Dedicated to every lesbian in the city of Lagos

I told you I'd never give up
I don't know if I knew
What a few words could do
I bought into the dream of us
Yeah, I believed in it too
So I looked straight at you

~Aurora~

They say pain is inevitable, it's what you do with it that counts. Well, I should have seen this coming. I should have known it was coming for me but I was lost, too drunk in love to even figure out the possibilities.

There I was standing in front of the notice board, staring at pictures, lots and lots of pictures of me and Daphne in each other's arms sleeping peacefully. Oh, let's not forget the aspect of us being butt naked in all these pictures. The notice board wasn't the only one carrying these pictures, everyone and everything was carrying them, making comments as they passed by.

"Ohhh, nice tits Aurora."

"Didn't know you had it in you, Aurora."

"Daughter of a pastor, what a shame!!"

I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think, and everything around me was spinning. My world began to crumble and it got worse when literally half of the entire senior students were standing behind me looking at the notice board.

I couldn't move, I couldn't react, I just stood there completely transfixed. I wondered why it had to be me or why it had to be now, on a day when I had one of the most important exams. The Technical Drawing NECO exam was scheduled for 3 pm today and since I was a TD student whose goal was to become an architect, there was no way that I could sit this one out. This subject was germane to my future course of study and the class I belonged to, otherwise, I would have stayed in Science or Arts class.

"Oh... my... gosh, Aurora, that's some nice ass you got there. Too bad you ain't putting it to good use, faggot!"

That one hit me hard, it hit me harder than I had expected it to. It hit me harder than any other side comment that I had received for the past half hour that I was standing there. As if that wasn't enough, the same student that passed that comment had the guts to spank my ass. That was it, I didn't know when or how it happened I just knew that somehow, air was no longer passing through my lungs and just like in slow motion, I was falling. By the time I hit the ground head first, it was pitch black.

***

"Is she going to be okay?"

"I don't know, she seems to be in good shape, no signs of concussions or anything detrimental to her health."

"Is that a good thing? She doesn't look alright though, her face is swollen and she looks quite pale."

"She will be alright Daphne. I'll make sure of it."

It was her, Daphne. My face turned into a smile, and it hurt my cheeks a little. I slowly opened my eyes and fluttered my eyelids a bit. She smiled when she saw my eyes open.

"Hey."

"W—W— where am I?"

I asked, my voice dry and raspy. She placed her index finger on my lips to stop me from talking and I smiled subtly at her finally blinking twice. She kissed my forehead lightly before saying,

"you're in the school clinic. You should get some more rest since you still have three hours till your TD exam today. Are you sure you are up for it?"

"I don't have much of a choice, Daphne."

"OK, I'll come back and check up on you. Rest well, my love."

With that, she kissed me on my lips before leaving my ward and out of the school clinic. Immediately she was out of sight, my smile faded and the tears I withheld began dropping in beads. The nurse that was assigned to my ward noticed this and she gave me a sweet smile. "I am sorry. I am so sorry, Aurora. You don't deserve what is happening to you right now."

"I just want it all to be over." I said in response, lying on my side and closing my eyes. She walked over to where I laid and gave me a small pat on the shoulder before leaving.

***

~Daphne~

It was too overwhelming. I was overwhelmed. And I did not know how to handle it or what to do. Do I go after the culprit? Do I pretend like it never happened? Do I just leave everything and go MIA? So many options, and so many thoughts came running through my mind, but I couldn't decide on which one to do. The shame and embarrassment were a lot to handle especially for Aurora.
She was the middle child in her family. She had an older sister who was in her final year at the University of Ibadan and a younger brother who just started JSS1 of Oceanviews Secondary School.

I'm glad the boy wasn't in this school, it would have been too embarrassing. I sighed, rubbing my temple out of exhaustion; I wasn't expecting the world to find out about us like this, at least not yet.
Had it been that those horrid images had been limited to just the notice board, maybe there could have been a damage control I could have pulled off.

Sadly that was not the case, these pictures were everywhere in the senior block. I was glad it wasn't in some places. It's because of situations such as this that I'm grateful juniors and seniors do not share a notice board. The only things we shared were the cafeteria and the gymnasium.

"There you are, Daphne! I was literally looking all over for you. Have you seen Matilda? She hasn't been responding to any of my calls or text messages."

