FEW YEARS BACK
"Bayo Adebayo! Your friend is here." Mother called me from outside
"Okay ma, am coming" I picked my shirt, and went outside to see my best friend, Shola.
"Bayo, guess what?" he said with joy written all over his face.
"You have come again why do you always tell me to guess when you know I will always say a wrong thing? Just tell me what happened".
"Ooh! Last time I checked, you were a bad guesser, anyway am just coming from Labastina University, and your name has been pasted" he said with total happiness"
"Pasted for admission?" I asked again
"Yes now, what else?You have been given admission to study agricultural science, congratulation" he said giving me a brotherly hug.
"Thank you Shola," I said sadly
"Come on Adebayo, you are supposed to be happy, this is a good news. Don't worry, everything will be fine" he consoled. He already knew the reason for my sadness.
"I hope so, Shola Thank you very much."
"You are welcome, I have to go now, see you later"
"Okay". I said and saw him off. I got back to the house and met my mother crying,
Rushing down to her "mum why all this, why are you crying" I asked
"Nothing my son, am fine", she said wiping the tears off.
"You can't be crying and tell me you are Fine, what is the problem." I asked
"I heard what Shola came to tell you," she said amidst tears
"Mama, is that why you are crying? Don't worry about me .I have decided to forget about the admission."
"No! that is not possible your fathers dying wish was for you to go to school, he would have sponsored you if he were to be alive, he made me promise I would try my best to send you to school .I have to fulfill my promise, you will go to school by Gods' grace" she said soberly.
"I understand you mama, but it's not possible we still have a session fee that we have not paid for in my secondary school and we have to pay it before I will be given certificate."I said amidst tears
"We will pay every single debt." She promised
*****
"The acceptance fee is fifty thousand naira, you have to pay before you can start registration and according to the school calendar it ends in two weeks" the guy at the cyber café explained to me
"Fifty thousand naira in two weeks, how am I supposed to get that? Where will I get such a huge amount from?" I thought as I left the shop.
Things were a bit fine with us before my father met with his illness. Everything he had was spent on it and even went ahead to lend money. On the long run, "sorry madam we lost him" was all the family doctor uttered. I had to withdraw to a neighboring public school when things were no longer right. But still, paying the fees was not easy at all despite how little the amount was. The principal being a friend and colleague of my father's allowed me to stay in school and write my final papers on a debt basis. If not for him JAMB and WAEC will not have been part of my history. Now the issue of admission, I would have to pay #50000 in less than two weeks just for acceptance fee and the worst part is we had no dime.
"Welcome Adebayo, how was the registration?" Mama asked as I entered the house
"Good afternoon ma, I have not done the registration ma, the man said I will have to pay for the acceptance fee before I can start my registration," I explained to her
"Okay then how much is the fee?"
"Hum its #50000, and I have to pay it in less than two weeks."
"#50000 in less than two weeks! Where are we to get that from?"
I knew it was going to be extremely hard if I went for the admission, I had to pay that amount in less than two weeks and we had no kobo yet, I knew she will seek every means to get the money but this was only the acceptance fee, what about the school fee and all other sort of payment, "this is scary and it's going to be tough I must confess". I muttered
*****
"Adebayo how much have you been able to raise", mama asked me a week after.
"Mama, it's only #3500 o! Most of the people I helped to carry load at the market square pay me little amount of money" I explained to her
"Ah! just #3500 that's not up to anything, thank God I have been able to get up to #30000, the woman opposite my shop at the market square promised to lend me #10000 tomorrow, I pray she gives me. I am sure we will get the money before the deadline."
"Thank you ma, I am very grateful," I said prostrating before her.
"You don't have to thank me,I just pray I reap the fruit of my labor",she said pulling me up.
"Sure mama you will, by God's grace".
The next day was so hard that I never taught I would not forgo the admission, not until the twilight's arrival when my mother came home. Handling a bundle of naira notes to me,
"This is #53000 take it and go ahead to pay the fees", she said
"Thank you very much ma I am really grateful I promise not to disappoint you", I said prostrating
"I trust you my son, please make sure you face your studies, don't join bad gangs always remember the son of whom you are"
"I promise you ma",I replied.
YOU ARE READING
DESTINY OR DENIAL
Mystery / ThrillerDestiny or denial written with simple English depicts the life of an ambitious boy, who upon all odds finds his way to the higher institution. He lost his father at a tender age and his best friend. He found himself in prison overnight and lost his...
