The Externals - Chapter Seventeen

In my neighborhood, it was customary for schools to start a program an hour past the time stipulated in their invitation letter but that wasn't the case here. Barely ten minutes after we arrived at the stadium, the event kicked off with an opening prayer by the proprietress of the school we were competing against, Kenbol Group Of Schools.

Thereafter, she officially welcomed everyone to the occasion and handed over the microphone to the principal. Every student from my school couldn't stop staring at him because he was so different from ours. His expensive sportswear looked good on him. Even while watching him from afar, I could still see his nice haircut and traces of his white teeth.

My nose could even sniff his strong cologne! Lol...

The head boy took over the stage as the principal left for the VIP table. He had similar features with the principal but was shorter. He also had a pink lip that every female student in my school would die for and hid fair skin was without any form of blemish. Normally, I didn't like joining the girls to admire boys but I couldn't help commenting on how handsome he was. Aside that, he had a cool voice. I wish he could sing the national anthem till the end without being disturbed but the order of service didn't permit me. As soon as he finished reciting the first two lines, others joined him.

After he also left, the MC called Janet's team (the Elites cheer squad) to do their routine. Janet was good with it and her team members supported her as well. At the end of their performance, they received a loud ovation from both sides. Still, it was not as nice as what the other cheerleaders did. Their moves were more professional. In order not to make Janet feel too bad, I kept talking about how "she killed it" on stage and holding her hand as a sign of support.

When it was time for the male team to start their match, every student of GMC joined the cheerleaders in cheering them so they would do well. After the two football teams playing against each other lined up and greeted themselves, they were allowed to sing the anthems of the schools they were playing for. The referee then called on their captains and advised them to make the match free and fair.

During the first half of the match, members of both teams fully harnessed their skills to enable them get possession of the ball within a short intervals and score goals. Close to the end of the game, the handsome head boy who was part of the opposing team scored a goal, but our team didn't score any so the captain of our team(Kenny) became dejected. Since his right leg also got hurt badly, he had to be substituted.

"Master, you can't remove Kenny from the match! He said he can still manage. You know the team cannot function well without him", Khadijat pleaded on his behalf as his number one fan.

"Would you prefer him getting an injury that can ruin his career forever? Johakim is a good striker too", Master Gbenga said to put her mind at ease but she wasn't ready to give up.

"Master, how can you entrust the future of the team to this small rat", Khadijat laughed at the poor boy with an average height.

"If I win, then you have to go on a date with me", He told her angrily.

" Oh my! Who do you think you're talking to? You children of nowadays don't have respect too!"Khadijat was irritated.

"Hmm...age is just a number oo", Master Gbenga joined their conversation.

"Sir!" Khadijat screamed.

"The date might not even last up to four hours so just enjoy yourself, okay?"Master Gbenga winked at her.

"I can't believe you just said that! That rat doesn't even have enough money to feed himself", She laughed.

"I don't think you know him that much", I didn't expect Janet to talk but she did.

"Fine. Whatever!" For the very first time, my darling friend got tired of arguing.

At the stadium, there were various outlets selling snacks that we'd never seen in our lives, like the cotton candy. I was jealous of a certain junior who could afford to buy three when I didn't have the money to buy one but had to pretend not to be interested in it because I hated sugary stuff.

Nevertheless, Khadijat still forced me to take part in the one Kenny got for Halima since she agreed to share it with every girl in our class. I enjoyed it but couldn't ask for more or get any other guy in our class to buy it for me. Everyone knew Bene's mom was in full charge of his spending and the other guys were either broke or stingy.

As soon as the fifteen minutes break ended, everyone returned to their seats to watch the second half of the match. While members of the other team worked together to achieve their goal, our team was divided because each person was trying to gain possession of the ball and score goals themselves but neither of them succeeded.

Khadijat blamed Johakim for the downfall of the team and she had every reason to do that. The young man started working on his own because he wanted to prove his worth but took things way too far.

Anyways, he eventually made his dreams come true. Despite the wolves surrounding him, he was able to get the ball safely to the goalpost and score a goal. Thus, every student of our school stood up to celebrate him like he won a lottery game. Back home, they wouldn't have hesitated to carry him on their shoulders, right in the middle of the field.

"Why are you guys making a fuss over this? It's just a goal", Khadijat tried to calm everyone down but no one had her time. Well, except for me.

"It's not just a goal, Khadi. It's the first goal a student of our school ever scored in a stadium.."I spoke to her this time.

