Leaf in the wind

Prologue My life hasn’t been all the best, Currently, I remember words of my Aunt Katie, “Go through school and let school go through you.” She was invariably telling me to live each and everyday with purpose. I wish I had listened. I made a few friends but I wasn’t really a social bee. Brilliant, I had to be the center of attention but I hated it all. The attention. I hated a stressful life too. I hated the responsibilities that came with being at the top. I made terrible decisions and may be I was a victim of circumstances, but all my life, I’ve felt like a leaf in the wind, and this is my story. **************************** I was brought up in one of the strictest Christian families, my both parents being pastors. From primary school, I’ve always been put out there. Forced, sometimes encouraged, to partake in competitions and events I never wanted to partake in. My parents had more faith in me than I had in myself but still I was always at the top of the class, making nothing less than A grades. But despite my top grades, I was still on the shy and quiet side. Timid, you might want to call it. Scared of voicing out my opinions, my wants and needs. These lifestyles continued till I gained admission in Maryland Girls High School. ********************* Maryland Girls High School was in the neighboring state, hence, I had to live in the dormitory. My dad, who I was much closer to and had more free time on his hands, took me to the market to buy everything I needed for school. We shopped for new dresses, provisions and sanitary wares. We also bought the recommended items by the school. To be honest, I wasn’t really excited about the whole new school thing. In fact, I had never really liked school much. I wasn’t the social type so I barely had friends. I felt this wouldn’t be any different. ****************** On the day I was to start at Maryland, I had gotten up really early. As usual, I was always nervous and charging with so much energy anytime I had a big day ahead of me. I got dressed in one of my favorite outfits, tried having some breakfast while waiting for my dad to get prepared. We were having some slices of bread and fried eggs with a cup of tea for breakfast. I wasn’t really a fan of tea so I opted for a cup of warm chocolate drink instead. We had our breakfast and left after bidding farewell to my siblings. My dad, heavily laden with all my belongings, stopped a taxi that took us directly to the motor park. We boarded a vehicle and about two hours later, we were standing at the gate of Maryland High School. I was already shedding invisible tears within me. “So I was going to be stuck at school and see the light of home only once in three months?” I couldn’t believe it. We were ushered into the principal’s office where my dad made all the necessary arrangements and payments. I was then taken away to the store room to try on my new uniform. It wasn’t too hard to get a size that fit. I walked back to my dad to present my new look to him as well as return the clothes I wore from home. I saw a strange looking man standing and discussing with my dad. Once I got closer, my dad introduced him as my Uncle Tim. He was my mum’s eldest sister’s son. I had no idea that a relation of mine worked in that school. It was totally plausible as Maryland was situated in my mother’s hometown. The man greeted me with a smile and open arms. Awkwardly, I hugged him. He then called some students to escort me to the hostel, taking my luggage with them. On our way to the hostel, the three girls introduced themselves to me. They were all in my hostel too. They informed me of the norms in the the school and set me up to date with all the even s and happenings. We got to the hostel, where I was welcomed by squeaks and delightful laughter from a group of girls who sat by the hostel door. Guessing from their outfits that they were senior students, I tried keeping my distance at all cost but they leapt at me. “Awww! She’s so beautiful!” “Look at her eyes” These were the comments and compliments I received from them. I blushed so much from all of the attention. “What’s your name?” One asked. I replied. “She’s going to be my bed mate” another one said, taking me by the hand and leading me into the dormitory of doom. I looked back at my new friends for heel or explanation but no one said anything. She led me to a bunk at the far end of the aisle. When we came to her corner, she stopped and said, “You’ll be sharing this bed with me. There are no more beds in the hostel so we sleep two per bed”. I wondered how on earth I could share such a tiny space with someone else. It wouldn’t be very comfortable for just me, let alone having to share with someone else. She turned to the girl on the other side. “Princess meet my new bedmate.” Princess