ME AND YOU.

I remember how you accepted me even when the others rejected me. I remember how you stood up for me when I couldn’t do so for myself.

 Your boldness and confidence inspired me.

 Your soft yet powerful personality drew me in. I knew that I would have nothing to fear with you as a friend.

   You were closest to me in the clique, even when Vinda was being her usual nasty self…you made me know that I was important.

   You understood me and only you knew my health condition. I could tell no one else for fear of stigmatization. But you…you held my hand through one crisis or the other and even covered up for me with the rest of the clique.

  You knew my fear of crowd and people but you stuck by me. You knew even my deepest and darkest secrets and didn’t despise me.

    I remember once, in the second year of our friendship, how you went out of your way to set up a meeting between me and Ayo- the guy I was crushing on then.

   On any visiting day that no one came to see me, you took me with you to hang out with your family and made me feel wanted.

    You were indeed ‘the friend’. Yes, we were four in our clique but you were the only one I was ‘myself’ with.

Vinda didn’t impress me with her high-handedness and sharp-mouth; neither did Oyin with her pretence and hypocritical nature nor Clara with her beauty and flashiness.

  They are so busy trying to be someone else, they forget to be themselves. You, on the other hand are down-to earth even with parents as rich as yours.

I thought we were friends…but perhaps I thought wrong since you never told me that one thing about you that mattered a lot.

   Finding out that way was never what I expected.

 Finding out that you are adopted wasn’t something I was prepared for. I remember lamenting to you about how I couldn’t remember my parents because they had died when I was so young…why didn’t you tell me then?

   Why didn’t you let me comfort you the way you comforted me when I needed it?

   I envied you. Yes, I envied your loving home and wealthy parents…always wishing to have a home like yours.

I wish you had trusted me enough to tell me that you didn’t have all the privileges. Selfish of me, right? I guess I just wanted to know you weren’t so perfect after all.

You probably know that Vinda ex-communicated you from the clique. After the fight you had with her and the bomb-shell she dropped about you, I don’t even know what to think.

She’s going around school, saying lots of things about you…things I cannot refute because I don’t even know if I know you well enough. The rest of the clique however seem to be helping her tarnish your reputation more. They call it loyalty. I call it betrayal, yet I remain silent.

I miss you. I want to ask you so many questions, but Vinda has vowed to do the same to me that she’s doing to you if she ever sees me speak to you.

I hate to admit it, but I’m afraid of her. I don’t need such stress in my life, you know.

I just want you to know how hard it is for me to see you and look the other way. I saw you at the tap yesterday and I so much wanted to hug you and talk with you like old times…but I saw Clara coming behind me and I had to look away. I’m ashamed of myself for doing that, because when I think of it; you were more of a friend than they would ever be.

 I wonder what they would do if they find out that I am a sickler. Who would I turn to when I have another crisis?

Simi, I miss you so much. I don’t care if you’re adopted or not, it doesn’t change who you are. I just wish you had told me…maybe I’d have stood by you when Vinda was kicking you out.

I know that doesn’t justify abandoning you the way I did; and maybe you’re right…it’s high time I stand up for myself and what I believe instead of being constantly in the shadow of Vinda, Oyin and Clara.

I’m different. I don’t think or act like them.

You and I are one of a kind.

 It should be us against them.

Good versus evil. Ha.

I’ll do right by you, Simi. I promise.