The tarred floor ended in black and white kerbs, a stretch of grass covered land followed; guarded by high chain-link fences which clung to the kerbs in a weird fashion. Goal posts were visible on either sides of the field, white markings evident on the grass.
Chidiogo stared beyond it, getting a view of the main school building.
A large building covered in bricks spare the four pairs of white pillars which stood at the center of the building marking the entrance and the white sketching which stretched across the length of the building.
The cloisters seemed to stand out as she watched students donned in white and navy blue disappear and reappear between arches.
She let her eyes wander around the large compound, observing the basketball and volleyball courts in a distance, all screened by high chain link fences.
She put a hold on her straying mind as her eyes moved back to her mother who sat inside the car.
She was checking something in the rear view mirror as her lips kept moving.
Grateful that she hadn't noticed her absent-mindedness, Chidiogo put on a smile as she tried to tune out all distractions and focus on her mother.
"...that's why its important for you to take care of yourself..."
The rest of the words blurred as she cast Mmachi a side glance.
Her lean frame rested against the car. Chidiogo couldn't tell what the expression on her face was as her eyes remained on the tarred floor.
A stream of marching ants held her attention, something which their mother's speech had failed miserably in achieving. The message couldn't be louder, every passing minute she spent with the both of them could as well be likened to torture.
The tension that crept into the car with them had been too heavy throughout the drive, it was almost crushing.
It lingered longer than it should have, still present even as the both of them stood outside the car while their mother sat behind the steering wheel advising them.
Chidiogo looked back to their mother suddenly conscious of how the almost wound down car window pressed against her skin. She stared down at her crossed hands scared that changing her position would attract their mother's attention and give her a wrong idea.
Her arched back ached and she itched to stand straight as she looked back at her mother, smiling as their eyes met.
The words coming from her had ceased to make any sense and all Chidiogo could see was her moving lips.
She stifled a yawn as she shifted a little-still too scared to move properly-her muscles starting to act up from being in the same position for a long time.
She stared at her wrist watch for the umpteenth time.
Her mother had been talking for the past fifteen minutes and it didn't seem as if she was planning to stop anytime soon.
She looked up just in time to catch her mother staring at her; she wasn't talking at that moment.
"You heard what I said right?"
Chidiogo paused for a while before smiling, moving her head up and down.
"Yeah."
"Promise you'll do it?"
"Suuure."
She smiled when her mother raised a brow at her, her cheeks starting to hurt from her constant smiling.
"Always remember to pray and make sure you never allow anything to distract you from your studies."
Chidiogo nodded making a mental note of the last statement she made just for the sake of it.
She leaned forward to plant a kiss on her mother's cheek just as Mmachi's patience snapped.
Pulling their attention, together with the lilac box in her hand, she exited the place.
Their stares followed her a little distance but not long enough to witness her taking a deliberate turn in the wrong direction.
---††††---
"Wait for me!"
Chidiogo's voice resounded in the hallway causing a few students to turn around to look at her as Mmachi walked on, not a step more or less, anyone would have borne the misconception that she hadn't heard Chidiogo.
Chidiogo on the other hand kept trying her best to catch up to Mmachi, her straight cut skirt giving her little permission to do so.
She called out to her once more, this time, moving her legs faster-not bothering whether her skirt would rip apart or not.
In a few seconds, she was walking side by side with Mmachi who still walked on as if she hadn't noticed her presence.
"Why didn't you stop when I was calling you?"
"You called me?"
The way the corner of her eyebrow shot up with the question annoyed Chidiogo.
"So you're going to pretend you didn't hear me now, aren't you?"
Mmachi walked on, readjusting the purple school bag which hung loosely on her right shoulder. Chidiogo stared at her for a while before speaking again.
"I'm surprised I even found you. I thought I'd have to find my way to class. Mom took up to ten minutes extra after you left."
Mmachi shrugged. "I waited for you."
Her statement made Chidiogo take an actual pause to look at her. She resumed walking when she saw that Mmachi hadn't missed a step and was definitely not planning to wait for her.
"You're joking right?"
"Unfortunately, no."
She pondered on her words.
"So why didn't you stop when I was calling you?"
"Again, you called me?"
Chidiogo shook her head; sure Mmachi was messing with her.
"Why did you leave when mum was still advising us?"
