Shaming Mrs Akpan

As he stood tall, at least 5 feet 10 inches of it, towering me by at least 4 inches, the specter of going toe to toe against this speed merchant was convulsing, to say the very least. As I pondered how I got here? What inspired me to come forward to race against a bonafide sprinter? Was this a journey or to put it more correctly, a race to self-humiliation?

Kehinde was the fastest runner in my Primary School and his dominance was absolute and unremitting. Being a rather quiet student that essentially tried to always mind my business, I was the most unlikely candidate to come against Kehinde in all his athletic glory. But here I was, a supposed greenhorn, paired against the fastest runner in my school.

But I chose my poison. 3 weeks before this 200-meter dash trial, I had met my physical health education teacher, informing her of my desire to partake in the interschool sprinting competition. This information to my PHE teacher was greeted with shock as she didn’t believe I had the energy or talent or self-belief to as much as scale through the trials stage. So rather than dismiss me altogether, Mrs. Akpan, our PHE teacher set me up against the best sprinter in the school, Kehinde.

The pairings for the 200-meter dash trials were published on the notice board 1 week earlier. The countdown started and the dye was cast. Being a self-effacing student, the few people that could approach me, upon seeing the pairings, precisely my pairing with Kehinde, the fastest boy in the school, asked me if I was out of my mind to contemplate racing against Kehinde. My honest reply to them was that I simply told Mrs. Akpan, our PHE teacher that I wanted to run and she paired me with Kehinde.

The objective of Mrs. Akpan, albeit mischievous was clear: Let Nonso be thoroughly embarrassed. Also, let every other student that hopes to fly a kite by seeking to be enlisted on the school sprinting team learn that only she, Mrs. Akpan, had the right to pick and choose who joins the school sprinting team.

It was refreshing, also, that many other disenfranchised students also approached me and mentioned how they has sought to enter the school sprinting team but met resistance from Mrs. Akpan. Why didn’t she just tell me an outright no instead of setting me up for failure, I asked myself again.

But amidst all these fears, a still small voice inside me kept nudging me on. I reminded myself of how I outpaced all my older brothers and cousins during football games on the street. And wasn’t it for this reason that I had the gumption and self-belief to approach Mrs. Akpan for a place in the sprinting team in the first instance?

As the race began on the school field, I mustered all the energy I could gather and outpaced Kehinde. I got an early lead and finishing the race, 20 meters ahead of Kehinde. Truly, David defeated goliath that day.

Happy children’s day to you. I thought about writing a childhood memory of mine today but I could not express any memory in a way that I wanted. Therefore, I decided to tell about a story about the one I love – Nonso.

#MMBA3