CHAPTER SIX

At the assembly the following week, the principal, Mrs Smith calls out Damien and Lekan to the podium to stand beside her,  and with a solemn look and sad voice, she begins her speech while the curious faces of more than five thousand students look up to her on the podium, 1  eager to hear what she had to say.

"In all my twenty years of teaching and another five of being honoured as a principal here in this school, I have never experienced what I am about to say of these,"

Pointing her fingers at Damien and Lekan, she continues

"ill-behaved students of our prestigious institution."

Swallowing hard, she regards at them scornfully, her eyes fixated on Lekan who is sweating hard and inwardly wishing the ground would swallow him up from shame, and Damien returning her stare nonchalantly. The publicity was good for his reputation as a bad boy after all, he might as well bask in it. 

Mrs Smith observes the look on Damien's face and shakes her head regrettably. Turning back to face the crowd,

"Without getting into too many details, last week, these two were reported to me with proof of video evidence of them waging a bet and plotting to rape one of their female classmates whose name I won't mention. The girl in question made a video of them in the toilet discussing their evil plans and how to hatch it."

The students begin to murmur excitedly among themselves starting to shape up the story to their tastes and guessing who the female student might be."

Damien and Lekan exchange shocked looks between themselves wondering how they could have been caught. Damien slaps his forehead angrily reprimanding himself inwardly for being so stupid. The principal refrained from telling them about the video evidence before during her investigation and interrogation of them. So, it was Bianca that caught them and made a video. Promising himself inwardly to make her pay, he smiles at the crowd of students who were watching him in dismay.

"Silence, students."

Mrs Smith says adjusting the microphone as soon as the students had quieted down.

"All through the past week, I and a few members of the staff conducted a thorough investigation and even had witnesses who testified to have witnessed Damien harassing the said girl. This kind of behaviour cannot be allowed in our school. To say I am disappointed would be an understatement at this period. I am appalled and beyond shocked that students of this school could wage bets on sleeping with their classmates, and actually, plot to rape her."

Sighing, she continues,

"In light of this, myself and the staff have decided on the best course of action. The two boys are hereby suspended for two weeks for the despicable character they exhibited, during which they are to compulsorily see a psychologist in regards to their behaviour which has been deemed abnormal for students of their age and this institution, followed by another week for their failure to identify their cohorts whom they had the bet together. We did not come to this decision lightly and they would have been expelled under normal circumstances, but in light of their forthcoming West African Examinations Council exams, we decided to temper justice with mercy and sincerely hope they turn a new leaf. That's not all, they have to write a ten-page undertaking upon their resumption which they would publicly have to read to the entire school, and an open letter of apology to the girl in question which must not bear her name, and a letter of recommendation from the therapist they choose to see. "Turning to face Damien and Olamide,

"Mr Damien Aremu and Mr Lekan Adunbarin, do you understand?"

Both of them nod their heads and it can be observed from Damien's demeanour that he's not even fazed. He almost couldn't wait for his suspension to begin.

"Your parents have been informed of this development and they are expecting you at home. Your suspension begins today, you may go into your classroom to pack your belongings and leave."

Waving her left hand at them in a gesture of dismissal,

"Please leave immediately after."

Damien and Lekan leave the podium and make their way to their classroom to clear out their belongings.

Turning to Damien and blowing hotly on their way to pack their things, Lekan fumes,

"I warned you, I fucking warned you but you chose not to listen. Look where you have gotten us."

"Stop whining like a bitch and focus. What's so bad about the suspension? I see it as a long-deserved holiday. I am more concerned about something else so, shut up and let me think."

"It's easy for you to say, your parents are not going to do anything to you, my parents would skin me alive especially my father. How do I explain myself? Everyone always told me you were a bad influence. I kept warning you to leave this girl and let her be, but leave it to you to always stir up trouble for two or more. I wish I had the good sense to distance myself when all this started. As if that's not bad enough, you had to make them tack on one more week when we could have simply confessed and named the others involved. Is it right for only two people to suffer for a crime of four? I'm not the messiah, getting punished for something we were all involved in doesn't sit right with me. You are always playing macho, and feeling like you can handle everything. Just look where you got us, I just might go back to the principal to confess, what will I be doing home for three weeks?".

Spinning on his heels to face Lekan, he grabs him by his shirt, and pulls him closer.

"Don't you dare do that, you think confessing now when we didn't earlier would make her reverse the judgement she passed on us in the presence of the whole school? It's too late for that, don't be unnecessarily stupid. Even if it were possible for her to reverse the judgement, which is not, have you not heard of the bro code? Don't be a snitch and a fucking pussy, you keep your loose mouth shut and don't rat out your brothers." He releases him and resumes walking.

Smoothing his rumpled shirt from Damien's hold, he blurts out,

"What stupid bro code? Do you think those selfish idiots would have done the same for us? In case you don't know, it's all man for himself in this part of the world. I regret listening to you, I really should have confessed earlier."

