Chapter eight.

Harmony.

Whip!

The sound came before the stinging pain I felt on my back.

Whip!!

The sound and pain came together this time around.

Whip!!!

I let out a muffled cry and tried to stop the tears from flowing but it was no use.

"Get up joor!"My 'mother' screamed at me.

I stood up slowly so that I could minimize the pain that I felt on my back. I was sure that it would be bruised badly.

"Have you washed the toilet?"Mother asked me,giving me the look.

I stared at her ugly face for a while, trying to figure out why she and my dad hated me so much.

"Mummy,"I tried to reason"I will be very late if I stay back to wash the toilet. Let me just go and when I come back I will wash it."

Mother gave me a very nasty look before saying "Shut up! The sound of your useless voice is just giving me unnecessary headache. So,you mean that I should wash it myself? Is that what you are saying? I did not kill my mother so you will not kill me. I am not even your real mother sef"

"No mummy please. I am not saying that you should wash it by yourself ma"

Her voice grew louder as she shouted"So you actually have the guts to call me a liar,ehn?"

She raised her hand and gave me a deafening slap"Go to the school but when you come back...work is waiting for you"She pushed me with her big butts and I landed on the floor.

This was not how my life had always been. When my real parents died when I was ten years old,I was taken to the orphanage because my mom and dad didn't have any family to call their own. They told me that their respective families were jealous of their wealth.

Not long after,a young couple came to adopt me. They were really nice to me and they bought me all sorts of things. When the time for adoption came,I didn't hesitate at all.

The first five months were the best thing that ever happened to me. Father and Mother made sure they listened to my problems and took me to my favorite places. They weren't buoyant like my real parents but they tried their best and I made them proud by gaining a full scholarship into secondary school.

My new parents were indeed very proud of me. They treated me like an egg because they believed that I would take care of them in their old age. I was their brilliant daughter.

But all these stopped when Mother became pregnant. It was as if she regretted even adopting me in the first place. At first it was just mild but after some  time it began to get worse. Anytime mother felt sick she would blame it on me,calling me a witch and all sorts of names. She even turned Father against me. The only person that liked me was their son after they eventually had him,Chidubem.

Chidubem was a lovely  boy. He carried sunshine everywhere he went. He always got emotional anytime he saw me get beaten. There was a time when he had begged Mother on my behalf and she called a pastor,telling him that I was trying to turn her child against her. The neighbours all gave me disgusting looks and were scared of being seen with me. They all thought that I was truly a witch.

"Are you stupid?"Mother's voice tore me out of my thoughts"I thought you were going to the so-called school. You went for your fellow "ogbanje" meeting,abi? Oya,stand up and go and wash the toilet."

I knew better not to argue with her. I didn't want any bruises or broken bones today. I didn't know if I would be able to attend school today.

What I knew was that,even if I attended school today,I would be extremely late.

**

"Miss Chukwu,you are very late. This is the second period. Where have you been?"The commerce teacher,Mrs Olu ranted.

"I am sorry ma'am. I was busy at home."I replied gently. My heart was beating really fast but it was understandable. I mean,I was in front of the whole class.

Mrs Olu stared at me and I could tell that she didn't believe my cover up story. She was the teacher that I had told my story to in jss2 and even though my parents called me a liar she still stood up for me and she has been looking after me ever since.

Mrs Olu opened her mouth to talk but she was interrupted by the one and only Elena.

"Ma!"She exclaimed"Please don't buy her sob story ma. She is a big liar oo."

Mrs Olu frowned in distaste and snapped at Elena"Miss Saviors,did I say that you could talk?Wait after school closes."

Elena scoffed aloud but kept her mouth shut and I smiled inwardly.

The kind commerce teacher gave a sign for me to go to my seat and I kept my eyes on my worn out leather shoes.

I just hoped that there was no more drama today.

**

You know that moment when you pray for a particular thing but the opposite happens.

Like when you pray desperately for your mom to forget that you broke her favorite vase and that only quickens her memory.

That's what happened when I came back from lunch break.

The lunch break was unusually uneventful. Caitlin had only poured the remnant of her orange juice on my head because I didn't plait my hair. It wasn't as if I didn't feel like fixing a weavon or using attachment on my hair but when I suggested it to my mom,she called me a prostitute and started beating me for no reasons. So I just started packing my slightly long hair. I don't even have the money to plait ordinary "all back", as that's what we called cornrows in this part of the world. So I always part  my hair into two places since jss1.

I didn't even have any reason to go to the canteen. I didn't have any food or  the money to buy food but I went there because it gave me an excuse to stare at Damini.

When I approached my seat,I found Nonso there again. He was  sitting down like a king and he didn't even care or acknowledge my presence.

What is his problem with my seat?,I thought..

I tapped his shoulder and he turned very slowly.

"What do you want?"He snapped.

I opened my mouth in surprise and I tried to form some brave words but all that came out was"You are on my seat,please."

He sighed in frustration and said"And so,why are you so dumb?See,go and seat down where you like."He hissed and turned to the person he was talking to.

Bastard!!!

How I wish that I could say that to his face. I would be the happiest lady on earth.

I walked slowly to his seat but I stopped in my tracks when I saw that the seat was already occupied by someone.

And the person was not just any body, but the one and only Damini.

What the hell was he doing here?He was a science student! Has the universe suddenly come against me?

I stood behind him as I contemplated what to say. I searched around for a vacant seat but I found none.

Yep,the universe was really against me.

I raised my hand so that I could tap his shoulder but I stopped midair. It was as if I was frozen in time and I willed my hand to just move down but it wouldn't budge.

"What the hell are you doing here?"Caitlin snapped at me as soon as she noticed me standing behind Damini. I should even be the one asking her that question because she was a science student too. She was the one that Damini was talking to and I felt jealousy tighten my chest.

Damini turned slowly and his fair skin was rid of colour when he faced me. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.

Oh jeez. Was I really that ugly?

"Um,He i-is sitting o-on my seat."I cursed my self inwardly for stammering.

Damini smiled,his eyes twinkling with amusement while Caitlin rolled her eye and said"This is Nonso's seat ."

"Nonso is on my seat."

Damini got up slowly, still staring at me and he asked"What is your name?"

I looked down and tried to calm my fluttering stomach"Harmony."

His eyes widened in surprise and he stared at me for a little while,like he was trying to piece some things together in his head. Then he turned to Caitlin and said"Are you coming or not?"

Caitlin batted her eyelashes and replied"Anything for my Damini."

Damini didn't even wait for her to finish before he started walking away,hands in pocket.

I slumped down on the chair and I was so flustered that I didn't even hear Caitlin's irrelevant tutting.

Damini " freaking" Andrews talked to me!

A/N:

Joor is an exclamation. 

Ehn means is it not? Same goes for abi.

Ogbanje means witchcraft in Igbo language in Nigeria

Chukwu is Harmony's surname and it is pronounced chook -hu