Preparing for the Entrance Exam

All it took was just about ten people who checked their scores and the news was everywhere.  I didn't check mine but many people told me what I had scored. I scored the highest followed by another girl in our class before Ben.

I was very happy with myself as I had worked hard so I could get into a good school. That was when I wasn't sure I would go to Elite Academy but now the score didn't matter.

We all left school that day happily. I couldn't wait to tell my parents about my score. They would be so proud of me. This was something my dad would love to hear about, but I wasn't expecting him to be overjoyed or acknowledge it because nothing ever moved him.

My Mom usually tells me to overlook his strong attitude and that he is very proud of me and won't stop talking about my achievements for days nonstop.

One person I admired a lot in my class was Ben. He was very smart. He played a lot and doesn't even need to put in much effort to perform well but I always had to put in extra effort to perform well. He was the best among us to me because he is effortlessly good at what he does be it academics, sports or any other thing.

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I only remembered that my Mom will be working overtime when I got home. I wanted her to be the first to know about my result, so I didn't tell either Fred or my Dad about it. I didn't tell Fred because he could slip and tell Dad about it.

I couldn't keep the news to myself, so I called my Mom with my Dad's phone. I told her she was required to come to school to see my teacher. She also scolded me for not telling my Dad about it, but she also kept it a secret for my sake.

I was in class the next day when our teacher sent for me. I dashed off to her office because I knew it meant that my Mom was in her office. When I got there, both my Mom and my teacher had huge smiles on their faces.

"Congratulations ma'am!" My teacher said to my Mom. "Your daughter did very well."

I smiled to myself as I stood behind my mother.

"She got a spot in all the schools she applied for including Special Science College and Pristine Girls High School. " My teacher added.

"Waww, that's great," my mom responded as she looked at me beaming with smiles.

After a while, my teacher asked my mom the school I will be choosing while advising that I choose Pristine.

"Well, we won't be making any choice for now. We have to think it through before considering and as well consider Elsie's choice."

My mom collected my file from my teacher and we both left the office together.

"Thanks, Mom," I said to her as we went down the stairs towards the school gate.

"You can go back to your class now." She smiled at me.

"I will see you at home tomorrow morning when I get back from work."

I nodded in response, ran upstairs and went back to my class, while my mom left.

Many parents were trooping in and out of our teacher's office, and many of us were discussing the school they would like to go to, but no one was talking about Elite Academy.

"Maybe they want to keep it a secret that they are going to write the entrance exam just like me." I thought to myself.

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The next day, I was really late for school that I almost thought of skipping school for that day. My Mon came back from work early in the morning and she just couldn't wait to share the news of my result with my father.  He was thrilled and promised to buy me something to celebrate it after the entrance exam on Saturday.

I was surprised because my dad rarely celebrated things like that, but I thought he said so because I had the highest score. That's reasonable enough, considering the type of person that my dad is.

The following days were hectic for me. I still had to go to school for our rehearsals and also read for the entrance exam on Saturday. Luck wasn't on my side either that week as my Mom worked overtime a lot. She worked mostly in the maternity ward as she was a midwife, and also worked in the emergency ward.  Mom made things easier for me by leaving pre-cooked meals in the refrigerator, and Dad bought meals for us on the days I couldn't whip up anything as he also returns home late from work. Fred also helped in his own way by making sure I didn't spend much time watching movies and helping me to wash the dishes whenever we finished having our meals.

Time went by and soon Friday came, I didn't go to school on that day. I stayed back home to revise everything I have read for the exam. Most of my classmates were able to guess why I was absent from school because the news of the entrance exam into Elite Academy has been making waves in my school for the past two days.

I was surprised when my Mom came back in the evening with my Dad. It turned out that she swapped shifts with a Co-worker so she could accompany me to the entrance exam the next day.

I was anxious about the exam and tried to read more but my parents stopped me from doing so. They made sure I had my meal on time and went to bed on time, saying I needed enough rest for the next day.