I stormed out of the classroom in the most amicable way I could, increasing my pace with every step I took. Seconds later, the door behind me flung open and my name was yelled out.
“Wongi! Wait.”
The voice was definitely Victoria’s voice and I wasn't ready to have any conversation with her nor with anyone else. How did she even leave the classroom? I pondered. Without paying heed to the call, I kept walking. Victoria bolted towards me and eventually caught up with me.
“For someone your height, you walk really fast when angry.” Victoria said. On a normal day, I would understand the sarcasm coming from the tallest girl in my class and flow with it but nothing about that day was normal. Without uttering a word, I kept walking.
“So you're just going to walk away. Just like that?” She persisted. Victoria was one of the most tenacious and persevering people I knew. She wasn't going to give up unless she got positive feedback.
“What do you want me to do? huh?” I barked, fighting back the tears that wanted to flow freely.
“What do you mean by that? Do you always have to conform to norms?”
“And by conforming to norms , I'm guessing you mean avoiding trouble?” I retorted.
“It's not every trouble or challenge you have to walk away from. Some challenges require you to face them head-on and this is one of them.”
“Victoria, you know how I feel about these things?”
“I know how you feel about disputes but the only difference here is that you are clearly in the right.” She placed a hand on my shoulder before proceeding, “If you walk away this time, you would only be labelled a coward”. Her words struck a nerve but she was absolutely right.
Taking the easy and convenient way out had always been my thing, leaving little to no room for hassle. After all, it was just for a while, and everything would go back to normal eventually, I always thought. However, this time around, I knew I had to act differently.
“You’re going to walk back into that room with me and you are going to give Mrs. Jemima a piece of your mind.” Victoria finally said.
At that moment, my tears dried up and I had a surge of adrenaline. I took a few seconds to think of all the polite ways to tell my classroom teacher that she was wrong and I was right. The thought of that felt like an abomination in itself but I was going to do it anyway.
Hand in hand, I and Victoria walked back into the classroom I had earlier stormed out from and right there at the back was Mrs. Jemima. I briskly walked up to her..
“Mrs. Jemima” I called out. I had evidently captured her attention as she placed down the book she was reading and looked me in the eyes.
“Yes? Have you already returned from the Principal's office?” Her tone was harsh.
“With all due respect ma, I do not like how I was treated a few minutes ago.” I paused to catch my breath before pushing on. “You walked into the room and without even asking what was happening, you concluded that I was the one at fault. I know Stella is one of your favourite students but that doesn't mean she is always right.” I paused once again to read Mrs. Jemima’s countenance and it was still very firm. Her facial muscles were slightly tightened and her face was as serious as ever, still, I pressed on.
“Ma, Stella borrowed a ruler from me. I bought that ruler this morning with some of the money I saved up. Stella returned a few minutes later to tell me that she broke it and there was nothing I could do. I became angry and told her that she was going to buy me a new ruler, else, I would report her to you….”
“Just get straight to the point, Miss Wongi.” Mrs. Jemima ordered, cutting me short.
“Stella said that even if I reported to you, you weren't going to punish her. As I was about to respond to her, you walked in and asked me to leave the classroom and head to the principal's office because I was trying to stir up a fight.”
Mrs. Jemima sighed very lightly but still maintained maximum composure.
“Ma, Stella was at fault for purposely breaking my ruler but you blamed me…” my words slowly turned into sobs and my tears were now flowing freely.
Mrs. Jemima called Stella to narrate her own side of the story and because the whole class bore witness to what happened, she couldn't adulterate her own narration.
Contrary to what I anticipated, Mrs. Jemima didn't show any form of negative emotion towards me. She told Stella to wait for her as she took me to the school’s canteen to get a new ruler. On our way back, she apologised for her rash action and asked that I not report the incident to the Principal. When we returned, she scolded and punished Stella for the very first time in history.
After that day, Stella resented me till the very day I graduated Primary school but as long as her resentment didn't affect me in any way, I was good. My story probably wouldn't have had a happy ending if I decided to leave things the way they were but courtesy of Victoria's timely intervention, I was able to boldly take the road less travelled.
Love🤍