Update 89

“What’s wrong?” asked Peter.

Junior was beginning to get scared; he thought he might be in trouble now even though he could not think of anything he had done wrong.

“What did you say your son’s name was again?” asked the principal.

“I just told you. His name is Junior Black.”

“My goodness!” the principal muttered under his breath. “We had been expecting your boy for over a year, Mr. Black!”

Peter frowned, “What for?”

“Why did you decide to not enroll him then?”

“I told you that it was due to some circumstances that were beyond my control.”

“We thought that you had decided to put him in another school.”

“And why would I do that?”

“I know about how Mr. Uzor tried to make you pay for some unnecessary fees. Maybe ‘unnecessary’ is a strong word. Actually, it’s standard protocol, but we were willing to make exceptions in your case, considering your son’s accomplishment. He broke the school’s decade-old record and set a new unmatched one. Even though he has not attended a class, his record is still there unbroken. You have an incredible child, Mr. Black.”

Peter smiled proudly, nodded and said, “I know. Unfortunately, I would have to put him in a different school now.”

A look of horror crossed the principal’s face. “You would? Why?”

Peter spread his hands. “You have left me no choice. You just told me that my boy is not going to be admitted to JSS 3 because he didn’t pass through the previous class. And I can’t allow that to happen. I know my child’s capability. And I know how much he had been studying hard over the year. If you think that he does not deserve to be in JSS 3, then I will take him to a school that will appreciate him better.”

The principal smiled sheepishly, “You don’t have to do that. We can come to an understanding that will favour both your son and the school. I am willing to put him in the desired class as long as I have the assurance that he is still as brilliant as he was when he wrote the mock examination.”

“What do you think?” asked Peter, “You can make him write the exam again if that would convince you.” He turned to his son, “What do you think, my boy?”

“I don’t mind sitting for any examination.”

The principal shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. We already saw his result in the last one he wrote. It was an incredible achievement. Since JSCE would be coming up in a few months’ time, there is no use having him write any mock examination. The external examination will be enough to test his capability. We have to warn you that Junior would be expelled from this school if he does not pass the JSCE.”

“He will pass. My son does not fail.”

“I sincerely hope so. I look forward to seeing your son bring glory to our school.” He rose up and shook Peter’s hand. He sat down and reached for the landphone on his desk. He picked up the receiver, placed it against his ears and dialled a certain number. ‘Please step into my office immediately.” The principal replaced the receiver and smiled at Peter. “You can meet the bursar on your way out to make necessary payment. An assigned class teacher is on his way to take your son to his class. It’s so nice to have him back, Mr. Black.”

Peter smiled back at the man. Then he turned to his son and said, “If I’m unable to pick you up in the afternoon, Tony will. Do you need anything before I leave?”

Junior shook his head no. He was excited about getting back to class after such a long time. Soon, a young man stepped into the office and the principal directed him to take Junior to his class.

“What’s your name, young man?” the man asked as he led Junior to the appropriate class.

“My name is Junior Black, sir.”

“What a nice name. My name is Mr. Enoch Sapele. I am your class teacher for JSS 3A. You’re a lucky child because JSS 3A is the best class in the block. It’s a very competitive class with a lot of brilliant students. I have no doubt that you are going to do well in this class. If you have any question or problem whatsoever, do not hesitate to come to me in the staff room. I am not just your class-teacher, I can also be your friend. So you can talk to me about anything whatsoever. I am always here to listen.”

Junior was pleased to hear those words from the man. This man could just be one of the best teachers in the entire school. He seemed to be quite sympathetic and understanding.

They finally reached the block. Junior followed the older man to the first class in the black. Mr. Sapele already had his hand across Junior’s shoulders when they stepped into the class. As soon as the teacher stepped into the class, silence descended immediately. The class had been noisy initially, but the fear of an approaching teacher killed the ruckus.

“Good morning, class,” said the teacher.

The students stood to their feet immediately and began reciting their mantra:

“Good morning, Mr. Sapele. You are welcome to JSS 3A. We are happy to see you. God bless you and your family.”

The man smiled and replied, “God bless you all, too. I hope you all had enjoyable weekends.”

“Yes, Mr. Sapele.” They chorused.

“Good. It’s so good to have you back in school. Beside me here is a new addition to the class. His name is Junior Black. Please welcome him to your midst.”

“You are welcome to JSS 3A, Junior Black. We are happy to see you. God bless you and your family.”

While the teacher was still introducing Junior to the class, a middle-aged man in tattered clothes, who served as the school carpenter, entered the class with a new set of table and chair for Junior Black. He placed the furniture in a nice corner of the class.

