~Alisa~

_ You can only hurt me if I let you, and you can only know me if I show you, cause I'm the heroin, and you're my victim _
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By morning, I was first to wake up and I hurriedly prepared myself for school. And when I was finally done with all I had to do, I ate breakfast, with the rest of the family, and fled to school. It was Friday, and that meant the last day of school for the week. Unlike most students, who happened to be eager for the weekends, I wasn't. Instead, I seemed to be dreading the weekends. I wasn't sure what it'd bring, and I had a feeling it'd cause yet another commotion at home.

"Hey" A feminine, yet familiar voice, said to me. I looked to the side, and smiled at Dabere.

"Hey!" I smiled, enthusiastically, and stopped; to hug her. "I missed you, seriously. What happened? Why didn't you come to school?" I asked, slipping away from the hug.

"Issues," came her simple reply. I furrowed my brows, and stared at her in confusion. We'd already stopped walking to class, and were now standing at a corner of the school's massive hallway.

"What'd you mean?" I asked, and she folded her arms and heaved a sigh.

"Lisa, can I trust you? I really need girl advice, and I don't know who else to turn to. I have no sister, and I only have male friends... Mostly" she said, and I nodded to her to continue. "The thing is; I need you to swear to me that no matter what happens, you'll never tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. It'll ruin me, completely" she replied, and I didn't fail to notice the sudden seriousness in her eyes, and in her voice.

She stared at me, eyeball-to-eyeball, and I couldn't suppress the chills that ran through my skin. The fear of the unknown. "Can I trust you?" She asked again, and I nodded my head, affirmatively.

"Absolutely" I replied. With my reply, she scanned the entire hallway, and suddenly grabbed my hand and led the way to the restroom.

"My life is literally crap right now!" She let out, the minute we settled in a stall. I watched as she buried her face in her palms and began to shake her head in regret.

"Lisa... Yewande has ruined my life. I don't even know what to do anymore" she said to me, and I listened attentively. I urged her to continue, and settled my hands on her trembling shoulders.

"You remember that day you heard me yell at someone at the door? That day when you asked about it, and I said I wanted to be alone?" She asked, and I nodded in recognition.

"Well, that day... I was yelling at Tobenna. He's the school's Social Prefect, and I'm sure you don't know him" she said and heaved a sigh. "This is a really long story..." She began, and I urged her to continue, nonetheless.

"You can tell me what's going on. Trust me" I said to her, and she smiled gratefully at me, and continued.

"Earlier last year, Tobenna and I started hanging out with each other. We met at my brother's birthday party, and after that we just kinda clicked. That day, we exchanged phone numbers and soon after; we became pretty close. Too close even" she said, and looked at me, for confirmation. Encouragingly, I smiled at her to go on.

"Finally, he asked me out - after some months - and I agreed to date him. He was so nice to me, and everything was perfect... Not until Yewande came in. I really wish I had been wiser, knowing that he's friends with Yewande and basically ALL of Yewande's friends are his puppets. And unfortunately, Tobenna is one too.

"One day, he'd come over to my house, and had taken me by surprise. My parents weren't at home, and neither was my brother. Tobenna went on to saying we could watch a movie. I stupidly agreed, seeing no harm in it..." At this point, her eyes turned glassy and she couldn't keep talking.

Feeling pitiful, I placed my hand on her shoulder and made sure to assure her that it was okay. I didn't urge her to continue, because I knew she was finding it difficult to even speak.

"And in seconds, we just got carried away, and next thing I know: we're kissing, and things happen. Things that I wish never happened. I lost my virginity to him that day, and I didn't know the bastard filmed the entire thing!" Her voice broke at this point, and she began to sob. Her shoulders began to tremble and her tears began to spill freely.

"It's okay, Dabere. Please calm down" I told her, yet she didn't stop crying. "You don't have to continue telling the story if you don't want to" I said again.

She shook her head in refute. "I want to. I have to tell someone, and maybe then I'll have some peace of mind" she said, and I nodded in understanding.

"You remember that day at the bathroom, when I got you clean uniform and you had asked why I brought an extra uniform?" She asked, and I nodded in confirmation.

"I remember" I replied.

