Advertisement

The boy who became my friend

Friday March 25 2016
school

Irunya quickly made friends with Rege. He showed him around the school and helped him to settle in. He felt proud to show him the heart of the school — the school canteen. He offered to buy Rege some snacks and he agreed but also offered to use his height to get to the front of the queue. ILLUSTRATION | JOHN NYAGAH |

Irunya remembered the day he met Rege, when both were in Form One. They had been called in to assembly and an announcement was made about new students.

The school had a tradition of introducing new students during assembly. The students would have to state their name and which school they had come from. Miss Waihenya was on duty that week and had the privilege of introducing newcomers.

Miss Waihenya’s skin was dotted with black spots and on any other person they would not have been noticeable. However, on the five-foot, light skinned Miss Waihenya, you could not miss them. She walked with her head held up high and an air of confidence about her that made an impression on all who crossed her path.

Irunya liked her especially because she taught literature. It was the only subject that allowed his mind to wander freely. Nothing excited him more than creating characters for English compositions. Miss Waihenya was kind and treated all her students equally irrespective of their backgrounds. None of her students received special favours, no matter how influential their parents were.

“Students, we have some newcomers joining us today. I would like to introduce them and I hope that you will make them feel welcome,” said Miss Waihenya.

The students craned forward to catch a glimpse of the newcomers. The bullies tried to push to the front to get a good look, like lions on the hunt. Irunya felt sorry for the new students but he was also excited at the thought of making new friends.

Advertisement

There were four in all — three boys and one girl. One boy towered over the others and he looked restless. He kept fidgeting with his faded schoolbag and his sweater was loose around his shoulders. His eyes shone with wonder as he looked at the other students. He even had a smile on his face, despite the mean looks he was getting from the bullies.

Irunya could not help wonder at this new boy. It was unusual for a newcomer to appear so relaxed and at ease on their first day. When Miss Waihenya asked the newcomers to state their names, the boy looked ready to burst with joy. Irunya was intrigued with the new boy and he wanted to be his friend.

“My name is Irege but my friends call me Rege,” the new boy said.

“Rege, what is your other name?” Miss Waihenya asked him with a smile.

“Sorry madam, it is James,” he replied, while taking a bow and smiling.

The students burst into laughter. And with that single comment, he became a favourite with students and teachers alike, including the gracious Miss Waihenya.

As she showed the newcomers to their places in the assembly, all eyes were fixed on Rege. James Rege. He walked with an aura of confidence never before exhibited in the school. Miss Waihenya allowed the performance to continue for a little while before calling the assembly back to attention.

                                                             ******

Irunya quickly made friends with Rege. He showed him around the school and helped him to settle in. He felt proud to show him the heart of the school — the school canteen. He offered to buy Rege some snacks and he agreed but also offered to use his height to get to the front of the queue.

There was a large crowd at the canteen and there was no way Irunya would be able to get the snacks before break time was over. Still, Rege took the money then made his way to the front of the canteen.

“Good morning Sister? Such a fine morning isn’t it?”

The woman lifted her head perhaps wondering what sort of trickery was up but instead she looked into kind eyes. She was dumbfounded for a while until Rege handed her a Ksh100 note.

“One full loaf please and kindly slice it into two halves,” Rege requested.

As if in a trance, the woman picked a loaf from the shelf, halved it and handed it over to Rege. She smiled widely when Rege told her to keep the change. That small gesture earned Rege priority service and always with a smile.

Irunya never left Rege’s side in their four years of secondary school.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
We are looking for short stories from amateur writers but will also accept unpublished works from professional writers. The short story should be 1,200 words; adhere to the basic structure of a plot, protagonist(s), antagonist(s), suspense, drama, cliffhanger and a conclusion. E-mail: [email protected]

- Editor

Advertisement