Silent But Never Unseen

I remember that one time in my level one at the university. Year one is that year where everyone tries to find who they can relate with and where they belong. There was this course mate of mine, Helen, who always felt like the queen of genius, and she wanted others to be under her.

She was always sitting in the front seat, and that day, I went early, and I felt sitting at the front was the best choice since the lecturer's voice wasn't very loud. I never knew this lady had been observing me in all the classes and already had this belief within her that I was unserious. Immediately I sat near her; she left the seat like one running from a plague.

I didn't know what her reasons were, and I too refused to let that slide. I allowed her to get another seat before I left, where I was to meet her again in the new seat, and that was when she broke the silence. "You don't know where people like you should sit? Have you ever seen me sitting with freshers who don't even know the reason they chose their choice of study?"

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That was when I knew what her reasons were. I was truly a quiet type; I rarely associated with my colleagues, nor did I even speak or answer questions in class. I was always either on my phone or listening attentively as the lecture was on.

I allowed everything to slide and walked away. Another day came; it was French class. It was a borrowed course for us, and the majority of us didn't offer French at high school. That afternoon, the lecturer gave us three verbs to conjugate. The whole hall became quiet, everyone looking strangely at the whiteboard. She had instructed all of us to close our notebooks in order not to cheat since it was a topic we learned last semester.

Seeing how quiet the hall was, she employed another method that would motivate us to make an attempt. She told us that we would be coming out one after the other and anyone that answers two out of the three or the three correctly would receive a thousand naira.

That was when everyone started trying. One after the other, we tried. All this while, I have been just staring at the board trying to remember some of it. Everyone tried until the whole hall became silent again. Then, it got to my turn, and the lecturer pointed to me to step out and use the board. Everyone looked at me, ready to see the rubbish I would do just like the rest had done.

"Yeah, take the marker and try," the lecturer said.

I took the marker from where it was. Just when I was about to start, I heard a voice from behind shouting, "Excuse me, Ma, I think you pointed at the wrong Mary. Mary Akpan is the next person to help us out?" That was Helen speaking, trying to make me look like a fool in front of the class.

"No, it shows you aren't paying attention, Helen," the lecturer replied.

"Okay Mary, let's see what you do on the board."

I couldn't tell what prompted her reaction and the shock on so many faces. I just knew it because I hardly raised my hand to answer questions in class and didn't relate with my course mates. I could hear the class being rowdy as I was conjugating. "Hmmm, this girl should have just respected herself instead of making herself a subject of attraction. What's hard for her to say, no idea and remain at her seat." Another voice came, "Leave her; she will soon get what she is looking for."

Those murmurs were what triggered me, and I started providing the answers, not minding if I was doing the right thing or not. The lecturer stepped out to answer a phone call as all this was going on. I finished writing the three verbs confidently even when I wasn't 100% certain of my answers. I finished and hung the marker on the board and returned to my seat.

She walked in, looked at the board, and exclaimed, "That's correct!! Where is the lady that conjugated these?"

The class hurriedly went to their notebooks to check, and that was when she made it known it was last semester's topic, as so many had forgotten. The class was silent before someone broke it with an unexpected reply, "Ma, what of the money you promised?"

Another student also shouted, "Yeah, that's true, Ma. The money!!." The whole class was in shock that I was the only person to answer the question.

After the lecture, students were coming to meet me one after the other to know how I could still remember something like that after how many months of vacation. The one question that got me was when one of them said, "Ah! I have been suffering and battling with French when we have a professor in our midst. Where have you been hiding, Mary?" I gave out a smile and minded my business.

I was about to leave the department when I saw someone approaching me, and that was Helen. "Excuse me, please, can I have a minute of your time?" Without waiting to hear my response, she began, "I never knew you were this good academically. You shocked everyone today; can we be friends?"

I just smiled and replied, "Not everyone goes lousy to be known, I may be quiet but not dullard. About friendship, we can be friends after our first our second semester results. I'm not too good at making friends that fast." I gave her a quick smile and walked out. From that day on, the way my course mates see me changed, I also never failed to keep working on my studies to always produce good results, though they see me as quiet, but they never had any reason to think I am not the sharpest tool in the shed again.

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