With limited resources around school like computers and a big library with a vast variety of books for research, finding the symbol of the butterfly in the circle proved to be a dead end. We never had computers for us pupils to practice basic ICT skills except the computers that the teachers used to type and print out test papers and assignments. They were only two computers that it wasn't enough for all the teachers to use, so, they would go out to internet cafes outside the school premises to do their work. And the bad part was, us the students, weren't allowed go out of the school premises for that will lead to punishment or suspension, better yet, expulsion. The good part about our school syllabus was that it didn't require us to do much research that you would need the internet. The library wasn't used much either.
But seriously, though, it wouldn't hurt to have computers in school for academic purposes. Though I know why the school wouldn't want to risk it, I really wished we had them.
Three days had passed since Monday. I hadn't dreamt of that woman ever again, not without finding the symbol first. I tried checking every dormitory and the ablution blocks, but nothing. I hadn't checked the classrooms yet. And as far as Bertha was concerned, she was well and stable back at the clinic. She would be discharged later on in the evening.
It was just past lunch time and on Fridays, we always knock off half day because we had sports in the afternoon. We had all just come back from the dining hall and we were in the dorm changing from our school uniform attire to our sports attire.
I was at my bunk bed changing into my white shirt and black track bottom when Christine came right behind me.
"I hate sports," said Christine as she went on the other side of the bunk bed where there was a small metal locker with her suit case on top of it.
"You say that every Friday we have sports," I said as I sat on my bed and removed my white stockings.
"Can we just skip the part where we just run and do all kinds of sporty stuff?" she asked as she unzipped her suitcase and carelessly rummaged in it for her sports attire.
"Tell that to the teachers then." I suggested.
"They would have me murdered."
"Ya, I know." I went on to look for my other socks in my suitcase on top of my trunk.
As I opened the suitcase, I noticed the little note the woman in my dreams had left me three days ago, sitting at the corner of my suitcase. I took it in my hand and unfolded it. The butterfly in the circle dissected in four parts was all that was on it. There were times during these past few days that I would think the drawing on the piece of paper would just disappear and then words would appear. But I always hoped for the impossible and they never really came to be.
I found my black socks and wore them. Then I knelt down onto the floor and pulled out my white and blue sneakers from under the bed. I quickly wore them and went to the other side of the bunk bed to check up on Christine.
"Are you ready?" I asked her.
She was wearing her black sweatpants and a white shirt. At the moment, she was struggling to remove her white sock on her left leg as she held on to the top bunk bed and her other hand was pulling out the sock, her left leg in mid-air.
"No," she said as she finally pulled out the sock. And she didn't sound happy when she said it.
I gave her a smile. "I'll go fetch us some water in our bottles. We don't want to be dehydrated out there."
"Oh, can you put juice in my bottle instead?" Christine asked as I went back to my side. "You know I like juice in such occasions."
"Okay," I said as I removed my suitcase and placed it on my down bunk bed so as to open my trunk.
My trunk is where I kept my dry food, snacks and juice. There were two boxes of cornflakes, a tin of powdered milk, a packet of sugar, peanut butter, biscuits, packets of potato chips, most of us Zambians like to call them crisps; my juice bottle and Christine's and a bottle of undiluted orange juice called Mazoe.
I filled 1/4 of our bottles with the undiluted juice. When I was done and I put my suitcase where it belonged, I got the two bottles that were on the floor and made my way out of the dorm. I left Christine looking for her sneakers under the bed. I bet she didn't notice that I was gone. I passed Amanda's bunk and she too was getting changed, but she didn't notice me either as she had her back to me. I took a sneak peek at Chisha's bed and I realised that she wasn't there. I soon walked out of the dorm.
I tried not to think of Chisha these past three days but it proved to be difficult. It was also pretty hard to avoid her in class or anywhere else for we would bump into each other. And I had to admit, we had been bumping into each other a lot that it felt weird. I don't like to believe in fate, but all this felt more of a coincidence. Was the universe trying to tell me something about her? I don't see anything weird about her and she was an exceptional student. It's the reason why she was chosen as class monitor. She was also really smart. And no one ever talked about her in a bad way nor were there any weird rumours about her. If anything, she was perfect. Too perfect if you ask me.
