I was thirteen years old when I first met John. He was my dad's mechanic, so I got used to seeing him most mornings.

“Good morning, Sir,” I would greet whenever I saw him in the compound.

“Good morning, my dear,” He would respond. “How are you?”

As an only child, I mostly kept to myself so when my parents instructed me to watch as he fixed the car, I was confused.

“But I want to watch TV,” I whined.

“You need to know all these things, honey,” my mother said. “What if your car breaks down?”

For all my argument, I still ended up watching him work nearly every Saturday.

John always asked me about school, assignments, and it was fun talking to him. He understood my sadness at waking up early and stay for extra lessons.

As the weeks progressed, his questions became more personal.

“You're thirteen, right?” he asked, and when I nodded my head, he smiled and shifted closer to where I sat.

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

I already felt comfortable with him, so I smiled and nodded my head.

“He's not my boyfriend, but we like each other. He likes holding my hand,” I confessed naively, and John's smile got wider.

“Tell me. What else does he do?”

I spent the next hour telling him how I gave Tolu extra food and did his assignments.

At the end of everything, I saw a strange look on his face.

“Mr. John, is something wrong?”

“Yes.” He shifted even closer to me and whispered, “Do you want other girls to steal Tolu from you?”

I instantly shook my head. “No! Why would–”

“You're not treating him well.”

“How? What do you mean?”

I was confused. He was always smiling when we were together, and my friends said we looked good with each other.

“Ahn ahn. You're a big girl. Don't you know what I mean?”

I looked away and tried to think of something, but John's breath interrupted my thoughts.

“Have you kissed him?”

My eyes widened, and I turned back to him. “No! Mummy said I shouldn't do that until I'm big enough.”

John looked at me strangely. “Aren't you big enough?”

“See your body. You're already a big girl. But there are bigger girls in your class, and if you don't do well, Tolu will leave you.”

I just looked at him in confusion. I liked holding Tolu's hand, and he was right, there were bigger girls in my class.

I made my decision.

“What should I do?”

He looked around the compound, and moved closer to me.

“Do you know where my shop is?”

“Yes,” I quickly answered. I always passed it when going home from school.

“Good girl. Meet me there on Tuesday.”

I woke up very early on Tuesday. Mummy was shocked when she came to my room and saw me almost ready for school.

“Honey, are you alright?” She asked, and I eagerly nodded.

“I'm just excited,” I responded, and she frowned at me.

“Why?”

“Nothing!” I smiled, and ran out of the room. I couldn't tell Mummy that Mr. John was going to be giving me lessons on how to treat Tolu.

When I got to school that day, I couldn't concentrate. Instead, I spent the whole day looking at my crush and wondering what Daddy's mechanic would teach me.

Finally, the day ended, and Tolu held my hand as we walked to the school gate.

He brought something out of his pocket and handed it to me.

“Do you like it?”

It was a red wristwatch with silver numbers.

“Yes! Thank you.” I hugged him and then squeezed his hand. “See you tomorrow.”

I stared at the gift all the way home, excited that Tolu really liked me. If not, why else would he buy me a gift?

“He won't leave me for any other girl,” I murmured to myself, remembering Mr. John's words. Still, I branched at his store and met him fixing another car.

“Good evening, Sir,” I greeted and immediately he saw me, he smiled and stopped working.

“Good girl. I thought you weren't going to come again.”

I showed him the watch. “Tolu likes me. He bought this for me.” There was a frown on my face, but the man only smiled.

“Isn't he a rich boy? He can buy it for other girls, and you won't know.”

“But...,”

“Dear, that's how boys are,” he paused and led me into the store. It wasn't the first time I was inside, but now it looked dark and lonely.

“I'll teach you what you can do so he doesn't leave you. But first, you can't tell your parents about this.”

I wanted to ask why, since they liked him, but he looked scary so I nodded my head.

“Okay.”

Mr. John shifted closer to me and smiled. “First, you have to learn how to kiss him.”

My eyes widened, and I looked away. “But I don't know how to do it.”

“That's why I'll teach you,” he responded and shifted even closer. “Don't be scared. I won't harm you.”

I nodded my head and just watched as he put on the small TV in front of us.

There was a boy and girl on the screen, talking to each other and I frowned.

“Just watch them,” Mr John said as he sat near me again.

I watched as they stopped talking and the girl pouted her lips. The guy stared at them and did the same, before moving towards her and their lips touched.

I looked away in guilt, afraid that he would tell my parents I was watching things like these.

But Mr. John held my face and turned it back to the TV.

“You have to learn, so we can practice it.”

I sighed and continued to look at the screen, watching as he played the video three more times.

“Do you want to watch it again?”

I shook my head.

“Good. Now, let's try it.”

“But I can practice alone.” The thought of doing it with Mr. John felt weird. He was old, and not very fine.

He glared at me. “No! You need to learn well so you don't disappoint Tolu.”

“Okay.” I didn't want him to get angry and stop teaching me, so I raised my lips and pushed them out like the girl did.

“Close your eyes.”

His smile was the last thing I saw, and instantly, I felt something on my mouth. It was so dry and uncomfortable, and I wanted to move away but his hands were on my shoulders.

After some minutes, he let me go and smiled again. “How was it?”

“Fine.” I bent my head in shame. What if Mummy saw me here, kissing our mechanic?

“Good. Come tomorrow so that we can continue.” He stood up and dragged me along. “Remember, don't tell anybody. This is our secret class.”

Mr. John continued to teach me how to kiss for days. Everyday, he would play different videos and tell me to repeat what the girls did.

“Push your lips out.”

“Close your eyes and smile, Tolu will like that.”

“Touch my–I mean, his face.”

