image designed on canva
Yaba’s mum Afoe, as usual had gone to the market at the next village to sell her shea butter and wouldn’t be back till after sunset. On days like this Yaba had to cook for the family and occasionally call her younger siblings who often played just outside the compound to come do some few things and help her cook.
Yaba should have set the fire by now and put a cooking pot on fire but she was crying into her pillow, with a lot of flashbacks replaying in her head. Yaba didn’t know if she felt regret, fear or threatened but one thing she knew for sure was that she was in pain. Her grades were bad, her dad cared less about her education because he believed a woman’s place is the kitchen and educating a girl child was a waste of money, she had no one to talk, Afoe her mum was always busy and working so she could cater for her children and keep them in school since her husband cared less.
Yaba’s friend Titi was doing good and looked fine she had no problems with grades, if only she hadn’t listened to Titi at least the pain she felt right now wouldn’t be a reality. Titi was their class teacher’s pet, everybody knew titi was an average student but since their teacher took over the class she was always in the top 10 and always wore fine shoes and nice uniforms. Yaba on the other hand hand wore the same sandals for nearly a year and a half and her uniform was pale. Titi had earlier told her all she needed was to give attention to the teacher she had been ignoring the whole term. Yaba wanted better grades to impress her mum so she can have a reason to keep her in school and have faith in her, she wanted to be fine like Titi, Afoe always complained about her grades but Yaba felt it wasn’t her fault because she did a lot of work and had little time for studies, she had to wake up at dawn to set fire, help Afoe make shea butter, she had to go work on her dad’s farm, sweep, go for water. Afoe sometimes understood her but she too was overwhelmed she rains her anger on her sometimes.
Yaba kept crying into her pillow which was now very wet and started to feel uncomfortable this feeling of discomfort reminded her of how the teacher touched her and tried to seduce her, she remembered how he put his muscular hands firmly around her waist trying to sweet talk her into bed, and how he pushed her onto his bed Yaba recalled how weak she was and felt and how she regretted her choices at that moment, she wondered where she had the courage from to threaten that she would shout ,she remembered the teacher’s words warning her how he would make her life miserable at school if she says a word.
should I speak to mother? What would she think of me? Should I report to the school authorities? What if I am asked what I was doing there in the first place? Should I confront titi? She thought
Dozens of questions kept coming up in her mind as she fell into a soothing sleep on her wet pillow.
Hi guys, this is my first time since writing a short story since junior high school. Thanks for reading and see you next time.
