Kunle dashed out of his classroom before the bells that signaled the end of the day stopped chiming. He ignored his classmates and even the group of friends he usually walked home with, he thanked his lucky stars that school let out early on Friday because if this had happened on a regular school day he would be in so much more trouble and wouldn’t have time to run.
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When he got to the junction outside his school he faced the opposite direction of his home and started walking as fast as he could.
He knew the principal would have called his father and mother, and only God knew what Oga DPO would do to him when he found out his son carried his police issued Dagger and Tear gas to school to threaten a class mate, he shuddered at the thought of the punishment that would follow.
His parents didn’t understand how brutal high school could be, ever since his classmates found out his dad was a cop they had subjected him to intense scrutiny and bullying. “Omo olokpa” they would call him as they shoved him around claiming his father did the same to innocent young boys every day. And that was on the days when they didn’t outrightly ignore him.
As he took more steps further away from a from his home he began to hatch a plan, he would go to his Uncle Ola’s house and explain everything to him, afterward he would change schools even if it meant repeating a class.
He looked at his watch and was surprised how quickly time had flown by, his uncle's house was so much shorter by bus, the twenty-minute bus ride was taking over an hour now.
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By the time he got to his uncle's estate he was dehydrated and in urgent need of food, Uncle Ola was a bachelor who only ate home-cooked meals when he came over to see his older brother so he knew he might not get food there.
As he rang the doorbell he heaved a sigh of relief when he heard his uncle’s response from inside the house.
“Who is it?” Ola asked walking towards the door
“Kunle?! Come in, look how dirty your uniform looks…I have some Fried chicken from KFC”.
Kunle started to smile as he walked in until he heard a familiar voice…” They will be no Chicken for that boy if he doesn’t get in here right now and explain why he took weapons to school like a criminal”.
His father was here!!! And from the tone of his voice, Kunle knew he was in a whole world of trouble.
“Sorry Kiddo, he showed up here an hour ago and said you’d be stopping by soon…I didn’t believe him until you rang the doorbell”. Ola said massaging his nephew's broad shoulders and leading him to the sitting room where his father sat waiting with a cold look on his face.
“Explain,” DPO said, in that commanding voice that turned criminals into blubbering sissies during interrogations.
“I’m sorry Dad, Eze, and his friends have been making school hell for me, they tore the bag, they took my notes and they even ganged up and beat me on Friday after sports” Kunle stuttered his heart beating faster than the kick drums in a disco song.
“I reported them to the principal, when they came back to class they promised me a beating…I spoke to uncle Ola and he asked me to stand up for myself…So I took the stuff from your room…but I swear I didn’t use it…I just wanted to scare them off and…”
“This was your idea Ola?” Kunle’s father asked.
“Haba you know I wouldn’t… this was his idea”.
Ola responded hastily, even though he had joked about using his brother's gun to scare the boys, he hadn’t expected his nephew to actually try it…Thank God he picked less-lethal weapons.”
DPO stood up and he could feel his son flinch in expectation of a good old-fashioned whooping, he had spoken to the school, and he was aware of the bullying so he had other ideas for his son's punishment. Part of him was proud of the boy for standing up for himself, the other part was disappointed because before this his son had a stellar reputation at that school, straight A’s and good grades…this one incident had tainted his image and even though the can of teargas was empty and the knife had remained covered, he needed to discourage this behavior.
“I don’t intend to flog you, you will however be spending the night in a cell”
“Brother Dapo, isn’t that a little too harsh?” Ola started trying to defend his nephew,
“ Would you like to join him? I can get you a cell with bunk beds…I’m sure he would appreciate the company.” Kunle’s father replied sternly.
“Sorry kid, I’ve got a hot date…It’s just one night…could’ve been worse” Ola said hugging his nephew whose face looked a little relieved.
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Later that night whilst Kunle tried to make himself comfortable on a cot that was clearly designed to scare criminals straight.
“You know I am not mad at you for standing up for yourself?” His father asked from the Cot underneath him. “ I’m just mad about how you did it…a lot of people are going to be mean to you in life…you can’t fight every single one of them. And you should have told me about it”
“I know dad, you’re just always so busy and I didn’t want to sound weak” Kunle responded.
“You’re my son, I don’t care how big you grow, You’re allowed to sound weak” Dapo said sitting up so he could look at his son.
“Thanks for staying here with me dad…it’s nice to spend some time with you, even if it’s inside a cell,” Kunle said with a smile on his face.
“The next time you pull off something like this, you’ll be in big trouble”
Dapo said playfully to his son…he knew there would be no next time…his son was a good boy.
“And I’m coming to your school.”
Kunle couldn’t hide the smile on his face as he looked at his father, it felt good to know that he understood and he would have his back.
