'A day' — the series

1: ‘A day in school'

Honk! Honk!
It was the Dean’s car obviously motioning to someone behind me to come over. He must have observed his non-pharmaceutical dressing I thought to myself so I quickly tucked my shirt properly and adjusted my tie to avoid having to face the punishment reserved for defaulters of the dress-code. Tag? check; socks? check; I quickly wiped my hand over my hair to ensure it hadn’t been doped with one of those "not too beautiful" flowers that fall from the trees surrounding the faculty. That wasn’t for "dress-code" sake. The reason is another story on it’s own. So with the Majesty of a would-be Pharmacist, I marched towards my lecture room running my mind through my aspirations in the near future as my shiny shoes made those unique sounds that announce my presence against the shiny tiles in the complex. I greeted my classmates soon as I entered louder than I ever have. I was desperate to make them notice my new shirt. It deserved some attention in my opinion. I soon heard discussions about some tests we are to write the following week and I joined in after saying hi to my bespectacled best-friend. I wouldn’t want to bore you with our own love story. It didn’t take long before the loudest clique in the class arrived. Three guys with different characters. The first entered with that "serious face" he has always been known for saying nothing but "guy how far?" as he got to my side. The second shouted on entry with his trademark greeting "morin ooo" and the third, the tallest greeted everyone after acknowledging the girl he seemed to have been eyeing since the beginning of the semester "axeemoh good morning ooo" which raised some eyebrows among axeemoh’s friends as she didn’t hesitate to shout"that is not my name!" as usual. The three-membered "all-girls" classy clique came in with one hitting the door against the wall something she is known for that also draws contempt from the serious and "serenity-loving" members of the class. My oldest classmate popularly known as Mumsy arrived and greetings were heard here and there as my friend known to be a womanizer chanted love songs which almost made me puke. The popular gang of "pg girls" came in and the only person I noticed was my osam ("wife" in ebira). I flashed a smile expecting that return smile that had always been my "early morning coffee" I got nothing and the feeling wasn’t too good. The class soon filled up and the early morning class kicked off with an initial energy which quickly faded and the almost lifeless feeling in the class soon reappeared. The two morning classes were soon over and it was time for lunch break. The rowdiness of my class knew no bounds. As the religious Muslims went to the faculty mosque to observe their afternoon devotions, the back-seat crew cracked jokes, people gathered in small groups for the sake of gossiping, a particular clique known for their penchant for gospel music were engaged in producing music with the class benches been used as musical instruments, I could see the "class-couple" engrossed in their own incomprehensible ways of communication from my corner of the class as I been the class sketcher, wasn’t particularly interested in doing my job so the white-board remained wiped. The afternoon class commenced and my class went back to it’s lifeless state. At the end of the class, there was a deliberation as to when the test should take place. Remember that guy that greets "morin ooo" among the loudest clique? Well let’s call him Olufemi. He voiced his concern over the following week getting choked up with tests after the second tallest guy in the class suggested we write it in that week. He then proceeded to tell Olufemi to start listing the tests scheduled for the week. He didn’t get the best of replies as femi replied in one of his trademark ways by shouting "starter-pack ni".
The usual cries of approval and grumbles of disgust followed and the deliberation continued. The lectures' period was soon over and it was announced that practicals won’t hold. Everyone went home happy to have escaped the stress that accompanies practicals (at least for today) but I had to stay back to take care of something I had planted in the class behind mine. That too, is another story entirely. I was done by night and I made my way accompanied by that "thing" I had to take care of to my hostel with various thoughts running through my always busy mind. I soon drifted to thoughts of my aspirations in the near future again and I smiled as I said to myself; "That future is one day closer to actuation".