I straightened my wobbly knees and pressed a palm to my unsettled stomach. There were 2 standing fans in the room and yet I was feeling like a fish out of water, as if oxygen had been seized from my lungs causing my heartbeat to double and my eyes to become unsteady.
Source
It was the beginning of another quarter of the year and usually, I was the girl in a hoodie seated at the back of the room but today, I was going to be the girl at the center of attention, willing everyone to pay attention to me and laugh at my dry jokes.
I rubbed a wet palm against the sides of the black gown I was putting on just as Karis came to take my hand. She was one of the people who nominated me as MC for our quarterly compound get-together.
I usually didn't attend those things but after I missed the first two deliberately, the caretaker encouraged me to try to participate in activities like that. According to him, they had a way of making me loosen up and bond with my neighbors.
I gave it a try during the next one and true to his words, I began speaking to 3 of my neighbors before the end of that night and beyond.
“You're going to do an amazing job. Aren't you studying Theatre Arts?”
I hated that everyone thought I had to be Superman simply because I was studying Theatre Arts. Nobody wanted to understand that I could be shy or uninterested in certain activities. To them, being a Theatre Arts student meant being a party pooper and having the skill to sway the world any day, any time.
I tried a thin smile at her then turned my eyes back to the order of programs scribbled on the piece of paper I was holding. It promised to be a long night.
At exactly 7 pm, Karis walked into the room again and asked that I go out to engage the people who were already around and gisting excitedly.
“What am I going to say to them? I don't speak to them on a normal day!” I protested. Karis lifted a corner of her lip,
“You don't get it, do you? These people are the people you see every single day; morning, afternoon, and night. Just be yourself around them. I know you're not exactly the social type but relate as if they are already your friends, okay?”
I pretended to be cool with what she had just said so I straightened my gown and walked into the courtyard where mats had been laid on the ground and a sound system had been erected.
I picked up the microphone without getting so much as a glance from anyone but when I tapped softly on the wire mesh covering the top of the mic, about 11 heads turned my way.
There was suddenly this queasy feeling in my stomach as a nervous laugh escaped my lips.
“Uh…good evening, everyone. We all know why we are gathered here today….”
I was suddenly interrupted by shouts, “I don't know o! We don't know, please tell us!”
I couldn't help but chuckle at the excitement. If we were barely even started and everyone was already this excited, then it would be a good night.
“Ladies and gentlemen we're gathered here today for our quarterly compound get-together. If you're excited about this, make some noise!”
That was just the beginning. It was almost as if I had been a master of ceremony before and I was just exuding the expertise I was exhibiting out of experience.
Somehow, I was grateful that I was the one on the mic because no one was trying to cajole me to come out and dance or engage in one of the games they had come up with. I was the one doing the cajoling that night.
I had already informed Karis that I wasn't going to be out of my apartment past 10 pm so I passed the mic to Bobby, one of the most jovial inhabitants of the compound, and snuck out of the party with my peppered cowskin, kpomo, and a 1-litre pack of chivita fruit juice.
The following morning was a Sunday and because most of the other people in the compound had spent a great part of the night taking in large quantities of alcohol, they were not yet up from their slumber. I was grateful for this as well since I wasn't ready to hear all the other activities I missed from an overly excited neighbor that early morning. However, on my way to church, I met Friday. He was all dressed up in a fancy blazer and trousers so I knew he was definitely going to church.
“You did well yesterday. I didn't pass you as someone who could hold attention for that long”
I merely smiled at him and said an inaudible “Thank you” then hurried off to get on the nearest available motorcycle.
I was right, that night had been one of the longest nights of my life.