Every School Has a Bully

FEBRUARY

1.TENI

It is thirty minutes to eight AM, the radio is on a low volume, my annoying sister is singing along with the auto tuned voice of Tiwa Savage. Mum is focused on the road,driving cautiously. She is a cautious driver. She doesn't really know how to drive well yet ,but she has no choice now since Dad is gone. The morning is somewhat chilly. I draw a heart on the window with the sweat from my hands. Simi sways to the side almost touching me," watch it", I say and then I adjust my blue and white plaid pleated skirt,I also straighten the light blue sleeve of my shirt underneath my dark blue blazers and then button my blazers up. I hate sitting in the car besides Simi. But I can't sit beside mum. She is still upset that I burnt breakfast,so she asked me not to sit beside her so she can focus on driving.

I stare at my black flat cover shoe with white and sky blue fabric flowers in the middle. I had practically knelt and cried before mum bought the shoe last month ,she thought that I did not need a new shoe since the blue one I used last session still looked new. But a Queen Bee of the school must look like a Queen Bee. It's one month and a week into the second term of Sss3 ,Priscilla is gone and I am the new queen just like I planned. Last term was tough,but I succeeded in marking my territory. Although girls like Pauline think I will always be Priscilla's hand bag. She told me that herself but I won't let a petty nerd like her get to me. She wishes she was Queen Bee too. And I wasn't Priscilla's handbag,I just gave that evil witch support sometimes. She is really evil ,I remember when she poured hydrogen peroxide on Daniella's hand.

"I like your bracelet,'' Simi says, staring at my right slim brown wrist. I eye her and she backs off.

Soon we arrive at the Peace group of companies staff school, the annoying school I go to. PGCSS is a free affordable standard school for the children of the staff of Peace Group of Companies ,but only the less paid staff enroll their children or the parents who just choose to,like my mum but well after Dad left and she got demoted ,she has no choice than to keep me and Simi here. The school has a total of 120 students,and everybody knows each other.

"Come and take money " Mum says and hands me a two hundred naira note. Mum gives me money for lunch although good food is served at the cafeteria and for emergencies, in case I have to take the BRT home with Simi. Simi runs over to the next compound, the primary section, while mum drives away to work which is like five buildings away. I walk up the stairs into school. Just then Dammy pops out from nowhere.

"Hey!!!" She screams and hugs me. Dammy has been my friend since I came to PGCSS, when I was in Junior secondary school class one,OK she is not really my friend. She is like a sidekick. I am Batman and she is Robin. She helps me a lot ,she is like a hench girl. Every Queen Bee needs one. But I like her in a way she is nice and gullible and will do anything I say. That doesn't mean she doesn't have a place in my heart ,she does and I care a lot about her but she isn't that cool to be a friend to me. All the other eight girls in my class aren't either. I am hoping someone like Priscilla but less bossy comes along but we rarely get newcomers at PGCSS.

"How was your weekend?" she asks.

"It was fine, I had fun going to the mall with mum and Simi", I lied.

Things have been kind of tight ever since Dad left ,but I have to look cool. I am Queen Bee. Modupe and Tosin pass by , the two ugliest girls in my class. Dammy and I are the prettiest... Well I am the prettiest actually. I go to my locker and drop my bag in it after taking my Mathematics note and text book. PGCSS is modelled after an American high school building. The CEO of Peace is an American but we use the Nigerian curriculum for academics.

We both take a bend and walk into our wide square class with its lemon painted walls ,I take my seat and draw my plastic table towards me ,Dammy takes her seat too. I stare around the class. Last Friday was Valentine's day ,so everyone is still buzzing about the rose giving ,gifts ,Teddy bears and all and the public display of affection. Samson gave me a rose and a red lingerie ,how gutsy of him? I like it though ,it is in a box under my bed along with a dozen other roses and gifts like hair clips ,little pink teddies and candies,where mum won't find it. I might just have a use for it one day.

"Don't you miss Priscilla?" Dammy asks , her hands under her chin , looking wistfully.

The truth is I don't really miss Priscilla. If she were around ,she would take the whole spotlight, she always takes the most gifts home. She would still receive more this morning even from junior boys . I and Dammy used to be hench girls to her,but I was more like a second in command to her and then miraculously her parents migrated to the UK so now I am Queen Bee.

