As the audience began to take their seats in preparation for their show, Neo who had left the cla.s.sroom had made his triumphal return to find a mob of students all directing their gaze at Kudzai. He asked his clique about what was going on, but all he got from Randal was, "Kudzai is about to do something mint." Neo took this vague remark as it is and averted his attention towards Kudzai who seemed surprised by the scrutiny he was getting. In this very instance Lisa took this chance to intervene on behalf of Kudzai by saying, "You don"t have to do it you know."
"Eh... well it would just be boring if I didn"t. I guess I will just show them a few things before the lesson starts." replied Kudzai who gave into the demands of his adoring fans.
Jake Cavendish was still obliviously engrossed in his game and didn"t pay attention to what was going on in cla.s.s. His m.u.f.fled grunts as he completed another challenging level on his portable gaming device were all over powered by the chanting that Kudzai was getting from the rest of the cla.s.s. Kudzai began to focus on all the desks and chairs, flickering the fingers on his right hand as everyone watched in antic.i.p.ation. The desks and chairs began to levitate, disrupting Jake who was immersed in his game. Jake made an astonishing scream, which made the whole cla.s.s laugh at him as they marvelled at Kudzai"s gravity taming. Everyone who had been on their seats including Benjamin had shifted positions as they saw this wonderful exposition of power. As this happened, Dionne walked in glaring as her cronies flowed behind her. Her face was fixed in a solid frown that had completely altered her pretty face into something horrendous. Her now squinted eyes were darting at everyone who seemed to be having fun, something that she clearly was not experiencing due to what Neo had said to her. She took a long pause as she surveyed her audience and then put on a smile just before interrupting the fun. She snapped her fingers and used the air around the cla.s.s room to drop the desks. Some landed properly and some didn"t, but Dionne made sure that one of the four legs of Neo"s desk landed on his foot.
Neo was bruised by the desk: felt a tingling sensation of pain when the leg of the chair connected with his right foot. He immediately realised that this was some form of foul play on Dionne"s part, but decided to not berserk on her. Everyone glared at Dionne and at her respective cronies as if they were criminals on death role. Benjamin was the first to speak up, asking why she had done what she just did, followed by Jonathan and the rest of the cla.s.s. Dionne simply replied, "Mrs. Latvia is just right around the corner. Unless you want us to have cla.s.s detention you"d better get yourselves in order." She had aggravated the cla.s.s with her display of contempt, but they all agreed that Mrs. Latvia finding the cla.s.sroom in a mess would award them a dreadful detention with the strict middle aged Latino beauty. Everyone began to sort out their desks and finished just in time to greet Mrs. Latvia who was decorated in an Animorphia woman Tigress chinchilla. Kudzai was surprised to see one like that on her, but decided to focus on the cla.s.s formalities of greeting teachers. Melissa Keaton who had disappeared earlier on had made her return, but her face was back to normal or at least it looked as lifeless as before. She still looked apathetic which really disturbed Kudzai who thought that he had really driven her to the edge of tears. Melissa sat where her desk was and took out her mathematics text books and tablet. The fact that no one in the cla.s.s had taken time to scope her as she walked in, made him say to himself, "2B1 is one h.e.l.l of a cla.s.s." Regardless of Melissa being ignored by her cla.s.smates as if her squabble with Kudzai was last century"s news, what was at least commonly shared by everyone during their first period of school was their animosity towards Dionne who was technically the queen b.i.t.c.h in the cla.s.s. Quadratic equations were the topic this morning and as Mrs. Latvia dictated notes meticulously and had digital simulations of worked out questions simulated on the LCD board. Kudzai soon enough glanced at Tessa who he had discovered as the prettiest girl in the cla.s.s and winced at her. Tessa also noticed this flirtatious act and gleamed at Kudzai. This all happened during the lesson, right under the nose of Mrs. Latvia. Lisa noticed this and felt a tad bit jealous. She had a crush on Kudzai and instantly grimaced upon seeing him look at Tessa. Jonathan"s intuition quickly noticed this peculiar activity, something he had gotten accustomed to as the young pioneering gossip column junior of the school. After the notes were done being dictated, Mrs. Latvia, a flamboyant Latino with varnished skin, a product of her expensive foundation powder which imbued her with glossy radiance, began to talk about something totally unrelated to the lesson.
