Trend phase 1

I sat and fixed my hands on the either side of jaw. The class had gone dark for me. The teacher took his two periods with zest, handling the time like a treasure prize. He gave no room for respite, except for questions. I was elated when he announced the end of the class, with suffocating loads of assignments that did not bother me. I was interested in his leaving the class and that riddle had been satisfactorily solved for me. I promised myself, I would seek Fatou's help since she was visibly ahead of everyone in the class, when maths called.

Flora

“You don’t have to go for that sport festival... this country isn’t safe anymore!”

“But i am the school captain, now.”

“I understand but you must know, you are not safe even as the school captain... no one is safe anymore. The nation’s securities have become fragile.”

“But we aren’t targets for any attacks.”

“Tell that to the abducted school girls! You’re not going anywhere and that’s final!” I declared, hastily rinsing my hands in the wash hand sink before i stormed out of the kitchen. I was morbid, and bitter at everything that happened to me in the past, otherwise why should he be selected to lead a national sports festival that will be hosted in the heat of the North East, a place so infamous for its infamy, a place where innocent school girls were kidnapped and kept away from their loved ones? I was still visibly shaken, the rage oh his request stirring inordinate feelings of macabre. “He’s still all I’ve got!” I muttered.

“Nothing will happen to me, Mum!” He said calmly. I raised my face and saw him standing beside the door as he leaned his body on the frame of the door. I casted another glance at him- not rage but pity, self pity. “We’ll only be gone for a fortnight and then i will return. The government has promised security because most schools will be gathered there.

I am still not comfortable with the whole arrangement. Can’t you see? The whole arrangement is awful and plagued with bad timing... our nation is not safe. I muffled under my light breath. He saw my point and understood my genuine concerns as he bowed his head in submission before he sauntered gingerly to where i sat. He sat at the edge of the bed, close enough to me before he thrust his arms across my shoulders.

I know your genuine fears and i can’t question them. He said with very persuasive calm voice, which had a significant effect on me. “But i promise you, i would return... nothing will happen to me or anyone of us!” he assured.

“I know... but i don’t want you to go!” I interjected weakly as i placed my head on his shoulder; he accommodated me and allowed my head to settle in. I looked into his eyes and after a while, i saw them flicker in the half- lit room.

“You know my passions and how i have craved for a platform. This is the right platform to showcase my potentials!”

“You weaken all the time with persuasion.” I said coldly, allowing an awkward silence to breed between us. “I’m going to miss you!” I broke the silence with resignation.

I would miss you too, mum! He held on to me as if i would evaporate, if he afforded me some space. When he finally extricated from me, he stormed out of the room as if something was chasing him. i prayed in the softest parts of my heart, asking God to grant him safety but the more i prayed, the more i doubted, wishing i did not consent to his requests or withdraw my consent straight away.

Fatou

Everything about school went berserk. The atmosphere had become electric, academic activities were relegated to the rear as sports and other social activities geared to its apogee. My relevance to the school dwindled and soon flickered as i have been christened anti-social half the time. Fatamata always tried her best to get me into the frenzy mood, she basked in but i was having none of that as i always plugged myself into the virtual world, celebrating and sharing moments with strange events and strangers as well, which gave me brisk and momentary happiness. I would have loved to volunteer for cheerleading but the presence of Eva dissuaded me. Registering my interest meant, i would be under the instructions of my immediate competitor or rival or whatever anyone chose to call it: i hated her because she might have taken the only thing that would have mattered to me in the school. I knew i had been rude to him but i grew into him with time. I hated the very notion that i could not have him as close as i wanted because someone stood at the door of his heart.

I sat in the canteen as the bustles of school swayed. I ate and chatted away time with my phone. I was in the climax of self entertainment when Fatamata’s voice hulled me back to reality.

“What are you doing here Fatou, when everyone is out there on the field?”

“I have no business with the field.” I answered calmly.

“In fact, you do... Everyone does!” She said, sitting uninvited. “You just have to fit in to stay in, Fatou... you are so detached from everyone else.” I looked at her with vague disgust. She had a reputation for throwing her fat cheeks around people's business.

“That's enough, Fatamata!” I blurted out.

“It's not enough... You should volunteer for the cheerleading”

“I'm not interested either way! You can go ahead and register...” i rebuffed her.

“Really? You are going to fight me on this one as well?”

“I'm not fighting, my dear friend... I just want you to understand that I am not interested in cheerleading...” i grinned, rather theatrically. “I have no intentions of travelling to the North East.” I posited strongly.

“That's not fair! I thought you would be coming.”

“No I won't!”

“It’s okay... I have to bear the trip alone.” She said sorrowfully.

