Five years ago,507Please respect copyright.PENANAwtyHLSrPK3
February 13th, 2010.507Please respect copyright.PENANAjoAnYxClhc
Mpunde Girls Secondary School,507Please respect copyright.PENANAL3KHxF06pS
Zambia.507Please respect copyright.PENANA4DoBrpxi2T
I gasped for air as I 507Please respect copyright.PENANAtPCc9qny7u
quickly sat up on my bed, holding my burning throat and feeling my lungs507Please respect copyright.PENANA4Z76An8ycq
ache as air quickly flooded in. For a moment, I thought I was drowning 507Please respect copyright.PENANAFGSqdn66LV
in water, but I was actually taking in air. I coughed out a little and 507Please respect copyright.PENANAHhN279oxYu
opened my eyes. The lights in the dorm were all turned on and the bunker507Please respect copyright.PENANAu6ktnHO3Zy
beds were all empty. For a moment, I panicked as I quickly got out of 507Please respect copyright.PENANAqtpejr7yN8
bed on the bunker bed below, looking around the dorm. There was no one 507Please respect copyright.PENANADXLaAqmQce
and I felt scared and worried. I quickly looked out of the window and I 507Please respect copyright.PENANAiHosaGy5LR
realised that the sun was rising up from the east. I couldn’t help but 507Please respect copyright.PENANAjxtEwXrAJl
sigh in relief, but then again, I realised that I was running late and 507Please respect copyright.PENANAjVdkHgw2k3
my dorm mates were obviously hitting the showers in the ablution. And I 507Please respect copyright.PENANAIPk5W545kS
was the only one left in the dorm.507Please respect copyright.PENANAiQYzPxWddp
I quickly grabbed my 507Please respect copyright.PENANA1cthHcmXK1
toothbrush, toothpaste, my bath towel and cloth. Quickly slipped my feet507Please respect copyright.PENANACWe2M3q31Q
into my bath slippers and when I turned around the corner of my bunker 507Please respect copyright.PENANATGelRsio3h
bed to grab my bucket, I realised it wasn’t there. I sighed, this time 507Please respect copyright.PENANA5ImvoQ8iNQ
in frustration.507Please respect copyright.PENANAgb1sz54Pu7
Obviously because I knew507Please respect copyright.PENANAvc8Kn1Nppv
who took it. If it wasn’t my bunker mate, then it was probably one of 507Please respect copyright.PENANAudnsQGIHfO
the dorm mates. In my nightdress, I rushed out of the dorm and headed 507Please respect copyright.PENANAcTPbfrhphl
for the ablution. The ablution was one place where I found it so 507Please respect copyright.PENANAM9H6qJBS3p
repulsive to be in. Despite it being cleaned every day, it was always a 507Please respect copyright.PENANAIsNIuNn8Yf
surprise how it gets messed up and flooded afterwards. When I mean 507Please respect copyright.PENANAcQyy1jT27X
messed up, I mean the toilets is one thing you wouldn’t like to see 507Please respect copyright.PENANAtIvj8kqvdq
first after you eat a meal. For a moment, I wonder if we really are 507Please respect copyright.PENANA4r729eX3TN
girls or sometimes we act like boys who like to leave a mess. We are 507Please respect copyright.PENANA7auyy2PA2a
“GIRLS” for crying out loud. And as far as I know, we need to take care 507Please respect copyright.PENANA62DzAdz7TY
of ourselves and the environment around us. Looks like being in boarding507Please respect copyright.PENANAdMqDVQ5KAs
school, you get to know that sometimes things aren’t always what you 507Please respect copyright.PENANAPvb5AWKYfC
thought it ought to be.507Please respect copyright.PENANAK6uWqRh7ny
On either side of the 507Please respect copyright.PENANAg7423yWRmn
ablution were the shower side and the toilet side. In between was a 507Please respect copyright.PENANAEkbLtTxDhf
passage where people could move around and line up their buckets to get 507Please respect copyright.PENANArQ4wYJeIQZ
into the shower cubicles. When it gets flooded, it’s pretty hard to move507Please respect copyright.PENANAOt5fBsC9LQ
