THE FULFILLED END

The staff and students of Villa secondary school accepted Leah as their own. She was known for many other things, asides her remarkable academic performance. She believed so much in giving, and could not stand the sight of a person in need so much so that students who didn’t have money for snacks or transport would meet her, knowing that she would help them. Leah made some memories in school like the very fun moments she spent with her fellow students. She participated in extra-curricular activities and during the school’s inter-house sports, majority of the students wanted to be in the same house with Leah because of how much they loved her. There were five different houses - red, blue, green, yellow and pink. When rehearsals began for the inter-house sports, Leah was asked to do some sport activities, which she participated in and took first position. During the rehearsals, Leah remembered Vic and Nelly; her best friends who had both relocated and this led her to tears. She quickly ran out of the field to her class where she locked the door and cried as she realized that Villa Secondary School students had almost taken the place of her best friends because of the love they showered on her, which she never really wanted to happen. After an hour, Leah’s eyes were already red and she had to leave the class so no one would notice her. Unknowing to her, she had already been seen by Cynthia, a classmate of hers. Cynthia had noticed right from when she left the field, but decided not to raise suspicion by following her immediately. She entered the class after some minutes to ask Leah what happened, as she was genuinely concerned. She had never seen Leah that way before. “I really miss my friends’’ Leah said, her eyes flooded with tears. She had known Nelly and Vic all her life and now that she was in a new school, so many things had changed. “Oh, Leah. You have us now.’’ Cynthia said, drawing Leah closer to give her a hug. Her eyes were red and swollen already. She didn’t quite understand why Leah was crying so much but she allowed her to let it all out, seeing that she might feel better afterwards. “You’re a pretty girl, you should not cry. I have never really had friends and it never got to me so much until I came here’’ She continued, offering Leah a tissue that had been in her pocket all along. Cynthia and Leah hugged each other for more than a minute, after which Leah stopped crying and wiped her tears. As time had passed, Leah was trying her very best to forget about Nelly and Vic and only hold on to the memories they shared. She decided to do more of the things she loved while meeting people and making new friends. Towards the end of third term, the school hosted a dance competition. The Principal encouraged students to take part in the competition and since it was one of Leah’s favorite things to do, she registered for the competition. On the d-day, she represented her class; SS2B. When it was her turn, Leah displayed her dancing skills and everyone, including her teachers were surprised. They never knew that she could dance so well, and at the end of the day, she came second best while a boy from another school with even more impressive dancing skills came first. She was given a medal and while she went upstage, the entire school applauded her for her courage to even participate in the competition. Leah was determined to put in more practice to improve her skills and do better next time. “I wish my best friends were here to witness this win. If only they had not left me here, with no way to reach them.’’ She lamented to Cynthia as they headed back to class. Cynthia had cheered her all through the competition; even when she wanted to pull out. Her parents were not in town so they couldn’t be there but they promised to make it up to her. “Hmm, Leah it is not your fault that they are not with you now. You never know why certain things happen but don’t worry, everything will be fine someday.” Cynthia replied, hugging her. “Now, let us not ruin this joyous moment, Leah!’’ She was her only companion at this stage of her life and she felt really comfortable telling Cynthia everything that happened because she knew she’d find solace. Some other students came to congratulate Leah including the music students who sang for her and her joy knew no bounds. She had made Villa secondary school proud because that was the first time anybody from the school came that close to winning the annual dance competition. As soon as the bell rang to signal the close of the day, she immediately went to join the school bus as she was really exhausted, she bid Cynthia goodbye, since she was waiting for her Mom who usually picked her up every day after school. “See you tomorrow and congratulations once again, Leah”. The ride home was very smooth and she just wanted to share the good news with her parents later via phone call, freshen up, eat and have a good nap but as she got into the house, there was a surprise waiting for her. Johnson, her senior brother who she had not seen for a year since he went for the compulsory one year service (NYSC) was right there. She quickly gave him a big hug and she could not help but notice how lean he had become. He laughed and attributed it to the stress of NYSC before going ahead to talk about how stressful his Primary Place of Assignment (PPA) had been. They had always kept in touch, but he had been away for one year and she, Leah could not hide her excitement. “Johnson, see, I won a medal today. There was a dance competition in school’’ “Woah. This is beautiful, keep it up!’’ he responded, as he scanned through the medal like he was looking for something. