Chapter 10

Ike swung her legs under the table as the teacher explained what he had written on the board. Ike hummed the lyrics of one of BTS songs in her mind and strummed her fingers on her desk. She realized that it had been a while since she strummed her guitar and made a mental note to play it when she got back home. "Adeniyi are you even listening to what I am saying?" The teacher suddenly asked and Ike quickly wore an apologetic smile as the teacher resumed explaining. Ike stopped humming and strumming as she decided to concentrate on what the teacher was saying. Something that she found very funny. She wasn't even going to last long till when they wrote exams. She couldn't pass her knowledge either; what was the point of listening anyways. As Ike made to start humming another song, she suddenly felt light and weightless. Alarmed she remembered that she didn't take her drugs that morning and while she reminded herself to take it at school; she had forgotten. The feelings seemed to increase and Ike started feeling nauseous and faint. Her eyelids drooped and Ike quickly fumbled inside her bag and brought out a paper bag. Bending her head she quickly popped the tablets into her hands and threw them into her mouth before grabbing her water bottle and gulping a large amount of water. Color slowly returned to her cheeks and the nauseous feeling lessened. Ike knew she had to compliment the drugs else the effects wouldn't be funny. And for the first time in a while; Ike found herself counting the minutes that remained for the teacher's period. Immediately the bell for break was rang; Ike started praying for the teacher to leave the class and which he didn't leave until about five minutes later. Ike dashed out of the class and walked quickly through the horde of students. Whether it be a bowl of ice cream or a bag of chocolate; she just needed something with enough fat. The nauseous feeling started returning and Ike increased her pace. The wind blew all of a sudden and Ike missed her step before crashing into someone. Unconsciously, her hands held the person's shoulders for support as she tried to wade off the nauseous feeling. The perfume scent that waffled into her nose seemed to over ride the nauseous smell for a minute and Ike glanced up and her eyes widened. Again? The figure who had been holding her arm to support released her and stared at her wordlessly. Ike opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. The nauseous feeling hit her again and Ike tripped and quickly held onto him for support. Unnoticeably; her breathing was becoming labored. Ike tried to steady her breathing as she turned back to him and tried to wear a small smile. "Thank you" Ike said as she burst into a race towards the cafeteria. She quickly hurried towards the ice cream stand and carried a more bigger ice cream bowl than she one she usually carried. She grabbed bags of chocolates before walking towards her table and started eating. She didn't stop scooping ice cream into her mouth nor did she stop gobbling the chocolates until the nauseous feeling disappeared. The light and weightlessness feeling as well. Ike carried another bowl of ice cream as she sat down the table wiping the sweat on her forehead. "Ike!" Gloria screeched as she stretched her arm to collect the new bowl of ice cream from her. "You ate this big bowl and still went for another one? You are a science students and even a Health Education student. You of all people should know what this kind of food does to the body" Gloria said as Chidima snorted and sat down. "She has been eating them all these years, isn't she still hale and hearty?" Chidima asked as Ike grinned at Chidima as she raised her hand for an high five while Chidima glanced at her not bothering to raise her hand. Ike chuckled as she opened the new bowl and started scooping it into her mouth. She of all people knew just what ice cream and chocolate did to her. If she was normal; her teeth would have rotten by now and she would have been the jest of the school because she would be fat as a large barrel. But then she wasn't normal; ice cream and chocolates were the ones who kept her alive, kept her breathing, was the reason she still had a little skin covering her bones. Hale and hearty? Only if she knew. Only if she knew that she was far from hale and hearty. If only they both knew that their best friends had very few weeks left. As much as Ike wanted to tell them; she couldn't bring herself to. Ike walked into her room and sat on her bed while removing her sneakers and her socks. She fell on her bed with her uniform still on and she stared at the ceiling. The day's events came back to her and Ike sighed as she grabbed her phone and set alarms to remind her to take her drug. She walked towards the large wardrobe and opened the lower compartment and brought out a large bag. Opening the bag; she brought out a guitar and walked towards the bed and sat down. She strummed the guitar slowly with a smile on her face. She continued strumming as she thought of what song to play. Doctor John's words came running into her mind all of a sudden and Ike pursed her lips. Like someone? Fall in love? They were things that had never happened to Ike before. She had never liked someone because she didn't want to. She had few weeks left and Ike knew it was one of the reasons of her close episode earlier in the school. She could last up to mid afternoon even if she forgot to take her drugs bur her up close episode had told her how bad her condition had gotten. The expressionless face that supported her that afternoon suddenly popped up in Ike's face and she pursued her lips as she made a decision.