RED NIGHT

 

In the bleak-warm nights of January, a sensational silence I heard, urging me to escape the wrath to come. There I sat still, thinking of ways to escape the calamity to befall me. I sat still on my seat, the first seat in the class, planning to leave the class before the end of prep while nobody noticed. However, this plan to escape was not possible because my classmates were eager to act, and had had me positioned close to them, such that I will not escape or make a move unnoticed.

 

Night prep was to end by 9:30. By 9:00, I felt the urge to escape sooner than later. The urge to escape grew stronger. I already had it in mind to run away, regardless of the situation, until one of the hostel managers supervising the prep came into our class and tried to engage us in a conversation, giving me no room to escape. Still I sat, angry and reminded of how brutal I had treated another on his red night. The picture of my 'unexperienced' experience began to play in my mind, while I was unable to escape.

 

10 minutes left before prep was to end… Now, my classmates were no longer concentrating as they had come to class prepared and ready to act. They planned and got ready to act within the few minutes left.

Within the few minutes left, about 5 minutes to go. My classmates tried to hold me down. In defense, I removed my belt to flog anyone who dared approach me. Yet, they were not moved by my threats, they pinned me to my seat, just as the sound of the bell awakened a joyous spirit I had never seen in them. The joy to take action!

 

The sound of the same bell awakened the spirit of fear and activated my adrenal glands. I ran as fast as I could out of the class, JSS2 Faith at the time. I jumped over obstacles I never would have imagined myself doing, with ease. As I ran, I looked back and saw a mob of joyous people, hungry and eager to lay their hands on me. One of them was the fastest sprinter in our set at the time, 'Baba-T'. Fear gripped me the more as I saw him. He was also one of the strongest guys in our set. I thought, while both my legs and heart were racing, of the damage and harm I would do to myself if I don't find a way to escape from him. Of course, he was the fastest sprinter in the set. He would be ahead of the others. As I saw him close the gap, even with my spiked speed, I saw a lion ready to devour. Little did I know that he intended to save me.

 

Now, Baba T had grabbed me, I could not escape. His speed did not fail while he had me up in the air, in his arms. We were now approaching a waste bin when I heard my classmates say, "put him inside the 'trolley', let's beat him to stupor!" There I was, helpless, hoping this guy did not hear them. Of course, he did hear them, because it was loud and clear. However, his intent towards me were good.

 

I was surprised when he passed the bin and still ran with me in his arms. It now occurred to me that the class was chasing us - Baba T and I. Then, he dropped me on the basketball court and urged me while breathing profusely, gasping for breath, "guy run, run as fast as you can!"

Of course, I could never forget that day. At least, I knew I had a strong man on my side. I was not as bothered as I was. Regardless of how I felt, my guys kept up with the chase. I still had to use my tiny legs to save myself. Eventually, I was caught. I was given the beating of my life! No one dared to spare me, for I never spared anyone.

 

Fast forward to the following day. It was a bright morning, the sun was so happy to shine. It was my birthday! The 31st of January. However, I was not like the sun. I was dull and sad. My belt was missing! Remember, I mentioned that I removed my belt to flog anyone who was a threat. Unfortunately, I lost my belt in the process. This event led to some other miserable events. The red night had taken its toll on my birthday. I felt so miserable and so stupid for removing my belt in the first place. I searched and searched, but my belt did not show up. I searched and searched, while the clock kept ticking - tick tock. I searched and searched till I ran late for the morning prep. Only then, did I quit searching and decided to accept my fate. I had just lost a very durable belt.

 

My waste of time and carelessness of the previous night really helped make my birthday miserable. As expected, I was flogged for coming late for prep. It was so devastating. I was to be happy and joyful, full of radiance and cheer, on my birthday. But this was not the case. I got into my classroom, met a rather quiet class observing the morning prep, with whispers of birthday wishes from different corners of the class. I believe, I was cheered up a bit.

 

I do not need to explain further that my bad-day had just begun. I would get in trouble for not wearing a belt, in some other cases, for flying my school uniform during school hours. So many fights that day. I cannot let the memories of that night fade without sharing it to hearts. It is indeed memorable and Red!