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx Examinations were fast approaching and Leah stopped going to school because her parents were preparing her to write the West African Examination Council (WAEC) exams from SS2 instead of SS3. She had to get extensive coaching lessons outside school and although it was going to be hectic, she was determined to try it. This made some of her teachers and friends unhappy but there was nothing they could do. Leah was also not happy knowing that she was not going to see them again and she was going to miss them because of the love they had showered on her, right from the first day she stepped her feet into the school. The last day that Leah was to visit the school, the students planned a party, they decided to make it a memorial day for her. When she got to school that day, it was Friday, a lecture-free day. She entered the class and saw the class well decorated with a lot of flowers and balloon. She got really emotional burst into tears upon seeing the efforts they put in to throw her a farewell party. It was indeed a memorial day for her because she had much fun in school; they sang, they played games, they gave her gifts and a written note of appreciation for her amazing personality while in school. Cynthia gave a speech, and they all prayed for Leah. Leah wrote the exams and came out in flying colors. This did not come as a surprise because she always came 1st or 2nd position at the end of every academic year in secondary school. She began to have anxiety as she knew that she was not fully ready for university. “University is a big deal. There are more people there.’’ She told herself every now and then. At this point, her parents had commenced preparation for her to go to the university. They encouraged her to not be anxious and talked her out of her fear. They encouraged her to always affirm positivity and believe in her potentials. Leah was admitted into one of the private universities in town to study Computer Science and her father’s joy knew no bounds as he had always wanted one of his children to study the course. Since he had only two and Johnson opted to study Accounting, Leah was his only hope. He told everyone that cared to listen that his daughter was going to be a computer guru and every time he said it, he did with an air of pride. He was the kind of father that celebrated each and every one of his children’s win. Finally, Leah had to leave for school and the night before she left, she could not sleep. She tossed from one point to another as she tried to sleep and on that faithful morning, morning devotion was extra-long. Her Mother spent extra time praying for her as she embarked on her journey. She prayed for God’s guidance and protection, she prayed for good friends, she prayed for a sound mind before she eventually brought the prayer to a close. “All these and more we ask this for, Lord….” “Amen!” They set out very early and finally got to the school entrance. Leah was a bit tensed, as she could sight few students under a canopy. The students she saw were looking so big and scary. She did not want to look like the smallest in their midst, however, they drove into the school and some security officials showed them where to park the car before she alighted to pack her things. There were some students trying to submit their files under a canopy and her brother told her to get her own files and move to the canopy. Leah was really tensed moving to the canopy alone she walked hurriedly to the canopy where some women and men were sitting, they were waiting for the 100-level students who were known as freshers and Leah was among them. They were to submit their files to their respective faculties which was indicated with a write up on each chair. When Leah got to the canopy, she located her faculty and started with the submission of files after which she was done with the procedures and she was checked in. Another car arrived at the gate, and a young girl who was also a fresher came out. Leah turned and stared at the girl, she noticed that the girl was also very young like her, she was a short, dark and pretty girl. “Hi, I’m Leah’’ “My name is Precious’’ the girl introduced herself and Leah later found out that they were headed to the same hostel. Somehow, after this, she disappeared and Leah could not see her anywhere. By this time, her parents had left already after repeatedly telling her to “remember the daughter of whom she is.’’ They also promised to visit her from time-to-time. “Make sure you call whenever you need anything, infact, we’ll be talking everyday’’ Her Mom said before they drove off. Leah knew she had gotten t the hostel when she saw “FEMALE HOSTEL” boldly inscribed at the entrance. She walked into the hostel, saw some girls on a line, and was asked by one of the female porters to join the girls on the line which she did. After few minutes, Leah noticed that another girl was at her back, she turned and realized that it was Precious. “How did you disappear?’’ Leah asked her, smiling. “Oh, I had to go to the administrative block’’. Two girls stood in front of Leah and wrote down their names as instructed by the porter on duty. This was in order to assign rooms to each and every one of them. At the end of the exercise, Leah and Precious names were written under Room 7. “It’s by your right. You will see the number written boldly on the door’’ the porter said, pointing. Her name was Mrs Esse. Leah began packing her things immediately and she found her room in no time. When she got there, she met two girls who were obviously just resuming that day. They had already picked their bunk space. The room was not so spacious and they were supposed to be four, as there were two bunk beds. They all introduced themselves as they went to pack all of their things that were still outside. After all was said and done, Leah remembered that she had not called her parents to let them know that she had found a room and she was settling in. She quickly picked up her phone and called her mom, and after the call, Leah decided to take some rest. As she laid on the bed, she remembered home and everything that had happened up to date, she also remembered her Dad and Mom’s advice, her room mates were already taking pictures to send to their parents. That night was a sleepless one for Leah, because it was her first time sleeping away from home, the following morning, she woke up thinking about her life and all the troubles she will face in the university, for some days, Leah was not comfortable in the school environment but she just had to try her best because she was to stay in that premises for complete four years. Leah was able to make few friends after some weeks and interact with her roommates well enough. Her friends were Christabel and Glory, they were also her course mates. Her roommates never knew she was a dancer until they saw her dancing in the room. Leah became a social butterfly, she loved interacting with anyone she found herself around. One day, Precious left the hostel around 8am and did not tell anyone where she was headed. Leah woke up and noticed that she was not in the room, she thought she must have something important to do that early in the morning. Her other roommate; Magdalene woke up and noticed that Leah was worried, she then asked what the problem was. “I woke up this morning, but I couldn’t find Precious on her bed and she wasn’t in the room either” Leah said. “Ooh, don’t worry about her, I saw her leaving the room around 7am, she said she was going to meet someone.’’ Magdalene assured Leah, although half-awake. Leah was to have a class later that day, so she got ready and left for her lectures. After her lectures, she went back to the hostel but Precious was still not back. About an hour later, they heard a knock at the door and it was Precious. Magdalene and Leah both chorused “where have you been”? Precious was shocked hearing the same words come out of their mouths at the same time. Glory looking like she was lost said “what happened, did I miss anything?’’ Glory was like that. She never fully participated in anything. She was mostly always on her phone, either chatting or surfing the net. They noticed that Precious had goodie bags with her. “Where did you get the bag from?” Magdalene asked immediately. “Let me freshen up first, then I will explain later” They all waited for her and about 20 minutes later, she was done. They all sat to listen and with the goodie bags on the bed, Precious started the gist that her roommates were eagerly waiting to hear. ’’A strange number called me yesterday and when I picked up, it was a guy on the other end. He…..” “I really hope this story ends well’’ Leah interrupted. “Let her finish nau’’ Magdalene said. ‘’He said his name was John and he got my number from the general w******p group chat. We got along pretty well. He further asked if we could hang out together at the meeting yard on campus and I agreed.’’ Precious added, smiling like she had just won a lottery. They were all surprised that Precious would agree to meet the guy without careful consideration. Magdalene questioned her “Precious you didn’t even care to think twice before saying yes to him, you barely know him and you decided to go out as early as 8am to see him that is really weird”. Precious in her defense, said that she felt really comfortable hanging out with him, and besides he just wanted to know her more. Precious asked her roommates if they were interested in the snacks he bought for her. “Woah, he even got you some snacks and you accepted them’’ “What were you expecting me to do? To say no when I was hungry?” Precious fired back. “Please, let us not argue this night, just tell me if you are interested or not. Magdalene was not interested. Leah also wasn’t. She didn’t even know what to say to Precious. She knew for a fact that she didn’t make the right decision by going out with a random boy and even collecting stuff from him. Precious on the other hand, was irritated by their behavior. She felt they were making a mountain out of a mole hill. They all retired to their respective bed, though it was late Precious still ate some of the snacks alone. The next day was a public holiday and around 7:30am, her phone rang. It was John and