The Teacher's Exit

Chapter 6

Binta, Maths teacher in Laraba, returned home with a throbbing head after dropping Emeka off at the bus station. She slammed her car keys on the dressing table, pulled off her blouse and tossed it on the floor. "Why must I always be the side-chick?" She slumped into the bed, clutching to her head with both hands.

Her early morning joy took a flight as she struggled to swallow the pain of not winning over Emeka – the man of her dreams. Everywhere she turned, there was a shortage of eligible men. She had better chances while teaching in a Kaduna school located in the city, but that was over three years ago.

Gwarzo village wasn't the best place to meet suitable bachelors. Her repeated trips around town, especially to public places in Kano CBD had yielded nothing.

The few men that came her way in the village carried personal baggage about them. The ones that escaped being abusers came with the philandering flaw. The few good ones had two wives hidden in harems, offering to make her the third. An educated and brainy lady like her wouldn't slug it in the mud with career housewives.

To make matters worse, her Laraba male colleagues who ought to know better had no sense of commitment. They all dated schoolgirls who had no qualms frolicking with their teachers.

And then Emeka appeared – a divine intervention. The months he spent in Laraba were the best Binta had in years. The hunk came into her life when she least expected, raising her hopes of dating a man she truly loved.

But the flame of hope had quenched so soon. She was back to her lonely space now that he had left. Back to her isolated world of waking up alone, going to work alone and living a lonely life. No interesting guy to meet at school and none to return to. Tears flowed down Binta's pretty cheeks as she pored over Emeka's short stay.

The lad had showed up from nowhere with so much promise. It was her time to hang onto one of the corpers often sent to Laraba. Smart and handsome, mountain-high tall and broad-chested, his chocolaty skin glittered just the way she liked her man. His reserved manners tickled to bits, and his calming words twitched her ears whenever he opened his mouth. What else could a lady wish for?

She took to him immediately, overlooking the little age difference between them, hoping the guy would quell her relationship misery. A year was long enough to showcase her skills to the youthful Abuja-bred. That he also taught Maths made it a match made in heaven. Binta went all out for the newcomer.

"A twenty-seven-year-old hunk from Abuja has arrived as a corper," she announced to her friend Sureya over the phone, the first day the principal introduced Emeka in school. "God brought him to our school because of me."

"Really?" Sureya laughed at her friend's optimism. "Didn't you say you prefer older men?"

"Oooh! This one is an exception. Age is just arithmetic."

"How long will he be there?"

"Ten months or so. He'll be mine before the service year wraps up."

"What does he look like?" Sureya asked, eager to visualise the guy making 32-year-old Binta sound like a high school girl.

"The perfect looks. Two metres tall and a wonderful personality," she said in a whisper, her heart picking up pace.

"Two metres tall! How will you manage with your small stature?"

"You know tall guys like portable babes they can carry around. The way he looked at me yesterday says it all."

"Go for it, girl."

Having been through all brands of abusive relationships, Binta once gave up on finding true love. Emeka's arrival altered that decision. True to her assumptions, the guy proved to be a gentleman in the first week. He worked hard with students in class and never frowned at a jibe from his colleagues. His teaching skills were peerless.