Augusco Adores Baby Tiger

piece contains strong language that some people may find offensive

I had been busy unpacking my books into my desk one morning when I was approached by this smallish third year student with a stammer.

“Hey, bo ho!” He had stammered, gesturing to me to kneel down

Of course, I had heard all the stories about bullying. Of how senior boys let first years kneel down in grains of gari and of how they pulled your nose between their index and middle fingers till your nose bled. On this occasion, however, I had looked round and realized I was alone with this little boy who clamed he was in third year. I was bigger than him and was not going to allow him to bully me.

“Go away!” I said

“What did you say?” He sounded shocked

“Go away before I break your jaw” I said angrily, clenching my fist

“Hey take it easy ok” He had stammered, smiling. “This is all just fun. Don’t take it too seriously”

He was gone. I stood laughing, pleased that I had stood up for myself and not allowed this little boy to bully me.

Classes had progressed as usual and we were all relieved when the bell was tolled for a break in lessons. But just as I was getting ready to go out of the classroom, he came, that little third year bastard, this time followed by four big boys who stood with their arms folded in the kind of posture I had seen gangsters in films adopt before fights.

“Hey, I say bo ho” He stammered.

I knew better than to argue this time. I got down on my knees.

“Ha ha!” he laughed sarcastically “raise your bloody arms!”

All around, my classmates eagerly looked on, whispering to each other. Apparently, they had all heard of the reputation of this little terror and they deemed it some form of honour to have gotten the opportunity to see him at work. His name was Tommy Garbah but everybody called him Baby Tiger, and he was feared by all. Tiger issued some orders to his “henchmen” who then took turns to pull my nose so hard between their index and middle fingers I thought my nose was going to fall off. Much to my utter disgust, some of my classmates were actually cheering, as Baby Tiger and his gang walked away.

But my ordeal with him was not yet over. For I had decided to be a member of the Cadet Corps. That afternoon, I joined a queue of Form One boys waiting to be registered at the school’s armoury after siesta. We filled out a form and were each handed one army uniform, one army khaki shorts, one woolen army top, one cap, one beret and one black boots all nicely packed in a haversack. Once you got your bag you were directed to join a group being organized by, guess who, Tommy Garbah.

This first day had been for us to merely register and collect our uniforms, but Tommy Garbah was not one to miss a good opportunity. Once the registration was over, he had lined all of us up, our haversacks on our backs, taught us a few easy skills in drill and then marched us all the way to the quadrangle in the centre of the school.

“Left right!” He shouted out in time to our marching, his voice almost hoarse.

It did not matter how we marched. That would be sorted out later. This was just Baby Tigers opportunity to show off a bit and no one was going to take that away from him

“Left right!”

“Check it, move it, dig your heals, left right!!”

Baby Tiger continued, an officers cap on his head, a piece of stick serving as an officer’s baton under his left arm pit, his head looking up in the skies and bobbing left and right in time with his commands. His enthusiasm was so infectious, I could not help but smile as I marched.

“Hey, shut that fucking mouth before I break your teeth” he shouted across to me

“Baby Tiger!” People gathered in balconies to shout his name.

And there were stories. Stories about what Baby Tiger had done or failed to do, most of them exaggerated, a few concocted but all combining to perpetuate the myth that was Baby Tiger. During the Christmas holiday in his fourth year, Tommy had attended a birthday party organized by his best friend Ebo Bentil, the lead singer of the Bishop’s Candlesticks in the St Augustine’s College. Ebo was in form five, a year ahead of Tiger and yet Tiger seemed to be his only true friend.

This was the kind of party that no one missed for Ebo Bentil was loved by all and hated by none. All the girls in Holy Child were keen to be associated with him. But he was shy and retiring and never seemed to have any lasting female relationships either, much to the disappointment of the Holico girls. The joke around the schools was, that “Ebo Bentil did the singing, but Tommy Garbah did the shagging.”

As usual, on an occasion such as this, it was Tiger and not Ebo who got a girlfriend, a tall beautiful girl who looked a bit shy and seemed to stay back as her friends tried to badger Ebo Bentil to give them a song.

“Ebo, this is your birthday, you have to sing” Vivian Osei said

“Oh I have a sore throat” Ebo managed to say, sweat building on his forehead. He was never comfortable in the presence of girls except when he was on stage when he would be a different person altogether.

Vivian held his hand and started singing, soon joined by the other girls;

“All we are saying, sing us a song” to the melody of the John Lennon song, “Give peace a chance”

With attention being drawn to them, Ebo became more uncomfortable and playfully pulled himself away pursued by the girls. It was all fun.

“Hey, if you want Ebo to sing, you need to speak to his manager” Tiger said

The girls laughed. Everybody knew Baby Tiger

“Yes ladies. How can I help you?”

Vivian explained they were keen for their friend Vanessa Talbot, the quiet girl to hear him sing

. “You mean she hasn’t heard the Bishop Candlesticks, on which planet have you been?” Tiger now addressed Vanessa directly

“I am new to Cape Coast. I was at Achimota.”

Vanessa explained she had been in Sixth form in Holy Child for a term having done her Ordinary Levels at Achimota. As the other girls soon found something else to get amused by, Tiger chatted to Vanessa and managed to get a date. They had planned to go out thirty first night. Vanessa lived with his dad and a step mother who had no control whatsoever on her. She would have no problem meeting Tiger.

