Rings & Knots

Learning a little

It was reasonably bright when Chetanna set out of the house. The first cock crow was his alarm, and his body jerked up at the disgruntled sound. The crowing sounded more like a call for help from the poor creature. His sister Chinazom had once pointed out that the cockerels often sounded like they had food lodged in their throats.

A farmer named Chiagozie owned the hens and crows who strayed about their property. When they chased the animals away from eating their mother's melon seeds left for the sun to dry on a particular day, Amarachi noted they were overfed because they could hardly run. Chinazom's theory about the cockerels made more sense to him then. Chetanna grabbed the Mpanaka, a local lamp made out of used tin cans and cotton wicks powered by kerosene and dashed into the little store where they kept their bathing items and buckets.

He decisively chose the back of a Uha tree as his washing location, as he was not yet prepared to utilize the makeshift toilet fashioned from corroded aluminium sheets and wood that his mother and elder sister frequented. With a lamp in hand, he gathered his pants, a substantial bar of green soap, and a sponge made from one of his mother's rice sacks before proceeding to his open-air bathroom.

He relied on darkness for cover and had his business quickly as he aimed to arrive at school before anyone else. Chetanna judged the time from how well he could see the colour of the leaves on the tree. As long as the colour of the leaves could not be told, it meant darkness still hovered. By the time he had finished, he could see the colour of the leaves closest to him.

His feet moved fashionably faster than it did most mornings, garnering specks of sand that cleaved unto his heels and legs. Chetanna chuckled at his hasty moves because he knew he was never a morning person. He wore his uniform so quickly that he buttoned the shirt wrongly during the first two trials.

The next line of action was to gather his father's tools which he crept into his mother's room to take. Cheta's bag was packed and ready by the time his sisters woke up, and when his little sister saw him dressed up, he could see the astonishment that flickered about her face. Truly, even he was amazed by his actions; however, he was a boy on a mission. He bade her farewell and strode to school.

Chetanna met the headmistress when he got to school, and she had pounded furiously on the school gates for minutes before the sleepy gateman finally let her in.

"Udochukwu, is that you?" Mrs Agatha, their headmistress, had asked as he came into her view. He saw her grab her glasses from her bag to be certain that her failing sights had not played tricks on her. She appeared to be rather shocked when she finally saw him through the lenses of the object.

"Yes ma" Chetanna had replied whilst nodding his head in tandem with the sound from his mouth.

He was very scared of the woman standing before him but tried to look composed. Mrs Agatha was fond of using surnames, but he was startled at first, thinking she was referring to his late father. Chetanna did not understand why he felt that way, maybe because he had stolen his father's tools for the repairs.

"Ah! You're here so early. Is there something going on in your class this morning that I have no idea about?"

"No ma" He replied again while she kept staring intently at him, egging him with her eyes to provide her with more information. When Chetanna failed to understand her subtle way of prodding him, she finally spoke.

"So Udochukwu, why are you here so early? You've just said that there's no school activity that requires you to be here at this time."

"I...I...Come to fix my desk" Chetanna reached into his bag and showed her the hammer and nails that he had brought from his house.