The Malediction

Chapter Three

Another week, another mysterious occurrence. This time, involving a girl named Esther Edwards.

She was found lying unconscious on the bathroom floor in the girls hostel. Fortunately, she was alive and breathing.

When rushed to the sick bay, the nurses discovered an injury on her left forearm. It seemed like a cut from a sharp object; probably a knife. The school authorities were pressured to take her to an actual hospital after she laid unconscious for days. After the 5th day, the decision was finally taken. Esther was transferred to the hospital.

Wednesday, the following week.

Bayo sat in his class listening to the lectures for the morning. The truth was, Bayo didn't hear a single word the teacher said. His body might have been in the classroom, but his mind and thoughts were elsewhere. He was too busy thinking about the past few weeks.

After Daniel's weird incident, Esther was next. Bayo frowned at the thought. He didn't know if anyone else could see it, but he sensed a pattern. Both students were found unconscious; both were found outside their dorms late; and they both had the same freaking injury. This was too much for a coincidence.

What if it's not a coincidence, Bayo thought. That meant someone else could be next. Whatever this was could attack everyone and even kill everyone.

Bayo ran his hands over his face in an attempt to calm down. His overly active imagination was taking over him.

It's probably just a weird coincidence, he concluded.

Nothing but a weird...

Just then, Bayo's eye caught a flash of red. He turned his head sharply towards the window at his right. From where he sat, which was closer to the front row, he could see the windows perfectly. The two windows, which were placed beside each other, gave a comprehensive view of school buildings outside the classroom. Most classes were built side by side with other classrooms. Bayo's class, however, was in a separate building. It was closest to the building where the Principal's office was, and one could also see the canteen in a distance. What Bayo couldn't see was the red object that he had sighted from the corner of his eye. He continued staring at the window, waiting for it to reappear.

As he looked on, he suddenly spotted someone's fingers appearing one by one on the window frame. Bayo frowned in confusion. The fingers looked really filthy, although the long nails were covered in red nail polish. Obviously a lady's fingers. At first, four fingers were loosely wrapped around the frame...then more fingers kept appearing. It was as if the person had ten fingers in one hand! What made it worse was the fact that no one else acted like they saw it; just the bewildered Bayo.

His eyes widened as flies from nowhere began to hover around the fingers.

What the fu...?!

"Mr man. Are you here with us?"

Bayo turned sharply.

The entire class was glaring at his sweaty face. Bayo glared back for a second, then turned to the window again. The multiple fingers, the flies...they were all gone. Like they never appeared. The look on Bayo's face was indescribable; a mixture of confusion, surprise, fear, and everything in between.

What the hell just happened?

"Young man." It was the teacher again.

"Are you sure you're in this class?"

Bayo looked at the middle aged Literature teacher. He tried his best to hold himself together.

"Yes sir," he finally replied. He even grinned.

"If you are, then can you tell the class...?"

Before he could complete his question, the bell rang. Lunch break.

The students all ran out like the class was on fire. Including Bayo. He couldn't stay in that class any longer.

"Don't forget to submit your homework first thing tomorrow morning!" The teacher called out.

No one cares, thought Bayo as he sped off.

***

The canteen was filled with hungry students when Bayo walked in. The aroma of delicious, spicy stew hung heavily in the air, taking hold of his senses. His grumbling stomach reminded him of the fact that he had skipped breakfast. He rubbed his tummy with a grin.

That's it, he thought. He remembered reading somewhere that extreme hunger could lead to hallucinations.

What I saw wasn't real, he concluded.

I'm not crazy; just hungry.

He grabbed a tray containing cutleries and joined the queue for lunch.

After 5 long minutes of waiting, he finally had his portion of the meal in his hands. Drooling over steaming hot, boiled rice and chicken stew, he scanned the hall for a free table. That proved to be a hard task; every single table looked occupied.

As he walked further, he spotted a free table at the far end of the hall. It had just one occupant though, and Bayo almost dropped his tray of food at the sight of the person.

Oh shit, thought Bayo.

Daniel sat at the only free table in the cafeteria, alone as usual. Bayo looked at his glum face and felt nothing but immense guilt. Thanks to him, Daniel had gotten a whole lot popular. For the wrong reasons, of course. Bayo had been totally avoiding him for a week. Though they were roommates, he had been sleeping in another dormitory. It was definitely a crime for one to sleep elsewhere other than their room, but the students knew how to go around that. Now, seeing Daniel sitting there looking at his food like that just made his heart break. It was all his fault, and he knew that pretty well. As much as he wanted to walk away, he knew he had to fix things. Besides, his lunch was getting cold and there wasn't any other table.

