LEAFLET 8 – THE MISSING CAT

Attending a typical traditional basic school such as C.H.R.I.S was one enthralling experience its products will forever cherish. Been the only school in the community back then, it was the case that friends at home were again friends in school. One had no choice than to attend the only school within my small locality. My brother (Kamal) and I obviously could not have drifted away from the status quo as we were as well fortunate to attend this historic school.

Finding ourselves in a class dominated by peers in the same community, everyone basically knew everyone inside out. It was fascinating how the class roundly contained persons who possessed differed kinds of traits and attributes you could ever imagine. It was that weird. In Mariam was that lanky girl who hates non-sense. A lady whose small parrot-like mouth could bring forth magnanimous insults which targets at piercing one’s heart like Robin Hood’s perfect shot. Virtually, she was the weakest in terms of physical strength but vocally, no one came close.

Ali was the coolest and most humble among the boys in the class as only Ukasha could come close. The most envied attribute of Ali was his academic prowess. He was easily the best student in the class. Followed by Ali was Moro, though very vocal and active than Ali, he could not even for once, take away Ali’s glory by occupying the first position. Similarly, no one could as well take Moro’s glory from constantly placing second since those kindergarten days. Though both were close friends of mine, Moro was a closer friend among the two “sharks”.

In most classes, it’s easy to spot a group of students who always strolled together. That bond between Muftawu, Salam, Kamal and myself was one to be admired. Though none of us could boast of the best student accolade, the 3rd to 10th position was our abode. However, Kamal was constant at filling the 3rd position, behind Ali and Moro.On school days, which were weekdays, we allocated four of those to visit each other’s homes to together eat lunch during break time. Outside class, our group was the most inquisitive. Lots of memories were shared.

Beauty angels were creatures we missed not in this marvelous class. Abiba, generally known as Mma Hajia as well as Meimuna were as charming as descriptions given to the African mermaid “Maame Water”. Meeerrrn! They were just too fine. Faiza and Fauzia; the twins, who were constantly referred to as our (Kamal and I) wives just by virtue of the fact that we are twins as well, always shone brightly in their silky chocolate skins coupled with very cute faces.

Our class mates forcefully (and seemingly negatively) referred to our friendship with these female twins as the “twins’ affair,” whereas truthfully, our friendship was just a friendly one. For the males, there were no real beauty but Wahabu was simply the ladies man due to his love for show-offs.

But wait, the most dangerous pair in class was just too obvious. Abdul-Ainan could not be separated from Abdul-Waris. What a pair these “young legends” were. These lads were obviously the most stubborn students could witness. That telepathy and automatic connection between the two was a testament of the popular saying, 

“Birds of a feather flock together.”

“Abodwese”; as Headmaster was popularly known for having long beard, owned cats numbering about twelve. These cats roamed freely on the school compound and usually found their ways even into the various classrooms without any fear whatsoever. That showed how friendly young students were with their headmaster’s pets. The most cherished cat among the dozen was the only black cat among the clowder of white ones. The climax of Abdul-Ainan and Abdul-Waris’ wonders came at a weird time when headmaster’s cherished cat went missing. It was a disheartening moment for not only the owner but for the student-lovers of cats.

Conversely, the stubborn Abdul-Ainan and Abdul-Waris did not show up in class for two continuous days after the disappearance of the cat. For some of us, it looked fishy because, though it was glaring the pair were so obstinate, that never affected their regularity in showing up for class. More especially for us in primary 4, we felt the pair had someway-somehow played a role in this happening.

In the vicinity within which Christ Revolutionary International School (C.H.R.I.S) was situated, certain people who posed as soothsayers purportedly used black cats for rituals. It was their belief that black cats are precious creatures who possess specially distinct powers in the spiritual realm. During these times, this weird believe caused prices of black cats to shoot up. Our classmates never relented in exploiting this opportunity as “Abodwese’s” most cherished cat was their desired target. Mr. Shadrack; class teacher for class 5, had earlier mentioned that the last time he met these guys some days ago, during break time, Abdul-Ainan carried his bag in a weird way. However, he could not conclude that the bag contained a cat whatsoever. Without having conclusive evidence hitting them, headmaster could not rely on Mr. Shadrack’s information as a basis to make a conclusion.

Three days after the incident, Abdul-Waris’ mother matched both her son and his closest friend to the headmaster’s office. After her quest in knowing where new ‘1000’ and ‘2000’ Ghana Cedi notes, found its way in Abdul-Ainan’s pocket came from failed, she had no option than to present him to the feared ‘Abodwese’. Her case was to inform headmaster to severely lash her ward after suspecting he had amassed plenty of monies which she knows nothing about. However, as young as they were, their fear in being severely punished got them to confess. It was true that they ‘bagged’ headmaster’s cat and consequently, sold it out to the soothsayers along the railway line. It was a sad spectacle as the two Abduls were bathed with shame.

An emergency assembly was held for students to gather and witness Abdul-Waris and Abdul-Ainan been punished. We thought we have had enough of them already and that they would not pull out any stubborn surprise anymore. We immediately realized that these boys had their hands in their pockets in an awkward way whilst been lashed, by Mr. Shadrack and Mr. Quarm respectively, for their ill deeds. Their pockets continuously got wet and sticky. To everyone’s surprise, a finger of banana they both had in their pockets caused that sticky discharge. The reason behind their action was triggered by the childhood superstitious believe that doing as they did whilst been lashed will cause the teacher to shamefully defecate on himself. Wonderful. Everyone was left in awe as their wonders continued.

Even till now, whenever we meet and chat as old friends, we relate those happenings to the African saying,

“When you look back on your childhood, you wonder how you survived it all” .

Surprisingly, the young legends are no more reflections of the sought of beings they used to be. They have totally turned new leaves and are impacting positively on the community. No condition is indeed permanent as we (old friends) all laughingly allude to the fact that Abdul-Ainan and Abdul-Waris have become the change we wish to see in the world.

Peace 🕊️

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