"Well, that was because Tobenna and I usually, um... We have this kind of intense make-out. And I just bring an extra uniform just so I don't stink of you-know-what. He's been blackmailing me - on Yewande's request - with the tape he has of us making out. I feel disgusted with myself, and I just have no choice but to do what the darn bastard says" she heaved a sigh, her tears: falling onto her palms. "That day at the door, he'd threatened to show the video to everyone... And to my parents, if I didn't come with him to the restroom. So I yelled at him, and that's when you asked what happened. At the end, I still did what he said... I had no choice, and I still have no choice up till this day" she cried all over again, and I felt she needed a hug and gave her one.

While I was hugging her, she kept sobbing. "He'd ask for nudes, Alisa. And I keep giving him, I do things I don't even want to do. And the worse part is; the minute my parents find out about this... I'm dead!" she said, and I kept patting her back; to keep her calm.

"Dabere..." I drawled, in pity. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea" I said, still hugging her. I could feel her tears wetting my shoulders, yet I didn't have a problem with them.

"But why does Yewande have to be such a devil? What did you ever do to him?" I asked, my curiosity couldn't be subsided.

With a sniffle, she let go of me and reached for her tears and slowly wiped them away. "Cause I had refused to date him. Yewande used to like me, and I used to like Tobenna. And because he wanted revenge, cause I rejected him, he had to use Tobenna to get to me. He chose to hurt me... And I stupidly—"

"Hey..." I cut her off. "You're not stupid, and it's not your fault that Yewande is such a devilish monster. You only made a mistake, Dabere. What's done is done... And there's absolutely nothing you can do to change that fact. We all make mistakes, but it's what we do to fix them that counts. Don't hate yourself for it" I said to her, looking into her eyes just enough to see how worn out and completely hurt they were.

"Alisa... You say that cause you don't know what it's like to feel the kind of inner rejection and disgust I feel. I hate myself! I just wish—" her voice broke, and she began to cry all over again. "I'm a whore, Alisa. A bloody whore!" She cried all over again, and I almost cried as well.

"Look, Dab, there's no need for that. And there's no need calling yourself a whore. It's not your fault that you did those things, you were forced to. And everyone makes mistakes sometimes. There's no need dwelling on something that you can never change. Hating yourself, will not change the fact that it happened. Being angry, is okay, you hear me? But wanting to despise yourself or constantly regretting your very existence will NEVER make you feel any better. It'll only make things worse. It'll lead to depression, so please stop" I said to her, and she sniffled and watched me say all I had to say.

"But, Alisa... My life is at ruins. I don't know what to do, cause this has given me sleepless nights. I've had to soak my pillows with my tears, I keep considering suicide and I'm tired of dancing to Yewande's and Tobenna's tunes," she cried all over again. "I'm tired, Alisa. I'm tired of even living this kind of life. I'm tired of everything!" And her tears spilled out of her eyes like an endless river. I tried my best to not cry along with her, cause seeing her cry made me all teary-eyed. How could Yewande have been so wicked?

I mean, I know the boy has no brains... But damn! The boy is a heartless beast!

"Yewande will pay for what he did, and so will that good-for-nothing fool, Tobenna. I'll make such of that. It's cool for Yewande to hurt me, that, I can take... But not when he messes with any of my friends. He'll pay, trust me" I said to her, and without warning, Dabere threw her hands around me once more, and hugged me so tight that I almost felt like I was losing oxygen.

"I want to believe you, Alisa. But I just don't know anymore" she said, and I could still feel her tears wetting my shoulder.

"God will always make a way where there's none. All I know, is that there's a reward or punishment for every deed done on this planet Earth. Whether it's good, or bad, they'll always be a reward or punishment for it" I said to her, and she nodded her head.

"Thank you, Alisa. I'm grateful that you didn't condemn me or even hate me or perhaps make me feel worse. For the rest of my life, I'll remain grateful for it. Thank you so much" she smiled at me, and I smiled back and finally slipped out of her embraced.

"Dab, you don't have to thank me for anything. Remember? You helped me when I needed it the most, and especially when Yewande had mistreated me. I'm only doing what a reasonable friend would do, so there's no need thanking me. It's my job" I told her, and she smiled warmly at me.

"‘Kay, so let's head back to class. Oh, and you need a little tissue so you can, you know? Wipe your tears. You can't walk out of here looking like a pile of poo - no offense" I said, and she laughed.

"None taken" she smiled and reached for a tissue, which she used to wipe away her tears and snot.

"Good?" She asked, and I nodded my head.

