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A story written by BukkyDan
([email protected])
… I shifted uncomfortably in my
seat, took a quick
glance round the classroom-
everybody seems to
interested in what the teacher
was scribbling on the black board.
I summed Madame Diallo with a
look, I couldn’t
help smiling at her fat legs…
“Le langue Francaise… Repeat
after me.” madame Diallo began.
“Le langue francaise!” the whole
class throated.
I hissed quitely, do we have to
say this? We’re in
J.S.S.3 for crying out loud! Besides, why do we
have learn french this hot
afternoon? I am a
Nigerian! A Yoruba for that
matter…
“Il ya des ecole, eu du mangue.” the teacher said
again.
“Who can tell us what that
means?” her cat eyes
searched the class.
Bisi stood up, I trust her now- over sabi-sabi. I
hissed again.
“it means, in front of the school,
there is a mango
tree.” bisi said smiling like a
donkey “Clap for her.”
I didn’t clap, i looked out of the
window instead.
“Madame et monsuier Akosua,
il habite poto-poto-
brazaville.” I heard her say. “who can translate that?”
I kept my eyes glued to the
window.
“Teju can you help us out?”
I heard her definitely, me
translate french? Rubbish.
“Tejumola Benson!” she shrilled
I jumped up, pretending to be
startled.
“translate that!” she pointed her
cane at the black board.
“Which one of them?” I
scratched my cornrows.
“Teju!” she scowled.
“Errrm…madame…errn, it
means..erm,mr and mrs..Akosua, have
children….errm…called…erm,
poto-poto and brazaville…” I
stammered.
She stared at me in disbelief.
“Teju!” her eyes almost popped out
“You sitting for your Junior
NECO very soon, and
you can’t translate this?”
I looked away.
“I’m so disappointed!” she added.
That one is your headache, I
wonder if french is a
necessity.
“Sit down, class lets continue.”
Rubbish! I hissed “Bring out you notebooks, and
copy these down.”
Madame Diallo ordered before
she started
scribbling some notes on the
board. I copied the note for copying
sake, i had no
intention of reading it. We
copied and copied
endlessly till a bell rang.
“End of period” Ayo- a fat chubby boy yelled from
outside. We all laughed. Ayo-
the time keeper, we
told each other.
“Lets call it a day, aurevoir”
madame Diallo packed her books.
“Au revoir” we all throated, my
voice at its peak.
The whole class became a
noise den, some of
them even played ten-ten. I watched them all, with
no intention of joining them. I’ve
not eaten since
last night, I don’t have the
strength to play…
“What’s the noise all about?” Eric the headboy
roared.
They didn’t even notice him.
He banged a table loudly.
They all came back to their
senses. “Good afternoon Senior”
“What’s good about the
afternoon? Ehn? Why were
you making such noise?” Eric’s
massive voice
thundered. Nobody replied him
“Who’s the class captain?” he
asked again,
infuriated.
I quickly adjusted my skirt,
tucking in my shirt properly.
“I said where’s the…”
“Sir?” I chirped cutting him
short.
“i want the list of noisemakers
now” he ordered “List?” I wore a puzzled look
“oh so you just watched them
abi? Whats your job?”
he queried.
Na today? ThankGod say I no
join them sef, if not this building for fall- I hissed
within me.
“Are deaf or dumb?” He yelled
at me.
“None of the above.” I replied
with a frown. Some students began to giggle
“oh really? Okay, come out
here.” he ordered.
“go and kneel down under the
sun!” he declared my
punishment. Mo kpe! I thought quitely as I
knelt down. This hot
sun plus kneeling down plus
hunger again? I’m
finished.
I didn’t spend a minute kneeling down when I saw
David the assistant headboy
walking towards me.
I looked away, David was very
popular in the
school, he became the assistant headboy the very
day he stepped his foot into
S.S.S.2. Maybe cos
he’s brilliant or cos his father
was rich- very rich-a
senator. Maybe cos of his looks, he is too beautiful
to be called handsome, those
full eyelashes, the
dimples….
“What are doing here?” David
asked “punishment.” I replied.
“Go back to your class, this sun
is too hot.” He
said quitely.
I stood up, murmurred a
thankyou, and walked quickly to my class, who said
my God isn’t
mercifull..
“stop there!” eric roared from
behind me.
“Who asked you to go back to your class?” he
gnarled.
“I did.” David sauntered
towards us. “Guy free the
girl, this sun is too hot.” David
patted Eric’s shoulder.
“Go to your class” he said to
me.
Oh yea! I felt so fly as I hopped
to me class.