"Uh... well she is not in the clinic if that's what you are asking," I said responding to Dorothy. She looked at me with pity remembering the event of this morning before saying, "Oh dear Aurora, is she okay? I heard she fainted this morning."

"Yeah, the nurse in charge of her ward said she would be fine. But she doesn't look fine to me, I am really worried about her."

"Well, I am worried about Matilda. It's quite odd that she would go MIA on us like that without an explanation," Dorothy said, totally dismissing what I said like I didn't make a statement at all. She was like that sometimes, always wanting to impose her own problems on others like they didn't have theirs to worry about. The good thing was, we've been friends since forever so I know it wasn't intentional and it never was, she was just genuinely worried about Matilda. And I knew the reason why.

"Isn't it obvious? Gloria is back and now she's hiding from her trying to delay her impending doom..."

"Wow, I thought it was just a rumor. So it's true? Matilda got Gloria expelled in JSS3 for something as silly as stealing her food."

"Yup."

We were both walking together, heading to our Orgaic chemistry tutorial class. Our Chemistry teacher was kind enough to have forgiven us for our past unruly behavior. I was lightheaded and my heart was heavy, obviously because of the events of today. I knew I wouldn't be able to concentrate on the tutorial if I attended, but I went anyway so I won't make matters worse for myself, everyone already had eyes on me.

"Ahhh Dorothy, Daphne so nice of you to join us! We just started, please take your seats."

I flashed him a fake smile before heading to my seat with my head up high. The tutorial went by in a flash and before I knew it, I was back at the clinic feeding Aurora her favorite food, potatoes and egg sauce. Thank God it was still available on the menu; I just hoped that eating her favorite meal would help get her mind off what happened today, even if it's just for a while. I really didn't want what happened today to mess with her head or affect the examination she was going to be writing in a few hours time.

"Hey, you are strong, courageous and beautiful! Don't let what people post about that picture on the school website get to you..."

"Wait Daphne, I thought you said it was only on the notice board."

"I thought so too. I was wrong. It's on every social media platform we are on, as well as the school's website."

"Oh my goodness, Daphne I am sooo dead! What am I going to do? My parents must never find out!" She was panicking. At least I was able to make her finish her food and use her drugs before she started panicking again.

I held her hands, calming her down by saying sweet words to her, and surprisingly, that did the trick as she was visibly relaxed. "What am I going to do Daphne? What do I do when my parents find out? I doubt they would be able to handle the news that their daughter is a homosexual. That goes against everything they preach in the church!"

"I don't know, Aurora. I don't have encouraging words to say right now. All I can say is that I promise to be with you through this. We are going to get through this together." It was encouraging enough. She smiled reassuringly. Her face had returned to normal and she looked brighter with a smile. I kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly, nuzzling my nose into her neck. I wanted us to be like this forever and not have to come out of the clinic to face what was on ground. You can't always get what you want, can you?
"How much time do we have left?"

"About half an hour, love."

"Well... I better get to it. That TD exam isn't going to write itself," she said with a faint smile. She began to sit up. I held her by her arm and helped her up. "I'm fine," she said. With that, she got out of bed, planted a soft kiss on my lips and we left the clinic together to the class where we were to write the exam.

***

~Aurora~

The exam was supposed to end by 6 pm. I finished an hour early though; and then left the school premises immediately after, before the principal or any staff could send for me. Getting home, I noticed no one was in the house. I wondered where they all went but was happy that I had the house all to myself for the few hours before they all returned.

I sighed deeply, thinking about my impending doom but chose not to dwell too much on it. Out of my uniform now, I took a shower and fixed myself a meal before finally laying down to catch some sleep.
I don't know how long I slept, but the constant vibration of my phone was what woke me up. I opened one eye to figure out where the phone was. I fumbled it, glanced at the unsaved number calling and then accepted the call, keeping mute until the caller spoke..

"Hello, old friend."

Though still half asleep, I knew I recognized that voice. It sure sounded familiar, I just couldn't place my finger on it.

"Yeah, hello... who is this?" I asked in between yawns.

"Oh come on now, don't be silly. You want to tell me you have forgotten all about me?" The person spoke in a low seductive voice and I mentally cringed.

That voice used to be a total turn-on for me but not anymore, not after she cheated on me with a destitute just a few months before our fourth year anniversary.

