Beyond The Shade

BEYOND THE SHADE
(Episode One)
Story By O'nezer

'Sandra, hurry up and let's go to school' Mom said as she packed my lunch bag and that of dad.
"Won't you go to school?" she called out when she saw me dragging my feet and mumbling at the dinning room.

The car honk was blaring repeatedly outside as the time was already a quarter past 7. It was a usual thing in my house to all leave home at the same time and that Monday morning wasn't an exception.

As we hopped into the car to join dad, my little brother, Dan as he is fondly called was seated at the back.
Dan will be 6 years in a month while I will be 10 in 3 months.

My school was just a stone's throw from mom's work place.
Mom works at the Local Government not too far from our estate while Dad was a manager in a Real Estate firm.

Since mom's work place wasn't far from our school, Mr Tunde, the class teacher always drops us with bike everyday at mom's work before leaving for his house.

I didn't really know if it was fear that always made Mr Tunde put me and my little brother on the fuel tank of his bike rather than make us sit at the back. Mr Tunde was a really nice young and handsome, single man who couldn't have been more than 30 year old.

On one afternoon, Mr Tunde didn't come to school and we didn't have an access to a phone to call and inform our mother that no one would bring us over to her office.

We close in our school by 3pm every day while mom closes at work by 4pm. Since it was unusual to be at mom's work place nothing later than 3:30pm, she got worried and  came around to school to pick us up herself.

Dad had an official Toyota Camry car while he had his own personal black Lexus. The driver for the official car had been the one working with dad for almost 5 years and he had even become closer to the family beyond the driver-to-boss relationship.

Uncle Musa, as we always call him was a very friendly young man who had attracting eye balls and his gap tooth complimented his handsomeness, but the little me was only seeing a man who drives me and my family around.

Days rolled by and Mr Tunde still didn't come to school. No one seemed bothered about his absence, except me. On some days, I would go to where he used to park his bike just to see if he'll be there but I always ended up leaving with an uncertainty about setting  my eyes on Mr Tunde again.

I summoned the courage to walk up to the Headmistress, Mrs Ajani. She is a strict and unfriendly person. Her sight alone was enough to scare a pupil to the point of peeing on the body. I still don't know why she was feared that much, but I was sure she would have a soft spot.

Our break time was always 12:00pm to 12:30pm. Immediately the bell rang, I went to the HM to ask about Mr Tunde.

I knocked on the door of her office and she replied in a very low tone 'Whoever is there should come in please'. A part of me was scared and another part was trying to talk without losing my voice in the process of asking what should be none of my business.

'Sandra, how may I help you?' She said.
'Good afternoon, ma. I am here to ask of something ma' I replied calmly.

She asked me to go ahead in which I did.

'Oh, about Mr Tunde? He is no longer coming to this school again and the earlier he flee the better' the HM said as she raised her voice.

'Flee, for what?' I asked myself.
'What's going on, ma?' I faced her again with the hope that she wouldn't flare up.

The principal couldn't give me much details maybe because of my young age but still, I left her office more pained because I was now certain that our Mr Tunde won't be coming again and no one was ready to answer why!

It was the last week of the term which was my last term in primary school. We were preparing for our Valedictory Service. Activities of different kind was going on in school.

The jingle of the bell was what stopped us every day from different rehearsals.

Our VS was to come up on the Thursday of the following week, but on the Friday of the last week, something happened.

Guess what it is?
Watch out for next episode
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