I woke up to someone tapping me, gently. I slowly sat up, taking my time to realize where I was. When it finally dawned on me, that I was in class, my head snapped to who tapped me; and I was faced with the triplets, giggling. See their head, fishes. "What time is it?" I asked, when I noticed the class was empty.

The bursted into serious laughter. "You've been sleeping, since first period. School is over and you're still sleeping. Did tsetse fly bite you?" Aisha asked, laughing.

I smiled. "Wow! I did sleep that long?" I asked in disbelief.

"I even woke you up during break, you said I should go for break without you," Adijah beamed, while I groaned.

I was about to sink into my chair, when I remembered Soma was waiting for me. I hurriedly jumped up from my chair and grabbed my backpack, the triplets continued laughing at my plight. Fishes. I ignored them and busted out of class.

Art class, was a few steps away. Luckily for me, Soma was stepping out the moment I got there. "I'm so sorry, I can ex..." I was about to explain to Soma, when he cut me.

"Don't worry, Art has told me all that happened. She said that tsetse fly bit you." He busted into laughter too, making me pout.

I adjusted my backpack on my back, ignored them and made my way to the stairs. "Ah ahn. Oya sorry nah," Soma begged me, still laughing.

I feigned vex and ignored him, running down the stairs. I started walking fast, when I got down the stairs, making them hurry too. "Oya naw, we're no more laughing. We're sorry, Shey?" Soma begged me, directing the question to the girls.

I could still hear their giggle as they all said, "Yes."

I still wanted to do more shakara, but I didn't have the capability, the shakara had tire me. I reduced my steps, allowing them to catch up. Soma used his right hand to hug me closer, immediately they got to me. I didn't answer them, I kept on walking. "Oya, lemme buy zobo for you," Soma whined me, knowing about my love for zobo.

My faked frown, immediately changed to a wide smile as we walked out of the school gigantic black gate. "Iya Malik zobo oh," I said, making it more specific.

They all started laughing again. "She can't even say, 'no, man doesn't receive bribe'," Alimah said, laughing.

I chuckled. "No oh, man's hot. Man needs iced zobo." Everyone laughed, except Adijah who was still trying to decipher the joke.

We walked in a parallel line, making our way to Iya Malik's shop. Iya Malik's shop was few steps away from our school.

"Ah! Omo mi," she greeted us from afar.

As I was about to answer, Adijah shouted 'Oh', making all of us turn to her.

"What is it?" Aisha asked.

Instead of replying, she started laughing. We all looked at her with furrowed brows. "Are you sure you're okay? Are you high?" Soma asked, making all of us laugh.

She shook her head. "I'm okay oh, I just realized that the joke earlier about man needing iced zobo, is from 'man's not hot'."

We all hissed. It's now she's getting the joke, smh. "Iya Malik Malik, se oja n'lo dede?" I asked as we all arranged ourselves in front of her shop, ignoring Adijah's foolishness.

She smiled warmly. "Ah, beni o. Oun lo dede."

"Ope oh," Aisha cut in. "Afe ra zobo, zobo marun," Aisha ordered without Soma's permission.

Soma laughed. "Marun ko, mefa ni," Soma said, making all of us laugh. "Iya Malik, meta. Three zobo o. Which kin five."

Iya Malik laughed, as she opened the brown zobo cooler, which was within her hand reach and brought out five zobos. "Oya no more arguing, take it," she said, pushing the zobos to us.

I frowned. "Ah, Iya Malik you can't do this. This is your market nah."

She smiled. "Ma worry, oja n'lo dede."

"Ko matter, awa o gba o." I brought out two hundred naira from my yellow purse and dropped it on her table. Soma dropped a hundred naira too as he grabbed Rite sausage roll from the ones aligned in a carton, in front of her shop. With that, we moved away from her shop, with our zobos. Iya Malik tried to give us the money back, but we quickened our pace.