Bayo sighed and walked towards Daniel.

"Hey man," he said softly when he got there.

Daniel only stared into his cold food, but his hands folded into fists. That was definitely not a good sign.

"Listen." Bayo sat down and tried to reason with him.

"I want you to know that..."

"What the hell do you want now?" Daniel snapped. He didn't raise his voice; he never raised his voice. But Bayo didn't have any trouble recognizing the venom there.

"Haven't you already caused enough damage?" Daniel continued.

"Go look for someone else's life to ruin and leave me alone."

"Ah-ah na," Bayo pleaded.

"It hasn't come to that. We can still talk about..."

"Talk about what?" Daniel sat forward, resting his elbows on the table and lacing his fingers. His fiery brown eyes drilled into Bayo's soul.

"Talk about how you convinced me to follow you? Talk about how you refused to listen to me when I suggested that we should leave? Talk about how you left me to suffer alone after you caused all this?

We have absolutely nothing to talk about, Bayo. You're nothing but a fraud and a liar. A hypocrite that fools everyone else."

Bayo cringed at the words not because they were insults, but because they were true.

Daniel wasn't done though.

"For goodness sake, we're roommates!

But now you sleep somewhere else 'cause you're afraid to confront me. Seems like you're also a coward. Afraid to come face to face with the consequences your stupid decisions."

They both stared at each other in awkward silence. Daniel then sat back back and folded his arms.

"You know what? I don't even blame you. It's my fault. I'm the one who listened to your stupid..."

"Ok, ok. I get it. I'm an idiot and a coward." It was Bayo's turn to interrupt. He knew he deserved all the insults that Daniel spat at him. But it began to hurt his ego a lot. Daniel's burning gaze, on the other hand, didn't waver a bit. Bayo swallowed hard as he began:

"When I heard you were found close to the wall, I was scared. Scared that you'll rat me out. But you didn't. I'm still confused and surprised that you never told anyone that I convinced you to follow me. I knew I should have told the truth, but I was still terrified of the consequences. And you're right. I should have thought about that before doing something this stupid. I'm...I'm..."

Bayo took a deep breath and relaxed.

"I'm terribly sorry," he continued.

"I don't know how or if you'll ever forgive me. But I'm really sorry. I truly am."

The anger in Daniel was enough melt a block of ice. But there was something in that apology that calmed him. Especially as it came from Bayo.

Daniel had always thought him to be a proud, arrogant boy who was never remorse. Hearing an apology from him just reminded Daniel how much he needed to stop judging people from their looks.

Daniel gave Bayo one last suspicious look, then raised his hand in surrender.

"Whatever man," he said calmly.

It wasn't the reply he was looking for, but Bayo was ready to accept whatever came. As long as he wasn't mad anymore.

Daniel sat forward again, this time burying his face in his hands. Wednesdays were designated as sport days, and every student had an attire for the particular day.

The boys were to dress in a white polo shirt that carried the school's logo on the back, with black jean trousers and white sneakers. The girls wore the same white polo shirt with black skirts and white sneakers as well.

With Daniel's short sleeved polo shirt, his bandaged forearm was clearly visible and all Bayo could do was stare at it. He wanted to ask Daniel about it so bad, but he realized that it was sort of his fault that he got that injury in the first place. He didn't want to make him mad again, so he ruled against it.

Daniel, however, read his mind.

"If I told you how I got this..." he gestured towards his injury, "...you wouldn't believe me."

"Try me." Bayo persuaded. He leaned forward, looking at Daniel very seriously.

"The truth is, I don't even know how I got this," admitted Daniel.

"Everything surrounding that night is just so confusing. And the rumors going on about me aren't helping matters."

Bayo suddenly remembered what he saw in class earlier. He wondered if he told Daniel he'd also think he's crazy. Just then, the bell rang to signify break period was over.

Daniel was already up.

"I'll see you around then."

Daniel extended his hand towards Bayo. Bayo flashed his usual smile as he shook Daniel's hand.

All was forgiven.

***

Bayo didn't go to his class immediately after lunch period. Instead, he headed to the bathroom. The bathrooms in Emerald Secondary School were almost a distinct feature on their own. The room was huge to begin with, with large porcelain tiles covering every inch of the floors and walls. It had 7 stalls, and each stall possessed a state of the art water closet with complete ceramic toilet systems. White porcelain sinks with stainless faucets were installed into the walls directly opposite the stalls. Above the sinks were large mirrors that adorned the tiled walls, so that a student could look into them as they washed their hands in the sink. In short, the entire bathroom looked foreign. Just like the rest of the school. One often had the notion to feel pity for the cleaners 'cause they always kept it so tidy despite it being used by so many students.

