THE PRIMARY ASSIGNMENT
A guy was posted to a Private Secondary School (PSS) for his primary assignment in the South- West of the Republic. He was teaching the pupils Economics/Commerce. It was when he got there that some new students were promoted to Senior Secondary Class 1 (SS1). Those pupils were distributed to different classes according to their grades in their promotion examinations results.
This guy has a unique teaching prowess his ability to pass the message across to the students with ease is rare and exceptional. It was not long for him to endear himself into the hearts of many of his students. The new light he always introduces into the teaching, the new way with which he passes the knowledge bringing the subject so close to the person with the lowest intelligent quotient amongst the student he was teaching in the school made the students to decide that they would need to go extra mile with the guy, the students consulted him and requested for him if he could be taken them tutorials. He obliged to this because he derives pleasure and satisfaction teaching.
While doing this a gullible girl and this guy got close, she was an SS1 student.
CONSIDERATION
However, this guy has a lady he had been pursuing days back while in the University, the lady in question was in 200 Level when he graduated.
But this lass was pussy-footing on the matter of dating the guy, despite her pussy-footing, this guy was yet hanging on, trusting that the lady would eventually be his’.
"This SS1 girl's reaction to me is as if we are dating" the guy said to himself one day after the girl left him ..., "but I can’t marry someone who is not a graduate? An SS1 student! God forbid! How many years would I have to wait for her?” the guy continues to soliloquize, “I am now 24 years old going to 25! It is better I still hang on to the campus lady, she will be graduating next year, by then, I should have round up here and perhaps would have secured a job, it is better I hang on to her, or be on the lookout for another lady around of higher status than this SS1 student" He concluded within himself. To show his unwavering feelings for the on campus lady again, he placed a call to her, but the lady did not answer her call, he therefore sent her a text message, at least if she is busy to answer my call or maybe she is not with her phone at the moment, she won’t be busy to read the text, the text she could read later, after lectures, when she is alone in her room or something, he reasoned.
AN END, A NEW BEGINNING
Soon enough, he finished his primary assignment in the school and he was to leave, but the school management would not let him go, out of all the people posted there, they asked for his services and he was retained, employed on temporary basis as one of their staff. Pending the time he would secure a government job, because nearly every graduate in the land looks forward to working with the government, he accepted the offer and started working in the school.
THE NOTICE
The SS1 girl too was not doing bad in her studies things have changed for this young girl academically too and she has been discovered to be making progress in her studies. People noticed that since the time that the girl has been attending the tutorials of this teacher and developed rapport with him things have changed for the naïve girl in her studies she has moved out of the academic poor zone to academic average zone among her peers and mates. She always goes to the teacher to ask questions about confusing topics in her studies which this teacher would gladly put her through. Special notes were assigned by this student for his lessons, tutorials and assignments. This makes it easier for her to make progress in her studies on all fronts.
POSSIBLE CHANGER
There are people with high intelligent quotient and there are some who work their ways up to belong to those with high intelligent quotient this naïve secondary school girl was one of those who work themselves up to increase themselves academically. And people used to say those who work themselves up like this are the kinds of people who can actually make the needful changes as leaders in the world, they are those who can actually impact knowledge into the hearts of students, they are good teachers because they know what they passed through to get to where they are, they would not assume for students nor anyone while instructing them, they would break down whatever they are teaching or instructing to the letters to them, their students.
This however cannot be said for those who have high intelligent quotients, they will jump so many procedures, while teaching based on the assumptions that the students ought to know “this and that” because that is whom they are, they are operating under the platform of “people should be like them, people should see things as they are seeing the things” and when some cannot see things like that, they would think what could have been the cause of such a one not seeing things as they are seeing things?
GOOD AND BAD TUTORS
These kinds of people are even worst as lecturers in our island, because as lecturers they do not need to break things down to the letters in our island unlike it is expected to be done in the secondary schools because that is the foundation and teachers are expected to break things down to letters for easy grasp and understanding by the students.
