Once upon a time...

There was a girl who loved but got none in return. Then her heart became almost empty that she had only three feelings left. Despair. Hatred. Anger.

And there was boy who lied until he forgot what the truth was completely. He lied about his smiles, he lied about his fate, he lied about everything.

So they met and her anger turned into laughter, her despair turned into trust and her hatred became a burning fire of eternal love. And his lies, his lies didn't matter anymore because along the way, they somehow became true.

But unlikely many fairytales, they never had their happily ever after.

The end.

⚜

It was Friday. And I was alive and well and so was every other person I encountered. To me that wasn't just good news. It was superb.

"So are you coming for social gathering tomorrow?" Dina asked. Over the week we became closer. I figured out she wasn't just the shy girl that didn't have an option of her own but was hopelessly in love with her best friend and she found out I wasn't the rich snobby brat she thought I was. Her words not mine.

"What's that?" We were sitting in the sports auditorium after school with a stick of ice cream each. It was one of the few times that our time wasn't programmed for anything and we planned to enjoy it.

"It's like a very boring event where we waste our time and students find a legit way to make out in public." Portia crunched her face in disgust.

Dina rolled her eyes. "Don't mind Portia. She's just angry because the last time we had once told her to dance with Basketmouth." She smirked at her.

"Basketmouth? Isn't that the name of a comedian?" I asked.

"Oh it's the nickname for one guy in C class. If you see his mouth then you would understand. And let's not forget he is a total asshole."

"So that means you're not going?" I asked Portia.

"I don't know. It's not like I have anything better to do anyway. And I can't leave you alone because immediately Dina sees Dave, I'm sorry sis but you are on your own."

Dina blushed. "Posh please shut up. And stop saying it like I can't do without him or something."

"Your words not mine." Portia grinned.

"So it's Yvonne going to be there?" I haven't seen the girl for two days. Not that I missed her or anything. Just curious.

Groaning Portia rolled her eyes."I hope not. God, one more week with that girl and I'll lose my sanity."

"No offense-"

"None taken."

"But why do hate Yvonne?"

"What's too like about her?" Portia shrugged. "She wasn't always our friends until recently. When we were in junior class she always picked on us especially T.J." Then her eyes went distant like she was remembering something. "He was short back then and they used to call him football-" she giggled. "But Yvonne and her friends made it more than a joke. They made him feel very bad and even attacked the rest of us that we're his friends. Now suddenly she's his girlfriend and they want us to be best friends with her and Mimi like nothing happened."

"Oh." That was all I managed to say. I never expected what she said at all.

Then she chuckled. "God I hate emotional talks."

"Obviously." Dina said. "But you are right. I really can't stand pretending like it doesn't matter anymore."

"God I hate Santa Maria!" Portia suddenly exclaimed.

"It's not that bad. Trust me, I've seen worse."

"I don't believe you. This school is the worst. They pretend like they are a missionary school but the truth is its just a place were they train animals. The rule of the school is like the jungle. Survival of the fittest. The strong will prey on the weak."

"God Dina can you speak normal English. Your parables are turning my head." Portia commented.

"That's why I wasn't talking to you. But seriously Chrisè, it's sad."

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone in this school comes from a rich family. But the problem now is everyone wants to claim who is richer. The richer you are, the higher you are on the social chain. Those who don't have any are preyed on. I know it's not a new thing but it's worse in this school."

I didn't know it was that bad. "T.J's father is the former deputy governor of Delta state. Dave's mother is the minister of transportation, Dina's dad is the owner of Garther's Food and my dad is a very big lawyer. It's just the unwritten rule of Santa Maria."

"What of Zuby?"

Portia shrugged. "Nobody really knows. He doesn't like talking about his family and frankly I don't really care. He just came when we were in SS1 and he was the biggest mystery so far in this school. Most people here come from old money and since many people don't know where he is from hence the nickname New money."

Dina chuckled. "Some people say his mother is from India and his father is a politician in the senate. I even heard he is related to Kanye West and a white woman because he is obviously a half caste."

"You guys never asked him."

They shook their head. "Everyone has their secrets, if he doesn't want to tell us. He has a reason, no need to question it."