"What's with this Q and A session?"
"You're avoiding the question."
"Your voice is making me nauseous."
"We have the same voice."
Mmachi shot her a glare.
"At least put yourself in her shoes. How do you think she would feel?"
Mmachi scoffed. "It wouldn't make a difference to her."
"Of course it would."
"It wouldn't. She was talking to you. I was just intruding. I should have left much earlier."
"No, she was talking to the both of us and you know it!"
"And you know that because you found the football field more fascinating than listening to her? At least you must have caught onto the fact that yourself and my daughter isn't exactly addressing two people."
"That still didn't make it okay to leave!"
The silence that followed the statement made Chidiogo rethink her words.
"The hostel is over there. When you come out, ask for S.S.2 C.A."
Chidiogo turned around to look at the direction Mmachi pointed at. She stared for a while unable to make out anything other than a series of repeating arcs which seemed to lead to nowhere.
She turned to ask Mmachi to clarify only to find out that she was gone.
---††††---
The classroom was filled. Students littered almost every corner. The indistinct chatter had made a permanent abode as it mixed with the light sound of music playing in the background, one which no one seemed to know the source of.
Chidiogo stayed at the door taking in the environment.
She felt a little bit out of place. As if adding her presence to the class alone would be too much for it to handle.
Her eyes moved around the class. From the portrait of Chinua Achebe at the extreme end to the four students sitting at the first set of desks in the front row of the class.
A brown skinned girl whose untamed afro could pass off as a nest particularly stood out.
Allowing her eyes to drift further, she took in the arrangement of the desks.
The arrangement was similar to that of a lecture hall with rows of long desks arranged step by step, each row a step ahead of the preceding one.
Her eyes stopped roaming once she caught Mmachi staring at her.
They locked gazes for a while.
"Hey!"
That was enough to break Chidiogo's gaze as her eyes embarked on a frantic search for the person who called out to her.
"Instead of standing there looking stupid, why don't you go find a seat?"
Chidiogo's eyes finally landed on a rather small dark skinned boy. He stood behind a desk on the last row, three seats away from Mmachi.
Her lips parted as she attempted to force words out.
Rather, a sigh made it's way out as she started walking into the class.
She felt eyes trail her movements. Whispers escorted her as she made her way to the last row.
They continued even as she took a seat and unpacked her books. She tried hard to ignore the way everyone stared at her, wondering what the unwanted attention was about.
Could they have known?
She shook her head at the thought sure she was over thinking again.
She turned to look at Mmachi who hadn't uttered a single word since she joined her desk. Her eyes were trained on the textbook which sat in front of her though she seemed lost in thoughts.
Two girls sat in between them. They seemed oblivious to Chidiogo's presence as they continued their chat.
Closest to Mmachi was a pretty girl who had a similar light complexion and looked a little bit familiar to Chidiogo.
The girl bore an innocent look with her almost round face, slightly upturned nose and small pink lips stretched in a thin line as she stared into nothing.
Next to her was a girl with a darker complexion who seemed to do most of the talking. She wore lots of colored bracelets on her left arm. One looked hand crafted and had lettered beads which spelt the name KAMSIYO.
She made it a point to wave her bracelet covered hand as she spoke.
"...and guess who I saw him with?"
"Who?"
The light skinned girl- who Chidiogo couldn't stop associating with the name Amelia-turned to look at Kamsi, curiosity evident on her face.
"The loner girl."
"Why am I not surprised? In my opinion, there's definitely something going on between them. Like the both of them are making it too obvious. Don't you think?"
She turned to look at Mmachi, waiting for her opinion. Mmachi's eyes remained on her textbook until Amelia nudged her causing her head to snap up from the book.
"Yeah?"
"What do you think?"
Mmachi's forehead creased.
"About?"
"Amara and Wale. Were you even listening?"
"Sorry, what about them?"
Amelia sighed. "Kamsi was just telling me that..."
She took her time repeating the story the dark skinned girl had told her. Something about finding the two main characters of the story in a compromising position.
Mmachi stared into space long after Amelia was done with the tale. She seemed to take sometime digesting it before she spoke.
"Amarachi and Wale"-the scoff which followed the names was unmistakable-"let's see how that works out."
"Must you always be bitter? I think they'll work out nicely," Amelia said.
"Whatever."