I trudged into our flat, as usual Maria-my step
mother was sitting; crosslegged
in the parlour.
“Ekun le oo” I said trying to
sound cheerful
“Maami good evening.” I greeted her again,
She did not reply, she glued her
eyes to the
television.
That’s your problem, I
shrugged, and walked towards my room.
“Oshi!- Devil!” I heard her say, I
quickly turned to
look at her.
“Aje- witch!” she added again.
I became apprehensive, trouble in the air.
“go and tell your fellow witches
that my head is too
strong for them o” she clapped.
Is this woman okay? I asked
myself, I moved towards my room but stoped
again when something
struck my head from behind.
The sharp pain surged through
my body, I let out
an ear-deafening scream- thats my major talent.
She pulled me roughly, “let me
warn you, if you tell
your father anything, I’l kill you!”
I stood still, staring at her.
“Take your winchy eyes off me jare! Oya go and
fetch water for me.”
“okay, let me pull off my
uniform.”
I moved towards my room,
tears streaming down cheeks.
“which uniform? Go like that
jor!” she pushed me
roughly.
I dashed to the kitchen, picked
a bucket and made for the bore-hole, to prevent
more beating and
insults.
The borehole was about 20
blocks from our flat, I
filled my bucket,and made towards home.
I wished my dad would just
come back, he’s gone
for his so-called ‘business
trips’. If he’d been
around, I wouldn’t fetch water, he made sure we
buy from water vendors.
“Tejumola Benson!” someone
called from behind
me. I turned sharply and saw
Bisi my classmate running towards me.
Here comes the over sabi-sabi,
I rolled my eyes.
“So you fetch water too?” she
asked. I didn’t reply.
“you should have changed from your uniform first
now.” she added.
Over sabi-sabi mind your
business now, I wanted
to tell her.
“Thanks for your concern” I replied with sarcasm
“Its alright” she gave me a
donkey smile. Eeewww!
“Let me help you, I’m going
down the road.” she
collectedd the bucket of water, balanced it on her
head and we walked home.
“Teju, you were funny during
french class, that day,
hmm.” she said.
I simply grunted. “You see this house?” she said
as we walked past
a huge mansion.
“yes”
“shey you know David ko? The
assistant head boy, ehen, the house belongs to his
father, they all live
inside.” Bisi explained.
“Ehhn! Tell me something.” I
said in a gossip like
fashion. “Hmm, you mean you don’t
know? His father has
three wives now, David is the
only son, with about
15 sisters. My dear, each of
them have a well furnished room. You know their
father is a senator”
Bisi rattled on.
“Thanks for the info” I was
sarcastic again. Thank
God she didn’t notice “not atall, if you need any story,
just call me, I
know almost everything.” she
said dropping my
bucket of water right in front of
my house. “Thanks” I wore a plastic smile.
Amebo number 1, I wanted to
tell her
“Hmmn, bye”
I watched her leave before
taking my bucket of water into the house.
“How many hours did it take
you to fetch just a
bucket of water?” Maria
snarled.
I turned the water into a drum and made to walk
past her.
She pushed me and I toppled
over, bashing my
head on the floor, I shrieked in
pain. “Idiot! I will make this house
miserable for you, so
far you and your witches won’t
let me give birth.”
“I didn’t hold your womb, go and
ask the doctor who helped you abort so many
babies when you
were a love peddler in town.” I
blurted out, I was
surprised at myself.
Wow! I’m now grown,not the little girl she used to
molest. 14 yrs no be beans, I’m
not called Tejumola
for nothing.
She stared at me surprised,
hate-pain and anger written all over her face.
“Who did you call a love-
peddler?” she marched
towards me.
I backed away slowly, too slow
enough for her to grab me.
She beat, scratched and pulled
my cornrows. I
begged and begged to no avail.
Sensing she might
kill me, i stopped begging. I held unto her tightly, brought
my mouth close to
her ear and screamed with all
my might.
She quickly released me cos
my scream could make her go deaf, it was
piercing and irritating.
I ran out of the kitchen, into my
room. I quickly
bolted it, locked it with keys.
She banged at my door. “Teju open the door, I’l kill you
today.” she yelled.
“Ashewo kobo kobo no market
today?” I screamed
back at her
she fell silent, I could hear her sob, winchy-wincho!
I hissed.
I examined my injuries, just
then I remembered i
was hungry.
There was no way maami is gonna feed me today,
I will wait till she is asleep, then
I’l steal some
packs of indomie.
Man pikin dey suffer! I told
myself after gulping down three cups of water. To Be Continued…0I stoped about a 100 metres
from the school gate
to examine myself. I wiped off
some sweats,
cleaned my shoes and so on.
