*September 22nd 2064*
The morning sun streamed through the
window, casting a warm glow across the room. In the bed, a young girl was
stirring, her eyelids fluttering open as she awoke from her slumber. The girl
stretched and yawned, then sat up and looked around, taking in the familiar
surroundings of her bedroom. It was her first day in secondary school and the
girl felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation as she thought about what the
day would bring. She rose from the bed, and began to get ready
"Tosin! Hurry up, or you'll be late on
your first day!" Sade, her mother yelled from downstairs
"I'm coming!" She yelled back
"How long will it take you to get dressed
for school?! Hurry up joor!" Sade yelled again, concern etched in her voice
"Almost done!" Tosin yelled, rushing to meet up
"Oh God! Where is this girl?!" Sade yelled
again less than a minute later "Tosin!"
"I'm done now," Tosin said, smiling and
standing behind Sade
"Here, your lunch," Sade said, giving
Tosin a food pack
Tosin collected it, grinning with
appreciation
"Thank you, mum," Tosin said, showing
appreciati
"You're welcome" Sade said, smiling
"Okay, I'm off now. Bye" Tosin said as she
hugged her mother
Tosin waved at her mother with a smile as
she made her way out of the house
"Bye," Sade said, waving back at Tosin
The sun was shining brightly, and the birds were singing happily in the trees. Tosin took a deep breath and smiled; feeling ready to take on the day. As she approaches the school, she sees that the gates are open and the students are walking in. Tosin walked into Charlie Queens Academy feeling excited. She was ecstatic as she walked through the school premises. For certain reasons known only to her, she had looked forward to this day
"Hello there," said a girl who was standing behind Tosin
"Hey," Tosin replied, turning around to
see who was behind her
"Um…. I'm looking for JSS1B but I can't
find it," The girl explained. She was wearing the same Charlie Queens Academy Junior school uniform Tosin was putting on
"Oh, that's my class too," Tosin said with a smile, "Let's look for it together then,"
"By the way, I'm Oluchi, nice to meet
you," The girl introduced herself with a smile
"My name is Tosin. It's a pleasure," Tosin
replied
The girls searched for their class but they couldn't find it. 10 minutes passed by quickly without success in their search
"What a pain," Tosin complained, her
frustration mounting, "Just how big is this school anyway?"
"Well, it's not surprising that we are having a tough time finding our class. We are new students after all," Oluchi said with understanding
"I guess you're right," Tosin agreed, "By the way, how am I in JSS1B anyway? How did they group us?"
"Well, 50 is the pass mark for the entrance examination we did 2 months ago. What did you score?" Oluchi asked
"93," Tosin replied, her confidence
palpable
"I got 91," Oluchi said "I overheard
someone saying that he was in JSS1J,"
"Wow! JSS1J?" Tosin exclaimed, surprise etched in her tone
"I don't know how many JSS1 classes this
school has and I don't know if what I deduced is correct but I think each class
is divided into 10; that is assuming there are 10 JSS1 classes. Since 50 is the
pass mark, I think our class is a group of those who scored between 91 and 95"
Oluchi explained, trying to clarify the grouping policy of the school
"So, in other words, JSS1A are people who
got between 96 and 100, huh?" Tosin asked, curiosity etched on her face
"That's right" Oluchi said, her smile spreading around her lips
"And here I thought getting into JSS1A would be a piece of cake," Tosin said, regret evident in her tone, "I guess I was naïve,"
"Let's ask someone to lead us to our class," Oluchi suggested
"Okay," Tosin agreed, her commitment renewed
With the help of a senior student, Tosin
and Oluchi found their class. But they found it at end of the first period. The girls attended the second and third period before going on a short break. During the short break, Tosin approached Oluchi
"So, what club would you like to join?" Tosin asked
"I'll join the business club" Oluchi replied, "What about you?"