around and many people have slipped and fallen. Trust me; it’s not a 507Please respect copyright.PENANAMXRAnL2gI9
pretty sight when you see someone falling on their back into the water, 507Please respect copyright.PENANAr9cH3WQoIv
which was probably dirty. Luckily for me, that hasn’t happened, yet. I 507Please respect copyright.PENANAORtbbTZ7M7
wasn’t pushing my luck on that one. One day, I would probably fall and 507Please respect copyright.PENANA7G4RZSY95S
hopefully I wouldn’t break my bones in the process. At the far end of 507Please respect copyright.PENANAXiXidHGE0B
the ablution were sinks where you can go and brush your teeth and wash 507Please respect copyright.PENANAByKHCdkj91
your face. And by the corner was a store room where we kept the cleaning507Please respect copyright.PENANAif04vrOvdu
materials for the ablution.507Please respect copyright.PENANAMxxN6PpHAH
I stood by the door of 507Please respect copyright.PENANAhxbvsOJUvv
the ablution, and as usual, there were queues of buckets all lined up, 507Please respect copyright.PENANAGWJgsknaHp
their owners standing beside them waiting for the shower cubicles to be 507Please respect copyright.PENANATHXerQFUqk
vacant. I looked around for my bunker mate and I couldn’t see her on any507Please respect copyright.PENANAmgEY8qM5iP
of the queues. I considered her to be in the shower and so I went by 507Please respect copyright.PENANAV9CRczjSiQ
the sink to brush my teeth. The ablution was flooded again and so as 507Please respect copyright.PENANA56onTOgmcU
always I had to be careful, taking a step at a time.507Please respect copyright.PENANAqdUMXMO8DE
When I finally got to 507Please respect copyright.PENANAcbiKfbT2re
the sinks, all in one peace, I suddenly felt a jolt of pain in my head 507Please respect copyright.PENANApwkCtrQWuf
as though I was just struck by lightning. It felt more like a migraine 507Please respect copyright.PENANAY5jWnlYKYA
and I held my head, almost screaming out in pain. I saw a dark image 507Please respect copyright.PENANAMEKoAPmyWs
flash before my eyes and for a moment, I thought the lights went off and507Please respect copyright.PENANAIoYUgxEdBo
come back on. But when I looked around everything around the ablution 507Please respect copyright.PENANAOc5WNljBV7
seemed to be normal. Usually when the power cuts, we girls like to 507Please respect copyright.PENANAmJj6luLCSK
scream, a lot, except for a few of us who are already used to the dark. 507Please respect copyright.PENANAG4jthqS0fX
This time, that wasn’t the case. Everything seemed normal and I felt 507Please respect copyright.PENANA9QWfIHyTKV
maybe I was being delirious.507Please respect copyright.PENANAASS82Pwz41
“Hey, Diana, are you okay?”507Please respect copyright.PENANACfyq9GoDWs
I turned to the last 507Please respect copyright.PENANAqLr93g8cGj
shower cubicle which was closer to the sinks, and there wrapped up in a 507Please respect copyright.PENANApIIlIM0hyI
pink towel stood my bunker mate, Christine. And just as I expected, she 507Please respect copyright.PENANAaPeSEDGxBu
was holding my bucket. She slowly walked over to me, trying to avoid the507Please respect copyright.PENANA9WIhvsvurC
dirty ablution water from flowing into her bath slippers.507Please respect copyright.PENANAIEOXYizOdZ
“Are you okay? It looks like you just saw a ghost,” Christine had a worrying look on her face.507Please respect copyright.PENANAlgkkVy1R5Y
“No, I’m fine, just a little ache in the head, that’s all,” I replied, trying to act normal when I really wasn’t.507Please respect copyright.PENANACFdWfMTEaj
“You had me worried, I thought you saw something like a ghost.”507Please respect copyright.PENANA6KblVJGwyP
“You know I don’t believe in such things as the ghosts that haunt people around school.”507Please respect copyright.PENANAmFIhzol0SN
