Suitors & Sweethearts

Chapter 10

THREE

Lara stared at her hands as the back of her throat burned.

What had she done? Propositioning her teacher had to be the most idiotic thing she’d ever done.

To have him reject her even so politely had to be the most embarrassing of all. How was she going to look him in the face tomorrow during the lesson? She couldn’t bring herself to look him in the face now.

She’d worked it out, figured since the first day something had been brewing between them. She could’ve staked her life on it.

See where the stupid gamble would’ve gotten her. Dead.

She wished she was dead right now. It had to be better than having to face him again.

She twisted her watch and her foot bounced against the mat on the floor of the car.

What had possessed her to just come out and say it? She’d known coming out with her feelings would be asking for trouble. Students and teachers were not allowed to get involved in a relationship. And throughout the months since she’d met him, he’d never behaved overtly in any way that would make anyone think he felt anything more for her than any other student.

But there had been moments, fleeting as they were, and perhaps more her imagination at the time, when she’d thought there must be more to both of them.

He didn’t give her any special treatment in class. But she still remembered her first week when he’d committed half an hour of his free lunch time everyday to teaching her so she could catch up on her school work. She’d scored quite high in the test and she had him to be thankful for it. No other teacher had given her that special dispensation.

Then, there was his age. At twenty-one, he was closer to her age than she’d originally thought. He dressed formally in school, always in a smart shirt and trousers, sometimes with a tie and suit jacket. So the outfit made him look older and authoritative.

She’d found out he was actually a university student on a one-year internship. She would be in university next year when he would be doing his final year. There, they could date. So what would be so wrong with starting a year early? That had been eating at her and it was what pushed her into this revelation here, at this moment.

Now, she couldn’t bring herself to look up at him. It had seemed so logical when she’d thought of it. Still, reality proved to be something else. She had overstepped the boundaries, and he was probably angry with her again.

“Lara,” he said in a gentle voice.

She froze but didn’t look up at him, afraid of what she’d see in his eyes.

“Look at me.”

When he spoke so sternly, she couldn’t help but respond. She lifted her gaze to his. In the dim car with only the street lamps permeating it, his expression was dark and intense. But he didn’t look angry. She exhaled a breath.

“I...I understand that you know how you feel. Your feelings are valid to you and I can’t tell you how to feel.” He took a deep breath and exhaled. “There can’t be anything between us. Surely, you understand that.”

His car had the AC humming but sweat still dripped down her back and between her breasts, plastering the white cotton school shirt to her slick skin. Her fingers drummed against her bag as her desperation took over. “Sir, why?”

She was acting like a stupid despondent person but she couldn’t help it. His words couldn’t be clearer. But surely, his action proved otherwise; coming to her rescue with Malcolm and telling her about his nightmares. They must’ve meant something.

“The fact that you’re addressing me as sir is reason enough. It implies that we’re not equals. That I have authority over you. That I can take advantage of you.”

She turned to him, hands fluttering, clinging onto this last verge of hope. “But you’ve never taken advantage of me. You’ve always taken care of me.”

“Lara, it’s my job to do so. I’ve never treated you any differently from the way I treat other students, and I can’t treat you any differently now.”

She rubbed the back of her neck. “Sir, I’m not asking you to treat me differently. I’m just asking you to love me.”

He was the only person she’d connected with in months. This whole school year. Yes, she got on well with Ada. But the girl was the picture of perfection. Perfect home. Perfect parents. Perfect life. Lara sometimes felt inadequate in comparison.

With Mr. Thomas, she knew he wasn’t perfect. Knew he hid his troubles beneath the confident exterior. Just like she did.

“Can’t you see what you’re asking for is too much? Do you even understand what a relationship with me involves? Have you ever had s*x?”

Her face heated up and she looked away. She remained a virgin. Was this the reason he rejected her? Did he want a more experienced girl? From the moment she’d fallen for him in her classroom that cool October lunchtime, she’d decided to save herself for him. Would he send her away because of it?

“I haven’t. I want you to be my first,” she muttered as her body trembled. “I’d never thought about s*x, never thought about being with anyone in that way until I met you. You make me feel things I can’t explain.”