I stood in the middle of the dorm area, in the open lawn where there stood two big trees. A vertical gravel path separated the two trees, one to the left and the other to the right. The tree to the right had a long thick metal rod hanging from one of its sturdy branches. The metal rod was used as our bell in the dorm area to wake us up in the morning and as a caller whenever a prefect wanted to make an announcement. The other tree to the left had a huge white water container under it, mounted on wooden beams. That was where we got our drinking water. They must have thought of placing the container under the tree for the water to be cool at all times during the day.
Anyway, that was where I was heading to. I found people in their sports attire ready to fetch water in their bottles. Luckily, I didn't have to wait for long as it was soon my turn.
Just as I turned the tap that was at the bottom of the container and placed my bottle under it, I heard some girls talking behind me. They were whispering to each other but somehow, I was able to hear what they were saying.
"Bertha is being discharged today," one of them whispered. "Do you think it will be good if she comes back here?"
"I don't know," the other replied. "Hope she won't throw a crazy tantrum again."
"Don't worry," said a third girl. "With that girl over there, we won't have to worry about Bertha because she seems to be the only one who can fight her."
The three girls giggled. Now that, a lot of us could hear. As soon as I was done fetching in the two bottles, I turned around and made way for those behind me to have their turn to draw water. I realised the three girls who were talking about Bertha and I were senior students. And to top it all off, they were the most pompous girls in school.
Dorothy, Fridah and Chibeka were grade 11 pupils and they always thought of themselves as supreme. They were also troublemakers in the making. They were well known for being late for classes, bringing in stuff that weren't allowed in school like spices and tomato sauce (I know, my school is weird and strict). They were rude to a lot of us in school including the prefects and the teachers.
I heard due to their riotous behaviour when they were in grade nine, the Head Mistress suspended the three for a whole month. Not a lot of us got to know what happened. The other senior students advised not to talk about it saying that it was best we didn't know. But there were some juicy stories of what might have happened. The common story was that they went out of the school premises during a school night and they went to a nearby bar and they got drunk. A school teacher who had been passing by had seen them and took them straight to the sisters' convent where the sisters stayed, straight to the Head Mistress. If you ask me, they should have been expelled. But people say that they are daughters of rich parents who play a huge part in contributing to school projects. I hope that isn't true. That would just prove there is corruption everywhere. Even at a missionary school.
Just as I found myself on the dirt road, the three of them blocked my way. I looked at them and they looked back at me with jeering looks.
"Hi, Diana," said Dorothy. She was chewing gum and she blew out a pink bubble that soon popped.
"Hey," I said.
"What's in there?" Chibeka asked as she looked at the two bottles in my hands.
"Why does it matter to you?" I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Nothing. Was just asking."
I raised the corner of my lips. "You just want to create problems for me, so, I'll just walk around you guys."
There was plenty of space on the dirt road for me to maneuver around them. The three of them tried to block my way again, but this time, I was quick. In the process of getting away, Dorothy tried sticking her leg out. I couldn't tell if she was trying to block me or she was trying to trip me over because I was getting away. But I managed to quickly jump over her leg. If I really wanted to, I would have stepped on her extended leg as a courtesy. Good enough, I didn't, because knowing Dorothy, she would have made the most out of it and there were people around. I also saw prefects walking around the corridor.
I was smart enough to get away from those three vultures. As I walked away, I made sure not to look back at them. I was soon in the corridor heading to my dorm when Christine and Amanda walked out.
"You're an angel, Diana," said Christine as I gave her her bottle. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," I said. "Next time, it will be your turn filling in the bottles. I had the bad luck of running into the three most irritating drama queens."
"Do you mean those three?" Amanda asked, her eyes looking at the people who were at the water tank. Dorothy, Chibeka and Fridah had pushed some people aside so as to fill their own water bottles. No one there protested as most of them were juniors. We could tell they didn't like it, but they knew better not to say anything.
"Yep," I answered. "They had me cornered."
"How come?" Christine asked with a confused look on her face. "You don't seem to have gotten into a fight with them."
"That's because I was smart enough not to. Come on, we better start heading to the sports ground before the siren wails."
I was glad to leave the dorm area because I didn't want to end up meeting those three again. I already had one mortal enemy in school which was Brenda -considering I had a lot more who were probably immortal- having three more wouldn't be healthy.