“Well, you better believe. One day it might just visit you,” Christine said that with a laugh. All I did was scowl back at her.507Please respect copyright.PENANA8ikzg2Mges
“What happened to you 507Please respect copyright.PENANA7NN3UDLla5
today, anyway? You’re usually the first to wake up when the morning bell507Please respect copyright.PENANArWuwIEkQo8
rings. But today you slept like a rock,” Christine added on, this time 507Please respect copyright.PENANA0SfPpq4Gv7
there was a concerned tone in her voice.507Please respect copyright.PENANAuoRDwGlgAM
It hadn’t occurred to me507Please respect copyright.PENANAVCrH8RfemW
that I had never heard the morning bell in the first place. I was 507Please respect copyright.PENANA84Xiqd70kd
always the early bird and I was never a heavy sleeper. I was always 507Please respect copyright.PENANAuwXlZBxE2g
sensitive with whatever sounds I get to hear. But today, I hadn’t even 507Please respect copyright.PENANAI7VmSbMuw7
heard my own dorm mates’ footsteps as they always rush out and into the 507Please respect copyright.PENANANZjwCw2Ze2
dorm.507Please respect copyright.PENANA4MPNNNJQJd
“I guess today just wasn’t my day,” I replied, shrugging my shoulders.507Please respect copyright.PENANAr9aLUzufxF
“Well, you better hurry 507Please respect copyright.PENANA0l8hqhC0bZ
up then,” said Christine, handling the bucket over to me, “you don’t 507Please respect copyright.PENANAVCgRgzv6Hy
want to be caught by the prefects when it’s time to clean up the 507Please respect copyright.PENANABZmxSj2LOd
ablution. And that’s not how you want to start the day.”507Please respect copyright.PENANApVA2YvgmFA
I scowled again as I 507Please respect copyright.PENANAu8QxvPg6E7
took the bucket away from Christine. As I mentioned earlier, the 507Please respect copyright.PENANAIG0B6P7SUS
ablution always get cleaned. And we the pupils clean it with the senior 507Please respect copyright.PENANASYFKV0xlpy
prefects as our supervisors. At 6:30 AM, everyone should vacate the 507Please respect copyright.PENANAJAl1pn2E9D
ablutions so that the assigned group of pupils put to clean up the 507Please respect copyright.PENANAXgRKHUR1fA
ablution should do their work. If you’re caught still in the showers, 507Please respect copyright.PENANAFONWzbS4cK
you would obviously have to join in the cleaning process. And that 507Please respect copyright.PENANAN9003ERsT5
proves to be twice as difficult when you know you’re also assigned to 507Please respect copyright.PENANA8RteoObwat
another area to clean in school. As soon as I finished brushing my 507Please respect copyright.PENANASUr1YIehgR
teeth, I quickly got out of the ablution to fetch water by a nearby tap.507Please respect copyright.PENANAuRLyqKP7Kb
Most of the showers never worked in the ablution, henceforth, fetching 507Please respect copyright.PENANAtlxPgus0NK
water outside.507Please respect copyright.PENANAwhunjheFjv
Luckily, for me, there was no queue and I did things as fast as I could.507Please respect copyright.PENANAcUPA0atknZ
Afterwards, I went back into the ablution and quickly found a vacant cubicle.507Please respect copyright.PENANAoQDUV3PJf2
After getting cleaned 507Please respect copyright.PENANAdjqB5lR5vy
up, I wore my beige school uniform, clean white stockings and I had my 507Please respect copyright.PENANAkhpLWfA022
black shoes, neatly clean and polished. I looked at myself in the mirror507Please respect copyright.PENANAbx0Zn0HGbu
and made sure my short afro hair was neatly combed. I had cut my long 507Please respect copyright.PENANAZEccBkEEPi
hair a year ago before coming to this missionary school. As usual, one 507Please respect copyright.PENANAJB0yqqFfyT
of the rules was not to come with long hair, especially if was it was 507Please respect copyright.PENANAI7Nv7KmEng
permed. They strongly insisted on natural hair. I had to cut my hair 507Please respect copyright.PENANAEv2kt46VBq
