Tales of the dreaded night before going back to school
Leon Kagunda being fitted new shoes as he prepares to go back to school.
Immediately after the new year, you start seeing back to school adverts. This always signifies the end of the long Christmas holiday.
It was usually at this point that I realized the holiday had come to an end and normal programming would resume shortly.
Honestly, the reality of going back really hit home a day before going back and the mood of that entire day was dampened.
From morning you start imagining how this is your last day home. I imagine this is the same feeling that a person leaving their home and going to serve a 20-year jail sentence has.
High school for me felt just like prison.
Surprisingly enough, the day before usually went by so fast. I felt like it was working towards chasing me away from home.
And then night would fall. Now here is where everything would fall apart.
I would suddenly lose my appetite and become uneasy. It was during this night that my mother would decide this is the perfect day to cook chapati and chicken! So you can imagine the dilemma I was in.
If you thought the loss of my appetite was the end of my problems, you were wrong. I am one person who enjoys sleeping but on this night I suddenly became an insomniac.
I started to overthink of the many cruel things that I was going to be facing for the next two and a half months before I come back home for midterm.
My mind obsessedc over the morning preps commonly referred to as (knock) and the food, with nyoyo (githeri) and uji (porridge) making an appearance five times a week.
There was also the irritating karaos (captains) who would always make life difficult and last but not least the cabal of teachers who were ready to beat you to death for the smallest of mistakes.
By the time I was done thinking of all this, it would be three in the morning, having not slept a wink. And just as I was about to catch a few hours of shut eye, mom comes into my room at exactly six and wakes me up in the loudest of ways just so I can get ready to go to school.
Upon arriving, I am greeted by the huge school signage with its motto saying something about persevering and enduring.
And indeed the next three months would be all about persevering and nothing short.