“Come on, Fatamata, you will be fine... besides you can easily get along with anyone.” I saw her face crestfallen, probably disappointed with the obvious but I often wondered why she opted to register for the cheerleading when it was obvious her veil will be a hindrance and ruin the whole arrangements, perhaps. She should have chose against her zeal and stay back with me but she would always be Fatamata, who saw and did all. We spent most of time in the canteen, saying little and banal when we agreed to say anything. We were still there when Fabro and Essiet entered the canteen to refresh themselves, I suspected.

“Hello, Fatou...” Fabro greeted. He was such a gentleman from my perspective.

“What are you girls doing here?” Essiet quizzed.

“Nothing...” Said Fatamata, wincing ingloriously.

“Will you be joining the team to sports festival?” Fabro asked, with his eyes fixed on me, directing his questions to me.

“I'm not sure.” I snapped in, careful not to sound rude.

“Why, if I may ask?”

“My father won't let me...” I stuttered as I managed to conjure a lie.

“I see... my mom wouldn't let me either but I managed to persuade her” he cooed

“Aww... lucky you!” Fatamata said with a pout.

“I guess so!”

“What about, Essiet? Do you have your parent’s approval?” Fatamata queried in her selfsame manner.

“Yes, I do! I didn’t have to press the matter much before they assented to it... I guess it's the family set up.” We all laughed to what we felt, was humorous in his statement. Fabro sat down with us as Essiet scurried about for two bottles of Coca-Cola for them. Fabro was awkwardly quiet, making vague eye contacts with nothing in particular.

“Don't you think, Eva would be mad, if she finds you sitting here with us?” Fatamata asked him, sharing my thoughts.

“Don't be ridiculous!” He remonstrated, eyeing him with his blind spot.

“I think she is right.” The words flew out of my mouth. “She will be mad at you when she sees you, sitting here with us.”

“I don't believe this... He said rising and storming to the next available chair with anger. I regretted my words, which were burn out of jealousy rather than genuine concern. I felt sorry when Essiet, who had marks of surprise stretching across his face as he joined him with the bottles of Coca-Cola. My actions were not justifiable and they have added discomfort to someone else and I hated that feeling, so I quickly strode across the table to join him, with Fatamata right behind me like a paid aide.

“I'm sorry, Fabro... I shouldn't have said that!” I waited for him to respond but he maintained the selfsame awkward silence that has animated his personality all the time. I felt awfully embarrassed. He should have said something rather than torment me with dead silence. He raised his face and then stood up, then grabbed my hand and dragged me to out to corner of the canteen.

“What is this all about, Fatou?”

“Nothing!” I said shyly, avoiding his gaze.

“Don't tell it’s nothing... you refused to volunteer for the cheerleading, you also refused to come to the field like you did sometimes... you rather, chose to sit out the whole time here, alone... I can see through you, Fatou and I am sure of what I see”

“What do you see?” I asked, trying to find my voice that has been subdued by his presence.

“It's your call... You know exactly what I see!”

“I have no idea of what you are talking about!”

“Stop acting sly! You know exactly what I am talking about...”

“I am a girl, Fabro... I can't confirm whatever you’re thinking of me... besides it’s already too late for that now!” I said with sorrows clouding my mind and reflecting on my words. He bowed his head and left it there for a short time, with his mind visibly occupied with quantum of thoughts. I was sure he has bought the dummy, I sold him.

“Is that why you have refused to support the team?” He asked, his voice still shrinking into resignation.

“I... I... i stuttered uncontrollably. “Never mind!” I declared and stormed out from his presence. I avoided him for the rest of the day. I was sure he stole glances at me during classes but I was careful to maintain a straight face. I knew he had broken all the fences in my heart. He had gained free access to the fortress of my heart and I wished he would stay there.

Fabro

It was a rainy day, the morning we set out for the sports festival. We had agreed to convene at the school hall for little instructions and guides on how we must conduct ourselves during the festival. We prayed and slowly began to file out in the rain to the fourth capacity yellow school bus.

One by one, we began to check in, clutching our bags and effects. My class made almost sixty percent of the selected population that would be going for the tournament. I saw Essiet, Moses the class Rep, Fatamata and lots of others. I knew we would have fun but my utmost desire was to win the cup and return with it just as our school master has charged us.

I smiled when I saw Eva leading her cheerleaders into the bus. I knew she would be motivational especially for me. We all settled in to the bus and were set to move when someone walked gingerly into the bus with the sports master. I saw joy scribbled all over Fatamata's face when she realized it was Fatou. I watched as she walked calmly to the only vacant seat behind me. I was neither elated nor indifferent when I saw her but I was curious. I was impatient to extract the truth from her despite the heavy presence of Eva, sitting in the seat ahead of me.

“How did you convince your father?” I taunted. She avoided my gaze and maintained a brief silence.

“I'm doing this for you!” She declared, beaming.

