The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Chapter 10: CLASH
Weeks after weeks. Classes went smoothly, no physical, emotional or mental drama. School was good this term especially today, time was expectedly very fast.
Bashir rang the bell for the end of school. I packed my bag and went straight to George.
“We’re not going home now,” he said immediately I got to his seat. Then, he packed his books, and together we went to the SS2 class.
Jerry was teasing some girls, Hameedat sat close to her boyfriend, Olamide was leaning in and whispering to Vivian, and Gideon stood nearby, glaring at them while Saheed tried to calm him down.
Out of curiosity I asked George as we sat on two empty chairs, “What happened between Gideon and Olamide?”
“Gideon likes Vivian,” George explained.
“But Vivian and Olamide are very close friends, and Gideon isn’t happy about it. He told Olamide to stay away from her, but instead, their friendship got deeper, and now they’re fighting.”
“I thought they had settled this already,” I said, watching how close Olamide and Vivian were. It was obvious they liked each other, even if they were pretending otherwise. That closeness was clearly what was driving Gideon crazy.
“This issue has been going on since last term,” George said. “Gideon even blocked Olamide on the road because of it. It won’t stop until Vivian makes a choice.”
He was Interrupted by Gideon’s angry voice.
“How he go say wetin me I do no make sense?” Gideon shouted. “If you like the girl, talk now! I’ve already said my mind. I like her, so all this useless ‘bestie’ nonsense no make sense!”
“You’re just making noise,” Olamide shouted back. “The girl is here. If she likes you, she’ll date you.”
Vivian stayed quiet, acting neutral, as if she wasn’t the reason her classmates were almost fighting.
“Ask her,” Olamide continued angrily. “We’ve been very close since junior school. You just came this session and want to take what doesn’t belong to you.”
That statement pushed Gideon over the edge. He stepped forward, closing the distance between them like he was ready to throw a punch. “Does she belong to you?”
Vivian quickly stood between them.
“Olamide has nothing to do with my choice,” she said firmly. “If I liked you that way, I would be your girlfriend. But I don’t. So you can either go to Amira since you already kissed her last term or find someone else.”
“Stop it,” Gideon muttered through clenched teeth.
The room fell silent.
After a few seconds of glaring at each other, Gideon picked up his bag and walked out.
Vivian stood there for a moment, her arms folded, her expression unreadable. Olamide sighed loudly, ran his hand through his hair, then grabbed his bag.
“This is getting tiring,” he muttered before walking out too.
I exhaled slowly. “SS2 students and wahala,” I said under my breath.
George chuckled beside me. “Give it small time. SS1 students go burst everywhere.”
I nudged him lightly. “Abeg, even Hameedat don calm down.”
Jerry finally left the SS2 girls he had been teasing and joined us. “So who won?” he asked casually.
I rolled my eyes. “Nobody. They all lost.”
Jerry laughed. “Deep answer.”
We stayed back in the class a little longer, watching people pair up in twos and threes. Suddenly, Hameedat brought up Valentine’s Day, and the girls immediately started discussing the gifts they expected from their boyfriends and what they planned to give in return.
I turned to George. He burst into laughter.
George doesn’t like serious conversations in the presence of people, but Valentine was just two weeks away, and I needed to know if I should expect something or not.
“So… what should I expect?” I asked.
He didn’t say anything.
I was about to ask him what gift he wanted when Olamide and Nafisa entered the class.
“We need to go home. Mrs. Adeoye is chasing everybody,” Nafisa announced.
Immediately, everyone grabbed their bags and started leaving one after the other.
George didn’t walk with me. He stayed back with Olamide, talking, and it annoyed me. Everyone was discussing Valentine’s Day and exchanging ideas about gifts, yet he left me to discuss something that didn’t even concern him.
Jerry noticed my mood and tried to justify George’s action.
“Rest your mind. He’ll buy you something special for Valentine’s Day. He just doesn’t like talking about things in front of people. We guys are like that.”
I gave him a dangerous look. “What if he gets something I don’t like?”
Jerry laughed. “Then talk to him on the phone or privately, so you don’t end up receiving what you don't need.”
When we got to the junction where everyone split to their different homes, George only waved at me while others were hugging and saying goodbye.
Hameedat, Nafisa, Amira, and I walked together. They excitedly discussed the gifts they were expecting and what they planned to give in return, throwing suggestions at each other.
I stayed quiet.
Thankfully, they didn’t notice my silence. They were too caught up in Valentine’s excitement.
That night I purposely switched my phone off so that George would understand that I was angry with him.
However, it wasn't an easy task. My fingers were desperate to text George and my heart was begging my brain to just allow my fingers turn on the phone but deep down I knew that this is the only way I can show him that is very important. Everyone in school will be impressing their babes and showing off their gifts and I wouldn't have anything.
My elder sister came beside me and showed me different Valentine packages that can used as gift on her phone, "Which one should I pick?"
I looked at the pictures and my heart tightened, this is what I should be sending to George but he's acting like my feelings don't matter.
"Pick this" I said as I chose the pink package since my favourite colour is pink.
Before she disagrees or show me more pictures, I stood up and went to the room to sleep. Tomorrow morning I will switch on phone and reply my messages.
I fell on the bed and waited patiently for sleep to take over.
One simple question
Is it really a big deal if you don’t receive a gift from your partner on Valentines day?
Thank you for reading this chapter 📖