We were on our way to the sports ground just behind the classes, the garden and the poultry. The place was so open that the locals usually passed around here to get to their preferred destination or to the market to the west side of the school boundaries. As far as boundaries were concerned, the sports ground couldn't determine it as there was no fence. But if anyone was to go further beyond the poultry's wooden wall fence, you might as well have gone out of bounds.
But on sports day, the ground beyond the poultry fence was considered a good place to have sports because it covered a lot more ground than the space behind the classrooms. And since we were having athletics track field races among dormitories, the ground beyond the poultry was perfect since track lanes had already been made by putting lime powder on the ground. Further beyond the ground was a small primary school and they also used the same ground for their sporting events. Except, on this day, we were the ones using it.
We went to the back of the classes and behind the garden fence, then we found ourselves at the open ground. Just behind the garden was a small hill with a large avocado tree right on top of it. Usually on a hot sunny day, some of us would go to the hill and sit under the tree. It had a huge canopy that it made a large amount of shade for a lot of us who wanted to sit under the tree.
As we passed the tree on the hill, we passed the poultry and we were soon heading towards the track field. We found a few people around the track, some of them in groups, talking and having fun. Some sat under the cool shades of the trees nearby. Those who loved to keep fit and have a good run, were already on the track, running at their own pace.
"Have I told you guys how much I hate sports?" Christine asked.
"You say that everytime we have it," said Amanda.
"I'm already used to her complaining," I said. "Let's go wait under the tree before the teachers and the prefects get here."
"Good idea," said Christine as she went ahead and we quickly followed her under a tree not very far from the poultry.
There were other people under the tree, most of them were grade eights. The three of us minded our business as we sat under the tree and talked amongst ourselves about funny sports incidents on this ground. I couldn't help but feel other people's eyes on me from those who were near us under the tree. I just had to ignore them as I laughed at what Amanda said.
You could still hear the siren wail from afar, a signal for those who were still in the dorms to go to the sports field. Some of our class teachers had already started to arrive, also in their sports attire. The Sisters rarely came to the sports ground on such days, that's if it was ever necessary. It was then that I realised that I had never seen them run before. Usually, whenever we had track events, teachers would compete against each other in a race and it was always fun to watch and support them. And never during my time in this school had I seen any of the Sisters run. I know they are not really the sports kind, but it's good to run once in a while, that's if they ever did at all.
"Hey, have you ever seen any of the Sisters run on sports day before?" I asked my two friends as we were still under the tree.
I could see the two of them trying to remember. Christine was the first to shake her head.
"I have never seen them run, to be honest," she said.
"Me too," said Amanda. "When I think about it, do they ever run? I mean, what if they were being chased by a snake? We have plenty of those around here."
Considering that we were far away from town, or sometimes we students like to say, far away from civilisation, we were surrounded by many trees in the middle of the wilderness -or what some of us like to call it, the bush- where plenty of snakes roamed around. Some even enter the school premises and there's nothing we could do about it considering the nature of the place. Luckily, there has been no record of any student ever being bitten by these dangerous creatures.
"I doubt there are any snakes that go in the convent," I said.
"Well, they are everywhere, Diana," said Christine. "The convent just like any other place around this vast bush, receive snakes now and then."
"What if they don't enter because it's a holy place?" I asked. "The convent is near the chapel after all."
"And you think snakes are propelled by the Holy Spirit not to enter the chapel or the convent?" Amanda asked as she laughed. "No way. Just like any other wild animal, snakes can go wherever they want."
"Ya, just trying to see what you were going to say," I said as I smiled at them.
"Let's not talk about snakes," said Christine. "Whatever you talk about might come for you."
I shook my head. Christine was going all superstitious again. I already had my own fair encounter with snakes. I remembered going to a snake farm when I was a kid. Most of the snakes they had kept locked away weren't very dangerous as they had their fangs removed. I remembered one of the workers who kept the snakes remove a yellow one and he told me to touch it. I didn't do it. After the scary movies I had watched about huge snakes swallowing people whole, I have never liked snakes.
Soon, the area around the track field was filled with all of us, students. We were then separated in groups according to which dormitory you belonged to. Each of the dorm prefects were in charge of their groups. One of the teachers who was also in charge of sports announced that we were going to have a 4×4 relay race, 100, 200 and 400 metres race.