"Did any of you watch the 06:00am news?" she asked the whole cla.s.s. Everyone was quiet and had nothing to contribute to the question. Mrs. Latvia darted her eyes on everyone and then ended up looking disappointed. She recoiled her strength and asked again, but was rewarded with uneventful silence from her students. Dionne in the silence of the cla.s.s felt ashamed for not having been up that very morning to have seen the news. It was always her habit to show compliance towards authority when it was asked for. Mrs. Latvia who expected her to have answered was disappointed by Dionne"s rather nonchalant silence, a contrary characteristic of her habitual school prep demeanour. The mathematics and accounts teacher began to twirl her eyes, looking for someone to probe. She noticed Kudzai who was staring at her, clueless of what was about to transpire. She then uttered, "What about you our new transfer student?" Everyone in cla.s.s averted their gaze at Mrs. Latvia towards Kudzai who was in the lime light once again. Kudzai looked startled and answered, "Yes mam."
"Did you watch the news this morning Mr. Mhike?"
"Unfortunately mam, the time the 06:00am news starts is about the same time I take my morning bath. I usually get to watch the 20:00 news on weekdays with my parents."
"Hmm... Most unfortunate indeed that the son of one of the military pillars of Tameria would have missed this morning"s news."
"I apologise..."
"No need Mr. Mhike you haven"t done anything wrong at all. Well I guess I will be the bearer of the unpleasant news." said Mrs. Latvia who seemed like a prophetess of doom, about to cast her depressing premonition to scare the ma.s.ses. All the children paused and had their eyes drawn at the teacher as she began to divulge the news.
"This morning on the 06:00am news, the eastern seash.o.r.e of the Sky Colossus peninsula experienced severe tidal waves and a sea port attack by the wanted terrorist Night Owl." she said with a modulated tone, the kind that emulated a news anchor"s approach perfectly. The cla.s.s of 2B1 was immersed in their deep concentration as they listened to what this old instructor had to say.
"Lieutenant Major Hondo was hospitalised with a broken arm and concussion. He was on duty when the terrorist attacked the port. Fortunately, for the state, none of the cargo at port unit Z7 was destroyed. The flood water waves that were directed to the eastern sh.o.r.e were a result of the Night Owl"s water taming. The great wall of Tameria was released just in time to counter the waves, saving the lives of the nearby civilians. State bulwark specialist Dane Trent has been awarded for his effort in stopping a possible early morning crisis in the sovereign state of Tameria."
Kudzai was surprised by the news, but what was more of a spectacle for him was the way Mrs. Latvia had managed to reiterate everything that had been announced on the 06:00am news. The cla.s.s immediately broke into a murmur as soon as she was done, about the Night Owl, delving into many of his farfetched tales and conspiracies. Mrs. Latvia broke off the discussion by stating shockingly patriotic words.
"Well as Tameria is the sovereign state on Reverie, all that will try to disrupt the progress of the father land will die. Death to all enemies, loyal allegiance towards the Tamerian federation!"
The cla.s.s broke into an enthusiastic clapping session, applauding the teacher for her display of nationalism and at the same time wondering why the embodiment of stricture had given some time for small talk. The teacher, after the praise, quickly resumed into teaching mode, giving her students exercises to work on. It was a very nationalistic start for the 2nd day and Kudzai was beginning to appreciate the atmosphere of St. Calteco high, one that had made him forget his internal conflict that morning.
The first four periods were a breeze for Kudzai who had easily decimated the Quadratic equations during the mathematics lesson. The tutoring he had gotten during the holidays from Mr. Elton Hobson, the family tutor as he was called, had given him the upper hand over his cla.s.smates, except for Cosmos Madziva, who was the undisputed cla.s.s genius. Geography, which came after mathematics was as usual for Kudzai, a manifestation from h.e.l.l. The migraines he got from geography were similar to that of gruelling pangs that came with a brain tumour. By the time the geography lesson was over, Kudzai and Lisa were overcome with mental exhaustion. Jonathan was managing well, spitefully taking his sweet revenge at Kudzai who had shown over confidence earlier on during the maths lesson.
