Under The Mango Tree

Chapter 4. Exams, Expectations & Exit Wounds

When the strike ended, reality returned like a flood.

Lecturers were merciless—rushed syllabuses, pop quizzes, and back-to-back lectures from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sleep became a luxury. Students sprinted across campus, sweat-soaked and stressed. University had turned into a machine.

Deborah tried to keep up. But the pressure cracked something.

She failed her first Chemistry test. 18/40.

Tolu found her curled under the tree, her face pressed into her notebook. “You’re not your grades,” he said. But that didn’t change how heavy the failure felt. Her father’s voice rang in her head: *“We’ve sacrificed for you to be here.”*

She cried that night.

But Ijeoma helped. So did Tolu, who stayed on call until she slept. Slowly, she pushed back—studied harder, asked questions, skipped hostel drama. She passed the resit. Not perfectly, but enough to breathe.

Then came the unexpected.

Tolu got an internship offer—in Lagos. Three months.

Deborah smiled when he told her, but her chest felt hollow. They sat under their mango tree the night before he left.

“Long distance?” she asked quietly.

Tolu shrugged. “We’ll figure it out. Or we won’t. But let’s not ruin now by fearing later.”

She nodded. And for the first time, kissed him.

It was soft. Honest. Scary.