" wake up! Wake up! Sister Bee, wake up!" Ben said, shaking her roughly. Bee groaned when the first beam of sunlight hit her face.
" Benny, is it morning already?" She said, yawning.
Ben gave her a puzzled look and sighed. " It is 7 am on the dot and school starts in an hour, you lazy girl." He said with a frown.
" Oh...I see. Where is mummy?" She said and slowly began to sit up. She put her hand to her head which was throbbing. She recalled that she couldn't sleep last night. She kept having nightmares throughout.
" Mummy is waiting for us at the dining table. She asked me to wake you up." Ben said. He jumped out of bed, " You have five minutes."He said as he made for the door. Bee crawled out of bed and lazily walked toward the bathroom.
*
" Are you okay sweetie? You look pale." Betty said as she placed two bowls of cereal on the table.
" I'm fine mum" Bee replied lazily as she took her seat at the table.
" Mensuration cramps? I noticed the pimples on your face earlier, they only appear when you're in your time of the month."
" Mum!," Bee whispered a yell. " You shouldn't be saying such things in front of Ben. He is only six." She whispered.
" Ohh...I almost forgot. I will be going to the supermarket in the afternoon, do you guys need anything?" Betty said, changing the subject.
" Yes, mum. I need some toiletries." Bee said.
" What about you Ben, do you need anything?"
Ben shrugged his shoulders and said, " Nothing"
" Okay. It is settled then. Hurry up, we don't want to be stuck in traffic. And don't forget to say grace" said Betty.
*
After the assembly, the students crowded into the hallways and corridors of the school, chatting and exchanging greetings as usual. Immediately Bee walked in, it was dead silence. All eyes were fixed on her. She took a deep breath and clenched her fist as she walked towards her locker, she tried to avoid everyone's gaze.
Minutes later, two boys walked in. They were about the same height. Both were dark-skinned, charming, and good-looking. Some students walked up to greet them. More students crowded around the first boy.
" Julian, where have you been?"
" Missed you"
" You're looking dazzling as always."
" Party tonight..."
Julian was soon lost in laughter and chatter. Few students greeted Jack, boys to be precise. All the girls were afraid to greet him because of Karen. All they could do was admire him from a distance, not daring to say hello. Susan tried it once and it didn't end well for her.
" Hey, Coach!"
" Practice today?"
" Looking like a king as ever."
They said, giving him slapping handshakes.
From a close distance, Bee watched them. 'I wonder who they are.' She thought. She shrugged her shoulders and continued stacking her books in her locker.
" Excuse me." A deep masculine voice spoke. She tilted her head to the side facing him completely.
His eyes look familiar. She thought. Bee knew she had seen them somewhere but she could not remember where in particular. She frowned slightly as she put a hand to her head which was throbbing.
" Are you okay?" Jack asked. His deep black eyes were fixed on her.
" I'm fine. It's just a headache." Bee replied and looked away in embarrassment. She could feel not just her head throbbing but her heart beating fast as well.
Jack looked at her for a while, he took his books from his locker and walked away. ' I have always wondered whose locker was next to mine. But today I've got the answer.' She said, smiling. She was still lost in thoughts when the bell rang,
ERRR! " First period" A voice spoke. Startled by the sound, Bee accidentally bumped her head on her locker.
" Ouch!" She yelped in pain.
*
After the first three periods, the bell rang for lunch. Bee didn't bother to go to the dining hall the incident that happened on the first day was still fresh in her memory. She walked behind a block of classrooms, she found a cool spot--a picnic table under a walnut tree. She sat down and place her lunch of jollof rice and chicken on the table and closed her eyes to say grace. Someone touched her shoulder from behind--startled, she jerked.
" I didn't mean to startle you, Bee." The voice spoke calmly. Bee turned to see a familiar figure standing behind her.
She rolled her eyes and said, " Please don't tell me that this is one of your hideouts too."
Sam laughed. " You're a funny girl Bee. Of course not. Can I join you?" He asked.
Bee shrugged her shoulders and said, " Sure. It is a free country after all." Sam sat opposite her, he bought out three plates of rice, a dougnot, and a big bottle of coke, and he placed them on the table.
" Can you finish all that? That's a lot you know" Bee said surprised. She haven't seen anyone who ate this much.
" Well...I do eat a lot I hope you don't mind?" He said. His chubby cheeks reddened with embarrassment.
" Oh...of course not." She said with a smile.
" Why didn't you join them at the dining hall?" Bee asked, wondering why he was not inside.
" Well... Karen hates me, so...it is a long story, I don't want to bore you." Sam replied.
" Oh, I see. A lot of persons seem to like her."
Sam puffed. " Not really. Most people are only putting up with her because she's the proprietor's daughter... Karen is the perfect description of a witch. If evil was a face, then it is Karen Robert. She..."
" Wow! Take it easy," Bee interrupted. " I don't think she is that bad. You know Karen reminds me of a bully back in middle school. And you know the one thing kids who bully have in common? Insecurity." Bee said and laughed.
