Adira's POV
"Adira, we've met before. Ten years ago."
I blinked at Jayden. He had to be joking. "Ten years? Craig, I was five. You expect me to remember you? You're hilarious"
"Miss Williams. Mr. Craig. Principal's office. Now!"
The vice-principal's shout sliced through the hallway. My stomach sank. Trouble. Of course.
The office was already packed. Ashley lounged smugly with Joan at her side. Kendrick sat with his usual air of entitlement. Sam looked pale but defiant.
The principal didn't waste words. "Your parents will be here any moment." Then her sharp gaze fixed on me. "Adira, where's your skirt?"
"It's still glued to my chair, ma'am. Courtesy of Ashley."
A collective gasp. The principal turned, eyes narrowing at my twin. "Ashley. Care to explain?"
Ashley stammered, "I I don't know what she's"
"Don't you dare lie!" I snapped, fury exploding. I launched at her, dragging us both to the ground. "Tell her how you glued Sam and me to our seats, you lying bastard!"
"Adira, stop!" the principal barked, tugging at my shoulders, but I fought her grip. My blood pounded too loud to listen.
"Everyone stop!" Her voice cracked like a whip, fists slamming on the desk.
I scrambled up, panting, only to realize chaos had spread. Sam and Joan were brawling too. The room froze when the door opened. Parents.
Sam's mother marched forward and slapped her across the face. My best friend winced but didn't cry. My chest ached for her.
Then my eyes met Dad's. Disappointment. Heavy. Crushing.
Mum didn't waste time. She stormed up to me and delivered a slap so sharp the world tilted. Not an ordinary slap. A Nigerian mum slap.
The kind that made your ears ring like sirens, the kind that scrambled your brain until you weren't sure if you should cry, laugh, or run. My cheek burned as if fire itself had branded me.
Time slowed. Everything blurred. And for the first time, I stopped pretending. I couldn't be the perfect daughter. Mum hated me. And now Dad too I could see it in his eyes, the disgust.
A tear slid down before I could stop it.
The principal's voice cut through the silence. "Enough. I've seen the video. I've spoken to witnesses. All of you two weeks' suspension."
Two weeks. My chest tightened. Suspension wasn't a break. It was a death sentence. Those walls at home would close in on me like a coffin.
When we got home, I bolted straight for my room. I arranged my bed, grabbed my phone, and tried to numb myself by scrolling. Celebrities. Memes. Anything but reality.
Then I saw it.
The video. On Instablog9ja. Then Linda Ikeji. Then Tunde Ednut. Everywhere. Thousands of comments. Strangers dissecting me, my family.
Terrible parenting.
Are they even twins?
Shameful.
Insults, judgments, knives dressed as words. They didn't just attack Ashley or Kendrick they dragged my parents. And I knew how much my parents prized their spotless name. This... this could ruin everything.
Something inside me hardened. I was done being silent.
I opened Instagram and pressed "Go Live."
"Hello, everyone. My name is Adira Ademide Williams. Yes, I'm fifteen. Yes, I'm the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Williams. And yes I live with my parents. They love me. They love my sister. They don't joke with us.
"All those mean comments? The insults? The attacks? Unfair. Siblings fight. Siblings argue. Maybe more than most, but that doesn't mean there's no love. Today, my sister and I argued. We got punished. We got suspended. And we're reflecting.
"So, please. Keep your hate speech to yourselves. If you're angry at life, channel it where it belongs maybe the government not at a couple of teenagers figuring things out.
"We'll be fine. And so will my family."
I ended the live and uploaded the video, tagging every single blog that had shared the clip.
For the first time in forever, my voice was louder than Ashley's.