I wasn't really a fast runner in my dorm, but usually they would always put me up for the 4×4 relay and I was always second in the relay before handing over the stick to the third runner. We already had a fast runner in our dorm. You wouldn't guess it, but it was Chisha. She would also go for 400 metre races and she was really good. Usually she would come out first or second.
We first had to have the 100 metres race. There were ten dorms, which meant ten runners would be picked from each group. The first five runners would run in the first round and whoever comes out first and second will run in the final race with those that will come out first and second among the other five runners who would run in the second round. Then the fifth runner to run in the final race should have the best time record of coming out third from either the first or second round.
Our head prefect for our dorm, Dolores, was picking out the runner since our dorm was participating in the first round. Chisha was most likely to be chosen, but there were others as well, including a few seniors. While the prefect was trying to agree with the eligible runners on who to run first, I was standing alongside some of my dorm mates, waiting for the race to start. We were all standing out in the sun and this was one of the things I hated about sports day.
"Hey, Diana," said Christine as she looked up at me. She sat down on the grass using my shadow as her personal shade. "Why don't you run in the 100 metres race?"
I drank the juice in my bottle and I soon answered her as I put my bottle down next to her, "I don't want to. They usually pick me for relay. Why should I waste my energy on the 100 metres?"
"But you can run fast, can't you?"
"Yes, but I'm not fast enough."
"You were last time."
"When?"
"That time when Brenda almost got your book and you had to rush out of the classroom and no one even knew how you got there."
I recalled the memory and it felt like all that happened a century ago when almost a month had passed. All that about me going super fast was just a one day thing. I never went that fast ever since.
"I remember I tried to run fast again after classes and I never did," I said to her. "I simply can't run like that ever again."
"You can try."
"No, I won't-"
"Chileshe! Chileshe!" Christine called out to our head prefect. She even stood up from the ground, waving her hand in the air to attract the prefect's attention.
"What are you doing?" I asked, as I held her waving hand, so that she could stop what she was doing.
"Trying to get you in the race," she answered as she looked at me.
"Are you mad?"
Chileshe soon came over to where Christine and I were. Great, I had to do something fast or else I would find myself in the race.
"What's going on?" Chileshe asked.
"Diana wants to run in the 100 metres race," said Christine.
Chileshe looked at me with an eyebrow raised. In return, I shook my head.
"No, I don't want to," I said. "Christine is lying."
"No, I'm serious," said Christine. "I believe that Diana can come out first in this race."
"Hey, what's going on?" Amanda asked as she came to stand beside me. She had gone to talk to a few of our dorm mates.
"Christine wants me to run in the 100 metres race," I told her.
Amanda looked at Christine and Chileshe. Then she went on to look at me. I realised what her look meant and I didn't like it at all.
"Oh, no, I'm not going to run in the race," I said.
"It's just 100 metres," said Amanda. "What's the harm in that?"
I soon realised that many of our dorm mates were listening in on our conversation. Goodness, I didn't want to run in the race. Why wouldn't my friends understand that?
"We're running out of time," said Chileshe as she looked above people's head towards the race track. "We have to pick our runner right now. Diana, are you running or not?"
"Come on, Diana," said Christine. "I know you can do it."
"Yes," said Chisha as she came to stand next to Chileshe. Great! She was also in support of me running too. "It's good someone else ran for a change."
"No, I'm not running," I said. "I usually run in the relay."
"And sometimes I participate in all the races. Look, it won't matter if you come out last. We will support you, no matter what."
I would have rolled my eyes at her, but I didn't want to seem rude. Even if I had the support of my dorm mates, I know I was going to receive the wrath of the seniors in my dorm if I come out second or third. They like to taunt us juniors, so, I wouldn't be surprised if I were to lose the race and the next thing I know, my bunk bed is soaking wet with water.
"Come on," said Chileshe. "Decide if you're going to run or not."
"Fine, I will run," I said with less enthusiasm.
Christine and Amanda jumped with glee. I looked at them and I so much as wanted as to trip them over so that they would fall. They were so going to get it after this. And I would make sure they were also going to run. Run for their lives at least.