The signal for break soon rang, saving the molested mind of Kudzai from further more cranial degradation. Everyone descended from cla.s.s and went their separate ways. Tessa made an effort to tell Kudzai that she was going for house a.s.sembly soon after the brief break and was more than happy to see him again once she returned. This had churned his brain into cascading volumes of euphoria. Jonathan couldn"t help, but notice his friend"s wide smile and commented, "I thought you liked Meiko."
"Gosh Jonathan don"t be silly, um just tasting the waters." he replied with a c.o.c.ky gaze, shrugging Jonathan as he pondered over his new fortune.
"Well sorry to burst your bubble, but she has a boyfriend. A form 4 by the name Kenny Lapel. He does athletics so you are probably going to clash soon if your carry on chasing Tessa"s skirt."
"Really, she has a boyfriend! Why do girls like to cause such drama?" he asked out of pure astonishment.
"Because boys love it when it"s torture."
"Come on don"t quote such a horrible song in this moment." said Kudzai who was a bit annoyed by Jonathan"s remark.
"It"s not horrible it"s just appropriate." replied Jonathan, with a modulated voice to accentuate his wit.
"Whatever man," said Kudzai who had just gotten out of cla.s.s, now stretching as if awakening from a deep sleep, "why did Lisa leave so quickly?"
"She is handling form 2 chess for her house so she had to rush and get the names handed quickly to her house prefect." he explained.
"Wow, it must be really urgent, which reminds me. Where does Zambezi house usually meet during house a.s.sembly, as in where is its base?" asked Kudzai who was curious at the same time oblivious about where to go.
"You mean the evil elitist Zambezi house which is usually a contender for the overall house cup at the end of the year?" asked Jonathan who gave Kudzai a grave look as they walked out the school corridor.
"Wow I didn"t know it had such infamy. Yes that one." he said laughing at the manner Jonathan had ridiculed the house.
"Well it"s a highly compet.i.tive house full of jerks and b.i.t.c.hes like Dionne. They have been coming second from what I have heard ever since your older brother started school here at St. Calteco high. Your brother was in Limpopo house, the awesome house I am in which has been coming first. Excuse my redundancy."
"Darn it um in the same house as Dionne?"
"For Sentient One"s sake, how did you end up in Zambezi?" Jonathan shouted, vexed by the sudden turn of events.
"I don"t know man. I just filled in this form which they used to process my information and I got a message on my phone that um in the house." said Kudzai who looked riled up more than usual.
"It must be a mistake, how is a nice guy like you considered for such a c.r.a.ppy house!" said Jonathan who seemed extremely energetic as he showed strong disagreement towards Kudzai"s determined fate. As the two discussed, a female prefect who was a form 6 student was patrolling the area and noticed Jonathan who was shouting. She immediately called for him and asked, "Why are you blowing your horn like that can"t you see that there is a teacher"s meeting at cla.s.s room C?" Jonathan who did not expect such a turn of events quickly modelled a contrite disposition to avoid any trouble. However, this particular prefect didn"t harbour any form of mercy and Jonathan was in for some trouble.
"I am sorry mam for causing any trouble. I didn"t realise that there were any gathered teachers at cla.s.sroom C. Please forgive my negligence." implored Jonathan. Kudzai was ignored by the prefect as if he was just a pa.s.sive bystander whose only responsibility was to watch his friend get into trouble.
"Jonathan you have always been a clever and disgusting queer. Your quick words won"t save you today. I hereby place you on break time manual labour." said the prefect who seemed to be enjoying her abuse of power. Kudzai seeing this tried to intervene for his friend"s sake.
"Mam, he made a mistake and apologised. There is no need for him to go for manual labour." he appealed, hoping that she would back off.
"Mr. Mhike you seem to share the same tenacity as your brother, but unfortunately your appeal won"t work. Your friend here broke a school rule which he must atone for with his blood, sweat, and tears."
"That"s preposterous!" argued Kudzai.
"It would be wise if you remembered that I am your senior and a prefect. I will punish you too if you interfere." she said as if daring the boy into making a reckless decision. Jonathan who could clearly see Kudzai"s unwavering loyalty decided to sacrifice himself instead of having to experience manual labour with his friend.
