But juma there is no way we can tell” Juma stamped his feet and retorted to zungeru
“I’m sure of it geru,,,no one else uses that ringtone in this school” He deepened his frown “Those cleansweep b*stards were there that night, and they probably saw us” Juma clenched his teeth in annoyance “I swear each and everyday I see those b*stards and their smug faces,,,my urge to kill them increases” He looked at zungeru and said again “Zungeru,,,this is the last straw, I’m going to teach those cleansweepers a good lesson” Zungeru with an alarmed face replied.
“Easy juma,,,you know facing those guyz is a hopeless case,,,just one of them can take out five of our boys” Juma glared at zungeru in annoyance.
” so what!! Are you saying I should just let them walk freely with the fact that,,,they have knowledge of what we did” Zungeru adjusted on the chair and retorted.
“Calm down juma,,,I’m not saying we should let them go,,,this is what I mean,,,our boys are useless,,,they are just high school riffraffs who lack ruggedity and also lack a taste to draw blood” Juma a little rational now asked him.
“So what do you suggest” Zungeru shifted closer and continued in hush tones.
“Do you know the street where that pigheaded halfcaste stays”
“You mean Muna” Zungeru nodded,
“Yes I do,,, so ,,what about it”? Juma asked Then zugeru continued.
“Do you also know of boanna”?
“The drug mafia boss” juma asked.
“Yes,,,him” Zungeru continued
“My uncle has connections with the man,,,and you won’t believe it,,,but Boanno has his headquaters in that same Kari street where that idiot lives” Juma widened his eyes.
“So what you are saying is-” Zungeru broke in with excitement.
“Yess!,,exactly” Juma smiled broadly and nodded in approval Then zungeru said “,,,but first we need to do this”.. He shifted his chair closer to juma and whispered some details to him.
,,, ,,,
“Hey shouldn’t we be rehearsing now that we have free period” Mike asked in a high pitch, he tried hitting an 8ball while talking at the same time, He and Tobi had been playing pool snooker for some minutes now, John just sat and watched them (The gentle observer)
“How can we rehearse anything when that wacko boss hasn’t even written a new song yet” Tobi answered him as he struck a ball into the hole, Mike looked up and sighed heavily when he saw Dre sitting on a highttable ,,crossed leg and closing his eyes in meditation.
“Yeah,,,I almost forgot,,,that strange but divine leader ,,” Mike shook his head and added “Doesn’t even have a single chorus for our next show”
“But why do we keep pressuring Dre all the time,,,we all know Muna can write songs too,,,and he is very good at it,,,to be honest he is way better at it” john stated a matter of fact.
They all looked up and looked at Muna at a dark corner leaning easily on a wall with his folded arms,,closed eyelids,,and earpiece on (the usual mr Grumpy position) Mike looked back at the game and replied john.
“Yeah but,,,there is something called chain of command john,,,you can’t skip the head and go for the neck,,,Dre is our “Divine leader” ,,,and besides don’t forget who taught Muna songwriting” Tobi added.
“And stage lightening,,and martial arts,,and lobbying and snooker playing and kick boxing and beef -chomping and chick-” Mike cut him off.
“Yes yes,,Tobi basically everything,,,appreciate your input” John glanced over at Muna and replied.
“But still the student surpasses the master huh?,,,or what do you guys think” Tobi fumbled while trying to strike a ball with his stick, He frowned at john.
“Well we think you should let us concentrate on this game,,,I bet my new gucci shoes on this,,so please. Shuush” But johnny never loses an opportunity to step on Tobi’s nerve” He smiled miachievously and continued “So are saying you think it is so or not” Tobi struggled to guide the ball to the right hole while answering john.
” well,,,em,,,it could be like,,,um,,,” he fumbled again Making him lose 3 points and give 2 more points to Mike, Mike happily grabbed the stick ready to strike his own ball.
“Gosh john this was your fault I could have-” Mike interupted him by giving him back the stick.
