Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Halima’s POV

Teemah laid in front of me as Amir sprinkled water on her face to to get her back to consciousness but all to no avail. Kalt came running with the school nurse and Mr Ben.

Why did Mr Ben always have to be involved in Teemah’s troubles? Mayhap he was a family friend or something. Well that was none of my business.

The nurse picked up Teemah and took her to where we parked the busses. Mr Ben was talking to Amir and from the looks of it all, Amir was in trouble.

I looked around only to see Mrs Aisha, our headmistress. She came and asked me what happened and I told her everything.

She shook her head and asked Mr Ben to get Ya Sa’eed for her. He said he had already sent someone to go get him and she nodded in reply.

She looked at the nurse and asked “What’s wrong with her? I hope she’s okay? Are there any injuries?”

The nurse looked up from Teemah to a book or file or, I don’t even know what it’s called, then said “There’s no need to worry ma. She’s okay except for the fact that she’s running a high fever which must’ve been affecting her for long. She also has a cold and some bruises on her head, knees and elbows. Apart from that she’s okay. But she needs medication now as her fever is getting worse and so is the cold.”

Mrs Aisha scrunched her nose then said to one of the teacher I didn’t even notice till then “Get the smallest bus and it’s driver.”

“Mr Ben, get those two fighters here.” She said looking at Mr Ben.

“you uhmm, Halima right? Get the other people that witnessed the fight and come back here with them. We’re going back to school.” She said looking at me.

I went to look for Kalt and I found her talking to Amir. I told her that Mrs Aisha was calling her and her brother and she looked at me in disgust, then said “Now see how you’ve caused a ruckus between the two siblings koh? No wonder Ya Amir rejected you”.

I could see Amir gesturing her to stop but she didn’t “ai dama it’s only disgusting people like you that do things like this. So are you happy now? Why won’t you be? You just caused an elder brother knock his younger sister to unconsciousness. I’m sure you will go and tell him you love him too. Congrats. Keep up the good work. Nice job.”

I could feel my eyes stinging with tears but I wouldn’t give her the privilege to see me cry. So I pushed the tears back and looked her in the eye, then said “yeah. I do a great job in luring guys. And guess what? I’m proud of what I do. At least I know I’m beautiful enough to make guys to fall for me. What do you have to make guys fall in love with you? Nothing!”

Her eyes were filled to the brim with tears. I felt bad for insulting her the way I did but what she said really hit me bad so I had to retaliate.

“Can you imagine this prostitute!? Wai what do I have? Ai it’s you am supposed to be asking. Wawiya kawai. See I can’t stand you.” She said walking away.

Amir also took to heels to follow her but stopped right beside me then said, “I’m sorry for her misdemeanor. Kunga you guys are friends and sisters…”.

At this point I turned to look at him and then he rephrased his statement, “sisters in Islam so just take what she said and throw in the trash. She’s childish but you’re older than her so just forgive her.”

I was taken aback by his apology. I had never, not even in my wildest dreams thought that he would ever talk to me like that.

After the rejection, my rejection to be precise we’d been avoiding each other. Even when Kalt called him to greet my parents he shouted at her saying he didn’t want to ever see them in his life.

I thought we’d still be good after the rejection. Even if he’d hate me he should’ve restricted his hatred to me and only me. Why involve my parents?

I brushed my surprise aside and walked to where Mrs Aisha was waiting for us. Ya Sa’eed’s eyes were puffy and bloodshot. He looked like he had seen hell.

I went to him and asked him if he punched  Teemah on purpose and he looked me in the eye then looked down.

He started fiddling with his fingers then took a deep breath and looked at me again before saying “yeah. I did it intentionally. The punch wasn’t meant for Amir, it was meant for her. She deserves it. No one stops me from fighting when I want to and she shouldn’t be the first to.”

The smallest bus came and we were asked to sit at the extreme back. The teacher whom I never got to find out whose name it was and Mr Ben occupied the seat in front of us while Mrs Aisha sat at the seat in front of the teachers.

The nurse and Teemah were at the front seat behind the driver’s seat.

We drove to school silently with me looking at Teemah all through the ride. Teemah’s cap had been removed and her hair was spread around. It was disheveled.

I had insisted she plait her hair on Friday but she refused saying “haba do you know how hard it is to deal with this gidan angulu {vultures nest} on my head that is called hair? I always have to wash and dry it. Not to talk if the combing Ya Allah! It’s frustrating wallahi! So except if you over here are going to loose it, wash, dry, comb and oil it for me once I plait it karma ki sake ce min {don’t even tell me} I should plait my hair. Yanxu bah kitso bane a gaba na kina ji koh? { right now plaiting hair is the least of my problems}. Tohm I’ve told you my own!”

I let a sad smile take over my features as I remember. How would she react if she found out that her own brother was not sorry for knocking her out?

Her eyes were puffy and a bruise had formed on the side of her head. All through the ride the nurse kept using a towel to massage her head.

We reached school and she was taken away to the sick bay by the nurse while we were taken to the admin block.

We all asked to kneel down and tell what caused the fight. I started, “I was standing with Ya…. Sa’eed Abba when Fatima Abba came with UmmuKalthum Aliyu and dragged him away from me. He slapped her and she started saying that he never loved her as a sister so what should she expect. I can’t really quote what she said but she said something along the lines of that. She walked away crying and then before I could turn and ask Sa’eed Abba, he was gone.

“I was looking around for either of them when Amir Aliyu stopped me and asked me where Sa’eed Abba was. When I was about to reply, Sa’eed replied from behind me and then Amir asked him why he slapped Fatima and then he replied saying that it was none of Amir’s business. Then Amir said something and Sa’eed wanted to slap him but UmmuKalthum stepped in between them holding Sa’eed’s hand saying that he shouldn’t lay a finger on her brother.