A friend of mine who graduated from an Asian University says the lecturers there differ as they communicate with their students as if they are communicating with secondary school students breaking things down as if they are teaching kindergarten pupils, but such cannot be said of the lecturers in this island. The lecturers in our island do not need to break things down unto their students, instead of doing that here they will give such works as assignments to their students. Someone even says it is because many of them do not know what they are doing, thus to cover up their ignorance, they would give the unknowns to their students as assignment. Since the students do not know too, they will also lift up what they have read from the books or whatever and write it out for their unknown lecturers, copy and paste syndrome is what someone calls this method.
STILL MONITORING
This young teacher kept on looking out for other ladies as well as systematically hanging on for the undergraduate girl, hoping against hopes that things would turn around soon, she would re-consider him. After all, people say that is how ladies in this part of the island behave to those they shall eventually settle down with.
He went to the institution on several occasions just to make sure that he sees the on campus girl but the on campus girl dodges him like a plague, thus, on all the occasions of his visitation to the campus he never saw the lady.
Nothing has disrupted the academic calendar in the institutions of higher learning in the island in the past decade, therefore, this on campus lady graduated to time. She was even awarded for being the best student in one of the core courses of her department.
REASON
After her graduation the young teacher discovered that the lady has been seeing someone. The person the lady was seeing did not attend the same institution as the lady, she must have been seeing the guy before she secures admission into the institution. This guy was seen with the lady on the day of their convocation, she introduced him as his fiancé to people who gathered to felicitate with her on the successful completion of her academics in the institution.
HE WAS UPDATED
From her utterance, people then knew why she did not consent to proposals from some guys who have been asking her out on campus before she graduated. It did not take long before the news of this got across to this young teacher who has been eyeing her for long, who have been sending messages to her and who have made frantic efforts to see her but all to no avail.
EFFECT OF UPDATE
When this teacher get this news, he fell sick because he had been thinking that he would eventually win the lady’s heart of love. He couldn’t concentrate on what he was teaching the student in the class, and everyone notices that something was wrong with this young teacher but no one could fix what the problem was, as he was equally not ready to divulge what he it was the problems were with him.
Members of staff advised him to go to the staff clinic of the school to complain to the doctor there if he cannot divulge what it was the problem with him to others. He knew what the problem was with him and he decided to take sick leave from work to treat himself hiding his sickness under the auspices of some age long infirmities that had occurred to him when he was very young but which is now raising up its ugly head again.
SICK LEAVE GIVEN
The principal of PSS did not hesitate to give him sick leave because he as well as other members of staff not excluding the students know that this guy is a “workaholic”, he has not for once complain of headache neither taken a sick leave since he got to the institution including when he was doing his primary assignment in the institution. He was unlike others who served in the institution who would travel without excuse, those who served in the institution without fear neither morals. He served in the institution with fear, he worked as if he was a member of staff of the institution and the students could feel his impact because all the students who wrote the external examination that year made his papers, even the worst of them. He did not assist them, but rather took the pain of teaching them the rudiments of making his courses and those rudiments were stuck to. And as if he was a member of the examination setting committee of the external examination body all those areas he admonished them to focused on were the questions that was asked from the students that year. What he did during that transient time brought a total change to the school, because the news of the success spread wide and far that was how parents started bringing students to the institution.
With this in view, the principal could not deny him what he asked for, no one could raise an eye brow to what he asked for. What was coming out of the mouth of all and sundry was that “get well quick”, some will say, “we wish you quick recovery”, while some of the students like the naïve girl who has been interacting with him lovingly, said, “we shall miss you sir”.
The sick leave granted him was up to four weeks by the principal because the principal was thinking he may need to travel to where his people are to do some necessary things before returning.
GETTING OUT OF SHOCK
This young teacher knows what the problem was with him, he knows that what happened to him is called Psychological breakdown because he was in shock due to the news he received from the spies he set up to monitor the lady he was eyeing on campus. To get over this shock he reasoned within himself that he needs to take leave off his duties to rest a while, think on what he needs to do to forge ahead in life.