His breath hitched and his grip on the steering wheel showed tight knuckles. The car slowed and stopped. She glanced out of the window. They’d parked alongside the wall surrounding her house.

He tipped his head back and closed his eyes, puffing out a heavy breath.

Her heartbeats became stronger and the sound of whooshing blood seemed loud in her ears. He was going to send her out of the car and leave her hanging. She wanted to climb above the console separating them onto his lap and cling onto him, begging him until he relented.

Opening his eyes, he turned to face her.

Her breath caught in her throat. Her mouth dried out at the consuming expression on his face. It was like that brief glimpse of the tortured boy she’d seen months ago.

This time, his eyes shone as if a light had been kindled behind his irises and his pupils appeared blown out. Leaning forward, he reached across and cupped her cheek, his palm warm and rough against her skin.

Her breath quickened as she pressed her face against his hand, relishing the tingles across her skin.

As he touched her skin, surely, he felt this same craving that vibrated through her body and threatened to drive her insane. Surely, he’d realised her feelings were genuine and he’d soon reciprocate it, sweeping her off her feet.

“This is a beautiful gift you are offering me. But I’m not worthy of it.” He dropped his hand, leaving her bereft of his touch. “I don’t love you.”

His words cut through her like a knife.

“What? You don’t mean it.” He couldn’t mean it. He was just trying to save her, surely.

She gripped his thigh as panic rose. She swallowed excessively, darted her gaze around the car and settled back on his face. Oh, God. Let him not mean it.

Oh, God. Let him not mean it. Her body felt like a dead weight and she couldn’t bring herself to let go of him and open the door.

Grabbing her hands off his body, he raised them above her lap before releasing them. “Lara, you understand that what we just talked about can’t go any further. You can’t tell anyone about it.”

A huge lump lodged in her throat and she couldn’t speak. She wanted to scream that it was unfair. But she nodded. The tears in the back of her eyes built up. Not wanting him to see her cry again, she grabbed her bag, pushed the door open, and ran across the road to the house gate. She’d disgraced herself enough. She banged on it until the gateman opened. Tears poured down her face as she ran inside.

Lola was standing outside chatting on her phone. But she put it down briefly.

“Is that Mr. Thomas’s car...?” She trailed off when she saw Lara tears. “What happened?” Lola asked, now looking worried.

Lara ignored her and walked into the house. Her aunt was already home and sitting in the living room. She called out. “Lara, is that you?”

Lara wiped her face with the back of her hand and cleared her throat. “Yes, Aunty. Good evening”

She took a step towards the stairs.

“Come here. Why are you home late?” her aunty asked.

Lara used the sleeve of her blazer to further wipe her tears so the woman wouldn’t see before walking into the living room. “I had late Prep.”

Judy glanced up at the wall clock.

“But you’re not usually home this late even with late Prep.” She turned around and scrutinised Lara’s face. “Why are you crying?”

She stood up and walked over to Lara. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she replied, biting her lip and struggling not to burst into further tears.

Lola walked in. “It’s not nothing, Aunty Judy. She was crying when she walked past me, and one of the teachers brought her home.”

“Shut up!” Lara shouted at her sister.

“Don’t shout at me! Is it not true? Didn’t I see you coming out of Mr. Thomas’s car?”

“Who is Mr. Thomas?” Judy asked.

“He’s my Geography teacher,” Lara replied, swaying her body as she clutched her bag close.

Judy’s eyes narrowed. “Why is this Mr. Thomas bringing you home? What did he do to you?”

Fresh tears stung Lara’s eyes as she remembered her conversation with her teacher.

“It’s nothing.” She turned around and ran up the stairs to her room and locked the door, flung herself on the bed, and cried for most of the night.

***

In the morning, Judy raised the question of what had happened the previous evening. Lara explained that she’d been harassed by some male students and Mr. Thomas had driven her home to ensure her safety. She managed to convince her aunt there wasn’t anything going on with the teacher. Judy bought her story. There wasn’t any reason for her story not to be accepted. Lara had never misbehaved before.

