Dedicated to PearlMichael6. And Benzita13

🌺🌺"Never be ashamed of not being rich. In the end, it's not your money or wealth that matters, but how much love you've shown and how better you left the world than you found it"🌺🌺

Disclaimer: very abusive words up ahead.

A week had gone by since the incident at the convenience.

Ifechi had almost forgotten about what she saw that Monday afternoon.

Keyword: almost.

But any thought of exposing Aliyah or that paedophilic man of a further maths teacher had been long forgotten.

That is until the big fight.

And no, it wasn't with her.

It was during a free period, very few people were in class and it was noisy. Rumours about the oncoming Saturday extra classes had began flying with no absolute verification when Aliyah screamed.

"You stupid Bitchh!!!"

There was a moment of silence as most people turned their attention to see what had happened and who she was shouting at.

It was someone they least expected.

Rachel.

The slim, pretty brown skinned girl was visibly shaking, clearly intimidated by the figure in her front. She looked around nervously, agitated the more when she saw the attention was now on her. She hated feeling embarrassed, she'd never been embarrassed. She usually did the embarrassing, together with her friends, when there was a junior student whose fuckup had to be treated or even a classmate that needed some 'friendly advice.'

"Aliyah you're taking things too far, I said I was sorry" she pleaded.

"Don't you dare call my name! Who are you to lecture me on dignity? Are you insane?!"

"You're really taking things far o, it was just a simple advice I was trying to give you, to stop killing yourself over some dude" Rachel said, clearly aware that if the matter escalated any further, she would bear the most cross. So she tried to make peace as quick as possible.

Aliyah wasn't having any of it.

"So you've turn to relationship adviser abi? Expert on men. Did you tell yourself the same thing when you went about shamelessly sleeping with other people's boyfriends behind their back!" She spat.

The whole class went silent.

Heiiiii!

"Wh....wha....What are you talking about?" Rachel said feigning ignorance.

Aliyah scoffed. "ohhh, so you think I don't know what you've been doing. You may have had everyone fooled but not me..."

Then she said in a louder voice. "I know you were the one that gave Gabriel a blowjob that night at Grace's party"

Dun dun dun!

Grace was surprisingly one to intervene. She stood up and tapped Aliyah twice.

"What are you talking about? Don't go about spewing rubbish about someone if you're not sure" Grace warned sternly, glancing back and forth between her two friends. Rachel stood solemnly, a good distance from Aliyah whose eyes glinted with mischief.

"Yes Aliyah, we saw the video" another classmate said. "It was *cough* you-know-who that did it" the person said making reference to Ayomide's desk where the busty girl sat head down and fast asleep on her desk.

"That's what all of you think and that's because whoever videoed it was probably bribed not to reveal the true identity. That's why the video is so blurry. I caught Rachel following Gabriel to the restroom that night, she's the real slut!"

Murmurs.

"Wait o, so you're saying it's Rachel that we saw in that video and not her" Joyce said amused, pointing shamelessly from Rachel to Ayomide."

"Yes, and infact there's even more" Aliyah replied.  "The most disgusting fact is that she did it all for money like the shameless and gold-digging prostitute she is."

"Stop calling me names Aliyah!" Rachel fired back. "Yes I may have given someone a bj and so what, haven't you done so too? What makes you think you're better than me? I'm tired of your attitude Aliyah, it's irritating. You're selfish and bossy and rude and annoying, and everytime someone tries to talk sense into you, you'll just start shouting and ranting anyhow, I'm tired of being your friend abeg, ah ah what is it? Everytime you'll be treating me like trash when I'm way better than you Eh? What's your damn problem?!"

Everyone waited in anticipation for the next reply but instead Aliyah burst out laughing.

"See ....see this one o" she said still in a fit of laughter. "You and who are friends? See this one o! Or is it because I've been tolerating your stupid fake lifestyle that you think we are on the same level, eh? She spat

"What...what do you mean?" Rachel stuttered fear evident in her tone.

