Ibinu

I thought you sucked?

I put my right foot down on the asphalt road while my left foot was planted firmly on the bus step tread. The sun shone down brightly upon the university campus. It was late morning meaning we had an hour left before the start of our French oral exam. We were gathering in front of the school bus and I could bounce coins off the tension emanating from my classmates.

My fellow last row sitters called out for me to move because I was blocking the way out of the bus. When I stepped away, I felt the full assault of the sun and became even more reluctant to put on my tie and blazer. 

If anything I wish I could unbutton my entire shirt but in reality, I couldn't undo more than a single button on my shirt without looking indecent. I looked enviously at the boys who had unbuttoned their long-sleeved blue shirts and left them completely untucked with their white vests gleaming in the sun.

As sweat rolled down my neck, I whimpered. That's it, I couldn't stand this any more. I was about to raise my hand and protest when Shewa beat me to it. "Sir! Can we please get to the exam location and get out of this sun?" Her blazer was tied to her waist while her right arm was planted firmly on her hip as she frowned up at him. 

I turned to face her fully and found that she had changed her hairstyle from this morning, her waist-length braids were now packed into a ponytail instead of the beach style she left the school with.

Mr Ajanlekoko and Mr Ajanaku looked at their wristwatches and decided that her words had merit when they saw the time. "Alright students, get into a single file, we'll be proceeding to the exam location now. I'll lead the line while Mr Ajanaku will take up the rear." Mr Ajanlekoko's loud voice thundered above the din.

I don't know why the agricultural science teacher was taking over what should essentially be the french teacher's job but who am I to complain when the 'follower' in question had no problem with it.

"Uh, we're not kids, why do we have to walk in a single file?" Titi loudly complained, her blazer folded over her right arm and her balloon skirt billowing due to a passing breeze.

"You dey answer am? All that one na yarn, when we scatter am, see if he go stop us. As long as we get there, all join." Tosin threw out and strode forward with his blazer hanging from his fingertips. His trousers were placed slightly lower on his hips but not as low as he would normally have gone back in the school compound.

The teachers shook their heads and let us be. They walked together in front of the group and conversed as they tried to navigate us to the correct building.

Shewa popped her gum and unrolled the cuffs of her shirt as we walked from the university campus to the exam area, her mid-thigh skirt swishing all the way. 

On the way, we saw one of the past SS3 students. Kemo was about to call out to her, but she was too far away for the action to be anything but redundant, so she just shrugged and adjusted the little scarf she tied to the front of her head to hide her edges.

I looked at Titi who I had linked arms with and asked her how she felt concerning the exam. She responded that she had prepared well and should therefore ace it, I laughed and congratulated her on future A1.

We spent the rest of the journey making small talk as the rest of the SS3  French students mingled and separated, making jokes here and there. The mood was generally relaxed at this time because no amount of last-minute reading would be effective in this case, plus both the boys and girls didn't want to look uncool on a university campus.

As we walked, we garnered a sizable amount of attention because of our get-up. The attention was really unsettling and when we reached our destination, I discovered that I wasn't the only one that shared that sentiment.