by KM Cory
The large sleeping room is now an ocean of noise and laughter of all kinds accompanied by statements that bully and troublemakers from all corners of the building inside.
It is a moment of releasing the stress of academic experience of the day into thin air with some students busy eating up the remains of their supper as others are dealing with the tea and escorts they have from their suitcases!
BOYO draws from one end of the room upon seeing some of his fellow classmates, holding a cup of hot tea and a doughnut, while wearing a nightwear made of a top long sleeve and long pair of night trousers. He falls in with LIHANDA at their sleeping corner, busy helping himself with one of the mirrors on the wall as well as trying to put some oil onto his body.
BOYO
Where is OBAN and CASANOVA?
LIHANDA [looking in the mirror]
I was waiting to ask you the same, nwa.
BOYO
I had gone looking for them. But none of their friends knows too.
Just then, a band of five senior students approaches the sleeping corner of BOYO and LIHANDA, and one of the seemingly tall boys, who is wearing a minister’s uniform accompanied by a maroon jacket, addresses the two friends in a simple but serious manner.
MINISTER
One of you should go and see your friends at the DH’s office!
BOYO [panic stricken]
What is the matter, please?
[The five boys fall into serious laughter]
[BOYO tries to plead to them to be told more about what he and LIHANDA have just heard from these senior students, but they keep up with their ugly laughter and]
BOYO [angered]
Then don’t tell us anything further!
MINISTER [walks away]
These new lads are going to make this college famous once again!
BOYO [replying out to the cabin]
It is us against you then!
LIHANDA
Just let them be, nwa!
[BOYO does not hesitate to storm out of sight]
LIHANDA
And where to now, nwa?
BOYO
To the DH’s office.
LIHANDA
But you’re wearing a night shift, nwa!
BOYO [almost out of sight]
It does not matter; the better!
LIHANDA [to himself]
It all begins now!
[He abandons looking at himself in the mirror and follows BOYO]
SCENE 5
[THE DH OFFICE]
It is a state-of-the-art facility and very pleasant.
The office is well-kempt so that it looks typically institutionalized for public outreach, and at the entrance over the top of the door is a placard reading ‘Disciplinary Head.’
The light in the room is so bright that you can glimpse and discern everything inside.
Therefore, inside this bondage-like room, for now, is OBAN and CASANOVA, kneeling on the hard floor made of cement, with their arms held up high above their heads like men-of-war duly surrendering to be taken for labor activity as captives. There is no talking between them. Neither are they looking at each other. Thoughts are the companions to both. Just then BOYO and LIHANDA creep at the door and quickly get the attention of their friends who sneak into the office like scoundrels and then
BOYO [pensive]
What’s going on here, nwa?
OBAN
Nothing much, nwa!
BOYO [confused]
Really?
LIHANDA
Were you both caught in the act?
OBAN
Yes, nwa.
BOYO
Doing what, nwa?
OBAN
Telling you won’t give us a solution. We need solutions before the DH returns, nwa.
BOYO
How can we provide solutions without knowing what problem both of you are facing?
CASANOVA
We were both caught in the act, okay. By the dumb night watchman.
BOYO
Alone or with others?
CASANOVA
With MODERN and OBAN’s candidate crash, nwa!
[An ugly air of silence of hearing about the truth ensues]
BOYO [mopping his forehead]
Trouble now!
LIHANDA [sane]
We now need to act quick, nwa!
[BOYO is yet to settle as he looks at OBAN and CASANOVA]
[Then]
OBAN
Help us, nwa.
CASANOVA
Could you let him think, first?
OBAN
But you know the DH isn’t far away from coming back!
CASANOVA
I’m aware of that and –
BOYO [at once]
Would you agree to joining the religious school choir?
CASANOVA
Without any hard thoughts! That will do, nwa.
OBAN
Yes, nwa. We can just do that.
CASANOVA
You can now leave, nwa. The DH might come back anytime now.
OBAN
Really, do they have to go?
CASANOVA [before BOYO replies]
And what have you to do or say, nwa. When you are the trouble-causer? There is no room for playing around!
[He has sounded so repulsive and]
OBAN [calmly]
I get it then.
CASANOVA [to BOYO and LIHANDA]
We appreciate your coming here, at least. You may now leave before more trouble, nwa. Don’t worry; we’ll use your solution to our troubles.
BOYO [retreating with LIHANDA]
Okay, nwa! I hope this doesn’t spill out and cause us shame.
CASANOVA [sad]
I cannot tell you enough now, nwa. I’m hoping we don’t get ashamed.
BOYO [retreating]
It is already the news of the night in our dormitory. I hope it is not the same elsewhere!
LIHANDA [at the door]
Come back victorious, nwa!
[He and BOYO are now out of sight after closing the door]
[A FEW MOMENTS LATER]
We see Mr. BONOLO, a somber man with a coffee-colored skin complexion, wearing the Italian style of fashion at the door, and it is the head of disciplinary members at Johnson People’s College. He manages to unlock it and enters the room upon fastening back the door at his back and walks straight to the office desk and chair where he sits minus venting out a word.