The statement was accompanied by an eye roll as Mmachi returned her attention to the book in front of her.
"How about you and Justin? Are you two even still together?"
"Who is Justin?"
For the first time since she arrived, the two girls turned to stare at Chidiogo who took an immediate interest in studying the swirls on the mahogany table in front of her as it dawned on her that she should have remained quiet. Her fingers found solace in moving around the pen in front of it.
"Justin is her boyfriend. I'm sure she must have mentioned it to you before."
Chidiogo turned, unsure if she heard Kamsi properly.
"You have a boyfriend!?"
She stared at Mmachi waiting for a reply. She didn't get any; rather, she heard Kamsi's voice.
"They've been dating for over a year now. Mmachi didn't you tell her?"
Mmachi yawned, flipping her book to the next page as Chidiogo and Kamsi's eyes remained on her.
"You shouldn't have a boyfriend!"
She paused; head whipped to the side to get a proper look at Chidiogo. Her face contorted with confusion and annoyance.
"Are you okay!?"
Chidiogo backtracked.
"I-I m-mean... What about mom?"
Mmachi narrowed her eyes as she stared at her.
"Oh. Is this about mom?"
Chidiogo remained silent. They both knew the answer to the question.
"If this is indeed about what she would think then, to hell with the both of you."
She managed to pull a smile at the end of the sentence. Chidiogo looked away, muttering something under her breath.
Mmachi turned to Amelia. "I'm going to the library."
She nodded as Mmachi shuffled out of her seat, picking up the textbook in front of her.
She barely made a full turn when something hard collided with her face. She stood stunned for a while, her nose throbbing as it assumed a distinct red colour.
Her eyes shut as she fell back on her seat, the air quick to get clogged up with words of concern together with laughs and taunts which followed closely.
Chidiogo knelt next to her examining her face while Amelia inquired incessantly if she was okay. Chidiogo noticed the trail of blood which trickled down her nose.
"Can you help me with some..."
She trailed off when she saw Kamsi picking her nails. Didn't she notice what just took place?
She stood up; deciding to get the tissue paper herself when she noticed a plump brown skinned girl standing a little distance from them.
Her short hair was a mess, uncombed and rather untidy. Her white shirt, which looked like it had been creased on purpose before she put it on, was tucked (with more than half the shirt on the outside) into a skirt which had been ironed to perfection.
Her body trembled, her shaking hands barely able to hold the large book which had hit Mmachi's face.
Chidiogo watched her whimper as Mmachi glared at her with bloodshot eyes, she couldn't help but feel bad for the girl.
"You again?"
Chidiogo turned around to look at Kamsi, who stared at the girl in contempt, surprised to hear her speak.
"You really are a pest. Care to explain how your book ended up on Mmachi's face?"
In response to Kamsi's question, the girl's whimpers only grew louder.
"I assume you aren't hard of hearing."
Whimpers.
"SPEAK ALREADY!!"
Chidiogo was startled by the way Kamsi's voice rose, she wondered for a moment if she was missing something. Her eyes drilled holes into the girl in a way which made Chidiogo shudder. If eyes could kill, the girl would have been long gone.
The girl turned to look at Mmachi, her teary eyes pleading for mercy.
"I-I-I'm s-sor..."
"Save your dumb apology! I just want to know how your book landed on my face."
Tears rolled down her face as she stared at Mmachi. The loud sobs which erupted from her seemed to annoy Mmachi more by the second.
"QUIT CRYING ALREADY! Are you crazy or something?!"
Silence followed Mmachi's outburst as a few words lingered on-bouncing off the walls.
All eyes were fixed on the both of them until Kamsi's voice cut through the silence.
"Of course she is. Probably why she'd forever remain a loner."
"Let's not start this now. Can you pass me some tissue?"
Mmachi sounded tired as she glanced over at the girl who sat on the floor bawling out her eyes. Kamsi nodded, proceeding to carry out her request.
Chidiogo stared at the crying girl a while longer wondering what would have triggered her reaction. Her book hit Mmachi probably by mistake. That didn't explain why she panicked so much and cried like it was the end of the world.
She glanced at the strange girl once more before returning to her seat.
She searched for a book to read to pass time after checking to see if Mmachi was alright. Normalcy had been restored but it wasn't long lived.
