I have forgotten most of the things seniors did to me in secondary school. Time has blurred many faces and incidents. But there is one person one name that still rings clearly in my mind. I have forgiven her, yes, but forgetting her feels impossible. Her name is JOY NWADIARO.
I don’t know whether her cruelty toward me was personal or simply who she was at the time, but she hated me openly, passionately. She couldn’t stand the sight of me and seized every opportunity to punish or humiliate me.
She was in SS3. I was in JSS3.
A senior boy in her class liked me, and one Valentine’s Day, he gave me a few small gifts. Innocent things. That was all it took.
She sent someone to call me, cause the boy had sent someone to call me to collect the items. I went to the front of the Economics laboratory, just in front of the assembly ground to meet him. From there, everything spiraled. Joy demanded that i returned the items, she mocked me.
She accused me of accepting gifts from a senior boy as if I had committed an unforgivable crime. she accused me of competing with her class girls and herself over a man
She ordered me into the refectory. Beans and dirty water were poured onto the cement floor the same floor that, every evening, we were forced to wash. It was wet, stained, and smelled awful.
I begged. I pleaded.
She didn’t listen.
She made me kneel down in it. She wanted me to lie down on that filthy floor. That moment being forced into dirt and shame was the most degrading and humiliating experience of my life. Even now, years later, that image has never left my mind.
As if that wasn’t enough, she took the necklace the boy had given me and wore it herself, like a trophy another deliberate attempt to strip me of dignity and parade her power.
I may not remember every word that was spoken or every step that led me there, but I remember the feeling. I remember the cold, dirty water. I remember the smell. I remember how small I felt.
For years, I carried anger toward her. I spoke harshly of her. I wished her ill. Thankfully, life never crossed our paths again.
I don’t know where Joy is today or what has become of her. But I hope she is kinder than she was in 2007 I hope she has grown. I hope she is a better person now because back then, she was very mean.
And that memory, no matter how much I heal, is one I will never forget.
@lifeofolaa Sey na this kind song go collect Grammy? 😤😷
Kido
Ebezina, Nzogbu Nzogbu o, enyimba enyinm...
“Your body na chairman.”
“You dey make a man dey go keke napepe”
And you wan collect Grammy?.
Make una dey play o 🎶🎵🎼