Another Monthly Test
As the mid-term break approached, there was the issue of another monthly test. They were still as detestable as ever.
“All pens and pencils down. Make sure you have your name and class on the answer sheet. Pass all answer sheets forward. Hey! Hey! Shishta, I said stop work!”
Mr. Pechie was a core math teacher, and that day he was our invigilator. He called all the girls ‘sister’, except it came out as ‘shishta’. There’s a lot to be said about the great Mr. Pechie, but let’s leave that for another day.
“You”, Mr. Pechie pointed at me, “collect them for me.”
I wish I paid more attention to in class or at least, spent more time studying the night before. The Core Math test had ten questions. Just ten, all of them circle theorem questions.
I could almost hear questions two, seven and eight mocking me as they rocked me.
Today, however, was a day of celebration. It was the start of the mid-term break!
There was an elephant in the room, however: Ama wouldn’t be going home. After falling on the Atico list, she would have to stay in school throughout the mid-term break and study and work.
Dashed Hopes
That term we had hope, or so we thought. Founders’ day had gone really well. A lot of the form three students said it was the best they had seen. In the past, the headmistress was known to cancel Atico after a good Founders’ Day performance. This was Ama’s only hope.
During the headmistress’s announcements after Founders’ Day, we were praying gidigidi that she would cancel Atico that term and let us all go home.
It didn’t happen.
Restoration
The tests were finally over! It was time to get our butts outta the prison yard… errr, schoolyard 😇.
I’m not sure why, but the arts students finished their papers a short while before us, and were already on their way out of the form 1 block. I saw Akua walking with her friends and ran to catch up with her.
“Akua.”
She turned and smiled. “Kodzoooo!” Oh those dimples. 😍
“Ermmm, c-c-can I have your number again?” I asked. You should understand, I was stil just a little nervous around her. There was instant perspiration, and it must have been nothing short of hilarious because she couldn’t stop giggling.
“Hmmm, I don’t know”, she teased, “you kind of botched things up the last time.”
“Oh, I never told you? I called an old guy picked and my English finished when I heard the voice so I chickened out.”
The explanation sounded much better in my head.
“Oh, my daddy scared you? He’s a real softy.” she replied.
I wasn’t convinced. “I don’t know, he sounded kinda buff to me.”
“And how exactly do buff people sound?” she asked.
“Ummm, like this.” I said, doing my huskiest vocal impression.
She laughed again. “Silly. Do you have a piece of paper?”
You could see the confusion on my face. It screamed, “What is paper?”
All I had in my bag was my inordinately huge ‘Aki-Ola Core Math’ textbook. I was trying to take it out and rip out a page when she sighed. “Don’t worry. Bring your palm.”
She scribbled her number with much effort into my now-sweaty palm.
“Someone picking you up or you’re going by yourself?” she asked, as she put the cap back on her pen. “Abi you deɛ, you’re a hard guy.”
“Hard guy”, I laughed, “I’ll pick a trotro at the station.”
I noticed Ama looking back at us up ahead.
“Ermm, it looks like Ama’s waiting for you. She hasn’t forgiven me yet, has she?”
Akua shrugged it off. “She’s just a little fragile now, that’s all. I hope you call or text this time. I’ll be waiting”, she said, walking backwards towards Ama as the bell rang for dining on the East.
It turns out Ama cried a lot that day as her friends left for home and she had to stay back on Atico. From what I hear, Akua promised to bring her gɔbɛ and sobolo when coming back before she calmed down. Yes, Ama too is a goblin. 😄
*In loving memory of Mr. Eli Pekyi; one interesting Mathematics teacher