NIGERIA: Diaries Of a Boarding School Babe [The Last Card] by Linaabelle [P1]

I count the cards over again to make sure they are complete. I count on my fingers how many people I am giving each one to. I must finish writing my messages on them before it is too late. I begin writing. "Dear x, just a little card to wish you success on your exams. May the Lord guide you through it all and may you come out in flying colors".

Okay 1 of 10 done. I continue the same, with different but somewhat similar messages on each card. Oh wow! I only have 9 people I want to give the cards to. This leaves me with one extra card. I have to give it to someone. I can’t just have an empty card sitting here. Hmm, who should I give this to? I begin to count the people I am close with in my card. As I count through them, I realize, each one already has an assigned card.

The bell rings. I quickly hide them under my pillow. I have to run down to the dining hall for breakfast or else I will be late to school. Having attended this particular boarding school for a little while now, I know that being late was truly frowned upon.

A bit of a background for you. Hi, I’m about 11 years of age. I am pretty tall for my age. I am also very lanky. Seriously, you would truly want to feed me if you saw me. I have curly brown hair and big brown eyes. They are quite big and happen to be one of the first things people notice about me.

I love to dance and laugh. I am terrible at athletic things, although I have to be involved in the school’s physical education activities. I am pretty fast when I run, but I get sick when I do run. My chest hurts badly, I cough a lot and my head hurts as well. So as a result, I try not to run a lot. Even though I started late at the school because I was very sick when everybody else started.

I have made a lot of friends and I love my friends. When we are not in classes or doing some school-related activities, we are telling stories, laughing about the silly boys [even though some of them are our friends], eating some of our provisions [snacks that our parents packed for us as supplement to the school meals], or doing our hairs.

We all attend the same school but we are not in the same house [a term used to describe our dormitories]. I am in blue house, so I have to wear blue colored clothes. Although our main school uniforms are maroon red and white. Some of my friends are in the same house with me.

One of my best friends is in red house, so she has to wear red (secret: I borrow her clothes sometimes and pretend like I am in red house). I have some friends and people I am okay with in green and yellow houses as well. Besides dancing, I am also in the drama team because I am very good at acting. I am also in the debate team because I am good at that as well. I like mathematics and chemistry but I hate music class because I suck at playing the flute [which we have to learn to pass]. So that is a little bit of information about me.

Continuing on, I run off to breakfast. After that, it is time for assembly.  Then time for classes. Then lunch time. After lunch, it is time for afternoon naps. Back to classes again. Time for dinner. Time for classes yet again, for evening reading. We get home at night. We have little time to talk and laugh before it is lights off. Our lives are pretty much regulated in that strict schedule type of way. But it is okay because that’s the only way I know to do things.

I am back on my bed now and I am thinking of whom to give that last card to. I have to give them out tomorrow because exams start very soon. Suddenly, I realize who I should give it to. Yes, it makes sense. I quickly write up the message in the card, put it in the envelope. Put all of them in my bag for handing out tomorrow. I leave my bed and find my friend to talk.

Tomorrow is finally here. I have given out the cards to the girls that I wanted to give them to. It’s time to give the boys their own cards. I go down to the dining area and ask someone to call the boys for me. When they come, I give them their cards too. Except I have not given the last one to the person I wanted to give it to because I can’t find him.

Then I hear his voice, I turn around, I smile. He walks closer. When he got close enough, I smiled again. I gave him the card, smiled at him and said, “Success on your exams.” Then I run off to go join my girlfriends. As I am leaving, I turn around, I see him looking at the card, he smiles as he reads it, then he looks up at me and smiles….. [To be continued]

- VikariouzlyTME