MARIE'S HIGH - CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

THE HEALTH MONITOR
Like I do most Saturdays, I was supposed to have a siesta in my bedroom or take the dogs on a walk with my overly excited siblings but today, this particular one was different. The school announcer made it known to every student that our midterm test was going to commence in the coming week. Before that, Marie's High usually hosts an event that she calls "The Health Monitor" to prepare her students ahead of tests medically. I was excited about attending the program because I had a feeling it was going to be awesome.

"Oh my goodness", Bola made fun of me when I entered her bedroom to hurry her up, else we would have remained in the house till our Muslim brothers and sisters observed the Maghreb prayer in their various mosques.

"What's making you laugh", I folded my arms in defense, expecting her to say something that will counter my style of dressing as usual.

That very day, I was determined not to let her change my mind. The floral gown I wore was sent by grandma's blossom friend from London. I loved the pleating and the fact that it made me look mature.

"Don't tell me you're wearing this Mary and Martha gown while I'm with you", She said.

"I will", I replied with the tone of bravery.

"Oh! That's cool", She tried to suppress her laughter then retired to her bed to watch the concluding part of "To All The Boys I've Loved Before".

Eventually, I agreed to go for an handmade African Dansiki by DTR collection with slightly ripped jeans to allow peace reign. But if grandma were to be downstairs, instead of telling the kids Bible stories, there would have been a WWII.

"So who's taking you guys to school since Uncle B is not around", Gbemi showed concern for us, as we headed towards the gate side.

"That's none of your business", Bola shunned her.

"Don't mind her jare", I gave Gbemi a brief hug."We'll be fine. Just take care of yourself and those big heads, okay?"

"I will", She smiled and locked the gate behind me as I moved out to join Bola who was already hugging a familiar person outside our compound

"Hey, miss Loveboy", Freaky shook my hands "I love your outfit".

"I made it", Bola said, feeling fly.

"You've no mole in your hands yet they're quite magical", Freaki replied as he examined her hand while helping her fasten her seatbelt. 

I didn't know what was going on between them and didn't want to believe something could go between them. As an intelligent girl, I trusted that she won't have issues dealing with him.

"How's Loveboy anyway", I asked because I didn't hear from him since the proposal incident happened. I was a bit worried about him because I was once a victim of heartbreak too.

"So you're still worried about that asshole who must be on a Dubai cruise with a fleet of girls as we speak", She laughed in her usual hysteric manner. "Celebrities can't be trusted, my dear sister".

"Does that include me?" He said and made a quick but intense contact with her eyeballs.

Surprisingly, gangster Bo didn't have the guts to reply to him.

Each step I took after alighting from Freaki's army green Jaguar was accompanied by thousands of eyes who wouldn't mind having my outfit snatched if there was no penalty in the school's code of conduct for stealing. Yet, they gave me no give me no compliment since my name has been on the blacklist since my first day in Marie's High.

"So I finally came here", DJ Freaky sighed as we walked towards the medical hall, which was the venue for the occasion.

"What made you say that?"Bola urged me to take a selfie with her.

"I have an event to host in Dubai but I had to cancel it", He replied.

"What!" Bola and I chorused with a bewildered look on our faces.

"Why did you do that?"Bola acted like a naive person.

"I did that because of you", He whispered."I didn't want you to feel lonely".

"I have my sister here with me and lots of girlfriends in class so why would I be lonely?" She responded.

"You could be around people yet feel lonely", He said to justify his action then bragged."There's no way that's gonna happen while I'm around".

"Where do you guys prefer to sit?" I inquired when entered the hall filled with students on all sides, including those who've got their seats, and those on the look for their allies' row.

"We do not need that. Freaky's the DJ for the occasion, and I'm going to be his assistant today", She explained. " Isn't it quite a privilege to have the upcoming Queen Marie as your assistant?"

"It is, milady", He replied with a bow.

"That's cool", I smile."But that means you're leaving me alone with the wolves ", I felt sad and betrayed.

"You'll be alright, my dear sister", She pecked me.

"Alright. Take care, miss Loveboy", Freaky waved goodbye as they left for the DJ's booth.

