The Student He Loathed and Liked at the Same Time

'Uncle Vinnie, am going to school tomorrow,' Khalayi quipped at the breakfast table. Uncle Vinnie looked at her with a face that seemed to read 'it was about time young lady'. Relieved by her decision, Uncle Vinnie left the breakfast table abruptly to inform the school about the status of her education. Khalayi had attempted to stop him from fussing but he declined by stating that he might as well be done with the preparation before she could change her mind. The week had been one of tug as Uncle Vinnie tried to convince the stubborn 17-year-old to get back to high school and get done with her final year. The 1st term of her final high school year had just begun. Even though she could be considered smart, her school attendance could not be ignored.

His greatest fear was that her wealth would get into her head at one time and she would decline her school work. Her self-drive impressed him and even though her company wasn't the best, he never had to worry about her grades and school activities. She was among the top 3 students in her school, captain of the football team, and secretary of the Art club. She had won several awards in creative writing. Her only flaw was her assertiveness that reared its head once a while. This had led the school to consider entrusting her with a position as a student leader, to tone down her assertiveness which was applied mainly against the school administration. It was a school custom that tried to curb down trouble-makers by absorbing them as student leaders. Generally, student leaders were never liked due to the fact that they had to side more with the teachers and less with the students. A sort of 'divide and rule' tactic replicated in a tiny system that shapes the workforce.

At one time she had questioned her history teacher about the foundation of the education system which seemed to replicate the colonial master's system. She brought up things like slavery and a colonized mind to question the school leadership system. According to her, absorbing trouble-makers as a student leader was similar to how the colonial masters absorbed some natives as superintendents or chief that reported to them about fellow natives. The teacher was incensed by her inquiry and description. Her opinion was cruelly shut down and branded as a form of rebellion. Another time she argued about the chronological facts of a bible story that her teacher presented, stating that the teacher's fact did not coincide with those in the bible- leaving the teacher livid. All these argumentative episodes were silently suppressed because she was quick to point out that it was an educational discussion and could not be termed as a case of indiscipline. As a result, this and other discussions never made it to Uncle Vinnie's and her grandmother's ears.

To Uncle Vinnie and her grandmother, she was a bubbly and kind girl. However, to the teachers and students, she was a tiny terror sent to torment them. Her innocent looks did not coincide with her energy and sharp tongue. Her two weeks of absence from school had relieved them and they even hoped she would not show up that year. The headmistress felt a headache coming up once she received Uncle Vinnie's call. Her hopes of a peaceful year were dashed. It is just one year, one year of facing off with the little trouble maker. The little episodes of arguments with the teachers, bullying, and incitement of students had not passed her unnoticed. She had had to change the school menu, renovate hostels for students considered of a lower cadre and change the grading system for reasons such as classism as a result of her incitement. The arguments were packaged in a manner that sounded convincing to parents and philanthropic to Uncle Vinnie. Who could believe her if she stated that Khalayi had done it out of boredom and a desire to rile the administration?

To the students, she was an unpredictable tyrant. At one time she was sweet and friendly; other times she was a bully. For her, as long as it suited her situation, you could be a friend or foe, even if the situation was something as shallow as getting a tick out of bullying someone. Her current target was Nasike, a quiet girl who got out of everyone's way and just wanted to live peacefully. That was the order of the day, before the accident and before Nastanje happened. Nastanje relegated this priority to the back of her mind in the 2 weeks that she had been trying to figure her way around all this mystery. She actually liked Khalayi, it was like reincarnated into a character she had never unleashed because her world could never accommodate it. Without the power and money to back her up, she always had to tow the line. Having parents and 5 siblings, she could not afford to add to her parents' trouble. Any form of argument no matter how logical would have been packaged as a rebellion that deserved punishment where the minimal would have been a suspension and the maximum an expulsion. But now, now she had the environment and the opportunity to unleash the wildcat within.

Khalayi's wish wasn't spectacular, just for her to live to the fullest. To live as the person, she always wanted to be, without regret. Nastanje thought it was the easiest wish someone could ever ask her to fulfill.

'Ah, youth, youth, youth, youth, youth….' Khalayi kept murmuring, exhilarated. A backpack was strung on her back and a suitcase dragged through the school gate, glasses covering the naughty glint at the corner of her eyes. She smiled innocently and coolly, disarming the teacher on duty and her class teacher who had been standing by the gate watching the students pour in. The relaxed teacher abruptly jumped into an alert mode seconds later after seeing the smile. That smile was never a good sign, not a good sign at all. The teacher exclaimed in his mind.

'Let's work hard together during this final year, Sir', Khalayi quipped after greeting the class teacher. The teacher hoped it was school-work work hard and not activism-work work hard. The previous three years had not been enough to steel him through the kind of antics the student he loathed and liked at the same time pulled.