"Yeah" and with that, we walked out of the stall - and finally - out of the restroom.

* * *

When we both got to class, I was met by Christian who seemed to have been lost in his thoughts before I arrived. I opted to head back to the restroom, or perhaps the mini-garden, but I chose not to, and tried walking into class. Dabere had already walked to her seat, and I was about walking to mine when Christian pulled me back by my arm.

"I'm sorry, Alisa. Please forgive me for what I said to you" he said to me, and I let out an audible sigh.

"Let go of me" I said, my voice lacked emotions in them, so it was difficult to tell if I was pissed or basically just saying it.

"Promise you won't walk away?" He said, and I nodded in reply.

"I won't" and he finally let go of my hand.

I turned to look at him, and folded my arms at him. My gaze remained fixed on him, and I was sure that he felt nervous under my gaze.

"I'm really sorry about how I treated you the other day. I didn't mean to yell at you like that, I was just really angry. My mom being back, and remembering just how much I- I just... I... I'm really sorry for the way I spoke to you, Alisa. I shouldn't have and I'm very sorry" he said, and I still chose to keep my expressions neutral. I didn't know what to say to him.

"Say something, please. I really am sorry" he begged, yet I still refused to say a thing to him.

Frustrated, he let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. He kept running a hand through his wooly afro, and when he'd gotten too exhausted by my ignorance and silence, he decided to let me go. "You hate me already," he muttered. "Wow! And I was hoping you'd at least give me a chance to make things right. I really am sorry, Alisa. I swear it" he had a sad look on his face as he said, and when he did, he left and I tried calling him back; but the words just wouldn't come out.

I wasn't even sure I wanted to talk to him. I wasn't sure if I was mad at him, or basically just trying to make him feel the same way I did. I understood that it wasn't his fault, and I wished I could just call him back and explain things to him, but I just couldn't.

Maybe it was ego that kept the words rooted to my tongue, or perhaps the fact that I didn't know what to say to him. But either way, I was sure that I wasn't mad at him anymore.

I watched as he left our class, and walked to his class; which was just a stone throw from ours. I considered marching over to his class; to talk things through, but I didn't have the guts to face him at the moment. I simply let out a small sigh, and retired to my seat. And before I could even relax on my chair, the Christian Religious Studies teacher, walked into the class.

He was a light skinned man, who seemed to be in his late thirties. He had square-rimmed glasses perched on the top of his broad nose, and his face held a warm smile. I'd always been a fan of C. R. S, and I was sure to enjoy his class. Plus, the man seemed to be nice, and as he thought; I was relieved to have my head wrapped around something that wasn't chaos-related. At least, even it were for a short time.

His class went smoothly, but I had my mind racing through so many things. Things I found so hard to put in place. My life seemed to be a hazy mess. And I wondered why.

"Hey," that was the one voice I never thought I should ever hear again. I hoped the universe was simply playing tricks on my ears. But unfortunately, the reverse was the case.

"Get away from me. And do that before I explode" I warned, and he had the guts to have rolled his eyes at me.

"I just want to talk. What's wrong with that?" He asked and I finally turned to lock eyes with the moron behind that voice.

"Everything, Yewande. Every. Single. Goddamn. Thing! We're not friends so I'll advice that you keep your distance. I swear, I'm capable of killing you right now" I told him, and he seemed to have found my words amusing. Instead of feeling threatened, as I'd intended that he would, he laughed. And that only made my anger begin to simmer within me. I felt it bubble within my veins.

"It's free period. And I just want to talk to you. C'mon, we're classmates and we have to get used to seeing each other's faces" a smug smile slipped onto his lips.

"And your face gives me nightmares, Yewande. Get lost!" I warned and tried getting up to leave, yet he pulled me back and pinned me to my chair.

"No one, I mean, absolutely no one - not even teachers - walk out on me" he said, through gritted teeth as he glared at me. His grip on my arm suddenly increased and I fought the urge to wince in pain. "Do not try that again. I'm warning you now" he added, through gritted teeth and a murderous glare.

"You're not some god who I'm supposed to bow down to or be afraid of. You're just you. A spoilt, mannerless and heartless moron. To me, you're nothing but trash and a manipulative bastard. Everything about you, signifies stupidity and utter foolishness. So please, save your stupid threats for someone who actually cares" I said, and confidently pried his dirty fingers off my arm, and walked away.

