ÀṢÀKẸ́

CHAPTER NINE

          My heart beat fast as we approached the school buildings. We could hear the noises of students and teachers. These were parts of the village I had never been to. We stopped at the school's front, and morenikeji's hesitation and anxiety were obvious as she kept blinking and shaking her head reluctantly.

I grabbed her by the arm and walked towards the first building we saw. There were just 3 blocks at the time, with four buildings in each, painted yellow; the colours could barely be seen. At the far end was a small building that happened to be the principal's office.

There was sudden silence as we stepped into the first class we saw. The students in their yellow uniforms looked intently at us.

“Ehen? What can I do for you?”, a tall man who I assumed to be the teacher asked. He wore a blue shirt, and his bleached chino trousers were tightly fastened and drawn to the stomach level. He held in his hand a long cane, and every word he spoke proceeded with saliva.

“A fẹ́ kọ́ ède gẹ̀ẹ́sì ni sir” (We want to learn English sir), I responded naively.

“Ehn, how does that concern me?”, he waved his cane to and fro.

“Sir, àwa ò mà gbọ́ ǹkan tí ẹ̀ ń sọ o” (Sir, we don't understand what you're saying o), I muttered. Everyone in the class burst into laughter. At that moment, I sincerely wished the ground would open up and I would run into it.  I glanced away, and kept looking down, while morenikeji stood behind me for refuge.

“Ṣé wọ́n sọ fún n yín pé irúu yín ló n kàwé?” (Who told you it's your type that goes to school?), he said, hysterically. I got pissed, and rather than retreat, I was willing to strike back.

“Ṣé ẹ̀yin ò lè sọ̀rọ̀ láì tutọ́ ni?” (Can't you talk without spitting ni?), I asked, cleaning my face. The laughter increased and got severe. His eyes fluttered from behind his glasses as they bulged out. He was beginning to sweat.

“Will you shut up! You are laughing at your teacher! Are you normal?!”, he banged his cane on the table before him. There was a sudden silence again, “and you pests! It's better you leave this place this moment”.

An argument arose. I wasn't willing to leave, and he wasn't going to stop threatening us to leave. While the argument was going on, I scanned through the class and found the larger population to be boys. There were just about 5 girls in the midst of many boys. It dawned on me, the truth of which màámi spoke of. The discrimination had been extended to the academic world. This was the more reason why I wasn't going to leave.

“What's going on here?”, a gentle voice spoke from behind. I turned and I saw the most decent looking woman I had ever seen. Her spotless face was in sync with her neatly ironed brown blazer. The way the man responded to her made me conclude she had higher authority than he did.

“It's these girls ma, they are caus--”

“No. Let them answer themselves”, she cut in.

“Ma, they don't understand english”, he said, smiling sheepishly.

“Kílódé tí ẹ fí ń pariwo? Kíló ṣẹlẹ̀?” (Why are you shouting? What happened?), she turned to us and asked.

“Ẹ káàrọ̀ ma, àwa náà fẹ́ ma wá sí ilé ìwé yìí, afẹ́ kọ́ èdẹ́ gẹ̀ẹ́sì” (Good morning ma, we also want to join this school, we want to learn English). She gave a deep sigh and stared at me for a few seconds.

“Ṣó dá yín lójú pé agbára yín ma gbe?” (Are you sure you can handle it?).

“Ahah, ó gbe ma o” (Ahah, yes we can ma o), I affirmed, gesturing vaguely with my arms.