they spoke for some hours, with Precious giggling all through the conversation. One day, Precious left the hostel and came back very late but she was beaming with joy. Her roommates, curious to know why she was in that mood, asked her the reason for her excitement, and instead she shouted “YES!!!”, and Leah asked “Yes?? Yes what??” She informed them that John asked her to be his girlfriend and she agreed to it. They were all shocked that Precious decided to be John’s girlfriend, even her roommates were not happy about it, but they all faked a smile, apart from Leah who obviously expressed her shock. Leah was in shock because Precious just got into the university and barely one month later, she already had a boyfriend. Leah knew that was the kind of decision she would never make in school because she saw it as a very big distraction from her studies and she had a goal to achieve. She was deeply concerned for Precious and wondered if she would still be having time to study or she would be choked off with this boyfriend thing, as she already was. Leah also wondered what type of guy John was and she was pretty sure her parents were not aware of their relationship. This made her conclude that some students live a life different from what they were taught by their parents, in the university. Leah knew that whatever thing you can’t do at home, it is not meant to be practiced outside of home. Leah took a flashback to the first time she met Precious, she looked like she was from well-to-do Christian home where their daughter won’t practice what was not accepted by her parents, but then she remembered the saying “never judge a book by its cover”. Leah decided to stand firmly on the promises she made to her parents that she won’t let anything come between her and her studies, she would not have a boyfriend, neither would she lose her virginity to any boy until the rightful age, little did she know the temptation that was ahead of her. Leah concluded 100-level and had a very good result that session. Her parents were particularly proud of her. She wouldn’t have guessed what awaited her in her 200 level. Leah was known in her department for being very punctual. Lectures start by 10am but she would be in class about 20 minutes before then, majorly to secure a seat before the halls got filled up. One morning at about 9:45am, Leah was in the class alone, when someone walked into the class, she turned her back to find out who was that and it was a guy she knew right from 100-level ,his name was Felix. This guy was always fond of disturbing her and making her feel so uncomfortable where she was and when he walked in, she was curious to find out his intention, because he wasn’t in the same department with her. She really did not want to have any conversation with him, as she had other things to do. However, Felix walked up to greet her, and she replied him with a fake smile. He stood right behind her and tried to engage her in a conversation. While talking to her, Leah did not feel the need to reply him but for the sake of God she kept on replying him. Little did she know that he had bad intentions towards her. He looked left and right to confirm that they were the only ones in the lecture hall only one at that time and he wanted to take advantage of her. He gradually placed his hand on her waist and she shook his hands off her and warned him sternly to stop. He tried again and this time around, she stood up and hit his hands very hard. “Why are you forming hard to get? This is a normal thing mehn”. He said, rubbing his hands after the hit. “Let this be your first and last time. It’s like you want me to report you to the school authorities.” Leah said, really disgusted at him. While Leah was about to leave the class, Felix dragged her back and as she was about to shout he covered her mouth with the handkerchief in his hand. This time around, he applied more force and she could only try to scream. He carried her to the computer lab that was a class in the same building that they were. Leah was trying her very best to shout for help, but all to no avail and when they got into the lab he locked the door. At this point, she knew she could only beg him to let her go, she started crying while begging him not to harm her, then Felix said “I can’t harm you just co-operate me, you know what I want”. Leah became more frightened by what he said, she begged, prayed silently and kept crying and to her relief, someone knocked on the door. Felix was already disarmed and Leah stood up from the ground where she was begging and quickly ran to open the door, it was the man that normally cleaned the lab around 9am he had forgotten his house key when he finished cleaning earlier, she knew it was the Lord’s doing. Felix was angry that he was not able to have his way and he walked out of the lab although before he left, he warned Leah not to say a word about what happened that morning to anybody. About five minutes later, when some other students came into the building as well. Leah quickly went downstairs to meet her course mates. Christabel noticed that Leah was crying, but she decided to ask her after the class. When they were done with their classes for the day. Christabel decided to walk with Leah to the canteen and then to her room, when they were done from the canteen, they