“Me, why?”

“I want to see you win!” She said with flint in her eyes. “I don't want to be told!” She grinned. I smiled back and turned to myself, before looking forward to Eva, who was uninterested with my presence in the bus.

The sports master gave the driver the green light and within a short while, our bus began to slowly roll out of the school compound. We knew it was going to be a long drive, so everyone began to connect themselves to whatever would keep them busy through the journey.

We left school at exactly 8 a. m as scheduled and arrived North East, sometimes around 9 p. m, making brief stops at various points to get refreshments and other entertainments, we could possibly get. I was careful not to get into Eva's bad books throughout the stops and that never sat well with Fatou and Fatamata as they made animated gestures time and time again each time they had the privilege to do so.

Mum kept my phone busy as she kept asking about my location. She wearied me at some point by her incessant calls but I felt special all the same.

We settled in to the camp reserved for us, an old, rusty hostel. I wondered how we would cope with such hideous place for a time as long as two weeks but the beautiful thing about human nature was adaptability and soon, we adapted seamlessly into the hostel. I called mom and gave her situation report. She was grateful that we arrived safely but I still perceived elements of fright in her voice. I reassured her that nothing would happen and I would return to her with the winner’s medal. I felt her smile on the other side of the phone before the phone went dead. We did our logistics, had our dinner and then retired to the miserable foams they offered us. I had no time for complaints because I was well furnished with the incredulity of my nation. Most times, I felt like doffing my imaginary hat and scream: MY COUNTRY, WE HAIL THEE. But there was no strength for that overtures as I lied on the miserable foam, with half of my body touching the ground. My phone beeped as I was about to shut my eyes.

“Never knew, you could be scared of anyone, how much more a girl, Lol.” The message read. I knew it had to be Fatou, she was taunting me.

“I don't know what you are talking about...” I replied her.

“It was obvious, Fabro... Everyone talked about it, even Essiet was pissed at some point.”

“Was that why, you chose to come at last? To mock and taunt me?” I asked with irritation spreading across my face and settling in the temple of my head.

“No! Not at all! Lol.”

I knew she was mocking me and I wanted to be part of that conversation no more. So, I decided to ignore her chats, hoping she would take a cue and let me be.

I hope you win for us tomorrow she buzzed again and went offline. I ignored the goodwill and hit the bed straight without a fuss.

Our games came quick the next few days and we did absolutely well, especially in football. We swept through our opponents with ease as I sat in the midfield, running the Strings and dictating the pace of the game. I soon became target of vicious tackles but I was fortunate in drawing fouls that did not leave brutally injured but won us countless free kicks and penalties. We made significant progress into the semi finals and my names was already in everyone's lips in the tournament. I made new friends and my fans grew by the day, calling me fabulous Fabro. Things went well. My relationship with Eva waxed great as Fatou came to that common understanding that we were special friends with unbreakable bond but we still got along

On the eve of the grand finale, i called mum and told her of my progress. Her voice was certainly smeared with smiles as she congratulated me over and over again. I told her the tournament would be wrapped up tomorrow and she could not contain her joy as pours of relief seared through the receiver of the phone. Her fears and imaginations had not materialized so far and she was grateful for that, being a religious person, she poured out praises to God before the phone went dead. I smiled, wondering why she was so sceptical of my safety.

Mummy’s boy! A familiar voice impeded my self-shared joy. i raised my face and beheld Eva smiling. I was surprised by her presence and more so the company she came with. Fatou, Fatamata, Essiet, Moses and other members of my class. They stood there grinning under the light emanating from the electric power that filled the whole room.

What is going on here? I asked

“You are lost, Fab!” Eva teased me, smiling pleasantly.

“Can someone please find me?” I pleaded.

“Well... the organizers of the tournament are hosting a bonfire tonight in respect to the two finalists, meaning them and us! Moses took his to explain as his nature always permitted him to do so all the time. I looked on confusion, with no idea of what to say until Eva helped me out. She grabbed my hands and hauled me up amidst raucous laughter. i was led to the centre of the school, where they large mounds of tires, burning gently amidst wild dancing.

We gyrated around the fire like gypsies, swaying our bodies from left to right and from top to bottom. The gyration continued until we were exhausted and retired to our bed. The night has been busy, so the day came tired but we had to play.

We played out our heart that day despite the rigour of the night and the cumbersome opponents we played. It the end it was a close call but we came out victorious. We celebrated with reckless abandon. Within temporal time, we were out of the camp, singing and celebrating as we turned to the road. Elation was scribbled across the sports master’s face; he failed to contain his joy as he led us through series of victory chants. I could not contain my joy either as i ours elected the best player and the highest goal scorer in the tournament, a feat i shared with exclusively with Eva.

We left there at some hours before midday, with the hope of getting to the capital before dusk. Our driver negotiated the road, sharing our moments as well.

