The culprit stood up and interrupted Motikatika. On seeing who it was, Mwana already expected it, ‘this snake!’

As expected, Maji 1 was the culprit who stole the book.

“Maji did you take it? I kept asking yet you played the idiot?” Mwana was so incensed that he immediately started screaming at Maji 1.

“Playing the idiot? Who’s the idiot you leech?” Throwing back the book aimlessly, Maji 1 did not seem perturbed at all by Mwana’s anger as he replied with a smile on his face. Naturally he was aiming at Mwana’s sore spot. Mwana's family was basically the poorest in the village after his father’s death. The cost of treating his mother and sister’s sickness as well as his uncle’s injury was a bottomless financial pit.

With those words, the conflict had already started. Mwana proceeded to call Maji 1 a snake but the latter shot back even more viciously, “What do you know you yapping leech? People like you are the reason my uncle couldn’t marry a second wife haha. Now we have to hear him cry about it all the time at home. Your family is just a bunch of useless freeloaders in the village. And so what if your uncle is a veteran? Which family doesn’t have a veteran? Even your mother is just useless and isn’t active in the village, and you? You are just a low-level con man!” Maji1 1’s nasty statement was followed by the entire class exclaiming.

“Weeeeey!”

“Eish!”

“Maji 1, stop it you are going too far!”

“Why is he provoking Mwana so much today when he is the one in the wrong?”

"Fishy."

Maji 1 was known for being extremely pretentious. He was always smiling amiably while plotting behind the scenes so it was not surprising to hear him speak in that manner. However, he was obviously taking things a notch higher so as to rile Mwana up.

This fellow reminded people of a cockroach, slow at times but fast when it counts; annoying; seemingly harmless but secretly harmful. He was known for his two-faced snaky personality. His nature was like a cockroach terrorizing you at night. The whole situation reminded Mwana of a particular night when he went to hang up his sleeping covers only to hear some cockroaches scratching the door. Whenever he lit the light, they would scamper away and hide; but in the darkness, they would even overrun him under his blankets. For that entire week he only dreamt of these creatures. He would try to kill them as they entered the house as they were slow but they would suddenly accelerate when they reached the door and hide in the room. It could be said that in this world, his two most hated animals were snakes and cockroaches both which Maji 1 embodied.

“That’s it!” Mwana shouted while flipping his desk. He walked over to Maji 1 as the latter stood up looking ready for a fight. It was then that his friends came to try and hold him back. Both Maji 1 and Mwana were being held up as they screamed at each other. Although Mwana smelled something fishy with Maji 1’s sudden courage, he couldn’t take insults to his family lying down.

More than a few insults peppered the heated argument as words like ‘idiot’, ‘prostitute’, ‘garbage’, ‘m*th*r******’ , ‘****s*ck*r’, were thrown around. Even some insults too colorful for the ears of kids their age let alone coming from their own mouths, could be heard.

“You dare insult my mother!” Maji 1 was yelling back. He seemed more worked up now compared to his laid back attitude before but he soom clamed down again.

“You insulted my parents first, you rat!”

“You rat.”

“Yellow fever ****.”

“Yellow fever ****.”

“You, you!”

“You, you.” Indeed after calming down, Maji 1 found a way to aggravate Mwana even more by simply mirroring his words and actions. He was extremely insufferable. This was a type of way children would insult each other by repeating what the other person said in an extremely annoying and grating voice in order to mock them.

“The only reason you talk is so that your mouth doesn’t stink,” Mwana was still letting insults fly and trying his best to escape his friends’ grasp and attack Maji 1.

Cheza chose the moment to remind Mwana to keep his cool, “You give someone an emotional reaction and they will hold power over you.”

However, Mwana could not stomach an insult to his own mother. It was always an instant fight among boys whenever mothers were mentioned in an argument. “He insulted my mother! No one can back down from a fight where one's mother is smeared. A mother is Sovereignty! Let’s see what gives him the confidence.” Although Mwana suspected Maji 1 had an increase in strength giving him a momentary high and boosting his confidence to instigate a fight with him, he could not back down. Immediately after his words, Mwana tossed down his right Moon bracelet before taunting Maji 1.

“Imbecile, stand up if you dare?”

“Is that a challenge?” Maji 1 asked with a smirk. In the Jua and Mwezi villages, the Moon Bracelets were a sign of belonging. Before a friendly spar, fighters would bump their bracelets together. However, in case of a conflict, tossing ones bracelet to the floor was considered issuing a challenge. In response, the challenged individual could also toss down their bracelet to accept the challenge.

“Why? Are you a coward?” To make sure Maji 1 would not refuse, Mwana even taunted incredulously, “You are truly a coward aren’t you? A true chicken.”

Naturally the next instant, Maji 1’s bracelet also hit the ground.

“Challenge accepted!”