“Play something mr man,,,too much excuses” This was his last turn,,,if he doesn’t make at least two balls in one strike,,,he would lose already, John waited patiently till Tobi was about to strike then almost screamed.
“SO ARE YOU SAYING IM WRONG!!” The ball completely bounced of the table without touching the whole at all, Tobi growled loudly.
“Arrgh john,,,see what you’ve caused!!!,I’ll deal with you!” John quickly made a run for it as Tobi chased with the stick, They ran a little in the room but then continued outside, Tobi just kept chasing him
“You better stay one place let me clobber you!!,,, you little punk!!” John kept running, he looked back and smiled at Tobi
“Haven’t I said none of you guys are as fast as me,,,not even dre, good luck catching me you slow snail!” Those words made Tobi more infuriated and he was determined not to let john escape, They were too pre ocupied john couldn’t slow down on reaching the canteen when he bumped into mr samson along the corridor, The dish the man was holding all flew into the air
“Whaaaat!? (In that usual terrible voice) Tobi stopped and stared with his mouth open Pointing at john “You,,,you little miscreants” Tobi walked slowly to help appologise or do something,,, john is going to get a serious whipping right now But strangely Tobi didn’t notice mr samsons dreadful whip in his hands except for that obnoxious notepad
“Sir its,,,let me,,,I’m really” John tried but he could not make a reasonable explanation as to why he had the guts to bump into the H O D, Mr samson just calmy wiped some food substance from his suit and brought out his pen to scribble on his notepad
“No need for long talk now,,,um,,,”john kazim,,,5 points for irregular behaviour and assaulting a superior staff at the corridor” Tobi and john widened their eyes as he wrote such an unbelievable charge
“But sir it was an ordinary mistake,,,I never assaulted you, I was simply running and then-” Mr samson cut him off
“,oh you think I’m done eyh,,” he grinned in his ridiculously weird evil smile, And continued “Now offence number 2” He started writing “Tobiloba kingsley and john kazim with illegal possesion of-” Knowing clearly what a complete whackjob mr samson was Tobi wasn’t ready to be included in the “book of life” So he quickly feighned
“Arh!!, sir look those students are trying to skip school by climbing the fence” Mr samsons face turned red
“Whaaat!,,,who dares ,,,,where,,,where?”
As he turned around to look for the “so-called” He heard quick footsteps and chuckling, he turned back and saw john and Tobi making a run for it, They were laughing as they ran, Mr samson clenched his jaw and squeezed his notepad in annoyance
”’ ”’
“That is the admin office,,,that block over there is the assembly hall” rita pointed to a large spacious biulding Halima simply nodded in agreement, They were on the fourth floor of the Block A, Rita had chosen for them to stay here so they could observe the entire school properly.
“And over there is the field and sports ground”
“Hmmn” Halima replied, They moved towards the opposite window
“So what do you think,,,very large huh?” Rita asked
“Yeah,,,quite large ,,,from the outside one may not quickly notice but it is okay” Halima relplied
“I told you” rita smiled
“Yeah you were right” Halima agreed “And you were also right when you said you would be doing this orientation instead of kenna, why is he usually scarce” Halima quizzed her, Rita opened her mouth and replied her
“Me I don’t know o,,I’ve been his assistant class rep since grade 3 and that’s how he is always been,,” rita replied Halima then said
“Maybe the guy is an introvert or something ” (Mtcheew,,, what does she know about me) Rita revved and replied me
“No no,,not him,,,kenna is just always busy assisting the teachers in administrative work, ,,he is nothing like that” (Thank you jo ,,padi mi) Halima leaned on the window and looked outside
“Okay o if you say so” She stared downstairs “No offence,,but ,,I’m just more interested in guys that are dashing and have a lot of charisma around them” Rita then spotted something downstairs and smiled as she replied alima
“You like charisma and dashing boys right,,,now check out those hotties over there” Rita pointed towards the cleamsweep who walking towards the cleansweep, Tobi was still trying to get john but john protected himself by hiding behind Dre, Halima’s eyes caught them and exclaimed
“Wow!,,,hold on” She peered closely “Two of those boys are in our class right” Rita smiled and nodded, Alima focused again and quizzed “Hmn,,,just who are they exactly” Rita started
“They are the famous underground band, called cleansweep, you must have heard of this song “Nothing more” before na” Alima scrunched her face trying to recall something
“Yeah yeah,,,I heard a song like that on radio before,,,wait!,,,is this the same boys right here” Rita blurted in excitement
“Yes yes its them!”