"F*ck you, Alisa! F*ck you!" He yelled after me, yet I chose to ignore him.

To think that he'd have the guts to approach me. The insolent fool!

As soon as I left the class, I made my way to Christian's. Normally, I'd never walk into his class, cause most of his classmates were super obnoxious, but I had to because I really wanted to talk to him.

The minute I stepped foot into his class, it felt like time froze and most - if not all - heads were turned towards me. Pairs of scrutinizing eyes were fixed on me, and in no time, chattering and numerous side comments were being passed.

"What is she even doing here?"
I heard a short, slim girl say. She had really intimidating pair of eyes, and she was extremely pretty. She was so pretty, that I began to ask myself where I was when beauty was being shared in Heaven.

"This one that use to carry herself for no reason"
Another, whom I didn't even bother to take notice of, said.

"I've heard so many gists about this girl. She's super weird oh!"
The same girl, from before, said. I wondered why I was still listening to their stupid comments, as I walked towards Christian's seat. He had his head on his table, and so he was unaware of my presence.

"And it seems like she likes Christian"
Someone else said. That particular comment almost made me erupt with laughter. After all, people will be people and gossips must gossip.

"I don't like her"
The short, slim girl - from before - said again.

'Who cares?',
came my subconscious.

"Christian?" I said, the minute I got to his seat, lightly tapping on his arm.

With a small groan, he finally managed to lift up his head. I immediately understood that he had been sleeping, cause his eyes were a little reddened and his groans seemed a lot groggy.

"Oh... Alisa," he murmured to himself, the minute he finally took recognition of my face. "I'm pretty sure you hate me now, so why are you here?" he meant to mutter that part, but unfortunately I heard it yet I chose to ignore it.

His classmates were still busy passing numerous side comments, and their judging eyes were still fixed on me - scratch that - us. And that was good, cause sometimes I did enjoy the attention.

"I wanted to talk to you... But not here. Can you maybe come with me to the mini-garden?" I asked, and he nodded his head and finally got up.

Eyes were still fixed on us, and for reasons which I considered hilarious, the girls eyed me with distaste. In all honesty, I seriously fought the urge to laugh right at their faces. What were they even thinking? Christ!

Girls will be girls.

As Christian and I walked to the mini-garden, a certain wave of awkwardness filled us both and we kept walking in silence.

Occasionally, Christian would kick a few stones he'd come across and I'd just stay quiet and continued with walking.

"I really hope you're not about to give me some really bad news. I've heard enough for one day" Christian finally broke the ice and I glanced at him, and wondered what he meant by that.

"No. Not bad news" I managed to say and he nodded in understanding.

"Then are you still mad at me?" He asked, and his eyes finally found mine. I noticed a glint of hope in them, and... Hurt?

"I'm not. I was, but not anymore," I started and we soon got to the mini-garden and settled on a bench there. "I know I made a mistake by constantly questioning you, even though I knew you were already really angry. A wise person would've left you alone; to cool off, yet I didn't. And I'm sorry about that" I said and I noticed he smiled at me and reached for my hand.

"Thank you. Honestly, I wasn't expecting you to forgive me. Not everyone would cause they—"

"I was at fault too. It's right for me to apologise... So have you forgiven me?" I asked, cutting him off in the process, with a small smile on my lips.

With a small chuckle and a nod, he smiled at me too. "Yes. No doubt about that" he replied and I grinned.

Silence lingered for a few minutes before he spoke up again. "I'm sorry about our fight. I didn't mean anything I said, I swear" he said and I shrugged.

"Don't worry. Those are a thing of the past" I said to him and he nodded in understanding.

Again, a brief silence embraces us both.

"I tried speaking with Bili about the misunderstanding you both have, but I'm not sure what's on her mind right now. She can be really difficult when it comes to matters like these" he said and I heaved a long sigh.

"It's okay. You've tried your best. As of now, I'm just waiting for the worst of the worst to happen... As usual" I said and he suddenly turned to look at me, concern muddled in his eyes.

"I can't believe you just said that. The Alisa I know is a vibe. A positive one" he said and I chuckled at the level of concern embedded in his voice and in his gaze.

"Would you quit looking at me like that?" I chuckled, trying to change the topic.

"Like what?" He rolled his eyes at me and I shrugged.

