Living In The Ghetto - Episode 11

 

"I don't understand, what you just said" Adanne finally retorted. Her face slightly calm to indicate she was ready for him to explain what he just uttered.

"I say they bully me. So, me can't fight back," he said again. His face quickly flashed in a calm smile.

Adanne wanted him to clarify again but stopped as he was interrupted by Ngozi. 

"Yeah!" She grabbed Adanne back before coming down to their fronts. "I heard you people . I think he said they bully him and he can't fight back," Ngozi said and wriggled his shoulder.

"Oh, I thought as much," Adanne replied.

"Yes, yes" Timi nodded all at once, while his eyes moved toward Ngozi's face and back to Adanne.

Adanne smiled at him and they all smiled at themselves. The bell rung immediately and everybody scurried to their various classes.

***
After the school hour, Adanne slung her bag to her back while Chimaobim hung his own, on his shoulder reaching his knee, as they walked down home. They observed some minutes of unusual silence before Chimaobim finally broke the silence. Usually, it would have been Adanne talking throughout the journey while Chimaobim nodded and smiled whenever her jokes tickled his fantasy. He would laugh while Adanne laughs back and he taps her.

"I found one interesting boy in my class today," Chimaobim said in between the jokes.

"Really

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. You finally got a friend," Adanne said and smiled.

"You that have friends, I have never seen you with them around. It's always, I have this friend, I have that friend," he sighed and pointed furiously at her.

Adanne wiggled her body and smiled. She wanted to talk but swallowed her words back. Chimaobim had become friends with Tobi finally. Tobi was that quiet boy in the class who never talked to anyone; timid and small. The first time Chimaobim resumed in the school, almost everybody jabbed him on how quiet he was but he noticed how Tobi was secluded from them. He would stay on his own, scribbling on his paper. He talked on rare occasions when he wanted to ask somebody a question and his voice was usually low. He would be in school sometimes but some people won't notice. After the school hour, he would carry his bag and walk down home. He never answered questions in class but when the teacher points at him, he would always know the answers. He was nicknamed a 'silent genius' by their mathematics teacher. Chimaobim thought Michael and Oreoluwa were the smartest in the class. They were always ready to answer questions in class and proffered answers to hard questions. It has always been Chimaobim, Michael and Oreoluwa. People tagged them the smartest in the class

Chimaobim only became active when he found how the other two were at the forefront of every questions that's asked, whenever teachers was in the class. He decided to leave his quiet life to impress the teachers. 

After the their mid term test results were released, Tobi led followed by Chimaobim, Michael and Oreoluwa before the other classmates. Chimaobim was shocked. He never believed Tobi was brilliant. His classmates never knew Chimaobim would be the second highest after the mid term tests were collated. They found him more like a student trying to impress. He never related to anybody.

One day, during the break hour, he sat on the slab and sucked the sealed chocolate flavoured ice cream. His female classmate walked by and sat beside him. He took a quick glance at her, before he pulled away his face

"Hello, Chimaobim, how are you?" She asked.

He pretended like he didn't hear for about a minute, before he turned his face toward her. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"No. But I like as you dey answer questions for class. I dey impress well well. It's good," she replied happily. She would tell he friends how the popular snub answered her.

Chimaobim sucked the ice cream once more and took a quick glance at her.

Read " The Dormitory (A Sequel) " by the same author ( Obinna Tony )

. He nodded. "Thank you," he muttered mildly. He said it dismissively to send her away from his side but she wasn't leaving.

She adjusted slowly and sat beside him not minding how dusty the slab was. "I wan tell you something," she said immediately and stretched her legs.

Who is this one? I don't like anybody in this school. Be fast and get out, he thought in his mind.

He finally nodded for her to go on. 
"Okay, our classmates dey gossip say you like oversabi and you no sabi anything and dem no fit wait to see how you go do for mid term test and exam," she said with so much seriousness.

"Oh really?" Chimaobim asked rhetorically with a sneer.

She tapped Chimaobim's laps immediately she noticed one of their classmates coming toward them. Standing up quickly, she dusted the sands on her butt, waved at Chimaobim and walked away. She was glad someone saw her, it will make her bragging right about Chimaobim being his friend, believable. I go brag how Chimaobim is now my correct friend, she said happily to herself.

"Oh, that's how they thought you don't know anything and you surprised them when the test results came out?" Adanne asked.

"I think so. I surprised them real good but I need to be ahead of Tobi, mum won't be proud that I dropped for anyone. And when I saw how good Tobi was, I decided to become his friend. I bought something for him during the break hour and we were together throughout."

"I am happy," Adanne said.

Chimaobim laughed and tapped her quickly as she made to move her body away by dodging Chimaobim's hand but it touched her gently.