16/07/2024
Da Bold
It's ready. Enjoy.
GHOSTS: THE GENESIS
CHAPTER 1
Tap! Tap! Doyin kept tapping on the car’s dashboard to purposely annoy her mother. The car ride had been solemnly but not unusually quiet. If her mother was going to ship her to another purgatory as usual, she had to have her pound of flesh.
“Would you stop that, Doyin?” her mother finally barked at her. She had tried ignoring the petulant teenager but it was really getting on her nerves and making it hard for her to concentrate on the road. Her daughter, Doyin, was proving to be a hard nut to crack. As the acclaimed richest woman in Africa, she barely had time for her daughter. This was the main reason she tried to make her as comfortable as she could but also restrain from over pampering her. But having to attend 8 schools in 5 years was becoming a dent on her name. Why couldn’t Doyin see the bigger picture? Why couldn’t she stay in one place? It’s either she got expelled, suspended, or probably just stopped going at all. She was frustrated and she knew she really had to have that talk with Doyin.
Doyin kept wondering what was going on in her mother’s mind. This was the only time she had to really discuss with her mother. Before leaving the house that morning, she had spent hours looking at herself in the mirror. Why did she have such a voluptuous body? She kept wondering. Her bras were becoming tight and today, she was wearing her mother’s bra but her mother was yet to notice. Her body size was always a source of headache to her. It made her open to lewd remarks everywhere she went. Whenever she went out without Adamu, her personal guide, men, both married and single always rizzed her up. “How on earth could she explain that she was just 15 years? How on earth could she stop people from sexualizing her? By the way, will this school have a uniform for her size or will she have to sew one personally? Why was she created this way? Will the teachers in this school be any different?”
All her life, Doyin has felt uncomfortable attending school. She was always the subject of ridiculous statements and sexual remarks. She had caught the PHE teacher at St Marks College ogling her severally. The biology teacher at Greendale always used her as example during classes that she had to skip classes before she stopped going altogether. The boys in her class were not left out and the girls who were supposed to understand how uncomfortable it is to have such a body size hated her. To the boys, she was a prize, but to the girls, she was just an overfed monster who had no business in the classroom. It was only at St. Catherine Girls College she had a semblance of sanity but that was short lived. It was there she got in touch with her sexuality and started loving girls. How could she love boys when all they wanted was to get in her pants? How could she love boys when what all the men in her life, teachers not excluded, did was to abuse her and have their ways with her because they are stronger and were in post of authority? All she could do to stop them was to stop seeing them and that at times, involved changing schools but her mother never seemed to understand her because she barely had her time. She had been caught pants down with her bunkie, Ruth, going at it one night and expected expulsion. The principal, Rev. Sr. Bernice, thought it was one of her antics to get expelled so she forgave her and put her on therapy. Having been caught the second and third time, Rev. Sr. Bernice had no other option but to expel both of them. She knew she was going to miss Ruth but she had no option as her parents immediately flew her out of the country.
“You know, Doyin, you could have saved me this stress”, Mrs. Omotoye suddenly jolted Doyin out of her thoughts.
“What – do – you – mean- by- that?” Doyin slowly answered while she turned to face her mother.
“This whole school stuff”, her mother replied, “8 schools in 5 years; what do you think you are doing?”
“Well… let’s just say I’m an explorer and I love to explore….”
“You love to explore? Did you just say explore? Explore with your education?”
“Mum”, Doyin started then paused, “You could have saved yourself the stress by allowing Adamu to drop me off. It’s not like you really care. Nobody knows I’m your daughter anyway”, Doyin replied as she started looking for something in her bag.
“Look young lady……”
“Mum, how much does that your lemon coloured Versace bra cost?”
“Is that the topic of discussion and what is your business with my bras?” Mrs. Omotoye replied her daughter looking very pi**ed.
“Well, for what I know, that’s the only lemon coloured bra you have and that’s the fourth bra of yours that I have worn in the space of six days without washing”, Doyin retorted.
