The following day the SS1 moved to a new class where they were asked to. They sat as planned. The boys had their desk close to the girls at the window side. They liked the class because it was far from the staff room, their noise can hardly reach their ears.
Lovett was quiet that morning but Godwin thought maybe it is the way she wanted to be.
“Maybe I should ask her instead of making conclusions. She could be provoked from home or something else”
He waited for a chance to come for that. Peter went to the board calling all the class to pay attention to him. He took a chalk and faced the class. He drew three humans on the board. Two male and one female. The ladies breasts were almost as big as the rest of the body, one of the male was obese and the other had eyes on the sides of his face like ears. What the other eye would see the other can not see it.
“Whoever recognizes these great people here is also a great person” Peter said to the class smiling.
The class began to laugh at the caricatures he made on the board with their extraordinary features. They recognized them even as he exaggerated their flaws because he was not so bad at drawing. They began to call their names. Then a boy stepped out, took a chalk and wrote their names. The first he wrote, that’s their biology teacher, the lady he wrote cowbell, that is their government teacher and the last was eyes of the gods or four O’clock eyes.
The names increased the noise and it was so loud that they did not notice the presence of one of the teacher drawn on the board. That’s their game master. He saw the drawings on the board before Peter cleaned it but he did not know what they meant.
“I want a list of those interested in the sports. Group them. Those for football, racing, high jump, volleyball and basket ball. Though we don’t have a pitch for those ones but I will see what I can do about it” Game master said and left.
The class was excited and all showed interest in the games. They grouped their names as instructed. Boys dominated the column for football, racing and high jump while girls dominated volleyball and basket ball. After making the list Peter and David went out to collect names from the junior classes. Godwin did not follow them because he believed that if Mr. Stones keep seeing him he will be reminded of something he must have forgotten.
“Hey” Godwin drew closer to occupy a vacated desk next to Lovett’s. The class was lousy and disordered yet the morning weather remained mild.
“Hi, good morning” Lovett greeted with a slight grin, lips glued. “How was your night?” She adjusted her sitting posture, sitting astride so she could be seeing him.
“Fine. You don’t look okay” Immediately he caught a glance at her kneel, she has fresh bruises. “What happen to your kneel?”
She hesitated, cleaned the sides of the cut then drew the hems of her skirt to cover it but it could barely reach. That’s because she was sitting, normally her lined skirt stopped at her kneel.
“I fell”
“From where?”
“From a bike, while coming to school”
“Oh my God! How did it happen?”
“The recklessness we see on the road is beyond what mouth can tell”
“Was it the fault of your bike man?”
“No, he save us even. It would have been worse”
“Have you done anything to it?” Godwin felt very pathetic.
“No, it’s not something serious” Making her face to look like she doesn’t feel much pain.
“Don’t say that. Look it is swelling and I saw how you were walking” He looked around. Eyes were on them. He paused, he was no longer comfortable. Lovett noticed his emotions, she stared at him as if expecting to see what he will do.
“We have witness. Those going to remember our story tomorrow” Godwin said hilariously. Lovett smiled. She felt Godwin’s confidence, unlike before, he would have left her.
“I am lucky”
“No, I am lucky to have found you. Am I your first love?”
“No”
“So what happened?”
“He is too corrupt. He demands things I can not give”
“Since when did you break up?”
“We did not really break up. School separated us. We parted early this year”
“For how long have you being lovers?”
“Barely a year”
“Your classmate right?”
“Yes. Class monitor”
“He must be the best”
“Type I’ve never seen. He is on scholarship right from his primary school. But he had bad friends”
Godwin stared quietly as if he was meditating on what Lovett told him while Lovett looked as it she was trying to recall more things.
“Do you still love him?”
“My present is better. He is arrogant and uncaring”
“He must be a crush not a lover”
“Maybe. So, about you, any past relationship?”
“No, I only had crushes”
“Can you talk with me about few?”
“If you interested”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t concerned”
“Ok. First was in JSS2. You can imagine a JSS2 boy talking about love. She wasn’t really cute, but was attractive in a way. She was opened to everyone and the type that doesn’t shy as small as she was. She had the attention of many of our mates, even seniors. So I wasn’t noticed. I was the least. So nothing happened. The second person was a girl who was brought back to Nigeria from Canada…”
“Is she a white girl?”
“No, ebony”
“You mean black Canadian?”
“No, Nigerian, Igbo precisely. She doesn’t even know anything in Igbo. She joined us to write her BECE. Everyone likes her not that she was the most beautiful in our class but because she was smart and fluent in English. Her ascent was polished but she was insulting and ridiculous. Teachers made her feel too special. So I lost interest”
“Or confidence”
“Maybe both”
“You fear she would intimidate you with her English”
“Exactly!” They laughed.
“So I’m your first love”
“Oh wow! I never knew”
“What’s that?”
“I am just finding out. This is the first time you are saying it” Lovett stared befuddled. “Of course you have not talked about it since you said you would think about it”
“That means you still have to keep on waiting. I haven’t said anything yet” Lovett joked and they both laughed.
While still discussing a girl from their class called Godwin telling him that their principal wants to see him.
“You will resign from your duty for as long as this case is ongoing, moreover you have dropped so badly. You stay in your class whole day doing nothing” This was the principal talking to Godwin.
