The NewComers

THE NEWCOMERS

It was all strange. The heat of the afternoon mingled excellently with the unfamiliarity of the faces and increased my anxiety to know what my new school would be like. I felt as if all the eyes were boring into my body and seeing beyond my clothes. I wouldn’t have minded if the boys saw beyond my garments but the girls. . . The class was abnormally quiet as I stood in front of them awaiting introduction.

I was sure that it wasn’t going to be easy on that first day and wasn’t actually expecting any interesting encounters for the next two years that I going to be learning in that school. I flashed my eyes across what seemed to be a galaxy of them and some faces looked familiar though they had slightly faded in my memory. I was aware that there was likelihood that some of the pupils had seen me before but had forgotten me. As for me, my memory was good and non-volatile. I could clearly remember one boy who sat alone at a desk.

I had been in the same school nine years ago before my family, moved and I had to be transferred to another school. Now dad felt that I should go back to the school where I had started my primary education. I had firmly objected to it especially being far away from home but you would never know what it is like to defend yourself against dad. You can’t win and the best is a draw. This time, he won and I had no choice but to go to school. I was now going to stay with an aunt miles away from home. It was unbearable but I knew that I would get used to it.

 For convenience, I sat next to the boy I could remember. Not that I feared sitting anywhere else but because that was the only free space then. I made him recall that he was with me in lass one almost a decade ago. I like girls and my first instant even being new in the school as to carefully scrutinize the girls and see which one to strike first. I only take the smart ones. I saw one and when she caught my gaze, she pretended to be reading. I knew she wasn’t and the moment I would look away, she would steal a glance at me.

Then an idea struck me. If these girls had been in this school for more than seven years, they must have been booked. That is unless the boys here were what I call ‘breezers’. I concluded that I was likely to rudely venture into someone else’s courtyard and didn’t want to start quarrels and fights this early. I am a gentleman. Being far from home, my former girlfriend was beyond reach but there was nothing to worry about because three weeks later, I got the news that she had gotten married at that young age. How foolish?

I called out a rude curse aloud when I got the news. A female teacher was in class and she thought that I had addressed it to her. I tried to explain my way out but she argued that whomever it was addressed to, I wasn’t supposed to say it. I got punished for it and this time, I called the rude name to the teacher of course silently but not enough for my desk mate to miss it. He laughed out aloud. How stupid? He got punished for it and I denied any involvement to his laughing. He had to carry his own cross.

 I was doing well in class. I had become popular especially with the girls but I didn’t want to start a relationship with anyone. I quoted the Bible that there is time for everything. My time would come. In the first test, I sailed at the top of my class. I knew that I could grab any and all the girls I wanted in the class but I decided to continue playing it cool until the chance would show up. I don’t waste precious chances.

A hot afternoon. Even the English teacher had decided to skive the lesson giving an excuse that he was attending to some important matters in the staffroom. I knew that he feared to doze in front of the pupils. Some of us were asleep and some were chatting a bit noisily. I was doing my Math because it was my popular subject and didn’t want to waste precious learning time. I had built myself a reputation in Math after scoring 98% in one of the papers.

Suddenly, a teacher showed up with a newcomer pupil. Everybody felt silent and even those who were asleep instinctively grabbed books and pretended to be researchers with their sleepy faces buried in their books. I’m sure some of them had opened blank pages in desperation to show the teacher how serious they were. Serious pupils indeed. I once did that only that I opened my textbook upside down and held it that way till the teacher saw it and had to turn it the right side up for me. I really felt embarrassed.

The newcomer student was obviously nervous. Behind the cover of anxiety held a Beauty who was worth my admiration. She was chocolate colored. Her eyes were berry-black and her brow would need no tweezers. Her bones were fragile looking and she was composed and mature but her face looked playful even in the anxiety. My Goosebumps wanted to see her figure. She wasn’t leggy like most schoolgirls. I felt my hair standing on end as if I had seen an angel appear through the curtain of the afternoon heat. As she walked to her desk after introduction, my eyes followed her and only stopped when I realized that the teacher’s gaze was cruelly fixed on me as if he had seen a wolf in his sheep pen.

