Congo Mamba Legends: The Power of Love & Acceptance

"I don't know if this is the right one, but I found some promising titles in my dad's old collection," said Alexa as she handed me a pile of VHS tapes. "These are all we have left since he sold most of his stuff when he went to live with grandma."

"Thanks, sis," I replied. "This should be enough for tonight's screening."

My home theater was pretty simple: a small LCD TV, an amplifier and a Blu-ray player. However, it didn't have any speakers or a subwoofer. Instead, I used an old sound system that my dad had bought from somewhere in Africa back in the '80s. It looked like a relic from the Stone Age, especially the receiver which looked like it had been carved out of stone itself. The surround speakers were made up of various wooden blocks and coconut shells filled with sand and the subwoofer was just a hollowed gourd filled with stones and water. But despite its crude appearance, it produced rich and powerful sound that would make you believe that you were standing right in the middle of the jungle while listening to Tarzan yell incoherently at Cheetah or whatever his name was.

As I put everything together, Alexa told me about her day at school. She seemed cheerful as usual -- not that she isn't usually cheerful anyway -- but there was something more than just plain happiness in her voice today. Whenever she had news, Alexa would announce it proudly before telling me about it and since today was no exception, I knew she was up to something big.

"So... What did you do today?" I asked her as I checked over everything to make sure it was set up properly. "Was there another test?"

"Yeah," said Alexa as she giggled excitedly. "It wasn't about math or anything though."

"What kind of test?" I asked as I got ready to press play on the remote control. "A spelling bee? An essay writing contest?"

"No," said Alexa at last, wiping a bit of tears from the corners of her eyes because she couldn't stop laughing. "It's not really a test... More like an exam..."

"Oh god," I groaned. "Please tell me you're not talking about *that*. Your mom told me you're not going to get your period yet!"

"She's wrong!" said Alexa insistently. "And what does menstruation have to do with this? It's not like they're related."

"You're too young to understand such things," I replied dismissively after pressing play on the remote control. "Anyway... What kind of exam is it? Is it for physical education? A health examination? What?"

"It's sort of like an oral exam," explained Alexa as she took off her shoes and sat next to me on the couch so we could watch Tarzan on my little TV screen together.