Stronger Than Pain

Chapter Forty Three

Just like mum promised, she made inquiries at our new school and we were enrolled. Thankfully it didn't cost her much except for a registration token of three hundred naira, and two thousand six hundred Naira for our uniforms.

Textbooks weren't mandatory though it wouldn't have mattered since mum had brought my old ones from dad's house which were even more superior than the ones I saw at the principal's shelve.

Our principal was a dark robust woman whose face was adorned with a tribal mark on her left cheek. Her round face was devoid of smiles, and the manner she stared from Zara to me had me wondering if she was happy we were there at all.

The school compound was pretty large, maybe even larger than my old school but the huge difference is the absence of good buildings and other academic units. While my old school compound may have been a bit smaller than this, it was however filled with many beautiful buildings with the compound decorated with flowers and little sculptures. There was also a dwarf fence separating my old school from the prying eyes of passersby unlike this one whose compound lay bare. Grasses in both schools were greener, but those in my old school were well taken care of and trimmed low unlike this one where they were over grown, with sands clustering in some areas where the grass refused to grow.

The buildings in this school were dilapidated, the best among them still looked as though it would fall during a torrential rain. The aluminium zinc were all rusted with the wooden doors and windows screaming out for help. Some of their hinges are loose, with some of the woods eaten off, thanks to the ants. Some of the wooden windows  have decayed and peeled off which was apparently caused by the rain hitting regularly on it. No shield or any form of protection was put in place for them and this increased the rate of decay.

Their uniform was just simple. The nursery and primary section wore a checkered white and blue shirt on a dark blue shorts or pinafore depending on the sex; while the secondary section wore a white shirt on a blue skirt or trouser. The recommended school sandals was brown though I noticed many students walking about with either black, green and even red sandals, slippers or shoes. This realization prompted me to shake my head.

In my former school, once the short or long break is over, no student leaves the class except with your permit card which must be given and signed by the teacher present. And most importantly, it's always one student at a time, but here I've seen many students running out and about the entire school while the teachers were busy teaching in class. Funny enough, the robust woman made a weak effort to order them in, but when they laughed away, she turned to us and continued with her conversation with mum.

"How do you like your school?" Mum asked as we stepped into our room. Zara flipped her slippers at me and with laughter, ran to the foam.

"It's good mum.... "

"I know it isn't what you're used to but it'll serve Ada" She said and I nodded. "I went to public school too, though I'd still say the standards then we're better than what's obtainable now, but you can do this. You can still be great" She continued rubbing my back.

"I know mum. Many still become great people even without getting an education, so don't worry. I'll make do with it." I replied honestly walking over to Zara who had started jumping on the foam. I pulled her towards me as she screeched in laughter, struggling to run away from me. "Zara and I will do great there mum, at least the good side is I'll definitely take the first position since I'm certain none there can compete with me".

Mum laughed really hard. "It's good you're making a joke out of this but don't be too certain. The school might look poor academically but you might find great minds within. I'm sure someone there will give you a run for your money!"