I nodded. I didn't know what I did to meet such people but they were one of a kind. I wished we would be friends forever.

And Zuby, who was he really? Somehow I felt I was the only one in Santa Maria who knew the answer to that question.

⚜

"Chrisè? Did you see my bucket I kept in your corner?" Senior Onyinyechi my roommate asked. After the few days I had stayed with her, I decided to ignore her antics. She was an unhappy and very bitter girl. And coming from me, it meant something.

"No." I continued reading my John Green novel.

"Come this girl. When I'm talking to you drop that book and stop behaving like an idiot all else I will slap that stupid accent from your mouth."

I made a vow when I came to this school. Avoid small Devils but I really didn't understand the concept of that word till that day. They were called small Devils because they are almost unnoticeable that they could rarely be avoided. But luckily for me I could see this one. Or so I thought.

I dropped my book and looked at her. "I'm sorry. I'm usually like that when I read. I really didn't see you bucket."

Senior Onyinyechi started laughing. "Come this girl, do you think you're in an American film? All you people that will be living in the ghetto part of the abroad, you will come here and be forming. Since you came to this room I've been noticing you. You go just dey carry your face up like all of us here no reach you. Today you have entered my trap."

"Onyinyechi. It's okay now. She said she didn't see it." Senior Isioma, my other roommate said. I really couldn't say much about her since she was hardly in the room but the little I had seen, I'll say she was decent.

"Eh! Eh! Isioma mind your own business o. When junior students vex you I don't put my mouth o."

"Okay o. Na you sabi." Then she carried her bag and left the room.

"Go and look for my bucket. I'll give you five minutes, if you don't bring it you won't like what I'll do to you." Then she left the room.

I took a deep breath. Panic began rising in my chest. I hated being pushed to a corner where I could become unpredictable and that was exactly what she was doing at that point. I promised myself I wouldn't hit her or anybody at all but I wasn't sure how far my resolve was anymore.

"You're still here?" She asked immediately she came back to the room.

"I couldn't find your bucket."

"Did you look for it at all?" Then she slapped me. "Eh! I'm asking you?"

"Senior Onyinyechi!" Petra my other roommate who had been quiet from the beginning cried out.

"Just shut up you! This girl doesn't know where she is and I'll teach her a lesson. Yesterday I told her to fetch water for me and she said she could not. Imagine this imbecile."

"I'm not an imbecile."

Then she slapped me again. "Oya beat me now. I'm calling you an imbecile. And why are you still standing? My friend kneel down."

"Please don't slap me again." I warned. And she didn't listen.

Then I laughed out loud. I'm sure I looked like a crazy person because they sure looked at me like I was one. I could even feel tears fall from my eyes.

"Why are you laughing? Are you mocking me?"

I managed to control my laughter.

She then removed her daywear from a hanger in an attempt to flog me with it. That was her biggest mistake because the next thing I heard was Petra screaming for help. Her words exactly were, "Somebody please call the school nurse. Senior Onyinyechi is dying."

⚜

So the truth was she really wasn't dying or about to die anytime soon. Petra raised a false alarm, unfortunately. But she really fainted and ended up with a black eye and a busted lip.

I, on the other hand wasn't so fine. I was in the principal's office and I hated it. All the sisters who passed me all did the sign of the cross on their foreheads like I was a demon.

"Christiana!" Sister Felicia our principal called me. She was a woman in her late fifties with a square framed glasses resting on the bridge of her nose. Even in her old age and plainness she was still very beautiful. She broke a lot of hearts with her life choices for sure.

"Yes ma."

"Do you know what your name means?"

"Yes ma."

"It means Christ like." She said. "Is your behavior very Christ like to you?"

"No ma." I muttered. My eyes moved everywhere but her face.

"I can't hear you."

"No ma." I said more clearly.

"I called your aunt and she told me something. You have a case of anxiety disorder?"

I was shocked. I didn't even know my aunt knew that. "Y...yes ma." I stuttered.

"But that isn't an excuse. The devil uses our weak points to destroy us. Have you ever gone to therapy?"

"No ma."I have but I'm not ready to explain to her or anyone about such an experience.

"Why is that?"

"I don't know."

