The hostel master

Chapter 2

 The term began on a good note. Lucas called for a meeting with the Perfects in his quarters and introduced himself properly. He laid down some ground rules for them but wasn't too hard on them. He needed to gain their trust in order to get closer to them. Unlike what Bako had told him, he believed he could develop a good relationship with them and he was going to work hard to achieve that. As the days passed, Lucas spent most of the time in his quarters. The only reason he left the hostel premises was for staff meetings. He also visited the sports complex some evenings to watch the football or basketball games. He took his time to study the students, especially the ones in their graduation year with whom the new student had just joined. Edem, the new boy, was finding it hard adjusting to his new environment. He kept to himself and barely had any social acquaintances. As for the prefects, they were five boys and all seemed to be arrogant except one. His name was Godson. Godson was the library prefect and he was quite the nerd. He always wore a thick set of glasses which he could hardly be seen without. He was taunted a lot by the other prefects and even his classmates had no regard for him. He spent most of his time in the library, in the company of other nerds. Among the remaining four male prefects, the most ruthless was Rufai, the labour prefect. All the students feared Rufai almost as much as they feared the Head boy. He was rumored to be in possession of a dagger in which he threatened students with. Bako and Lucas had taken time to search his belongings thoroughly and found nothing. The remaining three prefects were Ekemini the Head boy, Aniekan, his assistant and Stanley the sports prefect. Stanley stood tall at six feet and 4 inches. He was the tallest student and individual in the entire school. He played basketball alongside his pals Ekemini and Aniekan. Rufai, who was lacking in height, spent his time tormenting the junior students and didn't have time for sports. Lucas had studied them and knew Ekemini to be the strongest followed closely by Aniekan. Stanley was tall but lanky while Rufai was short and also skinny. However, the weakest by physical appearance had to be Godson. The student's daily routine was thus, they were woken by the hostel master by 5:45am. Lucas usually woke the Head boy first and left him the responsibility of which he passed down to his colleagues. By 7:30am, the students evacuated the hostel to the dining hall for breakfast. Classes began by 8:30 and ran till 12:30 after which the students returned to the dining hall for lunch after which they resumed classes until 2:30pm. The students then returned to the hostels to rest and relax before leaving for sports by 5pm. By 7pm they went for dinner and returned to their classes for a one hour prep which ended by 9pm. They then retired for the day. The Prefects were the last to leave the hostel for any activity and they abused the privilege greatly. They were also allowed to stay back in the hostels during sporting hours and free to supervise the classroom premises during prep.

