THE REVENGE

Chapter 1 (Rose) it was a cold breeze penetrating my room. I lay helplessly, shouting and trying to run away from strangers who were after me. In my dream, I was climbing a tree in the bush, trying to stretch one hand to another branch to avoid falling. Something pulled me down and circled my legs. When I looked to see what had made me fall, I saw a trap set with fire. Smoke filled the air, and trees that had been set ablaze fell, spreading fire within seconds. I started coughing, trying to free myself from the trap to save my life, but I couldn't. I gave up. Some minutes later, I heard footsteps coming toward me. I raised my head to see who was approaching. My vision blurred, and I saw two figures heading in my direction. They stopped where I lay on the grass. One of them commanded the other, "Take her away." Before the other person could carry me away, I passed out. Immediately, I woke up to Hazel tapping me. I jumped out of bed and screamed, thinking the dream was real. Students in the hostel rushed to my room to see what was wrong, but they returned to their rooms when they got no response. Hazel asked if everything was okay, looking worried. I assured her I was fine and walked her out. Looking at my watch, I realized it was already morning, which made my heart skip a beat because I was late for my lecture. I brushed my teeth, took a bath, and got dressed. Trying to recall my nightmare, I headed to class. Everyone was settled in class before I arrived. I quickly sat down, getting ready for the lecture. There were rumors that a new professor would be transferred to our school. Nobody in my class seemed bothered about what the professor might look like. Some students were gossiping, playing games, or chatting. Finally, she has good morning p arrived, and someone said, "Here she comes." The class fell silent as they looked at the girl wearing a black long gown, looking stranded. The students burst out laughing, making the girl feel ashamed. One of the gossipers, Avery, pointed at her and asked in a mocking tone, "What happened to your uniform?" Julianne ignored her and went to take her seat. As she was about to sit, someone from behind kicked her, and she fell down. Julianne cursed and called the person who kicked her a coward for not revealing themselves. "If you're not afraid to admit it, show your face. But if you can't, just don't bother hiding." As Julianne was about to leave, Lola flared up in anger. "Hey, who do you think you are?" Lola stood up, placing her hands on her waist. "If I am the one, what will happen, huh?" Julianne laughed and said, "You're guessing. Let's not assume you're the one." Julianne turned to leave, but Lola called out, "Wait, I'm the one. Now that I've admitted it, what are you going to do? Beat me with your filthy hands?" Before Lola could finish, Julianne slapped her. The whole class gasped. Julianne slapped Lola again, twice, making her fall down, breathing heavily in anger. Lola managed to get up, supporting herself with a chair, and tried to raise her hands to hit Julianne. Instead, Julianne punched her in the nose. The two started fighting. Students were screaming, running across the class, while others were busy breaking things. Some students hailed both Julianne and Lola, enjoying the entertainment. Rose moved to a far distance to avoid trouble and watched the incident unfold. Thinking to herself, Rose wondered whether she should escape or not. If one of the professors came in and found the class in this situation, the whole class would be punished for not reporting the incident, especially the class prefect. As Rose was trying to make her escape, Hazel came behind her and called out, "Rose, what's going on?" Rose replied, "As you can see, I'm trying to escape. If you'll excuse me, I have to make my escape. Catch you later." Rose winked. Hazel asked, "But what if you get caught? Remember what the school authority said about wandering around during lessons." Just then, the professor entered and shouted, "What's going on here?" Everyone paused, and Hazel asked Rose in a low tone, "Is he the new professor?" To be continued... Nchekwube Anne Okoye 💙💎