Hell In A Cell- A Tall Tale

Searching for pins in Haystack

                                          
The rhythmic concordance of the drum and the famous song been sung to abuse the lazy students Ole alapa masise (the lazy ones has no hands for work) ended the long assembly after a preaching on Love. I stood, oblivious to my surrounding until I finally caught sight of my Economics teacher coming down the school stairs. He walked like when you pushed an empty drum but still trying to avoid it from falling. His eyes were bulgy, they looked as though they are about to fall into his throat. My mind casted back to the gist moving round my class lately he once rented a self-contained apartment, which he furnished, and he begged some boys in my class to help move his things for him into it. Three months later, he begged those same boys to move his things into a one room apartment.
I didn't know when I started to laugh and I was the only one still waiting on the class line, so I immediately dashed into the class.
                                                             
                                                                ***
           The distant chirping of the sparrow on a tree behind the hostel fence gave my sleep a melodious one. The cool breeze which usually starts around 3a.m to 7a.m  in the morning had started and this time, it was softer, making everyone cling to their duvet and pillow. But then...
The clapping starts.
An annoying clapping that resounded all over the hostel like the echo of one's voice in a tunnel. It was mostly done by Mr. Tayo, but if he overslept Mrs. B after clapping to wake the girls, walks to the dining and opens the window to the passageway and would clap loudly to wake the boys.
This time it was done by Mr. Tayo.
I was sure even wall geckos and cockroaches would wake up and if possible go to work by its ear-piercing sound. This type of clap cuts the bridge of your dream from the real world.
             You probably would try fighting the noise ignoring the annoying clap but would never notice you are already on your feet, about changing to your hostel wear and picking your Bible. The walking began again, the dragging of the feet on the cream ceramic-square tiles, heading to the door like Zombies smelling blood. The hostel boys most times founded it hard entering the Hall directly because their joysticks were most-times singing Nigeria national anthem at the early hour of the day.
          Getting into the hall, tables were packed on top of each other and the chairs were made to enter through each other, making a long tall bunch of white and blue plastic chairs.
Even while half-dozing, we arranged the chairs and waited to hear the creaking of the female hostel's door. The females finally came out we started the morning devotion and while on my sit I was long gone.

          “ Kola, stand up" the hostel master commanded after noticing that my head tilted completely away from the chair and my eyes were completely shut, making me oblivious to my surrounding.
I placed my chair at the angle where the silhouette was barely obvious. The bible passage for the day was proverbs 12 from the beginning to the end and everyone was to read a verse each. I was the only one left who had not read and by the time they turned to check me, I was on my flight back to the real world.
         I stood throughout the fellowship as a punishment and since that day was Saturday, the fellowship became longer than usual. After the fellowship, everyone returned to his or her hostel to make sure it was tidied-up. At some point, I bought myself some more time to sleep on the soft-foamy bed after which I joined the cleaning. The mops were moving on the tiles like someone who lost its way in a city of dirt. Those using the local brooms to sweep, swept like the floor-sweeping was going to fetch them an extra mark in their forthcoming examinations. Perhaps it might boost their CV’s in future, I thought. I looked around to make sure that nothing was left undone. I scanned all through the hostel, gazed at the glittering white toilet sinks and latrines. I criticized any mishaps vigorously. The bathrooms were perfect with the blue rubber curtains looking new. The taps and shower knobs were tightened so as not to make a fuss or drop and underwear with no owners were thrown outside trough the window which other side was the backyard.
         I decided to take a short stroll around the hostel, I walked past the kitchen where Mama Sekodun was preparing the sweet-smelling Moi-Moi and pap for breakfast, then I turned to the back of the hostel to check if it was swept and moped as well, but to my surprise,
It was, sorry I meant it wasn't!
"Oh, what am I gonna do with all this useless seniors who find it hard to be of good role-models to their
juniors?" I asked myself.
Tunde, a tall long-limbed boy, definitely the tallest student in the school was in charge of cleaning up the hostel backyard and from the look of things, even a mad man would not argue it that he hadn't touched his duty in days!
I started to search all around for him, asking whosoever I met if they had seen him after the fellowship, but surprisingly everyone kept saying No. While I was still confused and wondering if he went over those tall walls (fences) and still deliberated on what to tell the hostel master on his negligence in case he found out soon enough. I heard a voice calling my name from the female hostel.
I walked as fast as my legs could take me, having it in mind, the English translation of a Yoruba adage "I cannot come and go and kill myself".
Right at the window side she stood, a slim fair skin girl in my class with her hair tangled and her face a little wrinkled, you could be sure she hadn't taken her bathe.
"Kola have you seen Bolu?" Rofiat asked,
"Not after fellowship" I replied looking confused and trying to create a link between Tunde and Bolu absence.
But, What if Bolu was at the tap fetching water on the last floor or she decided to hide herself from everyone? Or What if Tunde was washing on the last floor and was forced into a discussion with her? I know there is something strange about the two of them recently.
Or what if? Oh! Don't tell me we are having the same thought about this!