"The Basketball club" Tosin replied,
smiling happily
"That's great! The current manager of the
basketball club will retire next year. You'd be taking over from her next year," Oluchi revealed
"Huh?.....….. No No No No No No No No No
No! I'm sorry if you got the wrong idea but I'm actually joining the basketball club as a player," Tosin explained
"You want to join the basketball club as a
player? But you are a girl" Oluchi said, surprise etched in her tone
"I will be joining the female basketball team," Tosin replied
"Oh, I see. Well sorry but this school
doesn't have a FEMALE basketball team," Oluchi explained, making a gesture with
her fingers
"It doesn't?" Tosin asked, her eyes widened in disbelief
"Yeah, it doesn't. So, I'd advise you to
either be the manager of the male basketball team or join another club," Oluchi said
"That won't do," Tosin said
"Huh?" surprise etched on Oluchi's face
"How about we create a female basketball
team?" Tosin suggested, her determination shining through
"Huh? What do you mean by 'we'?" Oluchi
asked, scanning Tosin's face
"If the school doesn't have one, we just have to create one. Simple, right?" Tosin said with a smirk
"Hey, young lady, why are you including
me?" Oluchi asked
"Why? Because you are a member of the
female basketball team too. We just need a few more members and we're good to go," Tosin said
"I'm not interested. And like I said
earlier, I'm joining the business club. Find someone else," Oluchi clarified, "I'll advise you to just give up but good luck anyway"
"Why should I?" Tosin asked
"In this country, girls don't like sports," said Oluchi
"Oh yeah; yet we brag about being better
than boys at everything they know how to do. We don't like sport? What a joke," Tosin complained
"I knew you wouldn't listen. Good luck
anyway. Just don't include me," Oluchi said as she walked away
Tosin continued to recruit new members for
the new basketball team she's creating. For some reasons, she remained insistent that Oluchi is a member of the team
"Hey, I heard you are creating a basketball team. Can I join?" a female classmate suddenly walked up to Tosin
and asked
"'Course you can," Tosin replied with a
smile
"Um…. My name is Mercy. Nice to meet you," The girl introduced herself with a smile
"I'm Tosin," Tosin said with a smile, "Now
if we can get two more members, we'd be able to play in official games"
"Two? Are you still counting me? I thought
I told you to find someone else," said Oluchi
"Come on, don't be like that. Let's play
basketball together" Tosin said, trying to encourage Oluchi
"I said I don't want to play. Is it by
force? Ah!" Oluchi snapped and angrily walked away, carrying her back pack
"Is it just me or does the word 'basketball' seem to annoy Oluchi?" Tosin asked, curiosity etched on her face
"Well, that's her problem," Mercy replied,
"Just give up. She doesn't want to play. Leave her alone,"
"Nah, that's not an option" Tosin said "I
want Oluchi to play basketball…. more than anybody else,"
"Well, do what you want. Let's go home,"
Mercy said, carrying her back pack
"Okay" Tosin said, putting her books in
her bag
The girls were walking home together from school, chatting about basketball-related topics.
"So, what position will you play?" Mercy
asked
"I think I'm gonna play center" Tosin
replied
"Because of your height?" Mercy asked
"Kind of," Tosin replied with a smile
"Well, I'm gonna play Shooting guard,"
Mercy said
"That's nice," Tosin said, "We don't know
Oluchi's position yet so we just need the Point guard, Small forward and Power
forward. We also need a few more members"
"Are you still including Oluchi?" Mercy
mused before making a suggestion, "We should get a coach too,"
"That's a grea... Oh my God! Wow! Haha!
Look at that slam! Who is she?!" Tosin asked, spotting a huge girl performing a
slam dunk at a local basketball court. They ran into some girls playing street basketball at the local basketball court while walking home.
"Oh," Mercy recognized the girl who had
just executed a slam dunk, "Her name is Eno. She's in JSS2I. I heard she got
suspended for slapping a teacher," She explained
"Wow! She's got guts…... Wait a sec, she
attends our school?" Tosin asked
"Y…Yes, why?" Mercy asked, curiosity evident in her expression
"That's great! Let's go talk to her!" Tosin said
"Tosin, that's not nec…." Mercy said "hey!!!" she yelled, sighted Tosin walking up to Eno
Tosin approached Eno on the court
"Hey, that was a powerful dunk you just displayed there," Tosin said, her smile spreading across her face, "Nigeria's got talents"
"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Eno asked with a frown
"Er… I'm Tosin," Tosin introduced herself
"What do you want?" Eno asked
"Okay, let me go straight to the point.
I'm creating a female basketball team right now and I want you to be a part of it. How does that sound? What do you think? Cool, right?" Tosin asked with a smile
"Please please please please and please. I
don't know how to play basketball. Don't disturb me," Eno lied to fend off Tosin
"But you just dunked. I saw you," Tosin pressed on
"What's your problem? I said I'm not interested in basketball. It's not a must, is it?" Eno snapped, her anger boiling inside her
"Tosin, let's go," Mercy said, draggimg
Tosin away from Eno
"Alright, Eno I look forward to working
with you, okay" Tosin said, with a smirk. Her determination palpable
The girls continued walking home. Mercy
couldn't believe what Tosin did. She thought there has to be a limit to her recklessness
"You've got guts," Mercy said
"Why is that?" Tosin asked, smiling
"Don't tell me you don't know Eno. In
school, she's tagged 'The Undertaker'" Mercy revealed
"The Under…what?" Tosin asked,
"The Undertaker," Mercy repeated, "She is
fearless, strong, and intimidating. Nobody crosses her path,"
"I see," Tosin said, "But she seems to be
very good at basketball"
"Well, she IS very good at basketball."
Mercy said, "Thanks to her skills and strength, Rose Mary Nursery and Primary
school female basketball team swept through the principal cup during her rookie
year in the team. However, in her second year, playing for the team…." Mercy paused
"What happened?" Tosin asked, curiosity
written all over her face
"Eno suffered a serious injury in the
final of the principal cup. Consequently, Rose Mary Nursery and Primary school
female basketball team got humiliated in the final" Mercy explained
"So sad," Tosin said, wearing an expression of pity
"Eno hasn't been the same since that defeat in the principal cup final" said Mercy "She quit basketball after leaving Rose Mary Nursery and Primary school. Her reason for quitting wasn't stated though. Her last game in Primary school, was the most humiliating. Eno couldn't do anything against her"
"Who?" Tosin asked, her curiosity piqued
"A member of the Victorious Varsity" Mercy
revealed
"Victori…. What's that?" Tosin asked
"Eno would be a great asset to the team.
