Coming to the classroom had been a mistake. Meryl had placed her head on her desk immediately she entered her classroom. After recess, others started trouping into the class, she heard murmurs at first until she heard the voice of Gladys.
"Hey boyfriend snatcher!"
Meryl told herself to ignore. No one would definitely touch her.
"Are you deaf? Can't you hear your name?" the white board duster hit the back of her head. The pain ran through her body like a water down a hill and stung greater than the humiliation that took place in the cafeteria.
"I'm not a boyfriend snatcher!" Meryl hit the desk with clenched fists. Her face was teared stained. She was ready for it all, whatever they were going to do to her.
"Ohhh, hit a spot. That must hurt." Laughed Joyce and other girls followed in the laughter.
"I heard she kissed him already. Can you imagine that?" Another girl said, she was Brendan, very short and petite.
"Look at her! One might think she's a saint but she's not." Joyce threw another object at her but this time she dodged.
Another threw an object, before one could blink an eye, the whole class seems to be throwing something at her. Meryl went on her knees covering her face with her hands. Who was coming to save her? All these for girlfriend-of-the-moment?
"What is going on here?" The voice of Mr. Abegnego distrupted the class. Each student had them ran back to each of her seat while nothing ever happened. Meryl didn't wait a minute, she ran out of the class taking her school bag with her. She ignored Mr. Abegnego who kept calling out to her.
That was her last day in Ever Green high school. She never did set her foot there again. She had felt miserable, close to depression, hurt and broken hearted that no one could at least fight for her. No one. She had no friend, she was more or less of a nobody. Not even Isma'il could stand up for her.

In the years that followed, she made a new friend after her mother passed away. She called him Josh. He had been there for her all through her high school days in her new school and twelve years later, their relationship was still waxing stronger.
Meryl was passing by a market where she noticed a green, vintage shirt on a stand. She stopped for a second to admire the its material. Josh would love something like this, she thought. She enquired about its price, bought it and packaged it feeling so pleased with herself. As she turned around to walk down the aisle to the bus stop, she bumped into a masculine body. Her polythene bag fell from her hand as she rendered an apology quickly. The other person did the same trying to help.
"I'm so sorry." He apologized as his eyes lingered on her face.
Her make up was light, her hair was jelled up in a pony. Her refined, fine lips had some lipgloss on it. There was something about her tortoise, floral dress that hugged her body possessively. He returned his eyes back to her face and a memory hung in his brain. She looked familiar.
Meryl stared back at him in disgust, why was he giving her that look? Was there something on her face, or body? She looked down at herself to be sure she was alright.
"Meryl?" He called surprisingly.
He knew her! Her heart skipped a beat. Oh God, he knew her! Her eyes met his eyes at once, drove down to the upturned corner of his lips, that mouth.....
Isma'il!
Her brain wasted no time in processing. Her heart began to pound as old memories rushed back like running waters. "Are you not Meryl?" He asked as he cocked a brow.
She swallowed trying to comport herself. "I am sorry, I'm not who you think I am."
"I'm so sure you look like her only though you're well refined." He complimented.
She returned his smile as his compliment irked her.
"So sorry about this." He apologized once more, smiled as he turned away.
She watched his disappearing figure, goosebumps still lingering on her skin. She hated him, she still do though. But the sight of him had reminded her of how much she had missed him, how could she miss someone who was specially awful to her?

She met up with her other friends who were also her co-workers at work. They had drove up to Josh home up town and had decorated the house. The house had a lock which could automatically get locked if a switch was turned on in the house. When Josh walked in later that evening, the lights flooded the room and screams of happy birthday filled his ears.
Josh was wearing a white shirt tugged on black trousers at usual. He was a cashier at the town bank which was a mile away from Meryl's place of work. His eyes had nearly popped out of their sockets when the lights had come on. For a moment, he thought there were theives in his house. He had probably forgotten about his birthday. He had planned to take a quick shower, eat some microwave rice, call Meryl as usual before he went off to bed.
"Come and cut the cake!" Modupe yelped out excitedly. She was slim and tall and had straight legs. Her fair skin would literally make one doubt her state of origin.
The cake was placed on a well, arranged table that Josh wouldn't had known there was a cake there.
"Really? Am I a child?"
Ivan quickly took a shot of him as Josh came before the cake. Josh blinked back another surprise. Ivan was taking shots! He hated pictures, why this?