"Stop being so concerned about me. I'm already used to all these things, and you being concerned this much will only end up making me feel bad. One day, I'll be out of this school and out of that house, without—"

"Don't say that!" he smacked my head and I winced and glared at him.

"Ouch! What was that for?" I groaned, glaring at him and rubbing my sore head.

"For being such a sadist. Say one more sad something again and I'll slap you into last year" he said and I laughed out loud.

"You wouldn't" I laughed again.

"Ha! Ogbeni, to slap person is not a hard something for me oh. Anyhow you want it, just mention it and I'll give you some" he replied and I chuckled. I knew he could slap me again, so I simply chose to dead the sad topic and divert into a new one.
["Ha! My friend, to slap someone is not a hard thing for me. Anyhow you want it, just mention it and I'll give you some"].

"How about Queen? It's been long since I last saw her" I said, and he leaned on the bench and sighed.

"She's fine oh. She's just too busy with her darling Nazir. Dude had been sucking her mind dry. He's practically all she thinks about these days" he said and I laughed.

"She's lovesick?" I asked.

"Very" he replied and I laughed again.

"Free her jor. Unlike you and I, who are practically inexperienced in the love world, she has got herself a boo. Whereas, we're just spectators" I laughed and he shrugged. He shrugged too and place his hands at the back of his head.

"Speak for yourself, chica. I'm dating someone already" I didn't know when, but my jaw instantly dropped at the exact moment.

How did I not know this?!

"You- you are? I mean, you have? Jesus! I feel so stupid right now. And I was just going on and on about-" I instantly facepalmed myself. "I don't have sense. I just don't have sense" I groaned into my palms and he laughed so loudly that I felt even way more embarrassed.

"My friend, chill! All this one is for what now?" He replied and I eyed him and hissed.

"Whatever," I hissed again. "So who are you dating then?" I asked, and he adjusted his tie and grinned.

"One fine, sexy, cute - Jesus! If you see this girl you'll turn gay by force. She's pretty, smart, tall - oh my gawd! She's a—" I smacked his head so hard that he had to place both hands on his head, rubbing the sore spot I'd smacked.

"She's this, she's that. My friend, get to the darn point already!" I laughed at him and he groaned, rubbing on his sore head. What was that saying again?

Yes! An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. Smack me, I smack you back.

Honestly, I was happy that he praised his girlfriend that way. For all I knew, most guys didn't always praise their girlfriends like he had just done. That made me respect him a little more.

"Her name is Precious" he told me, and a proud smile lined on his full lips.

I furrowed my brows, trying to figure out if I knew anyone by that name. "I don't think I know her" I said and he shrugged.

"She's in my class" he told me, and my mouth formed an 'O'. I noticed he glanced at the distance ahead, and soon grinned so widely at something or someone.

I turned my head to the side, and met eyes with the same pretty girl from before. The slim one who had been passing stupid side comments.

Please don't tell me she's the Precious.

"Hey, babe!" I watched as Christian walked up to her and slipped a hand around her waist.

The girl by her side, who was incredibly beautiful as well and had a pretty set of woody brown eyes, a thick figure and a gorgeous smile, waved at me. Surprised at her friendly gesture, I waved back and smiled at her too.

"Alisa, this is Precious" Christian said and I forced a small smile out of me.

Kill me!

"And this," he gestured to the girl by her side. "Is Mamus" he said. "She's also a friend of mine" he said and I nodded in understanding.

Mamus came to sit next me, and I was beyond marvelled at her friendliness. "Nice to meet you" she said, and extended a hand for a shake.

With a smile, I shook hands with her. "And you too" I replied and she grinned.

"Nice to meet you, Alisa" I heard a tiny feminine voice, which sounded beautiful on its own. It was Precious' and I could tell her smile was partially fake and partially genuine.

"And you too" I finally returned the smile.

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I'm sure @mamus2005 is grinning wherever she is right now. For her crayfish mind nau😂

Anyways, I'm grilling chicken oh. Who wants?😏

For where? Who dash me chicken wey I dey grill?? Abegg o, I'm just craving chicken anyhow these days😂😂🤣💔

Please don't forget to vote and please leave a comment if you can. I'd also appreciate it if you share this story with your friends as well. And thank you guys so much for getting this book this far. I love you all❤️❤️❤️❤️

Next update: As the spirit leads. (Don't mine me😂) it's on Sunday.

Bye!❤️❤️❤️