He lost appetite for every thing, the world becomes boring to him because of his love for the lady. He was just managing himself on. The leave actually helped him as he talked to himself, remembering that if one dies because of a lady, ladies who passed by his tomb will call him a fool for dying because of a lady when they know the cause of his death.
After he had talked to himself, he started getting over the incident, and he decided that it is high time he needs to pursue the alternate plan vigorously.
HAVE OTHER PLANS
Counselors have always said that it is only a fool that would have a single plan. One must have plan A and plan B and sometimes even more plans, so that when a plan fails one would change to the next plan. But a fool who does not have secondary plan would be recycling a singular plan over and over again not making progress.
For him the alternate plan was getting someone else. However all the ladies he has been seeing and talking to have not show interest in him, and since his mind has been with the on campus lady all this while he never bothered to press hard those ladies maybe assuming he had, maybe he would by now have won the heart of one of them. But since tides of wave of love have changed directions now, he need to act, and act fast he must, he mused to himself.
RESUMPTION
He resumed his work back with new vigor and strategies. When he resumed, his colleagues and students were saying he was looking fresh than ever, that it is good to take leave once in a while to set things straight. Some even say he has gone and sulk her mother’s breast because he looks stress-less.
He appreciates each and everyone of them as he sets in motion the alternative plans.
In the meanwhile, the SS1 student of yesterday has not stopped showing signs of love to this guy, she even gave him a get well soon greeting card. No one knows what the student saw in him, and now the lady has finished her examinations and was awaiting her results and admission into the University.
AT THE SEND FORTH PROGRAM
A send forth program was organized by the management of the institution in which they wrote the parents of the students to be in attendance.
During the sent forth program organized by the authorities of the Secondary School to which the parents of the graduands were all invited to, this lady’s parents were also in attendance. Before the program powerfully starts, the lady brought her parents to the guy to show him to her parents telling them that this is the teacher who has always been there for her. Her parents was elated to know him telling him that their daughter usually talk about him, his prowess and how intelligent he has been in impacting knowledge unto the students of the school, their daughter inclusive.
The man was caught aback for he did not know that something like this could have been said by any of the students to their parents, he found his tongue glued to his palate because he did not know the right words with which to answer her parents with he eventually mustered out some words, thank you sir and ma, I think teaching is a gift, I derive pleasure in teaching people, impacting knowledge into them…
“Oh yea, I see. That is good”, the student’s father said inter-ruptingly
“But I must confess sir and ma, that your daughter has been exceptional out of all the students I am teaching in this school because she would not let me be, she comes and comes and comes, even when she knows something she will still come and ask. Her inquisitiveness and drive to learn have stand her out, making her to stand shoulder to shoulder even with the best student in the school…”
“Uhm mm?” Student’s mother said looking surprised, placing her arm across the shoulder of her daughter.
“Oh yes ma, and to me, that is one of the good attributes of a good student, with the foundation she has gotten from here now, when she secures admission to any institution of higher learning globally, I want to tell you ma that she will be competing for the honors in that institution because this is the place that mattered most, the foundation venue, it is grooming stage, when she secures admission, no one would watch over her, the drive she has gotten here would keep driving her on to becoming one of the world’s renown scholar”, the Guy finally said.
“Uhm. In any way we want to thank you for being there for her, and we hope we shall know you more with time sir”, her father said as he stretches his right hand to his wife, showing that the woman and him appreciated the teacher.
“Uhmn. I need to say the honour has been mine sir. And I will also been looking forward to know you more sir. Tapping from your wealth of experience and knowledge as parents and elder sir”, the guy passionately replied.
“Oh, I need to tell you that, we have finished discussions with the principal of the school and we shall like to move her brother into this school as from next session and we do hope you will also be there for him”, her mummy said rather than asking, looking straight into his eyes, with her hands still across her daughter’s shoulder.
“That would be wonderful sir and ma”, he replied looking at the woman, adding, “I will by God’s grace try my best for him too. Whenever he resumes please tell him to ask for me. When we get to know each other, I would take the rest up from there ma” he happily replied.