For the first time in a long while, the thought of going to school had her dragging her feet and chewing her lips. As they neared the school premises, a film of sweat coated her skin even though Judy’s car was cool from the AC.

The first lesson passed without trouble. School didn’t scare her—just the thought of seeing Mr. Thomas in her Geography lesson later that afternoon.

Before lunch, she got called into the Principal’s office. Mrs. Bello had come to get her.

Her stomach cramped and she twisted one of her braids around her fingers. Had Mr. Thomas reported her for misbehaving yesterday? He’d told her not to discuss it with anyone. Surely, he wouldn’t tell on her, would he?

Oh, God, she shouldn’t have said what she did to him. Now, she was going to be suspended or even thrown out of school only days before her final exams would start.

The knot in her stomach tightened and she fought nausea. “Is everything all right, Mrs. B? Have I done something wrong?”

“No, my dear. Don’t worry.” The woman must have seen the apprehension etched on her face and reached out to settle a hand on Lara’s shoulder.

She tried to push any panicky thoughts out of her mind. Mr. Thomas wouldn’t rat her out. Instinct said he wasn’t that sort of person. At least, she hoped so.

The principal’s office was a large white room with an oak desk. Mrs. Bello shut the door when they walked in.

“Come and sit down,” Mr. Idowu, the Principal, said. He was a stern middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair and a booming voice. None of the students liked to be called into his office.

But from his expressionless face, Lara couldn’t tell if she was in trouble or not. She sat on the edge of the chair he indicated and Mrs. Bello sat in the other one in front of the desk.

“It has come to my attention that there was an incident last night involving you and Malcolm Ibeh. Can you tell us what happened?”

Lara’s chest tightened and her clenched palms turned clammy. She darted her gaze at Mrs. Bello who nodded with an encouraging smile. Swallowing hard, she narrated what had happened when she’d left the school premises, how Malcolm and his friends had surrounded her, and how Mr. Thomas had come to her rescue sending the boys away.

“Then what happened after you got into Mr. Thomas’s car?” Mr. Idowu asked.

Lara bit her lip. She couldn’t possibly tell her them what had happened. She’d promised her teacher. “He drove me home, sir.”

“He just drove you home? Nothing else happened?”

Lara averted her gaze and lied. “Nothing, sir.”

Everything that had happened in the car had been instigated by her. If she confessed, she’d get into trouble. She couldn’t ruin her life just because of some stupid crazy things she’d done because she was in love.

“Okay. That will be all. You can return to your class,” Mr. Idowu said, waving her out.

Breath rushed out of her as she walked out of the office. It seemed that they’d bought her story. At least, this way, she hadn’t gotten herself or Mr. Thomas in trouble.

The hallways were full of students. She glanced at her wrist watch. Lunch time. Although she’d lost her appetite while sitting in the principal’s office, she headed towards the canteen. Most day students like her hung out there. The boarders sometimes headed back to the common rooms in their dormitories.

In the cafeteria, she spotted Lola sitting with a group of friends and waved at her. Her sister stood up and came to stand beside her in the line.

“Are you feeling okay?” Lola asked.

Lara nodded, thinking she was referring to last night. “Yes, I’m fine.”

“Even after everything going on?” Lola gave her a sad smile and stroked her arm.

Lara narrowed her eyes and angled her body away. Her sister hardly ever spoke to her in school. She certainly never made body contact if possible. “Yes, of course. Why?”

Lola shrugged. “Just checking that my big sis is okay. Catch you later.”

Lara’s gaze followed her sister as she walked back to her friends. A smile tugged the corner of her mouth. So strange for Lola to be so concerned about her. From the first day they’d arrived at Hillcrest, Lola had made new friends and she’d never needed her big sister.

In fact, Lola was one of the popular girls in her year group, if not the whole school. She was fashionable and pretty. The boys wanted to date her and the girls wanted to be her friend. Lola was in the drama club and the music club and she played netball.

Lara couldn’t act, sing, or play sports to save her life. But she was in the debate club and part of the school quiz team, so it wasn’t all bad.