“Okay, there is your desk and chair, Junior. Feel at home, you’re among friends.”

“Thank you, Mr. Sapele,” Junior said gratefully and went to his seat.

The teacher spoke a few words of advice to the class before leaving. As soon as Mr. Sapele left, Junior reached into his schoolbag and brought out a textbook. He began to study. Even though he had studied extensively before his enrolment, he still wanted to check if there was any topic he had missed. While he was leafing through the pages of a Social Studies textbooks, a boy who looked older than he was stood before his desk. He was not saying anything to Junior; the boy just continued to stare at the newcomer. Junior noticed his presence and raised his head:

“Can I help you?” he asked politely.

The boy shook his head and said, “We don’t care what Mr. Sapele says. We have not officially welcomed you to the class.”

Junior was amused. He folded his arms across his chest and said, “Really?”

The boy nodded. “Yes, you have to do something before you are fully accepted into the class.”

“And what is that?”

“You have to acknowledge the head of the class.”

“You mean the class-captain?”

“To hell with the class-captain. Nobody cares about the class-captain. The head of the class is Bro Vincent. He’s there at the back. You have to go there and bow before him.”

“And if I don’t?”

A look of horror crossed the boy’s face. He leaned forward and whispered into Junior’s ear, “Bro Vincent is a cultist.”

Junior shrugged his shoulders and said, “And so? Do you expect me to be scared because he’s foolish enough to join a cult?”

“Why are you talking this way? Do you want to get hurt? He’s waiting for you. Just go and bow before him and save yourself unnecessary trouble. If he tells you to do anything, you have to do it or you will be hurt.”

Peter looked at the back of the class and saw the person called Bro Vincent. He was a huge student and looked a lot older than any member of the class. Junior guessed Vincent age to be about twenty-two years old. Peter wondered what such an old man was doing in this class – in JSS 3 for that matter. Bro Vincent already sported a moustache; and the stubble around his jowl indicated that he shaved, probably because the school would not allow it. Junior also wondered why the school would even admit someone as old as Vincent to the school. He would later get to know that Vincent was a distant relative of the school proprietor, and he had been brought from the village to continue his education in the city. This was his third year in Lagos, and within these three years, Vincent had joined a band of terrible boys in the streets. He smoked and drank. He stole and pillaged, but Vincent never molested females. He was a bad student – a terrible one at that – but he had a code; he would never force himself on an unwilling girl. People who did that were worse than animals and should be taken off the streets. After taking his time to study Vincent, Peter decided that he would not play to their tunes. The fact that Vincent was a cultist would have scared a lot of other students, but Junior was not one of them. He would also learn that some of the teachers were scared of Vincent because he was as old as them, and they knew how potentially dangerous he was. Junior, however, was not fazed by his appearance or reputation. To him, respect did not come by age, it should be earned.

“Well, I don’t care what your bro says,” Junior replied the boy, “As long as Mr. Sapele and the school management have acknowledged me as the student of this school and this class, whoever says otherwise can go to hell.”

The boy’s eyes almost popped out of their socket. Even a female student closeby who had heard Junior’s words opened her mouth in shock. Junior recognised the student as the same girl he had seen when he stepped out of his father’s car. Again, he felt like he had seen the girl somewhere before but he could not remember.

“Tell me you didn’t just say that,” said the boy.

“You heard me right.”

“Is this what you want me to tell Bro Vincent?”

“I don’t care what you tell him. Please leave me alone, I want to study.”

The boy moped at Junior for a while, then he slowly walked away. As soon as Junior opened the book, he forgot about Vincent and his messenger. He was studying a new topic he found extremely interesting.

When the boy returned to Vincent and reported what he had heard the newcomer say, Vincent was fuming. Veins stood out on his forehead and he growled. It was not long before the entire class learnt what had happened. They all cast their eyes at the new boy who was busy reading his textbook. Junior was oblivious of all their stares. This was the first time a new student would ever defy Bro Vincent. Some students looked at Junior as if he had gone crazy. Some stared at him to determine if he was powerful enough to fight Bro Vincent – but it was clear that Bro Vincent would break the newcomer in half without stress. By defying Bro Vincent, Junior had gained as much admiration from the student as resentment.

Vincent rose from his seat and was about to go and meet Junior when a teacher stepped into the class. The entire class rose to greet the woman.

“Good morning, Mrs. Falade. You are welcome to JSS 3A.”

Mrs. Falade was the Mathematics teacher.

LarrySun:
Post removed.

Mayordelta:


Please how can I get the episodes that have not been uploaded

LarrySun:
Each update costs N50 only.

Abosede512:
Good evening Larrysun, no show today

sulorog:

No update for you today