The rest of the day was spent having more fun. When they left the funfair Mrs Okenwa took them out for lunch and then they went to the cinema.
So, it was very dark by the time they arrived home. Mrs Okenwa quickly fixed them a meal and they all dug into it with gusto. Then they packed their dishes to the kitchen and Lastborn washed them, while Eniiyi went to turn on the TV.
China changed the baby's diapers and went to the laundry room to wash some clothes.
'About what I said in the morning, that Baby Kanayo will say my name soon? I want to start working on it tomorrow,' Eniiyi said when Lastborn came to join her at the TV several minutes later.
'Sha be deceiving yourself there.' He rolled his eyes. 'You think it's that easy? He hasn't known us for that long to memorize our names—'
'Be talking like you know babies more than me.' It was Eniiyi's turn to roll her eyes.
'What? I do. You forget where I come from. You, is it that stuck up place you come from that you'll know anything about babies? I'm surprised you kind of people even have children.'
Eniiyi didn't know what to say at that. She felt wounded, especially knowing he was probably right. But he had no right to talk to her like that!
'Shut up. It will shock you. You'll see,' she said, annoyed. 'Don't talk to me again.'
'Mo ti gbọ́.' Lastborn rolled his eyes again.
Mrs Okenwa peeked out from the laundry. 'It's time for bed o, you guys should go to sleep, osiso! And I'd be coming to check on you in five minutes.'
Lastborn yawned and turned off the TV, standing up. 'Goodnight!' he called out then made for his room.
Eniiyi, still annoyed, didn't reply, mostly because he wasn't talking to her. When he was gone she went into the laundry room and kissed China goodnight then went to her room.
She changed into her nightwear and yawned.
It had been a very tiring day for Eniiyi, so when she crashed onto the bed, her head didn't quite hit that pillows before she fell asleep.
She was woken up the next morning by Mrs Okenwa calling her name.
She slowly sat up, blinking rapidly to shake out the remaining cobwebs of sleep.
'Good morning, ma,' she muttered and then yawned. She glanced at the clock radio. 'It's just five O'clock.'
'Get up, Eniiyi. Go take your bath. It's a new day and school starts today. You don't wanna be late on the first day in the new school, do you?'
Eniiyi paused in rubbing her eyes. 'That's true. New school.'
She got down from the bed and hurriedly let China give her a kiss on the forehead before disappearing into the bathroom.
China smiled and gently shook her head then headed out when she thought she heard the baby crying.
🍒♟️🍒♟️🍒♟️
'Okay, is everyone ready?' China asked from the front seat.
'Yes, ma,' Lastborn said, fastening his seat belt.
He looked dashing in his brand new school uniform. A light cream short sleeve shirt and wine trousers with a cream-striped wine tie. China had taken her time to relax his thick mass of onyx-black hair and slick it back with gel, curling it at the ends, so that he looked totally different and could easily pass for a foreigner, with his fair skin.
China smiled back at him from the rearview mirror then looked at the other. 'Eniiyi?'
'Yes. Yes, ma,' she said, sitting straighter in her seat. For someone who was going to a new school for the first time she didn't look a hundred percent happy. Maybe it was because, unlike her cousin, she didn't really like the school uniform. No, not the colour — she did think the colour was cool— but she just wasn't used to wearing skirt to school. The school uniform comprised of a checkered cream and wine skirt that was too short for her liking, a cream short sleeve shirt under a wine school blazer.
Or her mood could have been because her hair had been curled. She preferred to have it braided — she had always braided it — but Mrs Okenwa had been of the opinion that it'd look awesome if she let it flow freely and had then curled it, so that the girl had a thick mass brushing against her back and she was sure she'd die of suffocation if she didn't pack it up as soon as she reached that school.
'Alright. We are set to go then.' She started the car and pulled out of the drive unto the main estate road.
'What's the new school like?' Eniiyi wondered aloud.
'Well . . . I'm not sure. I've only been there once myself, all registration was done online. But I heard that it's a really good school. So you're going to love it.'
'Is it a private school?' she asked.
'Nope. It's mostly a federal school.' China chuckled. 'Most schools around here are missionary schools, and that was one of the few that weren't. Many of my colleagues have their children there.'
'Oh,' she said and finally sat back in her seat.
'How far is it? Don't they have a school bus?' Lastborn asked.
'It isn't that far. About eighteen minutes by private car, I guess. I think they have school buses, but I didn't make arrangements for any. That reminds me, I probably should, so they'd bring you to the campus everyday.'
