Respect Rewind

I clenched my fist until I could feel blood escape from my palms. My eyes narrowed down on her like a falcon on a fleeing rat. None of her words moved me. I had heard them severally. They were ranting of a puppet that mistook its size for strength. I let go the hot air from my nostrils as she continued to yell at me, over her spilled coca-cola drink.

"Can't you watch where you are going to, you slowpoke?"

slowpoke? I stopped thinking. My anger escaped from its cage. A vicious slap was released. The echo of the slap suspended every noise in the hall. The plastic cup discharged its contents all over her school uniform. I dropped my textbooks, releasing my free hands to tear at her face, as she tried to recover from the first slap. The uproar from the students in the classroom deafened the screeching sound from displaced desks as she staggered backwards.
"What!" she screamed. "You slapped me? You are dead." The shock on her face didn't deter my quick strides towards her. I ignored her empty words and focused on her defenceless stomach region. A quick jab towards her belly button was enough to trigger a vomit, and most of its contents spilled out like stinking sewage from a drainage pipe.

I took a step backward, ready for her response.

"Ayewa, what's going on there?" a husky male voice shouted from the other block. I assumed it was a teacher, and managed a side glance. "And you," pointing to me, "Aren't you, Maria, the new student?"

I glanced back at Ayewa. There were no bruises on her face. There was no smelly spilled mess on the floor. No other student had gather around us. We were still standing alone.

"I'm sorry I called you a slowpoke. I am surprised you didn't get back at me immediately. I wouldn't spare anyone who called me that. I really respect you for this. My name is Ayewa, can we be friends?"

My fist were still clenched. My textbook had truly dropped on the floor, but my mind had rolled out the remaining scene. I struggled a smile and accepted Ayewa's handshake as I saw the teacher approaching.

It was my first day at Tamale Girls Secondary school.

It could have been my last.

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I had arrived at the Mensah home a sad lonely girl. My nine-year-old mind still could not understand how my parents had died on the same day.

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Care to read more ? Respect Rewind is part of a collection of short stories in the E-book, SILENT STORMS, by Tekena Ikoko.

Get this E-book at: http://okadabooks.com/book/about/silent_storms/13098