Moonless Night (Preview Edition), Page 2

have stolen the money he used to pay for this trip?"

  Sarah was greatly annoyed by Roslyn's provoking remark and accusation. But she decided not to trade words with her. Picking up her Mathematics textbook, she left her friends and headed to Matthew's seat

  "No wonder!" exclaimed Lola.

  "So it is because of Mathematics that she stooped so low. He maybe a poor boy but he must be very brilliant,” continued Lola who had become obviously green with envy, wishing she were in Sarah's shoes, for she had longed to meet someone who could help her out with ‘the ever challenging Mathematics’.

  "Oh! shut up. What difference does that make? Don't tell me you too have fallen for his trap,” said Roslyn.

  Having realized that Roslyn’s words were a collection of the group’s mind, Lola had to betray her wish by keeping a reluctant distance away from Matthew for almost the entire period they spent on board and on the Island. She cherished the wisdom in Sarah's humility in private only so as not to be seen as the second odd one, after Sarah.

  Sarah and Matthew were soon immersed in their work and paid no attention to the remonstrance of Sarah's friends. On an occasion, Sarah burst into laughter after discovering a silly mistake she made. This was too much for Roslyn and her company to bear. Roslyn wished she could get a cane and whip her mercilessly.

  They were all served specially prepared jollof rice endowed with roasted chicken shortly after. Unlike the rest of the students who were used to eating such a sumptuous meal, it was a very rare one for Matthew who seldom had the opportunity to be fed with it at home.

  Matthew remarked as he devoured the roasted chicken and gulped down the rice, "This rice is very delicious. I can't remember having ate better.”

  "Yes, it's very delicious, but my mum sometimes cooks better than this,” commented Sarah.

  "Wow, you have a great mum."

  "Your mum is great too. She is the mother of my Mathematics teacher."

  Beaming with smiles, Matthew said excitedly, “I will take that as a great compliment.”

  No sooner had they finished eating than the boat reached the Island and they all disembarked excitedly.

  S.T Patrick Island was a lovely sight to the kids. A fairly big Island about seven kilometers in length and 6km wide, it was home to various animals, notably rabbits, pigs, squirrels and birds. Like a typical Island of its size, wild animals such as lions, tigers and even snakes were virtually non-existent. Along the beach were scores of crabs, shuttling between their burrowed holes on the sand and the sea. Only a patient hunter could catch them easily as they detected the approach of any living creature very swiftly and either vanished into their holes or the seas, depending on which was the nearest refuge, only to pop out of their holes as soon as the outside was considered relatively safe. While some of the boys actually tried to catch the intelligent crustaceans playfully in vain, the females never bothered to chase after the crabs; they took their time to observe the charms of the Island instead. The coral reefs on the island were naturally impressive. The boys and girls were led further by the organizers of the program into the core of the island beautified by flashy flowers and gigantic trees. Some of the girls plucked various flowers as they passed by them and a few boys followed suit.

  It was already evening by the time they arrived at the camp. The spot was about half a kilometer away from the open sea. They soon erected their tents and camps. By the time they were done, the sun had set, they had been exhausted. Having retired to the camp, Matthew slept soundly, full of joy about the events of the day after he had said his night prayers. His happiness knew no bounds for many reasons. First, being at the camp was a dream come true for him. Secondly, he was excited to have made a good friend during the trip to the Island while Sarah was glad to have met someone who was capable of teaching her mathematics. The only event that made her angry that night was the unpleasant attitude of her friends earlier in the day.

  Sarah, Lola, Roslyn and Kemi had been friends since their first year in senior high school. While the rest of the girls were notorious for being fashion conscious and not taking their studies seriously, Sarah was very focused and she performed fairly in school. She tried as much as possible to maintain friendship with almost all the girls in her class despite their character defects. She was the only girl in her class without a boyfriend. For this reason, the other girls thought her strange.

  "I am starting to suspect that girl is a male disguised as a female,” said Roslyn once. Despite her strong stand, so much pressure from her friends and some boys in her class had weakened her heart. She had begun considering giving in to one of the boys.

