Chapter 2 FIGHT BACK

A group of friends gathered in the empty classroom. They were three big girls, always drawing attention and respect from other students: Lydia, Mia, and Rachel. Lydia was the oldest of the group; she had a big stature, big eyes, and a robust body, while the rest of the trio were thin . Three of them were in the twelveth grade alongside Monti.

The three of them sat at the teacher's table while they engaged in various discussions, entertaining themselves with gossip.

'I heard that Monti wasn't feeling too good last week?" Mia said.

Lydia knew she indirectly threw a question at her.

"Yes! That's true, I thought I heard it too." Lydia replied .She pinched herself for such a lie.

Mia was happy that someone could finally discuss it.

'I heard she was sick because of her boyfriend who deserted her and went for her mother instead. Did you also hear that lydia?' Mia asked.

'That's so ridiculous!' 'I didn't,' she shook her head, realizing that Monti's mother came into Monti's picture for the second time; she wasn't sure whether the mother really cared about her daughter.

'It was a video; they tried all means to curb the video from going viral, and I think they succeeded a little. I also watched the video, but as soon as I saved it, my phone started to zzz zzz zzz: it went off,' Mia said.

'Well, Mia could be lying; I don't think she saw the video,' Lydia said, rolling her eyes in disbelief. 'Though the video was deleted, some still have it on their phones; if you wanted to watch it so desperately, you could have told us that instead,' she said, smiling at Mia.

'If I see the video, I will definitely show you guys,' Rachel said.

'Don't you even think that her mom is older than Monti's boyfriend? I heard her mom was young. She was twelve when she birthed monti,' Lydia stated.

'That's so ridiculous,now it's a daughter versus mom's game .' Lydia said and the laughed sarcastically

Well, I also heard that she filed an application to stay in the school hostel for the whole semester, including the holidays. The school authority agreed.

Monti walked into the school premises. It was Saturday, and the girls were expected to be asleep in their various rooms. No one was expected to enter the school classes except during prep time; she wasn't excluded, though, but one way or another, she was always permitted to enter the school premises anytime except during night hours. The school teachers understood whatever she had come to do and always left her alone; maybe they only wanted her to be happy. Everyone knows her story, and that's because of her mom. She chuckled. Sometimes, she comes to the empty classroom to cry or to talk to herself. Most times, she questions herself, 'Why was she ever born?' She walked towards her classroom, feeling frustrated and dejected; she could hear the whispers of some girls as she walked close by. She knew it was Lydia and her friends, always at the center of gossip.

She awaits the day when one of the gossips would be caught and seriously dealt with by her, while others would learn. She leaned towards the corridor of the classroom, hiding her face at the back of the door to avoid being seen. She heard what they said, and it was about her mother.

She had thought the incident between her and her mom was not as serious as other students intended; she realized it was a more complicated issue than normal.

Though to her, her mom didn't betray her; her mom was just full of life and desires to enjoy the sophisticated world. Her boyfriend, Mark, betrayed her. Sharon didn't know he was her boyfriend. She had introduced Mark to her mom as a friend, thinking that she might not approve of their relationship since she was just fifteen.

She had told some of her classmates that Mark was her boyfriend; they had gossiped about it, and that's what she wanted.

She remembered how she saw the video. People started complaining that they saw Mark together with someone online ,she became curious to know and was appalled it was her mom.

Even so, some of her mom's neighbors who heard about it said her mother shouldn't have done that to her child, stating that she should have considered her daughter's feelings, but she didn't care. She remembered when her mom asked her if it really affected her, and she replied, saying 'No.'

The incident kept ruminating in her mind, and she couldn't understand how.

Everyone in the city knows her mom; everyone knows her through her mom. They even knew her boyfriend through her mom. It all frustrates her, knowing it all comes from her mom. Her mom wasn't what people think; she was kind and jovial. The issue she has is that her desires keep eating her up, always driven by a burning determination to live freely while possessing the attitude of overlooking meaningful things. She indeed was a true lover of life.

Monti was twelve when she noticed that she might have begun to acquire most of her mom's lifestyle. She loved her mom, but she hated her lifestyle; she vowed never to live like her mom.

Tears rolling down her cheeks, she remembered her dad. Had her dad still been in the picture, her life would have been more meaningful. Her dad, Lumos, a civil engineer, lived in California.She wiped off her tears.

She lived with her dad during her childhood. When she was five, her mom left her dad and relocated to another city. Also, Lumos, because of his desire to take revenge on Sharon, ran away from his location and terminated all means of communication with his wife and only daughter. No one knew his whereabouts; some knew but only helped to worsen matters between her dad and her mom.

Until Last week, she heard that he had relocated back to Los Angeles. She didn't know where it might be and was less concerned. Perhaps since she is now fifteen, she could live a life of her own.

Her mom, who is the center of their gossip, was unemployed. Perhaps they called her a street worker; she ran a restaurant for a family friend but later became a street worker. Sharon left her husband because she thought she was too sophisticated to marry such a man. She gave him permission to marry another woman if he wanted. (Monti chuckles).

Monti loved her dad, but the last time she heard from him was when she was six years old. He sent her letters for her birthday, flowers, and gifts, but ever since then, she hasn't heard anything from him again. Existing or not, she just wished her dad hadn't left her for a sophisticated woman who had little care for her only child.

She has grown now; it wouldn't bring her back to the days when she was six, nor would it bring her father back to her. She entered the classroom, only to be surprised by the gossips' uncaring attitude. She sat down, intending to listen to whatever they had to say about her mother and her.