She got some yam pottage with fried plantain and found a table to sit at to eat. Not long after she sat down, Ada came to sit beside her.

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” her friend said.

“Why?” Lara asked as she picked up a slice of friend plantain with her fork.

“There’s a rumour going around school about you. Is it true?”

Lara stiffened and dropped her fork. “What rumour?”

“That you had s*x with Malcolm Ibeh.”

“What? Where did you hear that?”

“I heard Gloria talking to Christy and the rest of her friends in the ladies toilet. They didn’t know I was in one of the cubicles.”

The little appetite Lara had rescued vanished and she pushed her tray aside. “You don’t believe them, do you?”

“Of course not, but that’s not the worst bit. They also said you slept with Malcolm’s friends, as well.”

Lara’s stomach rolled and she felt as if she was going to puke everything she’d just eaten. She snatched her bag and tray and dumped the half-eaten food in the bin before rushing off to the ladies.

What was Mr. Thomas going to think of her when he heard this ridiculous rumour? So this was why the Principal had called her in? They thought she’d had s*x with the other students. Well, at least, her teacher was in the clear.

In the ladies’, she waited until her nausea passed and she splashed some water onto her face. Ada met her in there.

“Are you feeling okay?” her friend asked.

“How am I going to cope with everyone looking at me as if I’m the school s**t?”

“Well, you should ignore them all. You and I know you didn’t do it, and anyone else who believes that you did is an idiot.”

“No.” How dare Malcolm do this to her because she’d broken up with him? She hadn’t even kissed, let alone had s*x. Lara rubbed a hand over her face as she paced the enclosed space. “I really can’t let this go. It’s my reputation on the line. I’m going to find Malcolm and make him take back the rumours he started.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,”

“Okay. I’ll come with you.”

“Thank you.”

They both went in search of Malcolm. Nose flaring, she held her chin up, daring any of the students they met to repeat the rumour to her face. Most of them avoided her gaze as she marched past.

Finding the rumour-monger proved difficult. Although Malcolm was in the same year as them, he was in a different class. They didn’t find him in canteen or classrooms, so they headed for the playground. Still no Malcolm or his friends. However, they spotted Gloria with her friends, sitting on a bench.

Ada walked over to them and Lara trailed behind. “Have any of you seen Malcolm?”

“Was he so good that Lara wants round two with him?” Gloria snickered and her friends laughed.

Lara gasped and glared at the girls. “I never slept with him.”

“That is a horrible thing to say,” Ada snapped, stepping closer to the group and eye-balling Gloria. “We all know that is a lie and whoever started the rumours will pay for it.”

“Are you calling me a liar?” Gloria retorted, tilted her nose up.

“If the shoe fits.” Ada squared up to her, hands akimbo.

“I’ll make you pay for that.” Gloria bristled, the smugness wiped off her face.

“I’d like to see you try, Princess. One day, you’ll get your just desserts for being such a b***h, and I hope I’m there to watch you fall from your tower.”

“Look, it’s enough, both of you.” Christy, one of Gloria’s friends, stepped in between them, raising her palms in each of their directions. “Malcolm is not in school. He’s gone home on suspension.”

“Really?” Ada asked in a shocked voice as Lara gasped.

“Yes,” Christy said. “Apparently, he’d been in a fight with someone. Not sure whom. Anyway, he came out of the Principal’s office with a b****y nose. We spoke to him and he said he’s been suspended. But we didn’t get the time to find out what had happened.”

“Wow.” Ada turned to Lara. “Karma was swift, wasn’t it?”

“It sure was.” Lara couldn’t help the bemused smile as her friend wrapped an arm over her shoulders as they returned to their classroom. “At least he’s not in school spreading lies about me, and I didn’t even have to confront him.”

At her desk, she slumped into her seat and blew out a shaky breath. She still had to deal with seeing Mr. Thomas in the next lesson.

The empty sensation returned to her belly as she took her book out and started reading it in preparation. She hoped they could move beyond what happened yesterday. Her birthday was coming up in a week’s time. Then she’d be eighteen. Her exams would be done in a month and she’d no longer be his student. There would no longer be a barrier between them.