Aliyah laughed again, this time more menacingly.

"Does everyone know that you're on scholarship and that your parents aren't as rich as you claim to be?"

Dun dun!

Rachel stood transfixed.

How did she find out? She thought to herself.

"I...I don't know, I..." She stammered.

"No now talk! You have mouth to be running up and down so tell us, who really pays your school fees? As you're like this, with your stupid face and ugly body that you'll be using to form 'i want to be a model... yen yen yen' why don't you tell us the real reason why you're so skinny. Do people know that it's because you don't have enough food to eat at home and the leftovers you can get from your Oga is not enough for your wretched family?" Aliyah blurted.

Haa!

"If you don't start talking I'll continue. Should I tell everyone that what your mum really does for a living?"

"Aliyah pls it's ok.." Rachel said quietly pleading.

"Oh so you can beg now, no o...let me finish. Let me tell everyone that your mum is a maid who got pregnant for her Oga and the only reason he pitied you enough to send you to this school is so that his main wife doesn't find out that he's been fooling with the maid."

"This is ridiculous! I can't stand this anymore. Aliyah, I'm sure you don't know what you're talking about. Rachel's mum is a fashion designer, a renowned brand owner, why are you saying such things against her?!" Grace spat angrily.

"She fooled even you too Grace. Her mother owns nothing, fashion designer ko, fashion designer ni, no be only. The thing her mother is good at designing is the boys quarter they live in, which is next to the 'big mansion' she has been lying to us about."

"Rachel is a wretched, gold -digging, lying harlot!"

"I hate you!!!!" Rachel screamed.

"Awwn, the feeling is mutual dear" the latter replied sarcastically.

Rachel sobbed uncontrollably. The rest of the class stood motionless, none saying a word and only staring back and forth between the two girls.

"Why are you so mean? I've always tried to be nice to you, I've always done what you wanted me to do, even when I didn't want to do so, I've allowed you to step on me since you came into this school, why are you so wicked Aliyah?" Rachel cried uncontrollably while Aliyah made a fake yawning sound while she talked.

"You know what..." Rachel continued, in between sobs. "You're right. I'm poor, I'm not rich, I lied to everyone..."

Gasps*

"Oh she admits it, good for you" the pretty fair girl mocked.

"Yes I admit it. But you know what, I'm glad. I'm glad because I may be a wretched, ugly, gold-digging slut! But unlike you Aliyah, I don't sleep with my teacher for grades!"

Dun dun dun dun dun

"Yeeeeiii!!!" It was Samuel who yelled, placing his hands on his head dramatically. It was then the rest of their classmates comprehended what Rachel had just said.

"You whore!!!" Aliyah screamed and charged at Rachel. Before anyone could comprehend what was going on, the fair girl had tackled her to the ground.

"I'll f*cking kill you" she yelled throwing slaps after punches at the figure. It took a combined effort of three of their class boys to separate them. They held back a struggling Aliyah who was burning with fury. Rachel finally got up and ran out of the class.

Awkward.

Some moments later, the chaos subsided and the noise died down. There were still murmurings and excited chattering as Aliyah wriggled free from their grip and returned to her seat.

Ifechi watched everything from her seat like a movie, exchanging brief looks with Dami as every scene unfolded. Anita was not in school and she definitely had a lot to catch up on in terms of gossip.

"Maddo!" Someone said after a while and the noise began again.

Many of their classmates had similar reactions as they stared at Aliyah who had begun reading a novel as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile, so many secrets had been revealed in a span of few minutes.

Rachel gave people blowjobs for money?

Rachel's mother didn't actually own a fashion brand and she'd been lying to them all these while??

Rachel was from a poor family and was a scholarship kid???

Aliyah slept with a teacher????

Haba!

Ifechi hissed lowly. It was so bold of Aliyah to rant out someone else's secret forgetting she had her own, good thing that Rachel gave her a piece of her own medicine, even if it earned her a hot slap and probably some bruises to match. With the way she ran out of the class, who knows where she could have gone to, Ifechi had a bad feeling about this.