"Kudzai it"s okay. Don"t worry about me, you better go for house a.s.sembly. Missing your first a.s.sembly would get you into loads of trouble. So don"t worry about me."
"But you didn"t really cause trouble." he said, trying to defend his friend.
"Listen to your friend Mhike. You wouldn"t want to p.i.s.s of your sirs by missing your first house a.s.sembly." she said in a sarcastic tone.
"My sirs?" he asked in bewilderment.
"Sir Tinashe and sir Edmund are your house prefects. They aren"t as kind as me." she said, smiling s.a.d.i.s.tically as if she had just released her ultimate trump card.
"Don"t worry about me Kudzai just go. It"s really okay." said Jonathan who really didn"t want the situation to escalate into something ugly.
"You sure?" asked Kudzai, not willing to give up the fight.
"Yes, it"s cool. Go for your house a.s.sembly." said Jonathan who begged for Kudzai"s willingness to just let this issue go. Kudzai thought about what he was about to do and finally accepted defeat. He watched his friend being dragged by the girl as they headed off to the infamous prefect study. Before the girl left, she gave him some important information.
"By the way Mhike, you"re in my house. If you want to find our a.s.sembly point, it"s at the first team"s rugby field. Make your way there now!"
Kudzai was now alone dealing with the fact that he had left his friend behind and that he was supposedly in the house of Satan. He quickly trotted away, looking for the designated location of his house, burdened with ominous imagery as he headed there. Kudzai arrived at the ma.s.sive rugby field to find a red and orange banner, which was hung on the enormous grand stands. The plush greens of the field were well seasoned, something to be expected from this well renowned private school. From what Kudzai could see, the grand stands of the field most probably had a capacity of 40000 plus people. As he came across members of his house, he was greeted with so much respect. Kudzai could even hear whispers from those who were about to settle on the grandstand seats, all talking about him as if he was a guest of honour. One of the boys from the fourth form even commented, "We now have Tendai"s brother, this is really gonna boost the house"s moral."
Kudzai had a very negative mental image of a dark coven when he was coming to the rugby field; however, what he saw was totally different. The house seemed jovial and had an air of pride, his kind of vibe. They had organised themselves with the seniors sitting on the very top of the grandstands. The forms ones were at the very base of the steps, looking very much confused as was expected since it was their first house a.s.sembly. Kudzai who had paused to look at the gradation of high school students was suddenly yanked from nowhere by Dionne. She entangled her right arm with his left and dragged him upwards. Kudzai soon noticed and asked, "What are you doing?"
"You were looking confused and since um the captain of the Zambezi form 2s, I can"t have my cla.s.smate looking confused. Especially one of your calibre Kudzai." she said with an air of unbelievable confidence. Kudzai began to wonder whether the girl was just full of herself or was deprived of social etiquette earlier in her life. Dionne took Kudzai to the form 2 section and sat next to him. Kudzai was more than annoyed by this girl"s incredulous impudence and wanted to sit elsewhere. Dionne noticing Kudzai"s aggravated state, quickly spoke in a kind and pleasant manner and said, "Sorry for the tug, but I really had to get you seated. Sir Tinashe shouted at the last boy who looked dazed, starring at the grandstands as if he had nowhere to sit."
"You do realise that I was eventually going to sit there right?" he asked Dionne, revolted by her pathetic excuse.
"My my, forgive me for being too energetic at times. Okay I over did it, but anyways a.s.sembly is about to start. I can see sir Tinashe and house captain sir Logan."
"Huh?" he said, just before everyone rose from their seats to greet the coming house prefects. Sir Tinashe from what Kudzai could see was brawny. His uniform seemed like a restraint that was caging a savage brute. He wore gla.s.ses, was ebony skinned and had an oval frame. His military haircut gave away his background. However, as the house formalities began, Kudzai noticed something peculiar. The supposed house captain who was wielding a hockey stick as he trotted towards the grandstands was Matthew Logan. Kudzai looked emaciated by his very existence. From that very moment, he surely believed that he had been put in the house of Satan.