That truth sat heavily in my chest, louder than every excuse I had been making for George’s misbehaviours. Of course, I hat he wasn’t worth neither my time nor my strength but deep down I still want to hold on to the fact that he at least cares about me, even if it’s a little.

That evening at the party, after I caught George and Simi kissing like they were couples, I didn’t look back. I walked out, then ran until I got to my mum’s place. I forced myself to act normal the moment I saw my mother. Thankfully, she was busy attending to customers and didn’t even notice I had been gone for so long.

I didn’t tell anyone what I saw but I wasn’t the only one that saw them. The news spread so fast that it became the holidays’ gossip.

That night my phone buzzed, it was George’s reply to the messages I sent him around 6pm

From George 

10:32 p.m

I hadn’t been with my phone.

10:33pm

I don’t think we can meet again, I would be traveling to the East tomorrow.

I read his messages over and over. Then, I swallowed my anger and pretended like it was fine.

Days passed and the silence became unbearable. So, I asked him directly what happened at the party but he brushed it off and changed the topic, as if that party didn’t exist to him.

One evening, I couldn’t take it anymore. I told him about the cheat, that I knew he kissed Simi.

His reply came shortly after.

“I’m sorry.”

Just sorry? Like, there was no explanation or any effort to fix the damage in our relationship and it felt like a slap.

Anger took over me in a way I couldn’t control. Without thinking, I went straight to my WhatsApp and messaged Simi. 

Insulting her came easy to me because I was fueled by my pain and humiliation. She replied immediately, matching my energy, throwing words back at me without hesitation.

We insulted each other for hours, till she claimed that George asked her out and wouldn’t stop disturbing her.

My breath caught.

For a moment, I couldn’t even process it. Then I remembered that I’d seen them alone in SS3 class before.

My hands trembled as I dialed George’s number. I was hoping desperately that he would deny it. That he would say she was lying, but as soon as I explained everything Simi said, he began to apologize again.

Fuck. What have I gotten myself into?

Weeks passed and my relationship with George was still unstable. Although, he’s been apologizing but my anger was still present.

School resumed so quickly, but George didn’t. He hadn’t returned from the East but there were gossips spreading fast that he was planning to write WAEC with the SS3 students and had already paid. Also, after the exams, he would return to the East for good.

I called, he confirmed it, and the thought of not seeing him again after a few months hit me harder than I expected. There was no point holding onto my anger.

So I texted him and asked when he would be back.

“Next week,” he replied.

I held onto that.

In the meantime, the school was alive with fresh drama, as if my own problems weren’t enough. Hameedat and Gideon had broken up again, and just like that, Gideon had already moved on to someone in another school. He claimed that Hameedat was toxic.

Well, no one expected their relationship to last, if I’m being honest.

Nafisa and Olamide, on the other hand, had taken their relationship further, although Olamide’s been distant, uninterested, like he didn’t want the relationship to exist but in the midst of his weirdness, there were so many signals he kept giving Nafisa, showing he really cared for her.

I was glad that I wasn’t in Nafisa’s shoes but also I couldn’t tell between George and Olamide, which behaviour was worse. As if that wasn’t enough drama for the school, Chioma and Saheed were over for good, and that breakup created space for Amira to step in.

According to new gossips, Chioma had been the one that approached Saheed, just like she did with Bashir and none ended well but it at least gave Amira the confidence to try her luck, especially after John made it clear he wasn’t interested in her. Well, I was happy because it meant she had back off from George, I only had to deal with Simi.

Speaking of Simi, she was also yet to resume, and I wish she doesn’t.

“You are so cheap, throwing yourself at boys.” Chioma shouted at Amira, cutting off my thoughts.

“And you aren’t? Or should I remind you that you also threw yourself at the boys?” Amira fired back.

Oh God! Not again 

Every minute insult had become our class routine since Chioma and Amira turned enemies but Amira didn’t care. She posted Saheed constantly on her status, flaunting him in a way that annoyed not just Chioma, but even Hameedat.

Everything was messy but Jerry kept trying to minimize the situation from turning into something else, in order to prevent teachers punishing our class again.

I smiled not just because the class noise had reduced, or Jerry was present in school to resolve the constant argument but because he had completely recovered from that awful illness. Although, there were also gossips about him that he had asked Nafisa out recently, but it looks like she refused because of Olamide.

By the end of the first week of our resumption, my only focus was the upcoming Monday because George was coming back to school.

Comment question:

Do you believe Hameedat was a toxic person? And why?

Thank you for reading this chapter 🥰

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