The Christmas Holiday had come and gone and schools were reopened in the early weeks of January. Kamji wasn't the least bit excited as she prepared for school. It had come as a surprise to her that the twins preferred taking the bus to school eventhough their mother drove there every single day.
"We would rather take the bus than getting stuck in the car listening to Mum's boring lectures about the importance of education." River had told her as they waited for the school bus.
"And it got a lot worse ever since she got promoted to Principal." Peter added. "Besides at our age, it will look totally uncool to always get a ride from our Mum."
River nodded in agreement. It was the first time Kamji was seeing the twins agreeing on something.
A white and black bus with the school's crest displayed on both sides of the vehicle stopped in front of them. The three of them stepped in and Kamji could feel dozens of unfamiliar faces staring at her. She was confused about their actions before finally remembering that she was the new kid. Ofcourse they would stare at her.
"What are you all looking at?" she heard River snapping at them. "You can take a picture of us if you want, It lasts longer." Some of the students quickly looked away slightly embarrassed while few adamant ones would keep throwing the new girl glances from time to time. River had settled for an empty seat in the front row and Kamji took the one beside her. Peter had headed for the last row in the bus where some group of boys chatted loudly about music and sport.
Kamji leaned closer to River. "Hey. Thanks for what you did back then. I felt like I was going to shrink under those stares."
"It's nothing." River shrugged. "Don't let them get under your skin. They are probably just keen to see the new student who got admitted in her final year."
"They know about me already?" She asked in disbelief.
"Probably." River replied," News flies fast in West Lake. Trust me, you don't want to be the next headline."
Kamji made a mental note of that in her head. The boys at the back of the bus were now arguing about the hottest female celebrity and she got interested in their conversation. A tall dark boy with deep tribal marks running down both sides of his face had noticed her staring and winked at her. Kamji rolled her eyes and quickly looked away.
The bus had arrived at the school premises and River had grabbed Kamji's hands as the exited the vehicle. West Lake was big. Bigger than she had expected as they approached the main building. Most of the students had greeted River as they passed through the halls. And although River had told her earlier that she held no significant post in the school, there was no denying the fact that the girl was quite popular among the students. Maybe it had to do with the fact that she was the Principal's daughter.
"I will give you a tour of the school later during our free period." River had said as they headed towards a large ancient looking building with a wide entrance. It was a Monday and the Morning assembly was about to commence as usual. The building was a large hall, crowded with students dressed in black and white uniforms. Black pinafores over white shirts for the juniors while black trousers or skirts for the seniors. The assembly would have been brief if not for the fact that Aunty Ebere had given a long welcoming address to the students. She couldn't blame the twins now for taking the bus to school.
"Mum told me that your Major is Sciences and I begged her to put you in my homeroom." River had said to her after the assembly was over. She had led Kamji to the final years block and they were currently climbing a row of stairs. Stopping infront of a door that had the tag Class 6B River gave Kamji a smile, "Are you nervous?"
"No." she replied, hoping her face looked as confident as her voice. Deep down she was nervous and she practiced her breathing as River pushed open the door and they stepped inside. Tables and chairs were neatly lined up in rows and the excess windows lit the whole room. The once noisy class had become quite as soon as Kamji entered and she wished the ground could open and swallow her up.
She felt River drag her hands and lead her to an empty chair." You can sit here. This would be where you will be staying throughout the session."
Kamji nodded, she could tell the students were still looking at her. River had begun flirting with a a guy who sat on the chair next to her but before she knew what was happening the guy stood up and went to another empty chair in front of the class.
"I managed to convince him to swap chairs with me for the rest of the term. Now we get to be neighbors." River explained as she occupied the now empty chair beside her.
Kamji couldn't help but feel grateful to her. She couldn't imagine having to sit next to one of the unfamiliar faces in the class. The students had soon forgotten about her existence and began chatting with their friends and catching up on the holidays.
River unzipped her bag and handed Kamji a piece of paper. "it's the time table for all your classes. It's just a sketch. You still have to grab the main copy from the Guidance and Counsellor's office. Although everyone in sciences offer mostly the same subject, each of us still have our personalized time table for because there are certain subjects not everyone does."
Kamji collected the paper from her and glanced through it. it said she had a biology class that morning. The bell went off signalling the beginning of classes for the day. Students stood up and exited the room.
"Our first class is Biology. It's best we hurry to the class now. The teacher isn't a fan of lateness." River said as she grabbed her books. Kamji obeyed and quietly tagged along beside her. They soon entered the Biology Laboratory and the two girls took a seat in front. The walls of the lab was covered with charts showing different Anatomy of the body. At the back of the class she could see different species of animal preserved in large transparent bottles. There were lizards,frogs and some other strange animals she could hardly recognize. She even saw a jar of snakes and what looked like the shape of a human cadaver.
" That's the part of the laboratory we use for carrying out practicals." River whispered to her. It was then Kamji had noticed the two rooms had been separated from each other by sliding glass doors. She had thought initially that it was just a single room but it was more like two rooms with an adjoining door. Someone had taken the seat next to her but Kamji hadn't bothered to look at the person talkless of exchanging pleasantries. She was too busy with taking note of her environment.
