ONCE BEATEN TWICE, SHY

By Egu Peace Chukwu

 I kept hearing this adage as a child in my growing up days in secondary school. Many people and even my friends always use it in sentences except me. I felt if I asked people, they will laugh at me, considering how smart I was then. Everyone would think I was familiar with the adage. And So I just joined the multitude in using the adage a few times without really knowing what it meant.

Sometimes, I wondered if it means when you beat someone with a cane, and the person will become shy twice. Funny right? But trust me, that composed meaning of mine, never made any sense to me at all, Until I got into the Higher institution.

Actually, It was the very first day I resumed lectures in Heritage polytechnic Eket.

That is one of the days, I will never forget in a hurry. On that faithful Monday morning, I had lectures at 9am.

Being my first day of attending lecture in the higher institution, I was beautifully dressed, and made sure my outfit that day was on point. I wore my make up and my eyelashes before leaving for school.

The Cyclist who carried me to school that day, dropped me somewhere a bit far from the school gate, and so I decided to take a walk since it was just 8:32 am and at least get to see the new environment I was going to spend few years in.

As I went a little closer to the school gate, With so much excitement for the day, I was busy looking around the area and also at one cute looking guy I saw passing. I wasn't looking well and suddenly I fell into the gutter.

Before I could exclaim "Lord Jesus!", I was already inside the 2ft deep gutter. My only luck that day, was that there was no water in that gutter and there were plenty of stand in it. I had bruises on one part of my laps and my elbow was bruised as well.

The same cute guy I was looking at, was even among the persons that rushed to come lift me out of the gutter, God! At that point, I just wished the ground would just open up swallow me. I almost didn't want to get out.

So I just pretended like I was fine even when I felt so much pain and almost wanted to cry. I hurriedly ran into the school compound not knowing one of my eyelashes and earrings had fallen into the gutter.

As I got into the Department, I just walked into one of the classes not even asking if it was ND 1, I sat on one of the desk, lecture was going on. I bent to open my gown to see the marks on my laps. I had sustained a very big injury. I just close it back and acted normal. Just in the class, one of the girls that sat close to me whispered to me that I was wearing one earrings and one eyelashes. Oh my God! what is all these, I said to myself as I bent my face in shame. So I had to take out the remaining ones and put them into my hand bag. You can imagine how embarrassed I felt at that moment. I practically had to fake a smile, even in pains, pretending all was well.

Shortly, after the class, I rushed home to  nursed my wound. As I was leaving the class, I then realized I was even in the wrong class. Its been over three years now, but I am always still extra careful whenever I get close to that particular gutter

 

One day after class, I saw the same guy, this time on a rainy day. I was leaving the school gate, and here he came again passing, I took a deep gaze, was I obsessed about him? What really was the feelings about ? I thought, but for a moment and couldn't quite place my fingers on it. When I saw him in the rain, I felt a little pity for him, here I am, lost in thought whether or not to go out and cover him with the umbrella I had in my hands. Again, the devil was at work. As I moved to cross the gutter, my heels bent and I felt into that same gutter again. No one could come for me, except a lady of a younger age. As she raised me up from the gutters, I noticed the young man was gone, I over came my fears, "you just have to hold on and never be shy", she said to me.

At least, this time I had no injury, my clothes were dirty. But what that did for me was that it helped me overcome my obsession of him. Maybe the devil sent him, since then, I have not seen him again. I couldn't have been more careful next time.

This was the first time, I really got to  understand the meaning of the adage "Once beaten twice, shy". But In my case,  I had a practical experience. And so I decided to browse the meaning on Google for the first time. And It means "An upleasant experience induces caution".