The only company of men I can pay money to go and be with again is this lot. Back then we were boys, right now we are men. Nothing has changed much. I am forever grateful to the Ambira High School for being the nexus for this gang.
I knew them all with their strengths and their weaknesses. That’s the beauty of friendship. You just rise above the weaknesses like they aren’t even in existence. This was my crew from high school. A short story about each one of them……..
Far right that’s Rado. I called him Prado or Eldorado depending on the season. He was unique and this was the first thing I saw when we met. They all found me already admitted and some days older in school. We met at the dormitory Manga, and I assisted him find a bed next to mine. He had the biggest metal box in the entire school. It was a big green box that could fit two adults, squeezed inside. That’s how our friendship begun. We ended up taking the same subject in form three and also played in the school basketball team. We were the only two students taking Drawing and Design lessons in the entire school! Today, we still connect through social media and we’ve talked over the phone too but not frequently. I need to be social.
Then Bernard who was a daredevil of sorts. He did a lot that was against the school rules book. He wasn’t naughty neither a trouble maker but he was courageous. That’s what I know, he dared to be epic! He joined later during the course of our second year I guess! We are friends in Facebook too!
Next is Victor or commonly known by his last name Olonde. He played in the school rugby team. He was my buddy but unfortunately I don’t know where he is now. Whenever we closed for a term break we would travel the same road home. I had to pass his home town on my way to my home. He lifted weights (not like the gym equipment, but they served the purpose) and he is the dude who taught me how to gulp raw eggs. I know his place and even as I write this I honestly haven’t checked on him. His home is about 50 kilometers from the Island where I stay. I think this is the best part about starting this blog. Now I have to be accountable to you because if I say something here I have to be real with you. Remember my first post I promised I would be real with you. So, I am going to visit his home the next time I leave the Island on a bus to any other destination, I will go see him. I will tell you about it soon.
Then, that’s me in a green tee. I remember getting the T-shirt from my sister who had just joined high school. I was breaking a school rule here by being in possession of outfits deemed not part of the authorised school uniform. I was never sent home for indiscipline all the 4 years in high school. Neither did I ever receive any badge for being a good student or for performing exceptionally well in a subject. But I can’t be forgotten in the history of Ambira High School because I did something that changed the entire course of the school. It’s a story I promise to tell you in my next blog soon. Well, I can’t talk about my own story it won’t be from their perspective. Maybe one day they’ll talk about me………
Lastly, far left, that’s my boy Steve. He had a moniker Sativa but he never touched the herb, that’s the best my memory can recall. We talk over the phone and chat via messaging apps. One thing that Sativa has refused to give up on is shaving clean. He has his head bald like you see in the photo, to date. Note, Steve is a great guy. He is a looker, part of the 75% of people in the world when you look at personality types, he loves to look great, he stands tall and looks you straight in the eye when talking. For a listener like me or a toucher like Rado this was kind of unnecessary. But that’s how his brain interacts through visual responses. I remember one instance when I borrowed a trouser from him, I was going home to fetch fees. It was common for the school admin to ask you to go home until you have settled your remaining school tuition. Imagine he gave me a hard time before he could give up the damn trouser. I had to talk to him for like two hours. Then he gave me the trouser while complaining about why he didn’t want to issue it. It was his favorite piece of clothing at that time. The trouser was a decent one, that’s why I wanted it for the journey home. I have not forgotten about this. He knows about it too.
There were other friends I had in school who are not in this photo. They are not in this photo because they are not in this photo!
Cheers!
Ng'ong'a 
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