Writers 
DESCRIPTION
Seven Stages is a poignant, psychological drama that follows Kambili, a young girl thrust into the shattering aftermath of a traumatising accident that cost her best friend's life. Haunted by intense self-blame and pushed to the margins as a social outcast, Kambili must navigate the brutal, non-linear realities of grief.
1 - 1 - SHOCK
What is shock, they say? Initial paralysis at hearing bad news. That was precisely what I had felt when the police walked into the house to deliver a message and a statement.
"Onize was found dead this morning at six forty-five am." Those words had never left my head once they escaped the policeman’s mouth.
I remembered stepping back, tears welling heavily in my eyes, my mouth hanging open as if it had completely forgotten how to speak. Mother, knowing just how close Onize and I were, wrapped her arms around me and whispered words of comfort, assuring me that everything was going to be okay. But how could everything be okay when my best friend was dead?
I knew mother was lying.
The next day proved my theory as I walked into the school lobby, the weight of prying eyes instantly pressing down on me. I swallowed hard and lowered my head to avoid the stares, but it did not work. When I finally approached Edidiong, Valentina, and Peculiar, my other friends, they pretended I was not even speaking to them. I watched as they stood up and moved to another seat far away from where I stood.
I stared at them with trembling lips, unable to utter a single word as I turned my eyes toward the board. Whispers from the classmates around me drifted through the air, and I made no effort to tune them out. I wanted to listen. I wanted their words to cut deep and hurt me, because deep down, I knew it was all my fault.
A year passed, and I was promoted to SS3. Mother had desperately wanted me to change schools, but I stubbornly refused. I wanted to stay right here. I wanted everyone to look at me with disgust. I wanted to be shrouded in misery and isolation, because the shock of Onize’s death still held me tightly in its grip. It was a shock I was entirely certain I would never recover from.
"Everyone, we have a new student!" My eyes remained fixed on the view outside the window, watching a few students who had arrived late for school busily cutting grass as punishment. "Please introduce yourself to the class."
I did not bother listening to the new student as he introduced himself, though I could hear the muted murmurings of my classmates echoing across the room.
"Why is there a transfer student in SS3, and in the science class of all places?" one of my classmates whispered. I was seated at the very back, in the last chair right by the window. It was better this way. No one would be subjected to the punishment of having to look at me.
"He is good-looking, maybe that gave him a pass?" her seat partner responded in a low tone. "Besides, this is a government school. I do not think class levels are much of a barrier for transfers."
"Go and have your seat," the class teacher said briefly before turning and exiting the room. I stared back out of the window, tuning out the noise of the classroom, until I felt a sudden presence beside me. I turned my head to find the new student standing there, looking down at me with a small, soft smile.
"Edosa, over here!" Nonso, one of my classmates, hollered loudly before the new student could utter a single word to me.
I cast a quick glance at Nonso, who shot a look of pure disgust in my direction, forcing me to turn my eyes back to the window.
"Nice to meet you," the new student said softly. I turned my head back toward him, but he was already moving over to Nonso, who was eagerly clearing a space between himself and Peter so the new boy could take a seat.
Everyone in the class was seated in threes. I was the only one sitting entirely alone, with no one to call a seat partner.
• • •
When break time arrived, I moved out of the classroom quietly, counting my steps as I walked along the corridor of my class block. There was an empty classroom in Block C, a secluded spot where Onize and I used to go. I headed over to the room, but stopped midway as I noticed it was already occupied.
"Sorry," I said in my raspy voice. I turned to leave immediately, but heard the wooden desk screech against the cemented floor behind me.
"N-no, you can stay." I felt his presence close behind me almost instantly. I desperately wanted to leave and avoid talking to anyone, so I did not turn to face him, even after he had offered to let me stay. "I'm Edosa. Edosa Odia. What's your name?"
I stared down at my dark green straight skirt, which sat slightly above my knees, but I remained completely silent.
"I don't want you to leave. This seems like a place you usually come to," the new kid voiced from behind me. I balled my hands into tight fists, my jaw clenching. "Why not stay?"
"Don't act like you know me!" I spun round and yelled at him, the sound piercing the quiet space. It was the very first time I was speaking to him directly. "Don't act like you know anything about me! I don't come here often, so you can have it!"
I let out a heavy breath and turned to walk away. This was the only abandoned block in the entire school, and now it was taken over by the new kid. I assumed he had friends like Nonso and Peter to hang out with; they seemed so welcoming towards him, and the girls in class clearly thought he had good looks. He had absolutely nothing to worry about.
I began roaming around the area close to my block, simply wanting time to fly by so afternoon classes could resume. I started kicking small pebbles I found near the trimmed grass, trying to manufacture something I could label as fun. But one pebble strayed, bouncing directly off a black leather sandal, and I instinctively looked up to apologise.
"Edid—"
"Don't mention my name with your filthy mouth," Edidiong snapped before the word could even leave my lips. Her eyes roamed disdainfully over my body, stopping at my skirt. "Haven't I warned you never to wear this short skirt to school again?"
I glanced down at my skirt, which barely sat above my knee, and then at hers, which was hitched high up on her thigh.
"Hey, you!" Edidiong barked, calling over a junior who was busy cutting grass as punishment. The junior dropped their task and ran over to us immediately. "Give that cutlass to Kambili."
Edidiong had recently been appointed the Head Girl of Masters Government College, which meant she possessed complete authority over the students.
"Eddy, let's just give her a warning," Peculiar chimed in softly, a statement that earned her a venomous glare from Edidiong.
"Will you shut up and mind your own business?" Edidiong spat at Peculiar, before turning her sharp eyes back on me. "And as for you, go to any thick bush and cut the grass. You can as well disappear in the process, no one will miss you anyway. Idiot."
Edidiong turned on her heel and strutted off, followed closely by Valentina and a subdued Peculiar. I stared down at the heavy iron cutlass in my hand and let out a long, silent sigh.
A few minutes later, I found myself standing beneath the massive oak tree far behind Block C. It was far away from the other students, but strangely close to Onize. Because this exact spot, right beneath these sprawling branches, was where Onize's lifeless body had been found.