"All the best," said Chisha as I started to make my way to the race track with Chileshe.
"Thanks," I said. I was also not happy with her supporting the idea of me running.
"Go, Diana!" Christine shouted behind me. As much as I know she was giving me her moral support, I didn't turn to look at her. I was already upset.
Chileshe took me to the south side of the track where the race was to start from. I already saw three other contestants from the other dorms waiting on their lanes. Two of them were seniors and they are good runners. I couldn't outrun them, even in my sleep.
"Ah, Diana," said Mr Ngandu, my class and Maths teacher and also one of the teachers in charge of sports activities in school. "I didn't know you preferred 100 metre races."
"I know," I said. "I don't like it, but at least it's just for now."
Chileshe turned to look at me. "Okay, you will go in the fourth lane," she said. "Make sure you win this. You don't want to find something weird with your bed when you lose."
"I know the consequences," I said as I went on the fourth lane, my feet on the starting line.
We waited for the fifth runner for the race to begin. When I saw who was coming with their dorm prefect, I almost wanted to quit the race before it even begun.
"Eh? Diana, Diana," said Fridah. "You're here. I didn't know you were also a fast runner."
"I had no choice," I said. At the moment, I was boiling with anger.
"Ha! This is going to be fun," said Fridah.
Mr Ngandu had the whistle with him as he stood outside the tracks. He told us to get ready. The five of us in our lanes obeyed as we went to ground, one knee on the ground, our hands on the white line.
"Get set," he said.
We rose our bodies a bit higher, the knee that touched the ground also rose up a bit so as for us to get ready for the whistle.
Before he blew the whistle, everything around me for a minute paused. I really didn't want to be here. If it wasn't for Christine, I wouldn't be running next to Fridah.
The whistle blew and I shot forward, my feet carrying my weight on the race track. I ran with all I could. As I ran, I felt the pressure of the wind hit my face hard that after a moment, I didn't feel it anymore. I was expecting to hear the sound of people cheering for the runners from other dorms, throughout the time I ran, but I didn't. I heard them for one second and the next thing I know, the whole place had gone mute. I soon found myself crossing the finish line.
I stopped running and I was breathing heavily as I placed my hands on my knees. The sound came back to my ears and I realised that the people hadn't stopped cheering. I went back to looking behind me and the other runners had passed the finish line. I couldn't believe it. I counted the runners as they each came up to the finish line. They were four, all right. Did this mean I had come out first?
"Diana! Diana!" came Christine. I hadn't noticed her coming over to me from behind. When I turned around to face her, she pulled me into a hug.
"You did it! You came out first!" she said. Amanda was right beside her also very much excited about the whole thing.
"You were amazing," said Amanda. "You left all of them by a long shot. You were fast. Like, so fast!"
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was fast? How come? It didn't matter as some of my dorm mates came over to congratulate me.
"Wow, you were amazing, Diana," said Chisha. "When did you get so fast?"
"She's been practising," said Christine. I looked at her with an eyebrow raised because that was definitely a lie. Even Amanda knew as she just shook her head at her.
"Good job," said Chileshe, our dorm prefect. "If you win in the final round, I'm going to give you my unopened bag of lollipops."
I laughed along with the others over Chileshe's comment. One thing every student here liked apart from snacks was lollipops. As much as our meals in school was a fixed balance diet throughout, we all liked to go back to our rooms to have a little junk almost all the time and lollipops did just the trick. As much as biscuits and crisps were useful, lollipops were awesome. If Chileshe really did give me those, I wouldn't mind at all. At least I'll have a sweet treat every night before going to bed.
The rest of us went back to join our dorm mates as we waited for the second round to begin. Everyone around me couldn't stop talking about the race and how I came out first. As much as I didn't like the attention, it felt good to have participated in the race and come out first. Seems like I had Christine to be thankful for. But I was still going to get her for it a little later.
The second race took place and soon, we were in the the third and final race. In the first round, I came out first and as much as my heart didn't want this, Fridah eventually came out second which was a total bummer. I relied so much on one of the other two seniors I ran with to come out second. Turns out, I was wrong and I had to run with Fridah again.
I made my way to the starting line on the track including those who came out first and second in the second round. The third person to come out third with the best time was one of the seniors I ran with in the first round.