"I miss her '', I say.

Dammy is already doodling in her notebook, she likes to doodle a lot . I stare at her worn out black shoes and my subconscious shakes her head. This is why Dammy can't be Queen Bee. Aside from that,she is less pretty and short and not as slim or shapely as me. She has a lot of pimples on her black forehead. She should be the ugliest girl but because she is my " hench girl " she is the second prettiest. Kunle and Greg walk in , behind them walks in ,Dave and Daniella. They have been a couple since we were all in Jss3. I am not in a relationship because the guy who is meant for me is Dave ,he is the most attractive and handsome guy in class but he sticks to Daniella, that fat ugly short round girl.

I wonder what he sees in her asides her long dark natural hair that she likes to pack into a bun which makes her face rounder,fatter and uglier. She needs some fashion advice but she won't get it from me and a diet coach too , she is almost as fat as my mum. I just hope Dave comes to his senses soon because a Queen Bee needs a king. I could go for Samson, he is more popular and fits the profile of a king bee than nerdy Dave although I don't like him ,he is too lousy and pushy and he is a flirt too. He flirted with me all through Sss2. I played hard to get for too long and then I found out he started dating Fisayo last term, an ugly girl with big breasts in my class. It was so painful. But he has been giving me the green lights recently and he is single again. Fisayo left PGCSS since her father found a new job.

So I have a back up plan if Dave doesn't budge.

"Hey" , I wave to Dave and smile. He nods back and takes his seat. I know what he thinks of me , he thinks I am some evil Queen or the witch in Rapunzel or Ursula. But I'm nothing like that. I am just a girl struggling to survive because if you don't prey you get preyed on.

Being Queen bee is easy ,it's just all about attitude, poise,confidence and dressing. That's how I became Priscilla's friend and Queen bee. I know it has just been some months but I am slowly getting there. Mr Donalds walks in , behind him is a girl looking shy and nervous in a PGCSS uniform .

"We have a new student," Mr Donalds announces. The class begins to murmur loudly. We rarely get new students,and it is the second term.

"Introduce yourself,he says to the girl"

"Hi ,my name is Melin-da Nze and I am seventeen nice to meet you guys"

Her voice is extremely tiny and low ,she is very nervous I can tell. She is light skinned and pretty and has long black braids packed into a ponytail. Mr Donalds points out her seat ,Priscilla's seat. The shy girl walks past me ,she is tall and slim. Maybe this would be my next in command or friend. She takes her seat and then brings out a neon pink ball pen and a turquoise blue note.

She looks to her side at me ,and waves .I give her a stink eye and she looks back into her book. As a Queen Bee, you have to mark your territory and show signs. That stink eye was the ," don't mess with me eye"

2. MELINDA

"Melinda, are you ready?" Mum calls out from the living room.

"Almost" I called back.

I am ready ,but I want to make sure. I look at my reflection in the standing mirror and adjust my skirt. I want to make a good impression. I want this new school to be different although I have less than one year left for secondary school. I apply more lip gloss on my pink lips. My lips look too glossy , am I going to a party? I think to myself and wipe the lip gloss away with the back of my right hand. I loosen my braids and then tie it into a ponytail with a blue ribbon that matches my uniform. I sit on the bed, my new bed. Everything in this room is new ,even my tooth-brush . We just moved here to Lagos from Port-Harcourt when mum got this new job in early January. Mum was so glad when she got it. She needed a new scenery , since everywhere in Port- Harcourt reminded her of Dad. I was also glad I finally got to leave Standard secondary school.

"Melinda!" Mum calls," I am almost late ,I want to make a good impression please."

I grab my new white bag and run outside. I close the door and run downstairs.

"What were you doing?" Mum asks mildly although I can tell she is upset.

She adjusts my blazers. Mum is a mild woman ,she rarely shouts or scolds and has never laid her hands, not even her finger on me.

"You look pretty" , Mum says.

" thanks mum " I say and smile then I plant a kiss on her cheek.

