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The Second Student
Jul. 30th, 2023 08:38 amDaulat Ras was angry. He wasn't exactly sure what had happened at the college, but he knew it involved some scandal about the scholarship exam. He knew, also, that he had been suspected. He knew that there would always be white people who suspected him whenever anything went wrong, for no better reason than his name and the color of his skin.
It wasn't the mere suspicion that tipped his frustration over into anger. He had lived with that from colonial officials his entire life, and more so since he arrived at university. No, what angered him was the light chatter between McClaren and Gilchrist at breakfast.
"Didn't see you at the exam, Gilchrist. Get cold feet?" asked McClaren.
"More than that," said Gilchrist. "I am going down for good this afternoon. I have a place lined up in Rhodesia with the police."
The police, of all things! Ras's blood boiled. Only in England would a man's corruption be seen as a good reason to send him out to enforce the law for others, provided, of course, that the man was white and the others were not. It would be all right, though. Ras had a place lined up as well. A newspaper back home had invited him to provide his thoughts on University life. His first column would be brutal.
It wasn't the mere suspicion that tipped his frustration over into anger. He had lived with that from colonial officials his entire life, and more so since he arrived at university. No, what angered him was the light chatter between McClaren and Gilchrist at breakfast.
"Didn't see you at the exam, Gilchrist. Get cold feet?" asked McClaren.
"More than that," said Gilchrist. "I am going down for good this afternoon. I have a place lined up in Rhodesia with the police."
The police, of all things! Ras's blood boiled. Only in England would a man's corruption be seen as a good reason to send him out to enforce the law for others, provided, of course, that the man was white and the others were not. It would be all right, though. Ras had a place lined up as well. A newspaper back home had invited him to provide his thoughts on University life. His first column would be brutal.