when I was going into grade 8 and I felt it was pretty unfair. But after507Please respect copyright.PENANAei3dnw2VuE
that year, I kind of got used to it. Surly they were just trying to 507Please respect copyright.PENANAMzdRH9pNdR
promote equality amongst us, but there were a lot of things I never 507Please respect copyright.PENANANqQuKw7vef
found amusing in this school.507Please respect copyright.PENANAi6pAuFvUhF
Mpunde Girls Secondary 507Please respect copyright.PENANAIRuTL1VPvh
School, a Catholic school run by the Hand Maid Sisters. Located in the 507Please respect copyright.PENANASqmBpBrQOA
Central Province of Zambia in the town of Kabwe, but pretty much away 507Please respect copyright.PENANAITnghwZdnb
from civilisation. When I say that, I mean the school is located far 507Please respect copyright.PENANAuu3j9AUA99
away from town and deep into the bush. It’s located in the farthest 507Please respect copyright.PENANAsPVELxuCNt
rural part of Kabwe.507Please respect copyright.PENANA79Y6QmEbZ8
When I first came to 507Please respect copyright.PENANA7Zdsjvtp2m
this school to write an aptitude test to go into grade 8, I was greeted 507Please respect copyright.PENANAaradKZ8Zgx
by the lovely surroundings of the school. The lawns of the school were 507Please respect copyright.PENANA377ghrN82h
properly well cared for, and there were beautiful flowers everywhere. A 507Please respect copyright.PENANAKeQEiu7Bbl
beautiful Catholic church was situated right outside the school grounds,507Please respect copyright.PENANAFqVJjbYAiJ
meant for the local people that lived around that area and for us 507Please respect copyright.PENANA1dJwZon3DD
pupils. The attractive colours painted in different Catholic symbols, 507Please respect copyright.PENANAwh7LuPxVyi
inside and outside the walls of the church were astonishing to look at. 507Please respect copyright.PENANA8fxlGOJztE
It looked more like art in my eyes.507Please respect copyright.PENANAuWPtwYLuTA
At that moment, I 507Please respect copyright.PENANA988sz2v3hn
thought things were going to get better in my life. The school was 507Please respect copyright.PENANAS5tKU9eA28
beautiful and the Catholic sisters and teachers who introduced 507Please respect copyright.PENANA2eRmPGH0UX
themselves to us girls and our parents, seemed so kind. And I was 507Please respect copyright.PENANAslgHzo4vmX
Catholic, so attending mass wasn’t much of a big deal. I thought I was 507Please respect copyright.PENANAe7pkTY78th
going to love this place and make it more like my second home. But 507Please respect copyright.PENANAEVfgzLzvHt
things weren’t the case when I got to know the school a whole lot 507Please respect copyright.PENANAhBvT8gArPQ
better. I remember a certain friend of mine back home tell me that,507Please respect copyright.PENANARig7ArYRXg
most Catholic girl schools in Zambia were highly recommended because 507Please respect copyright.PENANAU0so2htmfm
the Sisters were strict and pupils are disciplined. As far as I had 507Please respect copyright.PENANAIwJf4QXw2i
known, most Sisters were meant to be kind and loving, not strict and 507Please respect copyright.PENANANwi8t7UR1R
mean. It looked like I had been stuck in oblivion for quite a while in 507Please respect copyright.PENANAFjNvuVGfm7
my life, that when I got to know what my friend truly meant, it was like507Please respect copyright.PENANAe8sZSNqTry
a hammer blow to the head. One's thing for sure, I didn’t like this 507Please respect copyright.PENANAbr986M9hiy
school. Every time we begun a new term, I would pray for the three 507Please respect copyright.PENANA3XVOUUbOtc
months to pass by quickly. Whenever I came back home, it felt like I had507Please respect copyright.PENANACgV4TTFCGe
just come back from a beat-down, and as usual, losing the match every 507Please respect copyright.PENANAOGLuG8Oxs5
time.507Please respect copyright.PENANAoAoGWt7zp7