“Oh, that would be very nice of you sir, thank you sir”, the woman said with signs of happiness on her faces.
The man stretched out his hand to shake the teacher’s hand, the teacher also stretched out his hand, bending his torso a bit and shakes the student’s father’s hand. The student’s father said, “this is very good of you, we now know that our son is coming into the hand of the right person for his academic life. He is fair, but we want his academic fairness to change to good and better and best among his peers”.
BOOKING AN APPOINTMENT
The man and the woman took a step, started walking back to the hall, the student removed her mother’s hand across her shoulder as she walks close to her teacher, whispered something into the ears of her mother, her mother nodded her head and left her as the mother and her father walked ahead, their daughter waited a bit, and speak to the guy in a hush tone, “sir, my brother and I will come and visit you in your house next week”
“I am likely to travel tomorrow”, the guy replied in a hushed tone.
“Ha! Please sir, shift your traveling by a week now or don’t you want to see me again?” Student asked pleadingly.
He did not know when he said, “I will love to see you, in fact it seems as if you should not leave, but saying that would be callous of me…”
“If you are interested in seeing me again, postpone the travelling sir”, she said pleadingly, in a low voice.
“I will look into it. But when do you plan to come?” He asked looking into her eyes.
“Wednesday or Thursday…”
“Why can’t you be specific?” He asked interuptingly, as the parents of the student have walked far ahead of them about to enter the hall. They were in their own world, leaving their daughter and her teacher to their own world. After all they have always been together before their coming for the graduation ceremony that day.
“Sir, I don’t want my parents to know that I will be paying you a visit sir” She responded, looking at her parents as they walk ahead of them.
“Uhmn mn. I see. I will be waiting for you then, I will have to cancel all other plans I have for the two days since you are not specific of the date and day you will be visiting.” he said, looking at her.
“Okay sir. Thank you sir” she said as she paced up to meet with her parents, and they entered the hall together while the guy joined his (other) colleagues and they started talking and laughing as they entered the hall where names of the graduands were being called.
IN THE HALL
The teacher is neither traveling nor having any engagement after the day’s graduation ceremony other than visiting some of his colleagues, cleaning his room and may be go to the sports arena to exercise his body and watch some sports men and women. He is yet to decide on paying his parents a visit for it was not long that he returned from his parents’ place. One has to apply wisdom to everything one is doing most especially on spending or else one would just be borrowing every month, cut your clothes according to your cloth so the people say.
The lady did not win any award as she was among the average students in the school, but it was so clear that she has changed academically, because she needed no help to score those marks she scored. Her parents noticed that she has changed academically, her reading rate has improved, and that was why they approached the guy to show him their hearts of gratitude that his efforts on their daughter reflect in so many ways. Everyone is now in the hall and the tempo of the program is rising.
As the program continues, this guy intermittently think about what the lady said, he sometimes would have been lost in his thoughts and some of his friends would be the persons who will jerk him back to what was on going in the hall. As he thinks about their discussion he will also stylishly look at where she is sitting down. Something has been running through his mind, love has been running through his mind, “I hope I am not falling in love?” he internally asks himself and his answer was, “I don’t even know. All I know is that she is not bad, she is averagely beautiful, and I know she is ready to listen to me, ready to yield to all I say,” but he was still ruminating on the possibility of his waiting for her, the possibility of their coming together in love relationship, the possibility of them leaving the horizon of “tutor-student level” to “lover-lover level”.
RECURRENT QUESTION
He asks himself, “Can this be possible? Can I wait for her?” His reply, “I don’t even know, I am desperate to be engaged, but people say I should not be desperate lest I hit brick wall. I do not want to hit brick wall maritaly. Then what can I do? I am at a fix. I am lost” He said to himself on a final note.
