THE CHRONICLES OF...

It was raining, like heaven was crying, and angry, the thunder and lightning, Debbie was walking through the old school block with her torchlight in her hand.

"Marshall!" She screamed, but she couldn't seem to find him anywhere, the more the rain poured, the more the anxiety.

She couldn't breathe, her body was wet and cold, "Marshall!" She screamed again.

Then, she pointed her torchlight up, and she saw him at the edge of the balcony, it was like the whole world was still.

"No!" She shook her head, she tried to reach out to him as she watched him fall from the old school block.

Suddenly, she was woken up, she was cold and sweating profusely, she had forgotten to cover her body with her blanket when she was going to bed.

She tried to suck in some air, and as the tears wet her pillow, he was dead and she needed him to go away.

She was staring at the ceiling, so she closed her eyes, and whispered, "Please, go away."

She exhaled and pulled her blanket over her body, she lay on her side and hugged yourself.

It was a little bit after midnight, she needed to get some sleep, she knew that she would need it.

Naya could still remember the rain and how it poured outside the dining hall. She could still remember the smell. The pain in her chest as she tried to think of something to say.

She remembers most of the steps of her walk of shame.

Her former best friend, Tsema had taken the microphone in the dining hall, to report her greatest sins and secrets in front of the whole school. Over One Thousand, Two Hundred Students in the Central Government College, Boarding Academy, Bini (CGCBAB).

She remembers the tears in her eyes as she whispered for Tsema to stop, she would have done anything to make Tsema stop.

She could still remember looking directly at Tsema in the eyes trying to run away from the pain in her chest.

That was a long time ago, now that everyone knew her all damned secret, she had a target on her back for bullying. She was a moving target for any mean person at CGCBAB.

She had transferred from a Central Government College in Kurae to CGCBAB, to start afresh.

Everything was going well, too good to be true even. She was getting friends and relevance, what every girl dreamt of.

People wanted to be around her, and she was speedily making her way to the top of the school's social ladder.

Naya had started associating with her seniors and she was getting invited to places where they hang out.

According, to the social hierarchy at CGCBAB, someone would say she was going straight to the top of the ladder and she had her best friend from her former school right beside her.

The highlight of her rise was with Wale, the way he spoke, the way he looked, and the way he smelled. People would gather around him to hear him speak and she could just stare at him for hours, watching him speak.

Then, at intervals amid everyone, he would look up and smile at her.

To her surprise, it would make her heart melt and occasionally she would be unable to breathe.

When Tsema picked up the microphone, she looked around, and when her eyes met his. She was begging with her eyes that he would believe her enough, that he would see that she was just suffering.

After a few seconds, he looked away. She felt that sharp pain in her chest, a stabbing sharp pain. She could not breathe, and then she turned to Tsema.

She wanted it to be an elaborate prank, so she turned back to her best friend and begged her to stop. Her eyes pleading.

But it didn't stop.

Naya could not take it anymore, so she started running in the rain.

The rain showed her no mercy and drenched her to the skin.

At least, one thing that the rain was interested in doing was drowning her tears and her fears.

Naya thought that the confession at the refectory would slowly disappear and that life would slowly go back to the way it was.

It was crazy how wrong she was. People she thought were not capable of causing any harm, were the first to switch up. She had never seen them in a certain way, now with the hostility, she was wondering if she had been blind or just merely gullible.

She was in the third term of her first year and she just wished that Secondary School would be over already.

When she saw TY and Kenny, as she walked into the dining hall for breakfast, she knew she was about to have the bumpiest start, a day could get.

TY hit her and she and her entire food tray were on the floor. Her white and lemon skirt was smeared with food.

She could hear the crowd laughing, yeah, that's so funny, she thought in her head.

She didn't fight back, not because she didn't want to fight back, but because she couldn't dare escalate things.

On numerous occasions, she tried to fight back, but she ended up worse than when she started.

Teachers would just refer to her as a thug and a nuisance, who was untidy and extremely violent.

So, she suck it and got a move on. She was getting thick skin.

Amid all this confusion, one thing was clear, Tsema had tagged her a public enemy and everyone agreed.

Although more issues came up, her issues never disappeared.

She walked into the bathroom, dropped her phone on the zinc, and just stared into the mirror.

She stared at her braided hair, the frustration and exhaustion on her face. She wasn't quite sure which was more, frustration or exhaustion.

She took a load of paper towels, but it didn't seem to change the stain on her shirt.

She pulled her cardigan over her head, hoping today might be cold enough, she that she doesn't get too sweaty.