She stood up to go and look for her.

"Where are you going?" Dami inquired, Ifechi shrugged.

"Don't tell me you're going to play sympathy with that girl" she said with disdain, Ifechi's lip pulled up in a frown.

"Why shouldn't I?"

Dami looked at her and at the empty seat beside herself where Anita usually sat. "Don't become like Anita too, mind your business and let people be"

Ifechi sensed a hint of sadness in her voice as she spoke but she shook it off.

"I'll be right back" she said and trotted off before the girl could say anything further.

She searched the hallways and peeped into classes as she passed, but it was rather unlikely that Rachel would have gone to another class in such a state, so she searched the only other obvious place she could think of.

The girl's bathroom.

She opened all five toilet doors to reveal each one empty. The bathroom was eerily silent as well, perhaps Rachel wasn't there. It was after she'd closed the door to the fifth stall and was contemplating leaving that she heard a sniffing.

Of course she would be in the last stall.

She knocked twice and said in an uncertain voice. "Hello?"

"Go away!" The girl replied.

"Ermm....it's ..it's Ifechi"

There was a brief pause before Rachel replied. "Ifechi?" She asked, disbelief evident in her tone.

"Yes"

"What do you want?!" Her reply came quickly, in a harsh way that made Ifechi contemplate going back to class, but she exhaled softly and said instead.

"Can I talk to you?"

There was a sob and then in a quiet voice, she replied. "I don't need your pity."

"I know, I just want to talk" Ifechi replied. There was no response after and Ifechi felt stupid after waiting 10 whole seconds with no answer. She hissed and turned to leave when suddenly she heard the sound of unbolting and the door jerked open.

Rachel stepped out meekly, eyes red from being puffy and nose lined with tears and a little mucus. It was ungainly and unlike the stylish and posh Rachel she was used to. There was even a small bruise on her right cheek as well as several scratches on her hand.

She walked past Ifechi and lowered herself to the floor beside the wall. Ifechi joined her wary of the awkward sitting situation but ignoring it nonetheless. The floors were clean anyway.

"Why did you come here?" She said after some seconds.

"To look for you" Ifechi replied.

Rachel looked at her in surprise then sniffed and glanced away wiping her eyes with the back of her palm.

"Why?"

"To make sure you're ok"

Rachel scoffed. "Since when did you care?"

Ifechi bit back a sarcastic reply. "I may not be your friend but it doesn't mean that I'm cold hearted or cruel"

No response.

"I'm sure everyone is laughing at me now" Rachel said with a painful laughter.

"It would be foolish for me to say that I know how you feel, but don't let what any of them may think bother you. People's opinions actually don't matter" she said.

Don't they though? Her subconscious mocked but Ifechi shook the thought away.

"Besides, this is secondary school, I'm sure the gist will die down in less than a week" she added.

"No it won't" Rachel replied bending her head low. "You're new so you don't know much, they'll taunt me, everyone will start mocking me, especially Aliyah, even Grace, gosh what will I do?" She said and began sobbing again. Ifechi felt like reaching out to hold her but she didn't know if she should. Eventually she did and wrapped her arm around Rachel's shoulder. The girl surprisingly didn't object.

"It's going to be okay" Ifechi said cringing at the cliché words but that was the best she could come up with.

"It's not" Rachel said finally stopping to clean her tears. "Everyone now knows I'm not rich, I brag a lot, I used to call people poor and useless, now look at me, a common scholarship kid" she said trembling. Ifechi rubbed her back while she dried her tears with her hand.

"Well..." She started unsure of whether to say what she about to "....if it makes you feel any better, I'm a scholarship kid too"

Rachel stopped suddenly and looked at her.

"You're lying!"

Ifechi gave her a weak smile. "Actually I'm not"

"But how..how come, you look rich" she said rather accusingly to Ifechi's amazement.