The school was strict 507Please respect copyright.PENANAH3PsILXNlS
and on point with their rules, I felt like a minion under their control.507Please respect copyright.PENANAgxdYgUgFnO
Any little offense you make, they will take you as an offender. They 507Please respect copyright.PENANABpwOlgADLP
were strict with how you kept the rooms and the surrounding areas clean.507Please respect copyright.PENANA1Ma1a16wYX
If they found that nothing was clean or things were out of place, 507Please respect copyright.PENANAtaWD4mE0Do
whether in the dorms or in the surrounding areas, either one of the 507Please respect copyright.PENANACjwn2xDWvN
sisters or one of the teachers on duty, would call the pupils assigned 507Please respect copyright.PENANAqp2zBHUNvP
to cleaning the area or the dorm, out of class to go back and do their 507Please respect copyright.PENANAS14ShSZxCI
work properly. And by the end of the day they are given a punishment, 507Please respect copyright.PENANA5XqFuWOJ9c
which was usually to weed the garden, clean the poultry shack or sweep 507Please respect copyright.PENANAMtWPrQFOdE
up the leaves in the orchard. To me, that’s like working twice as hard 507Please respect copyright.PENANAwXY8BVdIsM
as you usually do on a daily basis. There was nothing you could do about507Please respect copyright.PENANAaq6vj6Z6vN
that anyway. That wasn’t the only that ticked me off sometimes. Most 507Please respect copyright.PENANAppTAy3FXZS
prefects were mean and complete jerks towards us. It’s even much worse 507Please respect copyright.PENANAUpleJ4DdEn
when you were in a lower grade. That meant more work, and if things 507Please respect copyright.PENANAg4viKNGqM8
weren’t done right, punishment in the worst way, cleaning up the 507Please respect copyright.PENANAeuNwR6M0Q9
disgusting ablution or weeding the entire garden, with your hands. And 507Please respect copyright.PENANAPbHbRcwltw
they always had a special day to punish offenders. If you know you were 507Please respect copyright.PENANAwC1qY1Ktgk
late for classes or attending meals and your name was written in any of 507Please respect copyright.PENANAzg1YNRTjgA
the prefect’s books, just know you will find yourself on the offender’s 507Please respect copyright.PENANAk3J8IvwOj7
list which is always stuck on Thursdays. That means after classes on 507Please respect copyright.PENANArYa6c1iDcf
Thursdays, the first thing you would want to see first is if you’re on 507Please respect copyright.PENANANYjRPh3Ahz
the offender’s list. If you aren’t, then it’s just a time to relax. If 507Please respect copyright.PENANAPZa0fVgNpa
you are on the list, get ready to thoroughly clean up the whole school, 507Please respect copyright.PENANAclzHpnpqRq
you aren’t going to get off that list so easily if you didn’t work. 507Please respect copyright.PENANAeFxEdVeIbC
You’ll just find yourself on the other week’s offenders list.507Please respect copyright.PENANAFWi9u8if7C
Enough about what ticks 507Please respect copyright.PENANAdXrziXFFCn
me off in this place. It was 7:00 AM and that meant it was time to get 507Please respect copyright.PENANAzfLX9FR0na
to work. The way we were allocated to our places of work is according to507Please respect copyright.PENANARggsn3F08x
dorms. There are 10 dorms in school. The size of the dorm also depends 507Please respect copyright.PENANAOEkiWcyVKl
where you’re allocated to work. For example, the second biggest dorm 507Please respect copyright.PENANAUZaTqL7mPy
called Dolores, which I’m in, usually worked in big places like the 507Please respect copyright.PENANAAq0wnBbG1S
orchard. And smaller dorms like Xavier A, usually worked in smaller 507Please respect copyright.PENANAjr0Rve3JD4
areas like the kitchen area or the ablutions.507Please respect copyright.PENANABJO6dJiRnU
It was time to go to the507Please respect copyright.PENANA9oqr423xh2
