Onyemere Ugonna Ekene is a 10-year-old. He attended staff children Nursery Schoo, Shell R.A., Port Harcourt, between 2004 and 2007. He is currently a primary six pupil of Shiloh Hills School, Rumuibekwe, Port Harcourt and has gained admission to study at the prestigious Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja.
He loves reading and playing football. This is his first published book “THE SUCCESSFUL FELLOW”.
By Onyemere, Ugonna Ekene
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE RESULTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
After Paul had received the book from Mrs. Roland he made up his mind that he would be like Dara or even better and he decided to work towards it. When Paul reached his class, his mathematics teacher had finished teaching and was giving a class work. Once Paul saw it, he nearly slumped but remembering his promise to himself, he quietly went to his seat and tried to study the examples.
He solved the five questions and got only two correctly. He did not give up hope but maintained a positive attitude, believing within himself that he could perform better, if only he could discover how. The rest of the day went slowly for Paul as one subject teacher came in after the other.
His situation worried him to the extent that he was still solemn by the time he got home from school and he prayed in his heart for God to direct his thoughts. That night, just like the previous one, he could not sleep off immediately he lay down because he was restless. Eventually, a thought came to his mind to make Bob, the most brilliant boy in their class, his friend so they could study together and Bob would help explain the topics Paul did not understand. He was happy with the idea because he could see a ray of hope at passing the forthcoming end of term examination.
As he got to school the following morning, Bob was about passing through the school gate as well, so Paul greeted him but Bob just looked at him scornfully and did not respond. Bob was brilliant but pompous; he had no regard for anyone he felt was beneath him academically or otherwise. Paul refused to be discouraged and was more determined to find a way to get through to Bob. Later that day, Bob was talking with his friends in the class and made a very funny statement; they all laughed. Paul was listening and also laughed.
“My friend, don’t you know your level anymore?” Bob asked, facing Paul. Paul felt very bad and was quiet the rest of the day.
Three days later, a girl in their class reported to Mrs. Roland that she could not find the four thousand naira (N4,000) her mother gave her to pay for the Christmas party coming up at the end of the term. She also said that when others had gone out for games, she removed the money from her mathematical set and put it in-between her English textbook before joining others, leaving only Bob; who was the last person to leave the class and by the time they all came back, the money had disappeared. Their class teacher was so disappointed with Bob and asked him to return the money within 24 hours or she would report him to the Head Teacher for disciplinary action. Bob denied the accusation but no one believed him because another of their classmate reported that he saw Bob buying drinks and snacks for his friends after games. Bob felt dejected and wished he could find a way to prove his innocence because even his friends deserted him.
The following day, during first break period, Paul went to the toilet to ease himself. As he approached, he heard voices from behind one of the toilet doors and he stopped to listen because it was not proper for more than one person to be inside one toilet at the same time. Two of his class boys, Ben and Richie, were discussing about the stolen money.
“Foolish girl, she thought Bob stole her money; she didn’t know I was standing by the window and saw her put the money in her English textbook,” Ben said, laughing derisively.
“Poor Bob, he has to pay for the money we enjoyed. By the way, what did you buy with your share?” Richie probed.
At that point, Paul decided he had heard enough and went in search of Mrs. Roland to report what he heard. Bob was so happy when the thieves were exposed and even apologized to Paul for the way he had treated him lately. He asked that they be friends and promised to assist Paul in his studies, even during the forthcoming holiday since their houses were not far apart. You can imagine Paul’s joy on hearing that.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE EXAMINATION
Paul had a very fulfilling Christmas holiday. He rested, played, studied very hard and Bob was around to explain the things he did not understand. By the beginning of the second term, he had marked out three specific dates on his calendar and these days were as follows: the day his end of term examination would start, end, and the day he would write his common entrance examination. Paul was preparing seriously because all of them were aligned within the same week (exam starts-Monday, ends Friday, entrance-Saturday). He had made a timetable earlier and it was still functional, so that no subject or activity was neglected.
The end of term exam came and Paul was focusing on finishing the exam but as it progressed, the hope of passing his common entrance examination grew stronger in his mind until the awaited day which was the last day of his school exam. After all the waiting, alas it was time to face the entrance exam.
On Saturday morning, the day of the entrance exam, his mother took him to the examination centre where he saw many serious looking children and he almost lost confidence in himself, doubting his ability to compete with them.
“Are you sure these pupils will allow me to get a place in this school?” Paul asked. “In fact they may even stop me from passing the exam.”
“Do not worry. You are going to pass,” his mother countered.
“What if I pass the exam and enter into the school only to find out that I am a village champion?” Paul asked, looking restive.
This time, his mother just, looked at him. Unknown to her, she had restored his confidence. Inside the exam hail when it was time for the first paper, Paul was nervous but he said his prayers and took the exam, after which he had a very strong feeling that he would pass the examination.
Two weeks later, his parents came back from work looking solemn. Re asked them what the problem was “Did somebody die?”
“No. We checked your result’ they replied in a chorus.
The moment Paul heard that, he felt his heart sink inside his stomach but his parents’ mood changed and they were all smiles, embracing him. They congratulated him on his success in the examination, and told him they just wanted to scare him a little.
CHAPTER NINE
LAST TERM AT SCHOOL
During the third term, Paul’s class was full of
pupils buzzing about the entrance exam they had taken. They asked one another questions like: “Which entrance exam did you take? Did you pass? How tough was the exam? Did you finish? Which paper did you not finish? How many questions were in each paper? How much time were they given? How many papers did you write?”
As these questions were circulating in the class, Paul did not move an inch from his seat neither did he remove his eyes from his book.