Luckily for me, the program kicked off as soon as I got a comfortable seat in the front row, with a brief praise and worship session by the Marie voices, then a female student whose face I've seen once in religion class took the opening prayer.

Afterward, the president of Marie's high medical team said the opening speech. While doing so, he welcomed everyone to the event and stressed the need to cherish our bodies more than anything else. Later, he talked about the huge role in which the school's medical team has played in the lives of students over the years with two projectors on both sides of the hall displaying videos and images to prove him right.

Before saying goodbye, Doctor Show announced the name of the student who's going to take over from where he stopped (someone who's been a huge backbone for the school's medical team over the years, and is soon to be missed once he graduates), then both young and old students started singing praises of him.

That same day, I realized most ladies in Marie's High don't seem to like Cleo though he maintains a properly combed natural Afro. They said his glasses make him look underaged, that he acts like he's the holiest person in Marie's high and as if he's impotent. Still, he seemed perfect for me.

Nevertheless, the girls enjoyed every bit of humor in his words, either he created a reasonable one or they decide to add theirs. For instance, while giving the names of fruits that are good for the brain, he advised those who hate to have oranges when it's on the fruit list for the week in Marie's Cafe, to start sucking every of its juice because it's good for their brain.

However, while he was referring to the orange fruit, they had something else in mind(the bust ), and making various descriptions of ways to "suck it" successfully put the hall in an uproar. Marie's high students were quite ridiculous.

Anyways, Cleo didn't fail to put everything back in order and mention other fruits like blueberry and walnut which I noted in my small black jotter, hoping to get them when we go for our next grocery shopping. 

Cleo finished his speech by thanking everyone who has been supporting the project since its beginning. Then, I looked around me only to see students packing their things and moving out of the hall. I also did likewise thinking it was the end of the program and hoping to bump into Bola soon so we can go home because I already missed my siesta. But instead of heading to the car park to the car park as I thought, they were heading to an unfamiliar location.

Whoever did the architectural plan for Marie's High did a great job. They were actually heading to the spot where most outdoor events are carried out. There were adorned with customized tents, and each represented a grocery store in charge of giving the fruits Cleo mentioned earlier to students, free of charge. 

Aside from these grocery stores, there were also SS3 looking students dressed in medical gowns conducting simple tests like sugar level, blood pressure, weight, and height for their fellow students. Then at the end of the day, the student tested gave their results to either of the certified doctors around for analysis.

Pharmacists representing different pharmacies, were also on the ground to sell drugs prescribed by the doctor to treat student's ailments and give each student free supplement which is good for the brain.

"Are you by any chance Trypanophobia", A male student wearing a medical official tag asked, as I sat beside him to get a mini sugar level test.

It was my first time hearing that word and it wasn't a suitable time to have my copy of the 11th edition of the Oxford's Learners Dictionary sent to me. I felt like a dumb person.

"Oh, my bad", he said as he realized I'd been picking my fingers, instead of providing a suitable answer to his question.

"Trypanophobia is a situation whereby a person has an extreme fear for the use of needles in carrying out medical operations", He made me fall in love with his girly voice.

"OK. I don't have it", I responded with a blank facial expression then he went on to puncture my thumb lightly, to get the required amount of blood for the test.

"I see why you can't be trypanophobia", He continued showing off his ability to speak with the correct intonation of words flawlessly. "Your hands are too hard"

"Isn't that a good thing", I used the cotton wool he gave a couple of seconds ago with a bit of methylated spirit on my punctured finger.

"Of course it is. If you were to be my girl, I wouldn't have to hire a bodyguard because your palms are enough to scare haters off", He teased me once more yet I maintained a straight face.

"Well, that can't happen 'cause I don't think I can't stand having a sissy for a husband", I fired back.

" Oh! That got me", He placed his right hand on his right chest and laughed like someone who hasn't done so in a while. "You've no right to judge me by my appearance neither do I have the right to judge your juice given the size of your orange".

Medical students weren't supposed to say nasty words to their patients, so I was tempted to report him but I changed my mind. I didn't want to be the center of attention in Marie's high again.

"Goodbye, Miss Nifemi Adeoye", he sent me off with a sheepish smile and prepared his mini tent office to receive another patient.

