Timothy`s boarding school

Chapter 2 -Glenda and Rodney`s roller-coaster love

3 months earlier, 2 weeks after school opening

It was a chilly cold morning at Victoria high. Yes named after the queen herself. The morning bell ringing loudly right in my face of course, courtesy of Michael our form prefect. I hated mornings and more specifically hated the way Michael executed his duties. I had woken up 2 hours earlier but went back to my sheets just before Michael started ringing the bell. I did this because I hated people seeing me study. I wanted them to believe I was naturally intelligent. I guess I just didn't want to be called the form nerd.

"Make your beds boys and don't be late. I am giving 45 minutes" Michael shouts and turns to look at me "Timothy is on sweeping duty and I want it spotless". I raise my hands in protest but he just shrugs and heads out of our room.

My room was fairly small for I had to share it with four other people, it was quite a squeeze. At least it was better than the form 3s and below who slept in sleeping halls with an average populace of 30 pupils. As we were form 4s ready to write our igcse, we were given some privileges.

Our room was made up of five single beds all lined up next to each other with the head stands against the wall. There was roughly 30 centimetres between them. This was very disturbing as I could definitely smell Jack's bad breath all night, over and above his smelly soccer boots and socks. At least I had the windows at my other bedside.

"What is the time?" Jack asks. I look at my watch, my eyes rarely registering the lights on my digital watch as there were all strained from reading in poor lighting. I say "4:45 am".

"Is this a joke" Nick protests "We are senior's in this house. Why did he wake us so early and what happened to those privileges."

"Ooh don't act so dumb Nick, are you forgetting you are the one that bunked study last night and brought this punishment on us!!" Martin shouts in fury, creases registering on his forehead in direct response to his anger.

"Could you all quiet down, I am trying to get some sleep here." Peter says over slurred speech in his blankets. Peter was one of those guys that never really respected rules or followed anyone's orders. He did what he wanted, when he wanted and therefore he spent most of his time in the vice principal's office getting flogged or out in the field, mending the grounds as for his punishment.

As we started to order the room we could definitely feel the chill of the cold winter morning coming from outside as Michael had left the door ajar. Bathing seemed far from my plans. I hated bathing with cold water and from the looks of things; the water was going to be freezing in the showers, if we even find them working. With the poor maintenance the principal had done to our hostel it was by luck that we didn't get some infection or even worse die in this shithole.

I go to the showers to at list wash my face but as I had thought, there is no water in the showers and therefore it meant I had to go outside, around the hostel, to get water from the storage tank. This also meant I had to face the very cold weather outside. I truly hated my life right now.

As I walk back to our room to get a bucket, I see Michael already writing Peter for punishment as he was still in his sheets. Definitely nothing new here. I grab my bucket ready to head out; he stops me in my tracks and says "Get water for me first".

"No way I'm doing that" I say and proceed to head out.

"Do you really want to join Peter here?" he says grabbing my hand.

"But I didn't do anything" now really looking frustrated I say.

"Didn't say you did, I am ordering you" I hated the way these prefects made us feel like they had power over us. If I tried to defy him, he would definitely put me in his blacklist (where he writes anyone who defies him and makes it his priority to harshly punish them, the minute they do even the slightest thing wrong.)

I grab his bucket in anger and head out towards the tank. It was a bee-hive on the tank from the form 1 juniors to us the form 4 seniors, almost everyone was there. I quickly shuffle through the crowd towards the tap using my privilege commonly called seniority. As I get to the tap I see Ryan bent over waiting for his bucket to fill. Ryan was a skinny kid but he was more buff than I by a small margin. He was a very smart kid, the smartest according to me. When he wore uniform, you could mistake him for a businessman or a very smart lawyer. We were in the same form but he was in the second class whilst I was in the first class.

I said "Hie", and he greeted me back. We rarely talked as we had very little in common to talk about. He was a die-hard soccer fan not missing any game whilst I preferred playing the sport in contrast to watching it. I always felt uneasy when I was around him.

I finish filling my bucket and start to head back to Michael's room. My best friend Jack shouts over the window of our room as it directly overlooked the tank "Are you really considering bringing that asshole water, don't be a p***y Tim".

In our friendship I was clearly the smart one starting a war with Michael right now was not really in my books. I just sigh and say "Soon he will be gone, no need to

cause unnecessary problems". Michael was in his final year including all other prefects.

Jack shouts "Yah right" sarcastically.

After all the morning chaotic mess, we wait for Michael to come and inspect us. There were five other form 4 rooms. Four of the rooms had four pupils each and the other one because it was quite a large room had eight students. We as form 4s always referred to it as the Bus because of its many occupants. Our room was referred to as the King's mansion because of me of course, as I was sort of the smartest in our form as though some did not quite agree. Michael had to pass through all the rooms, and fortunately for me our room was at the end of the corridor, therefore will be the last checked. I would have enough time to sweep and tidy the room.

