THE DAY JOSHUA WAS HUMILIATED
1468 Words
CHAPTER THREE
THE DAY JOSHUA WAS HUMILIATED
By Thursday morning, Joshua had already worked two afternoons at Mr. Emmanuel's mechanic workshop.
The work was difficult, but he did not complain.
After school, he would hurry to the workshop, change out of his uniform, and spend several hours sweeping the floor, cleaning tools, carrying heavy parts, and watching the older mechanics repair vehicles.
Mr. Emmanuel had not promised him much money. In fact, he had told Joshua from the beginning that he was only helping when he could.
Still, Joshua was grateful.
For the first time, he was learning that opportunities did not always arrive looking like opportunities.
Sometimes they came disguised as hard work.
Sometimes they came with tired hands and aching feet.
Sometimes they began with someone simply saying, "Come back tomorrow."
Joshua had saved almost every naira he received.
He kept the money inside a small envelope hidden beneath his mattress.
It was nowhere near enough to pay his school fees.
But it was something.
And something was better than nothing.
On Thursday afternoon, while Joshua was working beneath an old Toyota, he heard someone calling his name.
He looked up.
It was his mathematics teacher, Mr. Adewale.
The teacher had come to the workshop to repair his car.
Joshua quickly stood up and wiped his hands against his trousers.
For a moment, embarrassment washed over him.
He wondered what his teacher thought.
A student who was supposed to be preparing for examinations was spending his afternoons in a mechanic workshop.
Mr. Adewale stared at him.
"Joshua?"
Joshua nodded.
The teacher looked at his dirty clothes, then at the tools scattered around him.
"You work here?"
Joshua explained that he had taken the work because he needed money for his school fees.
The teacher's expression softened.
He told Joshua that he understood the difficulty, but reminded him that education was important.
Joshua nodded.
He already knew.
What he didn't know was how to keep his education when his family could barely afford to survive.
Before leaving, the teacher quietly gave him some money.
Joshua tried to refuse.
The teacher insisted.
It wasn't enough to solve his problem, but it brought Joshua closer to his goal.
That evening, he returned home with a little more hope.
His mother was preparing food when he entered.
She looked at his dirty clothes and smiled.
"You've been working again."
Joshua nodded.
She shook her head gently.
"You should be resting."
"I can rest after I succeed."
His mother laughed softly.
"You sound like an old man."
Joshua smiled.
For a brief moment, the house felt warm.
Then someone knocked on the door.
It was the school bursar.
Joshua's smile disappeared.
The woman stood at the entrance holding a file.
She asked for his mother.
Joshua's mother wiped her hands and came forward.
The bursar explained that Friday was the final deadline for outstanding school fees.
Joshua stood quietly behind his mother.
He could feel his heart beating faster.
His mother pleaded for more time.
The bursar shook her head.
She said the school had rules and could not make exceptions for everyone.
Joshua's mother promised that she would make payment as soon as possible.
The woman finally left.
The door closed.
Silence filled the room.
Joshua looked at his mother.
She looked exhausted.
"I'll find the rest," Joshua said.
His mother did not answer.
That night, she cried quietly.
Joshua pretended not to hear.
But he heard everything.
Friday arrived too quickly.
Joshua woke before dawn and counted the money he had saved.
He spread the notes across the floor.
He counted them once.
Then again.
Still not enough.
He sat there for several minutes.
His eyes remained fixed on the money.
It represented days of hard work.
Sweat.
Fatigue.
Hope.
But it was still insufficient.
Joshua placed the money back into the envelope.
Then he got ready for school.
As he walked through the school gate, something felt different.
He noticed several students standing together near the administration building.
A teacher was speaking to them.
Then Joshua saw his own name on a list.
His heart dropped.
He knew immediately what it meant.
He walked toward the office.
The bursar looked at him.
"Joshua, your fees have not been paid."
"I have some of the money."
"Then bring the balance."
"I will."
"When?"
Joshua hesitated.
"I need a little more time."
The woman shook her head.
"The deadline was yesterday."
Joshua looked around.
Several students were watching.
"I've been working to raise the money."
The bursar's voice became louder.
"That is not the school's concern."
The words cut deeply.
Joshua lowered his head.
He wanted to disappear.
The woman continued explaining that he could not sit for the examination until his fees were settled.
Then something happened that Joshua would remember for the rest of his life.
A student nearby laughed.
Another whispered something to his friend.
Soon, several students were looking at Joshua.
One of them said loudly that Joshua should simply leave school if he could not afford it.
The laughter that followed felt louder than anything Joshua had ever heard.
He stood there frozen.
His face burned.
He wanted to respond.
He wanted to defend himself.
But the words would not come.
He simply picked up his schoolbag and walked away.
He found an empty corner behind one of the classroom buildings and sat down.
For several minutes, he stared at the ground.
A tear rolled down his cheek.
He quickly wiped it away.
He was angry.
Not at the students.
Not even at the bursar.
He was angry at his situation.
He was tired of being the poor boy.
Tired of explaining.
Tired of borrowing.
Tired of watching his mother struggle.
Tired of pretending that everything would be fine when he wasn't sure it would.
For the first time, Joshua wondered whether continuing was worth the pain.
Perhaps the boys at the market were right.
Perhaps he should leave school and find a full-time job.
Perhaps dreams were luxuries for people who could afford them.
He opened his schoolbag and pulled out his old Bible.
He had carried it with him for years.
He opened it without knowing what he was looking for.
His eyes fell on a familiar passage.
"Be strong and courageous."
Joshua read the words again.
Then again.
He sat quietly.
The verse did not magically solve his problems.
It did not put money into his hands.
It did not pay his school fees.
But something inside him became calmer.
He closed the Bible.
"I will not give up," he whispered.
This time, he wasn't saying it because he felt strong.
He said it because he had decided that his circumstances would not make his decision for him.
That afternoon, Joshua did not go home immediately.
He went to the mechanic workshop.
Mr. Emmanuel was repairing an engine when Joshua arrived.
The older man looked at him.
"You're early."
Joshua explained what had happened at school.
Mr. Emmanuel listened without interrupting.
When Joshua finished, the mechanic remained silent for a moment.
Then he told him something Joshua would never forget.
He explained that everyone starts somewhere.
Some people begin with money.
Others begin with knowledge.
Some begin with connections.
Others begin with nothing but determination.
The difference, he said, was not always where a person started.
It was whether that person was willing to keep moving.
Joshua listened carefully.
Then Mr. Emmanuel offered him more hours at the workshop.
It would mean less time for studying.
But it would also mean more money.
Joshua accepted.
From that day forward, he began working harder than he had ever worked before.
School in the morning.
Workshop in the afternoon.
Studying late at night.
Sometimes he fell asleep with his books open beside him.
Sometimes his body hurt so badly that he wanted to stay in bed.
But he continued.
Weeks passed.
The examinations drew closer.
Joshua's situation remained difficult.
Yet something had changed.
The humiliation he had experienced did not destroy him.
It became fuel.
Every time someone reminded him that he was poor, he remembered that poverty was a condition—not a permanent identity.
Every time he looked at his worn-out shoes, he remembered where he wanted to go.
Every time his mother struggled to put food on the table, he remembered why he could not afford to quit.
Joshua had no idea what the future held.
But he had made a decision.
He would keep walking.
Even if the road was painful.
Even if people laughed.
Even if nobody believed in him.
He would keep walking.
Because somewhere deep inside, Joshua had begun to understand a truth that would shape the rest of his life:
A person's circumstances may explain his struggle, but they do not have to write his ending.
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