Monday is finally here. I can now go to school and rest. This last weekend was the worst for me.
If you think Kanyira can be pushy, wait till she is sick. Then you find out the worst of her. And since Chima is still angry with me for ratting him out, he kept sending me around and pranking me mercilessly.
Sunday convinced himself that I indirectly made his mother find out about him going to Deby's place and also showed his prowess at sending me around. I spent Friday and Saturday walking, working and avoiding trouble like never before.
It was only Sommy that could not do anything since she was still scared of my threats.
At least Nnedinso did come on Saturday as usual. I hate that girl with passion. She tries to send me around like my cousins do but no stranger will command me in my own home. I just ignore her whenever she comes around.
The only reason I even take all the rubbish from my cousins, my aunt and her husband is because my uncle is becoming more powerful through my father's business and he is starting to have more connections than before.
If he thought of it, which thankfully none of them have, he can use his connections to turn all my father's wealth into his or worse, make the lawyer who fought for me three years ago lose his job. That will definitely spell doom for me.
So for now, I'll play the submissive house help just to keep everyone's temper in check.
For now.
*
BFA is really an interesting school. It is the best school in Enugu and the fifth best in Nigeria. It's facilities, compound and generally everything is next to none.
As fate would have it, I was put in the same class as the twins. This is the first time I'm in the same class with the two of them. I suspect it's because the other science class has reached its maximum number. I didn't exactly register early.
They were not happy about it as expected. I can't say I'm sad though.
In class, we were given our sitting positions by the class form mistress. None of us sit near each other. After this, the bell rang for assembly and we all walked out of the classroom.
None of my cousins are too keen on making me comfortable on my first day. They more or less ignored me but I still found my way to the assembly.
As we stood in two lines for each class, one for the males and the other for the females, two students came to the podium to conduct the assembly.
They are obviously SS2 students as they are wearing black jackets over the normal uniform for senior students- white short sleeved shirts, pleated black flay skirt for the females and black trousers for the males. The black jacket is to indicate seniors that are functionaries.
The female prefect prayed and started the praises as the students joined in. After the bible reading and preaching done by the male prefect, the principal, a woman wearing a beautiful traditional attire, stepped up to deliver what I term the boring speech.
It is basically what all principals say on the first day of school. How to conduct yourself and the likes of it. As if the mini dictionary they call rule book has not told me all I need to know.
I tuned out from what she is saying and started looking around me with a corner of my eye. So doing, I saw the girl who had entered the chemist shop last Friday. She's standing in the same line with me, looking straight at the principal.
I now recognize her. She is Sommy's classmate from junior class. I think I saw her in one of their class pictures. Sudden sounds of jubilation snapped me back to reality.
"...and the student who made us proud in the COWBELL Mathematics competition is none other than our very own Prince Liam Ezedike," the principal concluded with a smile, pride evident in her voice.
Thunderous clapping filled the air as the said student walked out. The girls in my line including Sommy, started whispering to each other excitedly.
I frowned. Could it be Mr Handsome boy? But the boy is stepping out from SS2 line. I thought he is Sommy's set mate.
My eyes widened slightly as he stepped on the podium. No wonder why my cousin always acts crazy at the mention of this boy's name. That is, if he can be called a boy. What I'm seeing is pure male, the alpha kind.
He is really handsome. He's tall frame walked gracefully with shoulders wide and comfortably broad. He also has well defined muscles that bulged out slightly, defying the constraints of his uniform.
His face is something out of the world. It looked as though a master artist had sculpted it with the greatest care ever, giving each part exquisite perfection. His is a narrow face with a square jaw spotting a deep cleft. His nose was probably imported from India as they were perfectly straight and pointed.
And his eyes, an umbrella of lashes covered the alert look beneath the somewhat sleepy, slightly bemused and lazy glint in his brown eyes. He carried himself with the grace of a guy who knew his worth.
But even as I marvelled at his beauty and evident brains, I don't think any degree of handsomeness would make me behave the way most girls were acting as his price was presented to him by some of the representatives of the organizers of the competition. As if I have no self respect.
*
In class, something strange happened. The first teacher- a biology teacher came in during the first period. After teaching, he asked a very simple review question but none of my classmates attempted to answer it.
I would have answered the question, but they were acting as if they knew something I don't know so I just kept my mouth shut.
