With long strides, Ruth walked up to the PHE teacher who she had sighted laughing foolishly with one of the SS3 female students.

She was beyond disgusted. For goodness sake, that man was married with a kid. Wasn't it high time, he stopped flirting?!

She hissed bitterly.

"Good evening, Sir." It was obviously time for their evening lessons but since they had no revision class, she decided to confront the man before her for what he had done that really provoked her.

He smiled warmly at her as his eyes swept her form. On noticing that his attention was divided, the Senior girl that was with him hissed angrily.

"What are you doing here?" The Senior snapped. "Don't you have classes?"

Ruth's eyes went all three-sixty as she hesitated not in ignoring the older girl before her.

"Sir, I want to know why I wasn't put in the list of those running in the just concluded inter house sports." Ruth began.

"I would have boosted my house's score and Imperial house would have emerged the winner." She added.

"Go back to your class, Ruth. Since when did you become so famous an athlete, that no race would be ran without you?" The PHE teacher glared at her.

Upon noticing that the man was getting worked up, the senior stroked his arm lovingly.

Ruth glared at the duo.

"Rephrase that question, Sir. Since when did I stop being selected for races?" She inquired.

"Can you stop stressing your sports master?" That provoking voice of the Senior sprang out, yet again.

Ruth snapped.  "And I was never talking to you."

                  ΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠ

The Jet club meeting was ongoing in one of the school halls. One the left hand side were the junior students, having their seats arranged orderly in rows and columns. While the Senior students had their own seats at the right hand side, in a similar orderly arrangement.

The Jet Club functionaries were standing up. While the president and his vice, stood at a corner, in front of the hall, interrogating the secretary, the time keeper and treasurer walked around the hall to ensure tranquility.

"Alright," The President nodded and paused for an effect, which he got.

"All Hail The Great Jet Club!" He chanted.

"As we nuture the future science." The members which obviously consisted of all science students and those aspiring to be one, answered.

"May the Secretary run us through with the happenings of the last meeting." He asked.

The hall was dead silent as they listened up. The assistant administarative prefect who happened to be the secretary walked to the focal point of the hall front.

"In the last concluded meeting, several projects were proposed to be worked on. As it was stated that, in the next club meeting, the members would be divided into groups and be assigned their group leaders. Also, the schools board of management had informed us that their reps would be present in our last club meeting of the term, which will be two weeks from now." The male secretary stated, paused and took in a breathe.

"Asides that, three members were late to the meeting last time and were taxed to pay the sum of five hundred naira today." He ended.

"And who are those faulted?" The Vice President asked as she used her eyes to scan the hall. Immediately, three members stood up.

"Have you paid the money to the treasurer?" She questioned.

Two nodded but one didn't.

"You that is standing like an stick, have you paid?" The girl shook her head in response.

"Aren't you Faith Daniels?" The vice president asked rheotorically. "The girl with___" She coughed, intentionally not finishing her statement as she had already driven her message home.

Faith smiled faintly.

Ruth had destroyed her profile in Stardom Academy.

The president shot his vice a very stern look and then told those standing up to have their seat.

Then they delved into the topic of the day. They were discussing about the Electrical Circuit. And they used the circuit one of the club members had constructed to practicalize the topic.

The junior students were marvelled while the senior students that had already been taught that topic, learnt more as it was really discussed in details.

"But, excuse me, What is this resistance you guys are talking about?" One of JSS3 female students who Faith was quick to remember as Esther Darwins school daughter, rose up and asked.

"It is simply the measure of opposition to the current flow in an electrical circuit." Someone answered.

The JSS3 girl nodded and sat down.

"So according to what I have seen, it will be better if I hand each class a project rather than mixing classes randomly. The free period of a JSS3 student maybe not be one for a SS1 student." The President stated.

Some students grumbled. Some of the junior students had wanted to use this group project as an avenue of seducing some handsome senior boys.

Well, until shit hit the fan.

"JSS1 students should go to the back of the hall, at the right. JSS2 arrange yourselves at the left___ Where are this foolish SS2 students, quickly come to this side that I am standing___"

And that was how the classes were divided and given a leader.

Faith sighed. Their class jet club project was to create something that would satisfy aesthetic feelings. Something that would be related to music, art.

"Sit down, everyone." After that little exercise was concluded, they were made to get their asses back on their seats.

Many of them groaned as they were already tired.

"The next club meeting would be a handover of positions. The nominated members should wait behind so as to be addressed by I and..." She nodded towards the club president.

"The meeting is over, guys. All hail the great Jet Club!" She stated.

Reluctantly most of them answered. "As we nuture the future science."

                 ΠΠΠΠΠΠΠΠ

The stairs was rowdy as some students squeezed their way through the diverse sizes and shapes of human bodies, so as to either get down or up the stairs.

About fifteen Press Club junior students could be seen in their shorts/pleated skirts, peach shirts and bow ties; standing in rows with a printed article in their hands.

"Good evening, seniors." They would greet and then, distrbute to those that cared to take. Meanwhile, some other juniors were in the junior section, distributing the same article to their mates.

Faith had just exited the hall where the Jet Club meeting had been held. She was done talking with the president and his annoying vice.

"Senior Faith, good evening." One of the pressure club junior members greeted her.

What Infamous Popularity could this be!!

She internally groaned.

She took the article the girl had stretched forth to her.

"What silly drama is it, this time around?" She hissed, folding the article without sparing it a glance and holding it carefully.

She would go through it when she returns back to the hostel.

As she walked, her mind flew to Helen. She couldn't wait to see Helen and tell her how she would seen be the vice president of the Jet Club.

"Faith!" Just when she was thinking of meeting Helen, the fat girl appeared from nowhere and engulfed her in a hug.

