Don't break the Bank: A not-so-perfect financial journey of a Nigerian student.

CHAPTER ONE

Mum: Mel, it scares me to see how hard you can get on yourself. Please slow down (mum sobs).

Mel: mum, don't disturb your pretty head; I'll be okay.

Mum: Baby, you are still so young, and you are in school. Now is not the right time to distract yourself. Besides, you are a beautiful young girl. Your Prince Charming will come along someday and take care of all your money needs.

Mel: Mum, as enticing and liberating that sounds, I do not want my supposed Prince Charming to marry a liability. "I know I'm still in school, but it's best I start early than later."

Mum: (Takes in a deep breath) Mel, you've grown into a strong, independent lady, and I bless the Lord for giving you to me. You've got a fearless spirit.                         

                               ~~~~
The weather was boiling and the sun peeping through the leaves of the big almond tree Melissa sat under in her school's love garden to clear her head after the day's lectures. The chattering of students in the surrounding filled the air, beclouding the chirps of the birds on the tree and colliding with the thoughts in her head.

It's a new session and her third year of school; Wow! It all seemed surreal to her; a few years back, she ran around her university campus trying to figure out her lecture halls. "How time flies" this statement reminds her of what her mother said when she got home from a cyber cafe where she went to print her admission letter; She had been given admission to study international relations at the University of Abuja.

"Melissa, before you say, Jack Robinson, you'll be In your finals. What's important is gaining the admission." Her mother said.

Now! Here she was, awash by the soft zephyr mixed with sweaty colognes from different students who milled around, with the sticky heat on her skin making her so uncomfortable. Her mind raced from one thought to another, with no hopes of what to eat when she got home.

Trying to study for her exams, which were fast approaching, has proven to be a hassle. The thoughts of how to improve her current financial status made her uneasy. Melissa panicked this morning when she got a debit alert notification after purchasing data from her account. She stared at her available balance of 78.88 Naira, which, according to her friend Tara, looks like a radio station reception dial.

"How am I going to survive on this amount? How on earth am I supposed to read and understand on a stomach growling of hunger or even pay my way to school?" Melissa said to tara in a defeated tone. She was broke, and she couldn't think of a quick solution to her frequent money wahala. To make matters worse, she wasn't expecting any funds from her mum anytime soon.

Things got so hard for Melissa financially when her parents got divorced. Her dad was a good father in every sense of the word but a bad husband to her mother; she sometimes wondered how a person could play two different roles perfectly. He was a demon to her mum and an angel to her and her kid sister. Her father mastered the act of constantly talking her mum down; his harsh words broke her mother's walls of confidence, his blows and punches became the only romance they shared. Her black eyes turned into natural makeup. "How was it possible for him to hate someone he once loved with all his heart?", the mere thoughts of this sent a million thorns to Melissa's skin about marriage. Her parents' new marital status startled her. He promised he'd love her forever, but his "forever" was only ephemeral.

As the days went by, the beating increased, Melissa's mother found herself in the hospital every week. Still, she didn't want to leave the marriage for fear of "what people will say," and she had lost her job as an accountant a few months back, so she solely depended on her husband financially. Melissa's mother held on firmly to the marriage, finding peace in the beautiful memories she once shared with her husband, the love she had for him fighting to survive, her eyes fearful each time he walked into the room.