"Isn't Johakim very gifted? Even a whole Senior Kenny couldn't do what he did", A girl who was in the same class with the young striker, and had a crush on him said.

"Don't even go there! Do you know the number of goals Kenny has scored? He's not just in the mood today", Khadijat scared the girl away with her weird facial expression.

After Johakim scored a goal, no other player from both teams scored any, so they were given an extra fifteen minutes to keep playing but it did no good. In the end, both teams had to play penalty kicks to determine the winning team. Unfortunately, a player from our team who was no other than Johakim lost the first penalty kick so the other team won. He felt dejected especially because he lost his only chance to go on a date with Khadijat but there was nothing he could do to change the situation. When no one was watching, he packed his things and left the stadium to avoid being insulted by his mates and Khadijat.

Khadijat never doubted herself as a good athlete but as soon as the MC called her name, she started fidgeting. Bene and I said some encouraging words to make her fears go away but it didn't work as much as we wanted. It was Jess who eventually comforted her by singing her favorite Christian acapella song.

The girl's relay race turned out better than everyone thought it would be. Even though most girls in my school liked pretending to be fragile, they exerted their energy to ensure our school won the race. As the slowest of the fastest runners, Kaira ran the last lap and handed the baton to Blessing Richard who was quite good as well.  She ten handed it over to Halima who she finally gave it to Khadijat who finished the first lap successfully. Kenny was the first person to reach the race track and give her a hug when she finished. He was proud of her for upholding his legacy.

By the time we got back to school, it was almost the closing hour for lesson students. The proprietor was very proud of the athletes' achievements so he got a bottle of Pepsi for each of them, and the supporters club as well.

Our 'sometimes' annoying principal still wanted us to stay behind for our WAEC lesson but we didn't. Before he could lock us in the school compound, we zoomed off and were determined not to cry even if he decided to discipline us with a worse whip the following day.

The whole of Grace Model College wasn't the same because our male team lost a match for the first time, yet students and staff didn't fail to commend the girl athletes who did well. They never believed the girls could come home with medals since they were found running around the school field like chickens.

Meanwhile, Khadijat wouldn't stop harassing Johakim. She would go to his class constantly to make fun of him and assign him tedious tasks like cutting off the school's grass because she had the right to do so as his senior. I felt that might lower his self-esteem and decided to call her to order. The good senior that I was, I looked out for the well-being of my junior even when no one else cared.

"Hey, girl", I tapped Khadijat who was making some noodles with fried eggs for herself in the food shed. The food seller allowed her to do so for several reasons. Aside from the fact that she got tired after selling food to a huge number of students, Khadijat also had a right to kitchen resources as her best customer, and the food perfect.

"What's up, Lily", She dished her food in a plastic plate and sat down to eat it.

"Oga oo. You can't even invite somebody, stingy girl", I told her jokingly.

"Na you sabi oo. Did I disturb you when you were eating your food this morning? You also didn't share yours with anyone so we're the same thing", She fired back.

"Let's put that one aside. That's not the reason I came to see you", I cleared my throat.

"What is it?" She suddenly lost interest in her food.

"You can continue eating your food now", I told her.

"It's okay. I just don't feel like eating again. The thing is irritating me", she complained.

"Oh", I exclaimed.

Khadijat's complaint made me scared. Rather than just take her irritation less seriously, I was tempted to ask her if she was pregnant even though I knew that would be a very stupid thing to do. She wasn't even a wayward person.

God! Why is pregnancy the first thing that comes to our mind when a lady fees irritated or vomits constantly? We really need to change that ideology.

"Lily, are you still here", Khadijat waved her hand over my face.

"Yes", I smiled."I just wanted to talk to you about Johakim. Can you stop bullying him?"I pleaded with her.

"Hmm...why are you concerned about him?" She took a sip of the Seven-up a junior got for her from a provision store near our school.

The owner had a way of smuggling goods in for students because the school management didn't permit us to go out during breaks.

"He's my junior...duh!" I replied confidently.

"I don't believe that. I can take you being friends with him but crushing on him is intolerable", She said with eyes that connoted anger.

I never thought my best friend and I were going to spend the last days of high school arguing over a junior who once told me to get on my knees in my first year. A bigger version of world war II was coming. I could feel it in my bones.

AUTHOR'S NOTE
Thanks so much for reading, guys. I hope you enjoyed it. Do you think  Lily's team deserved to win the match after Johakim's shortcomings? Do you think Lily is right for defending Johakim and could she have another reason for doing so? Don't hesitate to state your opinion in the comment session and vote as well!