Tsema, Chioma, and Mario walked into the bathroom laughing. Naya looked at them and quickly looked away. She dumped her tissue in the waste bin.

She wanted to be out of the bathroom before she could breathe.

She made her way to the door, "you forgot your phone," Chioma said raising the phone to show her.

She took a few steps and reached out to grab it, but Mario snatched it from her hand.

"It might not be hers, she could have stolen it, maybe she is a thief, I won't put it past her to be a bloody thief, in addition to all the other insane things, she has done," Mario said laughing.

"Please, give me back my phone," Naya whispered.

Everywhere was silent for a minute, before the girls burst into laughter.

"It's hers," Tsema said, "I know what her phone looks like,"

"Why do you know what Eshy's phone looks like?" Mario asked.

"We used to be friends remember," Tsema said calmly.

"I can't believe you used to be friends with that thing," it was obvious Mario was disgusted, she raised her hand and dropped the phone, "Oops!" Mario raised her eyebrows and giggled.

Naya picked her phone up from the floor, "thank you," Naya said.

Mario was in year two with Wale, Mario was only friends with Tsema because she wanted to improve her status on the social ladder.

Naya closed the door of the bathroom behind her, she was tempted to lock them in, so she took a deep breath and let herself feel again. She leaned on the back of the door.

She took a look at her phone and the screen was cracked vertically from one end to another end.

Avoiding everyone, she walked straight to her classroom. From the door, she realized that her desk and chair were missing, she walked to the exact spot, but it was gone.

Everyone in the class was looking at her and laughing. She screamed, she was already having an awful morning.

Everyone's phones in the class started to beep, she looked around thinking about what calamity could be happening again today.

Everyone looking at their phones and looking straight at the window of the classroom.

Naya turned and she was staring right at Tsema.

Her phone buzzed in her hand, she broke eye contact and looked at the phone.

It was a broadcast message, from the Councilor's line, the heading of the message was the Introduction to the Chronicles of Gossip Girl.

She clicked on the message.

"Hello students and teachers at CGCBAB, you are probably wondering what this is.

Yes, you guessed right, I hacked the Councilor's line, and I will continue to do so, to bring you the latest gossip in CGCBAB.

My name is, (chuckles), you were not expecting me to add my name, but y'all can call me the Gossip Girl.

Now that I have introduced myself and my chronicles.

Today's hottest and latest gossip is (drum rolls) Popular student Akinwale Adetomiwa Williams from year two has finally made the dating game official with our very own school sweetheart Oritsema Gift Ofotokun.

(Gasps) I know right, I know y'all were suspicious, but who could have known that after the event of last term, Tsema would take the most popular senior student into the dating ring?

Oh my gosh! Y'all are welcome. Your new best friend and gossip manager.

XOXO Gossip Girl."

Naya looked up to see Tsema standing there looking straight at her.

Naya could hear XOXO Gossip Girl ringing in her head in Tsema's voice. She couldn't breathe.

Slowly, she walked out of the class, she couldn't handle this, not today, she knew it was going to happen eventually but why was she still hurt?

She ran to the library, she couldn't go back to her hostel. The matrons and patrons lock the hostels to prevent students from skipping classes and just hanging around the hostel.

She picked up a book at the entrance of the library and signed herself into the library.

She took a seat at the furthest part of the library, placed her head on the table, and just cried her eyes out. Her tears took her to a deep sleep.

Debbie had woken up late that morning because she could barely get any sleep all night.

She turned to the back and noticed that Marshall's desk and chair were no longer in the class like someone had made it disappear, or someone had moved it.

She had made eye contact with Tim several times, but it was just like every normal weird day at CGCBAB, there was nothing special about today.

TY and Kenny walked into the class, immediately people started getting out of their way.

TY leaned on Tim's table, they seemed to be talking about something important.

Debbie just kept her head low, she was hoping that today, TY would not notice her and would just let her be.

Soon everyone's phones started buzzing, it was a message from the counselor's office.

After reading the message, TY, Kenny and Tim rushed out of the class, Debbie exhaled, she was relieved, that she could avoid problems today.

As soon as the bell rang, she grabbed her bag and ran out of the class. She was going to see Mickey, she was helping him deliver love letters.

She would put the love letters under his crush's pillow and just let her find it. She loved spending time with Mickey, he was like her safe corner.

She would meet him behind the purple house, her face lit up.

"Hey!" Debbie said.

"Jeez! You scared me," he said terrified, he was a scared cat, and she loved how he was easily frightened.

"Calm down," she chuckled, hitting him on the arm in a playful manner, she smiled.

He gave her a piece of paper, she collected it from him blushing.

