Stereotypes [A Nigerian Story]

Chapter 4

I look around the class to check if Joy had bothered to resume today. She never resumed on the first week and since it was three days into resumption, I was certain she had planned to continue with that trend.

I didn't blame her either. Most teachers didn't show up on the first week and those who came to class only did revision or gave out the term's scheme of work.

The class was still noisy when our English teacher came inside. I didn't even realise when the bell was rung. He placed his marker and his lesson note on a desk at the front. The class quietened when everyone realised a teacher was there.

"Good morning sir", we greeted in unison. Back in junior class we usually stood up to greet but in SS3 nobody cared any longer.

"Good morning class", he responded, writing the subject on the board. "How was the holiday?"

Some said it was fine while others said okay. I guess mine was okay. I didn't travel. My parents decided that the whole family would not be travelling. I had badly wanted to travel to Abuja but my mom said I couldn't travel alone. Jeez, I wonder if they are forgetting that I'm almost seventeen.

"Bring out your notes so we can do something today", he spoke softly, facing the board to write down something. He had an Igbo accent that was easily identifiable. None of the English teachers that have taught my class actually spoke correct phonetics. They just teach it.

You could hear the sound of books flipping to a particular page. I also pulled out my notebook from my bag. I look up to see that he had written Essay on the board.

"Okay, today we'll be doing essay writing and I want you to write about how you spent your last holiday".

That's how we usually kick-start each school term, with an essay on our last holiday. I don't really know what it is with English teachers.

I see some people writing already while I'm still battling with what to write. I didn't really have much to write because nothing fun happened during the holiday. So to make a perfect story, I tushed my holiday with some lies, like I normally do. It was not like he'd ask me if my story was true.

I find myself writing about how my family visited Paris and had dinner on the top of the Eiffel tower. It was really ironic that I've never even stepped into a plane, well except for when we had an excursion to the airport when I was in primary school.

Then, we had only stepped in and looked around the plane but we didn't move, against my expectations. So when Joy told me that a pilot moved the plane during their excursion, I was slightly jealous.

In my head, I had written a full page on my essay, but as I take a brief moment to check, I see that its only a little more than half of it. I add some more things to fill up the space, writing that we had journeyed again to The States and visited Disney land.

I wrap it all up with the sentence 'I look forward to my next holiday.' I sighed as I drop my pen on my book. I turned around to see that some were done with their essay. I noticed that Favour and some others were still writing. She was writing as though the teacher would give her an A in the subject for this work alone. Its not like he even grades the work. He'll just mark and send it back to us. Sometimes I wonder if he actually reads it. But who cares?

"Five minutes more! Begin to round up", the teacher instructed.

It was when they heard this instruction that some people increased their writing speed. I really don't understand why they felt their life depended on this. What was there to write anyway?

Time passed by quicker than I expected.

Today was a Wednesday and on a normal school week it would have been club day but since we closed earlier this week, it didn't hold. After the first week of school, we usually had extra lesions in the afternoon. i just wish my school would make them optional. I'm very sure half the class would not stay for it.

I wasn't a big fan of school if you'd ask me. The only thing that gives me joy is the sound of the school bell. So when the bell rang for closing, i was elated. i started packing my bag even though a teacher was in the class. We weren't copying any notes, just revision entirely. I didn't even bring my question papers from last term, not that I still had them. After my exams I throw them away and I find it hard to believe that teachers still think a lot of students would bring their past questions to school. Only two students brought theirs to class and that was what we all shared.

It was about five minutes after closing time and Mrs Adigwe was still dictating the answers to the class. I didn't bother copying them. For all i cared the answers were in my textbook. I sighed as she went on and on until the last question.

"Before I'll release you all, I want to give you the scheme of work so that in my next class we will start a new topic", she said.

I groaned but not too loud enough to be heard. I unzip my school bag and take out a new notebook. She started dictating but when people complained that they weren't getting her, she copied on the board.

It took another five minutes to get that done with. I was more than happy when she finally went out of the class. I put back my notebook inside my bag and was ready to leave but then something grabbed my attention.

"You have joined bad gang now, abi?, I asked John. I hadn't seen him during the holiday and last time I checked his hairstyle was 'punk'. Right now his hair was so full.

He ran his fingers down his hair and giving me a guilty expression.

"Let Mr Edward catch you. You know what he'll do".

"I'll reduce it before then", he said, before packing his own book.

I shake my head. All these classmates of mine sef.