No stress no drama

• ·         Problems are like tunnels. They are dark, long and scary but they will eventually end. If u stop fighting it will just take a longer time. Just keep going.

• ·         Can you love everybody you know equally? No, so understand that some people will love you less. No hard feelings.

• ·         God loves you. Honestly if he didn’t you wouldn’t be reading this. It’s kind of hard to absorb sometimes because he is the maker of everything? Yea well if you made something as complex and cool as you, you would love it too wouldn’t you?

• ·         Anger is like a parasite. You know, like the annoying malaria parasite that goes into your system and makes your white blood cells weak? In this case white blood cells= happiness. Don’t let anger steal your joy.

• ·         Things will not always go your way so make back up plans all the time if you can’t take disappointments. One time all 3 back up plans failed but the 4^th didn’t. It was to buy myself a drink if all 3 failed and I did J

• ·         Hard times are sometimes good for you. They make you strong. I mean think about it, if you have been chased by a hungry lion before, that local dog is nothing! Bingo clearly didn’t know you could run that fast.

• ·         The more you give the more you get. You may be rolling your eyes but chale it’s true. Just don’t expect it to come the way you gave it. I’m sorry it doesn’t work like that. When you put a seed in the ground what do you get? It starts as a plant, a tree and in no time you have a 100 fruits.

• ·         No matter what you do (I hope it’s nothing bad) believe in yourself. A lot of people do not think they are worth much but if they could see the big picture they would be blown away. You don’t have to be on TV or in magazines to be the best. It’s all about you.

Alice 6

Alice didn’t come to school for a whole week after the incidence. I felt horrible. Patricia said she spoke to her aunt and she said she had decided to home school Alice and that the trauma of losing her parents made her act the way she did. “It’s all my fault. I just made you lose a student.’ I said to her. “Oh Doreen don’t feel guilty. Think about it like this. Now Alice is gone, I don’t get angry parents calling me. We lost one to save the rest now get to work!’ She consoled. This time her words didn’t really help.

It had been four days without Alice in the class. Rodney and Patricia seemed to think this was a good thing but I had a bad feeling about it. Maybe my shrink was right, maybe I had a liking for this girl. “Oh my dear, cheer up. After all she liked you didn’t she? Don’t let this get to you so much ok?” Rodney said. I managed to smile. “I know but I feel really stupid. I shouldn’t have told her what I think I saw. I’m such an idiot!” I said rubbing my forehead with the palm. We were going to his sister’s wedding. It was just the perfect environment for me. The beautiful decorations, the music, seeing lots of familiar faces and also stealing styles for dresses. In just a few minutes I forgot all about Alice. The day was so neat. I told myself I was going to forget the whole issue. I was silly to tell her aunt that tale but I was tired to being gloomy. What was my problem? My husband had just got a promotion, he wanted us to have a baby and my class was back to normal. I had a lot to be thankful for and the sermon at the wedding just did the trick. God wanted me to start afresh and that was exactly what I was going to do.

“Doreen could you go to my office and get me the attendance sheet? Thank you.” Patricia said. We were having our usual monthly staff meeting. All the teachers were seated in the staff room with Patricia. Sometimes I felt more like her Personal Assistant than a teacher in her school. I nodded and walked out. As I marched to her office I looked out the window and saw one of the teaching aids escort a little boy to his parent. I stared so hard I almost missed the office. I really couldn’t wait to have one of my own. I went straight to the file where Patricia kept her attendance sheets. I saw the one she wanted and grabbed it but just before I left I saw something that caught my eye. Alice’s file. It was wide open and I recognized her passport picture. I looked around to make sure no one saw me and took a closer look at the file. She had no other relatives except her aunt. Then I saw their home address. It was a few blocks away from a friend’s house. I knew where it was. Just when I was about to flip the page and read some more I heard a child cry. I shook in fear and dropped the sheet I was holding. I picked it up immediately and rushed out of the office.


“Doreen can I get a ride home?” Mrs. Taylor asked. She was one of the new teachers. We got along pretty well because she was in my neighbourhood. “Ermm I’m not going straight home. I will make a quick stop somewhere. If you don’t mind.” I replied. She thought for a while. “Oh but can you drop me off at the main junction?” She asked again. “Yes, sure. Let’s go.” I replied. That was on my way. She hopped into my old Camry and we drove off. “Are you going to see a friend?” She asked. “Ermm pardon?” I asked absentmindedly. She repeated herself and I nodded. I was far in thought. I didn’t know why I wanted to but I felt I owed Alice’s auntie and apology. I dropped Miss Taylor off at the junction and went on with my journey. I knew the road very well but wasn’t sure how the houses where numbered so I slowed down when I got to their street. “Number 17E.” I whispered to myself as I watched the numbers of the houses. Then I found it. How ironic, the house was painted violet and white. I parked across the road and took a deep breath. “Here we go!” I said to myself and got out of the car.