"Do you want me to read your love letter today?" Debbie asked.

"No, today's own is special, I want only her to read it," Mickey said.

"But you know that her friends read it all the time and attempt to find you," Debbie smiled, her eyes glittered.

"Well, they cannot, we are not even in the same class," Mickey defended himself seriously.

"Are you ever going to tell her how much you feel about her?" Debbie asked.

"I don't know, I am trying to make it up the social ladder, I don't think she wants to be with someone who is on a lower part of the social ladder," Mickey said.

"If you like someone, I don't think that she would care where you are on the social ladder, I think that she would be grateful to have met you, grateful to have met someone who loves her as much as you do," Debbie said.

"That's not how it works, and you know it, if that was how it worked, you and Tim would still be together," Mickey said.

Then, the bell rang again, "I have to go and drop this before people start coming back from the dining hall," Debbie said running away.

She walked into the dormitory slipped the paper under Lola's pillow, and quickly walked away.

Naya saw the stiletto walking, it would probably, be Lola's infamous anonymous admirer.

Naya wondered if she would ever have that, she used to be in love with Senior Wale, not like the feelings ever went away.

She realized that with her station on the social ladder, she could never be with him, he would never choose her. The problem was just her and her station on the social ladder.

It was prep time pretty quickly, Tim had his eyes on Debbie the whole time, like there were moments when he couldn't just take his eyes off her, that maybe if he did, she would disappear.

One time, he had followed her and caught her meeting with a junior student at the back of Purple House.

He couldn't say a word, because he knew that if he did, it would cause an actual scandal.

He already blamed himself for her position on the social ladder, his actions had put her in that situation.

He wanted to watch from afar and prayed that no one was watching and he stared at her.

They used to be so close, that he could remember how she laughed and snorted while laughing, but today while he was at the top of the ladder, she was right at the bottom.

What he gave up to get to the top, actually it wasn't him who lost for him to get to the top, it was Debbie who was paying the price of him being at the top, and he hated himself for it.

TY was walking past their classroom and from the window, she noticed that Tim was staring at Debbie.

She was instantly filled with rage, the kind of anger that boiled in her, she clutched her fist.

She had spent so much of her Senior Secondary School life trying to separate them, but Debbie wouldn't stop seducing him.

It didn't matter if they had broken up years ago. He was hers, he always had been, she always tried to be the mature one, the one strong enough to move forward, but he was always trying to rub her in her face.

Tim wasn't the only thing, Debbie had managed to constantly take away from her, there were also the academic awards.

Sometimes, it seemed that no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get rid of Debbie, there was absolutely nothing that she could do to get rid of her.

She walked into the classroom and grabbed Debbie by the arm, dragging her up.

"What do you think you are doing? Don't you know how to stop? What must I do to get rid of you?" TY screamed.

Debbie shoved her, "What do you think you are doing?"

"I see what is going on, you always behave innocently, I know what you are, you hid it well, but I know what you are, Debbie," TY said.

"I didn't do anything, and if I did just tell me so that I can stop because I am exhausted of always being dragged into dramas that concern you," Debbie said.

TY turned to Tim waiting for him to say something, saying anything at this point would change a lot, but he just stood up and walked out of the classroom.

Debbie already knew he would do that, maybe TY was looking for his attention, but she had known him by now, and he would avoid the both of them like plagues for the next few days.

Debbie knew that Tim wasn't worth fighting over but TY was still in love with him, she was still obsessed and that would get her killed.

"I'm sorry," Debbie quickly said, "I will avoid him, I could avoid classes too, so that I don't have to see him," Debbie suggested, anything that would make TY, a little bit more confident in herself would help at this point.

Tim sat in the relaxation center, RM came and sat right beside him.

"They are fighting again, ain't they?" RM said.

"Fighting? They are not fighting, TY is at it again," Tim said.

"You are supporting Debbie again without even knowing what she did, or do you have any idea of what she did?" RM asked.

"TY just walked into the class and started manhandling her, she said…" there was a sudden pause, he was staring at her, and that's why TY was upset.

Everything that was happening with Debbie was all his fault, and he just left her to face TY alone, he couldn't even try to help say a word.

RM was saying something, but he couldn't hear her, he had zoned out, he was staring at her, imagining all that they had before he chose to save RM.

"She didn't do anything wrong, it was all my fault," he whispered, "it's all our fault."

Now available on Amazon KDP "Finding Gossip Girl"

FINDING GOSSIP GIRL: UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY OF A MURDERED STUDENT https://a.co/d/2ILg3Hy

Complete book now available on Amazon KDP