Chapter II - Crazy Elements

[What in GOD's good name am I even doing here??? This hellhole, after we got the invite, why did we even rush to an unknown school?!? It's 6 am and I'm on campus with BLOODY crows…]

Narrator: Valder Senior High is what one would call a ghost school, and for good reason. It is the second oldest school in the country yet no one knows much details about it except the fact that they're also a high school. Now let us move the time forward to 7:15 am when all the students are assembled.

T.o.D: Good morning students.

All Students: Good morning.

T.o.D: I'm your Staff on Duty today (what they call a Teacher on Duty), by name….

Continuing Students: SIR GYM!!!

Sir Gym: I'm Nicholas Banks, you may call me Sir Banks. Our freshers this year are quite special y'see… the government has a plan for them that would revolutionize education in this nation. This tight-lid operation is called the Free-SHS scheme.

Narrator: Valder Senior High is your typical high school, offering education to both girls and boys as either day students or boarders. The government often tests new policies on a selected demographic before implementing them nationwide. While most experiments are public knowledge, the educational sector remains shrouded in secrecy. Valder serves as the research animal for educational policies, such as the uniform system existing now for all high schools, and as such, remains shrouded in mystery despite its age. When the government wants to conduct an experiment, Valder becomes a "boarding-school," with all students required to stay on campus. The "Free-SHS scheme" is the government's most recent "bright" ideas, where the government covers all costs for students, and Valder is its testing site as usual. Sir Gym explains the basic concept of Free-SHS to the students, marking the start of this new chapter in Valder's history.

Sir Gym: Alright, let's move on to some other important tasks. Our school compound is pretty vast, and it's in need of a good clean-up. Following tradition, we'll divide the work among the first-year students. Here's the breakdown: you'll be responsible for cleaning the washrooms, including those for visitors, staff, and students. You'll also tidy up the square, the canteen, and weed around the field. Don't forget to sweep every classroom and every open space, and for the science students, you'll tackle the cleaning of the two science labs along with your houses' assigned work. Certain students will handle cleaning duties for the head teacher's office, assistant heads', HoDs', the ICT lab, and the library. Day students, don't forget to remind your parents about tomorrow's Opening Day, every guardian for both day students and boarders' attendance is required. Your prefects will organize the tasks, and once you're done, you're free to go.

Narrator: Welcome to Valder High, your run-of-the-mill Senior High School.

[SP took over from the teacher and summoned our four compound prefects, two main and two assistants, dividing us according to our respective programs. Under the watchful eyes of our strict prefects, who never ceased with their unnecessary commentary, we toiled away. Just as we were about to leave, the head boys' compound prefect, Randal, demanded us to "kneel down"….as if we can kneel in any other direction smh. He asked us why we were leaving without his "blessing" and he drilled into our knees (cause we were kneeling on gravels) our first of Valder's "almighty rules": "Your prefects are your God".

Assigned a four-story building meant to serve as our classrooms, we endured the prefects' inspections and the discomfort of kneeling on gravel. Restricted to the ground floor until classrooms were allocated, we mingled and waited for the seniors to arrive. The day wore on, with neither classes nor teachers in sight. Suddenly, the closing bell rang, signaling the end of the day, yet the prefects and teachers remained absent. Confusion turned to panic when we (the boys) saw Senior Doggy's demonic figure appear at the boarding house, hearing his voice commanding all freshmen to gather and initiating a 10-second countdown.

As we ran for our lives back to the dormitories, we encountered a barrier at the pedestrian gate—Nuck, using his body to block our entry. I swear I saw a kick against his back, and amidst the chaos, we pushed and shoved until we finally broke through, (this was when Senior Doggy was on "3"), reaching the compound only to be forced into kneeling once again]

Doggy: Can any of you tell me the reason why you're on your knees? [Cause you're a fucking lunatic?] Anyone?!? No one?? [He sighed] Now all of you, sleep. [Yup….the madman made us, who were in white stainless shirts, lie flat on our bellies on the ground. Would've been worse if the brick pavement we had for our grounds here at the boarding house and the square, was red sand like literally everywhere else] It's because you saw me with the bell and weren't here immediately. [YUP, hes insane] Henceforth, anytime you see me holding the bell, run back here immediately.

[After roughly 20 minutes of ensuring our shirts were thoroughly dirtied, we caught wind of the girls ringing their dorm bell for dinner, signaling it was around 16:30 GMT. Our seniors graciously excused us to head for the meal. Arriving at the kitchen, a solid concrete structure with two adjacent sheds, we were greeted by rows of sturdy metal-like pantry bowls. The kitchen staff directed us to the rice-filled bowls on the right and the groundnut soup-filled ones on the left, instructing us, the boys, to fetch 10 bowls of each.

