The first position

"Why don't you crawl back to whatever hole you came out of?" You're not welcome here," I said angrily at Tanya, the new girl who joined our school, Great Minds High School, barely four months ago. I faced her in the corridor of our class, SS2 B, shortly after most of our classmates had left, finding the right opportunity to attack her. Tunde, my best friend, has warned me not to confront her, but I wouldn't heed. I felt bolder after he reluctantly agreed to escort me to the confrontation. I was the topper in my class since junior secondary school, and only when I got to the penultimate year did my record get broken, pushing me to the first runner-up while Tanya, like a shooting star, emerged from the blues and took my glory. I was infuriated, hurt, and, at the same time, threatened by Tanya. I was sixteen years old, and Tanya looked about the age of fourteen. Her tanned chocolate skin color and innocent-looking face, which mesmerized me after her dimples showed whenever she smiled, ended up irritating me further. The rage I felt for Tanya was second to none, blinding me to anything good I could imagine from her.

"You're just a clown and a coward, Dave; at least your father is not the principal, and even if he is, he is not the one paying my tuition!" Tanya bolted back; her eyes and words clearly retaliated and exuded the mutual feelings of detest we had for each other. I was hurt by what she said and stuck for a moment, trying to find my footing and the right response to give her. And just when I wanted to retaliate further, Tanya hissed and walked out on me.

"You need a chill pill, guy." Tunde said, patting me on the back. "But men, she gave you back to back," Tunde giggled, reminding me of Tanya's hurtful words at me.

"Let's go T." I said after a moment. Many thoughts ran through my mind, all circled around the hatred I had for Tanya.

---

I gave more attention to my studies. I had an obvious threat, and I feared her strength was formidable. I remember my mom asking me what went wrong when I presented the second position result to her at home. I was ashamed of myself and almost burst into tears. Lucky for me, mom didn't take it hard on me but encouraged me to work harder. My dad only nodded his head in silence after going through my results. My dad was a man of few words and spoke only when he wanted to. Retaining my post glory meant defeating Tanya and not just having good grades.

It had already been two weeks since I had the confrontation with Tanya. We avoided each other, and the entire class knew Tanya and I were luggar heads. I guessed correctly, for rumors reached my ears that Tanya was better than me academically even after the obvious previous term result.

Tunde commended me often for reading harder than usual and, like a faithful friend, was always with me, even during periods of class that I stayed behind to read. Rather than go for the evening games, I chose to utilize the period to study a little, maximizing all available resources. Just when I hit the class corridor with Tunde, I froze for a brief second, causing Tunde to pause also. A song peculiar to only my family was being sung from within the classroom. I knew I had no relatives in school, and that song only meant the singer was family.

"What is it, Dave?" Tunde asked with a worried look on his face.

"That song T, it's only my family lineage, particularly my mother's house, that sings that song." I replied with a whisper, as though I had divulged a secret to my friend.

"For real?" Tunde asked, confused.

"Yeah, only the daughters of our family sing that song. My mom sings it occasionally, too."

"Hmmm. That's deep. Let's find out who 'OUR' relative is." Tunde replied with an emphasis on 'our' and an equal inquisitiveness.

Tunde and I tiptoed like we wanted to catch a thief. Though dusk began to cast shadows in the classroom, the obvious image of Tanya sitting in her usual seat struck a cord of fearful sensations down my spine, causing my heart to flutter and beat erratically. Tunde and I withdrew momentarily, and our audible whispers have most likely prompted Tanya to stop her singing. She stepped out immediately, giving us no chance to run away.

"What are you two doing here?" Tanya bolted at us bluntly.

"Calm down, tigress; every day is not for war." I said, my palms up in surrender.

"I'm curious about that song you sang; how did you come about it? Who taught you?" I asked almost impatiently. I knew being confrontational with Tanya would not get me anywhere near the secret behind the song she sang.

"This one you're acting or faking to be peaceful. Anyway, it's a song limited to my mother's household! And I don't expect two little rats to sneak up on my heritage!" Tanya snapped and turned back to leave.

"That song is also from my mother's house, and no stranger should know it." I said. Tanya stopped midway, as though my words had struck a portion of her heart. She turned towards me, and we stared at each other without saying a word. The silence was awkward, and thankfully, Tunde interrupted.

"It seems both of you are into staring competition again; you both are definitely family!" Tunde chuckled.

"Not at all; the Ateh's family does not breed arrogant cowards." Tanya snapped.

"Come off it, Tanya; Dave has not even said anything hurtful since we got here. You're being too edgy. You should calm down a bit." Tunde said. I saw the look Tanya gave Tunde, and Tunde knew he had the right to zip his tongue.

"We can't be family; bury that thought, Dave." Tanya said and turned to leave.
"And what if we are?" I asked, which prompted her to halt again. This time around, she waved off my question and walked into the classroom to continue her studies.

---

"Mom, the least you could do was to have told me!" Tanya was the girl who snatched the first position from me last term. I asked her over the phone after I asked my guardian to let me talk with her using his phone since phones were not allowed in boarding schools.

"Come on, son, our family is quite large. Plus, what does it matter? The first position still runs within the family." My mom teased over the phone. "She's Barbara's daughter and your second cousin. Be nice to her henceforth and tell her to greet her mom for me, okay?" My mom concluded before ending the call. I didn't like the fact that Tanya and I were family, but my choices were limited.

---

The following day, during the break period, Tanya and I bumped into each other while I headed to the tuck shop. I looked away intentionally, avoiding eye contact with her. "Proud peacock." I heard Tanya call me immediately. I walked past her, knowing fully well that nobody else was in the vicinity.

I stopped immediately and summoned as much anger as I could before turning back. I knew she stopped also and waited for me, the tigress I knew her to be, beautiful as her stubbornness was. However, surprisingly, Tanya stood facing me, arms akimbo as I walked towards her; our heights were almost a match, and the distance between us could barely squeeze an individual between. Tanya had this mischievous smile on her face, and as though she wanted to burst into laughter, I gave her a questioning look. "Proud peacock?"

source

"Dave Bond, the fighter, better calm down. I spoke with my mom, and she told me we're cousins."

"Second cousins!" I interjected sharply.

"Whatever." She said that, shoving aside my correction. "I'm hungry, and as my older cousin brother, you're responsible for my lunch." Tanya said, spreading out her right hand as though waiting for me to give her some money.

"With all the foods you eat every day, you've not added much weight, always channeling the energy into fights," I said.

"I'm sure now that I have my cousin brother to feed me extra, I'll add some weight." She said this, lashing out her tongue at me.

"Oh God, where did I get you from?" I said, hitting my forehead with my palm.

"From Ateh's. Please, let's go to the tuck shop; I will empty your pocket today." Tanya said as she held my wrist and led me, like her baby brother, to the tuck shop.

Tunde was surprised to see Tanya and I talking without bickering at each other. And soon, the rumors spread further within the school about Tanya and I being related. My heart towards Tanya melted like ice under the sun. We were 5 and 6 in school and studied together.

Tanya was fun to be with and was intentional about our goals. We did our best, and like my mother advised, so far the first position remained within the family; there was no need for worries. Subsequent terms in school until we graduated had the first position rotated between Tanya and me; we didn't fight for it, and we laughed it off for whoever got the crown.