Paul's junior secondary school days were quite unfavorable because he used to play a lot, so he was not really serious with his studies. His friends had a huge influence on him that year, and instead of concentrating on his books, he preferred doing what they were doing. They always wanted to have fun, and they never thought about the consequences of their actions.
Whenever their teacher came to the class to teach them a topic, he would often ask questions at the end of the lesson. Many students in the class would raise their hands to answer, but Paul and his friends would keep their hands down. They were not interested in answering questions because most times, they did not even understand what the teacher had taught them.
However, something strange always happened. The teacher would still point at one of them to answer the question, even when they had not raised their hands. Sometimes, they would stand up and begin to stammer because they did not know the answer. This continued for quite a while until Paul and his friends decided to change the narrative because it appears that the teacher always point at those people that are not raising their hands.
They came up with a plan. Whenever the teacher entered the class and taught them a lesson, they wouldn't keep quiet to listen. But once he finished and started asking questions, they would raise their hands together with the other students, whether they knew the answer or not.
Their plan was simple. They believed that if they raised their hands, the teacher would not choose them because he would have many other students to pick from. They thought they were very smart, and whenever the teacher pointed at someone else, they would look at one another and smile.
They felt like Merlin. They believed they had finally discovered the secret to escaping their teacher's questions. Little did they know that one day, their own plan would put Paul in serious trouble.
Then came the day when Paul's chicken laid an egg.
On this fateful day, Paul went to class as usual. After some time, their teacher entered the classroom and began teaching them Biology. The topic was skeleton system.
The teacher explained the topic to them, and When he finished teaching, he decided to evaluate them to see whether they understood what he had taught.
He asked, "Who can define skeleton system?"
Without wasting any time, Paul quickly raised his hand as usual. When he looked around, he discovered that he was the only person raising his hand.
His friends, who normally raised their hands with him, had left him alone. He did not know whether they had forgotten their agreement or whether they had decided to sacrifice him that day. And that actually made him look like the most serious student in the class. But for where.
The teacher looked at the class in surprise and said, "What? So nobody in this class can define skeleton system except Paul? Paul, come outside!"
At that moment, Paul's heart nearly jumped out of his chest. He was confused because he did not know what was going on. He thought he had made a terrible mistake by raising his hand.
Nevertheless, he stood up and walked outside. When he got there, the teacher handed him the cane he was holding and told him to flog every student in the class five strokes each.
Paul was shocked, but he could not question his teacher. He collected the cane and went back into the classroom. One after another, he flogged the students as the teacher had instructed him.
When he finished, he returned to the teacher and gave him his cane. He thought everything was over, so he turned around and started walking back to his seat.
Suddenly, the teacher called him.
"Paul, come back here!"
"Now, define skeleton system for the whole class," the teacher said.
"I said define skeleton system!" he shouted.
Paul was not a stammerer but he was stammering. The words refused to come out of his mouth. He started stammering as he tried to remember what erosion meant.
Before he could finish his explanation, every student he had flogged was now holding a cane, waiting for him.
The teacher beat him and the student also beat him including his friend from that day on Paul decided to cut off from the influence of his friend and start focusing more on his studies so he won't disgrace himself again.
Honestly, Paul could never forget that day. Even though the story sounded funny.