We Did It

Image Source

I could feel droplets of sweat maneuvering their way through my back into my underwear as I sat shakily waiting for the teacher to come to class. My palms followed suit, excreting liquid that dripped on the script in front of me, leaving balls of magnified lines staring back at me as I attempted to hide the soiled sheet, only to end up worsening the situation.

I could hear muffled giggles around the hall, and as I looked up and around the class, there were probing eyes all fixed on me, making mocking gestures in my direction as I looked down again at the paper which was now completely soaked in sweat.

There was a hollow in my head and a heat that burned in my skull as if the eyes fixated on me had lasers on them that pierced through my mind. A young boy of primary 4, invited into a senior class to compete with older pupils who now saw him as a threat to their new found lease on academics.

Having been dominated by my elder sister, who was then promoted to sit for first school leaving certificate a year earlier, they felt like history was about to repeat itself. It was as if we were about to overshadow their entire generation by dominating them in turns.

Humiliated and scared, I kept my focus on the ground, tapping wildly on the innocent concrete floor while praying that the teachers would change their mind and return me to my class. Lost in thought and oblivious of my environment as a defense mechanism, I did not know when the teacher came in and was awoken by a soft caress of the back.

"Are you okay?" the teacher queried as I looked up sharply trying to hold the tears that was already boiling over in me.

"I want to go back to my class" I whispered shakily as the tears trickled down my cheeks forcing a reflex swipe of my palm across my cheeks.

"It's okay" the teacher replied still caressing my back and leading me gently out of the class.

I could hear muffled laughter and subtle hisses behind me as I walked out of the class. Then a raucous moment of laughter and false cries erupted as I and the teacher exited the class.

After a few moments of coaxing, I eventually opened up to the teacher and principal about the cause of my sudden change of heart. I narrated the whole ordeal and how they made me feel like I do not belong in the class. Another sniff of my nose alerted the teachers that I needed to clean up.

Strolling together down the hall towards the bathroom, my teacher started giving me different narratives on why I deserve to be in the class. She recounted how my teacher had come to the staff meeting to recommend I be promoted to a higher class as I was levels ahead of his class.

As we got to the mirror fixed by the entry into the bathroom, she stopped and made me have a close observation of my reflection in the mirror, whispering into my ears

"That's the real you, not whatever they think of you. Don't let them define you, go in there and show them why you were chosen to be in their class"

I went into the bathroom to clean up, while my teacher stepped outside to wait for me. As I stepped out of the bathroom, I took in another doze of my reflection and gave it a fist pump as a wry smile escaped my still reddened cheeks.

We went back to the class and the pupils were obviously shocked that I returned. I took the test that day, came out tops in the class and was told by the principal to remain in the class. At the end of the terminal examination, I also came out tops and noticed that the same pupils that were laughing at me the first day were now clapping for me.

I took permission to go to the bathroom, stood in front of the mirror and pretended to have a handshake with my reflection. I gave it another fist pump and whispered "we did it".

Welcome to my blog, you can relax and be rest assured of quality content on diverse topics. You're free to air your views and opinions in the comments section, and It'll be my pleasure to learn and engage