The first and second years of my life from being in this world were spent in the beautiful city of Mombasa. That is ironic because, for someone who has practically moved around the country a lot, I feel caged. So during this period, I lived with my uncle from my mother's side and his wife.
Their
oldest sons attended the same school- Sky View Junior Academy- as me and often
felt bothered by my tardiness. They pulled me up one too many times and I
always raced to go at their pace. I often found my cousin cute and wanted to be
like him.
That
was also the time Aquafresh hit the market. The toothpaste was famous and was
doing road shows around the country to different schools. And our school was
one of them. One thing about me is that I love watching TV. I will diligently
do my duties just to have my time before the screen. I'm lazy with the TV as
well.
Hence,
I knew everything about Aquafresh toothpaste. All the color meanings, sizes,
prices, flavors, etc. so when our school was chosen, I was so happy. I remember
racing so fast to the assembly ground. So the roadshow had the learning and
evaluation parts. So we were taught everything that I already knew and that
gave me so much power. I felt singled out and untouchable.
I
had all the answers to every question. However, being picked to answer
questions was something tough but eventually, I was picked. The question was
about stating what all colors represented. And of course, I aced it. I was
awarded a large toothpaste and that was one of the happiest wins of my life.
And I couldn't wait to tell my uncle about it.
That
evening, after the games, I rushed back to class in a hurry to get home. So
just to confirm, I checked my backpack to lovingly admire my prize. That's when
I received a rude awakening. It was missing. A few of my friends frantically
ran around to find out who had stolen it and we did. But she ran home faster
than we could apprehend her. I don't actually remember her name so we just call
her Millicent.
After
4; 00 pm, the teacher wants to go home take a bath and relax, and not deal with
the issue after issue. But that did not stop us, I reported the matter to our
teacher but she couldn't do much about it. When I got home, I tried retelling
the story of my trophy moment but I had no toothpaste to help me prove that I
had won. I really needed that win.
The
pain I felt that day isn't comparable to any I've felt my entire life. I had a
win at hand, I had it and someone took it away from me. To make it worse, it's
like no one believed that I had actually won a present in school. It's like
even the teachers didn't see how confidently I answered my questions.
Headstrong and sure.
I
wanted someone to be proud of me so badly. My cousin, however, didn't see my
win but later whispered to me that he believed me. And that's what woke me up
the next morning to see another day as a new person.