After the program, the guy couldn’t think about any other thing other than what the lady said, that she would be paying him a visit with her brother the following week. “Uhmm, the lady I said I cannot wait for has finished her Ordinary Level examinations, hopefully soon she will secure admission into one of the institutions of higher Learning in the land, and if that happens and there is no interruption in the academic calendar she will soon be graduating from the school…. Look at how her parents even addressed me? What a loving parents they are! If these people could become my in-laws that also would not be bad, but some parents would not want their daughters to be married to her teachers. I do not know whether her parents fall into this category of parents. Uhmm, that is an irony! I don’t know why some parents would not want their daughter to be married to their teacher. Oh! It may not be unconnected with money. There is no money in teaching unlike others disciplines. One cannot “chop” anything as teachers, but there are things that can be “chopped” by people who are in other disciplines. This may be one of the reasons why some do not want their wards to be married to teachers, but there is peace and rest of mind in the job. This teaching job also gives one time to attend to other things unlike some other disciplines, thus if one has a loving and understanding partner one can invest one’s time in other things that would bring money…, Uhmn, mm, but to start that thing also requires money. Everything is centered on money, money, money little wonder our fathers used to say “money says when she is not around ‘no one should deliberate behind her’”. Uhmn! Hardly can anyone deliberate behind money’s back. Money is a central focus on which virtually everything revolves in the world. May we not lack money to do good things in Jesus name. Amen…on and on continued he to think on myriads of things until he slept off on the couch that he was sitting on….
AT HIS HOUSE
The teacher’s songs in the house he was living in reveal that he was in happy mood that week-end his co-tenants could not but ask him what was on going that week-end because he was in happy mood all through no dull moment with him. Those songs of love, songs of joy continued to come out of his lips since the night of the graduation ceremony… Love is like smoke, it can hardly be hidden for long.
Time waits for no one, soon enough it was Tuesday morning the following week and the teacher could barely sleep that night as he was thinking about the lady, he wouldn’t know why the adrenaline surge would be increased like that as to start thinking about the lady, one of his students’. He intermittently woke up before the morning of Wednesday, verily fortunate for him, his student arrived that Wednesday around 12:00 noon with her brother.
VISITORS AND HOST
Before they got to his room he had spotted them from the window of his room, and while they were knocking the door, he just opened the door for her and her brother.
“Enter please”, Teacher said.
“Good afternoon sir”, She greeted him genuflecting.
“Oh good afternoon”, he replied, opening the door wide for them to enter into the room.
As she was greeting him so was the younger one also greeting the teacher, “Afternoon sir”, he greeted, bending his torso.
“Oh! You must be Karinaline’s younger one?” Seth, the Teacher, asked, looking at the boy, and then looking at the lady.
“Yes sir”, he responded bending his torso again as a sign of respect for the teacher. As he bent his torso, Seth, stretched out his hand to raise him up. “How was your journey?” he asked, as he faced Karinaline’s brother, whom he has supported with his right hand from completely prostrating for him.
“It was not difficult sir”, he replied, looking at the floor rather than looking at the eyes of the teacher. So is it in the land, so it was those days, students hardly look directly into their teachers eyeballs. “My sister has a pictorial memory of this place”, he added
As he ushered them into his one room apartment, looking at Karinaline from head to toe, he could not but appreciate her dressing, “wow!...”
Karinaline interjecting, “What is it sir?” she asked taking a step inside.
Teacher continued, “You are looking radiantly beautiful in this dress of yours, you are looking like one of the fresh University graduates in town”, he added. Karinaline looked at herself from head to toe, not seeing much difference in herself, but decided to say this; “thank you sir. But sir this is one of my old dresses, it is nothing new, I cannot put on new dress for this trip else our mummy would suspect and I do not want her to suspect anything”, she finaly said.
“Can you please take your seats?”, he said stretching his hand to the couch, walking to where his shelf is and the Flat Screen television to switch it on
“But, sir, do you like this dress, I mean my dressing?” Karinaline asked her teacher as she uses her hand to pack together her skirt, bending her knees to sit down on the couch. On sitting down, her brother also take his seat beside his sister.
Her teacher looked back to take a glance at his student again so as to re-assess her in her dress, as he continued to press the remote control on his hand and replying, “Yea, I like your dress, this outfit is superb, you are looking wonderful in it”, he enthused facing what he was doing, pressing the remote control and operating the television.
