A Child's Struggle

~7~

It was Wednesday and the CAT would begin that morning. For SS1 they were having only Maths. Everyone was doing everything in a haste so they would have time to read before the test begin. Right from hostel, when Raphael woke up many of his classmates had already had their bath. Most of them formed clusters and solved different possible test questions. He woke up late because he slept with headache. Not that he read but he was just depressed on how he had quarreled with his friends and how he lost to Roland.

He got up sluggishly from his bed, removed his wears and went to bath. 
After bathing, he dressed up and sat on his bed. As he looked at everyone reading, he remembered how he used to read in junior school with his friends and others. He was so happy to be in school but now that happiness had been wiped away. He just shoved the thoughts away and carried his maths note. As he flipped through the pages, he noticed his note was really incomplete.

"Seriously what kind of student have I become? My notes not complete. A whole me. My parents did me bad really", he mummured to himself as he tossed the book on his bed and looked at the ceiling. He then picked up his textbook and it was new as ever. He had never opened it to study which was one thing he could not believe he could do before. He just went through the topics in a haste because the bell for leaving the hostel was rung. He put the book in his bag, arranged himself properly then left to the dining hall for breakfast.

The test started by 10:00am and it was just for an hour. All students were sitted in their classes with an invigilator. The questions were twenty objectives and four theories. It was easy for most of the students but off course hard for Raphael.

When Raphael saw the questions his brain felt blank. He could not recall anything. It was some of the topics he glanced through that saved him in answering some of the questions. Thank God he has a sharp brain, he was able to recall what he glanced through that morning. It helped a bit in answering the objectives but in the theory aspect it did not really go well. He couldn't get the correct steps for answering the questions. While others were writing he was looking at the ceiling looking for imaginary answers.

At the end of the one hour the papers were collected. He answered only one theory question correctly, the rest were incomplete solutions.

As he packed his bags to leave the class, a boy walked up to him and asked him how the test was.

"It was okay. It was just normal and fine", he replied.

"Ooh. I thought it was hard for you because you were really staring at the ceiling too much", the boy said.

"I thought it's only me that saw him", another girl who was listening said as she and boy burst into laughter. While they were laughing he just carried his bag and walked out of the class. As he stepped out of the class, he saw his friends smiling happily and gisting while looking at the question paper. He knew they wrote well and it was a real good test for them. He just turned his face away and followed another direction.

Meanwhile in class, the financial accounting teacher had come to have a brief class with the students in preparation for their tomorrow test. He felt bad he was not able to write well but then the most part of his concern was on the game he has with Roland. He went to Coach Femi's office to ask when the next game will be. The Coach told him it will be on Saturday and he should relay the message to Roland which he did. He saw Roland on his way to the library so he passed the message on.

Instead of reading in the library, he was strategizing how he would beat up Roland in the next battle. What a boy!

During prep while others prepared for the next test he just sat all alone. He kept moping at his financial accounting textbook because as usual his note was incomplete. He was trying to read but it was not just entering so he gave in to sleep. Although he was woken up by several people, he still kept on dosing off at intervals. He ended up achieving nothing that prep period.

On reaching the hostel, he thought about his parents for the first time in a while. He knew that he had no choice and he had to offer this course by all means. This meant if he failed any business core subject his father was practically going to kill him with beating. He wondered how he would be able to write well when he did not attend classes nor write any note.

He woke up the next morning with his brain 'tabula rasa'. He was so confused that morning. It was like his mind was undergoing restructuring. He kept asking himself why he did not prepare for the test, as he prepared for school. He needed no one to tell him that he knew nothing about the subject he was about to write.

"What can I do?," he asked himself as he had his bath. He thought of going to the health bay and pretending to be sick but he discarded the idea. He wanted to write the exam that day.

It was like pressure was mounted on him. He just couldn't understand himself. All he knew was that he did not want to fail at all. Immediately a thought entered his mind. It made him calm down a bit as he dressed up and went to the dining hall when it was time.

Favour was walking to class when she sighted Bright and Collins. She ran to meet them immediately so they can go to class together. 

"Sup guys", she said as she met them

"Nothing much. How was your night? Did you still revise those questions I gave you?" Collins asked.

"Well yes I did some but I could...", She stopped talking as she heard some girls who were passing talking about their financial accounting. She immediately remembered Raphael.

"What is it? You just stopped talking." Bright asked her.

"Yh I'm okay. I just remembered Raphael as some girls were talking about their accounting exam that is also coming up the same time with our physics." She replied. "But don't you guys miss him. Let's check on him na"

"No Favour. Let him be for now. He would calm down once he writes this his fin.acct. he would understand that he has to read to pass", Collins said.

It was time for the test and students were settling down in the class, the invigilator was already coming to the class. Raphael carried the papers he wrote some notes and ran very fast to the toilet. He kept them in between the hole of the tissue paper that was in one of the toilets. He calculated that since everyone was writing exams there's a probability no one will come to the toilet soon.

During the exam Raphael started coughing seriously. The invigilator went to meet him and patted his back. He requested to use the toilet pretending to have spit in his mouth, so she permitted him immediately.

He ran to the toilet with his heart beating. It was the first time he was doing this. Coincidentally, he met Roland coming out of the toilet with the paper in his hands.

"Coming to get this?", Roland said and smirked holding the paper up.

"Give me that back, how did you know I kept it there?", Raphael asked as he tried to grab the paper but Roland held it tight.

Raphael knew that something had gone wrong when he saw Roland coming out of the toilet. His rival now knows his deepest secret. A very bad one at that. Aaaaaah, he cried in his mind. 

Would Roland cooperate for Raphael?
Raphael has been caught by his worst enemy. What would become of him?
😭😓
Life is not fair at all ooh