Two Sides Of A Coin

SHA' BIYAR

SIMEON

Simeon sat down with his mates at the second to the last section at the assembly hall, looking at the vice principal of academics was saying things he couldn’t hear; not because the mic wasn’t loud but because he hadn’t really been attentive.

He was thinking about how warmly his classmates welcomed him and inquired about his health. And right now, he was even happy that he and his mother were better and okay now. They hadn’t really said anything to each other. More like he kept on apologizing and his mother waved it off. She didn’t talk about why she was so upset with him, but just accepted his apology for his actions and words.

His bestie Kucheli wouldn’t stop being a mother hen, asking in between classes and breaks if he was okay, if he wanted to go home or if the class was too noisy for him. He just smiled and appreciated her gestures and told her he was okay.

Then, he got to observe that whenever Kucheli was around him, Buttercup wasn’t around. Either, she was reading a novel or gisting with her new found friend, the one everyone called Americana. Then if Kucheli left him, some few minutes later, Buttercup will come to check up on him but she always had a look on her face, more like curiosity and wonder than concern and care. But if she wasn’t going to go right ahead and ask, then he also wouldn’t intrude. He learnt the hard way it is good to always mind one’s business, be it old news, new news, future news, mind your business.

He shook his head at all these thoughts and when he came back to the present, the whole assembly were rounding up and class by class, they filed to their class. He looked outside to the see shadow prefects who were on duty, making sure the other students went to their class on time to begin the classes of the day. The first two periods were maths, and though he didn’t like it along with his mates, he was excellently good at it, why because he made himself learn every educational thing he could in prison.

What better way to while away time, in a cell than to read all your brain can remember and assimilate. The maths teacher Mr Sali, who up till today held a grudge at him, was surprised when he gave answers to all the equations and finished all his makeup tests, being that he hadn’t being in school. When Simeon was asked why and how he was able to ‘know everything’.

He gave an incredulous look and said “I’m sick, not dead”. That made Mr Sali angrier; that he ended up telling him that if he was so brilliant then he should come and finish the remaining half way of the topic that he had prepared for the day.

He looked around the class, getting different reactions, some were eager; some were waiting for him to ridicule himself, others didn’t care, while others gave him looks of pity, knowing that if he at any chanced messed it up, the maths teacher would look for some excuse to flog him, and further exaggerate his case in the staff room, that the teachers can unjustly dislike him.

This was the second time, he was crossing the maths teacher, and of course everyone wanted to see if this time around, he will go scot free.
He sat down for ten seconds writing some things down as the whole class anticipated him. Finally after he counted to ten, he stood up and went to the board, look at his maths textbook, and then back at his mates.

Then he asked in a clear unwavering baritone voice; “please sincerely tell me, does anyone understand from the beginning to this point? Or should I continue from this point onwards?”

It looked like nobody wanted to help him, for the next ten seconds, till Kenneth spoke: “see me I no go lie, I no understand this trigonometry abhi nah nometry, so pls baba start again” Simeon smiled in appreciation, and that's when Kucheli, Malik, Mariam and Natasha also said they didn’t understand.