The Externals - Chapter Eleven
Khadijat and some other GMC students didn't go home directly after closing. Instead, they went to the Hospital to check on Lily who was lying near her dad's sickbed when they arrived. One of the nurses who liked her told them she had been crying and was delighted she cheered up after hearing the story of how the "Agbado Champions" defeated "The Johnson Eagles, especially because Aza was the superhero of the day. That was because she had been trying to convince him to partake in manly activities.
Even after others had returned home, Khadijat stayed behind to gist Lily about "the handsome oyinbo boy" schooling at Johnson College. She told her about how mesmerized she was by his cuteness, that she had offered to help him write his chemistry note once just to get close to him. Although that didn't happen, Khadijat was still more determined to make that happen. There had not been a time when new people didn't take an interest in becoming her friends because she knew how to make them feel loved and accepted.
As Khadijat talked about Quinn, Lily visualized him as one of the bad boy characters in her favorite romance dramas, and of course, she wanted to have nothing to do with him. For her, people like him were better suited for the likes of Khadijat. She was determined never to have any sort of association with him even though his charms might make her crush on him a little. "I have to strengthen my defense system before I resume. You can do this Lily", she thought.
Preserving her status as the boring high school girl was what Lily thought would make that happen. After all, the boys in her class showed no interest in boring girls like her. Besides, she assumed any relationship with Quinn would lead to severe heartbreak since he would eventually return to his country and warn Khadijat about it, but she wouldn't listen to her advice. The young romantically ambitious woman didn't mind being addressed as his girlfriend, even for just one day.
On Thursday, Quinn woke up with a severe headache. He also had catarrh so Mrs Kunbi made him stay home. Martha, who was worried sick about him wanted to be by his side but she didn't allow it. Instead, she made Mrs. Pat examine him since she was an experienced doctor. She wanted Martha to go so she'd be able to narrate whatever happened in school to Quinn and write notes for him if possible. Regardless, the hopeless romantic could hardly concentrate because her mind was fixated on him all day.
Mary was the only one in the house who didn't worry much about Quinn. She mocked him for acting like the sissy she called him the previous day when Mrs Kunbi wasn't looking and silently prayed that his illness would become so severe that he would have to go back to his country. She didn't want him dead though. For her, his illness was a sign he didn't belong to her home, neighborhood, or country. He needed to leave so Martha would also regain her sanity.
Mrs. Pat wanted to spend quality time with Quinn and monitor his treatment so she insisted Miss Adebamigbe allow her to take him to her hospital. Mrs Kunbi who wanted the best for a guest who was now more like a son to her allowed that. Then again, she needed someone to look after him because she was still busy putting things in order at her new salon. Even though she didn't trust Mrs. Pat completely, she could vouch for her to some extent. She was the type who cared about the wellbeing of everyone around her and wouldn't mind doing free surgeries to make that happen.
"Good morning, my beautiful scientists", the renowned lab scientist of Johnson College addressed the final year science students.
"There's nothing good about this morning", Martha rolled her eyes, trying to imagine how Mrs. Pat must be flirting with her dearly beloved.
"Are ladies the only beings you can see in this lab, thou gigolo?" Dare replied him.
"The dictionary didn't say you can only use that adjective for ladies, dummy...", Passing by Mary insulted him.
"Wait till I get hold of you, bi..." Dare gritted his teeth.
"Without wasting our time, we go straight to the preparation of alkyl alkanoates from alkanoic acids", he wrote the topic on the sparkling white marker board in the lab.
"What!" They chorused.
"You can't do that, scitist. Quinn's not around and he's new to the game", Martha gave him a puppy look.
"Who might that be?" The scitist was curious to know.
"He's hmmm. How do I put this? " Martha blushed.
"He's just a stupid, crazy, egocentric white boy", Dayo replied.
"Hey!" The girls eyed him.
"Oh, I see what's going on here", Scitist chuckled.
"Sir, my classmate isn't here as well and she's never done any practical before", Omma spoke up for Lily.
"She can fail WAEC for all I care!" The queen of the busties hissed.
"It's okay, guys. I wish I could help but you know how busy my schedule is. It's now or never", Scitist sighed.
They carried on with the practical while Quinn was having an English breakfast in the VIP hospital room with Mrs. Pat and Lily in the male ward fed her dad even though he insisted on doing that himself. The nurses couldn't stop talking about how miraculous it was that he was the only survivor of the brutal accident he had and woke up early. Yet, they didn't hide the fact that it would take time for his wound to heal fully - that he would still have to register under a chiropractor. After feeding her dad, Lily went to the quiet tree haven not too far from the hospital (where Kenny caught her the other day). She went there often to spend her alone time since she wasn't used to sleeping and waking up in a public place.
