"Katiya" corper Katherine called jerking me up from sleep. Opening my eyes, I didn't know when I slept. I jumped on my feet and then she started laughing. Now, one thing about corper Katherine is she is contagious. You will just find yourself behaving like her if you're not careful plus she seems like me. Presently I don't know what is amusing her but I can't keep myself from smiling.
" What are you doing in school at this hour?" she asked
"Well I could ask you the same thing" I thought to myself but I dared not say. I have seen her wrath before and it wasn't a sight to behold. She had really been provoked.
" I slept off" was all I could manage.
"Obviously, you did. But why did you stay to sleep in school instead of going home" she asked with a smile.
" Nothing ma, there is no one at home. So I decided to play out a while" I lied.
" oh...kay" she was satisfied.
I can never bring myself to forget the day we saw corper Katherine angered. It was a bad day for everyone. That was when everyone in my class realized she was not to be messed with. According to a reliable source,( a classmate of ours who lives close to the corper's lodge), aunt Katherine had dressed up that Monday morning looking like a banker. Before heading to school, she had decided to see off her other colleagues whose primary place of assignment were away from our community to where they could get a tricycle. On her way back, a biker, obviously one of those boys who wander about the community on bike, had purposely touched her breasts and zoomed off. Our source said she had come back very angry and had reported the matter to those around. She got to school and found out that most of my classmates especially the guys didn't do the assignment she had given us the day before and hell broke loose. We virtually spent her period on punishment. She just kept saying; " this is how you graduate into outlaws, harassing people on the street... When you are supposed to learn and follow instructions, you won't". And like that all through the day, she visited the whole school with that venom and it was not a sight to behold. In fact our male classmates had vowed to get whoever they find out to be the culprit beaten and dragged down to beg our aunty.
" Aunt katherine, what are you doing in school yourself?" I asked picking my bag and moving towards the gate.
" Well... I was busy marking your test scripts and I am so disappointed. I wonder what you guys do at home after school"
" We play and go on errand" I said with a smile.
" But I played when I was young too and I dared not fail the way your mates failed. Though you escaped a bit"
" Well.... We don't really get helped academically except from the school. When we close from school we go to Madrasat (Islamic school) and when we come back from that, we help in cooking at home" I said looking up to her. Just then did I remember my father's words.