Godwin was not bothered like every other person would. He would tell whoever was concerned that he liked it. He is relieved of distractions and now he would have less to worry about or attend to. He would now spend most of his time studying. He felt very free like someone set free from prison. He could joke and play with mates more than before. He easily laugh over things and was contributive in most discussions. Not like when he would act gentlemanly and carefully just to retain the respect of a prefect or meet up with the people’s expectations.
After sport everyone returned to their classes. Yellow house had better players, David and Lovett were members. Godwin and Peter were in red, the second best. Godwin was interested in none of the games. Peter preferred racing but he hardly partake. He rather act like a coach or the organizer. For the first few hours after the sport, the games was the only topic of discussion.
It was 2am. The weather got hotter. The class calm and boring. Some guys came up with an idea of telling stories both funny and sad ones, whether long or short. They made it a challenge, boys against girls.
“There was a man. He was very wise and sensitive. He makes use of every opportunity he gets. A time came he built a house. He built it to the finishing and was left to roof it but there was no money to buy the materials. Guess what! he sold the house and bought them” This was from a boy. The class laughed.
“A Mallam, a cattle rarer took his cattle to the bush for grazing. He saw a hip of something he doesn’t know. It looks like mud. He bend and looked at it closely but still could not recognize it. Then he fingered it and tasted then he shouted. ‘I knew it! I knew this was shit. Thank Allah I didn’t step on it” This was a girl. She said and went to sit. The class laughed more at her story.
“There was once a poor man. He knows how to manage. He doesn’t hang his coat where his hands can not reach. There’s a place he use to buy food every day. He buys for two hundred, food without meat. He buys it like that so that the food will be much. He kept buying it like that until one day the seller asked him, why do you always buy food without meat? Don’t tell me you are one of those that complains to have teeth ache why because they doesn’t have money. He answered and said, no I don’t buy meat here because you don’t have the type I eat. You don’t mean it! The woman snapped. She asked him what kind of meat he want that she doesn’t have. The man said they are many. The woman persuaded then he began. Do you have octopus? No! Do you have giraffe? No! Do you have crocodile? No! Do you have gorilla?…..This was how the man continue to mention wild animals” This was a boy.
“There was a young lady who was engaged to marriage but one thing was her problem. She doesn’t want to marry a man whose mother is still alive. Nobody knows her reasons for that so one day she went to a native doctor and explained. What do you want me to do to her? The native doctor asked. I want her dead because I wouldn’t want to be controlled or take orders from someone else in my husband’s house. All right, what’s the woman’s name? The native doctor demanded. Nwanyike! The native doctor paused, which of them? They should be many Nwanyike. She answered and said it’s the one living near the river. The native doctor laughed and laughed. The laughter was evil and incessant. You are still here? The native doctor asked. Yes, you didn’t tell me you have done what I asked for. Now, let me shock you. The woman you want me to kill is my wife. The mother of my precious children. So this is the kind of daughter in law that is planning to come into my family? Don’t worry I will see to your case. I will ask Amadioha what I should do to you. Class if you are the Amadioha what do you advice he does to her?” This was a girl.
“Use her for sacrifice”
“Kill her instead”
“Send her home paralyzed”
“Blindness and deafness”
Everyone began to suggest.
“There’s a man who claims to be wise. He doesn’t agree with whatever anyone says or does unless what he does. A day came he planned to travel by sea. It was a far away journey and such he would not return again so he took all his belongings. After negotiating the price for the transportation they agreed on a certain amount then they loaded his properties including his money bag. Then he went to eat.
When the ship finished loading, it blew horn for all the passengers to enter. They man did not come until they left then he came back laughing. People around were asking him why he was laughing instead of crying that his ship left with his properties. My dear, you should be happy if you were me. He answered them. How? They asked. I loaded all my belongings In that ship including my money bag but I didn’t pay for anything, and I didn’t follow them so that they won’t ask me for money. They thought I’m inside hahahah” This was from a boy.
The next person was to be a girl but it was as if no girl had more to share. The boys were about to be declared winners but a girl came out. This particular girl was not the ugliest or the most timid in the class, but maybe the poorest and dirtiest. She was always despised and ignored. Nobody wanted to associate with her. Even when she tries to please somebody they mock her instead. As she came out they became quiet, some were amused, and so they talked about her looks instead of paying attention.
“A man had a fruit bearing tree. It was very tall and straight without branches near the ground. So to climb it one must need a ladder. People usually come with their ladder to steal fruits when he is not around. One day two boys came, one climbed to pluck while the other waited on the ground to hold the ladder and to pick the falling fruits.
Suddenly the owner showed up with a cutlass and went after the one on the ground. He quickly lifted the ladder to his shoulders and ran away. The tree owner came back. He could not climb without a ladder and was doubtful that before he could go find one the thief will get down and run away then he decided to fall down the tree. He began to cut the tree from the trunk with his cutlass. Now who is loosing?”
“Go and sit down. It’s not funny” This was from one of the boys. This made the girl look embarrassed.
“You shouldn’t have come out to waste your time. We have won” Another boy added.
“It’s a lie. We are the winners” Girls claimed even as it was from somebody they don’t really like.
Lovett went and drape her arm on the girl’s shoulders. To make her feel better. “You made us win. You are the reason for our victory” She followed her to her seat.