Words with (*) will be explained at the end of the chapter.

Isaac

The first day I saw Mavis I knew she would turn out to be special to me. We formed a fast friendship that quickly developed into something more beautiful and I cherished that. Memories of times we spent together kept a smile on my face even when situations around me weren't desirable, and for the first time in a long time, I looked forward to school every day just to see her.

We had just concluded our CA tests and I could see several junior students running about and playing on our floor, I noticed Luke and Mimi leave the class no doubt to chase them off. A ruckus outside our classroom caught my attention and I barely registered a scream before I rushed out of the class to see what was happening.

Several juniors and seniors had gathered around the staircase leading downstairs and the crowd made it impossible to see what was happening in front. I tried pushing my way through with no luck, and my irritation increased. I couldn't shake down the feeling that something was seriously wrong.

Some seniors I recognized as Mavis's classmates pushed through the crowd and their frantic legs carried them to the staff office and some went up to the sick bay to call the nurse and I frowned.

Luckily, Luke and Mimi came quickly and cleared a path for me to pass through, seeing as people respected and feared them as the headboy and headgirl.

After hurrying to the forefront, though, I wished I hadn't gone there. Mavis was lying unconscious at the base of the staircase, obviously after a serious fall. Caleb and Dami stood over her, arguing furiously and I could see Caleb barely fighting the urge to hit her.

I rushed down to them with a pounding heart. "What the hell happened here?"

Both of them turned to look at me. Caleb was obviously pissed and Dami had tear streaks down her face and obvious guilt painted all over her face.

"I-i d–" She began but was cut off by the nurse and the school's doctor pushing us aside to accommodate a stretcher which they promptly transferred Mavis onto and moved her away, probably taking her to the hospital. I abandoned Caleb and Dami, my concern for Mavis taking over and I ran after the stretcher, all the while praying she would be alright.

Luke and Mimi hurried after me but I didn't have time to interact with them as my fear overrode all other reasonable thought. When we got to the ambulance van, the nurse turned to us and told us only one person would be allowed to go with her. Obviously I wanted to but Mimi reasoned that it would look suspicious if a boy went so she joined the van and the doctor told us to meet them at UPTH*

The standby security officers to escort us on extracurricular school activities started up their vehicles and we rode with them, Luke and I, ahead of the van to clear the road. They turned on the site and drove really fast, I was sure they were breaking several traffic rules as they rode one-way at rumuokoro* where there was a traffic jam.

Soon we reached the hospital and I could see a very anxious Caucasian man pacing in the lobby, no doubt he was Mavis's father and the school had probably alerted him.

He locked eyes with me briefly and I quickly averted my eyes, having the strange feeling that I'd met him before.

A few moments later Mimi joined me and Luke, a frown etched deeply on her face, I felt bile rise up in my throat at the thought of Mavis not surviving the fall. I realised that although I'd only known her a few months, she meant a lot to me and I would be crushed if I ever lost her.

"I think Dami pushed her down the stairs." Mimi said quietly, sitting on one or the empty chairs in the lobby. From my peripheral vision I saw a doctor speak with Mavis's father briefly before disappearing into a set of double doors.

"Why would Dami do something like that? I know she doesn't like Mavis but that's a bit extreme." Luke said, frowning slightly.

"Honestly, guy, I really don't understand Dami anymore. The time I brought Mavis to see black panther you remember Dami actually helped her to prepare. They were cool until all of a sudden she started beefing* Mavis. The girl matter just tire me." I said, feeling a mix of negative emotions.

Before we could continue the conversation, Mavis dad walked up to us.

"You kids are Mavis's schoolmates, right?" He asked.

I saw Luke swallow a chuckle at his accent and I smirked in amusement and nodded.

"Do you have any idea what happened to her? How she fell or something?" He asked.

"No, sir. We were just passing by when we saw her and a lot of people had gathered but before we could find out the nurse took her away into the ambulance." Mimi answered.

"Alright." He replied, not pushing the matter any further. I could tell he had some questions but he didn't voice them, choosing to frown in silence. He took a seat beside Mimi and rested his head in his hands. I could only imagine the worry he was feeling.

My mind drifted back to Dami, remembering how she and Caleb were arguing furiously while standing over Mavis and cold dread seized my heart. I couldn't bear the thought of Dami pushing her down, choosing to believe there must have been some sort of explanation for what happened earlier.

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, the doctor who had previously spoken with Mavis's dad came out to address him once more and I perked up to hear what he had to say.

"Mr Jenner?" The doctor asked, a bit unnecessarily considering the fact that they had spoken earlier.

"Yes, that's me." Mavis's dad answered nonetheless.

