by KM Cory
[A few murmurs of mixed acceptance]
CASANOVA [pleading]
Can we do that, please, class?
[Some students tower over the rest to accept the plea]
CASANOVA
Let us do that, then!
As he steps away from the desk, the female student who paused a mocking question at the INSTRUCTOR before he chose to exit the classroom raises her arm in a jolly mood expecting no objection, and students laugh a little as well as murmur.
CASANOVA
Yes, FASSIE!
FASSIE [on her feet already]
Since you have requested us to do exactly what Teacher BILES requested us to do—
CASANOVA
That is right—
FASSIE
Okay. Am I free to sketch you too, CASANOVA?
[The question sends the classroom into a hullabaloo that is quite ascending]
Some students cheer FASSIE as others sideline with CASANOVA and the show takes its toll on the latter as FASSIE keeps standing, waiting for a confirmation from CASANOVA, busy trying to settle those who are in his favor with the help of his peers, BOYO and LIHANDA as OBAN decides to lock the entrance of the room so that no serious INSTRUCTOR passes-by to punish everyone for making noise unnecessarily.
[When the silence begins to take control once again]
CASANOVA [amid anticipation]
FASSIE –
FASSIE [chorus with her fans]
Yes, CASANOVA!
CASANOVA [festive]
You are free to do whatever you like with me in your sketches, FASSIE!
Altogether, FASSIE and those in her company and support cheerfully rejoice as CASANOVA also applauds his wagon while requesting the class to get back to business. But OBAN is on the low by telling the students to try and maintain silence.
A STUDENT
Classes should always be like this!
[more laughter as the students try to deal with the request that has just been made by CASANOVA.]
The school bell has gone for the end of class, and the students are getting out of class as others have already done so and are heading in different directions.
SCENE 10
[BASKETBALL COURT]
OBAN and BOYO are seen approaching the school basketball court to join other students and who are already settling for a rehearsal competition from the school club and the amateurs. They are in duologue upon finding a seat at the entrance, next to their fellow classmates that goes on as follows
OBAN
She put on quite a show!
BOYO
She always does, and students like her anyway.
OBAN [speculative]
She is undeniably a seductive creature that can make an everlasting impression. And I think CASANOVA must have been neutralized!
BOYO [laughing]
I wonder where you get your strong lines from, nwa!
OBAN [proud]
I read a lot these days, nwa.
BOYO
That is an achievement. Keep it up!
OBAN [peering over at FASSIE]
There she comes to haunt guys!
BOYO [observing]
I think I might approach her!
OBAN
Are you sure about that?
BOYO
I don’t need to be, nwa. Just watch me.
OBAN
I am keeping my eyes on you over that.
[And the whistle blows for the game rehearsals to start off]
ACT TWO
SCENE 1
[SLEEPING HALL]
[AT NIGHT]
[The sleeping hall is immersed in darkness and silence and a few snores can be heard while some people who are already feeling sleepy, tossing, and turning]
In the darkness, there is an activity going on, but we cannot figure it out as yet. Suddenly a flashlight is turned on from nowhere. It searches from one corner to the other before it is switched off, and we are left in complete awe on what is going on.
A group of people who are disguised in total to avoid easy identification is now walking through a tidy classroom with the help of flashy lights over the disorganized desks upon pushing the door ajar. And once the cohort is at the large classroom window, one of the members skillfully unlocks it without causing any friction but action and lunges out of sight with his torch. Whether he or she has landed safely outside is something unknown to us as he gets followed by the rest of the escapades. The last person to jump through the window manages to do so with ease at closing it again but loosely so that on return, it is easy to climb back inside. The room is once again left to the auditory in silence.
SCENE 2
[LATER ON]
[the town of Lantana is still bustling with busy schedules on every street].
There is a string of roadside hawkers and small shops intertwined, dealing in every kind of merchandise and agricultural produce with various customers trying to bargain for a simple fee. There is a small signpost having all types of adverts both for business and non-business activities located within a night market. A few night music venues are busy with revelers or none. Some of their verandas have harlots who are soliciting for a living tonight from the people passing by who seem not to be concerned with the request for commercial endearment.
Nearby there is an on-going entertainment show dubbed as ‘THE TOWN-HOUR DANCE PARTY” by the banner that is visible, and it is fenced off from viewership since it is within a busy place. We can hear the MC trying to ball the crowd inside the fenced-off area, and the vibes coming from the disco sounds are truly destructive not to be interested in paying the entrance fee.
And then, we get to see the disguised students of Johnson People’s College, numbering six. They find their way towards the dance party place fenced off, whereby they check-in, thereby getting cleared by the bouncers of mixed body weight and are out of sight. Only one of the disguised escapades keeps up at the entrance in a small duologue with the bouncers at the venue before having a tip of smoke from one of them, thereby entering too.