Maybe if she had delayed that journey, she would have been there when Quinn came in to see the male's ward, under Mrs. Pat's guidance as she was giving him a tour of the hospital. Yet at the reception, he stopped a group of nurses from emphasizing how bad luck had refused to leave her because she lost her mom at a tender age, and might as well have a dad who wouldn't be able to walk properly again. He threatened to make them lose their jobs if they ever gossiped about her again and made Mrs. Pat also promise to do everything she could to ensure he walked again when he told her Lily's story upon her arrival.
Quinn's first experience in a Nigerian hospital wasn't as chaotic as he expected it to be, courtesy of Mrs Pat's modern health facilities and competence. Yet, he insisted that Mrs. Pat take him to the general hospital sometime so he could observe the foundation of the Nigerian healthcare system (smirks). It was strange to her how she strongly wished he'd fall in love with medicine because of her, decision to become a medical doctor and later the manager of her hospital. Quinn, however, couldn't imagine consistently being in an environment that made him defend a girl he had never seen before. A Nigerian girl at that. He wanted to stay away from things that would tarnish his bad-boy reputation.
Words failed to leave Lily's mouth when she returned to the ward and saw her dad was no longer on his bed. She was terrified that something terrible had happened to him. Moreso, the other male patients said they knew nothing about his sudden disappearance. Even as she ran to the reception, the whole of her body was vibrating. It didn't help matters that everyone she came across gave her a pitiful look and the nurse there was skeptical about explaining what happened to her.
Eventually, Lily found out her assumptions were wrong. The people she met on her way to the reception gave her the exact same look they had been giving her since she stepped into the hospital. Also, Nurse Titilola felt something about speaking to her because she felt guilty about the gossip and was also jealous of the wondrous things her crush did for her - He immediately vacated his VIP hospital room after hearing her plight and made Mrs. Pat sign a document for them to be moved there. Lily was so happy that she went on her knees to appreciate Mrs. Pat for her kindness. Quinn wasn't in her office at that time because he had gone to get his AirPods from the car.
"Dad, I'm back!" Lily entered their new private ward excitedly.
"Hey there, princess. See what your hard work and prayer has caused", Mr. Allen smiled. He was also excited about the new development.
"Yeah. Hallelujah. Now I have the quietness I need to read well", Lily laid on the soft sofa in the room and brought out a book from her backpack.
"Princess, you wouldn't have guessed what else happened while you were away", Mr. Allen said, fully aware that his daughter loved romantic movies with fine white boys.
"I'm listening, Dad", Lily said yet hoped he would stop talking on time so she would concentrate fully on her book.
"A white boy who was being given a tour of the hospital came to our old ward", Mr. Allen narrated what he mentioned like a story earlier in the shortest form ever.
"Awwwn", Lily smiled though disappointed that she didn't get to meet him then remembered what Khadijat said about a new white boy schooling in Johnson College. "What's with white boys and visiting Nigeria lately".
"Why did you say so?" Mr. Allen asked and Lily stated her reason. "Then, you'll soon be able to fulfill your dream of seeing a white boy". Mr. Allen was happy for his daughter.
"Come on, dad. I'm not a child anymore. Besides, I've seen enough of them in movies", Lily pretended not to be so interested in meeting a white boy for the first time.
"If you say so, princess", Mr Allen chose not to talk about her reaction when he mentioned Quinn's visit to prevent prolonging the argument. He was also sleepy.
Lily's hope of seeing a white boy for the first time was crushed when Khadijat who came to greet her later in the evening told her how sad she was because the Johnson College boys connived to spread the rumor that Quinn wouldn't be returning to their school due to their inconducive classrooms and they were believed. Martha did nothing to stop the rumor, knowing the onus would be on her if Quinn didn't return truly since he was capable of doing such a thing. She also knew better than to be at loggerheads with her crazy male classmates.
On Friday, the girls would have bombarded Quinn with hugs when he appeared in class if he had not been on guard. He claimed not to have resumed in his mind because he was fond of his lousy Nigerian classmates but to see how the feud between GMC and JC students would end. Unfortunately, Khadijat couldn't go to the hospital that day to give Lily an update because of Jumat's service.
Aside from preventing the nasty hugs his both barbaric and barbaric female classmates wanted to gift him, Quinn was forced into getting measured for his new uniform during lunch but he wasn't the only one who did that. The students from GMC did the same. Unfortunately for Lily, her old measurement was collected from GMC's uniform designer since she wasn't available. Halima couldn't help chuckling as she imagined how Lily would look in the new uniform having lost a lot of weight.
The rest of the week went by quickly. Quinn spent it rejecting several hang-out invitations from Mrs. Pat, without Martha's knowledge because he wanted to rest well and gather enough energy to resume school work fully the next morning, and he did. He even skipped church to achieve his aim. Lily also went home to pack a few things, in preparation for resumption. Luckily for her, Pat's hospital was closer to Johnson College than it was to her home, meaning she didn't have to worry about transportation costs. Her family had enough expenses to deal with already. Still, the fear of the unknown lingered in her spirit, soul, and body.
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