Kevo of Form 3G and trouble are like Siamese twins. They never part. A month hardly passes without him being in some sort of trouble. Indeed he is sure to be at the centre of every other scandal rocking Meta Meta school. Wangu Wa Makeri’s directive to have him sign in every morning at her office doesn’t seem to have helped matters much.
His parents have been summoned to Meta Meta so many times that they even know teachers’ nicknames. On Friday last week, Kevo and his two friends were sent home for sneaking out at night. The most intriguing aspect of their escapade was the ingenious ‘Panya’ route that they used.
Okonkwo has spent a fortune fencing the compound and we were sure that there were no Panya routes left – until Thunder spotted the trio at the shopping centre. On seeing him, they melted into the darkness and he alerted the boarding master.
Out of the midnight roll call, three boys from Serengeti dormitory were missing. Only a keen eye looking out for mischief could have realised that three beds were unoccupied. Pillows and spare clothes had been rolled in a way to create the impression of a sleeping form - completely covered up like ancient Egyptian Mummies.
With the school watchman, they inspected the fence for possible ‘Panya routes’. There were none. The boys had either flown or walked out of the main gate. The latter option was, however, vehemently contested by the watchman. The two decided to wait for the boys who were sure to sneak back.
Barbed Wire
Slightly after 2.00 a.m, they were startled by a form stumbling in the darkness towards the dormitories. When stopped, the boy– amidst yawns claimed that he had stomach problems and was coming from the school’s pit latrine. He was in his pyjamas. A few minutes later, another form materialised from the same direction. Again the hawk-eyed pair confirmed that the boy was in his sleeping gear and let him be.
It was at this point that the boarding master decided to check who else could be in the toilet since he hadn’t seen any boy go there. Armed with a powerful flashlight, he headed in that direction. As he approached the pit latrine, he heard some muffled hammering sound. Stealthily, he opened the door. The light settled on Kevo, a stone in hand, hammering a plank of timber onto the toilet’s back wall.
The startled boy dropped the stone hammer into the pit latrine where it landed with a thud. He was about to dump some stuff in a paper bag when the boarding master stopped him. He instructed him to remove the plank of timber he had been hammering in. It revealed a hole big enough for tens of mischievous boys to wriggle in and out.
When the boarding master peeped out, he realised that the hole opened onto the outer side of the school fence. The pit latrine had been constructed at the edge and formed a part of the school fence. A roll of razor sharp barbed wire running across its roof was meant to deter any boy from sneaking out.
The boarding master ordered Kevo to carry the piece of timber the way Jesus was forced to carry his cross. Going back into the dormitory, he was not surprised to find the other two beds occupied. The boys were innocently snoring the night away!