FITTING IN
Now that you have entered into teenagehood, know that this stage of your life is about storms and stress. Those were the words my mother told me on my 13th birthday, I tried looking for the storms and stress as I got comfortable in my teen journey, but could hardly find it. Not until I was transferred to a new secondary school at age 15 because my parents thought I should have a public school experience. Although my journey there was short lived, It was a time to always remember. Not because it was fun, but because I got to experience how it felt like to be without the covering of your rich and famous dad. My dad happened to be among the board of trustees in a school I literally grew up in from kindergarten, so it was fair to say that I was treated as a prince, or the son of a noble. I was also ecstatic about the new change, I was looking forward to the experience. I remembered being scared, and excited at the same time. I was scared of the unknown and also excited about the things I was yet to know.
My first day in school was clearly the beginning of a bumpy ride. Reaching the school as early as 6:30 am because my mum had to go to work, I decided to take myself out on a tour seeing that there was no one I knew there. The school was so big that I never saw the end of the school during my time there, and as I walked into the field, feeling the cool morning breeze, and walking on the wet grass, I noticed my socks were already becoming dirty and decided to follow the path near the grass. I was enjoying the whole view when what was left of my innocence was stolen away as I had already entered a section of the girls hostel without realizing it. This wasn’t just any section, it was the section where the Senior girls came out to bathe because their bathroom was under repairs.
At first I didn’t even realize what was happening and would have innocently walked past had it been I was not startled by the scream coming out from my left hand side. Immediately I saw what was going on, now realizing I was the one causing the commotion, I immediately panicked and on instinct ran back to where I was coming from. I could hear some of the girls screaming in embarrassment, while some were laughing and telling me to come. But then again the fear of what I had just seen made me panic, knowing that I wasn’t supposed to see such. Later that day the assembly bell rang, and when I saw everyone moving to the assembly, followed suit, still panicking and hoping none of the girls who saw me would remember me. I decided to stay in between the boys with my face down, and luckily I wasn't recognised.
Reaching class that day, everything was going on smoothly until I saw something I had only witnessed in movies. It was a student violently challenging a teacher who tried to punish him. I saw the guy sitting at the back with other big boys like him who looked like his crew. And when he said the words: “If not that you were old enough to be my father, I would have taught you a lesson today” I can’t vividly recall what caused the fall out, But I remember the teacher being a maths teacher. What surprised me the most was that no one dared to challenge him, and when I enquired of his name, it was as frightening as he was looking, the boy was called Johnbar. (At least that was how it was pronounced). For some reason, I began to envy this guy who could challenge a teacher without fear and was determined to be such a guy. But there was a catch, I hated his guts, and wished to rival him.
The only way to achieve my goal was to walk my way up the ladder and do something to gain everyone's attention, but the thought of what happened in the early hours of that morning eluded me so much that I almost dropped my plan to rival Johnbar. After a week of feeling comfortable though, I started making friends and was trying so hard to select the kind of friends I wanted. I knew I wasn’t that big or strong, but I was crafty enough to lead a crew, and that was how I intentionally took an opportunity to show my worth. I understood it was a game of strength, and when I saw a senior student bullying a classmate of mine, I decided to fight back. The guy was bigger and obviously stronger than me, But I was crafty enough to hit him fast and was able to subdue him easily, ending him with my favorite wrestling move “A spear”.
Before the teacher noticed what was going on, we all ran away and went back to class and that was when those who saw me fight started ringing my praise and one said I stung like a viper which earned me the name “Viper”. That was how I started creating my own faction, and it was like I imagined with the biggest and strongest boys in school. I wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, because obviously they were all bigger than me, but my crafitness made me stand out which also made me like the nickname “VIper”. But with the fame came the troubles as some of the girls began to notice and remember the little ordeal I had with them. It was a messy time that was short lived when my dad started seeing bruises I would get from fighting and decided to take me back to my old school.
THIS IS MY ENTRY INTO THE INKWELL CREATIVE NONFICTION PROMPT #123
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