Chapter 41

A month passed.

Esau was now settled in his new school and environment. To be sure, Dar-es-salaam International School had students from all over the world.

The school statistics revealed there were five hundred students overall, half the number came from African nations while the other half from the rest of the world.

By this time, Esau knew most of the members of his class; especially those who took his subject combination.

The subject teachers were emphatic on group discussion among the students in solving assignments and past examination question papers.

Examination standards were quite high, so they warned, but students who were selfish and tried working alone without cooperation with others often failed in final examinations.

Group discussion was the in-thing in the academic world and studies. It was believed it unleashed a fusion of minds to generate academic knowledge and excellence.

Esau joined group discussions in his subject combination. It was in such discussions that he came to meet Sauda Ruth Ahmed, a tall and slim girl with a square ass.

Her eyes were dark and sexy looking, and her hair was also dark and cut short. She wore a tight-fitting school uniform.

Sauda was perhaps the most garrulous member of the Kiswahili group Esau had joined. She loved talking as she had an inquisitive mind and tongue.

"You come from Kenya, don't you?" She asked one day after the group discussion on themes in Shabaan Robert's novel Utubora Mkulima.

"Sure!" Esau retorted and asked, "What about you?"

She smiled and revealed a narrow gap in her white flashing teeth and disclosed, "I'm Tanzanian, of course. My mother comes from Iringa in the south and belongs to the Hehe tribe. My dad comes from Mbeya. He belongs to the Nyakiusa tribe."

She paused briefly and added, "He converted to Islam, but my mother is a Christian."

"That seems interesting!. Is that why you have both Christian and Muslim names?"

"Precisely, Esau." She said confidently,"Sauda is my Muslim name as given by my dad, but mum named me Ruth after her mother, my grandma."

As time moved on, the two A-level classmates struck a good rapport. It was quite natural to strike a good rapport since they shared the same subject combination and thus belonged to the same discussion groups.

Then Esau began to notice that Sauda always supported whatever points he raised and contributed to the discussion groups. One day, she asked him, "Will you continue your education in Tanzania after A-levels and join any of our universities?"

"No," he replied but saw her frowning. "Why do you ask?"

"I thought you were going to continue studying here so that we could attend the same university, possibly the University of Dar-es-salaam. I've grown fond of you and feel like I've known you all my life. But it seems I'm mistaken," she replied.

Esau saw the writing on the wall and knew what she was talking about. She wanted a relationship, most likely a romantic affair.

His past romantic exploits made him sense what was coming up, and he never wasted a second. He said: "I love you too, Sauda. But you know we have strict school rules here against love affairs between male and female students. We could even be expelled for misconduct and breach of school rules. That's why I have not until now revealed how I feel about you."

Her eyes suddenly brightened, and then danced. She asked, "Does that mean you will study in Dar-es-salaam and be near me always, close to my heart?"

Esau neither wanted to disappoint nor discourage her, so he replied: "It depends on many things, my dear. For one, we have not yet passed the exams. But we should be able to cross the bridge when we reach there."

"Oh Esau, I love you so!" She said excitedly as she giggled and her eyes went on dancing.

And so it was that a yearning and longing for their hearts and bodies between them began to mushroom. It was done quite secretly and under cover.

No one knew, not even Sauda's closest friends. Esau had warned her that you could not trust anyone. People were jealous, and friends could turn into enemies in betrayal.

Sauda and Esau became free with each other and began to talk about themselves.

"Tell me, my love. Kenya is a beautiful country, isn't it?"

"You bet it is. We've some of the best beaches along the East African coast. No wonder tourists like coming to our land."

"You're quite different from the other Kenyans," she observed. "I've heard our people, especially my dad, saying Kenyans lack good manners and are quite an arrogant people."

"That's an exaggeration," he protested. "Actually, it is not true but just a stereotype and the fallacy of generalisation."

He paused as he searched her eyes and moved on, "Among all tribes in our country, there are humble and arrogant people. While it is true that some tribes exhibit a high degree of arrogance as a particular trait common in them, that does not mean there are no humble ones among them."

"So, which are the arrogant ones in Kenya?" Sauda pressed on.

"Remember I said everyone, in fact, every tribe has a certain percentage of the spirit of arrogance in him, her or them. Every tribe has a percentage of the arrogant ones among themselves. It all depends if one has a greater percentage of arrogance or not," he tried to reason.

