me and then back at Christy.

Everyone started laughing at her lame joke.

"I've always had the gown. Maybe Maria saw it on me and decided to buy it too. She should have asked where I got mine from. Hers looks fake," Christy quickly responded.

Everyone started laughing again.

I shot a mean stare at Joel, and I could see the guilt in his eyes. He was the only one who saw my gown and even took a picture of it. He was best friends with Christy and must have show Christy our pictures. There was no way she had that outfit before.

I readjusted my outfit, walked up to Bella, and handed her my gift.

"Happy birthday, Bella," I said.

"Don't let Christy ruin your day. Have fun at my party," Bella whispered.

I turned around and walked out of the living room as Joel ran after me.

"Hey, Pumpkin, don't think too much of it. It's just an outfit," he suggested.

"How did she know?" I questioned.

"I don't know, Pumpkin," he responded.

"Wow! You are lying to my face, Joel…"

"You showed her our picture from the day we went to shop for our outfits, and she decided to buy the same gown and shoes I bought. She even called mine fake! And here you are, trying to act oblivious," I expressed my anger.

"You are just trying to start an argument as usual. Why can't you just let this slide and ignore it? You're worried about clothes? Shoes? What's wrong with you, Maria?

You always exaggerate matters. This is why I'm tired of you. Christy is way better than you, and you know it! That's why you feel so insecure about her!" he exclaimed.

I furiously smacked him across the face.

"Joel!" Christy screamed from behind as she followed after us, standing at a distance, eavesdropping.

Without another word, I angrily walked away into the noisy crowd.