"Where have you been?" Faith smiled heartily as her friend rolled her eyes.

"Press Club meeting, dhur!."

They both laughed.

"I have gist for you, my dear." Helen began, a strong contagious vibe emanating from her.

"Hmm. My ears are wide open o." Faith laughed softly.

"I think, Victory Alade-Martins is now getting sense o. Didn't you receive the article distributed all around SA?" Helen began.

"I received it but I haven't gone through it. Honestly speaking, I'm not even sure that I will check it out. Those press club members are always up to no good. Never minding their business and disgusting people with their absurd mindset." I opened up.

Helen shook her head. "You claimed that Victory stole that your lilac short note you had written down your poems. You also claimed that those SCARS quotes is yours. But the truth is__ Press club doesn't publish stolen or plagiarised works."

Faith gulped.

Is she for real?

"So you're insinuating that I, Faith Ifechukwu Daniels, is a bloody liar. Weren't you that same person that told me how the SA's printing press manager had barged into your class many weeks ago with a guy that had printed the article, looking for her." Faith started angrily.

"But Alas, the almighty bitch was taking some photo shoots in, only her stupid friends knows where. You were the same person that told me that she got suspended from the press club and was taxed a certain amount to pay for breaking the rules. Weren't you the one?" Faith raised my voice at Helen.

She took multiple steps back. "I'm sorry__ Look, it wasn't meant to come out that way. What I was trying to make you understand___"

Again her riled up friend interrupted her. "Understand what? Helen! Helen what should I understand? Helen I should keep quiet when some idiot is holding my stuff and publishing articles based on my poem. Now think this through, when she was away from school, was any article published? No! None of it were published."

"And now she is back, boom! Her works continues." Faith laughed like a maniac, not knowing what had come over her.

"She still went ahead to publish another of my hardwork. Something that took both my blood, sweat and tears to pen down. You, Helen, you know more than any one that I find it difficult to have poetic inspirations. I cherish every fucking poems of mine, you hear?!" She yelled.

She was attracting attention to themselves. Attentions that on a normal day, would have pissed her off. But right now, she cared not.

She almost loved it.

At least, for once in her stay in SA, she wanted to be a drama queen that didn't give two fucks.

"So all this stupid uncalled tantrum of yours is for what? Faith, if only you shout this much to all your bullies then your life would be much better. Don't vent your frustrations on me. I also have my shits to tackle." Helen barked.

Faith veered back.

She was stunned.

"If you want to be the real diva, go and report to the press club or rather the school authorities. Don't you dare, tackle me like that again." Helen warned and walked off, boiling in anger.

Faith laughed once again like a maniac. "And this is how you will keep on walking away on every good thing that comes your way in life. Idiot. I will tell them, I will surely report to the authorities."

Hundreds of students had gathered around her, watching her. Some in pity, some in mockery and some blankly.

She stilled.

Then she felt much acrimony build up within her soul. "Why are you all staring at me?!" She snapped.

"Get the hell off and stop being disgusting rotten spirited pigs!!" She yelled, pushing through the crowd that began making way for her to pass.

And just from the stair case was Victory Alade-Martins, smiling and giggling at the euphoric feeling her heart was filled with.

              ΠΠΠΠΠΠ

Her eyes rolled back in pure bliss.

She had taken two of the pills but they weren't enough to relieve her pains. So she had gone back to her bed, tucked her hand into her pillow case and retrieved those tableted, round shaped, blue pills.

Percocets...

They brought her bliss and took away her hell. But something she never knew was that, they hued her blue sky to the dullest grey.

She had stared at those round, blue coloured pills and smiled. Her body was already hyper as it knew the level of peace and highness those pills could give it.

"Don't take any more of this after you are done with this tablet." Her doctor had pointed at the pink, oval shaped 2.5/325 mg of her pills.

She nodded. Her mother just hmmed.

But after that encounter with those pills, she took more and more...

Till she had to steal from her mum to buy those pills.

Till the pharmacists in her neighborhood stopped selling them to her, after getting to know how frequently she made use of them.

Till she had to turn into a slut to make some money that would be used for those pills.

That Percocet.

Ruth shook away those pessimistic thoughts away from her head as she glared at the round, blue pills in her hand. On one side of the pills were imprinted 5/325mg. And on the other side were the words PERCOCET boldly imprinted.

Gone were the days when she would depend solely on those pink pills. They didn't silence her pains, anymore.

And unfortunately, she had noticed that her body was growing used to the feeling of this blue pills. She knew that the next would be those peach ones of 7.5/325mg.

Swallowing those pills, being fully aware that she was overdosing, she bit on her lips and threw her head back.

What would have life been like without these pills?

Life would more deadening that it already was.

She felt dizzy and would have been driven off to the adventure world, had the purposed locked room door, not been flung open.

She jerked up as her eyes widened in shock. She was sure that she locked the room door.

She was so damn sure.

She shifted on her bed and heard jiggles of key. And that was when it dawned on her that her impatience to get high and rid of those pains, had gotten her to forget locking the door.

"What?!" Though she was weak, she tried all she could to snap harshly at a staring Melissa and Fiona who hissed and went to their individual beds.

"Someone can not just behave like an ordinary person for once." Fiona stated, bringing out her assignment book.

"That's how imbalanced life is," Melissa seconded with a laugh that stabbed at Ruth's heart.

Ruth would have spoken but she couldn't handle her dizziness. So she succumbed to the alluring force as she was grateful that her drug tabs had been in her pillow case.

********

Honestly, I feel so bad for Ruth,😩😩.

She seems to have gone through alot😪💔.

What are your thoughts. Make sure to vote and comment oo🥺.