Chapter 2

I was laying on the bed in my room trying to sleep cos I am exhausted from the house chores I just finished, when my dad ran into my room holding a letter in his hands shouting

'' my prayers have been answered thank you God ''

with the noise from the barging in, I stood up from my bed quickly in fear, then I got relieved after seeing my father's expression, in my mind I was wondering what could make a grown educated man jump around like this . Then suddenly he hugged me and said

" God has done it for us"

then I glanced to the entrance of my room and saw my mum smiling as she leaned on the door frame I was wondering what can make my parents this happy, because the last time they were this happy was when my mom found out she was pregnant. I removed myself from my father's embrace and looked at him with a confused face and I said to him

'' dad what happened because I don't understand oo"

my dad looked at me with a broad smile still on his face and said

" God has done it for us oo, did you remember that school you went to do their entrance exam?"

then I suddenly interrupted him " Is it brilliance academy, the school I said i didn't want to go to "

" my mom walked to me and said " honey I know you don't want to go there because of fear of change in environment and I fully understand but I and your father are going through financial crisis right now, infact it was one in a million chance that you got the scholarship "

and she sighed

" many kids out there want this opportunity, you were only lucky, we didn't even expect the connection your father used would work "

then she hugged me and pecked me on my head

" just bear it with us darling "

and father hugged us and then my little brother entered and said

" mummy where were you"

then he walked up to us and hugged us and we hugged each other like a big happy family.

A week after ;

## My father couldn't stop talking about how I got into an expensive school as he was preparing for work and he's been doing it since I received my admission letter .We were still on holiday so I , my mom and kelvin were staying home since my mom is a teacher . My mom helped my dad bring his suitcase which he forgot because he can't stop talking about my new school and I made him a cup of tea, which he drank hurriedly because he was already late. My mom handed his suitcase over to him and they kissed he entered his car and we bid him goodbye as he drove out of the compound. I still wonder why my parents are still romantic to each other after so many years of marriage and two kids . Sometimes whenever I think about their love I wonder if this is how it feels to be with the person you love . After we bid my dad goodbye I went to my room and I started arranging my books and packing the ones I needed into my backpack, though it's just a week to our resumption but I'm so nervous infact I have never been this nervous in my life , even when I went for some educational competition ( like quiz , debate etc ) I was not nervous I wonder why I'm this nervous about my new school ( brilliance academy) maybe it was because I wasn't sure if I would fit in and get used to the new environment, but anyway I kept on packing my books and when I was done with my packing and arranging my books I started to iron my new school uniform, it was a white long sleeve T-shirt with a red blazer and a skirt with striped with red and black colour in a square pattern . The school already sent a couple of uniforms to me after I received the acceptance letter from the school. After I was done ironing and folding the uniforms, I fell on my bed with my back and sighed from all the exhaustion of arranging and preparing, then I sat on my bed and I picked up my phone which was on the shelf by my bed and I went to gallery and I scrolled through the pictures of I and my friends in my previous school I was wondering how they would feel if I told them I wasn't coming this year, we planned the whole year together when we were still in jss3, we thoughts about things we do together when we become seniors, but I guess they would be doing it without me . Then I dialed Beatrice number because she was my best friend, we are same age, we went to same primary school, so we were very close, infact the whole school called us the smart twins even if we weren't actually even sisters, but we were both brilliant and we usually studied together, and we mostly get same scores in exams, that's why the school named us the smart twins. I just hope she wouldn't be mad at me, that's what I thought about as her number was still ringing. Then she picked up and said

"hey tweeny I can't wait for our resumption as seniors"

I smiled sadly as I held my phone close to my ears . Then I told her everything about my new school and how my parents wants me to go there and she replied and said

"I understand they want what's best for you so don't worry and cheer up, but I can't still believe my best friend would be going to the most famous school in the country, I'm so happy for you "

and I replied

" thanks "

but I still felt the sadness in her voice, then we talked about other stuffs then bid each other goodbyes. My mom walked into the room just as I dropped the call

" honey I would be going to school, they called us for teachers meeting because schools would be resuming next week. So you are babysitting your brother till I get back, make sure you take good care of yourself and your brother"she said

"ok bye mommy", I replied,

" one more thing he sleeping right now so don't disturb him"

"okay ma" I replied

"ok take care of yourself"

then she walked out of the room . I groaned loudly after she closed the door, it's really cute to babysit your junior brother, but mine is a thorn in my flesh, anytime mom leaves him with me, he makes my life miserable even though I am way older than him . I didn't tell my mom how much he disturbs me once she goes out, because I didn't want her to worry about hiring a babysitter.