'Don't they have a nursery school or something? So Baby Kanayo can come?' Eniiyi said, staring at the baby in his car seat between her and Lastborn.
'Baby Kanayo isn't old enough for nursery school yet. But I might enroll him in kindergarten, I don't know. I'd have to ask Somto if he wants to.'
'Um, when is he coming back again?' Lastborn asked.
'She said today,' Eniiyi said. 'How did you forget that so quickly?'
'I know it's today.' He rolled his eyes. 'I was asking for the time.'
China made a U-turn to the next express way. 'It hasn't reached argument na,' she said gently.
'I'm going to come pick you guys up from school then we'd head to the motorpark. He's taking a domestic plane from Lagos then a commercial bus to the motorpark.'
'Ugh, I don't ever want to see a motor park again.' Eniiyi shuddered.
'Why?' China asked, laughing.
'We got lost at the motorpark that day. We took the wrong bus,' explained Lastborn.
'Oh. But it isn't that bad. And you don't have to leave the car sef.'
'Okay, ma.' Lastborn glanced at Eniiyi and gave her a reassuring smile which she tried to return.
The car lapsed into silence till they reached the school. Mrs Okenwa pulled into the school compound and then turned to face the children.
'Okay, here goes nothing. Eniiyi, don't be nervous. I can see that you are,' she said when Eniiyi glanced up at her in surprise. 'It's going to be a wonderful experience for you guys, I'm sure of that.'
'I heard secondary is very hard, more than primary school,' Lastborn chipped in. 'Is it true they do C.A tests every week and people repeat classes a lot?'
China smiled to dispel his worry. 'No, they don't do C.A test every week, and not everybody repeats classes, most people don't. You just have to face your studies and be good.'
'I heard the juniors get bullied by seniors a lot, too,' he said again.
'Nope. Yes, actually. But I heard that bullying has been banned here for many years, so there's nothing to worry about. However, if someone tries to bully you, report to the school authority or something.'
'Oh, okay. I feel better already.' He smiled.
'Trust me, there's nothing to worry about . . .yet.' China winked.
'This is it. Let's go guys!' she said.
The children undid their seat belts and came out of the car. China came out too and unstrapped Baby Kanayo from his car seat, swinging him to her side.
'Lastborn, where's your lunch bag?' China asked.
Lastborn looked up innocently from tying his shoe lace. 'It was extra load, so I put my lunch and water in my bag.
'What?' China hit her forehead with her palm and sighed. 'Gi nwa a.'
The boy smiled cheekily in reply.
And Eniiyi wished she had done the same, too.
'Let's go.'
The school was bustling with stale students resuming to a new session and mostly fresh, new students and their parents.
They stopped at the admin office where they were given files to fill later and identity cards. They were also given a special form to fill, because, apparently, they were registered as temporary students.
Then they were directed, along with several other new students to the junior secondary school one block. Their names were pasted on the notice boards outside each class and Eniiyi found out that she had been put in class 1C while Lastborn was in 1A.
There China bid them goodbye and promised to come for them by four.
In the class nobody was quite settled. Some loitered around in small groups, chatting, some sat alone at corners and read a book or slept while some had brought out their lunch and were already devouring what was meant for the afternoon.
A short girl cleaning the board looked at up her when she was passing and gave a toothy grin. Eniiyi smiled back, nervous and went to sit down in an empty seat in the second row.
She started to feel alone in the class and wished she'd been put together with her cousin. Some of the children in the class seemed to know each other, probably from primary school or summer lessons. Also, most of them seemed to stare at her longer than they did at any other child and it took her a while to realize it was her hair.
She quickly slipped off the hair band on her wrist and tied it up as well as she could — which was actually not very well.
Ugh, I think I'm going to hate secondary school.
Now she missed her primary school friends more than ever. Adeayo, Adanma and the rest. If all things had been the same she would have started secondary school already and most of them would be in the same school.
Even if they didn't end up in the same school she'd still be seeing some of them, as quite a number of them lived in Elixir Estate.
She sighed.
But here it wasn't like that. Since she had been in Nsukka she didn't think she'd made any friends like that apart from the neighbour's children and a few people she'd met on their outings.
All these made her want her friends back more than ever. And her daddy and mommy! Why was she even here, anyways? Her parents were going to be back anytime soon and she'd have to leave here. So why all this? Why did she have to come this school here where all the children stared at her like she wasn't human?
'Are you alright, dear?'
She looked up to see an older boy staring at her. He had on the normal school uniform but his tie was gold in colour like some other people she had seen when they were heading to the admin office. She blinked rapidly in confusion.
