KOIKAI'S MEANS OF MAKING A WAY
Koikai's school uniform no longer fit; it just hung in the closet. As he ran his fingers through the fabric, nostalgia and bitterness struck as his heart sank for all the effort. He stayed up by candlelight paraffin reading and writing every night. He could only imagine that he'd qualify for university admission. Despite the expected results from the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) assessments from top institution seekers, he'd be stuck since his parents couldn't fund his fees.
Mama explored every avenue she could. She butchered her last hen and prepared soup, reaching out to relatives who were not forthcoming in giving loans but were willing to use her wedding ring as collateral. Baba exchanged pensive ways as he pondered how much he could sell any market goods that may have yielded profit for the family. Even when they thought they had an option, it always fell through. He rarely came back with anything from the market, and what he did bring home was barely enough to fill their stomachs but for one day. So, his mother's and father's efforts netted a fraction at best, which made Koikai anxious, not sleeping through the night. How could he waste such good marks? How could he allow his future to shrink?
He had to do something. If he wasn't going to university, he'd have to repeat last year, and repeating meant he needed money, so he decided to get a job. He would look for work. If there was work to be had, Koikai would find it. The word would get around. So he started out— homestead to homestead from the trading center to the main street of Nyeri town— "Any work available— I'll do it; I even need side hustles!" But after several days of trying and failing, met only by polite refusals with sympathetic hand gestures preventing people from slamming their doors in his face, Koikai was still downcast