“I will see you at the end of the class; just pray they don’t ring the break time bell. Because if they do, then your beating begins.” Saheed is one of the most notorious bullies in my secondary school. He harasses anyone he chooses to and can beat up anyone, including his seniors. He always finds a way to kill the confidence of whoever he chooses to pick on.
As I was next in line on this fateful day, the words he had earlier whispered in my ears were like sharp swords piercing the heart; they really got to me, but I was willing to stand my ground. “I won’t be bullied by anyone!” I said to myself. Although he’s got the size and the confidence, my mind is so made up to teach him a lesson.
As a secondary school student in SS1, I was in my teenage years. I had some height, but not the size compared to Saheed. I had always been one of the top three in my class, while he was always a back bencher in terms of results. He loved coming to school, but his performance had been poor for a long time.
There was a time when his parents wanted to withdraw him from school because they believed his brain couldn’t cope with education and wanted him to try learning a trade. We later got to know that our principal and a few other teachers convinced them not to do so. Saheed had always admired my brilliance and respected me for that, but on this day that he decided to add me to his list of the oppressed, we both had a disagreement about something funny.
Saheed normally sits at the back of the class, while I sit at the front. For some reason, probably because he was looking for random trouble, he decided to sit on the second row, next to me, on the day we had the clash. “Everyone tear a sheet of paper; we will be having a short test.” Our biology teacher said. “Draw a cockroach, just like I showed you last week, and you have 45 minutes to do that; your time starts now!” He added.
As Mr. Kunle, our biology teacher, gave the order, everyone was already following his instructions, and I was about to do the same when I got tapped on the shoulder. “Borrow me one of your pencils.” It was Saheed making the authoritative call. I have two well-sharpened pencils, just as our biology teacher instructed us to always have a spare pencil in case one cuts off or gets blunt.
I would have willingly given it to him, but his authoritative tone got me like, “Did you buy the pencil for me?” He got the message and seemed surprised because any other person wouldn’t try that with him. For him, the insult upon injury was that the pencil he later used was blunt, which made his cockroach look like a big mango with insect-like legs.
"Saheed, bring your cockroach and show it to the whole class.” As Mr. Kunle made the call, Saheed sluggishly stood up from his seat, like a frightened celebrity amidst an unwelcoming audience. He managed to raise his drawing for the class to see, and just as expected, the whole class responded with a roaring and condescending laughter.
At some point, I almost felt sorry for him, but I stopped the pity party feeling when a question popped into my head: “He normally seats at the back; why did he come that close to the front of the class today?” I asked myself.
Like a fierce lion nurturing its wound in fury, Saheed shamefully left the front of the class but whispered in my ears, as stated at the beginning of this writeup. I was afraid, but what I did next was a move he never expected.
At the end of the class, Mr. Kunle asked if anyone had any questions or contributions. As one of his best students, even though my drawing wasn’t perfect but the labeling was top-notch, he has a soft spot for me. I raised my hand and said I have something to say, and with a smile, he gave me permission to go ahead.
Nobody ever dared report Saheed because they were afraid of what he would do to them within or even outside the school premises, but he had never crossed paths with a teacher’s favorite, like me.
“Sir, Saheed threatened to beat me up after your class, and as he had done to many, he may even go ahead to execute his plan after school hours.” The whole class was shocked at what I said, and even Saheed gave me the look, which I interpreted as “I’ll mercilessly deal with you.” Mr. Kunle was also surprised at what I said; I guess he was expecting me to say something related to biology.
“Don’t tell me that was what he said the other time I saw him whispering in your ears.” Mr. Kunle inquired. I immediately gave a resounding yes and went ahead to expose all he had been doing to my fellow classmates. The biology teacher called Saheed to follow him to the staff room, and he called a few other students, including me, as testifiers to my accusations of him being a bully, to which they also confirmed that he truly bullies other students, including some seniors.
The next morning, Saheed was called out of the assembly and punished. I later got to know that our biology teacher had arranged for some students to watch his movements within and outside the school and that if he misbehaved, he would be expelled. Like any other student who wants education as part of his life, Saheed was very afraid of getting expelled and much more afraid of his parents getting to know anything about his bad behavior.
He comported himself, and everyone was surprised by his new conduct. Everyone was surprised at my courage too. No one ever knew Saheed was going to get served anytime soon. I started having some new friends who were once his victims, and even with his size, he never crossed my path till we graduated from secondary school.