On The Contrary ..

I walked in on two of my roommates laughing wildly like hyenas. It was a sunny Saturday and as per our routine, we gathered at the backyard of the female dormitory for laundry.

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“Why are you people laughing so much? " I asked no one in particular.

The two girls exchanged glances and then went ahead to laugh again. I assumed they were laughing at me so I inquired..

“Are you guys laughing at me?” I quivered.

“Nooo!” Maryann managed to mutter amidst her laughter.

“So who are you people gossiping about this time around?” The duo were the rumour mongers of the set and were always the first to know things; whether true or false. On the flip side, I was usually the last to know about random rumours and malicious gossip and honestly, I preferred it that way.

“You mean to tell me that you didn't hear about what happened ‘the ape’ today?” Rachael asked.

“The ape?” I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. “ Oh, you mean Vivian! What happened to her?” Almost everyone in my set called Vivian ‘the ape’ because she had a similar walking step to an ape– straight back, muscular upper arms, with a neck which was always bent downward. Irrespective of her physical features, Vivian was one of the sweetest and smartest souls I had ever met.

“She almost tripped over a stone in the courtyard today. After staggering for some seconds, she finally regained composure” Maryann said as she began another round of laughter.

I chuckled lightly as I wondered how these girls found that scenario hilarious.

“Is water rushing from the tap?” I asked in a bid to shield the fact that I wasn't laughing alongside them.

“Where do you think I got my water from? My nose?” Rachal blurted and went ahead to laugh loudly.

Again I chuckled, placed my dirty clothes on the tarred floor and proceeded to the water tap. I was going to put up with Maryann and Rachel for as long as I washed so I had better increase my speed.

The duo kept going on and on about all the juicy gossip they gathered over the course of the week, not forgetting to add their concerns about the prefect’s interview which was to be held on Monday. There was always a teacher or student who fell victim to their malicious tattle and I can bet that I had been the topic of their discussion on a few occasions.

Days went by and soon, Monday was upon us. Rachel, MaryAnn, Vivian, and myself were all science students and so we had our classes together.

“Vivian, John, Blossom, Maryann. All of you should follow me” Mr. Joshua, our class teacher, called out.

Immediately he stepped out with the four students, the classroom became as noisy as market square. Everyone was chatting and trying to predict who was going to get which leadership position.

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Personally, I wanted Vivian to be appointed the senior prefect because of her spirit of camaraderie . She was a sterling leader. Gentle, intelligent, disciplined, calculative and very innovative. However, the rest of the class assumed Maryann was going to be the senior prefect because she had managed to work her way into the hearts of a few of our teachers. Also, because of how much she bragged about being the best female candidate.

Batch after batch, we were called into the long and dimly lit hall where all the character judges sat. Every student they interviewed was asked very technical questions just to test the student’ concept of leadership.

After the interview, we were all asked to take the rest of the day off as the day had already been far spent.

Two weeks later, it was time to appoint the prefects. All the eligible candidates were called on stage by the school’s principal who was quite the character herself.

Starting from the lowest position, she appointed prefects.

“And that leaves us with the last two candidates, Vivian and Maryann.” The principal announced. The tension in the auditorium could have been cut with a knife.

“The assistant female senior prefect is…Maryann” the principal announced.

I immediately burst out laughing as this was a dream come true for me. After the incident at the backyard the previous week and the incessant bragging from Maryann, I silently wished she would become Vivian's assistant.

Finally, Vivian was announced as the senior prefect and the crowd went crazy. She was given a well deserved round of applause. Shortly after the swearing-in ceremony, the gathering was dismissed.

I sat and watched as Maryann angrily stormed out of the auditorium. It must have been a heartbreaking moment for her when she realised she was appointed the assistant to someone who she always mocked.

As expected, Vivian fit perfectly into the role of senior prefect and she did an amazing job throughout her tenure. Maryann on the other hand wasn't an assistant I would even wish on my enemy. Sometimes I wonder what the fate of the school would have been if Maryann was indeed appointed the senior prefect.

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Love🤍

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