STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT...kinda

THE KISWAHILI SUBJECT MADEMOISELLE

Her leaving Bishop was the worst feeling ever. She had been recruited by the T.S.C to a school at the coast. Yet again, the damn TSC is making my life a living hell again. First it was my mother’s transfer now they transfer my favorite teacher again. I had already grown fond of her. For me, I believed that there was more to her leaving than what they made us believe. TCS recruitment was just a perfect cover-up. Her fellow teachers were against her so much that they talked badly about her. There were also rumors that she was dating Mikey of which I can testify and say that it was a lie.

Madam was one of the most down to earth teachers in Bishop. She was loved by every student here. She talked to everyone and mostly close to the students being that she was the youngest teacher in the staffroom, the only teacher that spoke Swahili. She was also in charge of languages.

She was the first teacher to take us for an outing and a Kenyan high schooler would tell you that the best days in high school is during functions out if schools that we call FUNKIES.. Students tend to go out of their way to look perfect and it was what our usual rough looking male classmates did. Even those that rarely wear school socks and school shoes were very smart especially because the outing was at our neighboring girl school Kenyatta Girls’ High School. It was the staging of the literature and Fasihi books. I remember that was the day she stopped being too free with Mikey. The day started well with the boys too presentable it looked fake.

I was told that bishop used to be an all boy school thus the closeness with the neighboring girls school. They took each other as brother-sister schools. The boys were fond of the girls there. As for my deskie, he did not do much being that he is always perfect. He also claimed that the Kenyatta Girls’ are too childish for his liking and taste...

This did not stop the rest of the best from looking their best. Mildred and night made my day. That day they went an extra mile with the make-up session they looked like clowns. They took it too long that the school land cruiser was nearly leaving them. On reaching the venue, the watchman refused to open the gate claiming that the Swahili madam was a student dressed in home clothes. This angered the boys so much but after some talk by the teacher, we were allowed to enter the school.

The schools that came for the stage viewing were only four thus officially making the function boring according to the standards of a Kenyan high schooler. The irony was that even the host school never joined the viewing instead they were busy in class learning. This angered our boys because they had made themselves presentable because of these girls in vain. They even opted to wait for the school car outside the school. The teacher allowed them to do so not even knowing what had happened.

We girls were happy seeing how miserable the boys were. I remember that they did not even allow us to sit with them claiming that we will steal away their perfume scent. They saw us as trashing, opting for the Kenyatta Girls, rather than their own. The part where I saw was childish is when a letter was given by the Kenyatta Girls’ inviting our YCS movement for a rally. The letter was nearly thrown back to them in anger. To my surprise, Mikey, the head boy who was claiming earlier in the day that these particular school has childish girls for his taste was the most affected with the situation. He was throwing tantrums just like a spoilt kid calling the girls stupid because they somehow ‘humiliated them’

He even started arguing with the Swahili teacher on why she had taken the YSC letter yet the host school had degraded them. Trust me on this, yes, our boys had put an effort with the changes and all but what was this idiot wailing about. He hated girls with passion I remember. The madam was the patron of YSC, was he expecting her to react to something that she didn’t even comprehend and also, the boys felt ‘humiliated’ a their spokesman claim, then what about us girls who were jumping with joy… most importantly, the letter was for the YSCs not the form four boys. The idiot even went ahead vowing to tell the rest of the school not to go for the rally… just for the record, he did tell the school but the form threes attended in large numbers. The boys who went were not that many but who cares... The rally was a blast. I met friends from Mbita and Tonga Boys, I had fun. I remember the boys were nowhere to be found because they were socializing much that the school car nearly left them.  The madam teacher was as if she was not our teacher because she was mostly hanging out with the students from Kanyawanga boys who claimed that she will be their teacher in future which TSC made it a dream come true thanks to Mikey.

From that day, the relationship between Mikey and the Swahili teacher broke it became like a drama or more of a movie especially during Kiswahili lesson. The two could start arguing, Mikey trying to prove some weird point of him being older than the madam and the madam trying to emphasize her authority as a teacher. Whenever the teacher asked a question in class, Mikey could just start murmuring the answer rather that raise his hands.

We became tired of the situation as the girls of the class one day and decided to talk it out, shunning the idiot elder of the class and the boys population. We told them that just because their so called sister school refused to give them attention, they should style up and take it like the men they claim to be. We never saw the reason why they should and were still crying over spilt milk. Their era of being a single school was over and Bishop had just become married- a mixed school.

As for Mikey, I went and sat him down to give him a dose of reality. This made him so angry that he decided to look for his precious solitude- the typical thing he does all the time he wants to shut people out of his business. Before leaving him, I had to just the burning question of why he was reacting so much and why it affected him so much but he was like,’’ I am not angry that they brushed us off but the fact that the boys had gone an extra mile to even wear socks and shoes to impress. Even a greeting was proper Bana. I am feeling for my classmates.’’

Until now, I don’t believe it. I remember him telling me of his girlfriend, the school and if my memory doesn’t fail me, she was in Kenyatta Girls’ but transferred. This left a lot of question unanswered. I thought the Kenyatta Girls’ were kids? Was he hating the school and the people in it because of the ex- girlfriends or was it hate for the girls in general? Was he out to prove something to himself about the Swahili teacher or am I just over-reacting?

After Mikey told the rest of the school about the set book incident, the principal praised the Kenyatta girls for dissing the form four boys because they were just overreacting. I came to know that the madam teacher who live with the brothers had told them what had happen before the Monday assembly  and it was written all over her face when the principal was taking because she was smiling widely. The Kenyatta girls’ diss henceforth became a heated topic of discussion.

The drama between the madam teacher and Mikey went a notch high when she decided to ignore Mikey openly even when he asked a question making the poor boy to be frustrated. She even had the Swahili lesson on Thursday in an open space and made everyone to read except Mikey. One day coincidentally, we reached the class earlier than the two of them who reached the same time so they had to sit together by force. The whole lesson, my poor desk mate was looking down shyly and it was a double lesson.

We had a lot of fun with madam. She was the only teacher that the form fours were close to. She was very friendly and approachable with us. She went away after our third term break mid break and was replaced by madam Grace, who was totally opposite of Mademoiselle. She was not outgoing and talkative. She was kind of afraid of us. She had many stupid rules. Not being biased or anything keeping in mind that mademoiselle also had very many rules with every one of them having a part a,b and c, but for Madam Grace’s rules, they were kind of selfish.
No asking questions why she is teaching- like seriously
She marks books in class..
Just to mention a few of the weird rules. This was a very big blow for our class who always viewed Kiswahili as our favorite subject. The subject that we didn’t need any novenas to pass, at least on my part. We loved it so much that since I joined this school, I took it serious and went with the flow of the class.

With the coming of Madam Grace in Term three, when we were just about to sit for our K.C.S.E, we saw it as a bother and we decided not to care or bother her. We helped each other
WE RAISE BY LIFTING OTHERS THEY SAY.