Yellow Tales of a Nigerian Housemaid (completed)

Chapter Forty Seven

It was as though Mma was waiting patiently for me to walk into class that Tuesday morning. I was hiding behind the classroom's wooden door, peeping at our Maths teacher, Mr Ozo from the tiny space between the door and the door frame. I needed to see how he solved those mathematical equations he was ranting about.

I was late, yet again.

Mma couldn't help but wink and gesture at me as the lesson progressed. But how in the world did she see me?

Immediately Mr Ozo left the class, she ran outside to meet me.

"They're looking for you, Mrs Ekema and Mrs Orugbuo" She shrieked excitedly.

My heart missed a beat.

"Is it in respect of the competition?" I asked, looking up at her.

"Let's go before the next lesson starts" She suggested, dragging me along.

"They might be in class teaching you know, let's wait a bit till break time" I replied, pulling my hands away from her. She shrugged turning to face me.

"Chizo is in class" She announced a bit weirdly before walking in.
*****
The bell chummed loudly signaling break time. I'd laid my head weakly on Mma's locker, with my stomach churning angrily at it's emptiness.

Mma rested her palm on my back, scrubbing it gently.

"Are you okay? Let's head to the staffroom now before breaktime ends"

I slowly lifted my head off the locker, standing and adjusting my uniform. Her eyes were still rammed into mine, observing my every move.

"I brought food Nne, you can join me" She said, bringing out her food pack.

My body became stronger immediately, as my intestines danced in happiness. I didn't need to show her how happy or hungry I was, so I pretended all was fine.

"When we come back Mma, let's go to the staffroom first" I replied leading the way.

Just like usual, we went behind the laboratory unit, but this time not because of the fear of being seen. When we approached the block, Mma increased her pace, pulling me to keep up. Once at the door, she tapped it gently before twisting the knob open. Mrs Ekema was quick to spot us as we stepped in. A beautiful smile was planted on her face, something I saw as a show of satisfaction. I beautified my face too with a smile as we trudged towards her table.

"You're here Nneogo, why weren't you in school yesterday?" She asked as we got closer to her. I shook my head playfully, not really knowing what to say.

The door opened again with a squeaky noise, revealing about six teachers walking in while chatting loudly. They gave us a quick glance before continuing to their desk. Some of the teachers were already seated on their desks; some were eating, few writing while others chatted about events that had happened in the school, and outside. The staffroom was very noisy, just like our class.

"Good afternoon ma" I finally greeted after pausing for few seconds to observe the large room.

"How are you? Your friend here told me you weren't in school when we came to look for you yesterday" She paused. "What happened?"

"I... I went to the village with my mum for something important" I stuttered not wanting to let out what it was all about.

She shrugged, even though I could read the sudden unsatisfied expression on her face. She pulled open a drawer below her desk and brought out a designed, thick, glossy paper which looked like just the one the school had given me when I'd won the intra competition, and gracefully she stretched it out to me.