My eyelids felt heavy as I struggled to flutter them open. I heard my mum's voice but it sounded so far away as my head pounded with an irregular rhythm. I felt like a drunk who was hit by a truck. Stumbling out of bed, I dragged towards the bathroom. Every part of my body was in pain.

Staggering over to my mirror, the sight before me caused tears to well up in my eyes. My face was swollen, a discoloured bruise covering one side of my face.
My eyes were red with dark circles from lack of sleep as a result of the immense pain and nightmares I experienced during the night.

I inhaled deeply, cursing as a sharp pain coursed through my chest.
With trembling fingers, I lifted up my shirt to reveal an ugly cut right beneath my ribcage hidden behind a bloodied bandage. Staring at my battered reflection did nothing to erase the memory of yesterday's escapades. It did quite the contrary as tears trickled down my face.

“So you're trying to play hero eh?” Ola's voice surrounded me as he walked around me in a steady, predatory motion, his cronies already encircling me.

This reminded me so much of the hawk I saw earlier making my present state the more ironic.

I gulped, swallowing fear as my trembling voice whispered.

“You shouldn't have touched her like that.”
His foot hung in the air for a second before he dropped it right in front of me, closing the distance between us. He leaned downwards to face me, his face blank.

“Did you say something?” He turned to face his cronies 'Did you hear anything?'

They responded with a series of 'no boss', some nodding side to side in emphasis.

“I said, you shouldn't have touched her like that.” I spoke up a notch louder. Well, I'd be damned if I do and damned if I don't. There's no escaping anyways so no room for cowardice now, as much as I wanted to be as far away from here as possible.

“Who are you to tell me what I should and shouldn't do?!” Ola's eyes flashed with anger, his fist pulling my collar with a viselike grip. My pristine beige uniform crumpled underneath his fist. I inwardly groaned at my rumpled uniform, though deep down, I knew that was the least of my problems at that moment.

“What are you going to do huh?” He continued. “Report to the disciplinary committee or even better” he chuckled “Principal Peters?”

Oladimeji Badmus was the son of Chief Seyi Badmus, a business mogul and oil magnate, and major stakeholder in several large corporations and institutions, including Paramount High. That spelt one thing for his good-for-nothing offspring.

Immunity.

The blasted beast before me had immunity so I couldn't even threaten him with any of that.
Anger stirred within me at that thought. Ola didn't need to be suspended or expelled(if it was possible for him to be). Guys like Ola should be locked up in jail.

“No. You deserve even worse.” I sneered. “You deserved to rot in prison.”

Never in this world did I think I'd have the boldness to stand up to Ola the great. He had been my worst nightmare for years and the shellshocked look in his eyes brought me satisfaction mixed with dread.

Ola hated surprises. More than that, he hated being countered, especially with a better comeback. This, and the deadly glint in his red eyes, made him look like the devil himself and I couldn't shake off the thought that he'd be taking me through hell.

Ola chuckled darkly, his malicious eyes gleaming with hate as he lifted me off my feet with his grip on my throat tightening, causing me to gasp for air.

“Well, I'd need to commit a crime for that to happen, wouldn't I?” He whispered, his face inches away from mine as his smoky breath fanned my face. His cronies drew closer, locking us in as I felt a tip of a blade prick my throat.

All the guts I had gathered dissipated as the cold blade of a jack-knife grazed my skin. The air felt colder and a deadly chill raced down my spine. Tears stung the corners of my eyes as the unpalatable thought of me being murdered in cold blood and no one would even notice clawed at my mind. Maybe my mother and a few people would, but that was it. My body would be left to rot, inevitably becoming carrion for birds of prey—

“What is going on here?!” A familiar stern voice interrupted my terrifying thoughts as all heads whipped towards the direction of the voice. Relief washed over me as Principal Peterson stood a few feet away from us in her mountainous glory. I've never been so happy to see the principal like I was at that moment. The junior student cowered behind her, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction as Ola immediately recoiled like a child caught stealing from his
mother's pot.

“Come with me, all of you!” She bellowed, giving us no room for explanation.

Sitting in front of the principal made me squirm uncomfortably under her gaze as I nervously narrated how I got myself into the hands of the school's terrorist.

She listened intently, her stoic face expressing no emotions until I finished.

“Tom. You know who the father of Oladimeji Badmus is, I presume?” She began, rising from her seat to her full height which towered over me. I felt small as she leaned in, her palms on her desk propping her bulky weight.

“Yes Ma'am.” I croaked, my throat still scratchy from Ola's strangling grip.
“You're a smart boy, Tom. Just...make use your—” She tapped her temples. “—...and stay far away from Ola. Avoid him like a plague if you must.” Her voice lowered to a deadly whisper.

“Because should anything bad happen to you, there's little or nothing the school authorities or even the police can do. My hands are tied...” She straightened, crossing her wrist to form an X.

“And my lips are sealed.”

She made a zip like motion with her thumb and index finger pressed together moving slowly over her thick red lips.

I gulped, nodding in agreement. I couldn't believe it. Does this mean those so-called ‘disciplinary measures’ displayed to ‘tame’ Ola at the assembly ground were just a facade?

They had just been to prevent whispers of dissent and rebellion, weren't they? I couldn't hide the disappointment on my face as I locked eyes with Principal Peterson.
She seemed to sense my thoughts as she added.