Not to mention, she's a capable Center too, but…. Forget her," Mercy said
"Wow!" Tosin screamed, her excitement
reaching its peak, "We've got our team an amazing Center!"
"Hey, listen when others are talking, will
you?" Mercy said, "Besides, didn't you say you'd play Center?"
"Oh, that? That was before we met Eno"
Tosin said
"Hmmm" Mercy said
"Yes," Tosin said
"Okay, Eno covers the center. Where'd you
play?" Mercy asked
"Who? Me?" Tosin asked
"No, me," Mercy said, "Abeg, where'd you
play joor?"
"Well, I'd have preferred the center
position but I'd settle for the power forward position," Tosin replied
"Hey, are you sure about that? That means
you'll be our most dependable scorer. You have to be able to shoot from mid-range and not just from close range," Mercy explained
"Well, I'll do my best. Hehe" Tosin said,
"when is she resuming?"
"Who?" Mercy asked
"Who else? Eno of course" Tosin replied
"Well just give up on her, okay" Mercy advised
"I'd never give up on a teammate" Tosin said
"She's not a member of the team yet!"
Mercy yelled
"Of course she is" Tosin said, stubbornly and strongly believing that Eno would join the team
Mercy sighed as she was tired of arguing with Tosin
"Well, according to what I heard, she was
expected to resume today but no one saw her in school," Mercy revealed
"Hopefully, she'd show up tomorrow. I'd
love to talk to her" Tosin said, a bright smile playing at her lips
"Yeah, right. If she shows up anyway," Mercy said
The girls walked home talking about basketball related news. Tosin looked forward to training with the girls she has met. But she felt a desperate urge to get a Coach and a really good player who'd play the small forward position. In her head, Oluchi is a competent Point guard.
Tosin and Mercy approached Mrs. Lawal,
their Literature in English teacher to convince her to be the coach of the new
team. Mrs. Lawal was busy marking her students' assignments at the time when
they approached her
"Hello young ladies, what brings you girls
here?" Mrs. Lawal asked, dropping her red pen on an opened note book to listen
to the girls
"Good morning ma," Tosin and Mercy greeted Mrs. Lawal
"Good morning, how may I help you?" Mrs.
Lawal asked
"Please Mrs. Lawal, be our Coach," Tosin
said
Tosin and Mercy were nervous. They had
thought that approaching a female teacher with the offer of coaching them might
not yield a positive result because all the male teachers turned them down. They also
couldn't approach the Male Team Coach. They concluded that he'd turn them down
because he is coaching the Male Basketball Team
"Wait! Slow down. What am I supposed to be
coaching here?" Mrs. Lawal asked her curiousity piqued
"Um… Mrs. Lawal, we're creating a
basketball team," Mercy explained
"And?" Mrs. Lawal asked, her brow furrowed
"We are looking for a Coach. We want you
t….," Tosin was saying, before being interrupted
"We want you to be our Coach," Mercy
interrupted
"Yes, we want you to be our Coach," Tosin
repeated
"Hm… interesting…" Mrs. Lawal said, a
little smile playing at her lips as she leaned back, "So, what inspired you to do this?"
"Um….. Mrs. Lawal, our school doesn't have
a female basketball team. Until now, any girl joining the basketball club will most likely work as the team's manager. We've decided to create a basketball team for girls in our school. I believe it'd be a great opportunity for the girls inbour school. We acknowledged that one of the things we really need is a Coach. It'd be a tremendous help if you could be our coach ma'am," Tosin pleaded
Mrs. Lawal considered the idea for a
moment, her brow furrowed in thoughts.
"Hmmm, I'm glad that you girls are creating something amazing. It's certainly an ambitious plan. It could be an amazing experience for you girls too. Not to mention, girls who would come after you in 10, 15, 20 years time would benefit from it." Mrs. Lawal continued, a smile spreading across her face, "Well, fortunately for you girls, I love sport and Basketball is my favorite. I'll be your coach,"
"Yes!!! Thank you very much ma," Tosin and
Mercy said happily
"But, only on one simple condition," Mrs.
Lawal said, "It's a small price to pay,"
"Okay ma, what is it?" Tosin asked
"You need to possess the 3 Ds of success,"
Mrs. Lawal replied
"Okay, what are they?" Mercy asked
"Discipline, Dedication and the Desire to
win. 'There is no point if you don't win. You must have that drive. That mentality," Mrs. Lawal explained
"Alright ma'am, no problem," Tosin and
Mercy chorused
"Good. So how many members do we have so far?" Mrs. Lawal asked
"We're four…." Tosin said.
Just then, Tosin felt a gentle touch on her shoulder
"Hi, Tosin. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
asked the strange girl who touched Tosin, a bright smile playing at her lips
Tosin turned to see who it was "Oooohhhh!!! Shalom!!!" Tosin jumped into an embrace, "It's good to see you again,"
"Ouch," Shalom reacted to Tosin squeezing her tight, "Good to see you too" she said, laughing