I found myself at the starting line and I could see my dorm mates cheering for me across the track field. As much as I wanted to smile at them, I had to concentrate on getting my strength and speed to run. And it felt like I now know how to use it.
We were the four of us on the tracks waiting for Fridah. I stretched with my arms up in the air as Fridah made her way to the line. She settled in the fifth and last lane next to mine. I didn't like her running next to me. I was afraid that this time, she might have something up her sleeve.
Fridah gave me a look and said, "so, just because you came out first, you think you're on top of the world? Don't worry, I'll bring you back down to earth."
I didn't say anything as I ignored her and went on one knee to the ground as Mr Ngandu instructed. The five of us runners were ready. I hope my plan to help me tap into my speed would work, but again, something told me I had to be cautious with the person running next to me.
"Get set," Mr Ngandu instructed.
Again, just like before, time seem to slow down for a bit as I focused ahead at the finish line. But through the corner of my eye, I was looking at Fridah.
The whistle blew.
And just as I thought, Fridah was just up to no good. Before I could push myself forward, Fridah quickly came into my lane. Lucky enough, I hadn't moved. I still kept my position. Everything all happened pretty slow in my eyes. I could see Fridah with her foot in my lane. I bet she was trying to bump into me when I got up so that I would fall over. But since I hadn't moved, Fridah had gone with all her force and lost balance. In the end, she ended up hitting into the third runner in the other lane and they both fell to the ground.
Time went back to its usual course as the sound of the whistle reached my ears. I was still on my "get set" position, but my eyes were now on the two runners on the ground as Mr. Ngandu blew his whistle to stop the race.
"Oh my goodness, what happened here?" Mrs. Chilemo, a teacher who taught Chemistry to the seniors, asked as she came to the race track with a first aid kit box.
Fridah and the third runner who happened to be the runner we ran with in the first round, were on the ground groaning in pain.
Soon a crowd of students came towards the scene. I stood up in a more upright position and watched what was happening in front of me. Mrs. Chilemo checked on the third runner. She had a little scrape on her leg, but she seemed fine. Fridah on the other hand, was being checked on by one of the prefects. She looked fine as well with just a scratch on her shoulder.
"How did this accident happen?" Mrs Chilemo asked as she helped the student she had been attending to, up from the ground to see if she had broken her leg.
"Apparently, Fridah ran into my lane," I answered her.
"That's a lie," said Fridah as she quickly stood up from the ground. She soon yelled in pain and she almost went down, but the prefect who was close to her helped to keep her steady. She cried out, "ouch, my leg!"
"She's needs to be checked out thoroughly," Mrs. Chilembo told the prefect holding onto to Fridah. "I hope her leg isn't badly broken."
"You see what this Diana girl did to me?" Fridah cried out. "She pulled me into her lane and I fell over."
"I didn't pull you into my lane," I defended myself. "You came into my lane all by yourself."
"Yes, Fridah," came the sports prefect, Harriet. She was a slim tall figure with a striking dark complexion. She also had a red whistle hanging around her neck and I hadn't noticed her around till now. "I was watching from behind the whole time. You came into Diana's lane while Diana remained where she was. She never left her position even after the whistle blew."
"I also saw what happened," said Mr. Ngandu. "And Harriet is right. You must have just lost your footing, hence, going into Diana's lane."
"This isn't fair," Fridah complained. "How am I going to run?"
"We will just have to run without you," said the sports prefect. "You can't run with that bad leg."
Fridah gave an angry snare at the sports prefect who in return, ignored her. Everyone knew how Fridah could be like at times. She was soon taken away by Mrs. Chilemo and the other prefect, but not without giving me an angry look as well. Those who came to watch were told by the other prefects to go back to their places. I couldn't help but smile after Fridah left. If I hadn't stayed in my position, I would have been brought down and who knows. I might have broken something and I wouldn't have been able to run the race at all.
After eveything settled down, the four of us running settled in our lanes and got ready for the race. As soon as Mr. Ngandu blew his whistle, we ran and just like before, I still came out first with the help of my super speed. My dorm mates couldn't stop cheering. In my heart, I was just glad because Chileshe's lollipops were all mine.
After running the race, I chose not to participate in the relay. After what happened in the final 100 metres race, I concluded I had had enough drama for one day.
