Eventually, hours later that evening, the brain-wipe effect of her smile wore off. I became curious. I mean, I wasn't one to dig into petty rumours that probably didn't have a basis. But it didn't hurt to check, right?
My first point of call was Nat. Not like I had any other point of call to go with.
"Yo!"
"Hello. What's new?"
"Nothing much just chilling. You know, someone brought some new games over from up. Checking them out. You?"
The background noise in his call could power my house for a year. How could I reply without sounding more lame than I actually felt?
"Nothing much here. Just preparing for the test tomorrow. You know how it is."
(Nailed it!)
"You have a test tomorrow?"
"We have a test tomorrow. But it's not a big deal," I heard the rustle of him moving fto another room as I continue explaining.
"I don't think Monster is going to record it." (monster was a teacher btw. Don't ask me why; kids are mean.)
"But you're still preparing." He points out the most annoying things sometimes.
"Yes," I went on. "But I don't have the benefit of being a sports boy do I?"
I would kick myself in the as for that statement later, but at that moment I just spoke over the awkwardness, hoping enough words would bury the ones I had said just before.
"So, you know that girl in my class? They call her Sherry or something, how much do you..."
He cuts in before I'm done "Bad news Bro. I saw you speaking to her earlier too. Trust me, that girl is weird and it's not cos I'm racist or anything."
"Bad news like how?"
"Hm. You like trouble ehn? I thought you trusted me?"
The noise in the background went up a few notches as he waited for me to concede. The silence of that moment existed only in our minds; a game of chicken that one of us would inevitably lose.
"Okay," he finally sighed, "Strange things have been happening and they always seem to be connected to her. Remember the chemistry teacher who left suddenly?"
"I thought he was a National Service sub?"
"No man, he left before he was meant to. They said she did something to him. It fried his mind!"
I wasn't convinced. That sounded like just another high school rumour.
"There's more. I can't remember everything. But there was one that happened to one of the guys..." He paused as he tried to remember the details. Obviously, by 'one of the guys' he was clearly referring to a member of the track team.
"That time, the time the whole of that field got burnt up and so we didn't have to weed it? Remember that?"
I did remember that incident, vaguely. It was something to do with a punishment for something or the other.
I must have grunted something intelligible, because Nat continued enthusiastically "That, now that was her! It's what she does. She owes you a favour and bam! Something weird happens."
I tried to laugh it off. It seemed like he had bought into this whole conspiracy thing. I was pretty sure there was a logical explanation.
"So, you're saying that Sherifa Hassan has some magic juju which makes stuff work her way?"
I swear that he wasas serious as a murdered stone when he replied "Of course she does. She's a witch"
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