Sports day

We had biology for the first period of the day.

We didn't need an oracle to tell us that the biology teacher was waiting for us to submit our projects.

In groups of twos, we scurried to the staff room and dumped our works on his table.

Mr. Sam, the biology teacher wasn't at his desk and considering the fact that he was strict man, he always expected us to submit our assignments even before he would reach the staff room.

It was only five minutes into the biology period when Daniella Johnson, one of the two assistant class perfects walked into the class.

"Okporoko will not be coming to class today! He said I should tell you people that he will be busy with our projects!" She said out loud.

If there was one habit that my class cultivated, it was the habit of giving teachers hilarious nicknames.

Due to how strict yet skinny Mr. Sam was, we nicknamed him Okporo which meant stock fish.

"And he said that the project work will carry half mark of our first test," Daniella added.

Whispers of;

"That man is wicked sha."

"Ooooooh God."

"Which kind thing be dis nau?"

Filled the air.

I mean, it was a common thing for Mr. Sam to make things hard for us.

Kiki folded her arms across her chest and gazed at the white board as if in mourning. She was one of those that didn't take the project work seriously and as such she had once again fallen prey to Okporoko's dirty tricks.

"But that man is wicked o," She shook her head. "The one you will take serious he will never add it to your test score o. It's the one you don't care about."

She ended with a prolonged hiss and I laughed.

Just then, a boy stood up from his seat and rushed to stand in front of the class. His name was Okoro and he was a good-for-nothing troublemaker.

Till today, I still wonder why people named Okoro have a typical behaviour of causing nuisance.

No offense sha.

He proceeded to arch his back and clear his throat.

"Good mornin, Kias!" He spoke in a voice that was supposed to mimick a Calabar accent.

Everyone burst into a fit of laughter.

"Mr. Ekiong!" Temi exclaimed in between mouthfuls.

Ah ah! that girl always has something in her mouth whenever I see her.

Today was Friday.

A day that every student of Nexus High anticipated.

It was a day that marked the last day of school for the week but it was also a day that happened to be the most fun for all of us.

And yes, It was sports day!

Eeeee!

Our sports vest was another thing that made me love it here on Fridays.

It was simply free unlike our school uniform that had too many toppings.

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays we wore the general uniform which consisted of white long sleeves for us seniors and short sleeves for juniors.

For the girls, it was accompanied with grey skirts and for the boys, grey pair of trousers.

Grey ties that perfectly matched the skirts and trousers and over the whole thing, we usually put on an oxblood-coloured blazer. With a final touch of black or grey socks and white sneakers, we were good to go.

As for the girls, our hairstyles didn't really matter.

Like today, I simply tied my hair into a loose bun while Kiki had big box braids that were waist length.

On Tuesdays, we wore simple grey markers over any bottoms like skirts or trousers.

And on Fridays, we pulled off sky-blue P.E vests. For boys, it was shorts and girls, it was skirts that were always either knee-length or above the knee.

"You people should play well o. Don't let those small JSS 3 boys beat you old men," Sandra began, speaking out loud and tugging at her right ear.

And yes, today was an intra-football match between the boys from our class and the boys from JSS3.

It was a match that everyone in the school had been anticipating for several weeks, especially we the cheer squad.

A cheer squad wasn't something that was present in every Nigerian school. In fact, it wasn't really that common but here at Nexus High, it was definitely a thing.

Since it was an intra-competition, both SS2 girls and JSS3 girls formed separate cheer squads for their team.

From SS2A, SS2B and SS2C, were boys picked to play in the match and so was it with the JSS3s.

Since the majority of girls who were in the school's cheer squad came from our class, we didn't really need to pick since we already knew ourselves.

Soon, It was time for the long awaited sports period which would take place after break period till the close of school for that day.

While the boys had gone to prepare themselves for the match, the cheer squad had gone to prepare themselves as well.

Having changed into our cheerleading uniforms, we dived into a bit of rehearsal before the match would commence.

"The intro is supposed to be something much more," One of the Jared twins, Miracle grumbled.

"Right?" The other twin, Mirabel added.

Just like their chair lady, Abike, these twins were very annoying.

They always had to complain about things at the last minute. We had been practicing our cheer dance for more than three weeks now yet they dare to complain today of all days.

"Back when we were in America," The Jared twins chorused.

Ah! Just the next line I was expecting

"Our cheer squad used to put in hot moves and everything, you know," Miracle finished the sentence with aggressive demonstrations.

I don't even need to tell you that she was the more annoying sister of the two.

Whether their father was a minister or a senator, I can't really remember but they usually went on trips with their parents to various countries and as such, they always looked for a way to bring it up.

"Abeg Lola be moving your arms well and put your legs in sync," Mirabel sneered.

"Even Adesuwa sef is doing rubbish. I don't even know how you are even a part of the school's cheer squad," Miracle added.

I mean, Kiki was originally the cheerleading captain of the school's cheer squad and as such, she was also the captain of ours for the match yet the Jared twins took the whole thing on their head each time.

"Una own wan dey too much for here abi?" Kiki glared at them with a stern voice.

"Sorry o. We're just saying our own sha," Miracle's lips moved downwards.

I couldn't get enough of this drama that always happened during practices.

Nevertheless, the best was always expected and received from us.