"You're not running again?" Christine asked, sounding disappointed.
"Did you see what Fridah did?" I asked her. "I bet she did what she did to stop me from winning the race."
"That was Fridah," said Amanda. "I doubt the other runners would do what she did. And that was pretty smart of you to stay on the line. It's like you knew something like that was going to happen."
"Instincts, I guess." I shrugged as I drank my juice from my bottle.
We waited for the relay race to begin but there was always a problem of selecting the four runners from each dorm because people were as stubborn as I was when it came to running. While the waiting continued, Chileshe, our dorm prefect came towards me, Amanda and Christine.
"Hey, guys, can one of you do me a favour?" she asked.
"What is it?" Christine asked.
"We will be having ball games after the race and it so happens that one of the balls was left in the poultry."
"Aaagh!" Christine wailed. "We're having ball games too?"
"It's not me, the teachers say so."
"And the sports prefect?" I asked.
"She thinks it's a good idea. Now, I need one of you to get the ball in the poultry."
"How sure are you the chickens in there haven't destroyed and eaten it already?" Christine asked.
Chileshe raised an eyebrow at Christine. I almost burst out laughing, but I held it in. Amanda giggled.
"I know chickens can eat almost anything small, but I doubt that they would want to eat a ball. And besides, the ball was left in the other room where we kept other chickens, but it's now empty. You can still find it there."
"Okay. Diana can go and fetch the ball."
"Why me?" I asked.
"Yes, Diana, you go quickly and get the ball," said Chileshe and she quickly walked away.
Great! Now I had to go and fetch a ball. As though running in the race wasn't enough for these people.
So, without saying a word to either of my friends, I silently made my way to the poultry. I doubt they even noticed that I was gone.
I made sure to walk behind the crowd. People were already talking about how I had managed to come out first in both races, so, the best thing for me to do was act invisible.
I soon found myself heading towards the tree on the hill. The hill was very close to the poultry's wooden fence. The fence was short so it was easy for me to jump over it and head towards the building where the chickens were kept.
The grass behind the poultry was long that at first, I thought of finding snakes hidden around here. Those in charge of the poultry must really think of cutting the grass. As much as the area was behind the poultry building, it was still necessary to make the place look presentable.
As soon as I approached the stone brick building, I made my way to the front. There were three doors. I first looked into the large wire gauzed window before approaching the first door and I didn't have to know what was in there. There were white hybrid chickens everywhere doing whatever chickens do in the day. Eat, poop, drink, pop again, walk around, eat again and get into chicken fights.
I passed the first door. The second door, I assumed, was the storage room because it was a bit closer to the other two doors. I moved to the third door. Before I could open the door, I checked the wire gauze window. Just like Chileshe had said, the other side of the poultry was empty. I just hope they hadn't locked the door. I checked to see if the door barrel latch had a lock on it like the other two doors. Luckily, it didn't. I quickly opened the door and I was greeted by the smell of sawdust and chicken poop. It was dusty too. The place seemed to have been empty for a while. I looked around the place for what I came for.
I came into the room and I noticed the football at the far end corner of the room. I made my way for the ball. Just as I was approaching the wall, I don't know what made me look at the portion of the wall in the middle. And when I did, I gasped. I couldn't believe what I had just seen.
On the grey stone wall was a carving of a drawing on one of the bricks on the wall. It was the drawing of the butterfly divided into four parts enclosed in a circle. I never thought I would ever find it and I end up finding it here! Who knew?
As I approached the wall, I drew out my hand so that I could touch the carved drawing. I couldn't believe that I had found it that I just had to touch it. As soon as my fingers touched the carving, a bright gold light came seeping out through the carved drawing. I took a few steps back, wondering what was going on.
The light glowed even brighter that I had to shield my eyes. Then all of the sudden, the light dimmed and soon, it disappeared.
I looked around the room, hoping for something to happen, but nothing. I went to look at the carved drawing, wondering what was going on.
"Come on, what is all this?" I asked as I took a step towards the wall.
Just as I was a few feet away from the wall, I drew my hand again to touch the drawing, but I soon lost my footing and the next thing I knew, I was screaming as I felt the floor beneath me disappear.
I was falling into a deep black hole.
ns 15.158.61.46da2
