The heart that you made numb

Chapter 1: How I met her

The principal cleared his throat,
"Good morning, students," we replied in unison. I always hate doing that, but not answering was an offence; how absurd. "Due to our renowned reputation, which is obviously why you chose to come here, our school will host this year's county education day!" Everybody cheered while clapping and hugging each other. Some of us even cried. You may think that this was overreacting, but it wasn't. 

This was a big thing. It was the first time we had this big inning in our school; over a hundred schools attended this, and it was compulsory to add dessert to the main course. No one cared about the boys' schools that were coming. The focus was on the girls' schools. Being in a boys' boarding school is tricky; you don't get to see girls often, as the name suggests. The only people close to girls were our female teachers and a cook or two. Most cooks were men because to cook ugali for two thousand students required muscles. We were dismissed, and we went to class to learn, supposedly. We all knew no one would take academics seriously until that event ended. A week without studying, just preparing.

In class, everyone was all about how happy they were that their girlfriends were coming. It was essential to start looking for the perfect clothing for that day. That's hilarious, you can think. "They have the same uniform; how hard can it be?" It is challenging, the hardest. There are more critical things to do, like making autobiographies and writing poetry. Okay, poetry sounds medieval; you got me. I am the only one who wrote poetry. An obsession? I do not know, but I had endless poems on nature, mostly romance. I was obsessed with it, but that is a story for another day.

"Yo! Leroy, can you hook me up with a shirt for the d-day?" That was Jayme. I never understood him; he did not have a girlfriend, yet he dressed better than anyone on such occasions.

"No, man, I got only one shirt," I felt his disappointment. He went to his locker.
That was not a big deal; he would get over it quickly.

"Hey bro, is your girl coming or studying abroad?" I said with a soft chuckle.

Tindo just laughed sarcastically, "Ha! Ha! Ha! Hilarious Leroy, so how is stand-up comedy going for you?"

"On the real bro, I want to meet your girl, come on," I insisted

"From stand-up comedy to my dad. You'll see her soon, Father, and give us your blessings." Tindo was hard to break.

I gave up and started writing a poem as I fantasized about that day my girl was coming. I was finally going to show her off to my friends. That's priceless. When I was deep in thought, the mathematics teacher came in. He never gives up, I swear. I took out my math exercise book with a twitch of a smile on my lip. This was because he couldn't stop me from thinking; she was all in my mind. Seriously though! I had never seen my girlfriend before.

The day was here. We couldn't believe it, okay, we could because that's the only thing we were waiting for. No one cared about anything right now but how they would look good. Deodorant was in the air, I'm sure, more than oxygen. New shirts were unwrapped. Damn! These people were prepared for this day. I thought I had it, but some people live for it. "It's not that important," I consoled myself as I put on my cologne and ran to the assembly to be given directions. At the community, we were told the obvious. That we shouldn't be seen in bodily contact with a girl, this was ridiculous! Who would have sex amid over ten thousand students? I cursed so loudly in my heart every accursed word. The assembly was over, and we took our sits waiting for other schools to arrive.

Everyone was settled, and the buses started swarming in. One thing about African ladies is that they remain beautiful no matter what they wear. We did not even notice the boys' schools, but we would catch them seeing the girls if we had. These girls made it impossible. They smiled simultaneously and walked as if they had practiced for days, swaying their hair side by side. Okay, that may be an overreaction; some had concise hair, but still, they were beautiful.