"Chideziri Daniella Amadi," the voice spoke. The hairs on the back of my neck rose in an instant.

Why the fuck is she calling me? Why the fuck does she even still have my number? Okay, I'm getting a bit agitated right now...

"What do you want?"

"Oh, no nau. Don't be like that," she said with an annoying laugh.

"Why are you calling me? You want to kill me and still have me buried??" My anger was already becoming very evident now.

But she had better have a good explanation as to why she was calling me. "Calm your tits, sleeping beauty...," that's what she always called me, it's just annoying now, "... that's no way to talk to someone who never forgets your birthday.

"So, did you like what I got you this year? I had it delivered to you at school and made sure it was all over the place so you won't miss it," she finished.

What??? My ears rang on hearing her last statement. She's the reason I'm going through this mess? She's the reason I couldn't think straight for the past twenty-four hours??

She's the reason my parents are certainly going to disown me after the talk we would be having tonight??? If I was angry before, I was flipping mad now...
"Awwn, you poor thing! You're breathing heavily, I can hear you breathing through the phone. Did you not like my gift? Was it too explicit for you??" she spoke in a very patronizing tone.

I had no words. I was honestly speechless. Nothing I could say right now would remotely articulate how I feel. Why? was all that was coming to mind. Why me? Why her? Why today? All I wanted to do was scream and yell at her, or do something to vent my anger on her.  But all I could do was ask why while the stream of tears rolled down my eyes. "Why Chideziri? Why?" All she responded with were irritating snickers and obnoxious laughter.

"WHY!!!???" I yelled. "You cheated on me, you broke my heart and now you do this?? Leaking nude photos of my girlfriend and me in my school and all over the internet? Why?" I was obviously crying at this point. "Oh, shut the fuck up, bitch. I would have done much worse than that. I just decided to be quite merciful."

"What could possibly be worse than everyone knowing I'm a homosexual which would likely make my father kick me out of his house??
"Talking about mercy?? What the hell do you know about mercy? Did you think about mercy when you sexually abused me at ten, turning me into a lesbian?" I was practically yelling and crying into the phone.

I just couldn't believe this was someone I used to love, support, cherish, and sometimes get into meaningless trouble for. I would have never imagined her doing something like this, but she didn't even seem disturbed by what I just said. How on earth did she become so heartless?

"Oh shut it, isn't it obvious?"

"What is?? I thought you loved me, Chideziri? Why all this??"

"Well, I guess I am a liar now. Besides, I have every right to, bitch. I taught you everything you know. And you think you can just break up with me and move on with your life? Oh hell no! I decided to open your secret to the world, most especially to your parents, so they would know that they have a problem child on their hands and not the kind, sweet, straight Aurora they think they have. Good luck surviving the catastrophe I created for you."
The phone went dead.

At the same time, I heard the jagging of the key and the front door creek open. Horrified, I stood up from my bed and dashed into the bathroom to wash my face and neck. Not only was I crying, my face and neck were damp with sweat. I came back into my room to meet my mom and dad sitting on my bed; not knowing what to do with myself, I stood by the door expecting them to speak first. Sure enough, it was Dad that spoke. very calmly saying.
"What is this news I hear of you being a lesbian?" he asked, clearly angry but quite calm. "Daddy, I can explain I—"

"That is exactly what we want you to do. Take a seat, Aurora. We have all night, so begin..." That was my mom, I gulped quite audibly, wishing and hoping this cup will pass over me, but as you might have guessed, wishes don't come true. Not this type, at least.

A/N

What's this thing that people used to say. "There is always the calmness before the storm." Well that is what we can see here, when you do something bad to someone and the person talks to you in a calm way, it's either of two things,

1) the person is so so sooo angry with you and he is just trying to restraining himself from exploding and reacting

2) the person is so angry that it makes him sad and he just too sad to explode in anger.

From Auroras case what do you think happened is it point one or point two?? Hit me up in the comment section with your answer.

What would you do if you were Daphne guys will it be strand and fight for the one you love of fright and flight??
Hit me in the comment section with your answer.

Lastly what is your take on Lesbianism in Nigeria?

Don't forget to vote comment and share guys 🥺🥺🥺🥺I expect this place to be flooded with comments guys 🥺🥺🥺🥺 and pls share with your friends too thank you 🙏🏽 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