“Wow!” Karinaline said, looking at her brother, smiling, “that is a hell lot of appreciation from you sir, I am flattered”, she replied.
Karinaline’s brother said, “and my sister did not want to put on this dress when we were about to leave the house, she was saying you may not like it”
“Was that so?” Teacher asked looking at both of them on the couch sited.
“Yes sir. I was the one who told her to put this on sir”, he added
“That is good. You made a very good selection for her. This clothe is perfect on her it is as if she was born with it”, teacher said
Karinaline and her brother laughed. “Oga!” Karinaline exclaimed. (Oga translated as Master)
“Do you think I am making this up? I tell you, you are looking gorgeous in the dress”, he again said, “I would have asked that were you not being disturbed by young guys when you were on your way here, but seeing your brother by you, I guess you would hardly be disturbed because those guys out there would be thinking he is your guy” Karinaline chuckled, drew closer to her brother with surprises all over her, the decoder has finally loaded he asked, “which station do you want me to tune the decoder to?” facing Karinaline and her brother on the couch.
“I love to watch Christian Drama Station sir, but my brother loves to watch Football or movie, which ever one you decide for sir”, Karinaline responded looking at her brother to hear his opinion.
“Okay. Let us do it this way. Since you are not new to me, let me ask your brother who is new to me which of the stations he would prefer”, he said to Karinaline, as he shifted his gaze to her brother.
“That would be better sir”, Karinaline responded looking at her brother’s face for what his decision would be.
“Sorry, to make this atmosphere lively, and friendly, could you please tell me what your brother’s name is?” He asked Karinaline. Karinaline turned to her brother, and asked, “Tutor wants to know your name, what is that your name again?” she finally said, patting him on the thigh.
“So you have forgotten my name now. Isn’t that so? I will pay you back”, he said to her sister.
“Don’t mind your sister”, teacher said, adding, “please tell me your name”.
“Brian sir”, he replied, sitting straight on the couch while answering him.
“Brian. Wow! What a lovely name”, he said, adding “and my name is Seth. Okay, Brian, what channel do you wish I tuned the decoder to?” Seth asked.
“For today sir, let me go with my sister, put it to the channel she likes, the Christian Drama Station sir.” Brian replied, looking at his sister’s eyes.
“Okay. That is good. The station promises to show a newly produced movie today of a brother who struggled through thick and thin to finish from the secondary school and how he ascended the academic ladder passing through all the institutions of higher learning before graduating from one of the Universities in the land I think we are in for special movie this afternoon”, Mr. Seth said on a note of finality.
“That means you used to watch this channel very well sir”, Karinaline said to Mr. Seth.
“Yes, Yes, I do, but I also love the Football channel too, and I used to switch to the Football channel when my team is playing”, he replied Karinaline, still pressing the decoder’s remote control.
“What team do you support if I may ask sir?”, Karinaline asked Mr Seth, looking at him.
“Why do you want to know? Do you love football? I don’t think I see you on the football pitch for once before your graduation”, Seth said, looking at her, thinking, this lady is not bad, she is even more beautiful than I thought, her beauty must have been hidden by her school uniforms.
“I hope you have not been monitoring me Oga. Thanks to God I was not in your House when I was a student”, Karinaline said.
“Why won’t I monitor you? You are my student, again my tutorial student. You being in the House I supervise in the school or nay does not matter”, Seth replied.
“Hey! Oga! Okay oh. I reserve my comment sir, just tell me the team you belong to”, Karinaline again said, looking at the television.
“I won’t tell you except you tell me whether or nay you love football”, Seth replied her, facing Brian, “or what do you say to that?”
“I support you sir”, Brain replied, “she cannot continue to use the gimmicks of the lady to extract information, secret information and answers from you sir”, he added.
“Thank you Brian for saying this. Ladies are good in using gimmicks to extract information from guys, men”, Seth said
Karinaline has been smiling to what they are saying, “I understand you. It is because I am the only girl among you that is why you want to cheat me, for if we are asked to vote now, I will lose out, because it is clear that my brother would not even vote for me. Quite disturbing”, she said, still looking at the television screen.