A tall lanky man entered the room and the lab became dead quiet. He was in his mid forties and his hair was completely bald making him look older. "Good morning students."
"Morning sir." the students chorused. Kamji was surprised at the way greetings were exchanged. Wasn't it meant to be the other way around?
"Today we will be talking about the Heart and Blood circulation." The man said as he wrote down the topic on the white board. If he hadn't said the topic earlier Kamji doubted she would have be able to see anything with his bad handwriting on the board.
"I see we have some new faces here today." His gaze rested on Kamji for the briefest of moment. "For the sake of the new students I will introduce myself. My name is Idris and I will be taking you in Biology for the rest of the term." he scribbled down his name again on the board. Kamji was glad that he hadn't asked her to introduce herself just like he did earlier, instead he began his class.
The man brought out a plastic heart organ, pointing out various structures like the arteries and veins as he taught. It was the most boring lecture that Kamji had ever come across and most of the students have fallen asleep but the man didn't seem to mind and carried on with his teaching.
Kamji released a yawn which came out quite louder than she had expected and the teacher's gaze narrowed on her.
"You over there," he pointed at her. "Stand up."
"Me?" She pointed back at herself for confirmation.
"Yes, you." The man sounded irritated and Kamji stood up slowly. "What is your name?"
"Chikamji Ubah." She replied hesitantly, worried about what was going to happen.
"Well, Miss Ubah. Do you mind telling the whole class how many times the heart beats in a minute?"
Kamji gulped. She hadn't been paying attention to the lectures and now she was paying dearly for it. The embarrassment alone was punishment enough." Umm, I have no idea." she stammered.
"Then go and get one." he snapped at her rudely. Kamji thought his joke was hilarious but she dared not laugh because the man had reached for a cane in the corner of the room.
"I still believe in the act of disciplining children." Idris said as he approached her with the cane in his hands. Each step he took sent Kamji's pulse racing. Was he really going to beat her with a stick for failing to answer his question? What happened to sending her to detention? Ofcourse this wasn't her fancy school in Abuja. This was Lagos and she was about to be brutally beaten with a stick. It was only once in her life that she had been flogged by her father and that was many years ago. She had got injured in the process and he had never tried it ever again.
"You're the new student. Aren't you? " he asked, stopping right in front of her. The cane in his hands swinging freely in mid air.
"Yes." She nodded fervently, seeing a ray of hope.
"Well, that changes things." He turned around and faced the class." This young lady is about to receive ten strokes of cane for not answering my question. Is there anyone who can answer the question and save the young lass?"
There was no movement and the class was quiet as a graveyard. River gave Kamji a pitiful look, she too hadn't been paying attention and had no idea on the answer of the question. She could see her hopes dashed before her eyes.
"Well. Is there anyone who can bail this pretty lass by answering my question?" The man asked again. He had his gaze fixed on the particular boy that sat next to her. The one she hadn't bothered to look at earlier.
Again there was no response and the man raised his long cane to lash out on her body when a voice interrupted him.
"The heart beats about sixty to hundred times a minute when a person is at rest. Getting fitter lowers the heart rate by making muscles work more efficiently and that's why well trained athletes may have a resting heart rate of forty to sixty beats per minute. Emotions can also affect heart rate for example getting excited or scared increases the the number of heart beat."
"Beautifully said." The teacher grinned. He then threw another question at the boy which he got correctly and another which still came with a positive results.
"Thank your stars that your classmate was able to bail you out. I was about to leave some painful memories on your skin....."
Kamji stopped listening to what Idris was saying and took her seat. it was quite obvious the man was annoyed that most of the students were sleeping instead of paying attention to the class. She was just some unlucky scape goat he wanted to pour out all his frustrations on. She turned to the boy who had saved her by answering the questions. His hadn't bothered to look at her but had a bored expression on his face as he listened to Idris who had resumed his teaching. But as soon as she mummured a thank you, he turned to spare her a glance.
Her mouth dropped open as she recognized the familiar face. " Oh my Goodness, Mic." she screamed in delight and hugged the boy who was taken aback by her sudden actions. "What are you doing here? I missed you a lot though." she added.
The whole class suddenly had their attention fixed on them and even the teacher had stopped teaching to observe what was going on. Kamji still had her hands wrapped around the boy who soon disengaged himself from her. " I am sorry, you must've mistaken me for someone else." he said.
Before Kamji could say another word Idris had banged a fist on the table." Miss Ubah. Do see me in my office after your classes today." With that the class was over and the teacher angrily walked away from the lab.
"Kamji, Are you alright?" River asked. she too was a little surprised by Kamji's sudden actions.
The boy had began packing his stuff and was ready to leave. Kamji had wondered if she was seeing things. Maybe this wasn't Mic and she was just hallucinating. She rubbed her eyes and looked again hoping to see changes but there was none. Mic was had slung his bag pack on his shoulder and without even sparing her a glance, he left the room. She stood perplexed and confused about the whole situation. What exactly was Mic doing in Westlake? and why was he acting like he didn't know her?
~Special thanks to Obi Hilary and Jennifer Bella for supporting my book. I love you guys big time ❤️~