The bathroom, however, was also the place where students indulged in guilty pleasures. They called it "The Sanctuary", because they could commit all sorts of crimes in there without getting caught. That didn't mean some weren't unlucky though. And, to avoid serious temptation, a girl's restroom was also built opposite the boy's. That, of course, didn't guarantee any naughty happenings from occuring.

Bayo whistled happily as he strolled into the bathroom, only for him to stop dead in his tracks. Right in the middle of the room were three boys standing close together. They all looked up in surprise when he walked in. One was holding up a black polythene bag, while the others were sniffing from it.

Hard drugs, Bayo realized. He immediately regretted going to the bathroom.

"Heisss!" One of them called.

They had looked frightened when he walked in. When they saw he was just another student, they regained their boldness.

"Come here," the same one curled his fingers back and forth, gesturing Bayo to walk towards him. Since it was Wednesday, everyone wore the same sports wear. So it was hard to tell who was in which class. But as Bayo walked towards the tall, mean looking boys, he already knew the classes they belonged to.

"Good afternoon, seniors." Bayo greeted when he got close enough.

In boarding schools, it was imperative to show utmost respect for the students above your class. Greeting senior students like they were teachers was actually very common.

"I was only going to ease myself," he explained.

"I'd pretend like I didn't see any..."

"Shaarraap!" The bully thundered.

His right hand moved so quickly that Bayo barely had time to think before it struck him. And it struck him hard.

Bayo staggered back, stunned.

The bully stepped closer to Bayo.

"You think say I no know who you be?" He spat in Nigerian pidgin.

"Who him be?" The second boy asked. He was quite restless, shuffling his feet from side to side occasionally.

"Na him take our girl na." The bully replied.

"Na him Esther dey date."

"Ehn?!"

The restless one became even more restless. As if the revelation made him boil.

"Where that knife sef? Make we carve hole for him stoopid body."

Knife? Hole? That didn't sound good at all.

"Please, wait." Bayo begged.

"Please don't hurt me. Please. I'll do anything you want. Anything!"

"All this one na grammar you dey talk." The third boy mocked Bayo in a hoarse voice. He turned to the bully.

"Make we drill this guy small na."

He brought a pocket knife from nowhere and flipped the shiny blade out.

Bayo gasped at the sight of the knife and looked at the bully. The others seemed to be waiting for his command on whether to skin him alive or not.

The bully rubbed his chin and grinned, obviously enjoying the fearful look on Bayo's face.

"You say you go do anything?" He asked.

Bayo, wanting to seize his chance to survive, nodded quickly like a lizard.

"Ok."

The bully came so close to Bayo that he could feel the heat of his breath. The strong weed smell from his mouth almost made Bayo puke.

"You better open your ears well," he warned.

"By 10 o'clock, make you carry your useless life come our room. We get work for you."

10 o'clock?

By then, everyone's supposed to be asleep. And anyone caught outside during that time was done for. Bayo could literally feel karma breathing down on him.

The other boys didn't really like the new plan.

"Wetin we wan use am do na?" The restless one complained.

"Make we just finish am for here."

"Relax," the bully assured.

"Na me go handle am. No worry yourself."

He turned to the cowering Bayo.

"I hope say you hear me?"

Bayo nodded hysterically again.

"Good."

The bully shoved Bayo out of the way as he made for the door.

His compatriots followed loyally, shooting mischievous looks at Bayo as they walked past. The bathroom was still and quiet when they finally left.

Bayo still clutched his bruised cheek as he walked to a sink. Leaning on it with both hands, he stared into the mirror. The bruise wasn't as bad as he thought, just a little swelling, although it still hurt a lot. Bayo scowled at his reflection.

He had always disliked SS3 students, now he hated them with every fibre of his being. They felt that because they were the most senior students, they could do anything they wanted and get away with it. The most painful part was that they usually did.

The boys were worse. Most of them were clueless, dumb, idiotic drug addicts that had poop for brains.

All they knew how to do was flunk grades and chase girls. Although the school was famous for having outstanding, brilliant students, this crop of air heads were the complete opposite. Not all were flops though, there were a few intelligent ones. It was the imbeciles like these ones that loved to show their stupidity.

Bayo continued staring into the mirror. These boys wanted to beat him up because he stole their girl.

