Dedicated to frostyella Thanks for the cover. I love it.

***

"Good morning class." Our vice principal, Mrs Ngozi greeted us. We were all making a noise before she came in. Her presence quieted us down.

"Good morning ma." We all stood up to greet her.

"Sit down, so, I hope you all know the reason why I'm here?" She said with her squeaky voice and her Igbo accent.

We all exchanged confused looks, not having an idea of what she was talking about.

"You all don't know?" She asked again, but this time, her voice was deeper.

We did the same thing again, but this time murmuring and asking each other if we knew what she was talking about.

"Keep quiet!! You all are not serious. So you mean you all don't know what I'm talking about? How many of you were at the assembly today?" She asked, her voice raised a bit that I had wondered why she was all grumpy today.

"OMG! I sense trouble here." I thought to myself.

We all raised our hands up immediately so as not to provoke her further.

"Hmm..." She said with a smirk plastered on her small lips. Why was she smirking?

"Oh my God, what's she up to now?" I asked myself, like I could even give myself an answer. Her eyes roamed the class as though she was searching for something or someone.

"Where's your class captain?" She asked.

We all looked at our naughty class captain. He might be very naughty but he was very neat and brilliant too. I admired his intelligence. Even though I was an average student, I never envied those brilliant one's in the class, in fact, I tried to associate with them.

"Where's he or she!" She bawled.

I froze from where I was sitting. I didn't like our vice principal getting angry. Not only her, all of our teachers. They were very intimidating and had every apt to lash any student at that moment.

"Stand up nah." David said to the class captain from behind me, with his very deep and loud voice. David was like the most intelligent person in the class, in fact, in the whole school. Teachers loved him, even those that didn't know him adored him too because he was very charismatic and intelligent. He was also very handsome, a lot of girls drooled over him but not me though, I didn't see him as my type.

"Here I am ma." Our class captain said, with a tottering voice. I could imagine what he was going through at the moment. I wanted to fan him because he was sweating profusely. His uniform was drenched.

"So you heard me talking and you didn't answer me right?" Our VP said, shooting the captain a glare.

"No..ma..I.." He stuttered.

"Shut up!" She cut him off. "Now go and call Mr. Hassan for me, tell him that I said he should come here now. In fact, he should follow you and he should also bring the list of names that attended assembly this morning!" Emphasis was laid on the last word.

He scurried out of the class like a rabbit. Our class captain name was Kelechi. He was very neat and brilliant, but his intelligence wasn't compared to David's. He was also a very naughty and funny boy. In class, he was a cut -up.

I was trembling on my seat. I could actually say now that I was sweating just like Kelechi was before he left the class.

"Hope my name was on that list sha." seriously was I just telling myself that? After knowing quite well that I was early in school today and I even met assembly, I still asked myself that.

I guess I'm just afraid of Mr. Hassan's sight. I just couldn't stand him, even if he was in a very delighted mood.

Mr. Hassan was no go area. Everyone feared him in the whole school including me, obviously. Just him talking could make one cry, not to talk of his cane. He ain't friendly a bit not even with teachers, that's why no one in the school liked him. Teachers didn't really associate with him. The only time they talked to him was when they needed him to lash out students for them. And to top it all, he was very tall and slim, though he was married with two kids but he still looked very young.

"Good morning ma." Mr. Hassan greeted, holding a long and slim cane in his hand. He liked slim canes a lot.

"Why is he holding cane?" I asked Blessing, who was my seat partner. We actually sit two in a chair. She was not just my seat partner, she was also my best friend. Though we fought a lot, best friends fight right? But we always found a way to settle the matter. I wasn't usually the one to make the first move, she was always the one. Not like I was so puffed up with pride or anything like that, it was just that I didn't know how to make the move first when it comes to resolving malice.

"I don't know for him. He just wants to form what he is not. Pfft!" She said to me. Actually we were whispering to each other, no one heard us.

"Yes, I asked you to bring the list of names that attended the assembly today, did you?" Our VP asked Mr. Hassan.

"Yes ma." He said, sneaking glances at our faces.