                                                                   ***
                             
           "We found a snake's skin hanging on a bamboo at the backyard" Onala told me with a smile on his cheek as he raced towards me. He was a boy in SS1 with a stubborn nature. He was forced to come to the hostel after his parents saw that there was little they could do when it comes to breaking him and turning him into a good and gentle boy so they decided to try the hostel discipline by the school. I knew it wasn't an anomaly, but I wasn't a lover of snakes. I followed him to the corner to look at it. We got the point where the skin laid, a long white scaly substance.
          "Show this to the Mr.Tayo, I have an unfinished business in the hostel" I told him, feeling nauseated. I walked past the hostel front yard, passing some faulty and garbage school buses and was heading towards the giant looking fruit tree facing the school gate in between the security room and the mini-mart. The tree could be mistaken for a Baobab if not for the fact that it produces fruits and Baobabs don’t.

          The boys given the duty of sweeping and tidying up the dead leave, detached branches and recyclable dirt had finished sweeping, pilling up the dirt like a pyramid. The broom lines on the brown soil formed patterns like sand dunes in Egypt. The boys were talking and laughing out loud, some even had tears stuck on their reddish eyes. I went there with the intention of telling them to hasten-up, about the quick taking of their bathe and as well, get ready for prep. I waited to grab a summary first of what was been said then I joined in the laughter.
          "Honestly, you would think Daniel could play better than Benedict, not until Benedict gave him the ball to dribble him and he couldn't and then Benedict dribbled him 24 times on a spot!"Jago said facing Tade who was now rolling on the floor due to laughter.
"Oh! You weren't there when Eni-girl took off the chair before Ore was about to sit?" Kenny said, “come and watch the rage on Ore’s face. The funniest part was..” Kenny was saying.
“You know when…” Jago wanted to talk,
         “Wait,” Kenny pulled one of his arm, making him stop talking. The gesture Jago gave by raising his nose at Kenny made all of us to start laughing again.
“The funniest part was Rofiat was in the class then. Our brother could not cry, he had to rush out of the class feeling embarrassed.” he said and we laughed.                                 "Can you remember when we all gathered our eyelids and rolled them into a paper and placed it under Mr. Solomon's sit, so that when he steps on it, he would forget we were having Mathematics? That was the beginning of our stupidity began." I said looking at their faces which looked like balloons about to burst. They chased me around with broomsticks and rakes.
"Please don’t touch me o, my kidney is paining me. " I said laughing so intensely.
The laughter got more intense that we forgot time existed. I raised my eyes and peeped at the hostel and saw the hostel master approaching.
"Guys, you must hasten up please, you have ten minutes left for breakfast, five for bathing and five for other stuff before prep" I said and then remembered I was searching for some people. 
The manhunt started again.