CAMARADERIE TROUBLES

"Granny!.. granny!" Alicia called out with excitement. She had some piece of bread in her mouth. They were having breakfast at the dining table.

"Yes, dear" Mama Gloria sipped from a mug of tea.

"Tell me something, maybe a gist, a story, or whatever. I just want to discuss with you Mama, any." She said with curiosity.

"But you know is wrong to talk while having a meal yeah?"

"I know" she cut in.

"They had Alicia's best food that morning. Alicia continued biting loaves of bread. She made sandwiches with the slices and scrambled eggs. she crushed each piece in her mouth, sipping her tea. She had more than she could chew in her mouth.

"Don't get yourself convulsed, you'd be constipated." Mama laughed.

She would never hear that. Mama Gloria must have repeated herself an umpteenth time.

Bukunmi came to clear the table.

"Ok Mama, how abaau my request?" she clung to her. Mama swabbed small crumbs of food from the dining table-cloth.

"What exactly do you want to hear?" She smiled at her loving granddaughter.

"Maybe a gist about something that happened at your workplace or so, just anything". she replied.

"Oh my, I got so many things to talk about here darling. I've been working there for about a decade now, so the gist would be endless."

Alice's face brightened. It was exactly what she wanted to hear. She was quite excited her granny had a lot to say. She adjusted the dining seats and turned it to face mama, she sat. "Mama, please take off. I can't wait to hear." she beamed with a curious countenance.

"What's the time?" Mama Gloria asked.

The huge wall clock that hung behind the dining room arch had stopped working. It needed new batteries, yet Mama wouldn't cease to glance up at it anytime she needed to check the time. Weird! Alicia pulled out her iWatch series 5. "10:00 AM" she answered.

"There's this new man we've got in our company who just lost a son. Practically, his son killed himself."

"For real?" Alicia replied, astonished.

"You see, I really don't know what's going on with the teenagers and youths of these days. You people seem to be more 'matured' than your age. They get to know many things even adults don't know." Alice laughed. "Mama, the world is evolving. Information spreads like wildfire. Ignorance is primitive, and technology has advanced. Any kind of information is easily accessible through the internet and other mass media."

"Alice, you remind me of my good old days at high school. I was to oppose a motion that states 'Tech has done more harm than good'. I said the exact words you just said"

"And who won the argument?" Her eyes bored into Mama.

"My opponent" Mama Gloria laughed.

"Mama, you really mean you lost in an argument to your co-debator? despite bazillions of points you can raise to back up that argument. The argument was much to your advantage."

"Yes, I know dear. It isn't really about the number of points being raised. There's a wide range of other criteria required in a debate. I was to compete with Samson, the school senior prefect boy. The guy is so. I'm short of words." Mama paused.

"You mean like, dope, outspoken?" Alice asked.

"Yes, something like that." She continued.

"He had a very big confidence. His competence was second to none. He was well dressed that day. I remember that one of the teachers remarked that he appeared like a banker. Regardless of the looks, he was eloquent. He spoke mind-blowing grammar. His orals, diction, and vocab were breathtaking. This was a major spec girls at my high school drooled over in him. He performed so well during his debate session. I was swept off my feet before I climbed the stage after he supported the motion. In fact, I felt intimidated. I had an awkward performance. I couldn't even back up my points properly. I just talked about the importance of technology and I accepted defeat gracefully. The rest is a story for another day." mama concluded.

Alice maintained a stare.

"All right, before telling you about my colleague's son, let's do a little throw-back to my high school days."

"Yay!" Alice played with her fists.

"I so much love high school throwbacks. It really seems to me like people were telling me their biography whenever I hear throwback stories. It's always exciting to hear. Mama, please commence." "Then we are going to have a long talk today." Mama Gloria laughed.

"Ma'am, we've got more than enough time. Kindly help me exhaust judiciously by telling me your stories, and save me from boredom.

"Get me a glass of water," Mama said.

I was in SS2A one day. Mrs. Stella; the vice-principal came into our classroom to announce that my school- PATISA INTERNATIONAL had been invited to participate in a Charity Poetry Competition. She told us that the representatives she chooses would compete with other representatives from over thirty top schools in Ilorin for the win.

"Class be silent!" Mrs. Stella ordered.

Murmurings and side talks in the class drowned out. She held a big handbill.

"I'm glad to announce to y'all that PATISA INTERNATIONAL has been invited a top philanthropic NGO involved in charity and helping the poor, to participate in a very big annual poetry competition." The class was very silent. Everyone paid rapt attention to what she said.

"It's being organized by MMGIVIT."

Side talks in the class increased.

"Isn't MMGIVIT that top initiative founded by SAN Mohammed Mustafa?" Jamal asked.

"I don't even know, but most likely" He got a reply.

"As I was saying", Mrs. Stella continued.

"There's a big reward attached to this. Aside from monetary benefits, the winner would be on the cover design of the organization, and that will earn him and the school big honor. I have chosen not to involve your senior ones. I mean the SS3's because they are rude and very naughty at times. They wouldn't take this seriously. Besides, they've not got big talent as I see in this class."

What got me most surprised was the fact that she came to science class. This was so funny. What did she mean? Anything related to poetry or stage performance was for the arts. I thought. "There's going to be two categories for this COMP." She started again.

"The senior category and Junior category. Each category consists of three participants each. This means, six people are going to represent the school in this competition."

"Oh Lord, may I be chosen." I prayed silently.

"Okay, so Gloria, Sharon, and Taofeek see me in my office."

She walked out of the class.

I was glued to a spot.

"Wow", surprising isn't it?

Thank goodness, I knew she was gonna pick me because even though I was in the sciences, I got this big passion for literature. Anything related to public speaking, writing, poetry, and drama caught my interest. Besides, I never hid the potential within me. I do write on the 'neglected' school notice board. I said 'neglected' because it was completely useless. No one pasted on it. It came to my mind one day, and I started to use it to broadcast inspirational, motivational, and educational-related write-ups. I became famous at school. Teachers would daily commend and praise me, telling me "keep up the good work". I never allowed pride set in. It only stirred up the zeal and determination within me. Students would say, "Gloria, I enjoyed reading today's episode of your #Realtalk. Please, when are you updating the next one?" I would smile proudly and reply; "Stay tuned".

Many students would miss their lesson periods, standing relentlessly before the notice board; reading my posts. They enjoyed every little bit of it. This board was the only one in school, but it was located in a very noticeable corner. This boosted my morale because I was a shy and moody person at school then. I could easily get depressed on no account and get really 'thinky' bla bla. This made me have time to unveil my gifts. I became a popular literary 'star' at school. I wasn't really surprised. I expected it.000000