To be continued

Alice 5

“So, Patricia arranged a meeting on Monday.” I said.  Rodney nodded and took a sip of water. “I’m really not sure if I should ask her about what I saw?” I went on. He looked up and asked, “I thought you were over what you claim you saw Reeny?” I put my fork down and leaned closer to him. “I think this is meeting will give me the closure I need. If she denies it then I guess Mr. Dawson is right.” I said. “Wow, that’s your plan? You just ask her if her niece has super powers? Hi, does your niece levitate with purple hair around the house?” He teased. I felt like hitting him but he was all the way at the other side of the table. “You know what? I didn’t bring my beautiful wife here to talk about an escaped member of the X-men. Guess what? I got the promotion.” He said with a wide smile. “Wow, that’s great!” I said. We spent the rest of our night talking about his promotion and our dreams. “So you know what that means right?’ Rodney asked. I looked away from a waiter who almost tripped. “No, what?’ I asked paying attention now. He smiled broadly and said “we can finally have a baby.’ My eyes lit up almost immediately. “Wow Rodney do you mean it? That’s great! No that’s greater than great that’s super great!’ I exclaimed.

I spend the all my time planning and preparing for a baby in my head that I totally forgot I was meeting Alice’s Aunt. When I got to class everything was normal. I didn’t even hear anyone complain about Alice. After school I was hurriedly packing my things to leave so I could window shop for a baby cot before I get home when a Teaching Assistant came to me and told me Patricia was looking for me. Then it clicked! I rushed to her office and the anxiety set in. It was almost as if I didn’t want to meet the woman. Was it necessary? I mean Alice had been good the whole day. I knocked on the door and went in. I saw a woman, in her mid-forties. “Hello’ I said to her and she smiled. Patricia was in the office and made a quick introduction. “I have to go check on a few things on the playground so go right ahead.’ She said and walked out. I was a bit nervous even sitting down.

“Errm did the Principal tell you anything about why you are here?’ I asked politely. She shook her head. Wow this was going to be harder than I thought. “Ok right! Well it’s about Alice.’ I started. Her reaction made me pause. Her eyes widened and she sat up on her seat, eager to hear what I had to say. “Some of the children in her class say she bullies them.’ I explained keeping an eye on her every move. “How?’’ She asked. I looked at her closely and said, “she pulls their hair or hits them.’ All of a sudden she breathed a sigh of relief. I couldn’t help myself so I asked “Were you expecting something else?’ She shook her head violently and squeaked a “No, no”. I knew for sure there was something up! “Can I tell you something, between me and you?’ I pushed further. I could see some horror in her eyes. “The day the school almost collapsed I saw Alice alone in the washroom. She was…she was levitating and her hair had turned violet.’ I confessed. She got up all of a sudden. “I beg your pardon?! Is this some kind of joke? I’m leaving!’ She said and grabbed her bag. “No, madam I’m sorry maybe it was an oversight. Please sit down.’ I pleaded but she wouldn’t listen. She rushed out of the office with me calling after her. Then when we were at the car park I saw Alice run to her. “Madam Doreen, I will talk to my niece about the bullying but as for you, you need to work on your superstition issues.’ She said and drove off with Alice waving at me and smiling. I blew it! She was right; I was totally out of line.

Alice didn’t come to school for a whole week after the incident. I felt horrible. Patricia said she spoke to her aunt and she said she had decided to home school Alice and that the trauma of losing her parents made her act the way she did. “It’s all my fault. I just made you lose a student.’ I said to her. “Oh Doreen don’t feel guilty. Think about it like this. Now Alice is gone, I don’t get angry parents calling me. We lost one to save the rest now get to work!’ She consoled. This time her words didn’t really help.