" Thank God he's asleep I would be able to take quick nap before he wakes up "

I said to myself as I layed on my bed and closed my eyes and i was soon fast asleep .

**In my dream**

######### I saw myself walking in a big hallway wearing my new school's uniform, I looked around but there was no else in the hallway, I called out my mom and my dad severally, but there was absolute silence, I could only hear the echo of my voice. Then I started running but as i ran it felt like the hallway was getting longer but I kept on running, and strangely I couldn't find any exit or classroom I can run to, so I can get myself from this mysterious place . I stopped when I was exhausted so I could catch my breath, but then a large pinkish liquid poured on me, I looked up but there wasn't any bucket or pipe or hose that could have poured the liquid on me . Then I suddenly started hearing sounds of laughter, when I lowered my head I saw that people have surrounded me and they wearing same uniform as I was .

'' That means they were also students of the school and where did they come from " I thought to myself,

but they kept on laughing, then a boy pointed to me and said

" hey look how disgusting she is" a girl replied and said

" my dog is even cleaner than her"

then they both continued laughing. I felt so embarrassed I started crying, I just wish I could go deaf for a second, I won't have to hear their laughter, so I poked my fingers into my ears and screamed out so loud, then I opened my eyes and that saw I was still screaming, when I realized that I was in my room and it was all a dream then then I kept quiet

" phew it was all a dream thank God " I said to myself, as I sat up on my bed,

" is it because of your dream, that's why you want to destroy my eardrum "

I was startled as I saw my brother by my bed that I screamed but this time the scream was for a little while, because I quickly realize it was kelvin that talked.

"Hey why are you here" I said ,

" aren't you supposed to be babysitting me cause I'm hungry"

he replied,

" at least you should knock before you enter "

" I tried that a dozen times you didn't answer "

" ok fine, what do you want to eat " I said as I was standing up from my bed .

" I want to eat rice " he replied ,

" ok there are some left over rice in the kitchen, would you like to have it "

, " no I want a newly cooked rice " he replied playfully,

" I'm afraid I can't help you with that, so are you eating the rice or not , because I want to study ",

"hmm study ? All I saw you doing was snoring and screaming, you can't use studying as an excuse now "

, I was astonished at what this little boy right in front of me just said .

"What do you know you this small boy "

I pinched his nose with my hand as I said it , then he shoved my hand off and said

" I will tell mommy that you beat me when she comes back "

, " tell her I don't care"

I replied as I walked out of my room . My house is a bungalow so there was no stairs ( which I hated that fact ) , it is a self compound meaning only us (me and my family) live in the entire compound, It is very spacious and beautifully decorated(our house ) and our compound is big and it's spacious enough to have a car park, and in our compound we have a building by the gate, it was meant to be the gateman's house but since we don't have a gate man we packed bunch of useless stuffs into it . Our house has four bedrooms with toilet and bathroom in each of them , one for my parents,I and kelvin and the spare room is for guest. Though my parents didn't build the house but they bought it at very affordable price and redesigned it and I am happy that we get to live in our own house and I get to have my own room, because anytime some of my friends tell me about their experiences in their rented apartments, cos sometimes they tell me about the fights that usually occur between their parents and other tenants, the strict rule they have to follow and so many do's and don't, and they complain about, and how hard it is to pay the monthly aviation in the bills . I'm just glad that my parents both have their own car and we didn't have to worry about public transports, I always thank God for blessing my parents and how lucky we are , but I guess life isn't always about luck 🤨.