Yellow Tales of a Nigerian Housemaid (completed)

Chapter Forty

Luckily, I was among the last batch of students who were let into the school gate. It was already past nine and I was certain we were this lucky because of the now famous rumour- that the old gateman had resigned. There were also other unknowing sides of the rumour including the part that he was dead; but whatever it was, the new "youngie" was my good luck charm.

To make the morning more pleasant, we were only asked to sweep a not-too-dirty part of the school compound which we finished in a blink of an eye. Done with this lovely punishment, I slung my school bag across my shoulder and raced to class.

Today is actually different. The hallways were filled with group of chatty students, with the classrooms void of teachers which resulted to hysterical laughter and noises. Why are there no teachers in the classrooms today?

Sighting Chizo and her group, I resolved to hiding my way without running into them. I walked to the extreme left of the hallway, turning to the walls as I maneuvered my way to class. I was just few steps to the door when a soft hand gripped me from behind, swerving me to face her.

"Where have you been? I've been looking for you!" Mma, my classmate said inbetween breaths. "We're going to the staffroom right away!" She added dragging me away. She hadn't even given me a chance to answer her questions.

Mma, just like me, was one of the students who were quiet and reserved. She's tall, chocolate and acted more of a tomboy. She was usually on low cut, with fresh energizing aura and had a beautiful pointed nose perfectly etched on her face. When it comes to being neat, I'll give Mma about ninety five percent. Unlike me, Mma's uniform was always well ironed with a big folded maroon socks and a pair of brown sandals to match. Mma was one student I admired, and it seems she liked me too.

"What's going on Mma? Why are you dragging me to the staffroom?"

She glanced at me with a smirk, and turned almost immediately without an explanation. The more I tried to pull away from her, the more her grip tightened. I knew I had no chance when it comes to fighting Mma, so I just behaved my poor self and followed her sheepishly.

The other parts of the school compound wasn't as busy as the hallways. They were quiet, serene and blissful. The dry sand wore beautiful broom marks which propelled more the aesthetic nature of the cool environment.

We matched on, passing the tennis court and branching towards the Laboratory unit. The Lab unit was kind of isolated and housed different laboratories like the physics, biology, computer and chemistry lab. Not wanting to be seen, Mma swerved behind the Lab unit and into a small though visible path. The tiny path brought us to the administration block.

Just before we reached the door, Mma turned to me. "Why weren't you in school yesterday?"

"I had so much to do, I finished very late so couldn't make it" I muttered.

"Well, Mrs Ekema have been looking for you since" She explained, slowing her steps for me to catch some breaths. I whipped my head, facing her with a sudden halt.

"Did I do anything wrong? Why is she looking for me?"

To be sincere, my heart was pounding really fast with every being in me shaking in fear.

"I don't know, but it's actually a serious issue" She said drawing concerns to her face.

We covered the rest of the mile in silence and within seconds, was standing before the door. Mma didn't waste time before tapping a bit loudly on it. Without waiting for a response, she grabbed and twisted the knob, pushing the door open. My legs trembled as my eyes beheld a large number of teachers, seated busily in their different desks.