WAGES OF SIN 7

EPISODE SEVEN

Hairs erected, eyes widened and reddened, her breathing already on crescendo, and her voice unclear and her words imprecise. The shaking lips of David signified she had already been troubled to the extreme and was ready for a serious payback.

"What is it, Davy?" Debby asked, trying to calm her temper. Debby was David's best friend and the only person who could give her a nickname, Davy, and call her by it. And the two shared the same seat and desk. Debby was so familiar with her best friend and could tell when she was angry. She was also the only person who had the key of David, that had control over the door to the temper of the Martins' daughter; that could open and no man could shut; that could shut and no man could open.

"Is i-it no-not tha-tha-tha- that" she said, stammering, with her breathing unrest as she tried pointing to a group of three students at the other side of the class. "If I-if I ev-ever get hold of them" she continued.

"Just calm down, dear. Please." Debby begged. "Just forgive them on my behalf, assume I did it to you, please." Debby said, patting David on her back. Debby tried to say some things to her as she brought out a small black book and opened it before her. "Here" she said, and continued to explain her words.

 A teacher entered the class to observe the second period of the day. It was time for Mathematics.

The school bell rang rapidly without stopping, gaining the attention of students within the school perimeter. It was just five minutes out of the forty meant for the long break. No one needed to be told that that was an emergency call that demanded an urgent convening of the students at the assembly ground. It was learnt that four students were caught fighting; one against three.

"Who else would it be?" Cynthia teased, nudging Debby, David's neighbour. "That's your seat partner, I strongly believe. That's her style."

Debby sighed deeply in frustration of when David would stop all of her bad behaviours and control her unquenchable temper. She didn't believe David could still engage in a fight that same day anymore. "I still talked to her this morning about her temper. I still opened the scriptures to her today; teaching her she didn't need things of such as a child of God."

Cynthia laughed, mockingly, "I believe you have just wasted your sermon and precious saliva on her, she wouldn't listen; she's that stubborn and hard heartened." she said, "she will never change, trust me. She won't." Debby nodded her head negatively, and patted Cynthia on her back, "No no no no. Don't talk like that, that's not what my pastor taught at the pulpit the other day I was ill and couldn't go to the teenage class but stayed with my parents at the main auditorium. He said people can change for the better. He said if someone like Saul of Tarsus could change and wrote more epistles, then anybody can change for the good of the people. I even taught her this."

"It's like you're not getting it. David is far worst than that Saul of a guy your pastor was talking about. Did the king Saul, son of Kish change? David Jesse took over from him you know? But it's like this David took all the attributes of that Saul. See, we are getting late, the principal is already at the ground. The two made their way to the assembly ground, joining other students among whom were those who passionately hated David, some came so as to protest for her suspension. The students were tired of seeing her being beaten alone but wanted her suspended from the school. They were ready against the norms.

The middle aged principal climbed the stairs to address the students. "It is against the rules of this school for students to fight or engage in one act of immorality or the other. And I believe you all know the consequences, depending on the involvement and gravity of the offence committed." The man said, without wasting time on any formal greetings to the students. "Right now I need four able students who will volunteer to suspend the transgressors in the air for their beatings as they all come out." Eight students quickly rushed to the top. Those were David's haters.

The principal signaled to a teacher to bring out the transgressors from the staff room. The students were less concern about the one but the three. The teacher directed the offenders out of the staff room with two other teachers behind them with a bundle of canes. Head bowed to the earth, ashamed of their misconduct, the four walked with their tails being dragged behind them to the assembly. The principal made them to get on their kneels as they face the crowd. Astonished and disappointed were most of the students, and they all kept staring at the offenders, trying to recognise David among them.

"What?" Cynthia, surprised, shouted silently, "David isn't among. Where on earth is she?"

" I have no idea" Debby replied.

The offenders were beaten and given a week suspension. The principal dismissed them, and the students dispersed; all looking and searching for David. Never for once had David being given suspension after being beaten at the assembly ground for whatever offence committed. The students hated her the more for the favor she often received. They all returned to the break since it was still break time, but they only played with half of their mind, with the other half troubled and seriously thinking where David could be.

The break was over and everyone returned to his class. Everyone in David's class kept looking for the angle through which she would appear. They were eager to see the first person to approach the entrance; either David or Mr. Kingsley, the Agricultural Science teacher. A brief silence dived through the classroom as David walked into the class with little tears on her face. She walked silently to her seat and stood before Debby, her seat partner. Stretching forth Debby's small black book to her, she asked remorsefully with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, "can you please tell me more about the transformation of that Saul of Tarsus?"

to be continued...

Story by: MICHEAL ADENIJI (MICHEALHADEN)