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3pm
D: (Approaches slowly, looking uncomfortable). Good afternoon.
L: (Glances up briefly from her laptop). Good afternoon (continues typing).
D: I want to submit my assignment. Please, I was not feeling too well, that’s why I am here at this time.
L: Dr N said 12 pm was the deadline. I can’t collect it.
D: Please. Please, help me. I was really sick this morning, and still am. I have really bad cramps (D sounded like she was close to the point of tears)
L: If I collect yours, that means I’ll need to collect the assignments of other people that came after 12 too. I know they are around somewhere. I can’t collect it.
D: Please. I’m really begging you. This is the only reason I came to school today. I have really bad cramps.
L: (Getting more frustrated and remaining unmoved). Go and tell Dr N, please.
(D left the class feeling dejected. She had woken up with awful menstrual cramps and simply could not stand, much less walk, until around 1 pm. Immediately she had enough strength, she rushed to school. The 20 minutes trip from her house off campus was torture.
As she stepped out of the class, her classmates rushed toward her.)
Classmate 1: What did she say?
Classmate 2: She did not collect it?
Classmate 3: I knew she would not collect it. So wicked.
(Yes, wicked. D agreed that L was wicked. If not, why would L reject her assignment when she was clearly sick. She leaned against a wall as a wave of abdominal pain hit her. The pain was so unbearable that she slid down the wall. Tears welled up in her eyes. D remembered completing her assignment two days before. She also remembered ironing her clothes last night. Her intention was to leave home at exactly 8 am this morning and be back by 9 am since she had no lecture. Life was so unpredictable.
More classmates gathered around her, consoling her, as she now had tears streaming down her face. Some cursed L for being so inconsiderate. Others advised D on what she should have done.)
Classmate 4: Since you knew that you had cramps, you should have sent your assignment to someone so that they will help you print and submit it.
Classmate 5: Abeg, shut up! What are you even saying? Do you think she’s in the right frame of mind to have been thinking like that? Please, leave this place if you have nothing better to say. Idiot.
Classmate 6: We don’t need arguments here. What are we going to do now? I have also not submitted it because Dr N said 12, and I came after that time. I didn’t try to give L my assignment because I can’t be begging the proud girl. (This person is a friend of Student 21) Should we all go and meet Dr N?
Classmate 7: I was too scared to submit because I also came late, and…
Classmate 8: Yes, me too. I think…
Classmate 9: No o, that’s not a good…
(D listened to her fellow students, those who were in her shoes and those who were off the hook. They advised, criticised, planned, and consoled.
However, one thought permeated D’s mind. It was a deep hate for L who showed no mercy. She was never going to forgive L. At around 3:57 pm, D stood up with the intention of heading home. At this time, she also made another decision).
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These are 500 words (or more ?)! Talk to you tomorrow!
As a way of being accountable, please, know that I wrote this on the 12th of May 2022. To understand this narrative, start from Part 1.