"Well...I Can't forget when she put a spider in my lunch knowing full well I have a phobia about spiders." Sam said glumly.
" That's bad. Why didn't you report her to the director, or to anyone who could deal with her?"
" Look around you Bee, no one dares to do so...L.H.S is a great school but the likes of Karen and her gangs make it unbearable." He paused for a while before he continued.
" Karen joined us in SS2's first semester. Ever since then, she has been making life difficult for others" He sighed. " Poor Susan James." He said with a shake of his head.
When Bee Heard Susan's name she remembered that she didn't see her after their last argument.
She tried to call her several times on the phone, but she didn't pick up. After trying serval times, Bee concluded within her that Susan doesn't want to speak with her.
" What happened between Karen and Susan? The last time we spoke she made mentioned trying to get on Karen's good side. I don't know what she meant by that." Bee said.
" Well...it all started after the red sign on her locker..."
" Wait! Did you just say the red sign, like the one I saw on my locker yesterday?" Bee said.
" What! You mean Karen wrote something on your locker with red ink?" Sam asked surprised.
" Yeah. It read, don't mess with the queen of L.H.S... or something like that. What does it mean?"
" It means you're Karen's enemy for life. What did you do to her?" Sam asked.
" Let's just say it is a long story. I will tell you some other time. Can we talk about something else other than the queen of L.H.S" Bee said the last bit sarcastically and they both laughed.
They ate and chatted about so many things. In no time they became friends and realized that they shared many interests.
*
After the closing assembly, Karen strode into the girl's bathroom, she washed her hands and her face. When she opened the door, she saw a familiar figure standing in front of her. He has that grin on his face as usual. Karen rolled her eyes and said,
" What do you want, Julian? This bathroom is for girls the boys' bathroom is on the other side."
" Cut the act babe, Jack isn't here," Julian said, grinning widely.
Karen hesitated for a while before she walked closer to him and wrap her hands around his neck. Julian pulled her into a deep kiss.
*
After shopping, Betty stood in front of the supermarket facing the busy street and stopped a taxi. As she was about to enter the taxi she noticed that she had lost her bag, she apologized to the taxi driver and walked back into the supermarket. ' I must have dropped it there' she thought as she walked towards the entrance of the supermarket.
" Hi" A man greeted her as she walked in. " You dropped your bag while you were heading out." He said as he handed the bag to Betty.
" Thanks! I didn't realize that I dropped it. That was careless of me." She said with embarrassment.
" It's okay. It happens to the best of us sometimes. Check-in case something is missing." He said smiling.
" Yes...sure"
" You look familiar, do I know you somewhere"
Betty tilts her head to look at him. " I don't think so." She said.
" I swear you look like someone I knew back in my secondary school days. What was her name..." He said, trying to remember, "Hum...Beauty? No, it's Betty. Yes! Betty Solade." He said excitedly.
" Yes, my name is Betty Solade...but.."
" You attended Kings and Queens high school right?"
" Yes, I did."
" Oh my goodness! It is you, Betty Solade. I have been looking for you for a long time now. Don't you remember me? Ace, Ace Robert." He said, hitting his chest.
When Betty heard the name, she gasped in surprise. Could it be Ace, My high school lover? She thought.
Betty and Ace were dating throughout their high school days. They planned to get married after they were done with university. But Greg, Ace's father didn't support their relationship. He didn't want Ace to marry Betty because she was from a humble background. After Ace was done with secondary school, Greg sent him abroad to further his education. When Ace was in the United States, he would send Betty letters but non of those letters got to her. Greg made sure of it.
After waiting for several years, Betty moved on. She assumed he had forgotten about her and had moved on also.
After Seven years, Ace came back to Nigeria. He looked for Betty but they told him that she had left Lagos and no one knew her whereabouts. Disappointed, he returned to the States, it was then he met Joyce, Karen's mother, and got married to her. He would never have imagined that both their parts will cross one day. It has been thirty years.
" Ace" Betty called. Her large eyes were filled with tears. She had waited for this man in front of her for years. She couldn't forget that day she went to Robert's mansion to inquire about Ace's whereabouts after sending him countless letters he didn't reply, Greg, humiliated her he told her that Ace had moved on. " He is happily married and doesn't want anything to do with you" Greg had said. Betty left the house that day in tears. After two years, she met Brian Foster, Bee's father, and got married to him.
" I looked for you but no one knew your whereabouts. I had written you several letters but you didn't reply to any. I wanted to tell you I was in the States and once I was done with my studies, I would come back and take you with me." Ace said as he wiped tears from her eyes.
" It is a long story, Ace. Let's find somewhere appropriate and talk about this" Betty said.
Later that afternoon, they went to a coffee shop. It was there Betty explained to him all that had happened. They cried like a baby as they asked each other for forgiveness--to the point that everyone who saw them felt pity for them