“...And yours has to be the same.” She made the ziplike motion across her lips again. “Keep your mouth shut if you don't want to get in trouble with the school authorities.” She paused, then added. “Or even worse, Seyi Badmus himself.”

After being dismissed, I scurried away from the office only to run right into the broad chest of Ola. He leaned forward, whispering three words into my ears which made goosebumps rise all over my skin.

“This isn't over.”

He gave me a knowing smirk, like he knew all that was discussed within the office and without a word, walked in, leaving me shivering at the thought that the terror I'd entangled myself was going to haunt me for a long time.

πππ

Mother calling my name for the second time (which was not a good sign), brought my terrible reminiscing to a screeching halt as I painfully shrugged on a black hoodie over my broken body.

On a second thought, I drew the hood over my head and trudged downstairs to meet mother.

I didn't want any more bruises.

I dreaded the questions that were prone to arise as I drew closer to mother. I inwardly prayed she wouldn't open her eyes until the end of the morning devotion so she won't have to see my face. At least that could buy me some time to think of the most convincing reason for earning myself bruises on my face (and on other parts of the body she couldn't see).

Unfortunately for me, mother noticed, her eyes questioning as she nodded at the hood covering my head. I knew what those eyes meant and slowly I pulled the hood back, uncovering my head and face, letting it fall over my back. In a swift motion, I pulled my palms over my face, making it seem like a prayer position taking it further by going down on my knees to make it more believable.

Morning devotion seemed to be shorter today as I dreaded the next moments to come. I hadbarely said the last line of prayers before the inescapable bomb dropped.

“Tom, what happened to your face?” She held my face in her palms, turning it side to side.

“Who did this to you?!” Mother questioned, her eyes widening in shock at the amount of bruises on my narrow face.

Of course, it'd never be me getting into a fight. Even my mum didn't need to ask to know that I was the victim.

I was that pathetic.

“You should've seen what I did to the other guy.” I grimaced at my failed attempt at a joke in the form of the toxic lie I just spewed. I hope mum didn't notice how my eyes twitched which was my body's way of telling me that, ‘dude, you just told a lie.’

“Ade!” She warned, her eyes showing no sign of amusement at my attempt to lighten the air.

Sighing, I resorted to my most used line.
“I ran into a-a pole, I mean, a closed door. I wasn't looking.”
I stuttered in embarrassment, turning my face away while scratching my dried hair.
I was expecting a lecture from mum on how she wasn't aware she was raising a liar for a son, but it never came.

I turned my face towards where mum was seated but she wasn't there. I felt a mixture of agitation and relief and for once, I wasn't sure what to expect. A minute passed.
Two minutes.
Three minutes.

Soon, I began to hear the clanging of kitchen utensils from the kitchen. That was my cue to begin my chores.
Although I felt relieved that it went down easier than I expected, I still felt a tinge of uneasiness in the pit of my stomach.
Mum definitely knew something I didn't.

πππ

“Hey Tommy. How are you feeling today?”

Ola sneered, standing at the entrance as I was about to enter the class. I lowered my head, unable to meet his gaze.
He shouldered me as he walked past, his maniacal laughter ringing at his wake while walking out of class to an unknown destination. The sound of his laughter still echoed in my head as flashes of yesterday's torture flashed through my mind.

I gasped in pain, clutching my left shoulder while I staggered into the class. As expected, nobody paid me any attention as I dragged myself and slumped on my seat with a painful thud.

Headache travelled from my temples to other parts of my head when I tried to suppress the torturous experiences of the previous day. Resting my forehead on the edge of my desk the mental restraint on the memory loosened and it came flooding my mind with full force.

It was the end of the school day. I was walking home alone as always and my mind ruminated on the happenings of the day. My hands rubbed my neck absentmindedly as I remembered the conversation with Principal Peterson.

I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice I was walking down a lonely path alone. Neither did I hear the sound of approaching footsteps until a single blow knocked me down on the ground.

I writhed in pain as I was being dragged away towards an uncompleted building.
My head was pounding at the impact of the blow and I was barely given time to regain myself before I was pulled up into a sitting position with my mouth stuffed with an oily rag.

Someone twisted my hands to my back and an acute pain shot through me. The firm grip kept me in place and I almost fainted at the sight in front of me.

A young girl was stripped, tied and gagged, tears trickling down her face while Ola ran his filthy hands all over her body.
He turned to me, his voice as menacing as I remembered.

“Oh, we have a special guest, the superhero of our time! What an honor to have you here in our midst.” He gave a mock bow.
“Last time you interrupted me while I was having so much fun. ”
He pouted like a child denied candy.
“This time, I decided to bring you in when the show is just beginning and you're going to watch me. I hope you enjoy it.”
He grinned like a mad man.

Turning towards her, he tossed his shirt and trousers aside as he closed in on her. Her muffled screams grew louder and more frantic and so did mine. I was crying and screaming for him to stop as much as I could with my mouth stuffed, but he didn't. It only made him irate, causing his minions to land punches and kicks all over my body until I hit my head on something hard and the world turned black. My eyes opened to pitch darkness, tears streaming down my face.

I was alone.

I was traumatized.

I was in pain.

The enormity of the terror drew me back to reality. I opened my eyes to find my thighs soaked with tears I didn't know I was shedding.

Wiping away the semi-dried tears, I lifted up my eyes to the sight of the first class about to begin, ignoring the curious scrutiny from my peers. I was sure I looked terrible and my eyes were probably swollen, but I could care less.

I could only hope today turns out better than yesterday.