It felt weird and wrong, but I was determined to learn. The next Tuesday, I went to school with a big smile. He had taught me how to kiss a boy and be good at it.

During break, I put on lipgloss and when Tolu came to our spot, I caught his eyes on my lips. Mr. John was right. Boys liked them.

“Why did you apply that?” Tolu asked, and I tried my best to smile like the girls in the video. Mr. John called it flirting.

“Because you like it.”

He shook his head and frowned. “It makes you look older than me, and I don't like it.” Then, he took my hand and moved closer. “I like you normal.”

Tears gathered in my eyes and I moved away and ran to the bathroom. He lied to me! After cleaning the source of my rejection, I avoided Tolu till the end of school.

Again, I skipped school lessons and went straight to Mr. John's shop.

“You lied to me. Tolu doesn't like lipgloss, and he told me to remove it.”

The man looked at me in shock and dragged me into his shop. “Shhh! Do you want them to hear us?”

“I don't care! You embarra–”

The next thing I felt was a slap on my face. The force of it turned my head sideways as the pain stung my right cheek.

“Don't talk to me that way again.” He looked like he wanted to beat me again, and tears filled my eyes.

Instantly, his face softened and he pulled me towards him. “Okay, sorry. Don't cry again.”

Before I could say anything, he put his lips on mine and started to kiss me. I was already used to it, so I just stood waited for him to finish.

“Did you try kissing Tolu, and he told you he didn't like it?”

“No, but...”

“That is the issue. Try it tomorrow and see.”

He pushed me out of the shop after that, and as I turned to go home, I saw a girl like me entering the store.

“What happened to your face?” my mother asked as soon as I got home.

My eyes widened in fear. “Ermm...I fell on the ground during sports.”

Enh! And it gave you this kind of mark?” She drew me closer and began to rub it. “Remind me to press it with hot water. You shouldn't be playing rough games, Eni.”

I nodded my head and tried to breath out in relief. What if she discovered what was happening?

I knew it was wrong for the mechanic to be kissing me, but my parents had sworn not to teach me about boys till I entered university. But Tolu liked me now, and I needed to impress him. Without my mom's lipgloss.

I practiced with my mirror the whole night, like Mr. John taught me. The next day, Tolu rejected me again.

“What's wrong with you? Why are to trying to kiss me?”

I bent my down as embarassment filled my thoughts. He didn't like me.

“Because I thought you would like it. Don't boys like that kind of thing?”

“Where did you hear that from?”

I looked away. “Ermm... a movie.”

Tolu wasn't convinced. “You hate movies, and you always say they act lies.” He moved closer to me and took my hand. “Who told you that boys like kissing?”

“Nobody.” My palms began to sweat, and he noticed it too.

“Okay. When you're ready to tell me, come and find me.”

“Wait!” I called out, but he continued to talk away. I was sweating. If I let him go now, he would refuse to talk to me even if I confessed.

But what about Mr. John? He warned me not to tell anybody or he would stop teaching me.

“Abeg, I don't even want to learn again,” I whispered to myself and ran after Tolu.

“Wait, wait!” This time, he stopped. “Okay, I'll tell you, but don't tell anybody. I don't want to be in trouble.”

He nodded his head and brought his ear to my mouth. “It was Mr. John.”

Tolu's eyes widened. “Which Mr. John? Your dad's mechanic?”

I slowly nodded my head. “How? Why?”

I spent the whole break telling him about how everything started, and at the end, he hugged me. “You dont need to wear lipgloss or kiss me for me to like you. I won't follow another girl because of that, alright?”

“Okay.” I bent my head and smiled. I liked when Tolu was being sweet.

“Promise me you won't go to his place again.”

“I promise.”

When I got home, I noticed a black car parked in front. My parents didn't own one, and I curiously entered to see what was happening. I saw a policeman standing by the door, and when he noticed me, he left there and I saw Mr. John sitting on the ground.

My mom ran towards me. “Eni, what did this man do to you? Tell me! Did he touch you?” She started to feel my body, especially my private parts and I moved back.

“What's happening?” I looked at my dad's mechanic's face and terror filled me. It couldn't be... had they?

Daddy walked to me. “Your teacher called yesterday and told us you were skipping after school lessons. Is he why?”

I shook my head and continued to shift back. “No. I don't understand what is happening.”

“Tolu came to my shop and told us. Mr. John was molesting you.” My mother looked at me with sad eyes. “Why didn't you tell us?”

“No, no!” I argued. “He was teaching me–”

“How to kiss a boy? Are you normal?! Do you know what he could have done to you?”

Whenever my dad's eyes became red, I knew there would be trouble. So, I bent my head and sighed.

“I'm sorry.”

He said nothing and just shook his head, as the policeman turned to me.

“This man has been reported severally as a child molester, and there is currently a girl in this neighbourhood who is pregnant for him.”

My mind went back to the girl I saw entering his shop. Was she the one?

“She came to me!” Mr. John suddenly yelled out. “She wanted to learn how to kiss a boy.”

“That is not true. Mummy, Daddy, he offered to teach me. He said I'm a big girl, and boys would leave me if I don't do adult things with them.”

My mom turned to him and landed a slap across his face. “That's for hitting my girl.” She turned to the policeman. “Take him away.”

I stood at the door as Mr. John screamed against me. Would he really have wanted to sleep with me?

“Young lady, we need to have a talk.”

My parents were obviously very angry at me, but I couldn't blame them. Tolu reported me, and I didn't know whether to be angry or grateful.

After a lot of shouts and apologies, Mummy finally calmed Daddy down.

A reduced allowance and being taken to and from school everyday didn't sound so bad, especially when I saw the girl carrying a baby on her back some months later. It could have been me.