I took a quick glance @ my wristwatch before
resuming my cleaning exercise.
8am? Yikes! I don over late.
I quickened my pace and in no
time, the school
gate was just a few steps away.
Eric was standing there,
alongside David and some
other prefects. Some ‘late-
comers’ too were
kneeling down. “Good morning senior” I flexed
my knees, already I
was working out some
excuses…
“bad morning to you! Join
them!” Eric snarled gesturing towards the other
students.
“Let her go in now, you know
they’re writing
J.S.C.E exams…they would
start by nine.” David was pleading with Eric.
“No, she must be punished!”
Eric said with a note
of finality.
“what’s even your business
with this girl? Ehn?” he added.
“kneel down there!” he ordered
me.
“You don’t have the authority!”
David retorted at
him. “who has? You?” Eric sneered
“Get inside!” David told me.
I stood up sharply, dusted my
bag, and walked past
Eric.
“come back here!” Eric pulled me back.
I shrieked feigning pain,
pretending to loose my
balance. David quickly held me
to steady my
balance. “You don’t dare rough handle
her!” He growled at
Eric.
“Why? Cos she’s your
girlfriend? See this small boy
o!” Eric sneered. Quick as a flash, I saw David
raise his hand and his
palm landed on Eric’s cheek.
“How dare you?” Eric darted
towards him. They
engaged in a scuffle, David beating up Eric.
I didn’t stand to watch the
show, I ran quickly
towards the classroom, I
needed to revise my
notes. Who separated the fight? I didn’t care.
Ayo rang the bell. “School
closed” He yelled.
Every student excitedly picked
up their bags, lunch
boxes and what have you- they all hurried out of
school.
For some reasons, I remained
seated in my
position.
“Teju, won’t you go home?” Bisi asked me
strapping her bag.
I bit my lower lip, they send this
girl to me ni?!
“Teejumoolaaa…” she cooed
“Biiissiii” I replied. “won’t you go home?”
“When did you become my
guardian? Ehn?” I
queried
“Noo, I was just trying to..”
she tried to explain. “Shut up! Over sabi-sabi! Did
we come to school
together this morning?” I cut her
short.
“Okay, sorry o.” she walked
away, leaving me alone in the now- empty class.
Good riddance! I rather
remained in school than go
back home to see Maami’s ugly
face.
The school became quite, only for some low voices
from the staff room. I played
around the class,
mimicked some teachers,
practiced some dance
steps, I even practiced some kung fu, Imagining
Maami as my opponent, just to
while away time.
I glanced at my wristwatch;
4:30pm. Good! Atleast
with 30mins trekking, I’ll get home by 5pm. I
quickly rehearsed my plans.
Firstly, I go to the kitchen, fill
my bag with bread
and 5 packs indomie.
Secondly, greet maami before hiding in my room.
That woman can’t kill me!
I got to the school gate and saw
a boy in uniform
standing there.
Maybe he is waiting for their family driver to pick
him up, spoilt rich man’s
children.
“Hey!” David said, standing up
“Good afternoon senior.” I
replied. “what are you still doing in
school?” He asked.
See question, you too what are
doing here, Ode!
“Errm, I stayed back to revise
some notes.” I said instead
“Oh really? That’s nice” he
shook his head like an
agama lizard
“I’ve been waiting for my driver,
the guy doesn’t wanna show up” he added with
a weary look.
Did I ask you? Can’t you trek?
“Eeyaah, sorry senior.” I said
wearing a pitying
face. “your driver is here to pick
you?” he asked
Driver ke!
“Noo, me I’m trekking o”
“Wow, that could be fun!” his
eyes glinted, his dimples showing.
Fun! Indeed! I smiled.
“Can I join you?, I mean, lets
trek together?” he was
smiling too,and those dimples…
Oh! I was a sucker for dimples.
“okay, no problem.” I sounded
like someone
important.
He picked his books, and we
trekked home together.
That was how we became
friends. We always
trekked home together, no more
driver coming to
pick him up. We’d stay back in school after
closing for hours
doing nothing in particular.
He always bought me snacks
and carbonated
drinks during breaktime, well as an ojukokoro, I
always collected them with
‘thanks’.
No prefect dares to punish me
anymore, I became
more stubborn and efficient in my trouble making. To Be Continued…0I came back home late in the
evening as usual, I
tip-toed to the kitchen to begin
my daily routine of
indomie and bread theft. I
walked gently into the sitting room after accomplishing
my mission, I
found my father sitting there.
