Chapter 22

Risky Adventure

"I didn’t know you could run this fast?’’ said Adrian out of heavy breathing. "Instead of making use of your athletic talents and sporty physique, you prefer to be carrying your science books all about, barrel.’’

"Well, full barrel, it’s already late to do any sport now,’’ Richard said amid heavy breathing. "You know my dream career already. We’ve discussed this before, haven’t we?’’

Adrian nodded in agreement, still breathing hard. His mouth ajar, tongue stuck out like a tired dog.

"Hello guys,’’ Martin and Taj hailed the boys as they exchanged handshakes with one another.

"Hi friends,’’ Richard and Adrian said out of heavy breathing, ‘’hope all is well?’’

"Yes, all is well,’’ Adrian and Richard chorused.

"Don’t tell me you’re just coming from the library,’’ Martin said, trying hard to blend himself into a real friend, even though he’s got serious hate in his heart towards them.

"We are indeed just coming. That doesn’t matter now does it?’’ Adrian asked struggling hard to beat the strange feelings of shyness or rather lack of confidence he was having towards the new friendship.

"You guys must be aiming for a Nobel Prize,” Taj joked.

"Well, that’s long way coming,’’ said Adrian, "West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination is something we’re struggling towards now.’’

"But still very far away,’’ Martin said, feeling uninterested in the topic.

"My friends,’’ said Richard, "a stitch in a time they say, saves nine. Its better we start reading hard now for proper comprehension before the exam finally comes up.’’

"Well, if you insist, I have no more objections. That’s good of you, anyway. The entire college knows of a science guru who has been aspiring to become a physician in future.’’ Taj said to Richard, jokingly.

"You can say that again,’’ Richard said, laughing, feeling happy Taj had heard so much about him. "Eh…that reminds me,’’ Richard stopped laughing now, "we want you guys to judge this argument between us.’’

"Shoot, we’re all ears!’’ urged Martin evasively.

"Richard,’’ Adrian stressed, "are you on that again?’’

"Yes, I am. Do you think I would let it go just like that? As a science student I should be doing research and experiments always. One of the components of an experiment is to collect data in form of questionnaires and this is an example. This argument is a form of research element to me now.’’ Richard said to Adrian. He turned to Martin and Taj briskly and added,’’ I and Adrian are arguing which is hardest between science and art subjects--Further Mathematics and Literature-in-English precisely.’’

"Well, I know Martin and Taj will judge this argument rightly, without any prejudice because they’re social science students.’’ Adrian said, "they don’t belong to either science or art.’’

"Yes, the main reason I brought it before them,’’ Richard said.

Martin gave Taj the go ahead to speak first with a wave of hands.

"You see boys, ‘’ Taj began, clearing his throats, his nose sweating as he spoke, ‘’all subjects are hard. That’s to my own knowledge, because if they’re not hard nobody will be failing in those subjects at all. Also, they’re easy because if they are not, nobody would be passing them. Therefore, it all depends on the students. How hard working or lazy a student is, determines how easy or hard the subjects would be for him.’’

"That’s excellent!’’ Adrian commended. He didn’t expect such reasonable judgment from Taj. He and many senior class 3 students believed Martin and Taj only knew about football and trouble-making around the college premises. The truth was that Taj wasn’t too bad in academics like Martin. He was sitting on the fence between football and academics, performing averagely in both.

"What a nice judgment but I would still want to hear from Black Scorpion,’’ Richard said, pointing at Martin.

"Well, as for me no subject is hard in this world. If you have your money, you’ll amass excellent grades as you wish.’’ Martin said, wiping his index finger on his lips, accompanied with a shrill whistle to show how effortless they would pass exams with money.

All the boys burst out laughing except Adrian. He was thinking hard, "no wonder, Martin hasn’t been reading in library or taking his education seriously, yet had been gaining promotions over the years. So, he’d been using money to pass his exams.’’ He and Richard had thought Martin must belong to the group of students who were mockingly referred to in GBC as "loaders and downloaders." They would be playing around, taking their education with leniency before exams. But when exam is few days away, they would start reading hard, memorizing every alphabet in their note books, and then download them on their answer papers during the exam. Ask them a single question from their notes one or two days after the exams, they won’t have any clue. They just read to pass exam, not to have more knowledge.

