Ruben Kapimbi
Hi! I’m Elsie.
“Polish your footwear,” papa said. Then, he squeezed a round tin of Kiwi into my hands. I dipped the horsehair brush into the waxy cream.
Instantly, papa digs out a lollipop from his pocket. I skipped to the white bowl hooked to the wall. Then I sponged down the tan wax stuck between my fingers. Afterwards, I puffed the foamy bubbles over the sink and sucked the sugary lollipop.
The next morning, I stepped into the dark red door of our classroom. I picked up that my Drink O-pop had reddened my cotton schoolbag.
Later, Ms X clicked her pink high heels towards the chalkboard. She wrote, ‘Punctuation marks’ and then
sketched a dot. Instantly, she gummed flashcards with red spots against the blackboard. “What’s this?” she asked.
“Stop!” Timothy yelled, tickling the class. “It’s a full stop,” Magi sang. “Correct,” Ms X said, gifting her some red square candies.
“What’s a full stop?” Ms Y, the headmistress asked, bouncing into the class. “It’s a period,” I said, swaying my braided ponytail.
Soon Ms Y pasted an orange star in my book. I giggled at Ms Y’s white shirt, cause her red pen had vomited ink. Thereafter, the bell jingled. A boy behind me shouted, “Ms X, she messed on your chair!” A curled-hair girl wrapped her cherry jacket around my legs. Instantly, Ms X tossed a roll of white tissues, and her red lipstick harassed me to clean up. I galloped to the school gate.
Later, I pushed open my bedroom door, flinging the exam roster to the floor. “I missed the First Period,” I said. Daddy dropped to his knees as if a bullet hit him. Mommy pulled out a dipstick from her rose-coloured shoulder bag. “What?” mommy asked, tears drowning her eyes. “The test is cancelled,” I said. Daddy dumbed his finger on my lips.
“What’s happening?” I asked, stamping my feet. “Let’s visit a nurse …”, daddy yelled. Luckily, he phoned the local nurse. “It’s a cycle,” daddy said, hanging up the handset.
The next day, mommy filled my pink lunchbox with slices of triangular beetroots. Then papa walked me to class. Afterwards, Mrs Z drilled us about girls’ hygiene. In fact, she asked us to shape out the four special days. Soon papa brought bags of cottoned rectangle cloths for the girls.
* Keep the girl child in school