“Doyin!” Mrs. Omotoye parked the car and suddenly looked hard at her daughter. “What happened to your bras and why are you attacking my closet?” Doyin refused to reply or look at her mother as she sat seething with anger. “Doyin…” Mrs. Omotoye called again but was cut short by Doyin’s sudden outburst.
“Mum, look at me. Take a good look at me. Do I look 15 to you? Did I beg to have such a body? I’m just 15 for God’s sake, why should I be dragging size of bust with you? Why should I be looking like a goddamn nursing mother? I just want to be normal, can’t I have that? I don’t know how you are comfortable being you but I’m not. This body has done me more harm than good and you sit there and pretend like everything is okay. The only time you ever have time to talk to me or rather preach to me is whenever I change school. Mum, I’m so damn tired of all this”, Doyin replied her mother, folded her hands and faced the window.
Mrs. Omotoye was dumfounded. She held her head with her hands and placed them on the steering. She had always avoided this line of discussion with Doyin. She had always voiced her displeasure about having such a body but there was nothing she could do about it. She wasn’t God who created her and she had told Doyin this. She had no other option but to love herself. She began to think. Was Doyin leaving school because of her body or was there something else. “Oh God!” she gasped, “Hope I haven’t failed this girl”. She knew she really had to talk with Doyin and at least, rebuild the mother-daughter bond they once had. She steadied herself and drove the car without looking at Doyin. Luckily, Doyin also cooperated and they had the remaining ride in silence.
“Here we are, Doyin”, Mrs. Omotoye told her daughter hoping to have a little chit chat before they got in. “I don’t want to tell you that I know what you are going through but I’m here for you. You don’t need to face the world alone. Please, I beg you Doyin, do me this favour, try and stay here and finish your secondary education. I promise to always be here for you. I know I have a little bit of catching up to do but please, don’t make this any harder for me than it already is.” Doyin was quiet. She took a long look at her and then came down from the car. Doyin also came down and as she was about moving to the gate of the school, her mother pulled her and hugged her. “Shh, my doughnut, it’s going to be alright. I promise. Now go and show them that my doughnut is a winner”. And with that, she released her and they both walked to the school.
Doyin had many thoughts about Dabiz International College. Despite her outburst in the car, she was determined to make her mother proud. She hoped the teachers here will see her for who she is, not physically but intellectually. She also hoped that the students here are nicer. She watched her mother present the necessary registration documents to the administrative officer before they were directed to the principal’s office. Samuel Adeyemi was on the name tag on the table when they walked in to the office. It was a nice looking office having the different awards and plaque that have been won by the school. She saw that of the recent spelling bee and believed that she could see a faint outline of herself in that picture as St. Catherine Girls had beaten them to the first position. The room smelt nice and was fully air conditioned. She looked around and saw the CCTVs stationed there. The principal welcomed them and took a long look at her like he was either surprised or shocked to see her or was trying to recall where they had met before. He started off by saying how happy they were to have her there and all the usual ‘B.S’ school heads always say whenever she went to a new school. She let her mind wander and was totally not part of the conversation until her mother touched her hands. At that moment, the principal repeated the question he had initially asked her. “Are you ready to be one of us, an exceptional scholar who will always fly high the flag of Dabiz International College, Miss Omotoye?”
“It’s Doyin”, she replied, “And once there is a conducive environment, I’m definitely doing well”, she smiled hoping to impress both the principal and her mother.
“Okay, if you say so. Do remember, if you need anything or if you ever feel confused, lost or overwhelmed, you can come to me or the guidance counsellor”, the principal replied her and with that he directed her to class while her mother waited behind. She knew her mother had made a bargain getting her there so it was probably time to fulfill her promise but that wasn’t her business. She just hoped for God’s sake that Dabiz will be different.
It took her a while but she finally located the SSS 2 science class despite the principal’s directives. Immediately she entered the class, it was like time stopped. Everybody left what they were doing to look at her like she was a kind of ghost they were surprised to see. “Oh sh*t!” she exclaimed, “here we go again”, she said as she expected the worst to happen.