orchard, and as usual, we were always greeted by the sight of leaves 507Please respect copyright.PENANA8cyJgAuVnf
everywhere in the morning. Most of the time, people would usually sweep 507Please respect copyright.PENANAbwrAFeVqOI
up the leaves with a rake, but here, we would use brooms made up for the507Please respect copyright.PENANAlyTiO8K2wu
strongest tree branches. It was more than enough to sweep up the 507Please respect copyright.PENANA0liGUnh4Yw
leaves. So, we got to work with the brooms. Since there weren’t enough 507Please respect copyright.PENANAD4OiaDK88P
brooms, most of us had to wait until one finishes her potion and gave it507Please respect copyright.PENANAdXTFLYLmsO
you. I was one of those waiting today and I stood under a tree. 507Please respect copyright.PENANAofhGW4hD7n
Christine came up to stand beside me. Our dorm prefect, Chileshe, stood 507Please respect copyright.PENANABgdKlGpp86
in front of us, doing her duty, to supervise.507Please respect copyright.PENANAAQBiUUgEee
“Hey, are you going to tell me why you couldn’t wake up today?” Christine asked, nudging her elbow to my side.507Please respect copyright.PENANANlbUTFMDcp
“I don’t know,” I replied. “And you are such a bad bunker mate. You couldn’t even wake me up.”507Please respect copyright.PENANASSA4A9Zwwr
“Huh?” Christine looked confused as she looked at me. “I tried to wake you up, but you were as still as a rock.”507Please respect copyright.PENANAXz31N2GndU
I now stared back at Christine with a frown. “Are you sure? I didn’t hear you at all.”507Please respect copyright.PENANAtgDB2fHdfl
“Not only did I call out to you, but I shook you too. You didn’t even budge at all. It was like you were dead or something.”507Please respect copyright.PENANAuXwUnfJTh0
I shook my head. This 507Please respect copyright.PENANAT6fe3RaLZW
was ridiculous and Christine was taking it like it was one big deal. If 507Please respect copyright.PENANAPgi5iRzFIG
she was going to start talking about ghosts again, like she usually 507Please respect copyright.PENANAg8gLb3VGMK
does, I didn’t know what I would do to her that would land me in serious507Please respect copyright.PENANArVE6khKnXp
trouble.507Please respect copyright.PENANAGA1uZCPGxh
“Christine, all that just happened to me today. It’s not like it’s going to happen again,” I said.507Please respect copyright.PENANAluYRtNn6XM
“Diana, you had me worried,” said Christine. “What if you didn’t wake up?”507Please respect copyright.PENANAZl4pq7Xztt
“But I woke up, didn’t I?”507Please respect copyright.PENANAY7iG7xPqhm
“Somehow I feel that there is something you aren’t telling me.”507Please respect copyright.PENANAt7zBct1SBD
I grew startled by what 507Please respect copyright.PENANAPRKt61mYFZ
Christine said. I was just about to ask what she meant by that when 507Please respect copyright.PENANAVNYmwzh3F6
Amanda came back from sweeping her potion and Christine was quick enough507Please respect copyright.PENANAuR4UnEAHl1
to get the broom before anyone else. I could feel that Christine was 507Please respect copyright.PENANAoyRiJRm2hs
really mad at me and the confusing part about it was why she was taking 507Please respect copyright.PENANAVmQyD8shjz
all of this seriously. If I wanted an answer, I was so not ready to get a507Please respect copyright.PENANAjJfL551Z0k
ridiculous one from Christine. She was so superstitious about things 507Please respect copyright.PENANAMBqEXhKaS9
and I wasn’t coping with all of that ever since I first came to school 507Please respect copyright.PENANA5OPmI8CVkC
and learnt mysterious things that I wasn’t even willing to know.507Please respect copyright.PENANA0GmyMaOQUG
Amanda came to stand 507Please respect copyright.PENANAFBpD3M1esn
beside me as we watched Christine head towards her portion of the 507Please respect copyright.PENANAvSC6Ywy8YC