  Lola slept that night as a confused girl. She had often been indecisive about how to live her life. Her life had been rigmarole. She lived like most other girls in her class, but her conscience kept reminding her that she was on the wrong track. The fear of offending her friends, especially Roslyn, stopped her from approaching Matthew to get solutions to her monstrous mathematical problems.

  All the campers slept soundly except for a few, who for the best reasons known to them and God, hardly slept all through the night.

  The night waved goodbye and dawn was greeted by an early morning sunshine.

  The campers, especially the boys, overslept because they slept very late and there were neither cocks to crow, nor did anyone of them set alarms to wake them up, even though they all, including the poor Matthew, had smartphones of different grades.

  "Good morning boys, how was your night?” A woman asked. Some of the boys chorused "fine", however the rest who had just been woken up by the greeting, were just arriving from slumberland and could not give any sensible reply. One of them, partly recovered from a dream was muttering some gibberish, before he was brought back to life by the laughter of the other boys who were amused.

  The campers started the scheduled activities for the day by 9.30 a.m. after they had eaten breakfast. Officials assigned with the responsibility to organize them for the activities of each day arrived shortly thereafter. They took them to centers of attraction and recreation on the Island, including a football field, a basketball court, a tennis court, a race course and a golf course. Some of them spent a great part of the day playing football, basketball, table tennis, golf, and participating in relay and sprint. Those who did not partake in any of the sporting activities simply acted as spectators, watched and cheered the rest. Meanwhile, Roslyn, in conjunction with a few girls she invited organized a fashion show, appointed some as judges and many girls volunteered to be contestants. It soon became a huge side attraction. So many boys and girls trooped to the show either to watch or to participate.

  Matthew participated in the sprint.

  "On your mark, set, go!” exclaimed the referee and the contestants, six in number, set off with great energy. In the end, a very tall boy won. Matthew came third. He had never been a good sprinter despite the fact that he was fairly tall. He was even surprised to have placed third. Sarah cheered him amid the spectators. He couldn't tell if it was the reason he performed better than he expected. He panted after the race, sat down and rested for a few moments after which he went to meet Sarah.

  "I should have tried better. Maybe I could have won,” said Matthew.

  "It doesn't matter. You tried your best and that's what matters most. Do your best and leave the rest," responded Sarah.

  "To God,” added Matthew.

  "I think we have had enough play. Can we solve some mathematical puzzles now?" She asked.

  “Why not? You are a serious student; I can see you have a bright future."

  She smiled in response to his compliments. They both walked off to a solitary place to avoid distractions.

  The duo had been engulfed in Mathematics for nearly an hour and did not notice when Roslyn approached them.

  "So, this is where you and your boyfriend have been?” Roslyn said, startling them.

  “It's not what you think. As you can see, he is teaching me," said Sarah.

  "Oh, sor
ry, Mathematics indeed. I better leave you both alone,” Roslyn said and walked away.

  Matthew was dumbfounded, but was greatly relieved to see her take her leave.

  "Your friend is very funny. Was she not the one that organized the fashion show?"

  “Don't mind her, that's how she often behaves. I don't understand why she keeps disturbing me with this boyfriend issue. To say the fact, she and my other friends are throwing me into confusion,“ lamented Sarah.

  "Are you thinking of giving in to their pressure?" Matthew asked.

  "Something like that.”

  "Don't sister.”

  "Why?”

  "Because you are right and they are wrong. There is a time for everything. If you focus on your studies now, you would succeed greatly in life,” counselled Matthew.

  "Thank you so much. None of my female friends has ever supported my stand. I promise you I won't give in.”

  "I am glad to hear you say so. Thanks to God. Be a good girl. "

  "I will be," Sarah assured him.

  Drifting away from their discussion, they resumed to their work for the day.

  At about six pm, many of the children had gone to the beach to play by the sea side. They were however warned against swimming in the sea.

  Sarah and Matthew were both exhausted after hours of intensive mental work. They were both left alone after others had gone to the beach. They spent much time talking about each other's school life