We walk out of the living room into the compound. Mum opens the car with the unlock button on her key ,the car silently beeps. Mum hops into the black shiny jeep. She drives out and parks the car. I stalk outside and then lock the gate with the metal padlock. I walk to the car, open the door and then sit shotgun. She turns on the radio to Cool FM just as I shut the door,the news is being read by a familiar female voice.

"Are you nervous?" She asks.

"Not really" I say. I am very nervous, secondary school has not been a good experience for me at all. Back at Standard I was the most unpopular girl, I was a dork. I was the shyest ,I was the quietest ,is that expression correct? I never had any friends except Miss Sandra who was my English teacher. She was always nice to me and I liked to talk to her although I felt nervous around her sometimes. But I always feel nervous around people except Mum and Dad. Now that dad is dead, that leaves only Mum.

When I was in Jss2, I woke up one Tuesday morning to find some ugly rashes swollen with pus all over my face. I was horrified, mum applied an ointment and persuaded me to go to school that day, she promised she was going to take me to the clinic after school. I succumbed after much persuasion. I will forever regret why I went to school that day. Obi, the fat bully in my class and my seatmate who intimidated young students and timid girls in my class like me(although my timidity was the worst of all) saw me and shouted to the whole class that I looked like Merlin's dragon. It didn't even make any sense,nothing Obi said ever made sense. But everyone laughed and the name stuck throughout that day. Everyone called me Merlin's dragon. I told mum about it when I got back home from school. She told me the name calling would stop if the rashes were gone. We both went to the hospital and the young handsome doctor told me that it was an allergy, although we never found out what the trigger was. Ever since mum has been extra careful about what I eat. The next week after the rashes cleared I went back to school and I was still called Merlin's dragon ,they kept on with the name calling and ostracism. The name later went under metamorphosis and became Merlin, just Merlin. And it stuck even when Mr Chike called me Merlin anytime he wanted me to solve a sum or equation or word problem. He was the mischievous teacher of all and had good rapport with all the bad senior boys so I was not surprised.

Mum drives to a stop right in front of a building with, Peace group of companies staff school, painted in huge blue letters on a sign board standing in front of it. Mum alights,and locks the door,the sound of the door shutting sounds louder than normal ,everywhere seems so quiet. I look at my very sweaty palms. I wonder what kind of kids go to this school. Would I cope,would my final exams be okay. This is the second term and switching school sounds dumb and tragic, but only for somone who had lot of friends in her former school. But I am happy I changed schools. It will be a new fresh start for me. Hopefully I will be able to get fair grades in my WAEC exams. This school looks a lot better than Standard.

"Won't you get down,I don't have much time on my hands" Mum calls out to me. She is standing in front of the sign board.

I sigh heavily. I rub my sweaty palms on my plaid skirt. I can do this ,this school will treat me better I say to myself. I unlock the door and step out. The granite road feels hard underneath my black flats. But it doesn't feel as hard as going into the school building right now. Not every fresh start is better. This could be worse. And switching to a new school doesn't mean I will become brilliant or magically get As in my final exams. I swallow hard and then take the first step. The flowers by the side of the pavement stairs look bright and red, almost pink. That's a hibiscus I think. There is a building next to it , I can see it from where I am standing ,it is so close. It is a two storied building ,there is a sign that says ,PGCSS, Primary and Nursery building. The building is painted the same bright deep blue on my skirt,the secondary school right in front of me is also painted the same color. I walk up to mum ,she takes my hand and squeezes it.

"I know you are nervous ,everybody gets nervous on their first days. God knows I am also nervous about work. I never imagined I would work in a company this big and as a general manager. You are going to be alright,Obinna doesn't go here and I hope there are no bullies here. Not every school has a bully."

We walk up the pavement stairs into the hallway. The hallway is neat and quiet. The ash tiles are sparkling. I look up at mum ,she looks confused.

" I really don't know which way to go" Mum says to me,"Maybe I should call the principal to tell her I am here " She reaches into her bag for her phone.

A tall handsome man walks out of the adjoining hallway. He is dressed in a maroon suit, trousers and a white shirt. He looks so tall and handsome.

"Good morning ma." He says to mum. Mum looks up and smiles, "Good morning. My daughter is new here. I have not really been here before, and I don't know which way to go. Although I spoke to the principal this morning"

Mum paid everything online, on the school's website,even the uniform was delivered at the house and my books. Mum was in a rush and since she didn't know anywhere in Lagos. She decided to enroll me in the staff's ward's school her boss told her about.

