" What do you think about their set`?" Professor Electro asked his counterpart as they watched the latest graduands doff their academic hats.
" It feels like asking me to appraise your outstanding work, knowing how hard you taught them all" the other man said as he giggled and stared at the hordes of students that were going out of the school that year.
Scholamath college could not be surpassed when it came to the number of students that it had. Its students often numbered as much as thousands in an academic year, and the school authorities were very pleased with that.
Zooming into the fine details, in the midst of all the students and the monotonous apparel of blue, stood one student who was really engrossed in listening to whoever was talking on the podium. It was the principal, in his mechanical style of speaking and it was a wonder that that student wasn't bored.
It was really good and wonderful to Halima, and she didn't care in the least about Vice principal Kola's speeches.
Halima was really pleased with herself. It was the end of a long chain of activities that led to her being one of the graduands in the school. That day also marked the beginning of the period when she would begin to be on her own. The long dreaded independence.
" Halima, so what now?" Herman asked
" Whoa , Herman, you scared me," Halima gasped with pleasure and touched her forehead with a little bit of fervour.
" What? What were you thinking of? " Herman asked with a little bit of amusement int his voice.
" You don't think our set is the best, do you?"
" By all means, I think ours is the best. Let me tell you something, when I was on my way here to talk to you, I overheard professor Electro talking to another professor that our set was a very great one. So, cheer up!"
Halima burst out in laughter. She always enjoyed Herman's cool wits and great sense of humour. But they were strictly just friends.
"What? Why give me that look?" Herman asked Halima as she looked absentmindedly into his face.
" Don't make a fuss, Herman. Where is Professor Electro?" Halima asked as she giggled.
Herman pointed his finger to the direction that he had come,and true to what he had said, on a wooden stool over the place, overseeing the process and looking at the horde of students, was Electro.
" Good afternoon sir"
" Well, well, well, who do we have here?"
" Your best student in the school of engineering," the middle aged man who was beside him and who was also a professor said.
Halima smiled every now and then, and was thinking how she would miss her school.
" So, what now?" Professor Electro asked
" take a pew, dear. Lets talk about the future of the best graduating student of the electrical engineering department of Scholarmath."
" Scholarmath the great," the middle aged man who was beside professor electro quipped again.
" Hold your wits again," Professor said in laughter as he turned to the middle aged man beside him.
" We both know that Scholarmath is by far not the best school..we just have the best and most hard working students," he said as he glanced at Halima with a smile.
Halima smiled nervously. She was often blown away by Professor Electro's praises, but what no one knew was that she was just an average student. A student who also struggled with the realities of being a Scholarmath student for five years, and an additional year that was inflicted on the students due to the prolonged strikes of the Academic Staff of Universities Union , also notoriously known as ASUU.
Professor Electro turned his visage and attention to her again and asked.
" So, which section of the work are you going to bury your nose into?"
" I like most sections, and I find myself interested in more than one thing. But I have realised that of all the sections, the one that really resonates with me is Radio frequency"
"Now that's my girl!" Professor Electro laughed with much infection that Halima herself couldn't help but laugh too. She really liked her lecturer. Inspite of the fact that he was by far the most inteligent teacher in the school, he still maintained a well-above-average sense of humour.
" I pray that you really meet with success in all that you do."
" Amen!" Halima replied with fervour,. Her parents had taught her that it was extremely important for one to put the almighty God in whatever he or she did in their life. And she really believed in God.
Professor Electro stood up.
" Err, lemme go and continue the work I was employed for. But before I go, You can contact me anytime you need more advice. Beside, and inspite knowing that your generation is quite opposed to books, I will still bother to send you some books on Radio frequency and other wireless phernaphernalia.
Halima was instantly pleased
" Thank you so much sir. May the Good lord bless your efforts and reward your kindness"
Professor Electro simple dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
Since she had known him, he always did that and all the students had become accustomed with his typical wave of hand.
Halima walked back to Herman, who had taken her place in the horde od students and was now licking some ice cream.
" Here you go," Herman said as he handed her one ice cream cone and continued to focus his attention on the performance of the dancers on stage. They were really undergraduates who had come to celebrate with their graduating seniors.
" The creme de la creme dance crew really prepared a wonderful performance for us, or what do you think?" Herman asked absent minded again and he noticed that Halima had been looking at him all the time.
" What? why are you staring so strangely at me?" Herman asked casually as he notince that Halima had been staring again at him.
" Because you just won't let chilled things be"
" Look, Halima, just take me like that. I don't have any obligations to food; I can eat whatever I want to,"
" Alright then, but for me I won't take chilled things in this terrible cold"
" Alright then," Herman said as he collected the cone from Halima and added it to his virtual menu.
" So where were we?" He asked again.
" When you finish watching your performance, get ready if you will, and lets go back home"
" Home?" Herman asked with some unfeigned surprise.
Halima laughed at Herman again and wondered where he planned to stay.
" Look, Girl, I ain't going home no more"
" Look, drop that your fake British American accent. Your cousins aren't calling you to America anymore," Halima said jovially and they both burst into laughter, while a fewof the other students smirke and probably wondered what was wrong with these two.
An hour later, when Herman had insisted he wasn't going back to his home, Halima was at the bus stop on her way back to Ibadan.
" Ibadan, Ibadan," the dark tanned and skinny conductor who had a peculiar nose that was strangely noticeable to Halima said.
" Ibadan," Halima replied, taking a momentary glance at the conductor's nose again
" Yeah, enter dear"
Halima ignored the endearing reply of the conductor and entered.
" The fare is 5000"
Halima sighed and without arguing, she wondered where the couuntry was heading with the hyper inflation that it faced.
" This fare used to be dimply 2500 Naira Last year," One of the passengers, A fair young lady who was seated beside Halima quipped.
Later the bus got ready to go and the young lady muttered a word or two in supplication. Halima noted that she was a catholic and she istantly shunned every thought of discrimination that was trying to build up in her.
" May God help and protect us!"
" Amen," Halima replied to the supplication from the lady as the bus zoomed off towards her town and home.