"Very well then. If you know you didn't meet assembly, you'd better raise your hands now before he calls the names out, because if he does...a yah yah..you'd regret it. You know me." She said, her tone laced with seriousness.

A few of us didn't raise our hands and I was amongst the few, while almost all the class did.

"Very good. Those of you that didn't raise your hands, come out." She ordered.

We all came out, those that didn't raise their hands.

"Are these all?" She asked, looking at the population that raised their hands up.

No response, just silence.

"I am going to call the names of those that met assembly. If you know your name's not here, go back now...I am warning." She said with all seriousness, that even a baby would know she's being all serious, not only babies, a mad person would also decipher.

She started calling the names and I was very relieved to hear my name.

"Arghh..! Thank God." I said under my breath.

Blessing was also outside, likewise Kelechi but David wasn't. I smiled to myself because I didn't like him a bit. Did I mention, he was proud too.

"So out of...how many are you guys?" She directed the question to Kelechi, looking at him.

"Eighty nine." He said, without hesitation.

"You sure, like the whole class?" She asked again, wanting to be sure.

"Yes ma." He said in a rush and blinking at the same time.

"Calm down boy, not like she's gonna kill you or something. Quite a number." I whispered to Kelechi.

Benson college is actually a government school, that's why we had such population in a class. In ss2, we had only four classes. All the science and technology students were squashed in a class, so also was the art students. It was only the commercial students that had two classes. They were very populated. For the record, I was in the science class.

"So out of the eighty nine students in this class, it was only fifteen students that were at the assembly. Not even half of the class, that's bad...very bad." She said, nodding her head ."Those of you seating down, put your head on the table and sleep."

I knew what was coming their way when she said that.

"Because of you lied when I asked first, you would be flogged four strokes of cane at the back."

I rolled my eyes at her statement. "Same story always. Couldn't you just try something a little different. Cliché freak!" I muttered.

"What did you say?" Blessing asked, looking at me quizically.

Oh my God! Hope she heard nothing of what I just said because if did, I'm doomed for.

"Well, its..umm..nothing actually.." I smiled at her but it didn't reach my eyes.

"Oh, okay." She turned to look at the students that Mr. Hassan was flogging already. I guess it was because of her pity for those that are gonna be flogged, that was why she didn't persuade me to tell her like she always did.

After they had all been flogged, she asked us to go and have our seat. While we were going back, I had to watch some people faces. Some were crying, some were just looking with no expression on their faces, while some placed their heads on the table. Funny enough, David also was placing his head on the table.

For a split moment, I wondered if he was crying but that wasn't my business anyways. I reached my seat and sat down majestically.

"Yeah, time for what I came for." She was back to her squeaky voice again but this time it was actually funny. It sounded like she was nervous to talk."This paper I have in my hand is the names of those students that wasn't promoted." She said in a more loud and bold voice.

I didn't know how to seat again, I was hyperventilated. To say I was nervous is the mother of all understatement. I was terrified. My heart started beating. You know that moment when you're to give a speech in the whole school and you start to feel very nervous, well, that was how I felt at the moment.

"If you hear your name, just stand up" she said in her most suiting voice.

Every student that were placing their heads on the table took their faces up. The class suddenly became silent and tense. She seemed very sad calling the names.

".......And the last person's name on the list is..Ruby James."

I stood up looking so uncomfortable, everyone was looking at me and I was equally doing the same, looking at them back. Finally, I looked at my best friend who was looking at me already, then she bowed her head down.
I could hear people murmuring which made me became more worried, looking at those that were seated, most of them were the intelligent once like; David, Kelechi and Blessing. It was just a few number of them that was not so good academically. While those that were standing, few of them were good academically including myself, but most of them were not worth being in school. They were dumb heads.

"Did I just fail?"

"You guys are going to be repeating this class." The VP said like she knew what I was thinking.

I closed my eyes immediately.
...

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I'm so exciting about this chapter, this being my first chapter and my first book too. I hope you guys loved this chapter.

Nb: Like I said in the author's note, the first five chapters might come across as boring, but if you could please just be patient and read further, you'd love it. I promise you. Also, constructive criticisms are welcomed.

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