"Why? I doubted you guys would come up with this?" He said as a matter of fact. He shot a warning finger at Meryl who was muffling a laughter.
"I tried your number severally before reaching home. No wonder." He said to Meryl.
"Exactly. I want this to be memorable."
"Seriously? You know that I do not like you switching off your phone."
"I know. But I'm not a baby, Josh."
After some more shots from Ivan, Dupe threw a malt can drink into Josh's hands. "Thanks, I needed this." Josh smiled at her tiredly.
Josh was also fair skinned, tiv by tribe. He was tall as Ivan, very friendly that it was easy for him to win Meryl's friendship. He was three years older than Meryl and secretly he yearned for something more from Meryl.
"How did you guys do it?" He asked them indicating the decorations.
"Well, it was easy. Meryl handled the decorations since she's partially an event planner, I handled the cake while Ivan the photographs." Dupe beamed in excitement.
Josh nodded, gulping down more gulps of malt.
"Oh, before I forget. I bought you something." Meryl reached for a silver, packaged box and gave it to Joshua.
Josh peeled off the leaves from the box. In it were a grennish, vitage shirt, a rubber which watch since Josh had always preferred rubbers to metals.
"Wow, I love this." Josh pulled out the shirt.
"You do?" She felt pleased.
Modupe drew closer as the eyed the items, throwing a piece of cake every now and then into her mouth.
"You've got good eyes." Ivan took another shots.
"Arent you tired for once? You keep on taking shots endlessly?" Josh shot at Ivan. Ivan smiled back, taking another shot to irk him off.
"He said he should stop with the pictures." Modupe jumped on Ivan's back gripping him by his neck.
Ivan stretched out his Canon camera away from her reach, and as they struggled on, Meryl watched them. "You two are actually sweet. I would love it if you guys get to marry." Meryl said.
"Yeah, we're thinking of that." Smiled Dupe.
"Says who? I'm not even thinking of that." Ivan shot her a playful, meanful look. "Unless you two are already planning yours." Ivan threw back the question at Meryl and Josh.
"That's never going to happen." Chuckled Meryl.
Joshua feigned back a smile. "Why would we marry?"
"Stop with the pretence Josh, you like Meryl, tell her." Dupe put in as she pulled Ivan away from them.
"She's bluffing right?"
Joshua shrugged. "I don't know either."
"Lest I forget. I met someone today."
"Who?"
"Isma'il." She laughed when she said his name.
"Your senior at Ever Green?" His brows shot up in amusement.
"Yes. Can you believe he recognized me first. He looked so different yet not so different." She said recalling the way he called her name.
Josh scoffed, noticing how happy she felt going over the incidence. "Really? Where was that?"
"At the market."
"So what happened?" He was curious.
"Nothing much. I couldn't believe that he recognized me first."
"So?" He was beginning to suspect that she wanted something more from the whole encounter.
"I denied him. I denied ever knowing him."
Joshua said nothing then he glanced towards Modupe and Ivan who were smearing their faces with pieces of cake in their hands. Why can he and Meryl be like them? He really cared about Meryl but it was obvious that he was just a friend to Meryl.
"I believe Isma'il is in town." Meryl stopped briefly to look at Josh. "Joshua?"
He turned to look at her.
"You weren't listening to me."
"I was."
"But you weren't listening...."
"I'm exhausted already, Meryl." He found himself walking to the fridge.
"Did I say something offensive?"" She asked him.
"No." He threw a smile at her.
"Okay. If that's the case, I'll let you have some rest."
"No, no, no Meryl. Did I push you off like that?" He grabbed both her hands, shutting the fridge with one of his legs.
"You were obviously tired of listening...."
"I wasn't."
"You were." She countered him.
A light flashed from the camera. Ivan was always intruding. He shut his eyes mumbling a silent curse. He was about to say something here.
"Woah, you guys look so sweet." Modupe chipped in as she checked out the picture to which Ivan agreed to.
Meryl irritatedly pushed off Josh's hands. " You guys have to stop this. Seriously!" Meryl warned pushing back the strands of hair from her eyes.
"When are you going to tell her?" Dupe whispered to Joshua's ears.
"What?" Joshua asked.
"Don't expose our little secret." She tapped him jokily on his arm.
"What are you whispering?" Ivan put in.
Modupe batted her eyes at Ivan then swayed her hips as she walked herself to the fridge.