For days, the Principal refused to send for me and I was scared to meet her as I didn't know what her reaction would be. But honestly,I was overjoyed. I spent those days doing what I wanted to do for a long time. After breakfast,I would either sleep until noon or walk about aimlessly before returning to the hostel or relax in the garden if no one else was there. For the first time, I was at liberty to do what I wanted and I LOVED IT.
I had gone the Principal's house a couple of times when I knew she wasn't in to apologize to Oliver since i hadn't seen her for some days now but she haf refused to answer me . So I decided to give her a break hoping she would forgive me eventually and things would go back to normal. I still went to the garden at night but it didn't feel the same anymore.I missed her presence,her laughs,her jokes, her everything, the night felt so empty without her.
Each time I heard the rustling of leaves or any sound at all,I would begin to look around and call out to her hoping it was her but it never was." Maybe she was still angry at me",I reasoned and sighed," But how long was she going to remain mad ?Was what I said that offensive that it made her stay mad for this long?",I often asked myself as I waited in vain for her. Those nights I would go to bed angry and wake up the same way," If she didn't want to be my friend anymore,she should just say rather than ghosting me", I told myself angrily one night as I went to bed .
Unfortunately,after a week and two days,the Principal sent for me . Just when I thought my misery was over,she decided to raise her ugly head again. Despite knowing I was running late,I sluggishly got ready as I didn't want to go early even though I knew it would piss her off. When I was finally ready,i walked without worries or haste to her office just to get on her nerves.
Arriving there at last,I walked in and took a seat without her telling me to and dumped my notes on her table despite her dead stare"You are late",she said,"I know" I replied indifferently. "You know!? I sent for you and you deliberately delayed yourself",she quried,"i didn't do it deliberately,i had things to do", i shot back," Are you talking back at me?",she asked slapping me. I held my cheek in pain and shock, nobody had ever slapped and it hurt . Tears began rolling down my cheeks and dropped on my laps as I bowed my head.
In my head,I cursed her bitterly but couldn't say a single word to her face. I wanted to leave her office and never come back but couldn't bring myself to do it,maybe because I was afraid or unsure of what meant be the outcome."Emily", I heard her call but I didn't answer,"Emily,why haven't you done your assignments?",she asked ,"Because they are as useless you",I replied in my head but said nothing to her or even looked at her.
Unexpectedly, I felt another sharp pain on my other cheek,she had slapped me again . Instinctively,my hands flew to the area she had slapped and I looked at her in shock. I saw her hand go up and was coming down speedily. Swiftly,I held her hand in mid air ,"Stop , Don't you dare hit me again",I said staring at her dead in the eyes fuming. I let go of her hand and walked off briskly ignoring her calls. I slammed the door on my way and continued walking briskly down the hallway.
That night,I sat under the tree but not in wait for Oliver but to cool down as the face off that morning still let me fuming. The cold wind blew gently across the garden causing the grasses and tree's leaves to dance slowly to its chilly melody. The night crawlers had been forced to early retirement that night which was quiet and felt still. The full moon shone brightly from the sky giving everything it touches a silver colour. They were few stars in the sky so the sky was almost bare. I sat under the trees shade enjoying the silver view.
I hide a familiar voice from behind me," Hello friend",the voice said. It started me but I quickly regained my composure when I realized it was her. I was s delighted to see her once more but I said nothing,"I'm sorry I ghosted you for so long,it wasn't nice of me. I was upset and wasn't thinking straight ",she apologized as she settled down beside me ,"Yeah,I'm sorry too for what I did",I apologized,"Hope you're not mad at me?",she asked but I said nothing,"Where were you all this time?",I asked ," I came to the garden every night but you didn't come?",I quickly added," I ,I...was...I was nowhere in particular,I was somewhere",she replied but I wasn't in the mood to push the matter.
She was finally here and that was all that mattered and the night felt whole again. I told her everything that happened those days she was absent. "You really need to work on your attitude that was rude of you, very rude",she scolded ,"She was getting on my nerves and I was really angry",I defended,"She was wrong to have hit you that much but you shouldn't have reacted the way you did. What you did could get you punished or worst expelled?",she said," Juding from your reaction my mum would definitely settle for the latter",she added.
The word expelled rang in my head over a dozen times causing my heart to race in my chest and my father's word began replaying in my head over and over again.
I stared at her with fear filled eyes ,"What do i do now?",I asked her,"It's simply actually, apologize sincerely",she said ,"Apologize? That was the last thing I wanted to do",I reasoned and told her so,"Then,enjoy your stay at home",she said . I thought about what she said," Isn't there another way?",I asked ," Nope",she replied." But I have never apologized to anyone before ,it sounds degrading ",I said not hiding my irritation and disapproval," Look,you either apologize or face expulsion.The choice is yours ",she said. The idea of apologizing didn't sit down well with me but thought of being expelled scared me . She could be right,after all,she was the Principal's daughter.