CHAPTER 25: I AM UGLY

Her time for revenge was near. She was alone in her room again, her duvet wrapped around her long legs, her upper body adorned in a wooly white sweater. The weather was a bit chilly. It was that time of the year and it was so easy to stay curled up in bed all day because of the cold.

The others had gone for morning lectures. But Mildred had other plans. Her cold eyes stared at the view of the school from her room, but it wasn’t beautiful; it was blurry and bloody. Yes, it was her time to take care of the menace they called a cleaner. Quickly, she tossed the duvet aside and climbed down her bed towards the door.

Mildred peered through peephole on the door as she watched the cleaner who had accompanied Madam Agatha leaving with her mopping bucket… was she really gone? Was Madam Agatha alone now? She didn’t wait to find the answers as she opened the door gradually and tiptoed down the corridor that led to the T-end. The hostel was awfully quiet for a place that buzzed like a town of bees. And that was because most people had gone for their morning lectures.

From the corner where she hid, she could see Madam Agatha washing the toilet sinks indolently, while she watched the students who strolled to school in their trendy outfits. She hissed at their outfits and mumbled curses only she could hear. She was so busy criticizing the students that she had no idea when Mildred walked into one of the bathrooms and closed it gently. With her back facing the entrance to the bathrooms, there was no way she would have seen Mildred.


The T-end was made up of 2 rows of bathrooms and 2 rows of toilets, which were demarcated by tiny steps. Each row was made up of 4 rooms, which were specifically for the girls in Mildred’s hostel wing. The toilet and bathroom area of the school was large to accommodate more than 10 girls at a time. At the back of the bathrooms was a dark area which housed the taps where cleaners and students often fetched water before climbing the steps that demarcated the rows of toilets from the bathrooms.

The area always remained dark, even when the toilet area was well-illuminated. The dark area also led to the spot where she had waited for Vivian before dousing her with water. But this time, the small door looked locked and she couldn’t hope to use it as a means of escape. She would have to find a way back to her room, she told herself when she passed that area… that shouldn’t be a problem, since the hostel was quiet and scanty in the morning. There would be no one to catch her. Her eyes glittered with mischief.

Locked up in that bathroom closest to the steps, Mildred kept thinking about her next move… she had no laid-out plan but she knew today was the day. This was her chance! She heard Madam Agatha heavy footfalls as she climbed the steps that led from the bathroom to the toilet. She was heaving from the easy chore, which seemed like difficult to her because she was lazy.

“Chinekem, what is all this?” Madam Agatha yelled as the small bucket of water she was carrying splashed water all over the stairs. At that moment Mildred opened the door gently to peep through it and Madam Agatha still had no idea someone was there, even though the bathroom door was close to the tap area. Few of the girls who were in the hostel didn’t come close to the toilet because they knew Madam Agatha was on duty. So, the area remained quiet. The only noise came from Madam Agatha’s hissing and cursing.

Having splashed the little water she fetched all over the tiny flight of stairs, Madam Agatha had to take yet another trip to the dark area close to the bathroom. Mildred watched her as she did her chores lazily with her face squeezed like she was eating hot Akara. She wasn’t an ugly woman, but her wickedness made her appear so.

Madam Agatha wasn’t an observant person. She was slow and only had eyes for ridiculing and criticizing young girls. As she fetched the water slowly, the bucket was barely full before she lifted it like it was filled with sand or heavy stones. Grunting like a baby, she hauled the bucket down the stairs and still she had no idea someone was watching. She climbed down the steps gradually since her weight was too much for her to carry.

When Madam Agatha paused on stairs, Mildred knew that was her moment… she tiptoed out of the bathroom and walked directly behind Madam Agatha. And then she pushed her down the wet steps and her old bones crackled as she fell. She screamed in pain as rolled down the remaining stairs, but couldn’t look back in time to see who her assailant was. Quickly, Mildred walked back to her room seconds later, after making sure no one was coming to help Madam Agatha.

Madam Agatha’s chubby body lay on the wet marble floor of the T-end as she continued to howl like a wounded animal and no one came to her aid. They were all afraid she was up to no good. It wasn’t the first time she had put up such dramatics just to lure students to the toilet so she would exchange words with them.

Several Minutes later, One of her colleagues finally came to the toilet area and found Madam Agatha sprawled on the stairs and weeping. The cleaner who saw her in her helpless state raised an alarm, which made some girls to dash out of their rooms towards the toilet area. But when they got there, they simply watched Madam Agatha without helping her. Maybe they were really the spoilt brats Madam Agatha had deemed they were.The other cleaner pleaded with them to go get some help, but no one moved an inch. Maybe they all secretly wanted Madam Agatha to meet with an accident, and Mildred had made that dream a reality.

The Cleaner who found Madam Agatha had no choice but to rush out again to call for help since no one was helping her and she came back accompanied by the hostel porter. Madam Agatha resumed her howling in pain when she noticed she couldn’t stand up or move her legs and no one was strong enough to carry her because she was so heavy.

The few girls who were around watched from their doors as the heavy madam Agatha was hauled out like a heavy-duty truck by four hefty men, after much deliberation by the hostel authorities. She was crying profusely since her hip bone appeared to be broken… and no one knew what had happened to her.

Mildred stepped out of her room then just like everyone else, acting like the whole thing was a shock to her. But when four hefty men carrying Madam Agatha passed her door and she saw her moaning in pain, an evil sneer spread across her pretty face and she couldn’t help it. One more down! She muttered to herself.

“This is so similar to what had happened to Vivian; no one knew who the attacker was. This is so strange. Maybe there’s truly an evil, vengeful spirit lurking around the T-end.” One girl whispered to her friend as they watched Madam Agatha being carried away.

“Something spooky is happening in our hostel and I am scared. There must be something hiding in that T-end. God help us o!” The other girl’s pleading voice echoed in the hall.
Mildred chuckled to herself when she heard the girls repeat this ridiculous statement -Yes, a vengeful spirit was out and that spirit was her!

This is for people who love to read. You can find this intriguing story here: https://store.okadabooks.com/book/about/i_am_ugly_broken_on_the_inside/50442