“Amir told her to leave them alone, that they would deal with it man to man. I can’t remember what happened afterwards but they started fighting. Teemah… Fatima then came running and started telling them to stop but … But… But… Then…”

“You know that you’re not the only one that has a mouth to say something right? So hurry up. We don’t have all day.” Mrs Aisha said getting annoyed with my stammering.

I didn’t want to say that Ya Sa’eed punched Teemah intentionally but I also didn’t want to say that he punched her unknowingly. Which sensible human being will believe me?

After punching her he left without glancing back so it won’t make sense to say he had done it unintentionally.

I gulped severally then continued “Then Sa’eed punched her on the head and she fell unconscious. Then he walked away while Amir tried to get her back to consciousness.”

She looked so shocked but she recovered almost immediately. Amir spoke next saying almost the same thing as me just that he said that he met Teemah crying in the bus and that was when he lost his cool and went to challenge Ya Sa’eed. But that he only went to talk not fight.

Ya Sa’eed talked next saying the truth and nothing but the truth but what surprised me was that he said he didn’t regret hitting Teemah. He only regretted fighting with Amir.

Can you imagine?

Kalt talked next saying exactly the same thing with me but she said that they’d been looking for Ya Sa’eed for a while.

The nurse came in while Mrs Aisha was talking to us about conducts and behaviors. She said that Teemah had regained consciousness.

Mrs Aisha dismissed her and continued with her speech. At the end of it she gave Amir and Ya Sa’eed three weeks detention. They’d start the following week.

The week they were finishing detention was the week we were starting exams.

We were dismissed and I immediately left to go see Teemah.

Fatima’s POV

I opened my eyes to a room painted plain white. Everything around me was white. Including the bedsheets.

Looking up I saw the school’s badge on the wall. I then realized that I was in the sick bay. As I tried to stand up I felt stings on my elbows.

I didn’t know when I let a shout and that was when Ms Angel, the school’s nurse, rushed in and gave me a heart warming smile which I couldn’t help but reciprocate.

I tried to get up again but putting my legs of the bed and on the cold floor I felt another set of stings but this time even my knees stung.

I laid back down as a head ache started making its way to my head.

Ms Angel came and gave me some pain reliever injections and rubbed some antiseptics on my injuries.

She gave me some water and asked me if I felt uncomfortable without my cap and I told her I was okay.

She said she was going to be right back. She came back and asked me if I was hungry and before I could answer she went out again.

I needed to powder my nose which is girl talk for urinate so I stood up with great difficulty and started walking towards the door. As I opened the door Halli pulled me in a hug and broke into sobs.

Did she think I was dying?

I hugged her back ignoring the stings I felt on my elbow as I moved my arms.

She started saying “I’m sorry Teemah. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have been roaming about alone. I should’ve tried to find you when we dropped. I should’ve followed Kalt when she said she’d look for you. I should’ve stopped the fight even before it actually became a fight. I should’ve waited for you in the first place when you went to go and change. I should’ve…”

I shushed her and wiped her tears. She surprised me because she only talked like that when she feelt guilty.

Did she feel guilty for my situation?

I hugged her and I started feeling pressed so I excused myself and went to go and ease myself.

I came back and we talked and talked till the nurse came back and gave me food and fruits.

I ate then Ammi and Abba came to pick me and Ya Sa’eed. I got my things and entered the car.

The drive back home was silent with thick tension in the air. Ya Sa’eed looked like nothing was wrong while Ammi and Abba had their faces void of any emotions but I was sure they were raging with fury in the inside.

We reached home and immediately we got down Ammi and Abba said they’d like to see us in the parlor.

I was the last to get there as I needed to powder my nose, again.

When I got in Ya Sa’eed was typing away on his phone, Ammi was pacing back and forth like a caged tiger while Abba was playing with an apple.

Ammi paced back and forth only when she couldn’t wait to get something off her chest.

Abba only played with food when he’s angry and wants to stop his hand from doing something wrong.

Immediately I closed the door, Abba said, “Fatima sit down, Sa’eed drop the damn phone down!”

He breathed in and out before looking at Sa’eed and said, “meye damunka? Dun kam sai e hakkilo {what is your problem?} You don’t even understand fulani, kawai let me talk to you in the universal language.”

Abba only talked to us in Fulani if he wanted to make us understand something without using curse words.

“so Sa’eed, I heard something. That you hit your younger sister on the head and you proudly said you did it intentionally and that you’re not sorry koh? When will you ever have sense? Meye ta taba maka a rayuwa da kake ta mata mugunta ne wai nikam? {what has she ever done to you in her life that you’re being wicked towards her?} Okay. So your younger sister’s best friend is more important to you than your own sister koh? Are you crazy or what? I’m trying so hard not to injure you right now so you better start talking.” Abba said dropping the apple in his hands and intertwining his fingers as he adjusted his seat to face Ya Sa’eed square in the face.

“ Abba bata da kunya {Abba she’s shameless} . She’s so disrespectful. I was talking to someone and she just dragged me away from the person, whats her problem? And when I slapped her she started saying utter nonsense about me, that I never loved her. Well of course I never did. Who’d ever love her?”

I could feel my chest squeezing and my breath hitching but I didn’t tell anyone anything. I just kept quiet and continued to listen to them.

“So this is what it feels like to have a rebellious son in your house who hates his own sister. How do you think Amal and Afnan will behave when they find out you hate your sister? They’ll think you hate them too. Haba…..”, Ammi said with glossy eyes but was cut off by Ya Sa’eed.

“ please stop. Dan Allah {for Allah’s sake} you guys should stop. I’m doing this for her own good. I’d never hate my sister. That blow…”