Learning from the experience with Mr sissy, I decided to maintain a formal patient-doctor relationship with the doctors who conducted my remaining tests until I eventually got to Doctor Show's office.

"Look who's here", Doctor Show greeted me with a broad smile."It's nice to see you again, lil one".

"Same here", I received his warm handshake and proceed to sit where he directed me to.

"Wait, did you just indirectly refer to this gangster as your lil one", he said with a childish look on his face and I laughed.

"OK. Let's get started because there are still lots of other lil niggers like you that need my attention", He adjusted his swivel chair and examined each result slip given to me by the student doctors that conducted my tests.

"What does it say", I said feeling impatient as he fixed his gaze on me, without saying anything.

"There's no need to be nervous, lil one", He smiled. "You have no issues with either of these test results. All you need is to keep maintaining your lifestyle".

"Really", I jumped in excitement. "Thank you so much, doctor".

"Don't be silly, young lady", He smiled and added," I'm not responsible for this. I heard you live with your grandma so I guess she laid the foundation of a healthy lifestyle which got you these results".

"Yeah", I rose on my feet to exit his office" Thanks for everything nevertheless"

"If you insist, your appreciation has been very much accepted, but we're not done yet", His eyes told me to have my seat one more time.

Before leaving Doctor's Show office, he gave me three boxes to choose different colors of wrapped paper which were to determine- the pharmacy I'll be getting my supplements from, and the grocery store holding my fruit package as well.

After going to Nat's pharmacy to get my supplements, I finally made it to the grocery store for my fruits. I once had the intention of visiting Bola briefly, but I couldn't. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the great work she was doing with Freaki on the turntables, and I didn't want to serve as a distraction.

"Are you sure you'll be able to eat this thing?" Michelle attended to me rudely, being a sales representative of Protect Groceries which I chose earlier to get my fruit packages from.

"Mum didn't teach us to treat clients that way. Did she, young lady", Cleo was, arranging some stuff beside Michelle with his face turned down.

"As far as I'm concerned, she's not a client, and I'm not treating her as such", She replied, then Cleo stood upright to take a look at the person his sister was talking about.

"Hey, Nifemi. What's up?", He greeted with a smile. I couldn't figure out why my ears loved to hear him call my name fully.

"I'm fine", I replied." Thanks for the other day".

"Oh, come on. That was the least I could do", He cleaned a white plastic chair with a neat napkin for me to sit on." We're out of supplies now so mum went...."Mrs. Martins distracted him with the sound of her stiletto heels, "Oh, here she comes".

"Good afternoon, ma'am", I greeted her, slightly bending my knees because she didn't let me kneel completely.

" Oh, my God!", she gave me a warm hug. "It's so nice to see you again, my ebony".

"Thanks, ma'am", I smiled shyly.

"So fate brought us back together", She opened her brand new LG refrigerator which I was eyeing since I got there and brought out a fruit salad package for me.

"It's just coincidence, Mum", Michelle countered her claim." You've only met twice".

"It doesn't matter", Cleo replied." If she believes it's fate then so be it. Besides, you still owe Miss Nifemi an appropriate apology".

"Really! I don't want to because I don't think it's necessary. I was just making a statement. I didn't insult.." Michelle behaved childishly.

"Oh, that's great", Cleo patted her hair and blushed."Getting you flared up is one of the things I'm quite passionate about".

With that, Michelle apologized for her misconduct and prepared my fruit packages. Feeling happy to have me around, Mrs. Martins told me a bit about how she came up with this session of our medical program through the help of her most cherished son. I wished I could spend more time with her and learn more but it was getting late so I rose on my feet to take my leave after much hesitation so Bola and I don't get into trouble when we get home.

As soon as I went out of their canopy, I headed to the DJ's stand where I meet Bola and Freaki already packing up while some junior students assisted them in conveying their gadgets to the Jaguar, after which we zoomed off.

A/N: Dearest readers, I really appreciate the support you've been giving Marie's High since chapter one, and I wish to see you do more of that by reading, sharing, and commenting about this book on every of your social media platforms. Your support means more than you think. Thanks and God bless😀😘

Yours teensfictionly,

Eniola Oluwamuyiwa