greeted me with a smile. I thought she looked beautiful. Slim and slender, a beautiful set of white teeth, dimples in each side of her cheek and bright shiny eyes that unfortunately needed the aid of glasses to see. My new friends helped me move my things to my corner and stick in my provisions and belongings into the locker I shared with Rhoda, my bedmate. The elder one amongst them, Emmanuella advises me against it, but in my naivety and innocence, I told her that was what I was instructed by Rhoda to do. After we were done stacking my things into the locker, my box was moved into the box room, after which I proceeded to bid farewell to my dad. He was at my Uncle Tim’s office, the library. He gave me a comforting smile when he saw me . I was just nine and I’d had to learn to be all alone on my own from now. I sat down with him while he gave some money to Uncle Tim for my upkeep. I was then asked to escort him to the gate. On our way to the gate, he offered some words of comfort and advice. I tried my best not to cry as I looked at him with teary eyes. At the gate, I finally bid him farewell and walked back to the library where my uncle and friends waited for me. I had arrived late so I missed lunch . My stomach rumbles with hunger. Uncle Tim then instructed Emmanuella to get some snacks from the school’s snack shop popularly known as “Talk shop”. ******************* The dining room was a large hall lined with large tables and benches in three rows. We settled at a table and waited for the prayers to be made as others settlers around us. There was a lot of buzzing around as more people trooped in. After a while, the atmosphere suddenly became tensed and quiet as the senior students and prefects trooped in. They stood at the door and punished every other junior student that came in after them. About ten minutes after, the prefects arrived, prayers were made and food ease served. The food was not as much as I was used to and for the first time, I had to learn how to make use of double cutleries. I noticed some students didn’t eat but rather, packed their foods in plates and tried sneaking them out. I asked Emmanuella why and she was explained that it was either for senior students who had remained in the dormitory and ordered them to bring back their food or for students who had sick ones in the hostel. We left the dining room after a closing prayer was made. I made my way back to the hostel. At the door of the hostel, I met Rhoda who was about to go and take her bath. She asked me to undress quickly and come with her. She then ordered some junior students to fetch two buckets of water and take it to the bathroom. Feeling a bit shy and unused to undressing in front of a lot of people, I hesitated a little but Rhoda urged me on. I stepped out of my hostel wear, a short red gown, totally different from everyone else’s, and wrapped my big blue towel around my flat chest. I picked up my soap dish and followed to the bathroom, or rather, the back of the hostel which was used as a makeshift bathroom. I felt embarrassed because I was the only junior school student taking my bath there. I even fort worse when Rhoda demanded for my soap dish and started bathing me like a two year old despite me being nine. *************** My dad had made an arrangement with the hostel matron to be providing me with hot water every morning for bathing so I wouldn’t fall sick from the cold since I was asthmatic. I had woken up that morning, my first real school day at Maryland, to the sound of bells and rushing feet. I woke up with so much pains borne from having to share a six spring bed with someone else. The hostel matron had already sent someone with my flask of hot water. I expressed my gratitude and took the flask from her. Many students looked on as I turned the water into my bucket, thinking, how lucky I was. I started preparing to take my bath but Rhoda asked me to be patient. I could go with her. I obeyed. She asked some junior students to iron out our uniforms. Mine was a maroon tunic with a white short sleeved shirt meant to be worn inside the tunic. Hers was a maroon pleated skirt with a shirt like mine. When majority of the junior students had taken their baths, the senior students had began instructing others to take their buckets of water to the bathroom. I noticed Princess struggling to find her way to the bathroom with her bucket of water. Although she was senior student, she didn’t buoy or treat any junior student with disrespect. Immediately Emmanuella sighs rd her, she rushed, took her bucket of water, held her hand and led her to the bathroom. I also stepped out with Rhoda who again helped me take my bath. By the time we were done, many junior students had left the hostel including Emmanuella, Gloria and Kies. I got