"That's enough, the past is past. Let's think of moving forward and making plans for the future."

"Count me out of whatever plans you have for the future and even the present, I have had enough of your planning. You would probably get a slap on the wrist from your parents, I wouldn't hear the last of it at home. I still have to worry about sitting in front of a therapist for three weeks discussing rubbish and convincing whoever it is to give me a letter of recommendation. There's also the issue of the undertaking and the open letter. It appears my future is booked up for now, so, please, exclude me out of your plans."

Now in the classroom, they pick up their bags and make their way to their lockers to clean it out. 

"Don't tell me you plan to sit in front of a therapist and write an undertaking and the silly open letter."

Bursting into laughter, Damien reaches into his now open locker to take out his personal belongings.Watching him in amusement and confusion, Lekan clears out his locker.

"Just what do you mean? We have to do everything the principal said upon resumption expect we don't plan on coming back which is impossible. There's no other alternative, we just have to do it."

Placing his hand on Lekan's shoulder,

"There's always an alternative. I have it all figured out, but since you said I should exclude you from my plans, I better keep it to myself."

Damien says calculatingly, watching Lekan's reaction.

Lekan struggles within himself, debating whether he should allow himself be included in Damien's plans. As bad as Damien was, he always had a solution to everything besides, anything is better than sitting through therapy and the other punishments. Nodding his head slowly unsure if he was making the best decision, he shrugs his shoulders, throwing caution to the wind.

"Okay, let's have it. I would give anything to avoid the three weeks of hell ahead of me."

Smiling in triumph, Damien leans on his locker,

"We don't have to go to therapy, we would spend the next three weeks having the best time of our lives around town."

Frowning in confusion,

"And how will we do that? Didn't you hear Mrs Smith say everything is compulsory?"

"Just shut up and listen to me, I have an uncle who's friend is a therapist, I guarantee he's going to give us the letter of recommendation, I can also get people to write the undertaking and open letter for each of us, I know someone who can duplicate our handwritings perfectly for just a little amount of money.  See, it's settled."

He concludes the smile still plastered on his face.

"Are you sure there won't be any problems? I have been in too many problems lately, and it's all because I listened to you."

Olamide says, his common sense deserting him again.

"There won't be any this time, I guarantee."

"Alright, I have just got to trust you on this. The only thing I'm going to have to deal with now is how to face my parents."

"Man up and face this, a man only dies but once. Face them and get it over with."

"Easy for you to say," 

After clearing his locker out, he shuts it.

"We better leave now before they come and chase us away."

Damien extracts his belongings from his locker and shuts it too.

"Just one more thing I need to do before we leave."

"What's that?"

Lekan asks, anxiously"

I need to have a word with Bianca."

Lekan opens his mouth wide, his eyes almost escaping their sockets in shock.

"Have you gone raving mad? What do you mean you need to have a word with Bianca? Shouldn't you have learnt your lesson by now? Your fixation on that girl is going to be the end of you, that much I can promise."

"Calm down please, the worst has already happened, I just need to talk to her and tell her something really important."

"In that case, I better make myself scarce, I am certainly not going to be a part of this stupidity lest they group us for punishments again. I would be at the school gate waiting for you, and if I don't see you in five minutes, I'm off."

Not waiting for a reply, Olamide slings his backpack containing his books on his shoulder and makes off at a fast pace almost running. Smiling at his friend's retreating form, Damien zips his backpack on his shoulder too same as Lekan, muttering to himself,

"He's such a chicken, I might have to confirm if he's got a dick and balls one of these days. He's always acting like a pussy."

Making his way to the class, he seeks Bianca out and sees her sitting alone, writing in her diary. He noiselessly goes to stand in front of her and clears his throat to announce his presence.

Startled, Bianca hurriedly slaps her diary shut inwardly praying desperately that he didn't catch a glimpse of what she's writing.

"What do you want? Shouldn't you be out of the school by now or would you prefer I call the principal on you?"

Smiling devilishly, he stands akimbo reading her expression and feeling triumphant that he might have just got a hidden weapon to use against her, he just has to work out the details later. Raising his hands in mock surrender,

"You won, Bianca. I just came to congratulate you for winning and to tell not to jubilate too much cause I will be back. I don't give up so easily, you and I have got an unfinished business, and I intend to pay you back in the same measure you paid me."

Standing up to him , she pokes his chest,

"I have about had enough of you so, it's my pleasure to tell you I would be jubilating for a very long time. Whatever you have got planned, bring it on, asshole."

"I see you have gotten confident, I'm just not sure it would turn out so well for you in the end. Imagine if I was the one that poked your chest like that."

Taking one final look at her angry face, he brings his mouth close to her ears and whispers,

"Just watch your back cause you have got it coming."

Turning on his heels, he blows her a kiss and leaves her fuming and banging her desk angrily.