The small school hall filled with parents before sunset. Four rows of chairs faced a front table holding Baraka, Mama Njeri, Amina, and Zawadi. No child's fee information had been distributed; Amina had made that clear in the notice.
A parent stood before the chair opened the meeting. "Why have the teachers not been paid?"
Baraka answered, "There is an account transition. There is no reason to panic."
Zawadi stood. "A transition does not tell teachers when they will eat. This month's salary has not arrived."
The hall murmured. Mama Njeri tapped a small bell. "Let us keep peace."
"Peace needs verifiable information," Amina said. "This is a parents' meeting, not a membership meeting. We will discuss the school's impact and request a lawful members' meeting."
Baraka leaned toward her. "This is how you create disorder."
"Disorder is asking parents to trust a new company without showing a notice."
A parent asked whether the new company would take their fees. Amina answered, "No control transfer will happen while the investor hold is active. Fees remain operating money."
Baraka produced a paper. "The investor would bring salaries and repairs."
"Under what conditions?"
He did not answer.
Mama Njeri said, "The school is tired of conflict. We need someone who pays quickly."
Zawadi opened the teachers' packet. "Here are two months of receipts from the old account. Here is the month without a signature. We are not calling anyone a thief. We are saying the new account has not shown a paying system."
Amina stopped her from showing a message that mentioned a child. "Read only work payments."
A parent near the door said he had received a video of Baraka saying Amina left.
"The video exists," Amina said, "but no child will be named, and I will not use it to persuade you. We will read the papers."
Baraka rose. "You have made me look bad before people I served for two years."
"It is true that you worked. That is why the process will recognize your work without giving you the right to erase a member."
Parents began asking for the date of the membership meeting. Musa, sitting at the back, said the notice register showed no delivery to Amina's number.
Mama Njeri said the quorum was insufficient. "Two members have moved away. The others are not answering."
Amina asked to see the proxies. Mama Njeri refused. "They are in the company file."
"A proxy cannot be used without a date, signature, and confirmation from the member."
Baraka said, "We will never finish if everything needs three stamps."
"Better late than sell the school to someone who was never called."
The parents voted to delay any sale of control and to form an audit committee. Amina did not push them with her voice; she let them write names and sign the paper.
One parent asked whether fees would change. Amina wrote the question into the minutes and promised an answer without listing any child.
After the hall began to empty, Mama Njeri said, "The quorum is not enough. Two members have moved away, and the new company says it has their proxies."
Amina wrote *proxy* in her notebook. The parents' meeting had not restored her membership, but it had made the rush for the new company a community question. Now a lawful meeting would need to prove who could represent people who were absent.
The parents had not chosen an owner, but they had chosen to demand a lawful meeting. Musa added the quorum concern to the lawful meeting agenda without child information. # End of Chapter
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