CHAPTER 2

Jude was a senior and hung out with a group of boys that were hugely admired by the girls in her set. While she had transferred from her previous school to this new school because her parents were completely convinced by friends that students who graduated from this new school came out with better grades for their final year exams in SS3 and had better chances of getting into any higher institution of their choice. Plus, it was cheaper for her to start in SS2 - 3rdterm -as they avoided the extra charge the school enforces on pupils who just joins in SS3 for the sole purpose of getting the final year grades.

She was new and very pretty. Those two combinations were just the right characteristics Jude found attractive as she came across as naive.

She first met Jude at the cafeteria. He was the life of the party, tall and somewhat handsome. Everyone around him laughed at his jokes and girls were always trying to get his attention one way or the other.
He came up to her and asked her to join their table. She didn’t refuse. Within a week of starting the new school, she had blended in quite well and earned a reputation for herself which she liked very much.
Jude was in his finals and the preparation for his graduation was in top notch. Therefore, a week to his set's graduation party, he asked her out and invited her to be his date. She didn’t refuse either.

He was extremely nice to her; a gentleman. Helping her to blend in easily, introducing her to all the cool people in school which rubbed off on her because it made her automatically cool too.
He never bought her anything in particular but he always offered and she always turned his offers down. She didn’t want him to think she was completely using him or his money. She also didn’t want to lose him quickly because she was getting to really like him a lot.

She had told her childhood friend Kunle about Jude and the graduation party she was invited to. Kunle had told her it was too soon to be going out on late nights with someone she barely knows. She had said it was just one night and Kunle had responded that it didn’t matter. She walked away rudely from the conversation, called him jealous and told him she regretted telling him about it in the first place. Kunle had watched her leave without uttering another word.

The night of the graduation party finally came and she was dressed in a very beautiful black gown "the little black dress" not too short, not too long but the perfect knee length which was also very tempting but chic. She told her mother she was going for choir practice and would probably get home late. Her mother didn't object because she had personally signed her daughter to that unit in Church. Most of her friends had their daughters there she thought.

She met Jude at the junction to the venue of the party; he didn’t want to go to her house and made excuses of how inappropriate it would look. She didn’t want to annoy him and make him cancel their date so she agreed to meet him at the junction of the event and from there; they would pretend they had come together.

The party was fun, organized by his clique and attended by the poplars’ in their school. There was so much to drink and Jude was drinking it all. Suddenly, he became loud and obnoxious to her. He was rude and annoying. Offering her alcohol and touching her inappropriately while they danced.
She had had enough and announced that she was going home. Jude had told her not to worry, time shouldn’t ruin their fun. Besides he brought a car along so he would drop her off at home with ease. She had looked at him with disgust and stormed out of the party.

“I can’t believe you drove here. Why did you not pick me up from the junction of my house?” She asked as she walked away while he was in the car trying to get her to enter because she was causing a scene and he hates public embarrassments.

“Can we talk about this in the car?” He asked
“No, I am taking public transport home.” She replied
“Come on Chioma, that’s stupid and you know it.

“It's 11 pm and you don’t even know where the next bus-stop is located.” He said

She stopped walking and thought about what he had just said. For once that day, he was absolutely right. So she walked over to the passenger’s seat in front of the car and strapped herself tight remembering that he was drunk. She was more than ready to end the date.

Unfortunately, he didn’t intend to drive her home. Instead, he took her to a deserted street and raped her.