Life in boarding school -Episode 2

Life in boarding school - Henry Omonfonwan

Episode 2

'Hi, why are you crying' a dark boy asked me. 'Nothing actually', i answered whipping away my tears. 'So, what's your name', the boy asked curiously. 'Um, I'm Henry', i answered. 'Well I'm Emmanuel James', he said while smiling. He looked nice and friendly i thought, so i asked, 'can i know you more?' Without hesitation he said 'wel, i'm Emmanuel James, i am 11 years old, i am from Os un state and my dad is a pastor, nothing more i guess.' 'That sounds interesting' i complimented. 'Would you like to share a soft drink with me?', he asked. I could only obliged, 'sure, no probs' i reiterated. 

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I and Emmanuel got to the assembly hall just in time. Emmanuel left to look around the school. The morning assembly took place in a large hall that was erected in the centre of the school and students lined up according to their classes. The school band looking ready to beat some rhythm had positioned themselves just adjacent to the podium. Teachers were waiting outside the hall, ready to punish latecomers by asking them to knell down, cut grasses or pick littered papers. 

At eight o'clock, Miss Ibrahim the head boy stood up the podium to kick start the whole assembly process. He was a tall, dark boy that seemed to love his position. He smiled with faint smugness as he said, 'attention everybody!' In no time, there was perfect silence. He continued, 'the national anthem.' The school band struck up the tune of the athem as the students raggedly joined in. The junior were eager and enthusiastic, the seniors uninterested. 

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After the national anthem and assembly prayers, captain Offour, the commandant, gave a brief talk about discipline and knowledge and he also welcomed everyone. When assembly was over, the students -boys in lime shirts and green shorts, the girls in green pinafores over lime shirts and skirts for seniors- crowded the hallways and corridors of the school chatting. I walked sheepishly through the hallway looking for the class i was assigned to. I found it hard because the school was big, one would need a map to move around but i had none. I finally found the class i was assigned to, it was JSS 1 Marble. It was big and painted green.

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Classes was finally over and i was looking for Emmanuel, who wasn't forthcoming. I decided to return to my hostel because everyone was returning to theirs. As i moved towards the exit sign, i heard some voices:

'Spako no be so na'

 'Spackular leave that guy' 

'We go soon rape that girl',  another said. I looked back and saw five boys carrying cutlass and pocket knives. I couldn't believe what i saw, as the boy that was trying to take my watch was one of them. I decided to walk faster, but...