Alima widened her eyes “Hmn ,,they look so different looking at them now” Rita started a long one
“Gosh,,,I’m like their biggest fan,,,okay okay,,,you see that little one hiding behind Dre
“Unhuh,,yeah”
“That’s john,,,he is the drummer,,,they say he is a genius with the sticks,,,as in he can drum for africa”
“Really” alima mused
“Yes,,o,,,but lool,,,forget that his boyish looks,,,he is the youngest,,,but when that boy gets angry ehn,,,he turns into a man,,,as in a man” Alima listened carefully as rita continued.
“Now the other dark one there” She pointed to Mike ” that’s the piano player,,,his playing is awesome,,,Mike is the kind of guy that can make a lady feel like a woman,,,he’ll sweep you of your feet with his actions and take for a longest ride of your life on his bike,,,,you just name where you want to go,,,or whatever you need,,,and he’ll provide it” Alima bit her fingers and mentioned something naughty to rita
“Have you imagined sex on a powerbike before” Rita smiled and playfuly poked her
“You mean like “power sex abi” (Gosh this girls are crazy)
They both laughed at their naughty little comments then rita continued “Also,,,that Mike of a guy is a hardrock when it comes to a brawl,,,the guy can make a man regret picking a fight with him”
“Seriously”
“Yeah,,,very seriously” Alima twinkled as she pointed
“What about that cute looking one” Rita looked and saw the guy john was running from and started
” hmmn,,,who wont notice Tobi in a crowd,,,they call him the Trickster,,,that playboy can melt a girls heart with just his cute innocent smile ,,,he is the one who plays the bass and a rapper in the team,,,my sister I’m begging you pls don’t let his innocent and goodlooking looks deci Tobi is responsible for many young girls dropping out of school because of unwanted pregnancy and related issues,,,he’ll just use you and dump you later when he is done with you”
“Awww,,,but he is soo dreamy,,,and handsome,,,he looks too innocent for that” Alima retorted.
Rita rolled her eyes “Alima pls stop o,,,that boy is bad news ,,,his reputation is not only among girls,,,rumour has it that he is the son of a well known gangsta in bongos” Alima shrugged her shoulders
“And what of that good looking bob marley” she pointed to Dre, Rita hummed a long one then started
” Hmmmn,,,,the divine leader,,,The guy with the big ideas,,Dre is the boss of cleansweep,,,nothing happens without his orders,,,gosh that hot cake has such an amazing voice,,,he can sing for africa!!, they call him a magician on stage,,,whenever he grabs the mic,,its like time stops for him cuz he mesmerises the audience with his melodious voice”
“Wow,,,!seriously” alima exclaimed
“Yeah,,,and also,,,his martial arts skills is second to none,,,the guy is a beast when he is in a fight, But don’t keep your hopes up,,,Dre has a horde of girls on his list.,,so we are like,,,not in his league”
All this while they were talking Rita noticed that alimas gaze just lingered continously on Muna, They had to shift to the next window so they could keep looking at them, Alima started
“You havnt said anything about that mysterious looking one yet, is he asian or something” Rita smiled
“Nope he is not, I was saving the best for last,,,munachi is the guitar player,,,the legendary grumpy hero,,,every girl’s dream,,,every girl’s love,,,the hot cake ,,,the all rounder ,,,Dre’s right hand man and second in command,,,trust me if you think Tobi is goodlooking you might reconsider when you stand close to Muna,,,those eyes ehn,,,rumour has it that his dreamy eyes once froze a man to the point of death because of care,,,they call him the all rounder because,,,he is way better than Dre in everything but he just won’t admit it”
“In everything?”
