At School
Today is Tuesday and it's also Timi's birthday. It shouldn't be boring a day, should it? Tuesdays are known to be boring. Who am I kidding, everyday is boring. Tuesday is not as busy as Monday but it's still on the first half of the week so it's never really lively. How do I know it's Timi's birthday? Well because he announced it. He has been announcing it for the past one month. Also because he is my brother's birthday mate. And because I have a thing for keeping dates. I vividly remember last year my dad treated us to a little family dinner. My mum was away. She had gone to attend the wedding of one of my cousins.
Timi is our school's heartthrob. Every girl wants him. I remember last year two girls fought because of him. One was allegedly his girlfriend and the other his side chick. But it turned out neither of them was his real girlfriend. Oh love, a fools game. The last time he celebrated his birthday the whole school was affected, positively I mean. He shared gifts for everyone. This year he is supposed to turn seventeen. What's he going to do this time? Paint the school red?
I hurry to class quickly after missing the morning assembly. I couldn't sleep for most of the night and I'm just drained. I took a light nap from six to seven and it took my brother to wake me up. Usually I'm ready for school before he even wakes up but today the tables turned. I bet he felt powerful. I can still remember the sound of his voice when he came to wake me up "Zehra wake up jorr. Look at you. In fact, continue sleeping so that I'll just go to school on my own"
When I got to the front of my class door I saw a beautiful design that reads 'Happy Birthday Timi' I can hear the distinct chartering inside. I have a sigh of relief. This means that there is no teacher in yet. I open the door and stroll in casually to my seat only to find Timi sitting there. "Happy birthday" I say to him. "Zee, thank you" he replies. "Can I sit down?" I ask politely with a little smile. It's like someone said don't breathe. The whole class suddenly goes mute. All eyes in our direction.
"Sure" he says. "But you are in my seat" I say as-a-matter-of-factly. Stating the obvious and knowing that he'll tease me for it. He leans forward like he wants to tell me a secret. I can see the smirk of his face. "Sit on my lap then" He says just loud enough for the whole class to hear.
At this point a teacher comes in. Oh my saving grace ! "Oya you all should take your seats. We have a lot to cover." Everyone scoured to their seats.
If you didn't know better you would say he had a thing for me but no he just likes picking on the weak which he believes is everyone else but him. The day went by rather slowly. After the first period which was maths the next teacher was absent. The free periods usually come with a substitute teacher or another teacher wanting to extend his time but not today.
Adora, Timi's best friend and alleged girlfriend shared a little package with everyone in the class. She skipped me. I see she wasn't so pleased with her boyfriends bicker with me earlier. I couldn't care less. What did I even do with the gift package from last year? Oh I dropped it off at a stall on my way home for any random passer to pick. How can I begin to explain to my mum that a classmate of mine gave me this because he was celebrating his birthday. Not that she would ever have to find out.
Ekene brought out a little jam box and started to play music. There goes the free period I intended to use to catch up on some sleep. We are the senior class so the only ones who can reprimand us are the teachers. These folks don't seem to care. I were Helen at the back of the class and I walk up to her. Helen and I have been friends since Primary two. Her family is both Muslim and Christian. Her dad was formerly a Muslim but his extended family is Muslim. She used to come over every Salah back when we were younger. That was until we moved to where we are living now.
"How far?" I say while offering her a hand shake which she . "I dey o" she answers while trying to fake a smile but I see through her. "Is everything okay?" I inquired. "You can tell me anything" I sit next to her and place my hand on her shoulder.
You can see that she is deciding on whether to tell me or not. "My parents are getting a divorce" she says after a long silence. "The whole thing is just so overwhelming on me. The worst part is that I feel like it's my fault" age continued.
How could it possibly be her fault? I wonder. She doesn't speak again after that. We just sit in silence. I see someone walk over to us. It's the new Muslim girl. "Zahra ya dei?" He asks in Hausa. This means what's up. "Qalaw fa" I answer. Helen looks up at her. I guess she's wondering who the new girl is seeing she hasn't been around for a while.
I take the liberty to introduce them
"Helen this is Samira. Samira this is Helen." "She and her brother are new here." I say to Helen. They both wave at each other and smile. "Zehra can you escort me to the bathroom?" Helen asks. Before I could answer she drags me and pulls me with her. On our way to the toilet, while in the lobby she stops and asks me to check if she is stained. I do and find no blood. "I still have to pad myself up. Let's go."
When we reach the toilet we start a conversation. She reminded me of our fun memories and how a pot of things were just less complicated when we were younger. How she missed the old days, missed being a child, carefree. We laugh about a few things. I suddenly remember that Hadith of the Prophet that warned us again talking in the bathroom. I go silent and allow her to continue the talking. She noticed and asked "What's that nau? Why you keep quiet?"
"Let's hurry and go, teacher might be in the class" I say in almost a whisper. The plan was to avoid any form of speech till we were out of here but I couldn't just ignore her and leave neither could I explain to her later on that talking the toilet is not good.
I did wait for her reply and I proceeded to exit.