We were walking jejely oh, mocking and reminiscing funny school moments; when some unreasonable students from our rival school 'The Hills', passed us. We didn't intend to get into any argument with them, but when one of them said 'Useless school with useless student', we got pissed. "Empty packs of cigarettes," Aisha said, nonchalantly, making them stop in their tracks.

They were two boys and three girls. The only chubby girl in their midst was the first to reply. "See this wowo thing oh, who are you calling 'empty pack of cigarettes'?"

Now I was pissed. I laughed, making the rest join me and that's how the battle started. "You definitely haven't looked in a mirror before. I'm sure your reflection won't even fit in and the mirror might break from how horrible you look. Please, don't try looking in a mirror. I feel pity for the mirror, already," I bit back, placing my hand on my chest in fake pity, making people from my side shout 'oh'.

The only fair and slim girls one among, was the next to reply. "And you haven't seen yourself in a mi..."

"Tah, shut up. Skeleton 101, see how she look like man sef," Alimah dashed her, before she could talk back. Everyone from our side, started laughing hard. Except me, I didn't laugh too hard, because I knew I was also slim. They wanted to reply, but our laughter didn't let them. It really pained the slim girl, she was close to tears. The chubby girl, was mute too. She couldn't laugh, talk or cry. She simply stood there like a statue, thinking about what I said.

We left them standing, continuing our journey.

Few minutes into our walk, the triplets left Soma and me, taking another path. "Soma, why were you angry this morning?" I asked, immediately the triplets left us. The question had been on my mind since, but I was waiting for us to be alone.

He shook his head. "Nothing, just normal mood swing." He shrugged.

I knew he was lying, because he wouldn't make eye contact. He kept on looking forward. I sighed. "You know, I know when you're lying. So, tell me the truth. Why were you angry?"

He sighed. "Why would I not be angry, ehn? How can you say you still have feelings for that one person that made you, almost commit suicide and also drove you away from your ex-school. It's insane, it doesn't make sense. Are you even in your right senses?" I could sense his anger, but it was true. I wasn't in my right senses.

"I don't think I'm in my right senses, I doubt if I ever am," I said, adjusting my backpack.

He snickered angrily. "I don't know what to say to you." He furrowed his brows and continued the walk, vexed.

We didn't talk much again, when we got to his street. He didn't spare me a wave, he walked in like I didn't say goodbye. Usually, he escorted me to my house, at the next street. But that time around, he didn't care. It was so unlike Soma.

When I got home, my mom was fast asleep. Toyosi was back from work and was chatting with God knows who, on her phone. I greeted her in a low tone, landing on my bed with a thud. "Kilode? What is it?" Toyosi asked, partly joking and partly not. I gave her a sad smile. "Eh ehn, don't even think of saying 'nothing'. You've been like this since you arrived from that party. Chai, I knew I shouldn't have let you go." She placed her hands on her chin, in regret.

I sighed and told her everything. Starting, from when I noticed I still like Joseph, to Soma's behavior to me.

She chuckled. "You can't like Joseph oh, I know it might be hard to get rid of the feelings and all, but you can't. And it's obvious Soma likes you." she shrugged as she looked back at her phone, continuing her chat.

I chuckled. "Lailai, Soma can never like me. We're just friends," I tried to defend him. "And he's a player, I even know his present project."

She lifted her head, to look at me. "You're still a kid," was all she said.

I sighed and fell on my bed with my back.

Life is dark, like me.

__________________
GLOSSARY
Omo mi - My child.

Se oja n'lo dede? - Is market going fine?

Iya - Mummy

Beni o. Oun lo dede - Yes oh, it's going fine.

Afe ra zobo, zobo marun - We want to buy zobo, five zobo

Merin ko, mefa ni - five ko, six ni

Meta - Three

Ma worry, oja n'lo dede - Don't worry, market is going fine

Ko matter, awa ogba o - It doesn't matter, we don't agree oh.

Kilode - What happen?

Jejely - Calmly

Lailai - Never

Chai - An exclamation

My Yoruba have 'K' leg, so anyone that isn't correct, Please correct me.