THE EXTERNALS

Chapter Seventeen

In my neighborhood, it was customary for schools to start a program an hour past the time stipulated in their invitation letter but that wasn't the case here. Barely ten minutes after we arrived at the stadium, the event kicked off with an opening prayer by the proprietress of the school we were competing against, Kenbol Group Of Schools.

Thereafter, she officially welcomed everyone to the occasion and handed over the microphone to the principal. Every student from my school couldn't stop staring at him because he was so different from ours. His expensive sportswear looked good on him. Even while watching him from afar, I could still see his nice haircut and traces of his white teeth.

My nose could even sniff his strong cologne! Lol...

The head boy took over the stage as the principal left for the VIP table. He had similar features with the principal but was shorter. He also had a pink lip that every female student in my school would die for and hid fair skin was without any form of blemish. Normally, I didn't like joining the girls to admire boys but I couldn't help commenting on how handsome he was. Aside that, he had a cool voice. I wish he could sing the national anthem till the end without being disturbed but the order of service didn't permit me. As soon as he finished reciting the first two lines, others joined him.

After he also left, the MC called Janet's team (the Elites cheer squad) to do their routine. Janet was good with it and her team members supported her as well. At the end of their performance, they received a loud ovation from both sides. Still, it was not as nice as what the other cheerleaders did. Their moves were more professional. In order not to make Janet feel too bad, I kept talking about how "she killed it" on stage and holding her hand as a sign of support.

When it was time for the male team to start their match, every student of GMC joined the cheerleaders in cheering them so they would do well. After the two football teams playing against each other lined up and greeted themselves, they were allowed to sing the anthems of the schools they were playing for. The referee then called on their captains and advised them to make the match free and fair.

During the first half of the match, members of both teams fully harnessed their skills to enable them get possession of the ball within a short intervals and score goals. Close to the end of the game, the handsome head boy who was part of the opposing team scored a goal, but our team didn't score any so the captain of our team(Kenny) became dejected. Since his right leg also got hurt badly, he had to be substituted.

"Master, you can't remove Kenny from the match! He said he can still manage. You know the team cannot function well without him", Khadijat pleaded on his behalf as his number one fan.

"Would you prefer him getting an injury that can ruin his career forever? Johakim is a good striker too", Master Gbenga said to put her mind at ease but she wasn't ready to give up.