It ended with the moment when she heard the name 'Amara' echo throughout the class. She looked up from the copy of Amma Darko's Faceless which she had been reading.
At first she didn't notice anything other than the students who had been there earlier. She was about to return to the book she was reading when she sighted a girl with a blinding white complexion running towards their desk.
The girl almost looked like an albino but for her dark thick long lashes, even darker eyebrows and her eyes which were an alluring shade of brown.
Strands of golden brown hair poked defiantly out of her long black braids highlighting the need for it to be changed.
Chidiogo found it weird since every other thing about her seemed to spell perfection.
On reaching their desk, she crouched next to the girl on the floor while repeating the name 'Amara'.
Amara remained on the floor, her hands blocking her ears as she rocked herself, the stream of tears still pouring from her eyes.
The albino girl kept calling her name, wrapping her hands around her every once in a while in an attempt to calm her.
Amara stared on into space, still moving back and forth as she sobbed.
After several futile attempts to get Amara to calm down, the girl stood up and headed straight to Mmachi.
"What did you do to her?!"
Her voice was calm, which was surprising, mellifluous and a bit too deep for a girl.
"Nothing really. Just a pat on the back for almost destroying my nose."
Mmachi's smile seemed to piss her.
"I see you enjoyed your stay in juvie, you just can't wait to return there."
"Itching really."
"Who are you planning to murder this time?"
Mmachi smiled, her fingers curling into a fist as she tried to keep her anger at bay.
Amelia's voice was soon heard. It was low, as though she was trying to control it. "Quinn!"
The albino girl stared at her. "Stay out of this Lia."
Amelia looked like she wanted to say more but Mmachi placed her hand over hers. They exchanged a look before Amelia sighed, leaning back on her seat. Mmachi turned her attention back to Quinn.
"I can't tell, as you know I have quite a temper. I wouldn't be surprised if I choose to end the pest standing in front of me right now."
"The same way you ended your sister or was it your best friend? I'm not sure. Which was it? Or have you also lost count of the number of people you 'accidentally' killed?"
Mmachi glanced down at her nails which dug into her skin focusing on the liquid which trickled down.
"You're suddenly quiet? Learnt to accept the truth already?"
Mmachi's eyes remained on her nails.
"Surprising. Anyways, this is my last warning. Stay away from Amarachi you filthy murderer. You might have gotten away with murdering your si-"
"She didn't murder anyone."
More of a spell than the statement it was intended to be, everyone's gaze fell on Chidiogo, all except Mmachi who looked engrossed in staring at her manicure.
Quinn stared between Chidiogo and Mmachi, a look of puzzlement flashing across her face.
"There are two of you?! As if one wasn't enough. You never told me you had a twin."
She stared at Mmachi sure that she was possessed. Or perhaps there was something in her manicure that only she could see.
"The name is Chidiogo. Nice to meet you too."
Quinn rolled her eyes. "I wasn't talking to you."
"Neither was I."
"Seems you're just as crazy as your twin. Are you also a murderer?"
Chidiogo's shoulders went stiff as she stared back at Quinn not smiling.
"I didn't murder anyone. If anything, you're the murderer!"
"Excuse me? Who exactly did I murder?"
"Your sister."
Quinn stared at Chidiogo for a while, brows caving in.
"You aren't making any sense. You don't even know anything about me or my life or sister an-"
"Exactly! You don't know anything about my sister either. You don't even know her name yet you're accusing Mmachi of murdering her. You probably heard some useless rumor and you're speaking with so much certainty. Katherine died in an accident. Mmachi had nothing to do with her death. It was just a situation of being at the right place in the wrong time. So next time before you speak, try to think. It really helps."
Quinn glared at her for a while, her lips pressed together in a thin line. After sometime, she walked over to Amarachi who was still on the floor. Her silence left Chidiogo surprised but she didn't make much out of it.
Chidiogo glanced over at Mmachi's seat only to find it empty. She looked around, spotting her retreating figure as she walked out of the class.
That was the last she saw her until school was over.
When she got to her hostel room, she found it empty.
Tired from the long day she had, she collapsed into one of the beds, changing out of her clothes the least of her problems as her eyelids began to weigh more.
Unsure if the crystal blue orbs she saw at the door was a figment of her imagination, she let her eyelids draw together, embracing the darkness which-without her knowledge-would soon become a constant in her life.