The Habit ; Black and white.

e of my classmates, cried out as Senior Selama slapped her. That was my first encounter with Senior Selama. She was a Basic 9 student and was popularly known amongst th

e "Bedwetters Hostel." Students did not enter the hostel not because they were not allowed to, but because the place had an offensive odor from built-up urine. She refu

active in student activities and didn't mind us. She had a calm aura and a unique facial tribal mark that dragged across two sides of her cheeks. She also had a thick "Anambra" accent when speaking English. Senior Selama tried bullying me into giving her my provision, but

Lots of reports about some of you engaging in the SIN of sacrilege, lesbianism, has been brought to my notice." Lesbianism. That was the first time I ever heard the word. I never knew that girls could be attracted to the same sex and even go as far as engaging in sexual acts with them.

cluding games and movie night. They are hereby excommunicated from religious societies, and no one should be seen in their company. They are the black sheep of the school," he further stat-ed. "They have been stained with sin and must not corrupt t

chool, mid-term breaks didn't exist unlike other schools. Father Bernard said that it was a waste of time and a dis-traction from the training he had been giving us. He believed t

me a monetary reward if I was among those that topped my class. He had set the pace for my

re not allowed to remove it for any reason, especially when we were outside our house. The beret and the brooch that we pinned to our chest were symbols of identification that we were students of the school. I

m being omniscient like God, having the ability to see every-thing we do in the dark even in his absence. The fear of committing a case would not allow any student to flout the school's rules. We were not allowed to wear what Father Bernard labeled as indecent dressings: outfits like trousers, slee

ot coming back again. This left me confused because I had only packed the clothes that needed amendment at the tailor's shop and the clothes that I ne

we left the school compound, boarded a taxi, and bid fare-well t