[AFTERWARDS]
Inside the ring-fenced place, the atmosphere is one of maximum happiness for all time that one has in the world without minding about tomorrow. The ground is dusty, but no one minds about it as the disc joker does what he is best at to keep the crowd going on the best tunes of African pop excellence and a few European mixes. Those who are good at stepping and whirling do it best and have space to themselves from the amateurs in the dance tonight without minding about the dust rising up above, thereby filling their eyes, hair, mouth, and nose since they can quench out the sweat and thirst with a cold drink of different flavors. Our escapades can now be seen, and some of the rule-breakers are OBAN, CASANOVA, LIHANDA, and BOYO, and they are all feeling expletive due to the rhythm of the night. One of the drunkards mistakenly falls onto OBAN after suffering a heavy push from those who are enjoying the disco, and OBAN rushes to react with fury.
BOYO
Don’t trouble for us before it does, nwa!
LIHANDA
We are in unknown territories, nwa. So, don’t risk!
OBAN adheres, but as soon as he gets proper, a huge gang of men comes pushing through the dancing crowd like a herd of beasts from nowhere while shouting.
GANG OF MEN
TWENDE BWANA! FASI-FASI-FASI! POLICE ANAYINGIYA SANA! POLICE!
There and then, the whole entertainment craze and its atmosphere get down, dismantled into panic and worry, to flee from being arrested by the law enforcement team, thereby turning into a bizarre scene. Everyone with a timid heart searches for a safe haven by fleeing off. The dust is one solace of escape indeed! Meanwhile, the music does not stop!
SCENE 3
[UNDERGROUND PASSAGE]
[The movement of car lights can be seen beneath the bridge-like structure, and above it is a railway line built to transport goodies]
It is quite dark, but one standing beneath the bridge can see anyone approaching from all different corners, thereby get
ting a better chance of escape.
OBAN, CASANOVA, and LIHANDA are situated within this safe haven, plus a few young ladies immersed in the night dance party ordeal while talking about it. They are four in number and wearing attractive skimpy dresses that try to make them appeal to one’s conscience, reaching above their knees with little or no make-up at all over their faces. Perhaps they are waiting for the trauma caused by the stampede of avoiding arrest at the musical show to first cool down and out of their bodies and souls. It is a blissful moment of engaging in one’s thoughts. Still, it is now raptured with someone visible approaching from one end of the tunnel.
LIHANDA [shouts with determination to assail]
Who are you coming towards us?
BOYO [panting]
BOYO.
LIHANDA [worry-stricken]
Is everything okay with you, nwa?
BOYO [leaning over the wall]
Yes, nwa. But we have to get moving before rhe police find us here. I left them slopping this side.
CASANOVA
So, they are searching for those on the run?
BOYO [leading the way]
Without a doubt, nwa!
LIHANDA [concerned]
And what about the young ladies?
BOYO [turning back]
We shall escape them out to a nearby pub so that they can enter there.
The ladies
We cannot risk being caught by those men. They might harass us!
And the wagon trails off away from the under-passage.
Hardly a moment passes by for so long before three policemen approach the under-passage and halt at the exact spot where their prey has been stationed before departing upon being tipped off by an escapade.
MAN 1
They might have heard our footsteps over the rails and took off!
MAN 2
Probably.
MAN 3
They have escaped with some young ladies whom I saw heading this way below.
MAN 1
Let’s retreat back then.
[The trio falls back away and out of sight from the filthy-like under-passage]
SCENE 4
[SLEEPING HALL]
[Our escapees have managed to sneak back into the sleeping hall]
They have been almost careful to avoid any disturbance as they undress to dress for a night’s sleep after such a night of uncertain unrest. BOYO officially welcomes back his colleagues in a whisper before he falls into slumberland swiftly, and so does LIHANDA. OBAN and CASANOVA decide to keep talking after feeling they cannot sleep straight away.
OBAN [jolly]
Those young ladies almost raptured us!
CASANOVA
Beyond that to me, nwa. I don’t think I’ll ever forget them!
OBAN
I should search for them since one of them directed me to her place.
CASANOVA [amused]
Oh, really?
OBAN
Yes. She invited me over, and I think I will honor the invitation, nwa.
CASANOVA
Now, just go to bed and think about it before I tell MODERN!
OBAN [guilty]
You know I cannot hurt her, nwa!
CASANOVA
Then go to bed for walls have ears!
OBAN
But they cannot speak; remember?
CASANOVA
Absolutely but the walls are the students sleeping right now though some are not. So, they can speak when asked.
OBAN
I wonder what that means!
CASANOVA
Kindly go to bed. You will know better on the morrow when you’re not tired.
OBAN
Alright.
[And the duologue ceases in the darkness]
SCENE 5
[THE DH OFFICE]
[THE FOLLOWING DAY]
[It is a bright sunny morning]
And the scene is inside the office of the DH, Mr. BONOLO.
He is not present at the moment.