orchard. I drew out a breath of air. Amanda who had a bunker bed right 507Please respect copyright.PENANAXNhOZBbcra
next to Christine’s and mine, looked over at me. By the look on her 507Please respect copyright.PENANAbFlGFlQ6o3
face, I could tell she knew what Christine and I were arguing about. I 507Please respect copyright.PENANAe3bht0qLmR
wasn’t even ready to hear what she had to say. Hearing from Christine 507Please respect copyright.PENANA5XAXsGDe2z
was more than enough.507Please respect copyright.PENANAisvDnWZT3S
“I wouldn’t be so mad at Christine if I were you,” said Amanda.507Please respect copyright.PENANATh59MnXNDs
“I’m not mad at her,” I said, “I just feel that she is making a mountain out of a mole hill.”507Please respect copyright.PENANA8QdMjqzpst
Amanda folded her arms 507Please respect copyright.PENANAVDxyHNR56j
across her chest and leaned in closer to me so that people wouldn’t hear507Please respect copyright.PENANAqpjvyyQ8YF
us. “I was there when Christine tried to wake you up. You didn’t even 507Please respect copyright.PENANA0G6eJoGpEJ
move an inch. You just laid there. And you looked, I don’t know, dead.”507Please respect copyright.PENANAFLpeLghztW
As far as I had known 507Please respect copyright.PENANAa5UQEFrVL0
Amanda, she was one person who always aired out her honest opinions 507Please respect copyright.PENANAtrCXlSyGdx
about things and she was one who wouldn’t even lie. She was quite 507Please respect copyright.PENANAUsxgbqCnuK
terrible at it if you ask me. I knew what she was telling me right now 507Please respect copyright.PENANAJxoqDgPw2r
was the truth. I swallowed, still finding it hard to believe what Amanda507Please respect copyright.PENANA30IcYfRBME
had just told me.507Please respect copyright.PENANAFo4Z0QeRxd
“If I was like that, why507Please respect copyright.PENANAZq1gNQzNhQ
didn’t you call the nurse or inform one of the prefects?” I turned to 507Please respect copyright.PENANAIxw8TsMgIu
face Amanda, her brown innocent eyes staring back at me.507Please respect copyright.PENANAC2tqd8sbif
“Christine was scared 507Please respect copyright.PENANAApj5gKmAdm
when she couldn’t wake you. She almost freaked out and I told her that 507Please respect copyright.PENANA2YoK4tZQ2C
you would be fine, that you were just in a deep sleep. I told her to 507Please respect copyright.PENANAfDJRX1EtjM
leave the dorm and that I would watch over you until you woke up. We 507Please respect copyright.PENANAvomirQ3JlB
didn’t want to attract any attention among the dorm mates until we were 507Please respect copyright.PENANA7UnedmLHth
sure you were okay.”507Please respect copyright.PENANAnqJppHbGHR
“Where were you when I woke up? I didn’t see you and the whole dorm was empty.”507Please respect copyright.PENANAK7Z5jfKyTF
“I was standing by the 507Please respect copyright.PENANAk7fpOdkLvA
door of the dorm when you woke up. And to be honest, you woke up in the 507Please respect copyright.PENANADcJP8mndV9
weirdest way possible. It was like you were given CPR and was suddenly 507Please respect copyright.PENANA5zMfiY32Iy
revived.”507Please respect copyright.PENANAtkaWWc0u6G
Now that Amanda had 507Please respect copyright.PENANAMcU3NOmOvr
mentioned it, I did wake up in the weirdest way today. I felt like 507Please respect copyright.PENANANYKua3ZSU1
someone had pumped in water into my nostrils when it was actually air. I507Please respect copyright.PENANATdz5Sf7qmB
could still remember my throat burn and I held it again without even 507Please respect copyright.PENANAHKNDxSUX95
realising it. I looked up at Amanda and she gave me a sad smile.507Please respect copyright.PENANALuqAxrvzg2
“And you told Christine?” I asked when I obviously knew the answer.507Please respect copyright.PENANA8SzfHGiAKl
“You know I couldn’t lie507Please respect copyright.PENANAWN6JkIXatr
to her. She was worried and she has every right to. And so was I. What 507Please respect copyright.PENANASIevbBkPjf
