He got served....CNF #141

I never thought that I would be in the wrong for reproofing Abraham, a pupil in my class notorious for his delinquent behaviour, bullying and theft reports. I wanted to see him turn a new leaf. ”Open rebuke is better than secret love” I had started out after I called Abraham to my desk.

”Why did you steal Khadijat's food and ate it?”

”I was hungry and I begged her for some but she refused giving me some of her food and so I thought to teach her a lesson” he replied.

”Really? Did you not come with your own lunch?” I inquired further.

”No ma, my mum only gave me five hundred naira today”

”Okay, so why didn't you buy your lunch with your money?” I continued.

”Ehn ….ehn, I lost it ma”

If I was not a trained teacher, I would have believed his lies. I gave him a final warning and asked him to apologise to Khadijat. I also got him to promise the entire class that he would stop stealing their lunch.

I called Khadijat aside and gave her three hundred naira which she would use to buy a new lunch. She thanked me and went back to her seat. I carried on with the day's activities not knowing that there was going to be a storm coming.

The next day

I walked into the school premises and sought out the time register as usual. After signing my name and time, I went to my class to relax for a while before the morning assembly would begin. I had not even taken ten steps when I heard the ruckus at the school entrance.

I turned my head towards the gate only to see Abraham's mum. She was raining thunder and brimstone outside and if not for the security men stopping her from coming in, I'm sure that the thunder and brimstone would have landed on my head.

Fortunately, my boss also arrived at that time and he was able to placate her before inviting her into his office. Later on, I was called to see him in his office and that was when I heard something so shocking, it shook me to my bones.

”Good morning sir, you sent for me?”

”Morning Miss Becky, have a seat. I learnt that you beat up a student mercilessly and even insulted his parents as being poverty stricken, all because the student did not come with his lunch yesterday. Is this true?” My boss asked with prying eyes as he looked at me through his spectacles.

”Sir, the report you got is false. I would never stoop low as to insult the parents of this school and secondly, I did not beat up anyone. I am appalled at this report sir” I replied.

”Well, would you like to explain what happened with Abraham in your class? His mother was the one making a scene not too long ago and she claimed that her son reported all that you did to him. There are even cane marks on his body as proof. He is not in school today because he is receiving medical treatment at home. What do you have to say about that?”

”Sir, in all honesty, I really did not beat Abraham. He was the one who stole the food of his classmate and ate it. I only reproofed him openely so that he would change his behaviour as it was getting out of hand” .

My boss pondered for a bit before asking me to go back to my class. I left his office but I was unhappy. Abraham had gone home to cook up lies with evidence against me. Nevertheless, I did not allow that to affect me as I carried on with my work. I believed in karma and I knew that one day, the truth will be evident for all to see.

One month later

It was towards the end of the school term and preparations were ongoing for the school's end of term examinations. In order to maintain fairness, teachers were swapped to other classes during the examination period.

I was taken to grade three class from my own grade five class. It was procedure and so I couldn't complain. The examination started and every student was on high alert. The tension in the atmosphere was palpable. Students were seen reading like their lives depended on it while teachers relaxed from weeks of teaching.

It was after lunch break that the report got to my ears. Someone had been caught cheating during the examination and by the rules of the school, such a student would either be suspended or expelled.

I was not sure of the details but I waited until closing hours to make my findings. Turns out that the student caught in examination malpractice was Abraham. He was caught with a mathematics textbook under his locker which he occassionally spied from.

He was caught by the teacher invigilating his class and she reported him straight away to the proprietor. I was unhappy that such a thing occurred in my class but a part of me was happy that the person caught was him. Finally, his true colours were now in the open. "Let's see how he fabricates things this time around" I thought to myself.

The next day, his parents were seen heading towards the proprietor's office. I later discovered that he had been suspended for the whole of the term and he would also have to repeat his previous class as he won't be partaking in the promotional examinations. My proprietor was merciful due to his dad's contribution to the school.

Hearing the final verdict, I got a sense of justice settle within me. What goes around indeed comes back around.

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