I have always been stubborn. When our class prefect was away one day, in 1995, people decided to use up the coloured chalks to write and draw on the board. They wrote what they thought about her leadership, what a terrible person she was. They tried to get me to write something but I couldn't, she was my friend and a member of our fatherless race.
The following day, someone told her that everybody had written something about her and there was a plan to oust her and make me class prefect. I tried to defend myself but my voice was drowned in the crod so I took out a a book to read.
Someone tapped on my shoulder, it was my friend, asking if I could ccompany her on a teacher errand. And as we walked I started to tell her how I hadn't been involved. She simply said - I believe you- You are my friend.
I could have cried. It was the first time someone had believed me.
A few years later, when we were preparing for our final exams, some girls started to form chamas to share the latest gossip before sleep. I didn't join even after several invitations. It's not like I had something important, like reading for the exams. No, sleep was my priority.
One morning, every girl except three of us- the nerds- were summoned into the classroom. Kumbe they had been caught the precious night gossiping about a teacher and been asked to write down all their names. I was there wondering, ' what's going on.'
I tell people I had more courage at 12 that I had in my 20's, but still I have't been one to be pulled downby peer pressure. In college, there were several opportunities to cheat in exams but I didn't see the point. I failed, miserably in one of the Business Management units but there was no way I was going to copy just because everybody was doing it and the invigiletor was acting like she had somehting to do on her phone- we didn't even have safaricom bundles then.
Anyway, since I moved to a smaller town, I am finding myself in situations where people who haven't worked on their own convictions would feel better if I didn't make their consciences ache. But me, being stubborn me, and not interested in pandering to anyone's conscience but mine, I have found myself making enemies quick.
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