Stole? He asked himself. As far as he was concerned, he didn't steal anybody. She wasn't even in their class. Both Bayo and Esther were in the same class, but different arms. Bayo was an art student in SS2B, while Esther was in SS2A; the science class. Yet the shameless baboons claimed he stole her. If Esther was what they wanted, Bayo was ready to personally hand her over to them if that'll make them leave him alone. He didn't want anything to do with something, or someone, they wanted.

Bayo sighed as he turned on the faucet.

"Foolish, incompetent goats," he murmured as he washed his face with running water.

Just then, footsteps were heard outside the bathroom door. Bayo's bent head shot up. He looked at the door in surprise. Teachers rarely went there, because they had their own restroom. But if a student was caught in the bathroom during learning periods without a permit, it could mean punishment. And, unluckily for Bayo, he had no permit on him.

The steps were loud and slow, the "koi koi" sound they made was a clear indication that it was a woman.

But what would a woman want in a boys restroom? Bayo wondered.

The footsteps got louder as they got closer. For a reason he didn't understand, Bayo's heart started beating much faster. He knew he felt something; like a strange negative energy. And he didn't like it one bit.

Then, the door opened slowly...

...and a student walked in casually.

Bayo sighed deeply.

It's just another student, he realized.

He quickly turned off the faucet and walked out. He had had enough of that bathroom for one day.

10:00pm, lights out.

While students were comfortable in their dorms, getting ready to doze off, one was making his way outside into the night. Bayo expertly got outside his room without waking his roommates. The boys dormitory was a large 4-storey building with several rooms, enough to contain all the male students. At least for the time being.

There was a no rule regarding which room one was assigned to; that depended on the hostel master.

Bayo had to climb the stairs because the room he searched for was in the 3rd floor. After walking painfully on his toes for a few minutes, he finally found it.

Room 60.

He knocked timidly on the door. It opened almost immediately, like someone was standing there waiting for him. The restless boy stood there, shirtless and grinning.

"Ah, you reach come?" He asked rhetorically. He knew quite well that if Bayo didn't make it, he was as good as dead.

Bayo flashed a fake smile, but said nothing.

"Wait small," the restless one said.

"Make I go call am."

2 minutes after the restless one went back into the room, the bully came out.

Also shirtless, he wore a smile that Bayo considered disgusting. He also held a bucket in his right hand.

"Guy, what's up na?" He said cheerfully. Like Bayo was his friend or something. He went straight to business.

"You see this bucket?" He raised the red plastic bucket for Bayo to see clearly.

"You go carry am fetch water for us. From the field," he added with a mischievous smile.

Bayo's smile slowly faded.

Fetch water? Students rarely used buckets because the bathroom had showers and there was always water. To make matters worse, he wanted Bayo to fetch water from the tap located beside the football field. Bayo suddenly realized that they didn't actually need the water. They just wanted him to get into trouble. And they knew he couldn't snitch on them 'cause that'll be the end of him.

"Oya now," the bully said hurriedly. He stretched the bucket towards Bayo.

"Hurry up and bring our war-ta."

Bayo looked at the bucket blankly. He wanted to run back to his room and hide under the sheets til morning.

But could he complain? He simply took the bucket and headed downstairs without a word.

"Hurry up oh," the bully repeated.

"And make them no catch you," he added with a snicker.

I'm screwed, Bayo thought.

In order to get to the tap, Bayo had to go past the teachers lodge and across the huge football field. That meant he had to run in the open, risking being caught by the security men who usually patrolled at night. He was able to sneak around the teachers lodge, which was a separate building on it's own. After successfully running across the field, he finally got to the tap, sweating and panting uncontrollably. It was placed on a concrete platform beside the field, made for players to wash up after a game. Still breathing heavily, Bayo walked up to the tap, placed the bucket underneath, and turned it on. He was careful not to open it fully, so as to prevent the noise it made when the water hit the bottom of the bucket. While the it filled up slowly, Bayo observed his surroundings for the first time. The wind was oddly strong, almost violent. It howled loudly as it blew past his ears.

Maybe it's about to rain, Bayo assumed. He wanted to get out of there before the heavens released the storm it held. Just then, the lights began to flicker. The school had bulbs at almost every corner; even the football field had tall poles that had light bulbs at their summit. It made the field come alive in the dark of the night. Now, that source of life seemed to waver. Bayo looked around him. Even the bulbs in the cafeteria building flickered in a distance. Finally, the lights went out.

"What the...?"

Except for the bright moonlight, everywhere around the panicking Bayo was completely dark. He couldn't fathom why he felt so uneasy. Yes, it was surprising that Emerald Secondary School was without power 'cause that rarely happened. But that didn't explain the uneasiness he felt. It was like a growing knot in his stomach. Something was wrong and he could feel it.

