Two leaves that fell due to abscission rested on my laps. I got them off me as I raised my head from his shoulder and then rested back on it.

A new day had dawned. But then, I refused to leave here nor wake him up. It felt so comfortable leaning on the broad shoulder of Paris who was still sleeping.

What happened during the room checking last night?

I didn't know when I sprang up to my feet. Not only hurting myself as I mistakenly dashed my foot against a stone but also woke Paris up from his peaceful slumber.

He frowned and still felt giddy. He suddenly stood up from the dusty pavement when he realized that the night had broken into a new day. And we were all alone in the midst of somewhere that looked like nowhere.

"Shit. What...are we...ohh." Paris stuttered as he ran his hand over his face.

I smiled out of impulse. Last night, I thought he had disappeared not knowing that he used the sudden darkness that came upon us to play a prank on me.

"I'll get going." I told him, coughing and trying to normalize my breathing.

"You've caught the flu. And I told you. But you were busy playing around in the rain last night." Paris retorted.

I frowned. "If you won't say sorry then shut up." I muttered and left, finding my way back to hostel.

The hostel gate was wide ajar as I neared it. That signified that by now many people would have gone for their morning functions.

Chills were everywhere. Fallen yellow leaves and little pools of dirty water could be sighted at some point. You know, when it rains, it leaves us a trail to remind us that at some time this day, there came down showers from the windows of heaven.

"Look who finally decided to come back." Melissa announced as I sauntered to my bed corner. I wasn't giving heed to whatever they said, all that crossed my mind was to bathe and rush to school.

"Who?!" Fiona who bending down to tie her bootlace asked. And she got her reply. "Faith?," She began, as she straightened herself after tying her lace.

"Um?" I grabbed my metallic bucket heading for the exit.

"Are you all right?" Fiona asked. And I nodded with an indeed true smile. "Yeah, more than you can ever imagine."

Right then, Ruth entered the room. It seemed as though she forgot something and came to collect it. She threw a dirty look at my direction and then proceeded to talk to Fiona. "She just came back now, right?"

"Yeah," The latter responded.

"National prostitute," Ruth muttered as she brought out one of her ball pens from the fancy container that she stored many of that type.

I shook my head. "Its enough. I mean it."

She had told everyone present last night in our class that I was a chronic bed wetter. Now, there was nothing to be afraid of her leaking to anyone.

"You mean what? Look, I won't bother you with where you went last night because we enjoyed good breathe yesterday. Something that rarely happens when you are around." She spoke hysterically. "How would we? when you always wet the bed?"

I chuckled deeply. "You talk as though I just knowingly sleep and then wet the bed like that." Now my pitch was getting higher as it got entangled with emotions. "It's not even as if I haven't discussed this topic with you guys. It's unfair!" My eyes almost moistened.

This topic was quite sensitive for me. It was just as, if not more sensitive than a girl who weighs out of normal or is being called ugly.

"It's not fair." Ruth mimicked me before bursting out in laughter with an amused Melissa. "What's fair? Is life even fair?"

I sighed bitterly and left the room. And then an uproarious laughter followed my exit.

"Where are you heading to, princess?" Just some steps away from the bathroom, a familiar voice filled the air.

"Helen," I chuckled. "Don't call me princess." I momentarily felt happy.

Her laughter filled the air once again. It was damn contagious and sounded blissful. How come her positive energy never influenced me?

Helen was fat. And people didn't like her very much for it. But she didn't care and the last thing she would ever condone while alive was to accept hate speeches thrown her way. No, not her.

But then, our cases were different. She could work on her weight but this condition of mine seems permanent.

"You're my princess. At least, before some prince charming claims you as his." Helen stated. Then she finally looked down and saw me with my bucket. "Don't tell me that you're just heading to the bathroom."

"Too bad, I am."

"Then be ready to join the late comers to wash the toilet. Those sanitary mistresses are really not kidding today." I gasped at her answer. Upon my reaction she gave me a suggestion. "Or else, you are ready to do rub and shine."