In the meantime, she had to find some time to speak to him after the class and make sure he understood the rumours were a lie. She wouldn’t have s*x with Malcolm if he was the only boy in school.

When the student at the door announced that the teacher was on the way, Lara brushed back her hair to make sure it was neat and sat up straight in her chair.

Mrs. Bello walked in and the class stood up and greeted her. Lara peered at the door, expecting Mr. Thomas to walk in, but he didn’t. Was he running late?

“Good afternoon, class. I’ll be your Geography teacher for the foreseeable future,” Mrs. Bello said.

Jimoh raised his hand and the woman gave him permission to speak. “What about Mr. Thomas. Is he sick?”

“No. Mr. Thomas is not sick. He is unavailable at this time.”

“Is it true, Mrs. B? Has he been suspended?”

Lara’s head whipped back as she glared at Jimoh. What was he talking about? Mr. Thomas couldn’t be suspended.

Mrs. B sighed. “Yes, Mr. Thomas has been suspended pending a disciplinary hearing.”

Lara’s heart fell into her stomach as murmuring passed through the class.

“Quieten down. I don’t want you to worry about this,” Mrs. B continued. “Mr. Thomas is a grown man and he can take care of himself. Now, what topic did you cover last time?”

One of the students answered and the lesson began. But Lara’s mind drifted to everything that had happened today. The rumours in school, and the strange way the students had looked at her. Even her sister had come to talk to her when Lola never did before. And now, Mr. Thomas’s suspension. It all had to do with her and what happened yesterday. It had to be. It was all her fault.

If she’d found a way to shake off Malcolm, Mr. Thomas wouldn’t have needed to rescue her. If she hadn’t gone into Mr. Thomas’s car and confessed her feelings for him, he wouldn’t be in trouble with the school authorities.

He hadn’t done anything wrong. All he’d done was protect her, even when she was being ridiculous by confessing her love for him.

She should be the one suspended. She had to see him to apologise. She had to find a way to see him, but she didn’t know where he lived.

One person could help her. She glanced in Jimoh’s direction. He lifted his head and met her gaze with his brow c****d. She returned her gaze to her notebook.

After the lesson, she grabbed her things and cornered Jimoh in the hallway.

“I want to talk to you privately,” she said.

“Follow me to my office,” he said and swaggered off.

His ‘office’ turned out to be a secluded alcove between the buildings that backed onto the sports field.

“What can I do for you?” he asked, his back leaning on the wall and his hands shoved into his trouser pockets.

“I hear you’re the man that can get anything,” she said in a low voice.

“I am. I can get you whatever you want for the right price.”

She leaned forward and whispered in his ear. “I want Mr. Thomas’s home address.”

Jimoh sucked in a sharp breath and jerked his head back. “That’s going to cost you.”

“How much?”

“Fifty thousand Naira.”

“What? That’s too high.”

“Well, I’m the one taking the huge risk. If I get caught hacking into the school system, I’ll get expelled.”

“But I can’t afford such a high price. Will you do it for twenty-five K?”

“Okay. I’ll do it for twenty-five, but I want all the gist about Mr. Thomas when you see him.”

She was so relieved he agreed that she just said, “Deal!” and they shook on it.

It took her about a couple of weeks to save up the first ten thousand that he wanted up front before he would get the information. She had to raid her savings and take it from the money she was given for transportation and lunch. She had to pack a sandwich from home instead of getting cooked lunch at school. And she walked home instead of taking the bus, although Lola paid her fare a couple of times.

Two weeks after Mr. Thomas’s suspension, she still hadn’t heard any news about him, and he wasn’t back in school. Her birthday was in two days and her exams were scheduled to start in two weeks, and she really wanted to see him soon.

That evening, she got a text from Jimoh asking for her to bring the rest of the money into school the next day. She was so excited, she hardly slept.

As soon as she got to school, she sent Jimoh a text and they met up in the library. She gave him the money and he gave her a slip of paper. She tucked it into her pocket.

Throughout her lesson, she couldn’t wait for it to be over, knowing that she was finally going to see Mr. Thomas again.