Bayo was too occupied with his feelings of anxiety that he didn't realize the tap had stopped working. He finally stared at the bucket. The water in it hadn't even reached halfway. He didn't care. He didn't care if the bullies beat him up or if they even crucify him. He just wanted to get out of there.

He grabbed the bucket handle, ready to face the consequences.

As he spun around, the sight that greeted him was not one he was expecting. Not even in his dreams.

A few feet away from him, a figure stood motionless in the semi-darkness. It wasn't the security guard, or one of the teachers who stayed in the premises. And it was definitely not one of the bullies who sent him. Although it was dark, there was just enough moonlight to see that it was a lady. The figure wore a red, sleeveless dress that barely reached the knees. On the person's feet were high heels of the same red colour. Her facial features were hidden behind the thick wild hair that completely covered her face. Generally, the lady looked tattered. Rough. Like she just found her way out of an evil forest.

Bayo gazed at the figure in front of him with wide, fearful eyes. When she finally spoke, her voice sounded like a hoarse whisper. Almost like a ghost.

"You've not been a good boy, young man," the lady said.

Something about the way she spoke made Bayo's heart beat faster in fear.

"You've been involved in...shenanigans that deserve proper discipline. Unfortunately, you didn't get the necessary punishment. Fortunately--", she sounded like she was smiling, "--that's why I'm here."

As Bayo tried to grasp all she said, the wind that had died down picked up pace again. It blew against the lady's face, revealing her hidden features. Bayo could clearly see her heavily scarred face. The left part was so badly injured that a hole appeared where her left eye used to be. Her right eye, in sharp contrast, glowed like embers from burning wood. Her evil smile revealed jagged teeth that looked hungry.

She looked like the typical horror movie character.

Then, she began to walk towards him.

All this time, Bayo was still as a log of wood. Shock and fear prevented him from moving. As she came closer, his senses finally returned, telling him get the hell out of there.

That became a problem. He couldn't move a single muscle! It was as if an invisible force kept him from running away. He could hear the lady's heels clicking on the concrete as she advanced towards him.

Koi, koi, koi, koi.

He stole a glance at the lady. That's when he noticed her left hand was longer than her right--

Wait. That can't be her hand, Bayo thought.

Bayo looked closely, and realized it was a weapon. A dangerous looking machete. And something sticky seemed to be dripping from it.

Bayo's frantic efforts doubled as he noticed the blade in her hand. Although she wobbled slowly, she was definitely getting to him. Trying to scream was futile, his mouth opened but nothing came out.

After several tries, he finally looked at the advancing figure in defeat.

His eyes teared up as the sound of her shoes got closer, and closer, and closer...

Koi, koi, koi, koi...

That was probably the last sound he'd hear before he died.

Then, the lady suddenly stopped. Just a few inches before his petrified self. She stood in full view, still wearing the evil smile. As she straighten up, Bayo could hear bones cracking very audibly. Then she spoke again:

"There's no escape for retribution, Bayo. It's for your own good."

Then all was quiet for about 2 seconds.

All of a sudden, she rushed at Bayo with unreal quickness.

A force from nowhere knocked Bayo off his feet, heavily onto the ground. Two people groaned painfully on the ground. Bayo's head was spinning, he had absolutely no idea what just happened. One minute, he was sure he was as good as dead. The next, he's on the floor alive, and next to...Daniel?!

Bayo propped himself on his elbows as he looked at his roommate with utter surprise.

"Daniel? Is that you?" Nothing seemed real to him anymore.

"You're welcome." Daniel retorted gruffly as he continued groaning.

Suddenly, the lights came back on. The field came back to life. Bayo looked around. No sign of the lady in red. She just...disappeared.

Before Bayo could even think of getting up, a flashlight pointed in his direction. Straight into his face.

"Heisssss!!! Wetin una dey find for there?" It was the security guard.

Shit, Bayo thought.

Busted.

The next morning, as early as 8 o'clock, the two boys were sitting in the Principal's office. Things were not looking good for both boys, especially Daniel, who had just finished serving his punishment about 24 hours ago.

As the boys waited for the Principal to decide their fate, Bayo suddenly burst out in laughter.

It was so sudden and so intense, that he already had tears in his eyes.

Daniel looked at his compatriot with irritation. When Bayo finally calmed down, he asked with his usual frown:

"Now what's so funny?"

Bayo wiped his eyes as he answered.

"Those boys . . . " he chuckled, " . . . will kill me for breaking their bucket."