Baby Tiger’s father, however, was as strict as any father could be. He was a businessman who travelled worldwide but who, whenever he was at home, tried to make his presence felt. Tiger was the third of three boys and Mr Alex Garbah somehow felt he had to instill military style discipline to keep them under control. The boys nicknamed him General! In the evening of the thirty first December, General sat together with the boys watching television. He sipped brandy whiles the boys contended with coca cola. Mrs Emma Garbah had gone to church. An important member of the women’s society, Emma hardly ever missed church services. And none came more important than the all night church service on the thirty first to usher in the New Year. She wouldn’t be back till the early hours of the morning. General never went to church.

“Ok boys!” General said, clapping his hands “Time to go to bed! Happy new year boys!”

“Happy new year dad” the boys replied

The boys had retired to their bedrooms, changed into their pyjamas and gone back to take some water from the kitchen, shuffling around the sitting room for a while for General to see them in their pyjamas and apparently getting ready to go to bed. Once they put off their lights, however, they had changed again and slipped out of the house. General had an old car he hardly ever used in their second garage. Tiger had earlier obtained the keys from General with the excuse of getting it washed and had deliberately “forgotten” to return it. General must have forgotten about it as well. They had pushed the car from the garage and once they were about a 100m from the house, had jumped into it and sped off.

They had picked up Vanessa who looked sexy in her short skirt and a low-cut blouse. They had picked up John Garbah’s girlfriend Emelia. Sam Garbah had no girlfriend. They had gone to the famous Shangri La disco and danced through the night. Tommy was in for a pleasant surprise. For once Vanessa had had a few drinks, she had begun to lose control, trying desperately to slip her fingers into Tiger’s trousers right inside the disco. Tommy had taken her hands and staggered into a toilet with her. Vanessa could not wait to undress. She had bent over and held the toilet bowl, while Tommy had entered from behind.

“Push a finger into my anus please, Tommy” Vanessa had demanded.

Tommy had obliged, and it had been one enjoyable shag. On the way from the toilet, they had stopped at the bar to buy a drink.

“A bottle of beer for me, rum and coke for her,” said the confident Tiger.

The man next to him had turned to look at him and their eyes had met;

“Hey boy, are you having fun? Come on, have a drink. Where are Sam and John? Happy New Year!”

It was General!

This man standing there, a pretty little girl not much older than Vanessa on his lap; this man standing there wishing him, Tommy Garbah, a happy New Year was his dad! Tommy quickly slipped away.

“That’s my dad Vanessa”

“Oh he’s such a nice man” Vanessa said

“Mmm” was all Tommy could say

He quickly informed the others and with the panic buttons struck, they shuffled out of the bar and were soon in the car on the way home.

“What did General say?” Sam asked

“Have a drink Tommy, have a drink” Tommy mimicked General’s voice amidst laughter

“What else Tommy?” John managed to ask amidst bursts of laughter “Fuck the girls Tommy, fuck them well!”

“He didn’t say that!” Vanessa said.

Next day, Mr Garbah had been silent. Whenever any of the boys had gone into the sitting room where he was relaxing with Emma, he had mischievously winked at them. The kind of wink that said;

“This is between me and you. Better not let your mother hear anything”

The General had been conquered.

Tommy received Vanessa’s letter in the first week back at school and read it quietly to himself while lying in his bed during siesta. The dormitory was quite as students slept off their lunch.

Dear Tommy, …………….I still remember the good time we had in Shangri La, the business in the toilet and the finger up my backside. Could we meet in the Big Apple for a repeat coming Saturday…….

Tommy had started laughing, softly at first but increasingly loudly. His laugh reverberated round the dormitory disturbing sixth form students who needed their siesta so they could burn the midnight oil.

“This girl” Tommy said, still laughing “This girl, I fuck am well well.”

“Who is that? Come here! Bad boy!” Two or three sixth formers had jumped on Tiger.

“Bring that letter!!” They snatched the letter from him “Take off your clothes. Let’s see if you have a dick that can fuck a woman!”

Tiger had been forced to undress and walk stack naked up and down the dormitory while one sixth former read his letter out aloud.

“the finger up my backside…”

“Vanessa Tabot?”

The mention of Vanessa Tabot had brought roars of laughter from a couple of guys who claimed to know her.

“Vanessa Tabot? Your girlfriend? Well good luck! Ha Ha Ha!”

Soon, Tommy knew all there was to know about Vanessa, the fact that she had been one of the best students in her class in Achimota and yet seemed to put very little effort in her academic work. She was always in one trouble or the other which was blamed on poor parental control. Her Lebanese father was hardly in the country and they lived in a big house with a step mother who had no control at all on Vanessa. Vanessa would shag anybody. Even a few of the laboratory assistants in the science labs in Achimota had had a go.

“Baby Vanessa Tiger” somebody suggested

“Tommy Tabot Tiger” another suggested

Many different combinations were tried and rejected. They settled on “Ofinger Tiger” in reference to the finger in the anus.

When his ordeal was over, and in a vain attempt to re-assert his authority, Tiger had stood up and in a loud voice commanded

“All form one and two boys, kneel down!”

That was Tommy. He did have a sense of humour. He had no pride in his bone. He could give as well as take. People liked that and it made him popular but unfortunately, it concealed a more sinister side to his character.

That weekend, he and four friends had escaped to town and to the Big Apple Disco where Tommy had met Vanessa. After a few drinks, they had escaped to a lotto kiosk behind the disco.

“Oh I love you” Vanessa said

Unknown to her, four friends of Tommy laid in wait. It had all been planned. Tommy wanted to prove he was still a tough guy despite pushing a finger up Vanessa Tabot’s anus. When he had finished and before Vanessa could get up, another guy was on top of her. When he finished, the third guy rushed in. Apparently, he had jumped the queue. There was a minor scuffle.

“Don’t fight” Vanessa had said “I’ll service you all”