We have plied a reasonable distance, basking in the euphoria of our victory when we approached a military check point. They flagged us down somewhere at the outskirt of Damataru, where there were less vehicular movements. We were quite lost in our ecstasy that we did not realise we were already flagged down by the man, donning a full kit camouflage and wielding an AK 47 rifle. When the driver stopped he greeted the man with sheer ebullience.

“Salamalaku!” The driver greeted.

“Malaku salam!” Replied the man. The man maintained an ominous silence, motioning our driver to open the bus. “Routine check!” he announced to the ecstatic bunch that ignored him for the elation soaring to its apogee. The man ignored us as well and waded into the bus deck, walking down the aisle. “Everybody stay calm! We’re taking over ship!” The man suddenly announced, brandishing his rifle in a ghoulish. We all burst into laughter, mocking his choice of words before class rep, stood up.

“This is a bus... not a ship!” The class rep taunted. “A ship plies the waters!” We all burst into another round of raucous laughter, mocking the man to a fault. He joined us in the laughter, laughing mirthlessly like someone with perfidious agenda. We did not pay more attention to the man, maybe we trusted him to be a member of the armed offices. The laughter was soon overshadowed by a flash of gunfire. I had lost track of what had happened but i was sure i heard Moses’ voice shriek in terrifying wild cries of agony. The sound of his fall was thumping. We scurried with elusive frights gagging our tongues. Those that found a voice to scream were cut short by their own terror. Suddenly, momentary silence swept into the bus like a flood of affliction. I wanted to hear the voice of our sports master, bark displeasures to our assailant but i was disappointed because his voice had suddenly grown dumb. I was certain he had lain straight on his stomach like a lizard, hugging the wall of a massive building. The driver’s voice was gone too. The bus suddenly turned to graveside facade, except for the whimpering and grunting of Moses. I was glad he grunted because it was an evidence of life in his breath.

Soon, the silence pervading the bus echoed the rattling of gunshots from the outside. The rattling went on for some minutes. We clutched our ears in fright, hoping to shut out the horrors of the booms but the sound kept piercing through the olfactory crevices and orifices with so much gusto. Our horror increased as we heard legs stomping into the bus with ferocious alacrity. They ordered us to get up and march down in a single file. We had no choice, so we obeyed sheepishly. They made us stand horizontally before the school bus.

Their operation was quick and organised, they made no statements but their actions spoke better. I had prayed within me that they should be armed robbers but they asked us for nothing. Instead they moved randomly into the bus, searching for something we had no idea of the in the bus. They were two that were left to monitor us. One had entered the bush while two climbed on to the bus, searching whatever pleased them.

I searched for Eva. I wanted to see how she was coping but she was quite a distance from me. Fear had made us scatter randomly without recourse to another’s welfare. I was still searching for my close allies with my eyes until i realized Fatou was leaning on me, whimpering with a muffled voice. i scanned the scene, observing the movements of our assailants and i discovered it was lapse, especially with those with us. They chose to rove up and about without paying any attention to us. Their eyes steadily fixed on the road. Their movements confirmed to me that they were not robbers. Although they hid behind a mask, i could tell they were young and ruthless by the way they swayed their guns from end to end. There was one possible interpretation to the whole drama: we were being abducted by extremists.

I had to think fast or we would be abducted, conscripted, radicalized or possibly killed by these extremists, so i beckoned on Fatou, who was closer to me.

Fatou! I called out in a muffled voice but she did not turn. “Fatou!” i called out again, barely audible. She turned to me with her reddened eyes and i had to relay my plot to her. There’s a big whole beneath the bus, if you are fast enough, you can creep in there! I said to her.

“I’m too scared... why don’t you creep in?”

“No! You go!”

“I’m scared... i don’t want to leave you!”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Be quick!” i nudged her. She saw the desperation in my eyes and nodded. “If you make it out alive, tell the world what happened here...” i looked out as she surreptitiously crept under the bus, terrified.

I counted our fortune as the extremists kept prancing about the road with sinister intent, ignoring us. Her movement was so quick that no one noticed what had happened.

As soon as she crept under, the ones in the bus came down and made a quick head count of us. They suspected foul play and chose to recount after which they said nothing to any of us; instead, they made a quick scan of the bus, bending over to inspect the spaces between the tyres. I prayed earnestly that they should not find her. My heart kept skipping its rhythm as i blamed myself for being too quick to lead her to her death. They kept scrutinizing spaces between the tyres of the bus until another group from the bush joined them. As soon as they arrived, they made a swift u- turn and began to collect the phones in our pockets then began to move us into the bush.

My heart went out to Moses, who has been left in the pool of his own blood. I wondered if he would survive the pains of the bullet wound in that lonely road.