Alima asked Rita nodded “You mean including in…” alima demonstrated with her hands Which made rita giggle
“I don’t know o,,,and I havnt met any girl he is been with that knows, they say…he is too good for anybody,,which is why he doesn’t have a gf” Alima widened her eyes
“Like seriously,,,how does someone who looks like a male mermaid like that walk around without a gf” Alima exclaimed?
“That’s why they call him mr grumpy ,,that oyibo is too mysterious and reserved,,,did you know that no one had ever seen him smile” Alima looked shock Rita continued. “That’s just the thing about Muna,,,that biracial boy is so stingy with his good looks” Alima shook her head
“You know what maybe its because,,,these kanuri girls in bongos don’t know how to do “it” well” Rita raised an eyebrow at her
” what is this “it” you are saying” Alima looked at her and winked, Rita revved up and started “Uuh,,,don’t even think it alima,,,many have tried but none have suceeded, ,do you know how many times I acted like a complete s–t,,,just to get Muna ‘s attention,,,I just ended up fooling myself” Alima braced up and replied
“many have tried yes,,,but none of them were me” She smiled at rita and said “Oh come on rita,,I’m a coy lady,,,I always get whatever I want” Rita just stared at her in ghast Partly surprised,,,partly curious, The third ringing of the bell signalled the next period and they both walked off to class
”’ ”’
”Now as you all know frederick wilson propagated the false theories of gamma rays” Mr zaki paused and observed the students in his apllied physics class Then he continued.
“And this theories include “Gamma rays do not result in a change of atomic number ,the mass of the atom does not change ,also the emission is always constant” He paused again then continued “But thanks to some corrections and criticism,,,the theory of gamma rays has witnessed some-” The teacher was interrupted by the cheers of some student as two people entered the class “Quiet all of you,,”
He faced Muna and Mike as they headed for their seat “And why are the both of you just coming when the bell was rung over 30 mins ago” Mike looked back and answered him
“Sorry sir we had a little problem at the cafetariea,,,so we got delayed” The man looked at them then contemplated before replying
*better to be on the safe side*
He finally blurted out to them “You boys better not come to my class late again! ,,else the cafetariea won’t be your only problem,,,is that clear?” He barked at them, Mike swung an arm around muna’s shoulder as they went to their sit “Sure thing sir” he replied, Muna didn’t even bother answering, He took his seat at the back and relaxed in his usual position.
The class continued swiftly Untill the bell rang, All the students got up to head out for their different houses But mr zaki obliged “No nope,,,sit down all of you I’m not done with you yet,,,” gesturing with his hands The students exchanged looks and reluctantly sat down Again Mr zaki continued.
“Now as you all know your mid terms are approaching fast,,,and you will all need to prepare well for the exams,,,” He looked around the class he nodded and continued “And for your C A I’ve decided to group all of you into groups of two In a group,,,the list is with the class rep,,,he will read it out to you now”
He motioned for me to stand up “Now I want these projects completed before the end of the month and submitted to me unfailingly,,,you can choose any topic of your choice” mr zaki blurted and continued “Now kenna kindly read out the names”
I stood up Cleared my throat and started “Um,,,first we have,, wasabi and damian” ,juliet and geru Aisha and khalil Ameer and vinos ,,,,, Then lastly rita ,,,,you and I are partnered” I called out all the names to mr zaki’s satisfaction And he said “Good, Thank you kenna,,,now who among you didn’t hear their name?
Three people raised up their hands That was ,,halima,,tamuno and Muna Then mr zaki said “Yes ,,apparantly you all don’t Add up to an even number,,,so I guess the three of you could just be in a group” Alima smilled and looked at rita, The both of them exchanged facial expressions which( even I could not fully understand) Mike widened his eyes and tapped Muna who looked like he was sleeping already Then mr zaki revved
“Okay students,,I believe there are no questions,,, so with that note this class is dimissed” He grabbed his notebool and walked out of the class living the students in a daze
