It was a hot morning, and Olivia wished that she had stayed in the spots of shade around her hut. It was her first serious try to deliver a real lesson, and the children looked particularly restless. Walking into the classroom, she heard whispers and giggles. Students whispered to one another, other students doodled in the margins of their dog-eared notebooks. Olivia drew a deep breath, looking to appeal to authority.
Good morning, class," she shouted, speaking over the whispers.
"Good morning, Miss!" they answered, still grumbling and snickering softly behind her back suddenly Olivia turned to a boy in the class who giggled as she came in and asked him if he was to be in the class. She asked the class captain "is this boy in this class?", the captain replied yes. Olivia was surprised because a boy of his age was too young to be in standard 2. She told the boy to stand up which he did, Olivia detected a sudden confidence in the boy which was not common for a boy of his stature, "spell your name"
The boy spelt his name "O…go..chuk…wu". Not feeling satisfied, she switched over to English. Spell me em-em-recapitulation!"
The whole class shouted as the jawbreaker rolled like bullets from a double barrel gun.No one in the class had heard a word so bombastic before. The boy Ogochukwu swung his head from left to right and the proceeded to spell the word. Olivia was at the board holding the chalk to write the letters as he spelt along
"R…e…c..a.p..i..tu..lation", Olivia wrote the letters down as he spelt, She dropped down the chalk without writing the last letter on the board and rushed to shake Ogochukwu… 'Wonderful, Marvellous!" the boy smiled all along bending his head seemingly to avoid the envious eyes of the other pupils in the class and was asked to sit down. Olivia saw the but felt good and sought to assist him to become better, Ogochukwu quickly became Olivia's favourite pupil after that encounter.
Midway through the lesson, one student dropped a chair, the loud clatter startling everyone. A stray chicken wandered in again, pecking at spilled chalk dust. Olivia groaned, feeling her patience drop.
From the door, Chidera leaned against the doorframe, looking relaxed, and watched. "Well, they certainly are eager," he observed.
Olivia frowned. "Enthusiastic or a mess?" she muttered to herself.
By noon, she sweated and her clothes were kind of damp. The class was a disaster, the children restless, and her nicely plotted exercises out the window.
Olivia headed to fetch water in the village centre after school, but she discovered she was held back in a talk among women. They whispered, nodded towards her, and giggled.
"Ah, the new corper from Lagos," somebody noted, eyes sparkling. "She has good teaching skills, but… erm, she too hot, yes?"
Olivia flushed, aware that she already had rumors attached to her. Hot-headed? she mused. I barely get through teaching, that's it!
Chidera reappeared grinning."Village life involves watching," he explained. "People absorb it all. Your teaching style, how you frown as well people notice everything."
She rolled her eyes. "I didn't join to chase popularity, Chidera."
"Nobody signs up for that but you will soon have that".
Olivia saw that surviving wasn't merely about teaching—it was maneuvering relationships, and figuring out who to trust.
As it was drawing towards evening, Olivia returned to the school compound, tired but reflective. Chidera sat in front, sharpening a piece of chalk.
"You made it through your first lesson," he stated , passing her a water bottle.
"I just managed to make it," Olivia answered, sitting beside him. He smiled. "You see? You're tougher than you thought. And maybe, Lagos girl, the village isn't really able to cope with your energy—but it will learn to give it respect." Olivia broke a smile, relieving the tension of the day. She knew that as much as the village was difficult, and embarrassing at times, it had human beings—like Chidera—to make it endurable.