He has a clean-shaven head that glitters through the lantern bulb’s light as he runs a check through the hip of papers over the wooden desk. This person is a candidate for hard-working employees, recognizing his every aspect of the job too earnest. It is like he will not say anything to the two enslaved students in his presence inside the room as he gets busy. And it strikes impatience within one of them, and that is CASANOVA who decides to break the ice on the moment
CASANOVA
We have made up our minds over the punishment you told us to find, Sir!
[The DH feigns not hearing at all and]
CASANOVA [to OBAN; whispering]
Say something to him, nwa.
OBAN
We are seeking your pardon Mr. BONOLO since we have made up our minds on finding a punishment for ourselves, Sir!
Mr. BONOLO [despite being engrossed in paperwork]
And what’s the punishment, my winners and sinners of the night?
CASANOVA
Joining the College’s religious choir, Sir!
Mr. BONOLO
And you think that is a suitable punishment for winners and sinners like you, boys? And we don’t just admit anyone into the choir if they lack the mannerism and break the rules of this great seat of wisdom I’ve served for long!
CASANOVA
But Sir, it is a punishment, and you asked us to choose our own! So, we’re ready to do whatever it takes to be in the choir!
Mr. BONOLO [looking at the two students; cold tone]
Then I’m going to make sure you ente
r the practice room first and leave last. And also, ensure that you clean up the room every sunrise and sunset for a fortnight as well as verify that you prepare the room for any practical without fail. I hope I make myself clear, you sinners?
CASANOVA and OBAN [in unison]
Yes, Sir!
Mr. BONOLO
I hereby dismiss you from my presence but on condition that you don’t come into closer contact with your fellow sinners, at least not in my presence or anywhere close to my eyesight! Heard?
CASANOVA and OBAN [chorus]
Yes, Sir!
[They both rise to their feet]
Mr. BONOLO
And you, so-called CASANOVA.
CASANOVA
Yes, Sir –
Mr. BONOLO [ambitious tone]
You’re to be relieved of your debate club duties as well –
CASANOVA [surprised]
What; really—
Mr. BONOLO
One more word out of your mouth, and you lose other benefits too!
OBAN [on behalf of his colleague]
Will this be relief be forever, Sir?
Mr. BONOLO [tzar-like]
For as long as I wish but not forever, sinner of the night!
CASANOVA
I’m perturbed about that, Sir.
Mr. BONOLO [looking back into the paperwork]
I think I already dismissed you and your partner in crime, isn’t it?
OBAN
Yes, Sir.
[He pushes angry CASANOVA, and they both exit the office]
[And once they are outside the office and a few yards away from it]
CASANOVA [apprehensive]
That loser cannot rip me off my duties in the debate club! He doesn’t have any moral authority to even do so!
OBAN
I know, but he is the head of the disciplinary, and he can do anything he wishes, nwa.
CASANOVA
Even if he is, he cannot condemn me unheard, nwa! That is a right I have to enjoy!
OBAN
You’re now becoming political, nwa.
CASANOVA [beginning to walk away]
If he’s ready to take me down, I’m going down with him too!
OBAN [following suit]
I don’t want to see you getting expelled, nwa.
CASANOVA
I’m not afraid, is my motto.
OBAN [almost out of sight]
But it has to be valued.
SCENE 6
[PRACTICE ROOM]
[It is another day in the seat of wisdom]
Inside the practice room known as ‘THE MARIAMA BA FAMILY,’ designed in such a way that it indicates it as a stage with its walls and floor made up of thick brown colors in the form of curtains.
There is an assemble of music instruments as well that include cymbals and drums set in a stand, a track recorder, a Hi-Fi Cassette deck, a portable synthesizer standing next to a Fender Rhodes Stage Piano, a King Tubby Mixing Desk, and a Synclavier. Hanging on one of the walls opposite is a pair of MODERN Stratocasters, and two basic 76A microphones held on a triple stand. And near to these adorable instruments is a set of rules and regulations which are well placed onto a white piece of board that is greatly fixed into the wall.
CASANOVA and OBAN are already inside the room and are wearing overalls for cleaners. Both are having a scrubbing brush and a bucket of water. They are already dealing with the punishment met out by Mr. BONOLO onto them despite the fact it is like they are not feeling the same. At this particular time, CASANOVA sits on the drum set as OBAN cleans up the stage piano and then he breaks the silence
CASANOVA
Do you remember how we used to play drums, and how I told, I once admired being a drummer?
OBAN
Yes, I do.
CASANOVA [smiling]
So, here I am sitting before the drum set, and I feel like playing them now.
OBAN [resolute]
You can live the dream now, nwa.
CASANOVA [respectful]
These walls might have that loser’s ears!
[OBAN falls into laughter]
OBAN
Look up around the roof, nwa.
CASANOVA (looks up)
OBAN
I know those are heavy cloths and pillows to prevent any sound from escaping the four corners of this building.
CASANOVA
I can now play the drums, you mean?
OBAN
If you’re not afraid like you’re already, nwa.
