Our turn came and I was asked my name. I said the two names I had always used for all my twelve years on this planet. They were the same names on my Munyeki leaving certificate and all my result slips. They said they needed a first name or baptism name. “You are baptized, are you?” the admissions lady asked me. I did not like her insinuation. Did she think I was a heathen? I felt insulted because I never missed church on Sundays and that was also the only day of the week that I bathed – my mother made sure of that.
Anyhow, that is when I remembered the name my sister picked out for me when I was baptized as an infant. It felt strange saying it, I am not even sure I could spell it correctly. Good thing these strangers I just met had heard of the name and even knew how to spell it. Phwee, that was close. I looked at the papers they just filled out to see how they spelt my name.
That was the beginning of a strange new life with a strange new name. I felt weird introducing myself with a name I hardly knew or ever used before. My teachers and classmates must have thought I was either deaf or dumb as a rock because there were many occasions when they called out my name and I kept on walking because the new name had not registered as mine and I did not think they were talking to me.
