Another week passed but this time it wasn't like two weeks ago. We spent the first week of school writing down the scheme of works for each subject.
My parents had already bought the textbooks for me, I took the textbooks of the subjects in which we copied the scheme of work for a day and read the first topics. I was determined to make a perfect first impression.
One thing I like about moving to a new school is that, I get to recreate my reputation and make people see me as the smart and brilliant girl that I am. And to me, First impression matters a lot.
Back at my primary school, I was seen as the teacher's pet. All the teachers who taught me in their grades saw me as the best in academics and I could recall a lot of my classmates and friends wanted to be like me. No one ever really insulted me, they always treated me differently and more carefully than the others, which was something I liked about myself. . .until this week.
The three fat girls in my class made it mandatory to insult every single student their age or lower. At first I was sad that they had Insulted Bella because of her long front teeth, but now I'm boiling with anger.
I came to school late two days ago and I either had to choose getting flogged or carrying a bucket of water back and forth until the drum in the girl's bathroom was full.
I, of course, chose carrying a bucket of water, and because of my small stature and not much strength, I was incapable of carrying the bucket of water without pouring it on people.
One of the fat girls, Chiamaka, secretly took a picture of me with her phone and sent it to all our classmates. Everyone saw it, and now they call me soft bones.
I feel horrible, and to make matters worse the teachers make fun of me behind my back. I saw and heard it with my own eyes and ears severally and I felt so. . . useless.
Kosi, Williams, Bella and Amanda sympathized with me and tried to stop students from calling me that, all to no avail.
During another free period today, I brought out my earpiece and song book, patiently waiting for Kemi to join. It seemed to have become a habit of his to sit with me every free period.
"Are you writing a song today?". He asked not minding the fact that a student had just screamed " Soft bones" and pointed at my direction.
"Yes, I'm going to write a song about how embarrassed and frustrated I feel". I said, holding back a tear.
"Wait, are you crying because their calling you soft bones?" He asked.
"I'm not crying and yes". I said.
"I don't think you should let that bother you Tega, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and just because people identified your weaknesses and made fun of you doesn't mean you should let it get to your head. Personally, I think you should work on it instead".
I looked up at him. I was astonished. Kemi was one of the smart boys I've taken note of in my class, but I had no idea he was so motivational.
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind". I said cheerfully.
"So please tell me you're not going to write a song about frustration and humiliation now". He joked.
"No, I'll write a song about what you just told me". I said.
"That you're going to write a song about frustration and humiliation? Oh no!" He said, looking a bit worried.
"No". I laughed. "I'm going to write a song about people focusing on their strengths and working on their weaknesses. And when I get home I'm going to think of how to work on MY weakness".
"Awesome, Check it, I wrote a song of my own, it's called, I'll shoot to stardom".
I smiled, took the book he gave to me and began reading the lyrics as soon as I had found the song.
Since I was a little boy,
I wanna jump into the tv,
Climb on top the stage and say "Hey there fans!".
I wanna be a rockin' popstar and show my talent to the world.
And shout "Rock n' Roll" to a thousand fans that came to watch me sing,
And so I wanna say.
CHORUS:
I just wanna sing like my mummy yo,
I want stinkin' rich like my Daddy yo,
I want lots of Fame, lots and lots of Fame,
B-b-b-be a billionaire, be a billionaire.
I would shoot to stardom,
Be a megastar,
Have so many fan clubs,
Near and very far,
I would have a thousand, million, zillion fans,
That would call themselves the Kemi-kemistars.
And at that last sentence, I burst into
laughter.
"What?" He asked, looking a bit offended.
"Oh sorry, it's just your song is AMAZING, you're a talented song writer but the last sentence of the song was hilarious". I said, laughing again.
"What? You don't think I can have fans that call themselves Kemistars?" He joked.
I laughed some more and with that I completely forgot about people making fun of me and those who also tried to bully me in the process.