[But before CASANOVA fulfills that he is not afraid like OBAN seems to suggest, upon getting hold of the drumsticks, a knock is heard and felt on the door and then]
OBAN
The room is out of bounds; come back later! Thanks.
But the plea falls on deaf ears, and the sound on solid rock as the entrance door is knobbed out and let loose, then LIHANDA, accompanied by BOYO, step into the room. They are both decked in overalls for cleaners like their counterparts, already feeling excited even to be inside the room with friends they are well versed with and
OBAN [amused]
How have you got those uniforms?
LIHANDA
BOYO is friends with the cleaners, and he accessed the uniforms for both.
CASANOVA [pleased]
How sharp you’re at acquaintance, BOYO!
BOYO [admiring the room]
Not better than you who knows the meals and refreshments MASTER, nwa!
[And the quadruple falls into sick laughter]
CASANOVA [humorous]
I just hope ‘Mr. Loser’ doesn’t spoil my relationship with that jolly man!
LIHANDA
Of course, he cannot. He is timid before that jolly man.
[Another round of laughter and]
BOYO
By now we should be felt as the young ‘hot steppers’ in this school.
OBAN
You are soon becoming liable to copyright infringement on artists’ lyrics, nwa; you nowadays make comments full of lyrical titles. And I don’t know why!
LIHANDA
He is part of the directing team of the school choir here, and he is always in the music library researching, among other things.
CASANOVA
It seems BOYO is up to something we don't know, nwa.
LIHANDA [defending CASANOVA]
Not really, nwa. The solution to being like him is already at your disposal.
OBAN
And what’s that, nwa?
LIHANDA
Joining the school choir. Don’t tell me you forgot all about it.
CASANOVA [leaving the drum set]
You brought it up only as a way to get out of cold soup in the presence of ‘Mr. Loser!’
OBAN
And you didn’t enlighten us more about it all.
BOYO [at the Hi-Fi Cassette deck now]
How could we be able to do so when you never gave us a chance!
OBAN
I doubt we’ll have fun in the choir when we have the DH on our backs. He is ready to spoil our happiness for as long as he still has eyes on us with this fake punishment.
LIHANDA
I get it, nwa.
BOYO [seductive]
I’m in the choir because of LIHANDA, nwa!
OBAN [thrilled]
What a big-fat-joke for the day!
CASANOVA [pinning BOYO]
Are you saying the truth or you –
LIHANDA [wakeful]
BOYO is a bassist already, nwa!
OBAN [laughing]
I can hardly believe that!
BOYO [audacious]
Just come to the practice one day, and the rest will be up to your judgment, nwa. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time to make you two believe the magic in the school choir down here without believing.
CASANOVA
The naughty DH will not hesitate to shame us still, nwa. He will be at our backs all the while. Otherwise, joining you here in this great hall for practice,
moreover, designated in the heroic name, would be a great avenue to clear our names and even gain more exposure to the four of us.
OBAN [diabolic]
And we can clean our names by joining the choir in this great room of MARIAMA BA to provoke the insidious DH and eventually face off with him, nwa! I am not letting him dirty us by intimidating with his poor sanction on us! No way, nwa!
BOYO
Murderer!
[The boys fall into sarcastic laughter]
CASANOVA
And he doesn’t even teach us, nwa!
BOYO
Fibrous!
[The quadruple laughs hysterically]
LIHANDA
I can now assume we’re in the same boat to join the school choir.
CASANOVA
Hoping that you will stand in for us when we get harassed by the naughty DH.
LIHANDA
I promise to stand in for you when he makes an attempt at both of you for joining the school choir and not the religious choir, as suggested. After all, many students are part of both choirs.
CASANOVA [sitting down on the floor]
The religious choir is even boring!
OBAN
And not lively at all!
[BOYO laughs]
LIHANDA
And that’s the opposite of the school choir. We dance, sing and shout every practice session in this room, and no one can hear us from the outside, nwa.
CASANOVA [admiring the room now]
I cannot help but imagine the four of us raising our voices to the ceiling in this room like Sinatra or The Temptations and dancing to the ceiling like Freddie Jackson on such a stage before the main hall.
LIHANDA [philosophical]
Imaginations are a true sign of intelligence and not knowledge alone, nwa!
BOYO
Says or said who?
LIHANDA
Said by the great theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein, and says I now, nwa.
CASANOVA [appreciative handclap]
You must be taking the philosophy club head over heels, nwa!
BOYO
And all the girls are falling for him too, not to mention a few.
OBAN
I think it is going to be fun already when we join the school choir no matter this fake punishment we’re going through now, nwa.
[CASANOVA stands in front of his peers]
CASANOVA
I’m joining the school choir, nwa! I’ve decided.
[BOYO cannot help it but beat off the drums in the set as OBAN rapidly stops him from continuing the rage of excitement]
BOYO [exuberant]
I hereby seek your confirmation before all of us now, nwa!
OBAN is the first mild and temperament. He has a baby-faced outlook that makes him appear fragile at making decisions in an instant even though he is not as dull as a blue book. He seems to be the brightest and most intelligent amongst his peers. He rubs his fingers a little and