She was later to find out that the students in senior secondary school wore gold ties, instead of the cream and wine stripped one the junior boys wore and that girls were not exempted too.
He smiled at her. 'Are you okay? It's time for assembly, dear.'
She noticed that the other children in the class were standing up already and an older girl in a gold tie too was leading them out. Then the girl glanced at their side.
'Ekene, kedu ihe ọ bụ?' she asked.
'Nothing. I think she's just feeling lonely.' He chuckled. 'Oya, stand up,' he coaxed. 'I know how it is, I felt the same way on my first day of school, too.'
Eniiyi shrugged and stood up.
'Kedu aha gị?' he asked.
'Eniiyi,' said Eniiyi.
'Eni-iyi,' he pronounced gingerly. 'Nke ahụ ezuola, ịna-anụ?'
Eniiyi out on her best blank look and tried to hide her annoyance. Why did everybody here just assume that because you're in Igbo land you should understand Igbo? Even being a Yoruba she could not even speak the language, she tsked in her mind.
'Onaghi aghota asụsụ Igbo, or why is she looking like that?' the older girl asked. Eniiyi hadn't noticed that she had gotten to them.
'Amaghị m, ask her.' Ekene said.
'Hey, don't you understand Igbo?' the girl repeated.
'I don't,' Eniiyi said. 'I'm not Igbo.'
The girl scoffed. 'Echere m nke ukwuu.'
Eniiyi frowned and wanted to throw a comeback but thought against it. 'Can I go to the assembly now?'
The older girl bristled at this. 'Ụmụaka ndị a na-alụrụ ihe ọ bụla, all these spoilt children.' she spat out.
'Oge, hapụ ya,' the guy touched her shoulder.
Ogechi, for that was her name drew back at this and stormed out of the class after the other juniors.
'I wouldn't talk to any senior like that, if I were you,' said Ekene. 'The school has banned punishing juniors but we, that is the seniors, always find their way around it.'
'What . . . But I didn't say anything wrong,' Eniiyi defended herself.
Ekene shrugged. 'That's how it is. Let's go.'
'Where are you from if you're not Igbo? Wait, you're some foreigner, right?' he asked as they exited the class.
'No,' Eniiyi said, exasperated. 'Why does everyone keep asking that? I'm Nigerian. I'm Yoruba.'
'Oh, Ngbati Ngbati child.'
'And why does everybody keep saying that, too? I'm not Nibati bati . . whatever you call it. I'm Yoruba!' she said and stomped out of the classroom, following the throng towards where the assembly was.
The assembly was quite a show for her. It was way different from primary schools. The assembly hall was bigger and taller and had fold-up seat that spanned the circular room, all facing a wide podium. It was like a big cinema.
Everyone stood up for the anthems and Eniiyi, along with almost all the new students chewed their mouths.
She wondered why there were no drums during the recitals.
Then a very short woman came and introduced herself as the principal and started this very long speech. Eniiyi lost concentration after three minutes.
When she was starting to get tired the assembly ended and all the stale students left. Then she started to address the new students again.
Eniiyi sighed and covered a yawn. They should have just held an orientation before resumption. That was what secondary schools did for new students.
Soon they were released to go to their classes, each class followed by their new class teachers.
'Hey, Eniiyi!' someone called.
She turned to see Lastborn. She scowled at him but went over. He was talking to a group of boys and Eniiyi rolled her eyes.
'You've made friends already. Lucky you.'
'Yeah. They are nice people.'
'I don't know, nobody in my class wants to talk to me.'
'Wow. But you have this cool aura. I was expecting that everyone would have made friends with you.'
Eniiyi rolled her eyes. 'You're not funny.'
'I'm serious o,' Lastborn said. 'But I didn't wait for anybody to talk to me. I just smiled at everyone and said hi. Then they said hi back and we made friends. Did you say hi to anybody?'
'No,' Eniiyi said, 'I said nobody wants to talk to me.'
'That's why nobody wants to talk to you. You are keeping to yourself and they'd think you're proud or something.' Lastborn shrugged. 'It can't be shyness, I know you're not that shy. Maybe everyone in your class is mean then.'
Eniiyi didn't say anything in reply.
'I heard that we are going to have two break times.'
'Yes, the principal woman said so,' Eniiyi said.
'I'll come and visit you at both breaks.'
'Okay. Thanks,' she said.
She noticed that the man that was their class teacher was already entering class C so she said goodbye to Lastborn and left.
Who knew secondary school was going to be this hard?