That morning, Edem was woken by the sound of the whistles, blown by the Prefects. His room consisted of four students sharing two bunks. He was the most senior in his room and had chosen the lower bed in his bunk. The senior hostel had 4 wings and had bathrooms at the end of each wing on both floors. He went to the closest bathroom to him, took his shower as usual and before 7 he was ready. He gathered the few books he needed for the day and hung his school bag across one arm. He usually skipped breakfast and settled for only lunch and dinner. He got to class earlier than others and waited. In the class arrangements, each level was subdivided into 3 classes, A, B and C. He was unlucky enough to find himself in the same class with Rufai and Godson. Godson minded his business and was one of the smartest boys in the class. Rufai however, wasn't so smart but tried so hard to compensate for his wits and height by picking on random people. He avoided the new student because Edem was the biggest boy in the class. Edem was older than his sister but his constant academic woes had caused her to catch up with him in class. He was 18 years old and was the only adult in the class. His reckless lifestyle had left its toll on him. Scars around his arms and a small tattoo on his neck. Rufai knew best not to mess with him. That morning while the other students arrived into the classroom after breakfast, Rufai was picking on one of his classmates who was a nerd and friend to Godson. "Do that shit before I smack you and have you scrubbing toilets the entire week!" Rufai yelled at the boy, backing him into a corner. "I can't do it Rufai, I haven't even finished mine," the boy complained. "Shut up and stop whining like a little bitch," Rufai yapped. "And how dare you call me by my name? You address me as Prefect, got that?" he ranted, grabbing the boy by his tie. "I'll deal with you when we get back to the hostel," Rufai whispered to the boy who was raising his hands to shield his face in anticipation of an assault. "He's not going to do your assignment for you Rufai, let him go!" A voice shouted from the front of the class. "What the fuck?" Rufai muttered, turning around with his eyebrows raised. The words had come from Godson who was standing next to his desk in front of the classroom, probably regretting the statement he just made. "What did you say to me fag?" Rufai snarled, letting go of the student in his grasp and making his way towards the fellow prefect. "Who gave you the balls to speak to me like that?" He went on as he got closer to Godson. "You think cos you are prefect of the stinking Library, you are one of us? No, you are not one of us. You are just a faggot and I will bitchslap you like I was about doing your friend there," he said, pointing to his previous victim. Before Godson could process what was happening, Rufai was already upon him. He swung out an arm, smacking Godson against his left cheek. The slap rang loudly around the classroom and Godson let out a piercing cry, holding onto his cheek while trying to evade his tormenter. "That's right, you just got smacked boy. What are you going to do now, loser? Hahaha," he laughed, pushing Godson against the board in front of the class. Edem had seen enough. He rose up from his seat at the back and made his way to the Prefects in front. He tapped on Rufai's shoulder and Rufai turned to see who touched him. Without a single word, he brought his clenched fist down on Rufai, striking him by the temple. The blow sent the prefect crashing into a couple of front desks on his way to the ground. As he laid on the floor, knocked out cold, the students panicked and began to flee the classroom. Moments later, a medical team arrived and took the unconscious prefect to the clinic and Edem found himself in the Principal's office. "You think that's how we behave here?" Mr. Atim yelled at him. "I have your track record, I know what you did in your last school," The principal said, slamming a file on his table. "We are not animals here. You try something like this again I'll have you suspended for the rest of the year. You got me boy?" Edem nodded in response. He didn't bother to explain what transpired between him and the prefect. He didn't have the energy to explain himself. He sat there taking the yelling and scolding and was slammed with a week's detention. He left the Principal's office but didn't return back to his class until break time. Godson took him to the library and as a sign of appreciation, handed him the key to the inner archive room which no one else accessed. He spent the rest of the morning there, leaving for the dining at lunch break. During lunch, he found a table not far from where the Prefects were and sat there, watching them as he ate. They had obviously gotten wind of the news by the way their eyes feasted on him. A while later, Ekemini and Aniekan rose up and walked towards his table. "Everyone clear this table now!" Aniekan ordered in a strict but low tone in order not to attract the attention of the staff hanging around. "You think what you did was funny? Assaulting one of my Prefects?" The Head boy started, sitting opposite Edem who focused on his meal. "And to think you are the brother to my colleague. What is your plan? To bring shame and disgrace to your sister's name? I will not tolerate such," Ekemini spoke. His voice was low but there was fire in his eyes. "I should slap the bastard right now," Aniekan grunted, lifting his arm off the table but Ekemini brought the hand back down. "Relax Ak, this is not the place or the time. We'll deal with this later," he spoke calmly, his gaze still locked on Edem. "You think the principal can protect you? You'll find out who runs this school soon enough," the Head boy finished, rising to his feet and returning with his colleague. Uduak rushed to meet her brother. "What did you do, Edem? I have been searching for you all day," she started. "You shouldn't have fought Rufai," she added. Edem raised his gaze to her, "It wasn't a fight, I whooped his ass," he replied with a strong frown. "He ended up in the clinic Edem. What is wrong with you? Why do you have to cause trouble everywhere you go?" She snapped. "Are you with me or with them sis?" He snapped back at her. "You are my elder brother, you are supposed to be an example to me," she said, now in a low tone. "Go back to your friends sis, that's where you belong," he replied and went back to eating. She backed away from him slowly, returning to the Prefects table. Edem spent the remainder of class session in the archive room, coming out after closing time to serve his one hour of detention. After detention, he returned to the hostel, looking out for the Prefects as he went. He showered quickly and changed into his day wear, snuck out of the hostel and returned to the library. If they were going to attack him it would most likely happen in the hostel so he was safe as long as he stayed away from there, or so he thought.