if you never did wake up? Have you ever thought of what would have 507Please respect copyright.PENANAH4PzvSWBOZ
happened if you had died in your sleep?”507Please respect copyright.PENANAdPwwgExepP
I took in Amanda’s 507Please respect copyright.PENANA54JHCe4x23
questions into consideration and I looked at Christine who was busy at 507Please respect copyright.PENANAln3q2IgWvO
work. It was obvious that she was avoiding me. I swallowed hard and 507Please respect copyright.PENANAr9jblpUTB7
stared off in a distance. All Christine was trying to do was help me out507Please respect copyright.PENANAfjkXkxwika
and I was acting like a complete jerk. But she couldn’t blame me for 507Please respect copyright.PENANAOB17xxqkuS
it. I didn’t even know what had happened to me in the first place.507Please respect copyright.PENANAyEZsbiMsfq
It was now my turn to go507Please respect copyright.PENANAvkqWMkrLM1
and sweep as I took the broom from my fellow dorm mate, Chilufya who 507Please respect copyright.PENANAVN80AtQ090
was a grade ahead of me. I went to my portion under a few guava trees. 507Please respect copyright.PENANAZdrwcITwJZ
Before I could bend down to start sweeping, a sudden wave of pain gushed507Please respect copyright.PENANAaY9eDxIVag
down upon my head. The pain was so unbearable, that I almost screamed 507Please respect copyright.PENANAb0ahnOf11w
aloud as I held my head.507Please respect copyright.PENANAh68QltBRRP
As I looked around the 507Please respect copyright.PENANA6M4IX8l65x
place, everything seemed blurry. I tried blinking my eyes a few times to507Please respect copyright.PENANAN0Qjg5xbhG
refocus my sight, but that didn’t seem to work. I leaned onto a tree 507Please respect copyright.PENANAyW6yMSfq9o
for support and I soon felt a jolt of dizziness and I felt like I would 507Please respect copyright.PENANA3oJF6MX8S4
throw up at any moment. Soon, voices of concern surrounded me and I felt507Please respect copyright.PENANAGxpdmpWqjy
a warm familiar hand hold my shoulder. I saw Christine looking at me 507Please respect copyright.PENANAu4PfEjXi6I
and with our other dorm mates surrounding me.507Please respect copyright.PENANAHDDIVVTmfi
My vision was still 507Please respect copyright.PENANAGinJcLjcGQ
blurry and my head ached like hell. What was even worse was the fact 507Please respect copyright.PENANAPeFM82xwnb
that everyone was talking and I couldn’t get a thing they said, not even507Please respect copyright.PENANAOK0BfS4Wki
Christine who was right next to me. I felt so confused that I was 507Please respect copyright.PENANA6tljzelk7q
afraid of running mad with all the noise. I looked around and I noticed 507Please respect copyright.PENANA7LRJXa3ab9
that my vision was getting worse. I could notice a few of my dorm mates’507Please respect copyright.PENANATKMPWdmqZQ
faces including the dorm prefect, Chileshe. I saw Amanda at the far end507Please respect copyright.PENANAe3MmtFCFfi
of the crowd, looking scared. And I noticed someone standing right 507Please respect copyright.PENANAD5OR2XTQZM
behind her.507Please respect copyright.PENANAy6A3GSUSXC
At that moment, my 507Please respect copyright.PENANARAc0tlhuGM
vision cleared when I saw the tall person who was standing behind 507Please respect copyright.PENANAWvST5ppkta
Amanda. I felt a burning sensation run through my body, but I was 507Please respect copyright.PENANAFV9ksRPKef
sensible enough not to scream. I continued to look at the tall figure 507Please respect copyright.PENANArt9Z9Ytq4Z
and out of nowhere, a flood of images rushed through my head in a quick 507Please respect copyright.PENANAtjKuxGvj2e
flash.507Please respect copyright.PENANAFLiLQXbaJ1
Right before I could figure out what had just happened; I was falling into a pit of darkness, right into oblivion.
507Please respect copyright.PENANAyHwj9ZEm0u