"Oh,I will take you there " ,he says with a friendly pert smile.

"Thank you so much," Mum says.

She tosses her phone into her bag. And then we follow the handsome teacher through the corridors. We walk past classes,doors, an area that looks like a cafeteria. We take a new bend and we walk past doors labeled, counsellor, PTA secretary (for school), administrative officer, school board meeting room /PTA meeting room,staff office and then finally Principal's office.

The handsome teacher pushes the door open and then we walk in after him.

"Mr Donald '' ,a deep female voice cries cheerily. The owner of the voice is seated behind a table with stacks of books , a mug with steam rising from it and a framed picture of three happy looking smiling children and a desktop computer. Two tall girls and a little boy with dreads. She looks sort of tiny and pretty. Her permed hair is packed into a bun. She has round reading glasses on. She is dressed in a green button up shirt and black flare skirt. I can smell a faint coffee smell. It must be coming from the cup.

"Good morning, Mrs Ekene ,I found them in the hallway. Her daughter is new here"

Mrs Ekene looks up at us. She beckons to mum to sit and then at me too. I sit and start twisting my fingers.

"Mr Donald, wait, so you can usher her to her class. If I remember correctly you're currently supposed to be teaching maths to Sss3."

She knows the school lesson schedule off hand? Weird.

"Yes ma" Mr Donald says. He takes a seat a little far away from us.

Mrs Ekene focuses on us.

"Good morning ma'am" Mum says.

"Good morning ma" I say quietly. I don't like the way she is staring at me.

"Four new students were enrolled recently, and I can recall from the files that you are, Melinda Nze."

She types into her computer.

" You have done the necessary things. That's good."

"Your daughter is good to go. And congrats on your new job Madam. I just saw your position here. " ,she says to my mum and grins at her weirdly.

"Thank you umm Mrs Ekene." Mum says.

"I hope you have a nice experience here" she says to me with a smile.

I hope so too.

We rise and walk out with Mr Donald right behind us. When we are in the hallway,Mum gives me a peck and then she squeezes a thousand naira note into my hand. She is spending too much on me these days ,I think she thinks it will lessen the hurt from dad's death. When we are out of the office hallways. I wave to mum with a smile,even though my heart is beating so fast now. Mum waves too. She takes the left and I and Mr Donald take the right. I can't believe my first class here will be maths. Mr Donald looks handsome, I was starting to like him but he teaches maths.

Ugh.

I follow Mr Donald's teacher through the hallways ,as my heart skips non stop. Finally we get to my class,there is a blue plastic tag on the wide open door, with blue letters, Sss 3. We step in,

"Good morning" ,Mr Donald" the class choruses. I can't make out what their mood is like , I can hear sad voices and happy voices and frustrated voices all at the same time.

"You have a new classmate, guys",Mr Donald says to the class. He says it like it is some important good news to the students.

"Introduce yourself to your new classmates" ,Mr Donald says to me with a smile.Twenty dark eyes are suddenly fixed on me. I feel nervous and shaky and I really don't know what to say. I know I am supposed to just say my name and age. But talking seems so difficult. My introduction will be my first impression too. Thank God, I am well dressed and my braids are new. I take a deep breath and speak.

"Hi my name is Merlin-" I pause ,no I am not going to be Merlin here ,"da Nze '' my voice sounds low and tiny.

Mr Donald points out an empty seat,

"you can seat there"

I walk over to it. I take off my bag and take my seat. I take out my note and pen.

Mr Donald starts writing on the white board. I look around ,and a girl is sitting next to me. There are three columns. I am sitting on the first seat. She looks so pretty , caramel brown skin and full pink glossy lips,she gives me a stink eye and I look down into my book. I wonder what I did wrong. I just knew this school would be worse. I look up at the other girl besides the stink eye girl on the right ,she is writing quietly in her note. She looks cute although she has tiny pimples all over her forehead. The dark boy at the end of the column in front me with broad shoulders waves to me. A plump dark girl with her natural dark long hair in a bun,right in front of me looks back at me and smiles. I smile back ,at least I have my first friendly smile. This school won't be too bad. I start to write in my book.