"Me rich kwa? What makes you think so" she said with a small laugh. Rachel looked around hazily as if still trying to understand what she'd just heard.

"I don't know, you just look...rich, I would have never guessed you're on scholarship"

"Haha, well yeah"

"At least you're on scholarship for a good reason, you're incredibly smart..."

"....I on the other hand.." Rachel continued picking at something in between her fingers "...am on a pity scholarship as the wretched, ugly, illegitimate daughter of a cheating married man! I'm so ashamed of myself"

"Hey don't say that about yourself!" Ifechi scolded.

"What? It's true." Rachel said a fresh brink of tears itching on her eyelid.

"It's not! You're beautiful, smart and classy. And if anyone should be ashamed of themselves it should be Aliyah, I can't believe she would do that to her own friend"

Rachel scoffed. "She never liked me"

Ifechi looked both surprised and confused.

"She never liked me" Rachel repeated. "I've known it from time. She was always mean to me and only tolerated me because of Grace. The only thing she ever needed me for was to boss someone around. I'm like her little servant..." She added with a sarcastic laugh. "...I'm just wondering how she found out about all...this."

Ifechi took time to process all she had said. Why would anyone be friends to someone who was mean to them? Even if Ifechi had a fragile self esteem, she would never allow a so called "friend" to treat her like crap, it was why she'd started avoiding Anita as much as she could.

"Maybe someone else told her about it"

"I have never told anyone before"

"Erm okay...well did you write it down?"

"Huh?"

"Did you write it down, this stuff like do you have a book where you write your feelings down. I used to do that before when...." She said but Rachel paused suddenly, gazing at the door in their front as if it were the most interesting thing.

"My diary..." Rachel said turning to face her.

"Huh?"

"My diary" she said again. "I have a diary where I write down stuff, I heard it helps with depression and there was a time I was feeling really sad so I started doing it. She must have read it in my diary, I remember giving it to her because she wanted to write some names of movies she told me to watch..." Rachel said exasperatedly while Ifechi just stared. in shock.

What type of moron would invade someone's privacy and use their secrets against them?

Well technically Rachel gave her the diary so....

"No wonder she has been especially mean to me this week. She'd just been looking for an opportunity to expose me and today was her perfect chance, gosh I'm so stupid!" Rachel said snapping Ifechi out her thoughts.

"Stop saying you're stupid, it isn't your fault"

"It is. I gave her the stupid book forgetting my shit was in it"

"Still, it isn't your fault. If someone gave me their diary to do something, I'd do the thing and give them their stuff back. It's not right to be peeking into other people's private thoughts not to talk of using it against them, that's just messed up!" Ifechi finished and exhaled loudly letting her head cool off. This issue was annoying her more than it should.

There was a pause and their inhalation and exhalation was the only thing both of them could hear.

Ifechi broke the silence

"Did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Yunno, mess around with Gabriel?"

Rachel looked away ashamed.

"I'm not going to judge you." Ifechi responded. "We all do things we should be ashamed of. What matters is our resolve not to them again"

"I needed the money." The slim girl said curtly and Ifechi didn't have to ask why.

"How about others? Do you do it frequently?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rachel spat angrily and Ifechi felt instant regret.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you like that" she said meekly.

"It's okay" Ifechi nodded in understanding, she didn't blame the girl for lashing out, she shouldn't have asked such a stupid question.

"...it's not like I enjoy doing it, I just..." Rachel said and burst into another fit of sobs. "..I'm despicable"

"Shhh, stop saying bad things about yourself" Ifechi said consoling her.

"I won't have friends anymore" she replied sniffing.

"Why do you say so?"

"Isn't it obvious? No one likes me. I've done really mean things to people together with the two of them, even you too. I'm sure you hate me by now"

"I don't." Ifechi responded. "I mean, yeah you three can be very annoying and rude but at least if I'm especially angry at anyone, it would be Aliyah and Grace, not you, you haven't done me any harm directly "

Rachel stared at her in silence.