"We just finished operating on your daughter. She had a mild concussion and a few fractured ribs and one broken arm from the fall. Luckily there weren't any complications during the surgery and we were able to work really quickly to repair what we could. We are expecting her to make a full recovery. Currently she's unconscious and sleeping but she should be awake within the next four hours." The doctor said.

"Okay, thank you doctor." Mr Jenner said, obviously relieved. I didn't quite know how close he was to his daughter but it was clear her safety was important to him.

I sighed in relief, saying a quick prayer of thanks for her successful surgery. I then realized that even though Mavis came out with the best results, she still wouldn't be able to go on the trip to Eket due to her injuries. All her hardwork would have been in vain. New anger at Dami rose up within me and I didn't try to fight it down this time. Irrespective of whether she was directly involved or not, Dami had something to do with Mavis's injury and that was inexcusable in my opinion.

A quick look at my wristwatch showed that it was way past 6pm. Not only had I skipped school for the day, my parents were probably very worried about me, I hoped they hadn't contacted the police yet. With a heavy heart I dialled my mom's number.

She answered on the first ring.

"Tosin* where are you?" She yelled, worry evident in her stressed tone.

"Mummy sorry. I'm at the hospital." I said, trying to calm her down. However my words had the opposite effect.

"Ehn? Hospital? Kilode. What happened? I'm on my way right now." She said, her voice rising with each word.

"No mummy I'm fine. My friend got in an accident and I went with the ambulance with her. Mimi and Luke are here." I said.

"Oh okay. Which hospital are you at now? Let me send the driver to pick you up, it's late already. Godwin!"

"Mummy please calm down, I'm alright. You can send Godwin, but please let him know he will drop Mimi and Luke at their houses as well." I said.

"Okay, I will tell him. Ehen, your friend that had an accident. Shey nothing is wrong? I hope she is fine."

"She had some injuries and had to undergo surgery but it was successful. I haven't seen her and I don't think I will today, the doctor said it will take about four hours before she wakes up." I said, casting a side glance at Mr Jenner to see if he was offended that I was sharing news about his daughter. He had already fallen asleep, and I saw stress lines etched deeply on his forehead. I wondered what Mavis's home life was like.

"Ah! Olorun ma aje! God will heal her. But you can't wait till 10 o'clock shey you know. I'm sending Godwin. Tomorrow or next you will see her. Godwin!" She yelled again, sounding distant, I knew she had probably dropped the phone due to lack of concentration and I laughed at her antics.

After a while she came back on the line. "Ehen, Tosin. Godwin is on his way. You children should stay put o! Don't worry God will heal her. She is covered in grace."

"Amen." I said quietly, hoping it was true.

"Okay, my dear. I will see you soon. You people should be safe o. Tomorrow morning we will pray for your friend as a family." My mother said.

"Okay mummy, thank you. And I'm sorry for getting you worried." I said.

"All is well." Was her simple reply.

I hung up the call afterwards and relaxed back in my seat.

"So, what happens now?" Mimi asked, sounding every bit as worried as I was. The subtle signs of lack of sleep showed more glaringly now due to the stress and worries of the day. I wondered if everything was alright with her.

"I guess we'll see her tomorrow. Godwin is coming to pick us up soon." I replied. On turning to Luke, I found that he was already asleep and I smiled. They truly were supportive friends.

About thirty minutes later, Godwin arrived at the hospital escorted by two armed uniformed men to pick us up. By that time, Mr Jenner had woken up so we said our goodbyes to him, to which he thanked us for being there for his daughter.

On the ride home, no one said a word, each of us retreating to our dark musings. What really happened between Mavis and Dami? Why? And would she be okay?

I could only hope for the best.

--

A/N

It took a while but I managed to complete this, written in Isaac's POV as a recompense for the long wait 💓 I'd be lying if I said I didn't love every bit of it.

I apologize for the delay but I'm back at University and currently juggling two full time schools, that's very stressful, also my health is a bit shaky at this time so I've been a little out of it.

Shout out to #ACA2019 for giving The Dating Manual a first place award in Teen Fiction. I'm truly grateful and words cannot express my excitement. Thank you to everyone who's still reading this, more is coming as we explore Mavis's journey in Nigeria. I hope you get to love it as much as I do.

As always, tell me what you think.
-Rhys 💞

Glossary.

UPTH- University of Port Harcourt teaching hospital.

Rumuokoro- A roundabout junction in Port Harcourt.

Beefing- To quarrel or have bad blood towards or with someone.

Tosin- Isaac's middle/native name. Short for Oluwatosin.

NB// this chapter is unedited so I'd love if you could pinpoint mistakes so I'll work on them. Much love 💕💕