"You have not answered my question," she said and quickly queried in Swahili language, "Mbona hutaki kujibu swali langu?"

It was a question that sought to find out the reasons for his refusal to answer her question. Esau saw the truth in her words, for he had tried to avoid answering her.

So he replied, "I have heard complaints against the Luo tribe in my country; complaints among the other tribes that the Luos are arrogant. But come to think of it, many other people are arrogant too. It's not fair to judge the whole community."

"How is that so, and why do you say that?" She wanted to know.

"You see, my dear. Arrogance depends on many things. Some people who wield power and authority eventually become arrogant and disrespectful due to the power they wield over others," he said as he paused briefly.

"Oh, I see."

"The love of money and its possession can also make people arrogant. Indeed, I have heard some students here complaining that the Chagga of the Kilimanjaro region are quite educated but love money too much and work hard for it. Isn't this true?" He asked.

"Sure," she replied. "They are hard workers. Money is a powerful motivator, and they work hard for it. And so are the Nyamwezi and Sukuma who run large businesses."

"So you can now see it, my love. Arrogance has many facets. Power, money, higher education, fame, and riches may breed arrogance. The seeds of arrogance are bred in all these facets," he said and added: "When you mentioned the Chagga, Nyamwezi and Sukuma here in your country you reminded me of the Kikuyu in my country and the Baganda in Uganda. But come to think of it, everyone toils for money. Is that not so?"

"It may be so my love, but the degree of love for money varies from one person to another," she responded and continued: "You see, people who love money make money their own god. They are no different from the idol worshippers of the past."

Esau was intrigued and amazed by her insight. He kept listening.

Sauda went on, "In fact, such people who love money are a throwback to the Israelites who asked Moses to make a golden cow for them to worship as were those who loved material things."

"You're quite right," he agreed. "Talking about stereotypes, our people in Kenya are full of praise about the people here. It is generally believed that Tanzanians are quite polite and humble in speech and deeds. A good example is often given of the Tanzania Police which is described as highly disciplined. I think I have witnessed during my stay in this beautiful land of yours."

Sauda smiled, her flashing teeth and gap between her teeth exposed, making her quite stunning. Then she said proudly, "That's quite true. Mwalimu instilled in us a sense and feeling of respect, compassion, and spirit of caring for others and also inculcated a sense of brotherhood in us."

Mwalimu was a reference to Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the first president of the United Republic of Tanzania, whose memory and ideals live in the minds and hearts of Tanzanians; revered by friends and foes alike.

As she talked, Esau could not help noticing her strong admiration for the late and former president.

He only paid keen attention and interest as she went on, "The African socialism that was introduced by Mwalimu worked miracles on our people. But after he relinquished power, some people have acquired the capitalist spirit our loving and intellectual father of the nation was so much against. The younger generation has acquired the spirit of capitalism and adopted tribal sentiments so characteristic of many African nations."

"You mean under Nyerere there was no tribalism in your country?"

Sauda explained, "People from all tribes viewed themselves as brothers and sisters. But many enemies of the founding father of our nation, including outsiders like your people, claim that Mwalimu was responsible for leading us into poverty."

Esau felt a sense of guilt as she mentioned his country, Kenya, which Nyerere had labelled a capitalist state. He had nothing to say.

Sauda went on to conclude, "Well, it is not true that Nyerere led us into poverty. Poor as we may appear to outsiders, we are quite proud of our heritage and our brand of socialism."

The two student lovers went on to discuss many other topics of general interest. With each discussion, their admiration and love for each other grew steadily.

No one paid attention to them, knew, or even suspected they were lovers. No one even knew they met in secret locations at night when everyone was asleep and made passionate love. They were true to each other and kept their affair very secret for a long time.

Meanwhile, they studied hard for their exams, and at the end of the fifth form, they scored good grades in the terminal examinations.

Esau scored A in history, B's in Swahili, English and Economics. His companion, Sauda, scored A in Swahili, B in Economics and History, and D in English.

As they departed for the holidays, they were confident they would pass with flying colours in their final exams the following year.

The same pattern repeated itself in the end of term exams, which followed as they continued to have group discussions, worked very hard in academics, but made love secretly at night when everyone was asleep.

So far, so good.