CHAPTER FOUR : THE NEWS
674 Words
Tuesday morning began differently for Kemi.
For the first time since resumption, she woke up feeling relieved.
The uneasy feeling that had troubled her the previous day seemed to have disappeared.
On her way to school that morning, she had seen someone she was convinced was Derinsola.
The encounter had been brief.
The girl had been standing some distance away from the road, and although Kemi had not had the opportunity to speak with her properly, she was certain it was her best friend.
The sight alone had been enough to brighten her mood.
According to what she believed she had heard, Derinsola was on her way to get something down the road and would be in school later.
That explanation had satisfied her.
After all, it explained the absence.
It explained the unanswered messages.
It explained everything.
Even though she arrived late and missed the morning assembly, she hurried toward her classroom with a smile on her face.
The moment she entered, she headed straight for her seat.
Grace, her seat partner, immediately noticed the excitement written all over her face.
"You seem unusually happy this morning," she remarked.
Kemi dropped her bag onto the desk and smiled.
"Of course I'm happy."
Grace raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
Kemi looked at her as though the answer was obvious.
"Derin's around."
The statement instantly attracted attention.
Several students turned in her direction.
Grace frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Before Kemi could answer, Yemisi, the class prefect, looked up from her desk.
"Which Derin?" she asked.
Kemi laughed.
"The same Derin we all know."
The classroom became unusually quiet.
Kemi didn't notice.
"I saw her this morning," she continued confidently. "She told me she'd be back. She just needed to get something down the road."
A few students exchanged uneasy glances.
Grace slowly sat upright.
Yemisi stared at Kemi for a moment.
Then she shook her head.
"Kemi, I think you're mistaken."
Kemi frowned.
"Mistaken how?"
No one answered immediately.
The silence felt strange.
Uncomfortable.
Kemi looked from one face to another.
Confusion slowly replaced the excitement she had carried into the classroom.
"What is going on?" she asked.
Yemisi swallowed hard.
When she finally spoke, her voice was lower than before.
"Derin is dead."
For a second, the words seemed meaningless.
Kemi blinked.
She stared at Yemisi.
Surely she had heard wrong.
Surely this was some horrible joke.
"What?"
Yemisi looked away.
"Derin is dead."
The classroom remained silent.
The words echoed repeatedly in Kemi's mind.
Dead.
Dead?
No.
That wasn't possible.
She had spoken to Derinsola days ago.
She had been expecting her.
She had been waiting for her.
Just that morning she had convinced herself she had seen her.
Her breathing became uneven.
"No."
Her voice was barely audible.
"No."
Grace immediately stood up.
"Kemi..."
"No!"
The scream escaped before she could stop it.
The entire classroom froze.
Kemi shook her head repeatedly.
Tears filled her eyes almost instantly.
"No! You're lying!"
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
The silence was enough.
A terrible silence.
The kind that carried truth.
The kind that shattered hope.
Without another word, Kemi grabbed her bag and rushed out of the classroom.
Her vision blurred as tears streamed down her face.
The corridor seemed endless.
The voices behind her sounded distant.
All she could hear was that sentence.
Derin is dead.
Derin is dead.
Derin is dead.
It played repeatedly inside her head like a nightmare she couldn't escape.
"Kemi!"
Grace's voice echoed from behind.
She had followed her out of the classroom.
But Kemi didn't stop.
She couldn't.
The world around her suddenly felt unfamiliar.
Nothing made sense anymore.
Nothing.
Not the unanswered messages.
Not the one tick on w******p.
Not Derinsola's absence.
Not the strange feeling she had carried since Monday.
Everything suddenly pointed toward a truth she desperately wanted to reject.
Her best friend was gone.
And for the first time, Kemi felt her heart break.
The pain was so sharp, so unexpected, that it seemed impossible to survive it.
Yet it was real.
Painfully real.
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