FACTORISATION.

****

After three periods that seemed very long. A tall thin girl walks up to me with a light skinned tiny girl behind her.

"Hi, my name is Prisca and I am the hallway perfect,this is Jessica besides me,my assistant and best friend. I was told to give you the keys to your locker and I have to show you your locker too"

"Oh, thanks " ,I say great fully and sigh. My thighs are already aching from the weight of my bag. I followed her to the hallway to my new locker. There is nothing distinct about it,it is blue like the rest of the lockers. I open up my new locker.Prisca walks away with tiny Jessica. Everyone walks in twos here ,even the stink eye girl has a partner, the shorter girl,with thin arms and lots of pimples on her forehead sitting beside her. I throw my bag into my locker. It doesn't look too new but it is neat and the deep blue color is slightly faded. A stylish italic scribble with red marker is on the right side of the door.

Priscilla is Queen ,it says. I make a mental note to bring my frozen stickers tomorrow to cover it up. It is my locker now, not"Queen Priscilla". It's funny how there are lockers here like the high schools in movies I watch. I take out my note for the next lesson before lunch and walk back into class.

3.TENI

It is lunch already and I am relieved, the chemistry class in the lab was unbearably boring. I sashay into the cafeteria and take my seat. I always like to sashay in the lunch area ,because all eyes are always on me,on anybody anyway in the lunch area but most especially on me. Dammy takes her seat too. It used to be Priscilla's seat too. I look down at the chair where she scribbled, Priscilla is Queen. Poor Priscilla, too bad you couldn't be Queen in Sss3 too. I imagine her going to a school full of white kids, unable to fit in or find a friend,having to start from square zero.I smile unconsciously.

" Why are you smiling?" Dammy asks.

"None of your biz, can you get me lunch?"

"Sure" she stands up and walks to the queue. Dammy gets my lunch every day. I take out my pen from my pocket and scribble on the pink table , Teni is Queen. Our table is the only pink table among the hundred launch deep blue tables. It's like a mistake was made or something and the management decided not to bother to return it. It was Priscilla's idea to claim the unique seat and I give her the credit and respect for having such an idea.

Dammy comes back with our regular, fried rice ,salad and chicken and Fayrouz™ Dammy buys it everyday for me and her. I don't have the money, but she doesn't know and doesn't care ,she is really nice.

We begin to eat in silence. Dave and Daniella walk back to their seats with very red spaghetti and tilapia fish tails in their trays.

"I admire them a lot,''Dammy says.

"Why are you so dumb, have you forgotten I have a crush on Dave!"

"Sorry"

"Whatever" I say as I notice the new girl walking in ,she looks a lot settled now. Daniella waves to her and she joins them at their table.

"The new girl is pretty," Dammy says ,watching her too.

"But not prettier than I am "

"Is anybody in this school ever prettier than you are,you are the new Queen"

I smile and swallow a spoonful of jollof rice.Dammy is just the right hench girl.

"How was school today?" Mum finally breaks the silence. She rarely talks while driving and she doesn't like us talking either.

"Not bad", I reply. It was not too bad,although I got humiliated by the new stupid chemistry teacher. He asked the class a question and insisted that I answer it ,even when Jessica and Pauline kept raising their hands . I couldn't get it and well the class murmured some jeers. I am the Queen bee,how could they do that? But it still doesn't matter, success doesn't come from academics solely. I have no use for it .I will just try to make enough Cs and a few Bs .I am going to be a fashion model. I totally have the physique for it. Although I am still curious about where I got it from. My mum is a fat pig and my sister is a piglet, my dad is of average weight although he has a pot belly. Mum doesn't know why Dad left. She thinks it's because love fades and all. That's what she told us the morning Dad left and after she had cried her brains out . Dad's new wife is totally out of an Ebony magazine,only that she is slightly busty. But she is pretty, and nice in a way. She used to buy me a lot of things when she came around when mum was out or on an office trip. I used to think she was just friends with Dad. I should have told mum before she found out. It must have been painful to find such a thing out and more frustrating to live with him for three more years. His sisters kept begging and saying "that's how men are, you just have to forgive him", like men were ultimate creatures. I wonder where mum would be if she was the one in dad's shoes. Nobody would say, "that's how women are", Life is not fair. I look to my right , Simi is reading a children's novelette. The annoying types with absurd titles. I sigh and try to sleep. An hour later we get home and I lazily walk out while Simi skips in and Mum tries to close all the car windows .This new house is not meant for me ,it looks totally shabby and old. One of the reasons I hate Dad leaving us. I wish I could go back to our cul-de-sac house, but I would rather stay with my annoying mother and sister than live in the same home as his new wife and her baby son. But it could be a good idea ,since dad got custody of us I could live there and choke the baby to death. I chuckle to myself. As I walk on the concrete floor covered with a green carpet of layers of spirogyra. As I step in I turn on the light of our cubicle living room. I hear Simi singing out loud in our room. One more annoying thing about this new house ,we share the same room.I walk into the room and find Simi's uniform all over the floor. That disgusting pig. I take up the blue and white plaid pinafore and sky blue shirt, open up the bathroom and throw it at her.

