Life of Jiji

All Rights Reserved

2020 Tena Ifiemi

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łТ HΛÐ БΞΞЛ ТШФ weeks since I'd been at Meliora.

And it has been good, Praise the Lord!

It was Wednesday; midweek washing day, after school. And its after school right now which means we're gathered in the laundry washing our dirty clothes.

I didn't really have much because although they gave us two specific days for washing, (Wednesday's and Saturday's) that's not the only time we wash actually and besides, there's the school laundry and my mom paid for laundry services.

"Nengi please pass me your shoe brush." I asked since she was the nearest person to me with a brush.

Unfortunately, they don't laundry our sneakers and God knows how much I hate washing them.

"Who follows hoe story accounts on Instagram." Dami asked generally.

"Me! Oh my God the stories are..." Uju started but she didn't complete what she was saying but she made a face and all the girls laughed.

For some reason, everyone seems to know what 'hoe stories' are so why don't I?

"There was this one ehn," Dami started, "It was a guy that wrote it. He said he walked into this girl watching porn in class..." She suddenly started laughing.

I blinked once. Then twice. Then four times at once. Did I hear what I think i just heard? Did she really just say that word out loud?!

The p-word, I mean. The word that shall not be mentioned even in my head.

"Talk na!" Amarachi groaned also laughing, her eyes shining with curiosity.

"She was now..." She started giggling again.

This time it was Uju that complained.

"Damilola this thing is not funny o, me I want to hear this thing."

"Same here." Her sister called out waving her hand. "Let me know what to gist daddy about when he calls today." She said with a wink and everybody laughed.

"Nini stop na." Dami begged. "You guys I'm not going to continue again because of Nini." Dami announced and everyone in the laundry started to complain.

Everybody except me of course. I mean, they actually put out stories like that for people to see!? I'm still just as shocked as you are.

Wait... You are shocked aren't you?

"Dami continue please. Nini would not say anything except she wants to sleep with Mrs Ayoola this night. Cause we'll throw her out."

Ayo? Even you?!

"Okay fine let me continue..."

That's was how everyone ended up sharing the different 'hoe stories' they had read.

Everyone!

"...that was how they now did it!" Katherine ended her own story pounding her fist to her palm as if to emphasize the 'doing' that she was talking about.

I don't know what that is...

"Chill... I've read that one!" Nengi said, abruptly removing her hands from her bucket spraying soapy water across the room in the process.

"Shit, sorry... That one, Katherine. I posted it on my WhatsApp status."

"Ehen, that's where I got it from." Katherine said giggling.

Wait! She posted something like that where her parents can see? Oh my Goodness!

"On your status?"

That was the first thing I was saying since this insane discussion started, but hey! Something had to be said.

"Um, yes?" Nengi frowned looking at me as if my question was not supposed to be asked.

"Won't your parents see it?"

Or your cousins, aunts, uncles? People as a whole!

Nengi opened her mouth to speak but Chisom beat her to it.

"I'm pretty sure everyone blocks their parents from viewing their status Ejiro."

Oh?

"Speaking of Ejiro" Nini said wiggling her brows at me. "Tell us na. Which one have you read? Or watched..."

I nearly choked on my already digested breakfast. Watched? Watched?!

"Its true sef. Its only Ejiro that has not said anything." Ayo piped in.

How dare you Ayo! I trusted you!

I considered making up a story but sadly, even with all the rubbish I had heard this afternoon, I couldn't come up with anything.

"I've not read any one o" I said cooly, hoping I sounded nonchalant enough for them to ignore.

"Seriously?" Amarachi asked looking very surprised.

"Um, yeah?"

I don't understand. Is it a requirement for Year 11 girls to have read rubbish things on the internet.

"What the hell do you do on Instagram then?" Nini wanted to know.

Everyone wanted to know actually since they were all looking at me expectantly now. Even the Year 10 girls! I thought they would at least have purer minds.

After a few seconds of me staring back at them and not saying anything, Ayo squinted and stared even more intensely at me.

"Ejiro don't tell me you're not on Instagram." She whisper-yelled.

"Well since you don't want me to tell you, I won't tell you." I said giving her my sweetest smile.

The whole laundry room literally exploded at my statement.

"What the actual-"

"Gi-irlllllll." Yes, Nini really dragged out the simple four-letter word that long.

"You're joking." That was Nengi, and she was laughing. So she actually thought I was joking.

