The news of my being accepted into Secondary school came to me on a night from my mother who was beaming with tears brimming in her eyes, as we sat down to dine,
Earlier that day while playing with my brothers, jumping ropes and swinging off a pole, a lady had walked into our house asking for me, I paid her little attention, but thinking back now I remember she was a cashier at my Primary School, Bernard Etiaba Memorial Nur/Pri School.
Ms Chynwe as she was known was a really thin lady, she had one of those faces that weren't remarkable, a plain face, I had often wondered if she had sickle cell anemia,her skin was always pale and sickly and she walked like every step she took would be her last,
"Is anybody home?"
she asked looking around our compound, my brothers had stopped what they doing but didn't come any closer,
"No, just me and my siblings" I replied offhandedly eager to go back to swinging, she rummaged her handbag and brought out stacks of letters, flipped through them for a moment and handed me an envelope
"Give this your parents when they get back, it's important "
I said nothing taking the envelope from her and walking into our home to keep it safely,
"what do you suppose is in it? "
I asked my sister, who had come out to know who it was looking for my mother,
"What do you think" she replied shrugging and walking back inside,
I hate it whenever she does that, and she's always fond of replying my question but not with an answer.
I shook my head and walked into my mother's room dropping it on her bed and walking out,
I figured it must be really important if my cashier had to come to our home to hand it over, while walking out my mom's room I suddenly remembered I hadn't thanked the cashier and rushed out but she was already gone,
guess I was too busy worrying about the content of the envelope,
I wasn't worried for long, by the time I rejoined my brothers outside
I forgot about her and her message all together and returned to chasing my brothers around the house.
My sister had come back from school for the holidays and she acted like a proper lady, not running around the house or playing hide and seek, you see she goes to a boarding school and I figured the school changed her and her mannerisms, her grammar had improved too and I too wanted that.
which was why I chose her school while filling forms and applying for schools so you can imagine my happiness that night when my mother told me I had been accepted into ST Florence Girls College Owerri and was expected by September,
She went on about how impressed the Principal of the school was and how out of 360 girls who were accepted
I was number 8 on the list, which means my performance in the exam was outstanding.
I looked at my sister, who looked back at me and said nothing, my brothers either didn't know what was going on or they didn't care, the only person besides my self who was happy about the contents of that letter was my Mom, I lost my appetite that night due to happiness, I imagined what the school would be like and how I would finally get to see what really made my sister feel so superior all the time,
A month passed before my mother mentioned anything about St Florence Girls' College (SFGC)
She had comeback from work that night and as usual my Sister and I had already cooked dinner, and everyone had eaten except my Mom, While she ate we sat down watching TV
"Abebi I saw your Proprietress today"
Abebi was a nick name my parents called me, I think it means Baby and unlike some of my friends who hated their nicknames, I liked mine, and loved it when my parents called me by it and mind you I was 9 going on 20
I turned to look at her, to indicate I heard her
"She stopped me on the road to congratulate me on your admission"
I could see she was happy about that, my Proprietress Mrs Etiaba
was a formidable woman, really rich and well known in the state, she would later become the first female Governor in my country
I smiled knowing this made her happy, knowing I made her happy.