“Enough of cheap talks my sister, answer Oga’s question, do you love football or not. It is a straightforward question that needs a straightforward answer”, Brian replied his sister.
“Uhmm mm. Okay oh. Oga, I am ready to answer your question, but “sebi” (sebi’s translation is don’t) you said you are monitoring me? Then you should be able to answer that for me Oga, because it was conspicuous that I love sports while in the school”, Karinaline said, looking at Seth’s eyes.
“Was that so?” Seth asked
“Oh yes sir” Karinaline replied
“I hope you are not saying I am blind oh, Karinaline?” Seth replied.
“Ha! Oga! No, not at all oh. I am so sorry if that is what my response implies”, Karinaline begged.
“Okay. Apology accepted. Do you like football or not?” Seth asked again.
“Yes, I do sir. I was even one of the school’s female football team in case you have forgotten me sir”, Karinaline replied.
“Wow! I never knew it was your Karinaline that they used to refer to. I have not been opportune to watch any of the female’s football team’s matches since I joined your school. My first year was full of activities with my deployer, the second year when I was employed by the school’s management I was trying to settle some things, so I have been on and off the school and this town. Assuming you were not coming to my office on a regular note, you won’t have been able to learn the little you learnt then”, Seth responded.
“Since you have known that I love football and sports now, can you please tell me the team you love supporting sir”, Karinaline replied Seth looking at him.
“Uhmn! Red Lion is my team”, Mr. Seth responded, not looking at her.
“Wow! Why do you like Red Lion?” Karinaline asked him
“I love Red. I was in Red House when I was in secondary school and since then I have love anything Red”, he replied, adding, “please before we continue to discuss, what do I offer you people, my ‘august visitors’?” as he drops the remote controls on the center table. But there was no immediate response from the duo. Then Seth continued, “I was given a wine by one of the parents during your graduation, can I bring that out?” He asked them.
“That would be okay by us sir”, Karinaline replied Mr. Seth on their behalf.
“That is good”, Mr Seth dropped the remote control went to where the wine is at the corner of his room, he has no refrigerator, he brings out the wine and as he was going to the Kitchen Karinaline asked, “may I go and get us the wine cups sir?” removed the handbag strap on her shoulder, placing the bag on the seat, stands up to go and get the wine cups from the kitchen.
“You won’t know where they are kept, do not disturb yourself, I will get it for you”, Mr. Seth replied.
“Sir! Just describe to me where you kept the wine cups and I will fetch it out “sebi” that is your kitchen?”, Karinaline responded pointing to a section of the room whose door is left opened.
“Oh yea. That is the kitchen. If you really want to do that...”
Karinaline Interjecting Seth saying, “I want to do it sir. We are not brought up like that in our house, to see an elder person taking something out for the junior ones”
“If you are talking about junior, then it is Brian that should do that for us”, Seth said, looking at her.
“Brian is a boy sir, apart from that he is new to you. It is girls duty to serve at homes, not otherwise”, Karinaline added.
“We need not prolong this matter. Enter into that kitchen, you will see shelf on which my stove is placed, open the middle shelf and you will see the wine cups where they are neatly arranged. Water is running from the tap, you can rinse them there or put a water in a washing bowl and we shall rinse them here.”, Mr Seth replied.
“Okay sir”, Karinaline who by now is on her feet started walking to the kitchen to go and get the wine cups for them to use. She soon returned with the cups placed on a tray after rinsing. The wine was opened and it was served. They started sipping the wine as they watched the Christian Drama Station.
They talked mainly about Karinaline and her brother, Brian’s, academics and how he would be of help to him when he resumes. He advised Karinaline on the institution to choose. After this they departed.
SECURING ADMISSION
Karinaline passed the entrance examination into the University. When Seth got the news, he told her father that anyone he knows in the University should be contacted because admission in the island transcends passing the entrance examinations. He also contacted the people he knew and she was admitted into the University.
