.
He was shaking uncontrollably. He was on the verge of tears. He was drenched in water, his clothes were soaked. To cap it all words failed him, he couldn't beg for mercy anymore.
The occasion was his birthday and boys had conspired to give him a present he would never forget.
A student came from nowhere and splashed him with a bucketful of liquid cow-dung. That was a game changer.
There are a few cardinal rules in high school. The first and adhered by all regardless of station in life is that Form Ones are not supposed to sit, bathe or conduct their business where Form Fours are.
As a Form One, you have to check out when form fours of your dormitory bathe and adjust accordingly. Likewise you cannot sit anywhere they are. Breaking this rule had dire consequences which I wont repeat here.
The second most important rule is not to tel your classmates your birthday. By telling them you have sold the little freedom you have. They conspire to make your birthdays the most unmemorable events during your sojourn in high school.He broke the rule a few months into our stay in High School. He casually told a talkative classmate when his birthday was due. In the first year we did not”celebrate” his birthday. this was simply because Form Ones, as I have alluded above, are supposed to be seen and not heard.
Any kind of excitement coming from Form Ones was crushed with brute force by senior students. We therefore waited patiently for the second year. He had thought his secret was safe but unbeknown to him the talkative guy had let on the secret.We therefore waited patiently until we reached in form two.
Three days to the big day, secret meetings were held to map out strategies of giving him an unforgettable birthday. All this happened without our colleague being in the picture. Buckets were secured and everything was prepared to detail waiting for the big day. The execution had to be meticulous.
On that day buckets with water were placed in his class room. Two were placed behind the classroom door while two others were placed at the farthest two corners of the class. Several others were in his dormitory.
Evening preps went on as usual. Most students were in the loop. Even colleagues from other two streams were aware. Only those who made it their duty to exclusively socialize with their books were unaware. Preps ended at 9.45 pm. Five minutes to time, two students went near the door. The door was secured.
His instincts must have alerted him because he made to the door, but he was too late. The first bucketful of water caught him unawares, as boys clapped and cheered three others splashed on him in quick succession. He was advised to head to the dormitory. On the way to the dormitory, heavily guarded, he was pleading for mercy.
On arrival at the dormitory, the party was not over as he hoped. More water came from all sides.
Then the unexpected moment of the cow dung being splashed on him. We had gathered around him and teasing him but after this single act, the teasing stopped and he was asked to go take a shower.
The rituals were to be repeated in the next two years but the man was clever, he would be away from school for two days around that time.
No comments:
Post a Comment