There was a leap in my steps as I walked to school. I guess I knew why there was a sudden leap in my steps and why I woke earlier than usual. I was finally not going to be lonely because of the news my sanka broke to me. Even so, some bead of sadness lingered in my heart. Is the child going to be as lonely as me? I couldn't remember the last time we sat together and had a meal with my parents or even had a talk before bed. Even on their days off they always remained in their study room to do research only coming out to make a quick meal and then disappearing yet again. Perhaps that is what happens when both your parents are nerds and biochemical engineers.
I walked into the classroom in a daze, my back stooped low and I only noticed the class was just half full after I had sat down. Half of the class had not arrived. Tale too was missing. Guess I had out done myself with my early arrival. It halfway had to do with my mom. She was one month into her pregnancy and according to the rules of Tagayia as made by the Kaya a woman carrying a new life is excluded from all work. She could still study from home and offer help through work calls but she was by all means not allowed to work until the baby was nine months old.
If granny Gasa even heard she had been working for a whole month the whole clan could lose its mind and mock my father. Once the tummy started showing she'd have to go east to our tribe to be well taken care of by the old grannies and aunties and she won't be allowed to lift a finger till she had given birth and even then she would still be taken care of until six more months had elapsed. Taking care of pregnant women was a custom most tribes shared in Tigayia and the only tradition that made me want to give birth.
(Gautami Siya ana kaarata- a child belongs to the community.)
Her not being able to go to work had and the good news had put her in a good mood and she had even prepared breakfast for me and made sure I was ready for school. It was such a deja Vu. Memories of when I had started school filled me. When my parents hadn't been promoted to their current position. They used to wake me up, dress me and even drive me to school. That was back then when I was seven, then things had changed and it had been Nana Lola's duty to prepare me for school till I was old enough and she retired.
The classes passed in a blur and soon it was the FS (fitness study) lesson. It was my best and worst lesson of all. I loved it because I didn't have to write but I hated it because I had to work out. Who even incorporated exercising into the school curriculum and made it a mandatory class? The mere though of having to run, stretch and even play Takido for forty full minutes was torture.
(Takido- a game children play but made more intense by added rules and awards when it was incorporated into the system. It is called Akido outside of the curriculum)
"Move it penguins!" Miss Lakiya yelled. She looked like a model standing in the middle of the court with her PE costume. Stripped navy blue pants with white and a matching long-sleeved top. She was from the Saninka clan and her figure was all too telling. The Saninka clan of the west Prided themselves from coming from a line of warriors. Even as Tigayia modernized most of them still qualified for the army and they prided themselves in being fit.
She was tall, standing at 1.82 meters. Her hair was cleanly shaven and in its place a tribal mark of an arrow was imprinted. In the middle of her forehead was a black circular shield branded into her skin. She was so beautiful that it made me want to take a knee and call her queen. It might be so in the past that her tribe ruled the tribes of the west and if the world wasn't modernizing she could be some kun or a chief's wife.
(Kun_ A queen/ wife of a chief or Nginka.
Nkinka_ Ruler of tribes_ they still held power in their respective tribes but they didn't really hold power in the present world. Even so the have a say in the kaya
Kaya_ the traditional Parliament)
I was wheezing for breath by the time I finished the last lap. Miss Lakiya didn't even wait for us to catch our breaths before she split us into a game of hunters and prey. There was an evil glimmer in her eyes when she announced the game.
"Gather up into two teams. The boys will be the prey and the girls will be the hunters. " She clapped her hands loudly. The voice echoed with command and the ladies cheered at the arrangement.
There are groans all over, especially from the boys section. Men are taught to be superior and hunters in almost every tribe and being reduced to prey was a blatant insult to some. The western tribes however raised their daughters to be equal to their male counterparts. The best hunters became the queen or King. Strength mattered in the west, not gender. It was a known fact. She always took every moment to assert her dominance above all men and she didn't look like one who could cower. She always rose to the occasion if she sensed the chauvinistic bastards try to defy her.
"What? Are you scared that the hunters will win this game?" She sneered and those from the northern tribes especially spat at the challenge. Being mocked of being defeated by women was enough to make them take their position in their four Uki(s).
(Uki- Corner.)
They looked menacing as if they were in war and they couldn't dare lose. I was handed the ball being the laziest so that the more athletic will be left to hunt and chase. Tale stood close behind me as the shield. The queen of the class, Kaila Otaga of the Sakua clan of the central planes and one of the prestigious and richest thirty tribes stood on the other end with her two minions as shield. Mkole Oyaka and Amiya Goigwaga from Saika tribe, all three bearing their tribal ornaments as piles upon piles of bracelets on their wrists. I had never seen her look so menacing and she gave me warning eyes not to let the ball fall into the hunters team. She popped her knuckles making her bangles jingle. I may not be good at running but in standing still and throwing the ball I was undefeated. I winked at Tale and the shy girl who had just joined to be my other shield. I didn't know her name yet but a tribal bead ran against her waist and I could tell she was from the north.
The other gender stood menacingly in their corners in a ready position ready to assert their dominance and take back their stolen pride. It was going to be dirty. It was not just a game after all but it was also a statement.
The most menacing of all is Kaka Bami Asakana of the Asakana tribe of the North. He is built like a tank and his two tribal braids are tied in a kahu shell at the ends falling down to his upper back. Everyone knew his tribe was the most brutal of all in the north and their women could only be seen but not be heard. They compared women to children and even being mixed with women was an insult. Being forced to play a game with women was pushing him to the limit. And being tormented to lose to mere 'children' called for violence.
I shuddered at the hostility he was oozing but in our clan we daughters are loved by our fathers and I couldn't go down without at least taking one prey down. Just then, I realized that one of the hostile gender was missing. Sagiri wasn't partaking in the fun. Instead he was seated at the far end of the bleachers watching the scene beneath him unfold. He was wearing the boys FS uniform but customized with a hood. A shawl mask of the same colour still covered his face. He didn't look affected in the least by the game and his amber hues were narrowed on the field. I couldn't see them from the far distance but I knew they were trained on the field by his stiff sitting posture.
Such a pozer. Or perhaps too weak to play. Poor thing.
"May the game begin!!!" Mrs Lakiya announced and all hell broke loose.