“Ho!Ho!Ho! Manta Claus is here” a tall lanky boy, whom she later got to know as Praise, exclaimed and the whole class burst into laughter. She knew that by then they had assumed that she was a student and not a teacher. After the laughter died down, a girl shouted, “Ladies and gentlemen, I officially present to you the mother of the class”. And the laughter started again. When she thought it was over, another boy exclaimed, “God damn! Look at those mammary glands. Mummy when are you going to breastfeed me?” This time around, it wasn’t just laughter but also whistles and cat calls accompanied it. She still stood there unflinched determined not to allow their remarks get to her after all, she had experienced worse things than this. A teacher suddenly appeared and the class went back to normal though some students struggled with controlling their laughter. She scanned around and saw an empty chair and desk on the last row. She went and occupied it. Immediately she sat down, the girl next to her slipped her a piece of paper. In it was written, “Ignore them; they are just a bunch of losers”. She folded the paper and smiled at the girl. The teacher was asking what led to the commotion but everyone remained silent and so, he began his class.
The day went uneventful, although, teachers had started noticing her academic prowess. She was top in Chemistry and got all the maths questions correct. It seemed to her that Dabiz students were not that intelligent after all, no wonder St Catherine Girls piped them to the National Spelling Bee title. At the end of the day, Praise walked up to her and apologized for his conduct when she came to the class. He introduced himself as the clown of the class. She ignored his outstretched hand and told him that his conduct towards her will determine if they could be friends. As soon as Praise left her alone, someone called her from behind.
“Hey new girl or should I say, Doyin”. It was the girl who had slipped her the paper at the beginning of the class. She walked towards her with a swagger and charisma that Doyin didn’t understand.
“Hi..”, Doyin replied trying to recall the girl’s name. “How do you know my name?” she suddenly asked surprised that someone already knew her name.
“Well, it’s not hard to decipher the name of the student who blew our Chemistry teacher away, who topped the maths class and is now the talk of the class. My name is Esther”, she said stretching her hands towards Doyin. “Or you can call me ghost”, she smiled again and laughed a little showing off her sparkling teeth.
“Why ghost?” Doyin asked shaking Esther’s hands.
“The class calls me that because I’m always alone and have refused to join any clique. I don’t have time for their frivolities. They are all losers”, Esther replied as Doyin suddenly laughed and they both burst into laughter.
“So are you taking the bus?” Esther asked Doyin when they had both stopped laughing.
‘Nah’, she replied, ‘I’m waiting for my driver. What about you?’
“I walk home. Can’t afford the bus”, Esther shrugged.
‘Where do you stay?’
“Billiamilo Close, Progressive Estate”
‘That’s my Estate. Well, my driver is here. Come let’s drop you off’, Doyin said as she dragged Esther to the car. They both greeted the driver, Adamu, when they got in and Doyin instructed him to drive to Esther’s place first. During the drive, Esther confessed seeing Doyin at the National Spelling Bee and wondered why she left St. Catherine Girls to Dabiz. They spoke about the class they had and Esther told her the characters of all their class mates.
“Madam, we are here”, Adamu informed them both when he got to Billiamilo Close.
“Keep driving ahead. It’s the only one-storey building here”, Esther replied and with that Adamu drove off.
“Well, I should have your number”, Doyin told Esther when they got to her house.
“Rich girl, I don’t have a phone”, Esther laughed as she came down from the car. “By the way, thanks for the ride, I will see you in school tomorrow.”
“Bye”, Doyin said as they both waved at each other.
As Adamu drove her home, she couldn’t help but wonder how quick it was for her to make a friend at Dabiz. Esther had come across as such a likeable person. But who doesn’t have a phone in SSS 2 at this age? It was both shocking and surprising to her that Esther didn’t have a phone. If she got one for her, will she accept it? All these thoughts ran through Doyin’s mind as she settled down at home.