The form 4 rooms were on the ground floor followed by the form 3 dorms on the first floor and so on until we reach the form 1 dorms on the top floor. As we wait, we can hear the sound of footsteps of the other students coming done the steps, it seems like we are going to be the last to leave once again. "Lucky us we are likely going to meet the superintended" I say to myself sarcastically.

"Why are we always last to leave" Martin says looking frustrated. Everyone knew that Martin loved his food and the more we delayed to go to the Dining Hall the less food there was. All form 4s played this game whereby if you came late they would eat your share of the food.

"It's actually great that we are last, it means I get a few minutes of extra sleep every morning" Peter says definitely looking bored and exhausted. The previous night he had slept late with Jack and Nick playing Fifa; how I hated the noise they made.

Michael busts in definitely looking pissed, after he had encountered the other unruly form 4s. He looks around and checks everyone's' uniform and instructs us to head to the Dining Hall. As we exit the front gate, the superintend leaning against the gate stops us and tells us how late we are.

"It's not our fault sir, that Michael released us late" Jack says in fury but Mr Stevens wanted nothing to do with it and gives us two each with his bamboo stick.

We stand outside the Dining hall waiting for the cooks to finish sating the tables; it seems we were not the only ones behind schedule. It also seems we are having boiled eggs again for breakfast.

In total we were twenty-nine form 4 boarders, I played with generally all of them except one. Theo hated me, so I think, as he always treated me with contempt. Maybe his hate came from the fact that we were always competing for the top place in our class and form. I look back and spot him talking to Yayen, my very close friend who knows almost all my secrets. I wonder what there are talking about and what he is up to. So far in our quest for dominance I had got first place twice and him once, how much he hated that fact.

The dining hall doors open and we head in. In the dining hall we sat according to our forms but as this was a mixed school; four boys sat against four other girls, it was kinda weird at first but we all got used to it.

"Good morning Tim" Lindsay says over her sharp voice. How I hated her calling me Tim like we were best friends or something.

"Morning" I say to her grinning, clearly showing that it's forced, she shrugs her shoulder and sits next to Charmaine. Charmaine was one of the silent types, she never talked to anyone, she generally just had her fill and left the hall without even a good morning. You could think she was in mourning.

"Hie" Kimberly says. I freeze as I notice that I'm clearly blushing.

"Ha ha ha, he is blushing" Lindsay says clearly mocking me.

"No I'm not, mind your own business" I say as Kimberly takes her sit in-between Jolene and Charmaine.

The boys on my table were Jack, Hopeworth and Theo. Me and Theo clearly sat on opposite ends of the bench because of our ongoing cold war.

"So I heard you scored an A+ yesterday on your calculus test" Jolene says to Theo clearly trying to provoke me. But I totally have none of it and ignore her.

In a high voice and definitely trying to get attention, "It was quite easy, I wish she had set a more challenging test" Theo says. I grit my teeth; I got an A on that test.

What a long breakfast it was. The juniors were on cleaning duty in the dining hall, so we basically left our tables for them to clean. As I was about to leave Michael calls me and says I should clean with the form 1s. Like for real, why did this dude hate me so much? I was utterly pissed.

I finished cleaning and hurriedly went to class. Guess what, I was late again. I sit next to my desk mate Jack. I sit directly across the room from where my arc nemesis Theo sits. The South and North Pole never converge I guess.

I go through the full day barrage of lessons and of course including the making out of Brian with different girls. "Brian was quite hot" quoting my friend Glenda's words. Every girl wanted to make out with him. Brian had light brown skin; you could mistake him for a white guy with a tun. He was quite humorous, he often fancied as the class clown and not to forget, one of the best soccer players in our form. He normally hangs out with his group; which they referred themselves as the Gucci Gang. Seriously I have no idea how he made it into the first class.

Their Gucci Gang known for their notorious crimes such as going into the girls' hostel; sleeping with the most girls, having the most punishments and even said having the coolest clothes during our frequent gigs. Whether authentic or not are these rumours, there are hyped as the coolest bad boy crew in school.

Rodney, their infamous leader dates my friend Glenda. He is quite charming but I do not approve of his group of friends, although he always claims that those rumours are false and fueled by his many haters.

During lunch break Glenda caught him making out with this girl behind the school blocks but he argues that the girl kissed him not the other way around. I hope they break up for good this time. Ever since I was form 1, they have been breaking up and getting back together so many times I cannot count. Their relationship was an exhausting roller coaster ride. It was not always Rodney's fault, Glenda was not a saint either, she loved them boys too. At one point I actually thought there were going to marry each other.

Its home time and I'm about to head to the hostel when Glenda stops me.

"You know, he is kinda of an asshole and this time I'm dumping his ass for good" she says in fury. I know this conversation all too well, and I'm now wise enough not to waste my time.

"Hoo really, good for you" I say walking away towards my hostel.

"Tim wait, I'm serious this time. I will prove it to you." I wave the back of my hand at her and fade into the distance. "Definitely nothing new here" I say to myself.