got to the hostel, Christabel went to Leah’s room and then sat on her bed at that time, Leah’s roommates were not yet back from lectures. She saw it as the best time to ask Leah what happened earlier as they were both alone, but before she could ask her, Leah burst into tears and narrated all what happened in class to Christabel. Christabel was shocked and speechless, but she tried her best to calm Leah down. Christabel then smiled at Leah saying “at least God answered your prayers by bringing the cleaner inside”. She then advised Leah not to go for class that early again and assured her that everything will be fine and she shouldn’t think about it. Leah decided to take the advice from her and stopped going for classes that early and alone, then Christabel left Leah room to go freshen up as soon as she left the room, Leah locked the door and laid on her bed while she started contemplating on what happened. Leah had never experienced such thing her life like that before, but she was just happy that the guy did not have his way, this incident made her lose appetite, she had sleepless nights for over a week, she did not say anything about that incident to her roommates. The only person that knew about it was Christabel and she persuaded her not to say anything about it to anyone. Leah called her mom to tell her what happened, her mom also gave her the same advice Christabel had earlier given her even though her Mom promised to come to school the following day to report the matter to the school authorities. He dad was really angry when he heard that he wanted to get Felix arrested. The only problem though, was that Leah did not have any evidence to pin him down. She continued living her life as a normal girl, because she kept on reminding herself that she had a goal to achieve in life and she saw that incident as one of the problem she was meant to face in the university and she is glad that she overcome it, but she thought that something of that nature won’t happen again, she never knew that her life was just starting. One day, Leah got a strange call from a private number, and to her greatest surprise it was Nelly, her longtime friend, Leah froze on the phone for a minute when she heard the voice, she didn’t even know when she let out a joyful scream. They talked for more than an hour, they reminisced on their secondary school days, and Leah told Nelly about everything that had happened in her life so far. Nelly felt pity for her and wished she was by her side, while she explained that she had lost all the numbers on her phone, the main reason why they couldn’t reach her after they relocated. Nelly and Vic had both been admitted into the same university as her. Examination time came for that semester, she started preparing for it, it was tough time for her because a lot had happened so far and she found it very difficult to concentrate on her studies but she just wrote the result expecting a good result at the end, which after two weeks, the school went on break for a month after three weeks of vacation from school, that second semester result was out. Although she didn’t do so well that semester, she was happy that she made a decent GPA and all she needed to do was put in more efforts. Leah was an over thinker who was good at carrying peoples burden for them, she was always worried about others and caring for them, but then in her life ,she was not always happy, but she feels like because she isn’t happy doesn’t mean that she can’t make others happy. Her holiday was not really a stressful one for her, she had little fun at home, she didn’t go out, so when she is alone in her room and having her privacy, is always her best time, because she spends time with herself which is what she loves doing but her parents were not cool with the life she was living in the sense that she doesn’t relate with the people at home, she was the only child that was always eating in the room instead of eating on the dinning with others, when everyone are in the parlor having fun ,she will be upstairs in her room alone, she loved blocking her ears with either ear piece or headset and she would always turn on the volume to the highest in order for her to not hear any other sound apart from her music. She would always listen to gospel songs and sometimes emo music (songs that talk about depression) which she was getting addicted to, the only thing that still kept her moving in life was to fulfil her dream by having a good end. After one month, their school finally resumed for a new session which was when Nelly and Vic were also resuming as freshers (100 level students) her dad began the journey from the house to school and when they got there, she was to follow the normal procedures of the submission of files before entering the hostel. Nelly and Vic got to school before her that day but she did not see them. While she was still busy with her clearance, she heard a voice calling her name, as she turned to know who it was, it was Nelly, she left the line and ran towards Nelly and Nelly did the same thing, they both gave each other a very big hug that lasted for long. Leah was so happy that she could see Nelly face to face again, Nelly burst into tears after seeing her, Leah and Nelly were not able to define their friendship because they were more than friends.