Novels by Elvis Chibogu

The bell rings at exactly 09:30AM. Its almost time for Mathematics, my least favourite subject. The noise stops as Mr.Rotimi, our Mathematics teacher enters the class. Typical Mr.Rotimi, with his oblong face and fat cheeks, his pot belly and K legs. He also has uniquely cut tribal marks on both cheeks. To him, Mathematics is a general subject, so every student is expected to know maths. Due to his method of flogging anyone who fails his questions,classwork or an assignment,most of the students know maths to a considerable extent."Good morning,Mr.Rotimi."The class echoes with a standing ovation as usual."Yes. Good morning class. You can have your sit,"Mr.Rotimi says as he goes to the board. He writes five equations. He turns back,looks at all of us one after the other and smiles."Hey,you there!stand up! Come and solve number 2."He points at Ade,one of the most notorious boys in the school. Ade doesn't care about anything that concerns learning. He was suspended l

"Timmy, Timmy!" The faint slightly deep feminine voice rings in my head. Still lying in bed not realising I'm late for school."Timmy!are you deaf!"The same roaring voice calls my name. The thump,thump of her feet gets closer and closer. Recognising my Mother's voice,I try to yank myself up,but the ear-deafening slap lands on my bare-back."Timothy!do you know what the time is?it's 7:30 and you are still sleeping!"Mama,a middle-aged woman,about 5.6 feet tall,she is fair in complexion and has the body size of an athlete. Seeing her you'll hardly believe she is a mother of three;myself,Dave, my elder brother and Cindy,my younger sister.Reluctantly,I stand, mumbling and grumbling like a kid. Mama retreats like a victorious warrior.She goes to the kitchen. Slowly recalling the painful memory of the Labour prefect's lashes on my palm. It was as if inflicting pain on me was a source of happiness to him,with every lash a grin of satisfaction on his face. I

"What's happening?" Bimbo stares at all of us, one after the other. No one has said a word since Bimbo dropped the bomb on us. I don't know what will happen if Sen. Cynthia, Amanda and Bimbo co exist in one place. It would be disastrous. It would be like Clash of the Titans! The female version."Are you sure Timmy's mum told you Cynthia and Amanda are coming here?" Harrison asks. He seems disturbed. His reaction tells me his concern isn't for me; It is for himself. I can't think of any plausible reason that would make Harrison bothered about his sibling and cousin's news of arrival."Yes. I am sure." She stares at me."What is happening?" She looks so confused and concerned. I shake my head. I can't believe one news can change the atmosphere like this. The once noisy and lively environment has turned into this serene and quiet atmosphere. I stare at Harrison. He has that serious look he wears whenever he is hatching a plan. Bolaji just stares at the gro

"What will I do now? I don't even know how to cook. Even if I could, I don't know how many people are coming." I place my head on the table. My phone rings. Immediately, I reach for my phone and I pick the call. I didn't even bother checking who it was. My anxiety got the best of me."Hello." I say in a low tone."Dear Timmy, Timmy. How are you?" The deep base voice sounds over the phone. My heart begins to race as I get up from my sit."Please. Who is this?" My voice begins to shake."I am anonymous. I am who you would call your worst nightmare." The voice gets deeper."I am, I am, I am." The caller pauses. My heart beat increases exceedingly. What if he is a hired assassin or a kidnapper or a-"It's Harrison.""And Bolaji." Bolaji's tenor voice comes out in the background. They burst into laughter, with Bolaji's loud mocking laughter overshadowing Harrison's."Oh God." I let out a sigh of rel

"What's going on here?" The VP looks around."Thank God you are here. I..." Mr. Rotimi sharply replies. Sen. Cynthia takes two steps backwards."When I was told my Nephew was unconscious, I felt like killing myself..." Oh, sweet lord! That's the problem with Mr. Rotimi, he never goes straight to the point. He is the only man in the entire universe who can turn a two minutes movie summary into a four hour movie series with conclusion. He just keeps going. He never stops.Sen. Cynthia takes two more steps aback. What is she doing? She winks at me. I turn my face to the ground. I didn't blush. I didn't want anybody noticing what she did. I can feel Amanda's eyes on me. She would be so disappointed when she finds out about everything."Cynthia, where do you think you are going to!?" Amanda calls to Sen. Cynthia who was already at the verge of leaving. Mr. Rotimi pauses."She is trying to escape. Useless!" Mr. Rotimi adjusts his

"Tim, Tim." The soft angelic voice calls my name."Wake up, Tim." She calls again, tapping me gently this time. Tim? Only one person calls me that. Amanda! Oh God! I can hear a thousand beats in my head. Slowly, I raise my head and I open my eyes. I don't want her to think I am too excited to see her."Hey, Tim." Sen. Cynthia waves and smiles enthusiastically."Give me a moment." She rushes to the Secretary's office and comes out with a little stool. I close my eyes in disappointment. She places the stool directly in front of me. I can literally feel her breath on me. She touches my cheek softly."Are you okay? I heard what happened." She caresses my cheek. Her palms are so soft."Hey!" She calls out to a junior who leaves what he was doing and comes to her aid."Go into the secretary's office. Ask her to give you a handkerchief. The one I paid for. Be quick!" She snaps at the junior who runs to the secretary's office. In l

The first and second periods were quite exhaustive. The biology teacher asked me to stand all through the lecture due to my late coming, while the Economics teacher kept telling us about an irrelevant story of his childhood days. Now,we are in the third period which is government and I don't think I have seen Mrs. Richardson today. It's quite weird because she comes to class immediately after the bell is rung and now the bell has been rung five minutes ago.Harrison and Bolaji have moved to my sit. Harrison is chatting away, with his phone under the table. I wonder who he chats with by this time of the day.While Bolaji is telling me about his supposed girlfriend, Bola coming back to Nigeria in a week's time. He has been smiling sheepishly all morning. Speaking of girlfriends, I haven't seen Amanda in a while now. I have missed stealing glances at her.The VP enters the class with Amanda behind him."Good mooorning Sir," We greet him uniformly."Y

I alight from the car, holding my Lunch box with my eyes fixed Sen. Emmanuel who seems to be addressing the late comers in a subtle manner. Surprisingly, the late comers are standing instead of being on their kneels like animals waiting to be slaughtered. He looks up and sees me approaching but instead of his usual grin he just stares and waits for me to arrive. Wow! The VP has done a miracle here!"Good morning, Sen. Emmanuel." I smile broadly."You better wipe that smile off your face this instant. Why are you late?"Ha! When last did Sen.Emmanuel, the bull ask me that question."Yes, our car broke down on its way to school. The driver had to fix it.""Oh really? So, you don't mind if I confirm your theory from the driver, right?" Sen. Emmanuel's face brightens."He is not here. How will you be able to confirm it?" I mutter.My heart beat begins to race."Hey! Mr..........what's his name." He calls out to the driver who i