"Most of your answers has been in the negative. I'll let this slide this once. I'll call your aunt tomorrow and we will talk about this. You clearly have anger issues and you need to manage it. The only reason why I'll forgive you is because of the eye witness report." Lies, my dad's cheque was so big to turn a blind eye to. "Onyinyechi Igbakwe bullied you first. She reportedly hit you thrice. Am I correct?"

"Yes ma."

"For that she will be punished. Immediately after the school nurse says she is alright. And you will be given punishment too but not as severe. The labour prefect will give you a portion of grass to cut. Have you ever cut grass before?"

"No ma."

"Then count yourself lucky. A bundle of African experiences for you. Now leave my office and hopefully after your punishment you'll never return."

⚜

"Oh my God! I leave you for one day and you are already breaking heads." Kamsi said. "But I guess she really deserves it."

"Chrisè you don't know how much I love you. You're like our Moses, no our Goliath. That Senior is a tyrant and you have dealt with her." Portia laughed. "If you see her face eh! Obasanjo fine pass am."

I was gulping a can of water at the back of the old chapel building where I was assigned to weed for two days. That day was my last.

"But Chrisè I'm afraid of you oh! See how you destroyed her face upon she is very huge." T.J joked.

I froze. He was afraid of me. Was I that horrible? I could have killed that girl. I knew it but nobody else knew. When I start hearing the voices I can't stop. I want to but I can't. I wasn't pretending to be a crazy destructive bitch. I was a crazy destructive bitch.

"Hey! That's enough. Let's go now. She has to work." Zuby said. It was the first thing he had said since morning. First when he heard I fought someone the day before he just pretended like he heard nothing.

"Okay, we are going. Break time is already over." Portia said. "Dina wasn't feeling fine and Dave followed her to the clinic that's why they are not here."

I gave a weak smile. "Thanks guys. I'll be fine."

"Obviously. I can see that." Zuby said with sarcasm in his tone. I ignored him. It was the only sensible thing to do.

"Mummy is coming after school o. She is really worried about you." Kamsi said.

"I'm fine. I'll soon be through with this so don't worry."

Kamsi nodded reluctant to go. "Bye then. Come on guys lets go." T.J gave me a weak smile and waved goodbye as the rest of them left.

I looked at the grasses that were as tall as I was and sighed.

Picking up my cutlass, I stretched my body. "Well here goes nothing."

⚜

I lay on the bare ground as I dropped the cutlass finally. My whole body was on fire, I couldn't feel my legs nor my arms and my head was pounding like a blacksmith's. African experience my foot. This was torture.

I needed water and I couldn't walk so I did the next available thing. I crawled.

Grabbing the bottle like my life depended on it, I gulped the contents in a jiffy and I wasn't satisfied.

"You need this?" Someone appeared from the side of the building handing me a bottle of chilled water. I immediately took it from their hand and drinking it as fast as I could.

"Thank you. You really saved me." I said when I finished it. "Oh it's you." I looked at my savior's face.

Zuby chuckled. "Not the exact word my hero but close. I'll take it."

I groaned. "What do you want?" I said finally managing to stand up.

"Nothing."

"Then why are you here?" I felt a little dizzy and used the wall for support.

"This is school property. I can be here if I chose to be."

"No you aren't allowed here at five in the evening especially when it was instructed that nobody should be here today."

"Well, it looks like I love disobeying school rules, just like you. Maybe we'll be a team. THE OUTLAWS." He flashed me a mocking smile.

"Haha. Funny." I walked to where I dropped the cutlass and picked it up. "I don't have the time to talk to you so please, scram."

"Hey! Don't be so harsh on me. I was just very concerned about you but now you're just being rude."

"God he's so irritating." I muttered. And handsome.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing just leave me alone. And stop talking to me. I don't want to get into any more trouble."

"You don't seem to mind the first one."

I cursed under my breath. "Okay what's your problem? You don't just come here and try to snide at me. If you have a problem with me, you go to my face and say it." My eyes stared straight at his.

"So you can punch me? No thank you."

"Okay. That does it. I can't stay in your presence one more second or I'll lose it." I picked my bag that was at the corner and dusted it ready to leave.

"Yeah. Walk away. I never knew you knew how to do that. But on a second thought maybe that's all you know how to do."

