Once I was young; can’t believe how much I’ve grown. Yet the memories of my childhood remain ever fresh with me all thanks to the diary I kept growing up. Now if you recall, some days ago I briefly shared about Nursery School experiences, the many tears I cried the first time I ever had to go to school and the troubles I had learning how to read and write. Well, continuing with the decision to let you guys in on my childhood one bit at a time, I shall be sharing about my first time experience in Secondary School.
It was the year 2000 and the very idea of finally being a secondary school student was so exciting I could barely contain myself. However, my initial experiences in the school weren’t quite as interesting as I had anticipated, no thanks to my older brother and a bully in my class who [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][both] made my life hellish. You see, I had a very complicated relationship with my brother mostly because he was jealous that I got all the special privileges from the parents. Back at home we fought a lot and each time he would beat the crap out of me. A time came when my father had to warn him never to beat me for any reason. I must confess- that injunction gave me the opportunity to misbehave towards my brother, talking to him however I wished and being confident that he would not do anything to me. Things continued this way until he went off to school. And by the time it was my turn, I had to be in the same school he was already enrolled at! Of course he was my senior (three years ahead to be precise) and that wasn’t a good thing at all! You see, my brother became my nemesis. He was so determined to get back at me for all those times I hurled insults at him at home. So he punished me every single time he got the opportunity to. He even recommended me to his friends for punishments. It was a hell of a time for little me!
But then again my brother was not the only headache I had to deal with. There was also Eze who was a bully. For no particular reason the boy chose to hate me completely. Perhaps I was just his easy target. And with my brother’s constant and unprovoked attacks on my person, I was too timid to defend myself. Moreover, Eze was quite notorious for making his mates uncomfortable; I was definitely not a match for him. Consequently, I had to endure him every single school day as he would say so many unsavoury things and sometimes even kick me about. One day, he had someone deliver a note to me supposedly addressed by Nancy. Nancy was a girl in my class in whom I was well pleased but could not even be courageous enough to look in the eyes. Unfortunately, Eze got to know about my special interest in Nancy and exploited it. So he sent me the note and I naively believed that Nancy had actually written. Interestingly, the note said that she [Nancy] had noticed that I liked her. And she liked me too. So all I needed to do was talk to her and tell her how much I liked her. Sheepishly, I went looking out for Nancy. And when I found her and began to talk about the note, she got so infuriated and really embarrassed me in front of the entire school just before the teachers punished me for being amorous…
As my troubles persisted, I realized that the only way to end it was to plead with my brother for his forgiveness. Our parents weren’t in the school to save me. And if of all the students in the school my very own brother was my enemy, then who could save me?! So I walked up to him one day during recess and begged him. I promised never to insult him again and then asked to be not just his respective younger brother but also his best friend. As expected, my brother agreed. He even apologized for punishing me all those while; he said he couldn’t help but get closure somehow for all those times at home I said/did terrible things to him. Anyway, we buried the hatchets.
Yet my troubles persisted for a while, no thanks to Eze the bully. He continued to play all kinds of pranks on me until one day I finally had enough courage to stand up to him. That fateful day as he went about harassing me, I suddenly felt the urge to punch him in his ugly face. And that was exactly what I did before I thought about it twice. And as the punch hit his eyes, the force sent him to the ground just as I pounced on him and proceeded to kick and punch and even put a handful of sand in his eyes and mouth. He cried and pleaded with me to stop just as people finally separated us. That was the last time Eze ever did or said one unkind thing about me…
*MORALS OF THE STORY: Do not be disrespectful to your elders, stand up to bullies and finally, keep a diary; it’s a fun pastime![/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
