17 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE TWINS

The sun sank slowly into the distant horizon bathing the serene landscape in a brilliant reddish orange hue. As Isabelle trudged uncertainly up the rough, pebbled road towards the picturesque blocks of classrooms that spread out before her, she felt that old deep dread creep yet again into her heart. These old white washed buildings always greeted her every morning as she came up this same road every day. They heralded a start to a bad day at school.

She moved slowly through the vast compound and made her way to a smaller block of classrooms that looked newer than the rest, it had been donated a few years earlier by some traditional ruler of a town in Delta State Town. The desks and seats were newer, the glass louvers were still in place and the black board still looked black. Isabelle had a psychological belief that the new building would enhance her swotting. The classroom she chose was not swept but tidy. She sat at a desk at the front and placed her oil lamp and books on the polished wooden surface. She glared apprehensively at the textbooks. Physics chemistry. Maths, she hated those three subjects with the same intensity that she hated unwanted pregnancies. Academics had always scared the life out of her especially science subjects. Biology she could even tolerate but the other three drove her up a wall.

Physics sounded okay until it went into equations, chemistry was like Yiddish to her and the overall king pin – Maths… well their hatred for each other was unequaled.

Inevitably since she had a sour relationship with the numbers racket it transferred also to the people that propagated it.

Math teachers. Isabelle could not remember one maths Teacher she did not hate with a passion. Mr Enuku and his long, scrawny neck, Madam Omatseye with her immense buttocks and Miss Pepe, a bloody bitch in full bloom with her thick goggles and jeering, raspy voice.

Each of these devils she could feed half a kilo of strychnine and sit back, relax and watch with pleasure as they puked out their insides.

She could not however waste precious time having homicidal fantasies so she opened the first of her textbooks and buried her head into it.

Two hours later the sun had long since been swallowed in the distant marshland and darkness covered the school compound like a blanket. The only illumination was the oil lamp, which had burnt bravely since but would soon be out of oil. Isabelle would soon have to call it a day. She sat up and stretched luxuriously, her young hillocks jutting out impressively behind the cheap fabric of her dormitory blouse. As she glanced through the window nearest to her she thought she saw a brief flash of a tiny red light. It was gone so quickly she decided she must have imagined it. Anyway it made her decide to rush back to the dormitory. She was suddenly feeling very alone.

As she hurried out of the classroom she saw two figures standing near by. Instant terror seized her. Ritual killers were common in these parts and there had been cases of a few students who disappeared and were never seen again or even worse were found not in one piece. The fact that she might join the statistic petrified her.

"Who's that?" demanded one of the shadowy figures. They were smoking. That explained the red light she had seen. It was a female voice that had called out to her. That reduced her fears only by an iota.

"It's me, Isabelle" she replied nervously, "I am in SSII.".

"Aah. Belle. I know you" said the other figure.

As they walked into the light of her lamp she recognized them immediately.

The Twins. Two notorious sisters from SSIII that were as intelligent as rocket scientists and as black as midnight. However it was their eyes that were their most notable feature. Glassy huge things that were as cold as the Antarctic and as empty as the Dead Sea. Eyes that could kill. Isabelle doubted they even blinked. There was not one student, even members of staff who did not fear the Twins. They could do and undo.

"What are you doing all alone out here at this time of the night, Darling" one of them asked, "Do you want to get yourself killed?"

"I…I was reading for.. for a test", she stammered.

"You should read in your room," suggested the other. " A lot of bad things happen to little girls like you at this hour especially if you are found alone here."

"I know. I'm sorry. Let me be on my way."

"We can't do that". One of them said as they inched closer to her, "you could get hurt and that will remain on my conscience forever. And I like keeping my conscience clean. Don't we like keeping our consciences clean, Vera?"

"Of course, Venus of course."

They were at either side of her sizing her up, their unholy eyes bored into her soul. Isabelle started shaking. Sweat ran freely down her face and her uniform was already drenched, her knees felt like buckling. She had never been so scared in her life.

There was a rumour that the twins had once killed a male teacher. He had always been a pain in the neck for everyone, even the other teachers. He was a misogynist and enjoyed flogging the daylights out of the students at the slightest provocation. He chose to lean on the Twins after they came late to assembly on a particular day and gave them hell ever since. One day he just vanished into thin air. A week later his head was found under a tree. A lot people put two and two together but there was no concrete proof. Now here they were, breathing down her neck.

"Say you're very beautiful." Commented Venus. "She should be the prettiest girl in SSII".

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"I envy her a lot" added Vera,

"What if some bad man sees her as she is going back and takes advantage of her? Probably beat her up and make her un-pretty?"

"That will be too bad."

Isabelle did not say a word. She felt this whole experience was unreal. Like it was some kind of nightmare

"You know what darling?" said Venus smiling like a shark "we will walk you home."

"Yes" agreed Venus "so no one messes with your pretty face. Is it okay with you?"

"It's okay with me. Thank you."

She thought she was going to faint.

In the end they did just what they said they would do: walk her home. They escorted her to her room, joked with her while her roommates stared at them with awe and left after telling her to have sweet dreams. She did not have sweet dreams. She had nightmares.