Adrian was still silent, he and Richard were totally wrong. Martin had been using money to pass his exams over the years. But he wondered how he could have the gut to stand in front of a teacher and says, "sir or ma, take this huge of amount of money and give me "A’’ or "B’’ in your subject.’’ Adrian found that hard to belief. He forgot Martin’s father was an influential man in the society. He could just send one of his messengers to a teacher with big money as a "present’’ before exams results come out.

"Let’s go drop our book and go check for what they’ve got to offer in the kitchen,’’ Richard said after the laughter had stopped, his words suddenly woken Adrian up from his deep thought.

"It’s going be concoction rice as usual or some watery beans with the innutritious white garri.’’ Adrian volunteered, worry lines showing on his forehead. Concoction was a nickname the students had given the "Jollof rice", cooked without any special ingredients such as curry, thyme, grounded tomatoes and chunks of fried meat or fish. "I’m dead tired of these courses. I need something like swallow food. I mean something like pounded yam or Amala or something of sort with melon seed soup. You all know I’m a village-bred.’’

The boys all chuckled apart from Adrian himself.

"Well, even we that are not village-bred are tired of the food they serve in the kitchen.’’ Taj said, hissing.

"When did you see us there last, friends?’’ Martin asked Adrian and Richard.

"It has been so long—let’s me say since Mister Cowtail left the College for his honeymoon,’’ Adrian said, after racking his brain. "You wouldn’t dare refused to come to dining if he’s around, anyway.’’

"May be he could compel Taj to come to the dining hall the way he did to other students; even when they were complain of lack of appetite, but not person like me," Martin boasted, beating his chest.

"Nobody can compare himself to you, Black Scorpion,’’ Taj said, smiling, his cheeks displayed a dimple as if a sharp iron rod had been stuck into them. "Only few times he’d forced me to come to dining hall. But I would go just to disturb its peace with my noise and trouble-making, and the house master would end up chasing me away himself without having any meal. Though few times I’ve gone there by myself, just to have some of their boring food, especially when I’m broke and have no money to buy decent snacks from the school buttery.’’

"Perhaps, you used to obey him to some length unlike Black Scorpion,’’ Richard said, having a respected looks towards Martin. ‘’But why aren’t you guys coming to dining in this vacation, since the buttery keeper has gone on holiday? Or you big boys are above hunger; I mean you could go hungry for days without food and be alright?’’

"Well, you might be making some senses but not completely. Nobody is above hunger, you know," Martin said. ‘’I used to eat from the school buttery always, but since its closure we have been strolling to the town whenever we’re hungry to get ourselves very decent meals.’’

"You don’t mean it!’’ Adrian said with eyes wide, his owlish eyes rolling in their sockets from Martin to Taj. "You’ve said that before but I found it hard to belief. The security guards won’t allow you out. Perhaps the school wall is high---as high as that of biblical Jericho’s. Only the wall made it look impossible for any student to go out without first taken permission from the school authority. At least, a student must get a pass from the principal or house master before stepping out of that solid iron gates according to the school constitution.’’

"Martin and Taj must be joking, Adrian. But you don’t need to go about quoting the school constitution now," Richard said and added jokingly, "we know you’re a Government student.’’

Meanwhile, Adrian tried to read the boys faces to see mocking smiles and hear them saying, "we are only kidding, boys’’ but they looked serious and unsmiling. Had it been it was month of April, he would’ve thought maybe they were playing April-fool prank on them.

"We’re damn serious boys,’’ Taj added, "we are even planning to stroll towards town for dinner when you came racing towards us and we halted.’’

‘’Yes,’’ supported Martin, "we ought to have reached the town by now. We’re getting late already. The day will soon be very dark, though that doesn’t hinder our movement, anyway. My father would say night crawling doesn’t pose any danger to the cats but the rats. We have minds as stronger as the lion’s. So we’ve nothing to fear like the rats, only the rats fear the danger that could come from the cats at night. If you don’t mind, may be you could come with us to make some merry and have fun.’’

Adrian had fully believed they were saying the truth now. He recollected how he’d seen Martin and Taj entering through the gates not less than three times since the vacation commenced. He had thought may be their parents had come seek permission for them, or they have collected a pass from the house master. But what wondered him mostly was that the house master and the principal weren’t in school to issue any pass.

But would he accept the offer of going to town with them? He hasn’t fathomed that yet