I stood on their midst for some minutes twitching my toes. The room was silent as they all stared me down.
"Are we teaching her a lesson or what?" Snr Nifemi burst out in anger after a while. My heart skipped at those words and I wished I could disappear.
Snr Tosin got up and walked up to me. She stopped in front of me and removed her glasses. I have always wondered how she coped with it. Heard rumours that they were heavy as lead. She wiped the lens with the tip of her clothes before putting it back on.
"So you feel that you now have liver and have grown wings to disrespect the seniors in this hostel as you wish?"
" No" I retorted shivering down to my toes already. "But I didn't do it"
"Oh, so who did?" She crossed her arms waiting for my reply but I could only nod my head.
Instantly she turned back "its time". As if on cue, they all picked up the canes beside them and came towards me.
" Please, please I didn't do it" was all I could say as I stepped back.
My friends were waiting for me at the door, scared they couldn't help me. My voice was heard through the rooms that night. The matron's room was close to the dining hall and no matter how hard I screamed, it couldn't reach there. I also doubt she was around at that time because she only came visiting once in a while like whenever we had a sanitation or hostel activity, then she would go back with her son, abandoning us. I hated the system at that moment.
My friends gathered around me as soon as I came out with a swollen face.
"Sorry Ruth".
" We should report this" Dara said feeling pity for me.
"No we can't, you just have to let go if not you would make it worse" Suliat advised.
All of a sudden, a strange feeling began to well up in me. First anger, then bitterness. I forgot my pain and began to fume. I needed to do something but I didn't know what. I began to pace
"What's wrong with you?" Princess asked holding my hand.
I swatted her hands away "Leave me alone, I'm angry"
"Uh oh, don't do something stupid, let's just go in and sleep" Fathia began to urge calmly.
"That's what is annoying me, I don't know what I can do. I'm so angry right now. How can they lie on me. I didn't do it!" I spewed venom
"You have every right to be angry. But let's just go in and sleep over it. We will find the perpetrator tomorrow." Fathia continued
"No!" I snapped "That's wouldn't take back the cane I was given by all of them" I pointed to the door. Then I shouted at the top of my voice for them to hear "I am going to place a curse naked. If I'm guilty then the curse will fall on me, if not.."
Before they could stop me I stomped in anger to the bathroom and pulled off my clothes before placing a curse. One by one I saw them step out of the room to watch me. I didn't care about their presence as I was to angry to notice. When I was done, I stormed past them, past the other hostel mates who had come out to watch into my room and laid on my bed to sleep.
My friends didn't bother to tell me about the events that happened after I went in and neither did I ask. There was a sudden change of air about the hostel as I went to spread my urine dripping bed outside the next morning. No one talked to me as everyone went on their ways to have their bathes.
"Why is everyone quiet this morning?" I eventually asked.
"Well, you performed quite a feat yesterday. It isn't a negative vibe you are getting but a positive one" Fathia explained
"How so?"
"No one has ever stood up to the seniors that way not to talk of cursing them. It was quite a big deal but no one dares show it" Suliat expatiated further.
"Oh" I tried to hide my feelings but I couldn't help but show it again "I'm still angry about it though and I've decided the perfect punishment I could give them" I smiled mischievously
"That's scary, what is it?" They all looked at me curiously.
"Prepare to be amused " I sashayed away to join the queue for water slinging my bucket over my shoulder. They kept asking me what my plan was throughout the day but got nothing so they decided to wait and watch.
Later that day right after school was dismissed. The seniors stormed our hostel. Snr Wura came with 5 other seniors. My friends looked at me and smiled, well except for fathia whose yes almost popped out of their sockets.
"What have you done?" She came running to me talking nervously.
I shrugged "Nothing, just watch and see"
"I want every senior out of this hostel now" Snr Wura ordered and all the seniors came running out, except snr Nifemi who strode fearlessly to them.
"I heard of a rumour, you guys beat my school daughter. How true?"
None of them could talk or face them.
"Are you deaf?" Another senior who looked crazy asked as she kept staggering sideways in anger.
"You have trespassed and gone beyond your boundary" snr Anita added in her cool voice " You have committed an abomination, but fortunately for you, she has asked us to be lenient with you".