With burning sensations in her heart, she walked towards Lydia and began to vent her anger by squeezing Lydia's right arm.

Lydia is big; she is not as big as her. She brought her arm towards her right side, turning it over against her head, and Lydia screamed. Rachel struggled to get her grip on Monti, but it wasn't possible. Mia ran outside the classroom. Rachel widened her eyes at her friend, who ran out in fear, leaving them alone with the bully. She saw Lydia's body hit the floor; she looked into Monti's eyes and their gazes met.

'What do you say about my mother?' Monti asked.

'It wasn't me; it was Lydia,' she said, running outside the classroom and leaving Lydia alone, screaming at the top of her voice.

Monti realized someone might be coming to find out what was happening; she feared that it might be one of the school mistresses. She ran outside, following Rachel's route and left Lydia there.

Meanwhile,Rachel kept running, not knowing where she had passed; she realized Monti was following her and ran even harder.

Monti couldn't keep her pace and ran towards another classroom leading to the library. She drew a chair towards her and gasped at what she saw on the floor: a girl in seventh grade with a guy at the eleventh grade.They hastily adjusted their dresses as they ran towards the door. Monti drew the boy back and gave him two bloody slaps. The boy winced in pain and ran outside; she would get to the girl later. All she saw happening was that the girl would start to live like how her mother did: a girl at the age of twelve with a boy much older than her, and she would become a whore.

She remembered what Lydia and her friends had said, which made her vent her anger .She thought again if the girl she saw just now becomes pregnant,her daughter will live to face the deeds of her mother .

She sat on top of the school desk as Lydia's words began to ruminate inside her head.

'I heard her mother was working at a restaurant; she used her canniness to draw people's attention to her side. The owner had to hand her a resignation letter, and she left," Lydia had said.

She clasped her hand towards her face, closing her eyes in disapproval and disappointment. She stood up from the chair and walked towards the door. She passed another passage that would lead her to the front of the female hostel. She also wanted to avoid anyone's attention towards Lydia because she might have caused her physical pain.

"Hi!" Eli said.

She bumped into him as a result of being shocked; she never expected anyone to be beside her so quickly.

She sighed.

"Hi! Are you good?" he asked.

"Yes! I am. My name is Eli; I am in the eleventh grade."

"I know who you are; we worked together for the inclusive school art. Of course, how could I forget?" she replied.

'You drew a couple of paintings, remember? One was of a lady holding broken flowers. I wondered what that painting posits; you are a good artist, you know? As for me, I drew roughly; that was my first time drawing a school compound, and it didn't end as well as I thought," he said.

"You tried; it just needed some changes. I know you would have improved quite well. I didn't start as well as you have, though," she replied.

"Yeah, I thought I saw you in the sixth grade. I was coming from the school bursary," he asked.

"Not at all," she said, feeling agitated.

"I was afraid someone might have been bullied. I heard a scream, so I walked towards the class, but I saw no one!" he said.

"You went inside the class, and you saw no one. I mean, no one saw you?"

"Not at all. It was when I heard a sound from the other class that I thought it was a student. I hate people seeing me first so that I won't fall into the hands of a bully," he laughs.

"Just like me, right?"

His smile faded when he saw the seriousness of her face, trying to read her mind.

"I was only joking," he said.

He realized he could remember people calling her a bully because of her big body. He didn't know if she had ever beaten anyone, as far as he was concerned. He was sure she could beat anyone but wasn't so sure.

He had seen her once when she held a student's hand to warn him to stay away from her. He laughed again. It angered Monti; she ran away from him, running towards her hotel, which was a mile from the school itself.

Eli met her pace within a minute. It surprised her because she had thought she had run a mile already. Ashamed that she didn't even run at all, she only jogged due to her size. She giggled in embarrassment but avoided him hearing her giggle.

"My birthday is coming up this Wednesday, do you mind going out with me after school?" he asked.

"I will think about it." Surprised by the response, he scratched his head in confusion; he wasn't even asking her for a date with him .

'Are your parents restricting you from parties?'he asked.

Monti's silence made him more confused, realizing that it might make her uncomfortable. He waited until he could bring up another topic. Monti's heart began to pound fast; she did not understand whether he ever knew about her parents, especially her mom. She wondered if his ignorance about her mother made him talk to her in a jovial manner.

'Well, I would try,' she said.

Eli smiled at her reply, wishing she could certainly come and not just under the possibility.

'See you next time, bye,' he said, running off the female hostel premises to avoid any unnecessary panel meetings by the school.

He waved her goodbye a second time while running towards the school gate. She realized he had walked so far to accompany her to her hostel. She walked inside her hostel to take another long nap since it was Saturday. She walked inside her room and met her friend, also her roommate, Lucy, in her room. She had been absent from school for a whole week , surprised to see her back at school sooner than she had thought .

She ran towards her to embrace her ,lucy felt they must have really missed each other.

Lucy kissed her friend in her cheek , telling her how she had missed her , she brought her a teddy bear gift . Monti began to explain what had transpired within the whole week of her absence and how she dealt with Lydia and her friends . She dearly wished no one caught her beating her colleagues.

She cried bitterly in Lucy's arms as she drew the teddy close to her face. It was beautiful and she just realized it .She smiled at it and walked towards the mirror. When she saw her face swollen in tears ,she smiled bringing up two of her middle fingers towards her face for a pose .

Lucy laughed at Monti's naive attitude and innocence .