The bell rung signaling end of free period. They had maths next.

"Well, it's time for our next class, let's go" Ifechi stood up and wiped the back of her skirt with her hand while Rachel remained sitted on the floor.

"Aren't you coming?" Ifechi asked.

"I'm not, I can't...I can't face them, I'm too scared."

She sighed worriedly. "I promise you it's not that bad, just come. Even if no one wants to, I'll be you friend"

Rachel peered up at her. "Really?"

Ifechi smiled.

"Erm...thanks, that's very nice of you, but I still can't go, look at my face. I have to clean myself up, go without me, I'll come later"

Ifechi was skeptical.

"Go" Rachel urged and then with a sardonic smile added "I'm not going to commit suicide if that's what you're thinking."

Ifechi eyed her warily but agreed anyway, she just hoped that Rachel would keep to her word and not do anything stupid. She was already at the exit when Rachel called her back.

"Ifechi"

She turned just in time for Rachel to pull her for a hug.

"Thank you" she said quietly.

When she let go, Ifechi saw a bright smile light up her face. She smiled back too and then and there, she knew she'd just won a friend.

"Oya go, let me not distract you from your favourite subject, Mrs Einstein" Rachel teased and Ifechi gave a hearty laugh before leaving the restroom.

Maths class went as usual. Their energetic teacher, Mr Udochie commanded silence while he taught his subject with passion. Ifechi felt uneasy and kept staring at the door waiting for Rachel to walk in anytime soon but to no avail.

Her worries vanished when Rachel walked in 10 minutes later. She looked a lot better. She'd washed her face and her eyes looked less puffy, she'd also somehow gotten hold of a powder and had dabbed some onto her brown skin.

After minutes of explaining to the teacher why she was entering the class late, and of Ifechi catching a glimpse of Aliyah and a few classmates snickering on their seats, Rachel was finally allowed to go to her seat.

The scared girl looked around meekly careful to avoid any of her classmates' gazes, she was certain she wouldn't return to her seat and was looking around in vain until she saw Ifechi. She smiled a little and started walking.

Ifechi was surprised when she saw Rachel coming to her corner, and even more surprised were her classmates whose eyes followed her till she reached the chair just in front of Ifechi and plopped down bending her head low till she could see nothing but the polished surface of their school desk.

"Wait...what are you..." Dami started but a tap from Ifechi interrupted her. She turned and scowled when Ifechi mouthed a 'please' to her, but shut up afterwards.

Maths class went on as usual, the maths teacher and a few other classmates who weren't around to witness the scene remained oblivious to the whole situation, but not for long. Ifechi was certain that before school closed for the day, Rachel's gist would have gone round the whole SS3 at least.

The bell rung not long afterwards and Ifechi packed up her things to go. She waved at Rachel to the surprise of Dami and their seat neighbors.

The next day, she saw Damien and Aliyah at the foot of the staircase gisting and laughing and her annoyance increased.

The fight had gone viral now.

How could he still date her after all she'd done?

Any reasonable person wouldn't stay with someone they knew was cheating on them. So he really liked her that much, even to the point of obsession.

Shaking her head inwardly, Ifechi realised one thing for sure.

She'd dropped all feelings for him.

No more stupid teenage romance for her.

A/n

Omoooo....

This chapter took a lot of mental effort, mostly because I haven't witnessed this type of fight before and I had to craft all these up entirely out of fiction.

What's your take on the whole issue?

Who is right to you? Aliyah or Rachel?

If none of them are right, also say so.

What would you do if someone exposed all your secrets like that?

Also, what do you think of Ifechi and her new opinion of Damien? Is she justified? Did she do a good thing by letting him completely off her mind?

I want to hear all your answers.

This chapter was especially longer so I hope you enjoyed it, sorry for the late update but I vowed I would update today no matter what.

As usual, don't forget to vote, comment and share.

God bless you ❤️