Thursday afternoon, yellow sun, blue skies…

I was scanning a school calendar on the office notice board. Without warning, Suzie emerged at corridor end. White blouser, maroon skirt and striped necktie were well crafted on her. Her logoed burgundy jacket was off, the sun baked. She was shifting leisurely towards my direction. I heard her singing an old song by an American singer; Cassie.

“I’m tired, I’m tired, I’m tired of being your (your) unofficial girl (unofficial girl).”

She amazed me. It was my first time to witness such lovely tone to her voice and great control over it. She might have been crooning all the way, but she muted once she saw me.

Suzie was teachers’ favourite. They perceived her as far more intelligent than boys. Maybe they were right because I had already heard rumours about her cementing number one position since her primary. She usually picked up markers and English teacher’s briefcase to the classroom before his lessons. So it wasn’t a horn on dog’s head to see her coming through to check on the aged teacher in his office.

I peeped at her face and our eyes met. But her slender curvaceous legs seemed not to be losing any momentum. She faced down as she walked near me and I hailed her.

“Su, can we talk a little?” I begged her, trying to take her by hand.

She pushed my hand away. “Please, don’t touch me,” she said.

Suzie skipped past me and vanished into the office. I got baffled.

“Has she developed an ‘I don’t want to be considered easy’ attitude or she’s still dwelling on Pryannah’s issue?” I stressed in my mind.

Still, my thoughts were unsettled.

“That song was kinda of strange, what was she all about?” I puzzled myself.

Subsequently as I turned back to the side where Suzie emerged, I saw Shoni standing there as fixed as an owl staring at me. His red face reminded me of my cruel primary school headteacher. I left using the opposite corridor to get into my classroom.

Surely, I was having a bad day. I had also failed all ten math problems in the morning. At least there was peace around my desk for consolation. I had dodged Pryannah with love lyrics she requested for some days. I was running out of excuses though, but luckily for me she was absent from class that day.

After knocking off at 15:30…

I deserted the class. As I walked past administration parking lot fond of poshy cars, someone screamed, “Boss of swaggie!”

I looked around like lost.

“Vrum-vrum, over here!” She said louder.

It was Pryannah’s top half on the roof of red BMW 7-series sedan. I walked towards it and freezed at the driver side like a deer in headlights. It was glass tinted all over. I barely spoke facing her up.

“I’m just arrived from home, wasn’t feeling good,” she said, “How was class?”

“Usual, nothing special,” I said, my eyes rotating to a lowering tinted glass. A light lady appearing like a legendary make up artist chucked her eyes on me from the steering wheel.

“You must be the talented student helping my daughter with math,” she said.

“Uhhh.. Yeah… Yeah,” I responded hesitantly. Pryannah laughed at me in her sleeves above. She knew what she cooked up.

I was shocked to see the lady’s extended hand presenting to me some k1,000 banknotes. “I appreciate your assistance, don’t stop helping her,” the lady said, “She wants to be a medical doctor one day, so she has to be good at math.”

“Thank you ma’am, I’ll polish her up,” I said, jamming the cash in my maroon I can’t go down trouser.

“I take that, I’m out of groceries dude,” I talked to my soul.

“Okay, go on take a rest at your hostel.”

“Thank you ma’am, have a nice journey back home,” I said. I waved at smiling Pryannah above and stepped away maxed out.