The First Step

"Hey Madah!" a familiar voice called from behind him. Madaraka turned to see his best friend, Sulu, running towards him. He stopped, the younger brothers, Micah and Zed, also stopped.

"You run ahead! Don't stop anywhere else you will get late!" Madaraka told them. The two boys ran as Sulu reached Madaraka.

"Hey Man! Slow down! You are panting like an overburdened donkey on a hill!" he joked.

"Come on Madah! You now lok down upon me because you won the interclasses race!" Sulu said in a friendly tone. "You know what! You didn't beat me, I only let you win!" he said as they started walking towards the school. They were just some 300 meters away.

"Oh really! Should we go for a re-run?" Madaraka joined in his jokes.

"Oh this time I will beat you flatly!" Sulu said happily. "Anyway! How are you doing?" he asked.

Madaraka took some seconds before replying that he was fine. Sulu looked at him knowing that he had more that he wanted to add. He gave him time. Knowing his friend so well, he understood that he would speak up when he so chooses.

"Well, guess what!" Madaraka began. Sulu's face lit up! He was always delighted with 'breaking news' as he called them.

"Breaking News!" he shouted! "Let it come!" Sulu added.

"I told them!" Madaraka said, simply. It took some seconds before Sulu came round to understand what his friend was talking about.

"What! No! Wait!" Sulu said. "You don't mean it?" he enquired in his usual curious voice.

"Yes I did! I said I want to be the Chief!" Madaraka clarified.

"Come on! Finally! Finally!" Sulu jumped around in joy, his face beaming. He patted his friend, congratulating him severally. Then slowly, a serious look crossed his face and he stopped smiling.

"Tell me! How did they take it?" he asked.

Madaraka looked ahead and continued walking in silence. Sulu followed him running. He was a foot shorter than Madaraka. His walking strides were equally shorter and he had to run to catch up with him.

"Well, I think they were just surprised! But let's give them time!" he responded. The friend also agreed with him.

"Yes! Such news would be surprising to anyone! Especially at our age, but I tell you! Just wait till the next year is over! Hey! I tell you, more surprises will follow!" Sulu said.

Sulu and Madaraka have been friends since childhood. They attended the same school although Sulu was a class ahead. He was doing his final year in primary school. But being a class ahead didn't matter to him. He always looked up at Madaraka reverently. More than once in a day, any particular day, he would tell Madaraka that he was destined to be a leader. He always encouraged him and prodded him to come out soon enough so that he could get the support he needed.

"The first place to begin is with your family. Once they agree they would support you and that would be a great boost to your morale and an approval of your abilities," Sulu had challenged him. Every time he pushed Madaraka to make a bold step concerning his ambitions.

"I know, Sulu! I know that I would be a leader someday," Madaraka said, "But it is just not the right time!" he had defended himself for holding back. But Sulu never bought that.

"Listen my friend, I have read history and I can tell you for a fact, all these great leaders we have in our country started somewhere, and most of them started out early in life! You got to start making your mark right now!" he had said.

"I haven't had the opportunity!" Madaraka said.

"Then make one my brother! Sometimes you create the opportunity and you grab it, maximizing on it! Don't you believe in yourself?" Sulu had pushed.

It was this constant assurances from Sulu are the ones that made Madaraka more certain of his passion for leadership. He had wondered when he would be able to bring it out of his mouth to his family first. He saw the point which his friend held. Yes! He believed in himself, but did the others believe in him too? Especially his family, maybe he did not need other people's opinion but his family's surely mattered!

So this morning when he told Sulu that he had finally told his family about his ambitions, he felt in himself that indeed he had achieved a milestone. Sulu was obviously happy for his friend.

"I tell you now, the doors will open up Madah! You just don't lose focus!" he encouraged him once more, "You are a born leader! You are a great leader!" he added. Madaraka smiled again. The words reminded him of what his mother had said last night!

They were coming closer to the school gate. They saw a huge crowd gathered. Many students were locked out!

"Sulu, what is the time on your wristwatch?" Madaraka asked. He did not have a watch but he was certain that they were not late. He had never come to school late. He was always punctual.

Sulu looked at his watch, also alarmed that they might have missed by a few minutes. But no! It was a quarter past seven! They still had 15 minutes! Why then would the gate be locked? They wondered. They ran the rest of the way to the gate. Madaraka was surprised that even Micah and Zed were locked out!

"What is happening?" a voice asked. It was another sturdy-looking learner of the eight class. "We are not late!" he shouted. All the other students were also complaining and soon the heckling was too rowdy to make out what they were saying. When the noise persisted, a male adult, smartly dressed like a teacher appeared from behind the classroom block that was nearest to the gate. He was a total stranger to all the learners there. As he came nearer, everyone stared at him.

Just then, Madam Rena, who was the teacher on duty arrived. She was also 'late' as she was not in school and the gate had been locked. She was making her way in the midst of the learners when her eyes landed on the male person approaching the gate from within the school. Fear suddenly flooded her face. She stopped. All the pupils stared at her then to the stranger. On the inside part of the gate stood the head-prefect. The male person reached the gate and asked through the bars.

"Are you one of the staffs here?" he asked Madam Rena. She nodded, shame flowing all across her. The man looked at her for some few seconds but to her it looked like eternity. She wished the ground would open up and swallow her. Then addressing the head prefect, who stood there like a flag post on assembly grounds, the male person said.

"Open the gate for your teacher!" and the prefect swung into action. He let the teacher in and closed the gate again. Madam Rena walked into the school and greeted the man very respectfully. All the learners stared! Who was this man?

"Welcome Madam!" the man said, "Please head to the staff room," he instructed her. Madam Rena had wanted to say that she was on duty and wanted to handle the learners but the man had already cut her short. She timidly obeyed and walked away. The students watched all this in silence.

The man looked at all the learners locked out then instructed.

"I want you all to come in here in order of your classes. Let us begin with all eighth class learners. Can you march in!" his voice was calm but authoritative especially in the silence that had descended. The few learners of the eighth class timidly walked into the school and filed along the flower garden, near the gate. The man looked at them and his gazing was piercing.

"Is there anyone who would tell me why you are late? Step forward!" he asked. The learners looked at one another but nobody spoke up.

He continued asking but nobody stepped forward or raised the hand to answer him. It seemed that all the learners were totally terrified of this new teacher, as they had already guessed. His demeanor in itself taunted them. The way he handled them was threatening to their young souls and minds.

After seeing that he was not going to get an answer from them he asked; "Is there any prefect among you? Step forward!" This saw like six students stepping forward. He looked at them distasteful then instructed one of them to write all their names, beginning with the six prefects, then the rest of the class.

He asked for the seventh class to come in and stand opposite of the eighth class learners. They too walked in and stood lining up.

"Is there anyone who would tell me why you are late? Step forward!" he asked them too.