However, BOYO is present, and he is waiting in one of the chairs patiently while admiring his fingernails. As usual, he is smartly dressed. As he tries to be calm and less crystalline, two male senior students also join him and, with a curse, kneel on the floor. Both are well built and vibrant in appearance. They look to be good at chasing deals within the school perimeters, and education might not be a priority owing to a few reasons such as being handsome, boasting, and maybe because they come from rich families. They both don’t mind about BOYO’s presence with them in the room as they duologue like they own the entire space inside the office
STUDENT A
I cannot let that dumb nightguard to pin me over this, SMARTER. Not at all!
SMARTER
I wonder how he is even going to talk to the DH who doesn’t know a thing about talking to tongue-tied people, BENJIE! But you just relax. All will be well; you got my back on this one.
BENJIE
I am not at ease with that, man!
SMARTER [noticing BOYO]
Hey!
BOYO
I am BOYO –
SMARTER
Alright. You are a freshman or a senior student?
BOYO
Pardon?
[BENJIE mimics the pardon, which forces SMARTER to laugh with him]
BOYO
I am not either!
SMARTER [to BENJIE]
Man, can you imagine these days freshmen don’t respect us, seniors, anymore?
BENJIE
You have just plowed it out of my mouth, man! They don’t seem to care at all. Ever.
BOYO
Why should they do so when the seniors don’t want to do the same for freshmen?
[BENJIE and SMARTER share a look]
BENJIE [bothered]
Expose that confidence once again by asking such a dumb question, and you see what happens next, boy!
Mr. BONOLO [his voice off-stage]
He isn’t a boy, boy!
[Mr. BONOLO enters his office, wearing the same Italian fashion style, upon being escorted by a fellow employee who walks away]
Mr. BONOLO
I have been hearing you from the outside, boys!
[He sits at his desk]
Mr. BONOLO [serious]
And now you two fat weevils have earned yourselves a better punishment!
[BENJIE and SMARTER object]
Mr. BONOLO
I am not your daddy-cool, weevils!
[He then draws beneath his office desk and fishes out a heavy cane in the form of a stick which he points out to the two ‘weevils’]
Mr. BONOLO [authoritative]
I will be forced to use this on both of you if you prick me yet. I don’t want to cane any student this term before the middle of it.
[BENJIE and SMARTER grow respect towards Mr. BONOLO]
Mr. BONOLO
Mr. BOYO –
BOYO
Yes, Sir.
Mr. BONOLO
You know you’re in the wrong already, isn’t it?
BOYO
No, I am not, Sir!
Mr. BONOLO
Then you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t in the wrong with these two weevils inside my office, Mr. BOYO!
[BOYO only stares back at the DH]
Mr. BONOLO
And since you’ve not objected, I will take it as a sign of guilt, Mr. BOYO!
BOYO
I am not guilty, Sir!
Mr. BONOLO
So, here I am with three guilty students. One guilty of escaping from school, and the other two are culpable of sleeping inside the girls’ dormitory.
[He releases crocodile laughter]
BENJIE
But it isn’t like that as reported to you, Sir!
Mr. BONOLO
Then what is it like, Mr. BENJIE? Huh? All of you are guilty, but the devil is deceiving you into denying everything, yet it’s all true. Isn’t it all of you?
[There is no offered reply]
Mr. BONOLO
Isn’t that so, Mr. BOYO?
BOYO
Not at all, Sir.
Mr. BONOLO
Oh! So, you want to convince me into believing that you and some other lousy clique of students never attended the dance party overnight? Is that what you are insinuating into my mind?
BOYO
Not at all, Sir. I even don’t know what is going on here! Neither do I understand what you’re telling me, Sir.
[Mr. BONOLO stares hard at BOYO, who doesn’t freak out]
Mr. BONOLO
You must be a good liar, Mr. BOYO! Shame upon you and –
BOYO [boldly interrupting]
I am sorry if I’ve angered you, Sir. But I’m not guilty of anything accused upon me!
Mr. BONOLO [intrigued]
Oh, really?
[He suddenly laughs in a belittling manner]
Mr. BONOLO [sadistic]
For being such a coward, you leave me optionless. It is so unfortunate that my loyal witness is now on duty, but he would be making you sweat plasma and crying in front of me, all of you as I type an expulsion letter to take back home as a gift from me. Isn’t it right, Mr. BOYO?
BOYO
Only if the witness would be around, yes, you’re right, Sir!
[Mr. BONOLO stares at BOYO for a second]
Mr. BONOLO
You’re quite not like other freshmen!
[He rises to his feet and leans over his desk]
Mr. BONOLO
But you are under my eagle eyes, Mr. BOYO! And you’ll hardly escape neither be free from it. So, if you ever appear in my office again and the rules are clear, that you appear twice in my office here, you’re expelled definitely, Mr. BOYO. Hope I make myself clear on that?
[BOYO affirms receipt of the condition]
Mr. BONOLO
You may take your leave, and I deal with these weevils who called you a boy not knowing they are, and you’re not.
BOYO
Thank you, Sir.
Mr. BONOLO
For now, but not later, Mr. BOYO!
[And we depart the office with him]
SCENE 6
[BASKETBALL COURTYARD]
[there is a free-spirited practice going on now, and it is catchy]