Carrying our bounty to the dining room, we found ourselves facing a familiar ordeal. Once again, we were ordered to kneel. Nuck, our overseer, commanded us to retrieve our plates and cutlery, then balance them atop our heads as we knelt. Outside, we heard the distinct banging of doors, heralding the arrival of a few second-years and six eager freshmen, affectionately dubbed "fresh blood." While they were ushered off to dorm 5 following inspection, we remained kneeling until they were done packing. Nuck informed us it was now 17:15 GMT, granting us permission to rise and proceed to dinner.

Seated at tables accommodating ten, each table was presented with a solitary pantry bowl of rice and another of soup. I strategically positioned myself near the door, just in case a quick escape became necessary. At my table, a fellow freshman named Edgar caught my attention by raising his hand, then boldly stood and spoke once acknowledged.]

Edgar: Senior Nuck, please I'm allergic to groundnut soup. [Don't forget to point out how ridiculous we look drinking soup with a fork]

Nuck: So what am I supposed to do!!?? I can't fix deformities. If you can't eat it, don't take it... we have no special treatment for you, you bunch of charity cases. [Later, we learned that the seniors resented us for being exempt from paying fees, something they had to do.]

From now on, if anyone is allergic to any food prepared by the kitchen, you will come down here and watch us eat. If you have shito, then you can bring it to the hall and have it with your food. If you don't, then tough luck, go hungry.

[After dining, while washing our bowls and the pantry dishes, we gathered with our friend cliques. Edgar, my buddy from dorm 5, joined me. As we chatted, we heard a scream echo from the dining room. Rushing to investigate, we witnessed Doggy punishing a freshman with his belt. He then dragged the poor student outside, where he forced him to kneel in the compound and addressed us all with a booming voice.];

Doggy: ALL FRESHERS, WHEREVER YOU ARE, WATCH AND LISTEN [Some were in their room upstairs]. THIS FRIEND OF YOURS WENT TO REPORT TO A TEACHER ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY. LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR IN PLAIN LANGUAGE FOR THE BRAINLESS ONES WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND. YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND REPORT WHATEVER HAPPENS, THE TEACHERS WILL TELL US OFF OR PUNISH US...JUST DON'T FORGET THAT THE TEACHERS WILL GO HOME WHEN THE CLOSING BELL RINGS. YOU, ON THE OTHER HAND WILL RETURN WITH US, STAY WITH US, AND SLEEP WITH US. DO WHATEVER YOU WILL, BUT IT WILL BE YOU AND US LATER ON.

[Doggy grew furious and made us kneel once more, accusing us of allowing him to report despite knowing his intentions. So, now I'm practically a professional kneeler. Can't wait to show Mama my new holey knees. Today, though, we enjoyed the comfort of our beds, while only the "sellout" knelt till dusk. And that was Tuesday.

Come Wednesday, all parents arrived with their wards to sign forms, including non-disclosure agreements and agreements to abide by school rules. The headteacher announced there were 414 freshmen, with only 8 males joining us at the boarding house, making us a total of 70 freshmen. And that's Wednesday done.

Fast forward to Saturday, and a boy who joined us Thursday has been driving us crazy. He's SP's school son, exempt from work, and walks with a peculiar gait due to his modeling habits. His daily routine irks us, ordering us around after we've cleaned up, just so he can bathe in leisure. He'll then order us like we're his slaves, "Walk out", with a senior carrying his bucket of water and a sponge dish whilst he's in his morning coat. We then leave for this fool to take his bath and then clean the whole fucking place AGAIN. His name? Richie Leonard. This pest's been at it every single day.

It's 06:50 GMT Monday, and I'm heading to the square when I stumble upon a scuffle. Dave, the assistant protocol prefect, is in a tussle with a day-student over an unprescribed designer belt. Dave attempted to snatch it, leading him to grab the fresher's shorts by the waist. Despite the fresher's resistance, Dave resorted to shaking and roughing him up. With their peers and a few teachers on the way, drawn by the commotion, the fresher delivered a swift chop to Dave's wrist and made a quick escape through the school gate amid the chaos. The whole school was practically cheering him when he made for the gate. Later, on Thursday, Nuck was spotted with the same fresher who had evaded Dave, now sporting an unauthorized watch. This mischievous character goes by the name Lael, a true comedian in his own right.]