DR FIXIT (NEW VERSION)

 131 The first person threw five cards up. With gravity they all did drop  dancing in the breeze to the hard surface  of the path. Of course, the entire place - being the GRA - was absolutely quiet  which made me wonder if the core diet  in the big men's quarters was serenity  as noise to the poor areas was elementary. I had a dream that one day I'd slip  to the GRA and live there till I'm tipped  132 and rise to see myself at the other side  as it is inevitable everyone's tide  must ebb. In the card game, the rule  was who had more faces up would pull  the win over who had more down. In three throws, the first bloke had a wide beam for he won twice but the girls did scream, after finishing their mangoes, we moved to the stream  as none of them could be in the playing team. 133 While growing up, gambling was solely a male thing  and its elementary stage seemed to be the thing  the boys were doing here - throwing ...

 121 we added our own words and message to it. With a made-up lyrics, I jumped on my feet  to such a hit blaring across the neighbourhood  and my happiness was soon I'd know every dude  and dame who composed the beat from the cards  my new friend, Bendit, had with him. Now, I had  a new vision too - I wanted to be big, real big, and to have my face like the stars sit on a card too. The door opened, I threw  my bag and uniform on the bed and withdrew  122 into the kitchen, touching this, opening that  till I found my food and the pot I dragged  near the low stool at the centre and sat  on it to eat. It was ahfang soup and fufu. I tapped my free on the side of the stool  while the other moulded balls of fufu which in the soup I dipped and then swallowed them. Done eating, I washed my hands and utensils for cooking, put my school things properly away  and to the other rear building I let my feet stray  123 to meet the ch...

 111 If someone was dancing, you would greet, 'Ahsuk ahnek?' 'Unek' means dance. If they eat  any food, you'd say, 'Ehsuk ehdiah?' The 'ah' shows the verb is singular  while the 'eh' shows the verb is plural. 'Ehsuk' or 'ahsuk' means 'you are' with a question mark. Though the question  is rhetorical, it could elicit the reaction: 'Hesuk henek' (plural) or 'nsuk nnek' (singular) after 'ehn' (yes). After the break  112 with a full stop, you add: 'Ahmehdee!' That is, welcome. Now, 'Ahmehyong' and 'Ahmehdee' means 'welcome' but for different situations. 'Ahmehyong' is used to welcome home relations. Why? Because you'd told them when they left  you earlier for an event, 'Ka ahdee.' If fate  agrees with your 'go (and) come (back safely)' utterance, 'ahmehyong' is ultimately the word to use in welcoming them back. 'Ahmehdee' wi...

 101 throughout Antburg. 'If you can read, write and form words correctly,' our teacher hit the chalkboard with her pointer, 'with all of these letters, then you'd not stumble or fall to look for a guide when passing through our towns for the signboards would tell you where the gowns, trousers, fruits, drinks and books are sold; they'd point to the one who works with gold, silver and bronze. You won't be robbed as you would know who has the vault, 102 'by quietly reading, to safeguard your cash. I can tell you too you won't throw your trash in the wrong bin if you master these letters and also the words they form. You 'd know "fetters" means the same thing as "chain". Is that clear?' 'Yes, ma,' we screamed. While she moved here and there checking and correcting what we wrote, the class became a hubbub. Almost all would gloat they did well for in Elementary One we'd learnt drawing strokes and curves with fun 103 and...

 091 a bar of wood or rod join to another squarely at the middle. The welder or carpenter placed the horizontal bar up and the vertical down. The bar at the top of the small case with its handle like an umbrella cut across at the middle. The letter was pronounced, 'Teh.' Mrs Bearit set a task like before for her pupils to do. We basked in our newly acquired confidence and pronounced, 'Teh.' Indolence 092 and as well as intelligence are masked, the instructors agreed, in a general task. The curriculum merged us together like domestics in an enclosure at night. When the day breaks, our true size and height would be ascertained but can real might be known in a balance and tape? Mrs Bearit knew these facts: the real could be fake at our age and so she was extremely patient with every one of us. Sometimes, she was lenient 093 to a fault. While the other teachers would've said the pupil was a fool, our teacher said she knew we enjoyed her class but when pressed we should ...

 081 their eardrums. Instinctual was the popping sound with our lips. The idea was based around the belief such act would deaden the effects of the blast. With the chaos in the classes, the gates were locked as it was greatly feared the frogs and lizards might roam into the schoolyard from bogs to whisk away young ants learning the rudiments of survival in their wild environment. While the gates and towers were tightly manned by the sentries, we obediently followed every demand 082 made by our teachers.  With the din by the rain and the ensuing dimness, Mrs Bearit did refrain every child in her class from copying further what she wrote on the board, every character. We were asked to sing, clap and dance  till when the downpour would chance the class to resume its studies. We sang our favourite songs and our teacher clanged her small classroom bell along, her heels clicked across the floor and we jumped and wheeled 083 near our seats. One popular song we sang was how a tea...