Immediately, I made up my mind to set up my camp there. But since I was also a newcomer, some other boys had the first run at her as they worked on the principle that the early bird catches the worm. It didn’t work. I listened to the stories they told. She was firm and listened to no non-sense from no one. I saw her one day dismiss a scallywag in not a very honorable way and I decided that I didn’t want to raise such a show in class and so I gave up the hope of ever approaching this breath-taking newcomer altogether.

She stayed in class for two weeks without Mr. I getting a chance to speak to her. I however saw her one afternoon seeking to be helped with a mathematic problem, which was without doubt giving her a headache. I did several crucifix signs (I am not a catholic) and prayed that no one would be found to help her out of the problem. Isn’t it cruel? I also quoted a Bible verse within myself, ‘I know your needs before you ask’ thus says the Lord ‘but when you ask in my name, they shall be granted’ (hallelujah?) My prayer was answered and now I know that the Bible is 100% true. I saw one of her friends point at me. I pretended to be busy so as not to appear like a hungry wolf (which I was) eager to grab the chunk of the juicy meat. I swore within myself to utilize this chance.

She came. My des mate had been taken ill and so I was alone at the desk I knew that she wouldn’t sit down but I made enough space for her, just in case. I don’t take any chances.

“Excuse me please,” she said with a smile. It was angelic.

 “Yeah”

“Can you please spare a minute or two?”

  I glanced at my watch. I didn’t even see it though it was there. “Well I guess I can”

 “Help me out of this problem. I simply can’t work it out”

  I looked at the question. It was easy for me to do it in two minutes but I was ready to make it ten for the sake of convenience at that time. It would not be wasted time nor spent time but invested time. I could feel her breath dancing gaily before my face as she bent close to see what I was writing. I also deliberately decided to speak so softly and she was forced to come even closer so as to hear what I explained.

 Mid-way through the problem, she straightened, “Oh I overlooked that. I think I can do it from there”

 I didn’t want it to go that way for I knew that if I let her go at this point I would have spent my time (not wasting) but I wanted to invest the time I took showing her the sum. She had to pay for the services rendered and the only way out was to come up with something to make sure that, I threw at least one dart at the game.

 “Sure. You can do it.” I said, “I had known this all along from the time you came”

 “How did you?”

 “You know” I explained, I have a personal principle, which states that: Beauty is directly proportional to the amount of intelligence and smartness an individual possesses provided that all other factors remain constant.

 I saw her face crease with confusion. I was glad. “I don’t get you” she said.

  I was happy to drive my point home, “What I mean is that such problems are very easy for beautiful girls like you” I had scored. She blushed, laughed and made a mock slap at my face. She just touched me. I assume deliberately. It was a tender touch.

 The following day, she called out my name from her desk, “Stan, you have some minutes to spare?” I’m sure the others felt envious.

   “Sure I replied. I didn’t glance at the watch. She came and this time sat at my desk. She was carrying Mathematics papers.

“What’s the problem this time?” I asked sounding helpful.

“Not any Mathematical problem” she said giggling.

“Aha!” I said and we both laughed knowingly.

It was nothing academic. She just brought the papers along to cover up the scheme. She spent the rest of the day at my desk and needless to say, the rest of the week during which my desk mate was ill. It just surprises me how we unconsciously smile and take advantage of other people’s problems. Here was my desk mate in hospital with Malaria with his position taken up by two newcomers; goodness knows what they were discussing. I was hoping that he wasn’t going to show up in a hurry.

 I had established my colony and was sure that no one would illegally venture into it. That is unless someone wanted to get into trouble with me. I get aggressive when it comes to that. Our friendship grew day by day and the need to spend more time together increased in the same ratio. It would be stupid, even suicidal to go to her home during the weekends. You wouldn’t want to meet her father.

A solution was however inevitable and time had to be found to stay together to nature the young relationship that had started to grow exponentially in a very short time. Since we both used bikes to get to school, she took to leaving her bike at home so as to get a lift on mine to and from school. I didn’t mind it a bit.