To be continued

Summer date

“Ali, you think it was a good idea to double date? I mean this is a blind date.” Betty said. She was holding on to my arm. “Calm down, it’s nothing big. You have been chatting with these guys for weeks. Besides we are going back to Ghana soon. Just relax and have fun.” I assured her. She nodded and looked out the window. We were taking a bus. All too soon the bus stopped and we were on our way. We were going to meet two guys we met online. I had never done that before, meet a total stranger. Well I had been chatting with them for a while so it wasn’t bad. Betty was holding on to me like I was her walking stick! I pulled away and she looked at me and asked, “What?” We got to the restaurant and saw them in a corner. “Ali, they look cuter in person.” Betty whispered to me as we walked in. She adjusted her clothes and took the lead. How we got to know them was a long story. All I can say is Facebook. They turned around when we were almost there. Kenny, my date got up and pulled the chair for me. I smiled and sat down. Darren didn’t seem to catch the chair fast enough. Betty just got it herself.

We were chatting openly among each other, basically about London. Betty didn’t hesitate to tell them about her childhood experiences since she was born here. Darren and Kenny were pretty interesting and Darren was extremely funny. It was obvious we were from different worlds by just listening to our Ghanaian accent and their British accent. We ordered a pizza and sodas and the joking got even crazier after the food. Time flew like Road Runner and we had to catch our bus back to Betty’s mum’s apartment. We all got up but Darren was still in his seat on the phone. “You guys go; I’ll be with you in a bit.” He said. So we took the lead to the bus stop. We were just on time. I gave ma date a hug and Betty gave him a hug too then we rushed off into the bus

“I think they are fun. It’s sad I didn’t get to hug Darren though. He’s so cute!” Betty went on and on as we went home. The next day the boys wanted to hang out again. Betty was so excited. I wonder why? I guess it was the whole summer dating thing. The whole ‘no strings attached’ idea. “This time I’m taking my camera and getting some pics.” Betty went on and on. When the day came she left her camera at home but her lip gloss was in her purse! My cousin. We met at the movies this time. As usual we were ‘slightly late’. Kenny came to get us at the gate. “Where is Darren?” Betty asked. “Oh he’s inside. He wanted to get the best seats.” Kenny answered with a weird grin. We both smiled and went in

The movie was hilarious. Summer movies are always the best. When the movie was over we got up to leave. Kenny whispered something to Darren and he got a little mad. Then it all started to make sense. Kenny helped Darren up and he grabbed a crutch. Betty looked shocked. “Bet, do you have any lip gloss?” I asked to keep her from staring like that. She snapped back and turned to me. “What?” she asked. “Never mind.” I said. “I see you staring at my third leg.” Darren teased. Betty’s laughter was so superficial it was bad. “I guess that makes you a cyborg.” I said to try and break the awkwardness. Betty wouldn’t even try to be having a good time. I really felt bad because I could see it wasn’t too easy for Darren. His jokes had all faded. She was more or less directing all conversation to Kenny now. I walked closer to Darren and decided to talk to him alone too. His mood picked up just a little. When we got to the bus stop Betty looked very keen on going home. Darren was even more uncomfortable but I tried to blind him from what she was doing. Kenny on the other hand didn’t have a problem ‘chatting Betty up."

“Bet, what you did back there wasn’t cool.” I said to my cousin when we got home. “Huh? The guy is a cripple Alima, a cripple!” She shot at me. “Listen maybe he just had an accident and it’s not serious, whatever it is you still didn’t have to act like that. It was just rude.” I explained. “Ali, there’s no way I’m gonna have fun with a cripple ahh, so slow.” She said. I realized this wasn’t helping. That night I sent Darren a text. “Hey, we had fun today. Have a goodnight.” I fell asleep almost immediately. The next morning I noticed he had replied and it read. “Thanks for the sympathy. I would really understand if you guys don’t want me to come to the next date. I shouldn’t be doing much movement anyways.” I couldn’t believe this. I felt so bad. I walked to the hall where Bet was and showed her the text. “Oh cool at least he understands.” She said. I felt like smacking her. 

Kenny invited us to his little brother’s skate boarding competition that weekend. He said Darren couldn’t come because he was ‘busy’. I told him I couldn’t make it but Betty was more than excited to go. That day I was home alone and all I could think about was what happened at the movies. I picked up my phone and called Darren. He sounded surprised when I told him I didn’t go out with the rest. We spoke till I run out of minutes and then he called me back. He mentioned going for physio the next day and I asked if I could come. He froze for a while and said. “Yea, sure I mean if you like.” I smiled because I realized he was feeling more comfortable now.

To be continued