I have always been that girl who despises men who take advantage of young girls.
A grown man should have principles, self-control, and respect. As the senior prefect girl, I took my duties seriously by being observant and friendly to my junior students.
It was in the middle of the school year when Corper Tayo joined us as our new literature teacher, filling in for Madam Nicole, who was expecting.
At first sight, I didn’t like Corper Tayo because of his smile. It seemed too deliberate and made me wary. I'm not a fan of guys who smile excessively; it feels like they're always up to something.
However, he wasn't teaching me since I was a science student, but I started seeing him around during prep class and at my table. I wasn't thrilled about it initially, but over time, I got used to it.
We began hanging out, playing, and having full-on discussions, along with my friends who shared the same table.
After about a month, Corper Tayo started giving me strange looks, he’ll prolong eye contact, and pay extra attention whenever I spoke.
At first, I tried to overlook it, but it became very weird when he wrote something on a piece of paper and passed it to me. I opened it and read ‘You look even more beautiful when you're engrossed in your books, fine girl’.
I did not like what I read. I mean, how can you be exchanging notes with your male teacher who's right across from you?
It felt really odd, so I passed the note to my friends.
They found it amusing and quickly wrote, ‘What a lovely compliment, Mr. Corper’, and passed it to him.
He got angry that I gave the note to my friends, but that didn't stop him from pushing forward.
He started stalking and trying to force unnecessary conversations. He later called me and asked me to be his girlfriend, and attemp to force a hug on me. I was furious, but I managed to control my anger and let him know that I'm not someone to be fooled or mistreated by a man who should be much older than me.
My friends and I started avoiding him as much as possible.
Then one Friday night, while taking a stroll around the school with my friend, we heard voices coming from a dark classroom. We listened and recognized the voices as that of Corper Tayo and Esther, a Jss 2 student. We wondered what they could be discussing in a dark classroom.
After a few weeks, I began to notice some changes in Esther. She was now quieter and distant from her classmates.
One evening, I called her and asked what was going on. She confided in me, saying she was confused and didn't understand the changes in her body.
I reassured her that she could trust me and promised not to tell anyone.
Then she finally said the words I had been dreading to hear: "It's Corper Tayo. He has been touching me for the past three weeks," she said, fidgeting nervously in her chair.
I asked her if she liked it, and she quickly replied, "No, not at all. But I don't know how to tell him." She looked shy and embarrassed.
“Alright. I will help you tell him” I said.
The next day, I went to Corper Tayo's office during recess. After greeting him, I let him know my mission.
"Really? You walked into my office to insult me?" he flared up. I told him I only wanted him to understand and leave Esther alone.
"Corper Tayo, you didn't come here to defile people's children. Did you?" I asked. "Esther is like a sister to me, her parents know that, and believe I should look out for her. So please leave her alone. Or else..."
"Or else what?" he asked giving that smile I hated so much.
"Or else I will report you to the school management," I said and bolted out of his office.
I later advised Esther to stay away from him as much as she could.
"You wouldn't want to get pregnant, do you?" I asked her.
"God forbid. My daddy would kill me if I messed up," she looked unnecessarily serious. And I found it funny. Lol.
After one week, I saw Corper Tayo with an SS 1 girl and wondered why he must always be involved with someone underage.
Later, in the prep class, I told him to stop taking advantage of innocent girls and find himself a wife.
I wasn't scared of him since he was just a Corper doing inappropriate acts.
"My eyes are on you, Corper Tayo Akindele," I said and made it sound like a joke, but he knew I was very serious.
"I can see you have gone nuts," he responded.
Towards the middle of the school year, Corper Tayo finally dated my classmate and tried to have his way with her.
My friends and I caught him and reported him to the school authorities.
He was expelled from the school after some of the girls testified against him, sharing their experiences.
Three weeks after my graduation, I received a notification on my bank account. I couldn't call the number that sent it, so I asked my people, but they all said it wasn't them.
The next day, I got a call from an unknown number.
"Hello, my ever-watchful friend!" he said over the phone and I quickly recognized the voice.
"Corper Tayo!" I exclaimed.
"It's been a while, Cynthia. How was your graduation?" he asked.
"It was good," I replied, feeling a bit nervous as I remembered what I had done to him.
"Corper Tayo, I'm... I am..." I started to apologize, but he beat me to it.
"I'm sorry for my behavior at your school. I wasn't a good teacher," he admitted. Then he continued, "I'm married now and expecting a baby girl in a few months. I want her to be more like you, so I sent you some money as an apology and to share in your blessings," he explained.
"It's okay. You should also forgive me for getting you fired," I said.
"And thank you for the gift. Your baby girl will be adorable and even better than me". I said, filled with excitement.
"Alright. Take care of yourself, my little Mooma," he said before hanging up.
Huuhh! I didn't expect that! I exclaimed, taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh of relief.
With Love 💕