 I tied the books on the carrier and she had to sit on the crossbar between my hands. I knew that it wasn’t that comfortable for her but the poor thing seemed to care little. The first day this happened, I almost went crazy at having her so close and within my hands but I got used to it in a few days. I however continued to enjoy the task. It was worth it.

As if this was not enough, we pretended to be doing extra work after classes only to allow time for the teachers and other pupils to go away and then . . . . . . . . . . we would have the whole school for ourselves and only went home when dusk enveloped the tall evergreen cypress trees with the birds saying farewell to the gone day and also to the newcomers. Nobody suspected anything for it was done in total secrecy. Even the people we passed on our way from school had nothing to say about us because they didn’t recognize the newcomers.

This Alibi went on for a whole year and by the time, we were on our last year in primary school, I think even the teacher knew or suspected something fishy between the girl and me. As for the pupils, they knew almost everything. The only thing they were not enlightened on was the after school scheme. The teachers didn’t mind it maybe because I was always at the top of my class and I had helped to rise up to position three in the class.

During the last term that we prepared for the final exams, our after school mission turned to serious academic work. She became good especially in mathematics and her position was ranging from three to five. I wanted her to beat another idiot who was taking up the position behind me but she simply couldn’t beat the goose out of its feathers.

As it is usual with the boys, some of them tried to snatch the girl from me but just as I think I have said most got into trouble with me. I wasn’t going to entertain any competition in this field. Most however got into trouble with the queen herself. Their scheming amounted to naught. It was like trying to separate the fox from its skin. One, it is witty and not easily beaten, second, it would definitely bite you and third and the rather obvious, it is impossible, that is unless you kill it first. Our relationship was far too gone to a point of no turn-around.

Our final examinations came. We both passed excellently against the expectation of many because we spent most of our class time chatting. The others knew nothing of the after school events when full academic gear was turned on to climb the large amount of work needed to pass in the final examinations. The teachers congratulated us. From amongst the large number of newcomers, only she and I had passed well and I was obviously at the top of my class. I could however still see that the teachers still suspected something going between us.

But the day I seem to specifically remember was that last day at primary school. We both knew that the moment we parted that day, chances of ever meeting again were dim if not nil. This was because I was going back home on that very day and would no longer need to stay with an aunt again.

I saw her come to school in the morning on her bike, which was very unusual. She knew that I would go home forty miles away and then go to a boarding school in the capital. I can swear that she was weeping quietly and never talked to me for the whole day. I also didn’t want to go close to her for I feared what would happen if she broke into tears and let the cat out of the bag.

In the evening, everything was ready and all I needed to do was mount my bike and leave for home. I went to say my final word to her maybe the last one for the rest of our lives.

“Dear, seems like I’ll be leaving in the next five minutes” I said.

“Must you Stan?”

“I got no choice. Mom and dad are expecting me.”

 She wept and fell in my hands. The other pupils had departed eager to leave primary school but all the teachers were camped outside the staffroom watching the pupils as they cleared from the school. They watched our reaction, which seemed to confirm their fears but I didn’t care anymore for I was no longer under the rules of the school.

 “Dear, such things happen and we have no control over them.” I said in bid to comfort her.

“I know but can’t you?”

“Can’t I do what?” I was getting impatient.

“Stay for another day. One more time.”

“I would want to but I simply can’t. Please try and see my point.”

 She slipped out of my arms, walked a few steps and then turned and walked back, “Then at least kiss me.”

That was it. The teachers thought that we had suddenly gone crazy. It was not in their understanding how often this kind of thing was done which was almost daily. She again slipped out of my hands without a word. It was as if we had gone to the death chambers as none of us was expecting to see the other for the rest of our lifetime. I was glad that she had kissed me good-bye. I watched her mount her bike and cycled away without turning back. I went home and soon to the high school in the capital.

 My statistics were wrong. I saw her two years later. We had obviously written crazy letters to one another but none of us ever thought that we would ever meet again. We however did in what was supposed to be a chance meeting (it wasn’t) two years later on her way to school at a market place and guess what happened?. . . . . . . . . . .

To know what happened, read a thrilling story entitled: THE ELEVENTH HOUR next.