Back in the days during my senior secondary schooling, I remembered how chaotic school was. I still wondered how someone calm and timid like me back then was able to survive.
I could remember how, after night preps, we would all be in a race to get our clothes from the clothesline, and it was even worse—almost like a stampede anytime the prefects were in a frenzy. Sometimes, you would see them positioned in strategic areas to trap us.
It could be scary sometimes; it was like the prefects were a pride of lionesses hunting us.
I could also never forget senior Aniekeme. Hostel C captain. She was the most hated and wicked prefect of her time. Junior students feared her like she was a monster.
So one particular night, luckily for me, during the night prep, shortly before it was over, I caught the air of the plans of the prefects to make that night chasing hot from a friend. I was also told new fresh canes had been smuggled and distributed by senior Aniekeme for the hot chase that was planned.
From the moment I caught the air of the plans till the moment the bell rang, I was in a state of fright and prayed the night would never end, and the bell would never be rung that night.
On the first stroke of the bell, I took off into the wind. And I almost got caught, but luckily for me, I was able to dodge the moment the senior swung her cane.
My destination wasn’t the hostel but the clothesline. The clothes I had prepared to wear to school the next day were there, so I couldn’t gamble on rain falling or not if I left it outside through the night.
That night was absolute chaos. My heart was almost beating out of my chest.
I got to the clothesline and snatched my clothes without looking back.
When I got to the hostel, I just kept the clothes and went straight to bed because that period was made hot by the prefects.
The next morning, it was the same thing; the hyperactive prefects made everyone rush and be on their spidey senses because you could never tell where the next prefect with an abnormally long cane would pop out from.
The only time we got peace was during school hours when the school was now swarming with staff and the prefects hid their illegal canes.
Right from the moment I dressed up for school, I felt strange in my shirt, but I was in haste, so I ignored it.
I was seated in class when I noticed one of my classmates, Nnena, looking at me weirdly.
When I caught her eyes, she came to where I was sitting down and asked, “Did you get a new shirt?"
At first, I was confused about what warranted the question from someone I wasn’t close to.
I replied, “No.”
Then she was like, “Wait first," and then checked the collar of my shirt with all seriousness.
Then she asked again, “Where did you get this shirt from?"
“It's my shirt, I…" Just then, I stopped talking as I realized. I was actually feeling strange in the shirt when I put it on. I forgot, but at that moment, I remembered again.
I quickly checked the last button on my shirt, and it was different!
I used to identify that shirt by the last button having a blue hint. But the one I had on was the same as the rest—pure white.
“Jesus!” I then realized I mixed up another person's shirt when I took mine from the clothesline the previous night.
“I have washed this shirt several times, and it was the senior Aniekeme I washed it for," she said.
At that moment, I felt like I was the most unlucky person in the world, and the girl looked at me with pity.
I started thinking about what to do. Was I going to meet her to explain myself, should I wash it before returning it, or should I just return it back to the clothes? I wasn’t sure what to do, but I was sure the longer I had it with me, the more chances of getting caught.
“Don't even let her see you or find out," the girl told me.
“What will I do now?" I didn’t notice that I was already sweating from the panic state I was in, and my eyes were welling up with tears.
“See, just return it. Immediately after school, rush straight to the clothesline and take it off," the girl advised me before leaving.
The girl's advice was the only option I had because I had seen people get severely punished by senior Aniekeme for very little reason. I couldn’t imagine what she would then do to me.
Another fear struck me; I was lucky the girl who noticed helped me. What if the next person who noticed exposed me, even after I had returned the shirt to the clothesline?
My entire day, I was paranoid and could feel every eye that was on me, and I tried my best to avoid being seen.
The scariest part was when senior Aniekeme came to help supervise our refectory work after school before going to the hostel.
I was literally shaking and had my eyes on her the entire time, praying she didn’t catch me. And I was lucky because she was so focused on punishing the defaulters that she didn’t notice me.
Immediately we were done, I ran to the clothesline and made sure I took the shirt off and hung it back when no one was looking.
I can never forget it. The little mix-up that made me feel it would cost me my life. 😂😅
Amazing piece. At a point, I was laughing. But really, I followed through from the first word to the last full stop. Your pieces are compelling. Kudos.
Thanks
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STOPI wonder what cruel world you'd had been in had the heartless senior Aniekeme found her shirt on you. You were lucky someone pointed that out to you while not exposing you. Boarding school life is always a wild one and one has to be careful not to get entrapped in problems.
I enjoyed your nonfiction piece, thanks for writing.
Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it