I scrunched my face. "Ew, no...never."

"Then carry your cross." She deadpanned and left while I poured all the way to the bathroom.

There were about twenty other students who were also there. They were done taking their bathe and were waiting to receive their punishment for coming late to bathe.

I entered the bathrooms, ignoring some stares that were directed at me. After rushing my bathe. I decided to act a green horn by walking past those that were receiving their punishment.

"Hey, you get back here." An aged voice put me to halt. "Will you come over here and do your portion of punishment or let me refer your case to the matron."

The matron was my mother's friend and she would surely tell my mom how disobedient I proved to be. And then my mom would discuss the case with me when next she comes visiting.

I walked towards where she was talking to other defaulters with a blank expression on my face.

"...for deciding to wake up late, you all would move to the toilet section and thoroughly wash it. Divide yourselves into three groups."

That was how I spent about forty minutes serving my punishment before dressing up and leaving for morning assembly.

'Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All that I needed thy hands hath provided,
Great is thy faithfulness, lord unto thee.'

The rich harmonic melody emanated from the already assembled students who were singing from the hymn book.

God!, I must be so late. I hissed frustratedly at myself, wondering how to surreptitiously join the rest without being noticed by a senior or teacher.

I decided and worked towards my decision of getting into the line from the back.

"Hey!" I moved even faster than I was already doing. "I'm talking to you...the light skinned girl that's entering that SS2 line."

I froze, unfroze and froze again.

What the hell? Nah, what the hell just happened?

Everyone turned to find out the acclaimed attention seeking person that interrupted the assembly they probably wanted to end quickly.

I turned quickly to behold the labour prefect and I couldn't help but groan. She was heartless and mindless. All in all, she cared less of whatever and whoever.

She ruled as a queen. Even the deputy senior avoided her at times. Everyone, even the a month and few weeks old me in this school.

"Are you deaf and dumb or do you just wanna act extra stupid today. I've been noticing you for sometimes now and I'm not very impressed." Senior Bella - the purposed labour prefect began.

"Long story short, get over here so that we would quit disturbing the ongoing assembly." She pointed at a nearby coconut tree where she herself began heading to.

I greeted the senior when I also got there. But she eyed me and asked me why I came late for assembly.

"I woke up late." I half lied. All in all, it was still a lie.

"You intentionally woke up late? You know that I'm on duty today today and you want to intentionally defy my authority." She said while I shook my head all the while, denying the allegations.

"Senior Bella..."

"Shut up! Will you? Oh, you won't?" I shook my head once again at her and sighed. "Now you're sighing at me."

She was acting like someone desperate for love. But...

"Amen!" The loud joint response to the ending prayer said by the chapel prefect - a frail looking tall dark skinned girl, filled the air and brought an abrupt pause to my thoughts.

The assembly came to an end, seconds later and everyone dispersed to their various classes.

"That serves you right." Ruth who intentionally walked all the way to the coconut tree, muttered and then tried walking off to class.

"Wait, you this stupid girl again. What's your stress?" Senior Bella snapped. She was stubborn, Ruth was also stubborn. So that made them birds of same feathers.

"Nothing. What did I say?" Ruth asked.

"Join her. I mean right now!"

Ruth was taken by surprise. All she wanted was to gest me not to partake with me in the punishment. Meanwhile, my concern was to get released and then attend my morning classes. I didn't want any teacher telling the VP that I wasn't in their class, thereby making me look lackadaisical towards my studies, especially now that the SSEC was forth coming.

Ruth grudgingly knelt down beside me. And before I knew it, I got released.

"Bella what of me? Won't you release me too? Ha, my knees are hurting." Ruth hissed painfully.

"This is just the genesis of your suffering. When I'm done with you, you will regret ever living. Look, I was once your age and I acted this way."

Ruth was highly offended. This was not what she wanted to hear right now. "I'll report you for undue discipline and bully. And I'll watch as you're being ripped off your labour prefect badge."

"Until then." Senior Bella laughed monotonously.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two things out of many other slightly awkward things caught my sight once I entered my classroom.