dressed alongside Rhoda who led me to the dining room and later on to my classroom *************** A week after I had resumed, we were convened at the main dining hall where we were addressed and given orientation. We were told the rules and guidelines, taught the school anthem and pledge and each given advices and a copy of our class time table, food table and duty roster. We had the sole responsibility of cleaning up the dining after each meal. I went through the food table, my main point of interest at the time being a foodie. On Monday mornings, we were going to have a simple breakfast of Bread with butter and a cup of Tea. By noon, we would have eba and melon soup for lunch and yam and vegetable sauce for dinner. By Tuesday, our breakfast would consist of Bread, tomato soup and tea. Our lunch was going to be Boiled beans, rice and stew and for dinner we had white rice and stew. Wednesday we had beans for breakfast, eba and melon soup for lunch and spaghetti for dinner. On Thursday we had noodles for breakfast, eba and okra soup for lunch and yam and vegetable sauce for dinner. Friday mornings had us eating bread, butter and tea, Jollof rice for lunch and beans with plantain for dinner. Saturdays we usually ate late. Beans cake popularly known as Akara was served with custard by 12 and later eba and melon soup was served by three. We usually had a late dinner by 7pm consisting of yam and vegetable sauce. Sunday mornings we ate bread and boiled egg with tea, jollof rice and bananas for lunch and beans with fried plantains for dinner. Life at Maryland Girls High school passed meritoriously, with me attending classes every morning after breakfast, spending the recess at the library with my friends and Uncle Tim, eating lunch, attending afternoon preparatory, spending the nights with Emmanuella and others. I began getting closer to Princess as I spent more time with Emmanuella. I also began seeing Rhoda for who she really was. My provisions started diminishing quickly but I couldn’t say No to her. Nor if knowing her was helping me. I had escaped several punishments because of her. She was a bit protective of my things too. I even began considering her as my school mum until one day. I had come back to the hostel from our usual afternoon prep. Because I shared a bed with her, I usually left it to her except it was time for compulsory siesta or lights out. This particular day, it was time for our compulsory afternoon siesta. I found she had a friend, another junior school student, a class or two ahead of me, in bed next to her. I had to find a spare bunk bed to sleep in. The visits of this particular student became even more frequent and almost every night and noon, I had to go around looking for where to sleep. Sometimes I’d pair with a person for a week or two and would have to leave as a result of the person’s bed partner coming back. It was during these times I became closest to Princess. She nicknamed me Alexia, her favorite character from her favorite movie at the time. I’d stay late into the night listening to her telling me scenes from the movie, episode by episode. When it gets a bit late, I’d leave her and scramble around in the dark to find a bed to lay on. **************** As a result of looking for who to pair with, I made friends with Hope, the girl who shared a bunk with Gloria. Her bed partner had been admitted at the hospital and had been away from school for weeks. Meanwhile, outside the hostel and in the classroom areas, my circle of friendships was growing wider. I had two best friends. Both bore the same name, Gift. While I was in red house, one was in orange house and the other, pink house. I was closest to the Gift in pink house though. She was one of the students my Uncle Tim posed as a guardian to. I had met her first hence our bond was stronger. We all lived in the same state back at home and most times, we argued our Bayelsian friends about how crappy their state was. I met the other Gift at home. She was the niece of one of or teachers who also lived in our state, Rivers state. Coincidentally, her aunt attended same church as my mum’s best friend, Aunt Joyce, and Aunt Joyce has kids attending my school as well. We all went to school and came home together. We had all been apportioned to different arms after the orientation for new students. We totaled about a hundred and sixty. We had classes from A- D. We were all shared equally among the four classes. I was in Class C, the Gift in pink house was in class B and the other, Class D. The Gift in pink house was Gift Lebari. That was her full name. She was a dark skinned beauty from Rivers state. Her dark skin glowed. She was what you would call ebony dark. She was thin and a bit tall, had a round face that held round eyes, thin lips and a small nose.