"That was cruel", Simi yells in a yelping like manner. "Cruella", she calls me.

"Call me whatever you like, " I shout back.

I turn on the TV. Mum has already put the channel in the living room on the news channel. Another annoying thing ,our cables are connected. I let out a frustrated sigh. And walk up to the mirror. First I take off my blazers ,my white T-shirt ,then my plaid skirt. Left on me is my yellow B cup bra and yellow pantie with white polka dots. I pose in front of the mirror imagining that I am a swimsuit model. I bend my back to the sides ,lift my hands up like I had seen on TV. I totally look sexy,I thank my lucky stars I am not like Daniella. I would commit suicide if I did. I take off my pink towel from my wardrobe's door. Take off my bra and pantie and then tie my towel around my chest.

"Get out of that toilet ,now!" I yell to Simi who is still singing in the shower. She runs out all wet ,drooping and naked ,round shiny stomach ,fat thighs and tiny breasts. She looks so disgusting. .

"eww ,will you get a towel". I say to her, she runs to the mirror and begins to wiggle in front of it. I roll my eyes ,and walk into the shower. After the shower and drying my body well. I slip into a blue singlet with flowery patterns and a pink jean bump short that I love to wear. The TV is still on the news channel. I switch off the TV. Mum does this intentionally I know. I take out my books from my purple school bag. Mr Donald, that cruel man ,gave us some equations to solve . I take out my notes and text book and begin to solve them. Simi is writing in her notebook with her long pink glittery pencil. She is in nothing but a white singlet and green undies. After five equations, I get bored and close the book up. I switch the TV back on. Now she is watching a food channel.

" Teni! " she calls out. " Simi, food is ready "

Simi abruptly closes her book and runs out. I follow her ,mum is setting our black plastic dining table with three white chairs. I am never inviting anyone over to this house.

After Simi prayed, we all ate the white rice and stew in silence. While I thought about Dave, his gait ,his smile. He has never smiled at me but I have seen him several times smiling at that pachyderm ,Daniella. I think about the way he holds his pen when writing. It's totally attractive. Thinking about Dave is a habit for me ,more like an addiction. What does he ever see in Daniella? Just what?

" Teni, you are washing the plates" Mum says as she stands up.

I don't want to . "Okay mum", I say. It's totally annoying that mum makes me wash the plates while my gluttony sister does nothing. After swallowing the last spoon of my rice ,I pack up the plates and dump them in the sink. Simi has changed the channel to a cartoon channel. I hate my life,everything about my life is annoying. I feel the urge to scream at the top of my voice. But I don't, it would be totally obscene to do so.

After I am done with the dishes. I go into my room and finish up the equations which are actually easy. I turn on the TV ,Simi is watching a dumb cartoon about shoes that talk. I let out a sigh of frustration and switched off the TV again. I take out my makeup bag , unzip it and take out my blue polish and the nail polish cleaning liquid ,cleaning out the deep blue nail polish from yesterday. I hum one of Justin Beiber's tunes ,Cold water. My nail needs to look well polished and new for tomorrow as a Queen bee right? Five minutes later all ten fingernails are bright blue and glistening. Perfection.