Miss Evans

When I am twelve, Mom take me to new school, in Highway, far from where my younger sister Udy go. Mom say I am special child, fine boy. All the people in my new class like me. They smile when they see me, as if they know me before. But I don’t like the people; some laugh too much, some remove their tongue from their mouth.

I like my new classroom. It have plenty fine picture of people and animal. I have new teacher, she is small and wear eyeglass. Then there is another teacher.  She like to stand near the wall when the other teacher is talking. She come to me and tell me in my ear her name is Miss Evans. I happy. Miss Evans is white woman, like people in television.

Miss Evans say I brilliant. She say I can do better than all the people. She is fine woman. She have long hair like girl doll baby. She have blue eyes like my neighbour cat that Mom don’t like because cat is witch. She have small buttocks like my sister Udy. Her buttocks make me laugh, but she angry when I laughing so I tell her sorry. Her voice is sweet like the yellow bird that come to my window and sing in the night. I want to catch the bird and remove it feather and use it to remove dirty in my ear but it always fly away and make me cry small tears.

I like to talk to Miss Evans more than black teacher. I like to tell her what is happening in our house. I tell her Dad is bad person. He don’t like to talk to me. He only like to talk to Udy. He carry her and he call her sweet name. He call her tomato. He call her apple banana. He call her name of all the fruit.

But me he call me my name, Ekom. He don’t like me. He say I have eyes like almond and flat nose and short neck. He say I don’t talk well-well, and when I talk my voice sound like small baby that is talking for first time. When he take Udy somewhere, he don’t take me. He hide me when visitor come. Today he quarrel Mom. He say Mom is taking me to school far from my sister. He say Mom will pay by herself.

Miss Evans tell me don't worry. She say we should clap and sing. She begin sweet song like bird in my window. She ask all of us to dance. Only me dance because I obedient. I dance and sweat and the black teacher call two people and they take me to office. Miss Evans follow us.

Black teacher smell of soda soap like Ndiana, our former house maid. Ndiana go to buy things in the market one day and not come back, till today. Ndiana love me. She stroke my thing when she bath me. I like what Ndiana do, but one day when she do it I put my finger in her eye and she shout. Mom say she should not bath me again, I am now big boy. I have hair in armpit and on my thing. Mom say I can pregnant someone.

I don't know why Ndiana don't come back. I'm thinking is because Mom is always shouting her, and Dad is always coming back from work early and climbing her. Dad likes to climb person. He climb Mom. He climb Ndiana. He climb the daughter of the neighbour that just move in with her fat mother. He think I don’t know.

The two men drop me on table and Miss Evans tell them to go. She quarrel them for way they handle me. She say they are rough, don’t you know he is just a boy. Black teacher come with injection. I don’t like injection. The needle chook me and pain too much. I don’t want them to chook me on my bumbum. When we have sickness because of the bad water Mom is buying and does not know, doctor come and chook us injection, me and Udy. Udy cry but I bite my teeth. I am strong person.

Black teacher injection is different injection. When she shook me, it make me want to die. I quiet. I don’t have power again. Black teacher say sleep, good boy, I'm coming back. She lock the door and go outside. Miss Evans come and sit by the bed where black teacher was sit.

What’s your name?

Ekom.

Ekom, do you miss your former school?

I tell Miss Evans my former school the children like me sometimes and hate me sometimes. They like me when I dance; they say I dance well-well. When it is time to dance I move my body like leopard and everybody shout happy shout. I run too. I win award for running. They give me medal and bucket. I run fast like thief that police is pursuing, like the thief that steal in our street and remove his slippers to be running. People like me for running, but they don't like me when I craze because when I craze I fight anybody.

I have friend in former school, Usua. Usua don’t tell me I have flat nose and short neck, he don’t tell me I can't read well. I like Usua. Anybody that make Usua cry I fight person, I remove person’s teeth. Mom take person to hospital, and pay doctor money. That’s why she remove me from that school. She say the principal say I shouldn’t come again, because if I stay nobody will have teeth again. I laugh because I try to think of person with mouth and no teeth. How will person eat meat?

Will you fight in this school? Miss Evans ask me.

No, I answer.

Mom say children of God don’t fight. They listen to God, even if they no hear his voice, and they pray to him even if they no sure he hear. I like God. But I like fight too. The day I fight Udy, I beat her and pull her hair and remove all the shine-shine thing Mom put inside. Mom squeeze face with me. She say I should promise I won’t fight again.

I like Mom, she don't beat person. She not like Dad. Dad hit my head on wall. He say if I fight again he will take me to prison, and they will lock me like they lock me in hospital the other time. I don't like hospital.

In hospital they give me plenty medicine, some days I collect, some days I bite somebody hand. Some days they do me injection and I sleep.

After sometime Mom come and pick me. After that she remove all mirrors from the house. She tell Dad that doctor say mirror not good. But I don’t like that they remove mirror, I like to look at mirror and see myself doing what I'm doing. I dance in front of mirror and sometime the person I remove his teeth pass though the mirror and come to fight me. I like to see my shadow too. It follow me in the night like a follow-follow.

Sometimes the shadow big

Sometimes the shadow small

Sometimes the shadow plenty

Sometimes the shadow talk

Udy don't like shadow, she always complain and Dad always turn on generator if there is no light. I don't like sound of generator, it scratch my ear. It don't allow me hear the crickets in the night, and the singing people from the church near our house that is always practicing. I sing with them when their song is sweet, if is not sweet I close my ear. My ear is very good. I hear everything Mom and Dad say about me when they are talking small-small in the night. I hear them when Dad say he have not see person like me before, and Mom say he should not worry. I hear them when they climb each other and make sounds as if they are running and are tired.

Miss Evans tell me fighting is not good. Let me show you something. She open the door of the small room with her key and she take me outside to where there is breeze. She drive me in car to her house. She drive a big car like Dad with A.C and fine chair. Her house is fine too. She have aloe vera line up in the front and small Jesus on a cross on her door. She take me to backyard where she have fine yellow flower. I like the flower. They look like small person wearing yellow cloth round their head. What is name of flower, I ask.

They are sunflowers, aren't they beautiful?

Yes.

Come inside with me, Miss Evans say. She take me with backdoor inside her house. Her house have fine painting on wall, and her room have big bed like Udy own. She have small cat that walk like big person and come near us. Witch, I shout. She tell me it not witch, and she carry it and rub it small head.

We talk and talk then we sleep. I like talking to Miss Evans, her voice is like music. We talk of how she is going to go back to her white country. I ask her if I can follow her, she say No. I beg her until she say Yes. She hug me again, and say don’t worry. She tell me her country is better than my own. She say there light don’t seize and nobody have generator. She say there people in the school don’t laugh at somebody because they have flat nose.

Black teacher come and wake me up. She is squeezing face. She have big breast like the biggest balloon that Udy win in the biscuit shop—I burst the balloon and Udy cry. It is time to go, your mother is here, Black teacher say.  

I don’t see Miss Evans.I want to tell her bye bye. I want to show her to Mom.

Where is white teacher?  I shout.

There is no white teacher.

She call the people that carry me before and they carry me and take me to Mom car. Other of my class people are going to their Daddy and Mommy. One is smiling to me like I am his friend. I want to slap him but I’m already inside car.

Did you make any new friend?  Mom ask me.

Yes, she is here.

Where?

I laugh because Mom cannot see Miss Evans is carrying me on her lap.

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