The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Chapter 27: RECKONING
Monday arrived with a kind of tension that could almost be felt in the air, and just as I had expected, everything spiraled out of control before the first period could even properly begin.
Loud and angry noises came from the SS3 class. It wasn’t just an argument. It was a full-blown fight between Saheed, Gideon and Olamide.
Even without stepping out of our classroom, we already knew what was happening. News travelled fast in our school, especially when it involved relationships and betrayal.
“What is wrong with those SS3 students?” our English teacher snapped in frustration, dropping her marker on the table before storming out of the class to intervene.
The moment she left, the class buzzed with murmurs, but no one rushed out to watch. If anything, most of us stayed glued to our seats, pretending not to care. We had all seen enough drama to last a lifetime.
Except Hameedat didn’t hesitate. The moment the teacher stepped out, she hurried out of the class, clearly going to stand by Gideon.
I watched her go, shaking my head slightly.
“Is it true Jerry came to your birthday party?” Felix’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
I nodded. “Yes, he did.”
Just mentioning Jerry made me sad a little.
This was exactly the kind of situation he would have handled perfectly by cracking jokes, diffusing tension, and somehow making everyone forget why they were even angry in the first place. But he was absent.
“He’s still very sick,” I added quietly. “George said he fainted this morning when he was about to come to school. They rushed him to the hospital again.”
Felix frowned, clearly concerned, but before he could say anything else, the SS3 noise outside grew louder and teachers yelling over students.
At that point, even we couldn’t ignore them anymore, so we went outside to watch.
Teachers had finally managed to step in, separating the boys, but the situation had already drawn too much attention. Too many questions were asked and the SS3 students, especially the girls, talked about everything, including my birthday, the hotel, except the oath. That was because they didn’t know.
The disappointment from the teachers was suffocating. The kind of disappointment that made you feel small.
And most of it was directed at Hameedat.
“Do you think relationships are about jumping from one boy to another?”our account teachers said sharply, her voice cutting through the murmurs. “From one friend to another? You will end up with no one and no self-worth. I just hope it won’t be too late before you realize what you are doing.”
The words landed hard.
Hameedat didn’t even try to argue this time. Her face crumpled, and tears slipped down her cheeks as she stood there, silent and exposed in front of everyone.
I couldn’t just stand there and watch. I walked over to her, placing a hand gently on her arm, and immediately she leaned closer to me, her voice breaking as she spoke.
“I didn’t even want to date Gideon,” she said between tears. “It was Chioma… she said Saheed doesn’t love me anymore. She said that’s why he always makes me cry.”
I froze slightly. Chioma.
It was starting to feel like her name was attached to every single problem in our lives. Why was everyone even listening to her?
She had barely spent time in this school, yet somehow, she had put herself into every relationship, every decision, every misunderstanding.
I lowered my voice, making sure no one else could hear us.
“Do you know I overheard Bashir saying that Chioma asked him out?” I said.
Hameedat’s head snapped up immediately, her eyes widening in shock.
“What?” she whispered.
I nodded slowly. “That’s why Bashir and Chioma are always arguing. He refused to date her, especially after he found out she was the reason Desire didn’t continue their relationship.”
For a moment, Hameedat just stared at me, trying to process everything.
“So all this time…” she muttered.
I squeezed her hand lightly. “Just keep it to yourself,” I added quickly. “I don’t want to be the one to start another problem in this school.”
She nodded, though her expression had changed completely now. The confusion was gone, replaced with clarity.
“I’m done,” she said firmly after a moment, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. “I will break up with Gideon. I don’t want any boyfriend again.”
I looked at her, but didn’t believe her because I had heard her say similar things before. To be honest, this is a school where love felt more like chaos than comfort, maybe walking away might be the only thing that actually made sense.
If only I could walk away from mine.
Comment Question
Is Hameedat finally choosing herself or is this just another temporary escape from the cycle?
Thank you for reading this chapter 📖