Snr Wura came forward "So what we are going to do now is humiliate you in front of your juniors. You are going to do the same chores you have always told them to do"
Their faces jerked up simultaneously when they heard that. Snr Wura smiled "Yeah you heard that right"
They took my seniors to the field and began throwing stones to measure where they were going to cut for them. Some of them were led by another senior to wash the toilets as the rest of us looked on. They began to mumble amongst themselves and blamed each other. But I was glad, this would be their last definitely.
"This is awesome" I looked back to see a girl from another room with a broad smile on her face, she patted my shoulder. "You have revenged us all".
I smiled " I'm glad, there needs to be a change around here, they treat us like animals "
"I'm sure they will think twice before hurting you again." Dara said coming close, I could still see the shock and surprise mixed in her face as she kept staring at the seniors weeding.
By the time the seniors were done it was past dinner. They weren't allowed to go and we all snickered as we walked past them. That evening, there was no ordering around as they all went to bed immediately. For the first time we juniors had the night scenery to ourselves. The night was always beautiful in the hostel as we all spread our mats and hosted under the clouds till prep period.
Prep period was the time we all went to the dining hall to study for an hour before coming to sleep. The night was indeed glorious, there was no light which made the light of the moon more beautiful that night. All was perfect not until an unforgettable event struck.
That night the tap stopped running as we haven't had light for two days now. So we had to make use of the well. We all queued by the well side to fetch water until someone screamed.
"Snake!!!"
We all scampered off except Dara who stood still and was shaking. That was when we knew the scream came from her.
"Don't move!!!" Someone said "it will only anger it more"
I looked down at Dara's leg and there it was, a big brown snake was wrapped round her legs tightly. Dara held her breathe and tried to remain still. I became scared for her.
"Go and call the matron" someone from the crowd shouted. Few minutes later the matron came running down with a lighted stick of fire on her hand. As soon as she got close she threw the stick close to Dara and yelled to her to remain still. Dara had began to cry and sweat at the same time. Suddenly, the fire scorched the snake and it unwound itself around Dara. Sensing a threat, it ran straight for the Bush behind the hostel.
My matron pursued it and threw the stick of fire at it. The stick missed the snake but caught something more interesting, the dry leaves in the Bush. Now, my school is a very massive one which had 50% of it filled with bushes. The bushes took a wide mass of the school down to the canal. No one ever saw the end of the school behind the bushes, we only imagined.
The fire began to spread out of control and our matron panicked. So did we.
"Get water!!!" She screamed.
Our tao had stopped functioning and we had been making use of the well instead. The well itself was beside the bushes. Everyone who had fetched her water gave it up for the fire. The seniors came running out at that point as the heat of the fire began to spread into the rooms. The fire became thicker and huge. One of the seniors began to draw water from the wall as fast as she could while others dumped detergent into the waters as fast as they could to dampen the strength of the fire.
The fire only grew bigger and began to spread. The more it ate more bushes the more it grew. The fire got closer to the well and the senior had to forfeit the fetching.
Our matron faced us already sweating profusely."Move back everybody, I'm going to get help from the seniors hostel, don't panic. I want you all to hurdle in front of the hostel." She pointed to some of the seniors. "Follow me". Together they all ran leaving us panicking in front of the hostel.
All of us began to pray, the Muslims brought out their praying mantles while the Christians got on their kneels and began to pray.
" My mummy" I looked besides me and saw princess crying and hugging herself. All of à sudden one of the students freaked out and ran inside coming back out with her box. "I want to go home" she began to shout. Just as if she triggered everyone, we all rushed in and carried our boxes. If we didn't have an hostel anymore, at least we can go home. I climbed the lockers and pulled down my box. The windows had already burnt and the room was filled with smoke. We were all coughing already.
"Be fast everyone and get out" we all rushed out dragging our boxes and coughing. The matron can back with the matron of the seniors hostel and other seniors.
"Are you okay?" Senior Wura came running to my side. I could only nod and began coughing. She hit my back several times before I calmed down. "Are you better now?"
"Yes" I nodded.
"Help someone has fainted here!" We heard screams from one section of the rabble and some seniors went over there to help.
"I'll be right back" she hugged me and got up to help. Several minutes later, three people had fainted. The fire had already spread to the dining hall side going towards the school. We were all scared. I looked around and saw everyone, even the kitchen staffs trying their beat to put out the raging fire.
I looked around for Dara and I saw her shivering in a corner, she had just finished placing a call to her mum. I went closer to her. We hugged each other and began crying.
"I'm scared" she voiced out our feelings.