Even Zainab was staring at me weirdly. Zainab is this Year 10 girl that has gotten really attached to me in the course of my two weeks in this school and I actually really enjoy her company.

She's just like me, quiet and as I had thought before now, naive. But from the way she's looking at me she reads those freakishly absurd things too.

"What?" I asked her. "Its it a must to have read 'hoe stories'?"

"No! But Instagram is kinda a must. Its just... What do you do with your phone?" She asked and I glared at her.

Ever heard of candy crush?

"Wait!" Katherine said waving the air excitedly as though she just remembered something. "Ejiro, you have a phone, right?"

What?

"For real?" I asked trying my best to look annoyed.

"Yes actually. Do you have a phone or nah?"

"Of course, I do own a phone!"

"Jiji?"

I looked up immediately to see Reya at the door waving a small phone in her hand.

"Mommy's on the phone."

I practically jumped up from where I was seated and would have fallen down on the wet tiles if I hadn't held on to Zainab's chair. When I slipped again I was already near Reya and she caught me my my shoulder steadying me before throwing me a look.

"Are you crazy?"

I just smiled back and grabbed the phone from her.

"Hello mommy!"

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By the time I finished talking to my mom it was already time for evening sports. Yes we spoke that long but what can I say? I'm a momma's girl.

I love weekend sports. Because I get to wear my own personal sportswear! Not that Meliora's uniform sportswear looks bad-in fact all this school's uniforms are pretty chic compared to my old school- but I feel a hundred times better when I'm wearing my own clothes.

During my two weeks here though, I've came to realize that the students here don't seem to understand the term sportswear.

For example, every single one of my classmates brought jeans to school terming them 'personal sportswear'. Excuse me, but when did jean trousers become sports material? And crop tops and jean jackets on tank tops.

I know I said I was comfortable in my personal sportswear but there's only so much comfort a girl can have rocking a baggy tracksuit when everyone around her is wearing skinny jeans and looking as hot as mercury!

And yeah, its not weekend but today's a public holiday so everything pretty much feels like a Saturday.

"Ejiro!" Ayo called snapping her fingers in front of my face.

"You're always lost!" She complained frowning and I shook my head.

"Sorry, sorry... What were you saying?"

"I was asking, if I could borrow your joggers for this evening sports."

"You want my joggers." I didn't ask. I said it.

Take it this way, I wanted to say the words out loud so that I'll be able to process it.

"Um, yes? If that's okay with you? You see, it would really go with the top I want to wear..."

"What? Sure! Psht.. You can definitely have them. In fact you know what? Why don't we trade?"

"Trade? I'm sorry girl, you lost me."

Of course, we could just trade. The perfect plan. *insert evil laugh*

"Yes trade, your skinny jeans for my joggers."

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Sports was fun.

I laughed harder than I ever had today, especially when the boys were done with their game of football and came to sit with us girls on the bleachers. They talked about everything!

Well, everything except 'hoe stories'. Thank God! Hallelujah!

But it was fun alright until sports time was about to be over and Kadi screamed. Get this; the girl was beside me and her mouth was very close to my ear and her vocal cords? Trust me when I say they're in very good condition.

"Kadijah!" I yelled and touched my ears to see if I would feel blood. I'm not delusional. It was that loud!

She didn't answer me she just pointed and everyone's eyes followed. Suddenly, not only Kadi was screaming.

"What is going on?" I asked Ayo who was sitting on my other side. The side where my good ear was.

"Damian Briggs is what is going on." She replied simply and I raised my brows.

"Damian Briggs?"

Was that supposed to be good enough information for why my classmates were screaming and running off to only-God-knows-where. Well, only the girls were screaming and running, while the boys were just casually walking. But all the same they were all, how do I put it? Fleeing?

"Damian is a classmate of ours. Looks like he finally decided to drag his ass to school." Ayo said cooly.

I stared at her as she skipped down the bleachers.

"Who the hell comes back to school after two weeks?"

"Why don't we go see for ourselves?"

She extended a hand to me and with a turn of her head, gestured to where almost everyone had run off too. Almost everyone because some unconcerned people were still seated.

Unconcerned people were only five.

And there are a total of seventy-one Year 11 students.

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Hello, my favorite people in the world!

How is everyone today?

I hope you liked this chapter!

Anyone eager to meet Damian Briggs? Cause I am🤭

#VCF

love, T