The teacher was disappointed but to my bafflement, he wasn't surprised.
"You people want to take over from where JSS3B stopped, right? Speaking of which, it is most of the students in that class that are here. You over there, answer my question."
All eyes went towards the seemingly unlucky boy. He stood up and remained mute.
The teacher pointed at two more students who also said nothing. When he pointed at a girl sitting at the front row, she answered the question.
Others started looking at her as though she's mad or something.
Okay, what is happening here?
It is now time for English lesson and Mr Echezona, the biology teacher told the three students to meet him during recess for their punishment.
The same thing happened in our English class and in fact, all other subsequent classes. At the end of the day, practically half of my classmates were singled out for punishment including cousin Sunday.
My cousins definitely have some explaining to do.
They refused to tell me anything on our way out of school. To tell the truth, I was not even expecting them to talk to me. Their dad who is with Kanyira came to drive them home.
Little miss me is to walk home.
*
When I got home, I met the twins in a serious argument. They stopped abruptly when I entered the room.
I make it my business to know practically everything that happens in this house so I am curious to know what they had been talking about.
I glanced at the wall clock hanging opposite me. Two O'clock. Chima will be back soon. He attends a different high school from ours, a private boy's school.
I went into my room and quickly changed. Then, I came back to the sitting room, walked to the sofa opposite the twins and sat down. They have some explaining to do.
"So," I started, then stopped, hoping to mount some pressure on them. This way, I can get my answers faster and without a lot of trouble.
"So what?" Sommy asked, looking at me as if I had lost my mind or something.
Can't say I blame her. Ever since my parents death and their turning their backs on me, we haven't really been on talking terms.
"What happened in class today? How come no one wanted to answer questions?"
They were looking at me as if I had grown a second head. Duh, I wanted answers and if conversing with them will give me that, then so will I.
"You have to be kidding me. Wait, I hope you know that your attending same school with us doesn't give you ... "
"You do remember our agreement, right?" I interrupted with a little smile.
That promptly shut her up. She looked as if she could kill me at the barest opportunity.
The feeling's mutual.
"So, don't you have something to tell me?"
"Wait, what is going on here? What agreement do you guys have?" Sunday asked, staring suspiciously at both of us.
When we remained silent, he shrugged and turned back to Sommy.
"I think we should tell her. She may cause us trouble by her ignorance."
Sunday started to speak but Sommy cut him off with a look. Then, they started the staring contest. I rolled my eyes and leaned back to wait.
So, this staring contest is basically done when the twins disagree on something. Whoever sighs and looks away first is the looser. Sometimes, I am not even sure they realise they are doing it.
I waited, and finally, Sommy gave up. Sunday smiled triumphantly and turned back to me. I leaned forward in anticipation.
"Okay, so nobody answers questions in our class. This has been the culture since our junior class."
"I saw that. The question is, why?"
He became silent for a while then said with a stage whisper, "the silencer!"
Huh? Silencer? As in a gun that doesn't make sounds?
Aloud, I said, "excuse me?"
"The silencer is an unknown person in our class who has been there since JSS1 till date."
I blinked again. Am I watching a movie?
Sommy obviously saw my expression because she sighed in impatience and took over the story telling, speaking in a slow voice like one talking to a two year old child with zero IQ.
"When we were in JSS1, precisely in our first term, almost everyone in our class loved answering questions. In fact other classes hated us because they taught we were show offs."
"Those that answered the most questions were seen as very intelligent. There was a particular girl who answered the most questions. The girl was extremely intelligent. But one day, she had an accident in the hostel. It was a minor one and she resumed school almost immediately. Everything continued as usual untill during exam time. The same girl had another accident that was so serious that it made her miss the exam."
I seriously don't know where this story is leading to but I'll keep listening anyway.
"The next term, two people who equally answered questions in our class had similar experience. They will have minor accidents, then towards exam period, they will have ghastly ones that will make them miss the exam. In our third term, it was only one person. JSS2 was two persons while JSS3 was only one person."
"It was then that we put two to two and finally came up with a theory of what was happening," she paused and her brother continued.
"It was Ezemma Prisca that had it all figured out. Apparently, someone in our class doesn't like intelligent people that show off their knowledge by answering questions in class. So the person kind off warns them with the minor accident, then if they persisted, they would be silenced. That is why we call him the silencer."
Okay, this is definitely bizarre.