It was the 3rd of June, 2013, when I first saw a drone in person. I was in junior secondary school 3 at the time I witnessed this mysterious flying object. Okay, it wasn’t all that mysterious, but let me set the scene.
The school building was shaped like a large inverted letter U, in a way that made it resemble a closing bracket. In the middle of the building was a quadrangle with mesmerizing greenery.
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On that particular day, students were clustered all over the normally quiet and empty quadrangle. Some men could be seen by the side, unpacking filming equipment and setting it up. They were getting ready to shoot their first scene of the drama.
Mopelola, the name of the drama, had been the talk of the school for weeks. Apparently some white men had come to our school, talked with the reverend sisters in charge, and proposed the idea of the drama. It was supposed to be about a woman who lost her kids and her husband, fighting her way through life amidst adversity.
The white men planned to cast our SS1 students for the play. Our principal agreed; as long as they handled the financial aspect of the project, it meant more publicity for the school.
According to rumors, the SS1 students usually rehearsed in our old hall after class every day. And after weeks of rehearsal, they were finally ready for their first take on set.
We were marching back to our classes after the morning assembly when we noticed the students and the videographers at the quadrangle. Our faces wrinkled with sheer curiosity and longing to know what was going on. I don’t know why the reverend sisters were so “hush hush” about the drama. Literally no one knew what was happening.
We weren’t allowed out of our classroom during classes, so the only way I could sneak out to get a peek was by volunteering to go on errands for the teacher in class.
After waiting for an opportunity, our teacher’s board marker finally stopped working well. I immediately volunteered to get some from the staff room. As I stepped out of the class, my gaze quickly fell on the actors downstairs. I could see them from the open corridor.
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That was when I saw it! The flying object resembled a remote controlled toy game console with wings. It was so strange; I remember staring at it for what felt like an eternity. I so desperately tried to figure out what I was looking at. It moved up and down and left and right, hovering over the student actors, almost like a UFO.
It was upon further observation that I noticed one of the videographers holding in his hand a small rectangle shaped bar. What he held also resembled a game console, with buttons and movable knobs. He followed the drone with his eyes and seemed to be controlling it with the device in his grasp.
It was fascinating to me how an object like that could propel itself so high into the air. I mean, I was on the second floor, and the thing was almost at eye level with me. I promptly remembered the errand that brought me out of the class room and made my way to the staff room.
When I got there, it was empty for the most part, except for some teachers busy with the day’s work. I noticed Mr. Seun, my physics teacher. I walked over to him, greeted him, and asked for markers. As he handed them to me, I was about to leave when my curiosity got the better of me, so I proceeded to ask him what had been on my mind.
"Sir, what is that thing that keeps flying over the students downstairs?”
He looked confused, so I tried to describe it in my words the best way I could. He finally understood what I meant and burst out laughing. He told me it’s called a drone and that it's basically a remote controlled flying camera.
“Hmm, a flying camera?" I asked.
He affirmed, then proceeded to pull out his phone and show me pictures of it and a video of how it was used. I remained in the staff room for a while, fascinated by the whole concept of drones, and completely forgot about the errand I was sent on.
Drones are so cool
This is my entry into the OCD X Drone Contest. Here is a LINK to it, you should definitely check it out.