I looked at him like I would look at someone I wanted to kill. And I wanted to kill him. I also noticed his face. His caramel skinned face was looking darker and his blue eyes looked bluer. I also noticed his grey eyes had a speck on gold in them when you looked for it.

Now is not the time to be checking him out Chrisè! Concentrate!

"I don't know you. You don't know me. You don't know a shit about me so keep your mouth shut."

He picked a pebble from the ground and throw it sky. The color of the night was like a painting in a British museum- surreal - made that moment a hundred times more intense.

"True, I don't really know you and you don't know me. But I know one thing for sure. You're not as strong you think you are nor were you protecting yourself from those who try to oppress you. No. You just weak because you allow your feelings to control you. They belong to you and not you too them, so you should control them and not the other way around. You can't always hide behind your anger to run away from your problems. And how you beat up that girl? You became guilty of a bigger sin than her."

"How? Explain to me Mr Defender Of The Weak And Helpless." I crossed my arm on my chest challenging him.

"Mock me anyway you want but you know I'm right. Sometimes the best way to show our strength is in our silence."

I gave a mocking laugh. "Right. Like how you let the whole world think you're the son of a foreign rapper when you can't even stand to tell them the truth. But seriously? Kanye West? So original." I rolled my eyes.

He paused then stared then at me for a second breaking into a laugh. "What's funny?" I asked.

"Wait you think I told them those things? You just unbelievable."

I was now puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"When I came to school everybody taught I came from a rich and powerful family and you can't blame them. I mean look at me." He gestured to his body.

"Asshole." I muttered.

He winked and chuckled showing he was joking. "The rumors started spreading and there was even one that I was the love child of the president. True, I didn't deny them but I really didn't encourage them. At first I never knew anyone will believe any of it but when I realized, it was already to late."

"But you never denied it. You knew it was a lie but you let it be because it worked to your favor so you are not any better than me Mr Know-It-All. Just like me, you hide behind things to run away from your problems. You let things control you too, so don't act all righteous with me."

His face changed like a weight was put on it. "You were right before. You don't know anything about me. You think I'm ashamed to say my mother is a farmer and not the large scale type but the one that produces only what we can eat? Or my dad has a drug store in the village that half of the villagers don't patronize because they are afraid to be jinxed? Or that I do menial jobs most of the holidays to buy what I need in school? No. That has been my life for a long time. There was a time I was ashamed of it but not anymore. That's who I am and I won't change it.

But do you think I'm afraid to say it to my friends? Then yes you are correct." He then looked at me. "We are all humans and sometimes we get bothered by all sort of things. When I first came to this school, it was a blessing and a curse. I didn't care about whatever happened but then the rumors started and I counted it as God's will. But now I've friends. I have something to lose. It's not the same anymore."

I never expected our discussion to go towards this direction. "They don't care."

"I know but I do. I'm afraid that if I tell them they would treat me differently. I'm not sure I can manage that."

"If they would hate you by something like that then they aren't worth it but if you don't give them the benefit of doubt then you don't deserve them."

"Maybe but so do you."

"Shut up. You don't have an idea of anything." Anxiety was sitting in my belly. I was going to end this conversation before it got out of hand.

He smirked. "Yeah, that's because all you tell me is shut up."

"Have you ever reasoned that I really don't want you near me? That you really really annoy me?"

"To the first question no and the last yes."

I groaned in frustration. "You really don't know when to stop do you?"

"Neither do you."

"God! Just shut up or I'll punch you." I clenched my hand.

"Why? Nothing has ever stopped you before. Do it." He looked straight in my eyes challenging me.

And I punched him.

"Jesus! You really did it." He touched his face but I really was off it now. My heartbeat accelerated, my eyes were blurry and my head was cloudy.

"Chrisè? Are you okay?"

I tried to hold onto his shoulder because I was almost falling.

"Jesus Chrisè! Loosen your grip." Then just like he noticed my dilemma. "Chrisè? Are you okay?"

I closed my eyes and felt the ground on my back as I fell.

"Chrisè! Chrisè." He cried but it felt so far away. Then he carried me whispering in my ears as he ran to the nurse's office. "It'll be okay. I got you."