After her admission, he again brought to his mind their relationship, her visitations, because before she left for the institution her visitation to Seth’s house is not a secret to her parents again since they discovered that he was also assisting their daughter to secure admission. She was given a pass to be visiting him.
The relationship between Seth and Karinaline’s family has grown deeper, transcending teacher-students or teacher-parents of students level, it seems as if they are now family.
Before Karinaline tells anyone about anything in her department, she would have told Seth about it. Things are going on smoothly between them, but then, Seth is yet to have someone to be called his own, and he is yet without a fiancée.
HE CANNOT SHRUG IT OFF
The thought of Karinaline kept coming to his mind, the lady he was thinking that how could he wait for her has finished her first session in the university going to the second year. The question on the possibility of his waiting for her does not arise again because nature has forced that to happen. What is now troubling him is can he be married to her? What would be her parents reactions?
He read an online article, the summary of the article is that lovers should not think about what others would say when they are in love. According to this article, how do I even know that Karinaline is in love with me? For all we know she may not be in love with me he said to himself.
THE PROPOSAL
To know whether or not she is in love with him, he decided to bell the cart one day…. He paid her a visit in her school, it was not difficult to locate her because he had called her to tell her that he would be coming to visit her, and Karinaline said she would be very happy to see him.
Karinaline has been waiting for him at the bus stop, and from there they started strolling around the campus, they got to one of the eateries on campus and he asked her to let them go in there, they entered into the place to have a drink and talk. It was at the place that he proposed to her.
Karinaline was not surprised to hear that from him, because that has been in her mind all these years, since her secondary school days when he had been teaching her. But what now put a puzzle across her mind now is that how would her parent see this?
Seth told her that they will figure that out later. The important thing for now is if she will agree to his proposal. Karinaline agreed and the ball started rolling.
What he had been disturbing himself on, what he had had sleepless nights on, was gotten on a platter of gold to him, without struggling, he was surprised.
They have been known to ech other for a while, but since relationship has come in now, another study needs to be undertaken by them. But things were not difficult for them as some people have been suggesting.
HE WAS ACCEPTED
When Karinaline was in the final year, she told her parents that she has been in love with Mr. Seth. Her Mum said, ”we have been thinking along that line before having made inquiries into the marital life of Mr. Seth. When we discovered that Mr Seth has not been married, I told your father that won’t he get involved with you with time? Your father’s response was that we shouldn’t jump the gun, that we should leave you alone to keep playing your ball as you wish, according to him that day, “some guys are discipline guys and irrespective of how serious their relationship with ladies are, they would not do anything stupid with those kinds of ladies. I think Mr. Seth is one of those guys, who sees ladies as males when interacting with them”. When your father said this, I had to admit with him, and you will notice that I keep on interrogating you, keep on pushing you on certain occasion to know whether Mr. Seth is behaving stupid with you, but your replies have always shown that nothing like that was happening and everytime that your brother talks about him too, it was all praises. I think it is a welcome development, since he has not in any way done something stupid like some other guys whose stories we have heard of”, Karinaline’s mother concluded.
“Wow!” Karinaline exclaimed, moving close to her mother. “I never knew all your inquiries were centered on Mr. Seth. I was thinking according to our culture you are making inquiries into my sex life to monitor me so that I won’t misbehave, so that I won’t drag the family’s name in the mud, I did not know it was because of Mr. Seth you have been making those inquiries”, she concluded.
“It was because of him oh! When I noticed that the intimacy is getting close, as a woman, your mother, who have been in love before, I have been having the feeling that something would happen”, Karinaline mother enthused.
“Uhmn. Karinaline’s mother”, Karinaline said embracing her mum
“No one has pushed you into this. No one has set you up with him. Our prayer is that everything goes as planned with you two. This house has always been his house and with this development now, no house can be his house other than this”, Karinaline mother said.
Mr. Seth was full of surprises when he heard what Karinaline’s parents said. What he thought would be a problem was not in any way a problem. They continued with their love, and shortly after Karinaline‘s graduation from the University they got married to each other.
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