First was that, there was a vacant space beside my desk. My seatmate had relocated to another corner and no one has replaced her. Second was that, the whole class has been whispering and chuckling darkly since I stepped into the class.

I sat on my seat. Something wasn't right. I knew it cause I sensed it. And my instinct wasn't much of a failure.

I turned and looked around, making some people to face palm their selves as they didn't want to laugh out. While other just continued discussing their subject.

My eyes met with those expectant ones of Rachael. "Is it true?" She whispered. I barely heard her. "What?" I whispered back.

"You bed wet, even now...like...but do you?" Ice ran through my veins and almost froze me that my heart seemed to quit breathing.

How on earth could I have forgotten what happened last night and its possible consequences?

I quickly tore my eyes away from hers. I cleared my throat slowly and almost noiselessly. I didn't want more attention than I've already had.

I just picked up my Chemistry textbook and left the class. I was heading to the Chemistry laboratory. Since the man wasn't yet in class, I would busy myself by reading in there.

"Hey, I hope you aren't going to call Mr Davis?" That was a rhetorical question from someone.

I stopped at the door post and shook my head without turning.

"Faith from a scale of five to ten meters, how wide is your pussy?" My eyes almost widened upon such immoral and rude question that one of my class boys threw my way.

I raised my middle finger in the air and then got out of class. But then, I heard Juliana retort. "How much more crooked can her middle finger be?"

I eventually ran all the way to the laboratory. My chest was heaving heavily as I entered the lab. The first thing I did was to roughly grab a chair and seat down to calm down a bit. The distance from the class to here was quite much.

"Fuck them all." I muttered as I rubbed on my temple.

"Fuck who?" My heart accelerated in alarm as I heard the voice of a male.

I looked up to just behold Paris. I almost thought that it was the chemistry teacher. Thank God, it wasn't.

"Your breast is bouncing up and down." He noted loudly and I suddenly got embarrassed. "Sexy."

"Shut up!" I blurted out, unable to hold in my words.

He shook his head and proceeded to keep the base bottle in his hand that had the plastering of Sodium Hydroxide on it.

As protective measures, he was wearing an overall - A lab coat, gloves, medical face mask. Plus he handled each bottle with extreme care.

What was he even doing here in the Chemistry lab?

"So who are you using the f word on? I won't say to you not to tell me if you don't feel like. There's no such silly feeling around me. So speak up." He spoke as though I would just worship him and do as he bluffed.

"Excuse me, but which century are you from?" I began. "You should learn to have other people's feeling at mind."

"What do you know about sympathy. Funny enough, this foolishly lead many others to be empathic. Whereby they would forget to tend for them selves while treating other people's case." He stated.

"I'm not discussing this with you, okay?" He was stiff necked. Besides, I wasn't in a good mood now.

I toyed with my fingers before opening my Chemistry textbook to the section of Organic Chemistry. It was not an easy thing as I tried differentiating Alkane, Alkene and Alkyne from each other.

"You're reading Organic Chemistry? Wait, what are this hideous structures!" He looked lost for a moment.

I twitched my lips at the close proximity between us. "So, Mister when did you come over here?" I asked him.

"Oh, I annoyed Mr Davis by forgetting to greet him so he punished me with this lab." He said easily and then hissed.

But my face was scrunched up. That wasn't what I asked him of. "What are you even saying? I meant, when did you leave the arranging the lab to here."

"Oh, you looked desirable for a moment. So I had to come over and have a nearer look." He casually spat out.

"Really?" It sounded somehow. "So what are your observations?" I responded.

He shrugged. "Two over ten. You look as hideous as this structure." He pointed at the structure of di methyl chlorine.

"So, what of you? Have you no classes this morning?" He asked.

"Nah, shit happened." I just realized how free and realistic I was around him. I didn't feel insecure. Rather, a bit sharp mouthed.

"It always happen to you." He commented. "Many girls don't seem to like you."

I nodded slowly.

"Whatever," He shrugged. "You deserve all the hate."