Suprised, I gaped at him, when
did he come back?
“Baami,” I shrieked before jumping into his arms.
“Hey, my little princess, omo mi
atata.” He patted
my head.
“welcome Baami, I missed you
ooo, when did you come back?”
“This morning” He smiled, my
father is too
handsome.
“why are you just coming back
from school by this time?” he queried.
I racked my brain hard
“Errm, Baami, you know the
distance from school,
its too far, I have to trek, and
besides we are having extra lessons in school”
I explained.
“Liar!” maria said
“aah! Maami, you know I won’t
lie now.” I quickly
said, whats wrong with this winchy sef.
“other children in this area came
back home since
2pm..” she began
“I was singled out now, you
know, errm, we…errm, we’ll be going for a competition
very soon.” I
scratched my head.
“Its alright, just make sure you
come home early,
okay?” My father patted my head.
“You’ve become so lean Teju,
what happened?” he
looked me all over.
I looked at Maria, she looked
visibly scared, I might give her away.
“No..Baami, I’m missing you
that’s why.” I laughed.
“Come and sit on my laps, omo
mi atata.” he pulled
me towards him. I sat down on his laps with a
wide grin.
“Tejumola omo baba re”
I glanced at maria, she looked
jealous.
“Maami, why are you looking at me like that?”
“Don’t mind your mother, she’s
jealous.” My father
said before leading me to my
room.
*********** Things went on well, both in
school and at home,
no more qualms.
David was writting his S.S.C.E
examination, we’re
still the best of friends. One day after his afternoon
paper, we were sitted
in an empty class room,
discussing nothing
important when he suddenly
said “Teju, very soon, I’d be leaving
school, I would
further my education abroad…”
he hesistated.
“That means, I won’t get to see
you everyday anymore.” he added with a
pained expression.
“hmmm”
“hmmm? Is that all you’d say?
Yuo won’t miss me I
guess.” he said placing an arm round my shoulder.
I laughed. He sounded funny,
miss who?
“have I ever told you, how
beautiful you look when
you laugh?” He brought his face closer to mine.
I blushed furiously, though I’m
dark in complexion
so it wasn’t visible.
“I love you Teju.” he whispered.
One thing led to another and we kissed…
We all stood in straight lines on
the assembly
ground. Being one of the tallest
girls in my class, I
stood at the far back end. “Sing the National athem after
count of three…1…
2..3″ the assembly prefect
instructed.
The whole school sang except
me. I wasn’t feeling so well that morning, I vomited
thrice before
coming to school, couldn’t eat
breakfast cos I
didn’t have appetite to..
“The pledge!” the prefect said again
“I pledge to Nigeria my
country..” I managed to
mutter before everything around
me began to spin.
I felt dizzy, I tried to steady my self, my palms
became sweaty.
I rubbed my eyes, opened
them, the whole school
was spinning faster, I quickly
shut my eyes, my head was spinning too…I
passed out.
::::::::::*
I opened my eyes again, only to
find myself on the
hospital bed. My father was staring at me,
disappointment
written all-over his face.
“Kpele- sorry” he said when I
tried to sit up.
What was going on? I rubbed my forehead to ease
the pain.
“Teju..” My father began
“You know I love you, and will
do anything to make
you happy..” I became tensed, something
was wrong
somewhere.
“I want you to tell me the
truth…” he continued.
Truth of what? I asked myself “tell me, Who did this to you?”
his voice became
shaky
“Who is reponsible for this
pregnancy?” he said
gently. I frozed at the spot. Preg..what?
Who? Me?
Tejumola? Is this a dream?
I pressed my stomach firmly.
How can I be pregnant?
“Teju…” my father placed his hands on my back.
“Talk to me.”
I held his gaze for a moment,
before looking away.
I could feel the whole world
crashing at my feet. Fat tears rolled down my
cheeks. What would I tell
my father?
“Don’t cry.” my father held my
hands in his.
“If you don’t want to tell me, no problem.”
I turned to look at him, he was
crying too.
“Its all my fault..” he lamented
“I should have spent more time
with you..” I could feel my heart splitting,
should I tell him or
not? David was far away in
London…I’m finished.
My father hugged me ” my
daughter, I’m sorry, forgive me.” he whispered.
“I’m sorry Baami, I’m sorrrry” I
wailed
“It’s alright, don’t cry anymore,
I’m here for you, I’d
take good care of you.” he patted my back
soothingly.
My thoughts were far far away.
My loud sobs
echoed through the walls. To Be Continued…1+Coolval22.com General Register; @Tenniebenson @Khola46
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