CAMPUS PAROL »»»Episode 23 They came out of the lecture room, some rushed to their bags, picked up their books and glanced through it while some hanged around chatting, those were the bookworms of the class. All these gave me the confidence that the examination hadn’t commenced. I moved closer to confirm, I was right after all. “Hey! You all should form a straight line here.” Mrs Nwachukwu said. “The exam is about to start.” Some obeyed quickly, while some moved reluctantly, burying their heads in the book they read, they apparently weren’t prepared enough. I joined the queue but was scared with the way some students revised. “He can’t ask that question jor. Haba! Why talk like this, he can o because he did ask this same question last year.” The two folks in front of me argued, bartering past questions for textbook. I stood on my toes to peep at the question they argued about, we never could tell if that very question would surface in the question paper. The question looked familiar but I had no clue what the answer was. “Guys, abeg this question four, wetin be the…” I was asking and immediately got dumb when I heard an heartbreaking order. “Drop our bags outside?” “Now!” Mrs Nwachukwu yelled as students proved adamant to her command. “Drop all you have in it. Your books, your phones and all you know will implicate you. Drop them all outside here.” Outside? I asked myself. I became totally immersed in the river of anxiety, I looked around like a shoplifter as I couldn’t decipher what to do about the treasures in my bag. “Iphone four, Iphone four.” I muttered as I stood at akimbo with my head bowed thinking deeply on what to do. “You wan sell am?” One of the guys intruded. I raised my head, funnily stared at him like a trader whose goods were priced without been bought and returned my head to its position, thinking. “Where I go keep this Iphone o?” I mumbled. That same fellow tapped me. “Guy, is the Iphone white or black?” He asked. He got my thought coagulated, I was thinking of how to keep my stuffs safe and he was busy exposing them. I displayed a pinch of my fury to him. I raised my head and looked at him with a corner of my eye. “You dey mad?” I yelled at him, creating a scene from the act. “Wetin happen na?” Another fellow said from behind, pulling me by the arm. I ignored the fellow like a manual that came with a television, focusing on my subject, the intruder. “Guy, give yourself brain o. I tell you sey I wan sell phone?” I ranted. “I be SLOT or I resemble Jumia or Konga dot com? You better no ask me any yeye question again.” I hissed and left that environment. “Oya go in. Yes, Mr Akinwale let that one enter, I have searched her.” Mrs Nwanchukwu said as she searched the students. I was yet to drop my bag and the spotlight was almost getting to me. Should I return to my hall to drop it? Should I tell Mrs Nwachukwu I have something expensive in my bag? Will she allow me in with it? Jesus, what should I do? Questions flooded my mind like stories on Nairaland, without any answer to them. I decided to run to my hall to drop it, I turned around and was ambling away like a spook. “Hey Mr! Where are you going?” Mrs Nwachukwu called my attention. I twitched and I returned to my position. “Ehm Ehm Ma, I was…” I stuttered as she interjected. “So you are among the stubborn ones that didn’t drop their bags when I asked you all to, huh?” She said with an angry face. “Ma…” I wanted to explain. “Shush.” She sounded and pointed to a heap of bags. “Go drop your bag there.” I contemplated. “Now!” She yelled. I languidly moved to the heap of bags and let down my bag by the side. I was searched, then I bounced into the examination hall. I sat down in the class but my mind was outside, standing beside my bag. “No cheating, no talking, no murmuring because if you’re caught, hian.” Mr Akinola warned as he went around sharing the answer sheets. “You will dance to the music of your action.” “The exam is for two hours and it’s about to start.” Mrs Nwachukwu added as she shared the question paper. “You can start.” I did a short prayer and It seemed the prayer didn’t go beyond the roof when I opened the question paper and saw some intricate questions. “Jesus.” I muttered as I stared at the question paper. I went blank. I turned to the second page of the question paper to scan through other questions. Lo and behold, the question I was about asking those guys winked at me. What will I do now? I asked myself. The ceiling of the classroom had fourty two coffers, three fans and five fluorescent tube, joblessness made me count. “You’ve spent forty five minutes.” Mr Akinola said. Forty five minutes gone and my answer sheet was still a virgin. ‘Only those who knows their way around, truly are the genius.’ I reminded myself. I moved my eyes swiftly, monitoring the invigilators. Go on, tap him, my mind said to me. I obeyed. I stretched my hand, tapped the guy in front of me, he turned around and I became dumb. Why? I tapped the wrong guy, the guy who asked about the details of my phone. WATCHOUT FOR EPISODE 24
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 17:47:51 +0000
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