Emily's POV

I wish the ground would open and swallow me.  I couldn't just skip the class as it was going to form a major part of my grades. I had to pass that class to maintain my good grades.

My eyes were shut throughout the drive to my school, Bradford High School. Different thoughts crossed my mind. Should I feign sickness or could I  miss the class? No, I had to face this.

It was a twenty minutes drive from my home. Bradford High school stood high with all its glory. It is comprised of six buildings with three storeys each. A huge four hundred-meter lawn, a mini swimming pool and a rabbitry. There were also two chemistry and physics laboratories and both an e-library and a library. A grand hallway and so on.

Three buildings were for Junior high school while the other three buildings were for the students in High school. The large field demarcated middle school and High School.

We reached my school at exactly seven-fifteen a.m. I was so lost in my thoughts that my dad had to hoot several times to get my attention, but I didn't come down from the car until James pulled my hair. That brought me back to reality and I got off the car. My dad was quite pissed but he drove off without saying anything.

I was really glad I didn't have to share a locker with anyone unlike in middle school. I inputted my combination and grabbed the books I needed for today's classes. I slammed it and they're my best friend stood eyes widened creepily. She startled me.

Well, she always tried to scare me every morning, never succeeded but this time she got me.

We had a routine of her yelling "boo" in my ear and me pulling her hair laughing at how predictable she was. Then we would hug and take a selfie. Yeah pretty girly we had like 100 selfies together, but today I just freaked out. She knew something was wrong and she tucked her iPhone into her jeans.

Typical Lucy she started bombarding me with questions.

"Girl, what is wrong with you? Are you alright? Why did you leave my party yesterday?"

As soon as I gave her my 'I was fine to smile, she quickly started talking about how her party was a success and our crush attended her party. She squealed and said she stood a chance of getting invited to the party he was holding this weekend. I was relieved she didn't get too upset because I left her party early.

Tyler was also in eleventh grade. He was the assistant captain of the football team and he was popular. He had a well-built body with long legs and his brown hair was amazing. He posted it on his Instagram story and she had been going crazy about how she had to be there and maybe they'll have a sorta meet-cute.

I silently observed her while she kept talking so fast. Lucy was from Minnesota.  Her luscious curls bounced across her shoulders as she spoke, light make-up radiating her feminine aura. How this five feet four inches girl manages to look stunning in whatever she puts on still amazes me with her pointed nose and small mouth fitting perfectly in her oval-shaped face.

Her curves were in the right proportion but she always insisted she'll get butt surgery. I would frown at this and tell her she was perfect the way she was, then she would roll her eyes at this.

Her family is wealthy too and they don't hide it one bit. She always wore designer clothes and brands and we have been friends since sixth grade.

The bell rang indicating the commencement of class by eight a.m. We scurried to class but Lucy didn't sit next to me.

I was surprised but I ignored it. I eventually found out she paid a girl fifty bucks to swap sits with her, so she could be behind Tyler Roy, our crush. I didn't like it that we both like the same guy.

I was supposed to be angry with her. We had always said 'sisters before misters, bae before boo' # is rule number five of our best friend code and she violated it, but I had other things on my mind.

I had to maintain my good grades. Unlike Lucy who has C's and few B's, I had A's and one or two B's. I was a low-key nerd but I didn't want to be seen as one.

I hung out with popular people like Lucy, Kate and Jane. I only liked Lucy because Kate and Jane Austen were spoilt, snobbish and annoying twins.

Once Kate had seized a love letter I was writing. She passed it to Jane and they were about to read it aloud when Lucy came to my rescue. The letter was for Tyler but I never got the courage to send it. She snapped at them and they gave it back to me. I got rid of the letter after that incident. They only talked to me because of Lucy.

English class passed by quickly. Mr Westley was a boring man, so only a few people listened to him and he didn't seem to care. He always stared at his watch from time to time.

My other classes also passed by quickly too. I didn't even bother to jot anything in biology class I just bent down and scribbled a little, like a few words of my own so that Mrs Beverly wouldn't notice I wasn't concentrating.

It was finally lunch time. I collected my macaroni and cheese with fruit juice from the cafeteria and sat at my usual lunch table but I was alone this time. Kate and Jane were with other girls while Lucy was at Tyler's table.

I was jealous and upset when I saw she chose him over me. I picked at the meal, I wasn't interested in it so
I went to the library. I drew some diagrams with the Coloured pen I borrowed from James. I took them without asking him but I will call it borrowing. Then I got some cardboard paper from the stationary shop.

The Break was over and I had to go back and change for PE class. I decided to skip the class as I didn't enjoy sports and I knew Mr Smith wouldn't take attendance. He wasn't a very good teacher.

I read about some African-American origins and I decided to say I was an African American girl and my great-grandmother told my grandma she was a recaptive. During the slave trade, her parents were shot and she had to marry a British soldier to save her from starvation and falling victim to some drunk soldiers. She was seventeen when she married and then she gave birth to my grandfather. He was separated from her at eight and was sold as a slave to America to cultivate coffee plantations. Eventually, the slave trade was abolished in 1886 and he got married to a former slave girl. They had my dad and that was my origin. I guess I'm quite creative at making up stories.

I don't know why I was ashamed of being a Nigerian. I've never been there but many of my classmates were American or African American. My friends all thought I was African American.

My name didn't give me away so I went with it. I wanted to be accepted and popular. High school was all about having the right image. No one wants to know how you feel or what makes you do the things you do. It's all about appearance. I am sixteen and I just want to fit in. There were no Nigerians here that I knew about and some of my classmates say weird things about West Africa.

The African Americans among us don't like the fact that their great-grandparents were sold for bicycles, old clothes, and irrelevant items, simply put while despite all the 'Say No to Racism', some people still act indifferently toward us.

It was finally time for my history class. Mr Novolanche came to class early, other students quickly changed from their PE clothes back to their outfits. As my luck would have it, Mr Novolanche called me up to start the presentation.

Mr Novolanche was a white, short and stout man. He had a round figure with a little hair on his chin. He was bald and wore a tiny pair of glasses. His nose looked like the letter W and I always felt he hated me

He would mark me down and intentionally call me out whenever he could or when I didn't hide well
He pretended to think of who to call to begin and he immediately yelled,
"Emily Hugh Deppe begin." I sluggishly picked up my cardboard and stood in front of twenty-five of my peers.

"So intimidating", I quietly whispered to myself.

I was quite happy that many of them were not listening. A quarter was scribbling away, half of them had their hands below their desk, which means they were uring class and the remaining quarter were sleeping.

I quickly said everything I had written on my cardboard demonstrating at some point, with some hand gestures and images on my cardboard. Meanwhile, Mr Novolanche smirked all through. The annoying kind.

I finished in six minutes approximately. I was about to give my end bow when I received a hard touch on my cheek. That's an understatement it was a hot slap.

All the dull faces immediately lit up, all sleepy heads were up, all eyes were on the scene going on now and I looked to see where the slap came from, only to see ...an ANGRY MR.HUGH, MY FATHER

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Oh a cliffhanger😊, hold back your weapons but feel free to throw chocolates and cookies at me.

I introduced new characters, I hope you enjoy them.

A Slap? Have you experienced that 😶

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