The Thorny Path - Episode 2

 

Ms. Aliyu walked into the classroom after the assembly had ended and Yewande the class captain tapped the table with her hand thrice. Everyone stood up immediately. "Good morning, aunty. We are happy to see you. God bless you, Amen," they all chorused.

She nodded and replied to them. She waved for them to seat down . They sat down and the chairs vibrated. She looked around the classroom like she was looking for something, and her eyes landed on Nnenna. They both looked at each other and Nnenna pulled her eyes away. "Are you sure you are fine, Nnenna?" she asked.

"Yes, ma," Nnenna said under her breath.

"I hope so. Because you don't seem so," she said and stopped, "I told you guys we are having a test on social studies and C.R.S today."

She looked around again and stopped. "I think someone is not in school today," she said and turned to Yewande.

Yewande lifted up her shoulders and rolled her eyes glancing at her classmates. "It is Muneerah and I don't know why she is not in school today."

A boy at the back raised his finger and the teacher pointed at him to talk. "What?" she asked.

He stood up and twisted his body, then blinked repeatedly

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. "Err... Her mummy said she is not feeling fine and she will not be in school today."

"Every time, she is not feeling fine," a voice said. She thought no one had heard her but when she turned, she noticed all the eyes were on her including their teacher. She buried her head on the table immediately avoiding their eyes.

"Oh, I know about it," Ms. Aliyu said. "We will talk about it during our social studies. It's one of the things we need to learn."

During the break time, Nnenna sat on the pavement with Tolani and they watched students in lower classes playing all over the playground. Tolani touched Nnenna to get her attention. She had been lost and she hit her twice softly . "Ah. You look too much," she said.

"I am sorry," Nnenna said and blinked.

"Who do you think will be our head girl when we are promoted to basic six?" Tolani asked.

Nnenna rolled her eyeballs up and down and stopped. Tolani spoke without waiting for Nnenna to reply to her while shaking her body repeatedly. "I think it's me," she said and rolled her eyes.

The school head girl walked past them holding a stick. She was neatly dressed and her uniform was well pressed. Nnenna had looked away again, looking at the children skipping and some were running around the school compound.

"It will be me and err—" she stopped and glanced at Nnenna. She hit her. "Ah. Listen to me. You are so annoying," she said and tried to stand and walk away.

Nnenna followed her and caught up with her. She held her tight. "I am sorry. I won't look again." She freed her and they walked back to where they had been seating. They finished talking and the school bell rang. Everyone began to run into their classes.

"Welcome back from the break," Ms. Aliyu said.

They replied to her and some put their head on the table quickly. "You can rest for fifteen minutes. After that, we will resume our class on social studies. Don't forget I am done marking your test exercise books and the highest surprised me."

Tolani looked at her classmates and made a face. "It will be me," she whispered.

Yewande laughed. "You that don't know anything," she said and laughed, pointing at Tolani. Some of the pupils began to laugh.

Tolani laughed, "I don't know anything but I take third every term but they don't write position for you. So, you don't know anything," she said and twisted her face trying to mock Yewande.

Yewande hissed.

Ms. Aliyu turned to them. "Can everyone stop making noise. Urgh," she said and hit her cane on the table. Some of the students vibrated and the class became calm.

After fifteen minutes, the teacher walked out from her seat to the front of the classroom. She held their exercise books. All the students became calm and kept looking at her. "The test was okay and someone got all the questions. He wrote very well and I was wowed—" she said.

Nnenna laughed and everyone glanced at her.

"What, Nnenna?" Ms. Aliyu asked.

"Nothing ma," she blocked her mouth with her hands.

"There should be something. You should talk," she said.

She stood up and pointed at Tolani. "She said she will be the highest and you said the highest is a boy." She laughed and everyone began to stare at her. They were confused.

"How did you know?"

"You said He," she said.

Ms. Aliyu laughed. "You are right and it is Tega. You are so smart" she said. Everyone turned to Tega and he smiled.

Yewande turned to Tolani and laughed then brought out her tongue. Nnenna glanced at Tolani and she looked away. She was angry at Nnenna. The teacher began to distribute the exercise books to them. Nnenna opened her own and saw she got everything too.

"I got everything, ma," she said.

Read " The Odds Are Against Me " by the same author ( Obinna Tony )

. "Like Tega."

Everyoneturned to her excitedly.

"Yes, but if there was an extra mark, I will award it to Tega. He did everything very well," she said.

Two boys behind Tega grabbed his cloth and shook him happily. He smiled. Tolani got sixteen over twenty, missing four questions. Yewande didn't want to show anyone her score and the whole class began to laugh at her as Tolani began to make a mockery of her.

"You people are making noise. We still have something to talk about," Ms. Aliyu said to them.

The noises stopped and they began to pay attention.

She walked to the door and cleaned off what was written on the board. She wrote the heading and the topic with a green marker. She stopped and looked out through the door, and saw another teacher. The teacher walked in, and she followed her out of the classroom. "I will be back soon," she said to her students.