DOWN THE MEMORY LANE(Jason Otieno) When the assembly bell was rung at that time, everyone was quite surprised. It was unusual for the bell to be sounded at that time… It was midday and the sun shone rather brightly. The wind in the sky moved majestically as trees swirled in the cool afternoon breeze with much appreciation. It was characterized with a bizarre quietness that one could hear the earth rotate leave alone a pin drop. The lively birds were not chirping; they must have taken a break for lunch. However the occasional cooing of the gentle pigeons had rent the air. We sprung out of our chairs with the agility of a cobra. immediately, Mr. Bosire asked whether we really heard the bell or not and paraded at the assembly grounds as though we were police recruits.

“There is this bad character that is cropping up in this school. It is a shame that despite our efforts to fight the vice, our efforts are proving futile,” said the never smiling head teacher Mr. Kunden’g after he had cleared his throat. Our hearts sunk into our skins as our minds swirled and raced in a pool of confusion. One could easily read between the lines that he was up to something serious; something not good for us at all. The fact that few members of my class had not been finishing homework had come to their attention. To add salt into the injury, we had been spotted jumping over the dormitory’s gate claiming that we were to get our homework books we had forgotten in the class that eventful evening.

The previous evening had been characterized with serious noise making in the dormitory, a fact that must have crossed the head teacher the wrong way. Immediately he mentioned my name, I counted myself dead. The wrath of the head teacher especially when angered over such serious issues was so severe that not even his own blood child could dare call him daddy at that moment. I could already imagine what must have been in store for me. This scared me stiff as I shook and got confused like a chameleon on a frail twig. I took a deep breath as I cuddled myself into a letter ‘s’. Frigid sweat cascaded down my forehead and armpits as I wished the ground would open and swallow me alive. He must have noted the curious look in my face and ordered me to name the rest we were with. I hesitated but not long before I received a resounding spank that sent me sprawling and kissing the innocent sun-baked assembly grounds.

Fully taken aback and surprised, I recited the names as though I were a radio. No sooner had I finished mentioning the names than the boys were called. They came forward shaken and traumatized. The head teacher carried them up by the edge of their trousers around their pumpkin-like bottoms, giving them a resounding slap that sent them falling down chaotically. This made each and every pupil’s mouth remain agape as they stood awkwardly like cows in ice.

We were then ordered to get into the head teacher’s office and kneel down. Lo! This made me curse the day I was born and regretted why I never opted for permission. Surely the road of I don’t care leads to the city of I wish I knew. What we saw from the office’s door almost made us blind. It was as though hell had broken loose and the devils were preparing to pay us a courtesy call. My hair stood up straight as if asking for a comb as my sturdy legs all of a sudden wobbled like jelly. The most brutal teachers within the school had lined in the head’s office with each a bamboo stick.

Shouts of “uuih, Uuih,” rent the tensed office as we received the best from the no nonsense and brutal-hearted teachers. We winced and writhed in pain and agony as we remained as helpless as an infant and vulnerable as a trapped antelope. Others kept drifting in and out of consciousness as sweat oozed out of their foreheads and armpits at the rate of a faulty tap. Soon it was over; however I couldn’t feel my sitting apparatus. By the time we stepped out of that door, I knew things would never be the same again as no one, I mean no one, would ever see me out of the dormitories at such odd hours or never finish the homework. In fact I decided to do even the extra work and get it marked. We had learnt our lesson the hard way.

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