Student of the year

PART ONE A NEW SCHOOL YEAR HARRISON ADEDIMEJI Getting back to school after the long holiday was so good. Everyone was happy to have everyone back. My family and I had gone on a vacation in the states. By my family,I mean just my parents because I'm an only child. But of all people I was so exhilarated to see, I couldn't wait to see my best friend,Matthew Peters. Since I joined this school when we came to Lagos three years ago,when I was in JSS3. He accepted me with open arms and asked if I would sit with him,an offer I gladly accepted. Climax Comprehensive High School is a school for the top-notch,but Matthew unlike many others was from an average family. His father was an ordinary civil servant whose only goal was to give the best to his two sons,and the most important thing he intended to give to them was a standard education. His older son, Mark was already in the three hundred level in the university of Lagos, studying mass communication,back here in C.C.H.S was his younger son,who was the best friend I've ever had in the whole of my life. Skipping the introductions,it's the first day of the first time of my final year in secondary and there was a whole lot of things to think about. First and foremost,there was our senior secondary certificate examination to think about. The second that's equally important was the student of the year award. There were other things I look forward to,things like the inter-house sports competition, homecoming, senior prom,our graduation day and our valedictory service amongst all others. But the one I'm most concerned about is the student of the year award. SSCE is not a competition,you just needed to study hard and make distinctions. Being the best graduating student,prom and homecoming Kings were competitive too,but the student of the year is what I really had my eyes for. This competition has broken a lot of relationships which had been built for over five years in less than three months. It was an annual ritual that started ten years ago,three years after the school was founded. The student of the year gets to maintain a reputation in the school. Not everyone knows all the graduates of the school,but everyone knows the name of the last ten students of the years by heart. Two were females while the remaining eight are all males,and for the past four years,no girl has emerged as the student of the year,and with the kind of person I know Georgina to be, she's going to stop at nothing to break the chain. And my dear friend, Matthew? He sure would want to make his father proud too, exactly like his older brother had done four years ago. The competition was very high,but I was certain my only real threats were Georgina and Matthew. It makes more sense to see that there was a commercial student, Matthew,an humanities student, Georgina and a science student,myself, ready to lock heads. The three of us had emerged as the best in our various departments at the end of the last school year and Georgina was the overall best student,but this time around,I'm not ready to allow any of them take what I'm very sure, rightfully belongs to me,but most importantly,I don't want anything at all to break my good relationship with Matthew. "Hi, Harry." Matthew called as I found my seat next to his. " Hey, Matthew." I hugged him passionately." How was your holiday?" " It was awesome. I spent it with Mark at the university and it was awesome. I can't wait to be in a university myself,it was all fun." Matthew admitted,and the smile on his face was an evidence." So,how was Washington?" " Oh my God! It was splendid. I enjoyed every bit of my holiday there. You know I actually saw the White House and I took pictures of it you can see them when you come over to my place. There are lots of different places of interest,you could see." I offered. " Of course,I'll come over this weekend!" Matthew promised. That was the relationship between Matthew and I,we were well known to each other's parents and Matthew's brother, Mark was also fond of me. However my parents liked Matt so well because he was as intelligent as I ,maybe even even more. Before I got to C.C.H.S ,I was unbeatable in my previous school and my father was usually very proud. He always took it upon himself to be present at my graduation party. It really means so much to me, seeing both my parents there for all my prize giving days,when almost everyone else had only one parent to represent them. Since joining C.C.H.S,I always went home with a prize,but I know what my father wanted, although he never really said it to me. At the end of J.S.S3 when I first joined the school,I took the prize for the first position in my school, Matthew and Georgina tied for second position,while another boy in our class, Christian was the third. But since we got to S.S.S1,it had always been a different story. Yes I was always the best in the sciences,both years,and best in almost all the science subjects, especially Mathematics,but Matthew and Georgina had claimed the overall for the last two years respectively,and I found out Matthew was still three points ahead of me in the last year,which makes me the third or probably fourth or fifth, supposing there were other excellent students from one or both departments. Thanks to the fact that they didn't call put second and third positions. I promised myself this year was going to be very special. Although,there were other requirements for the student of the year award,our level of intelligence is a very big advantage for all of us. The bell rang for assembly,and we filled out. The morning devotion at school was something I've never gotten used to,and I'm very grateful I'm almost done in secondary school. We do morning prayers are home,but there's something about this one in school that I really don't like. After what looked like forever of the morning devotion we moved to the national anthem and school anthem part,another part I never liked. I know for sure that I don't know my school's anthem, but I'm not sure I really remember the national anthem because I almost never recites it,thanks to my classmates who always have something to discuss on the queue at that moment. " Have you seen train to Busan? I saw it during the holiday,I cried a river." I heard Bode call to Ladi. " Yes, I did,but it wasn't during the holiday,I saw it last year. I got emotional too,but there were only few drops of tears and nothing more. It's just a movie,they acted it, nothing like that happened to the actors." Ladi replied. " If the motive of that movie was to get wamter in our eyes,they succeeded,because that's my idea of tragedy." I intervened. " Well,I love the movie,but it divulges the unwanted truth that it's not always really good to be nice. Did you see what happened to the train driver because he offered to help that self-centered and egocentric man?" Bode recalled. " I don't like what happened,but he surelywould be rewarded!" Matthew chipped in. " After death?" Bode argued." I don't like the sound of that,all I know is he would have been better off if he hadn't helped the man." " Well,that's selfishness,and who knows what would have happened if he didn't help him anyways. And if they were all selfish from the onset,there would have been no survivor,none at all. Did you see what that woman did when she saw what happened to her cousin?" Another boy, Williams added. " Yes,served them right! They were very selfish. After those people took the pains of locating their cars,they ended up turning them out,that was stack wickedness. They got what they deserved!" It was Christian. Now I began to wonder if we wouldn't be fished out because it was becoming more like a family meeting, I'm positive very soon,all the boys on the queue would join in the conversation,the girls too probably and I wonder if someone would not start crying after recollecting the movie. " You know where I started crying? When the only two survivors got to Busan,and those soldiers aimed their guns at them,I really thought they would shoot them,but that girl started singing and I felt so relieved. It felt like I was with them. I would rather call mine tears of joy and relief." Stanley added. " Maybe Train to Busan is a movie we all saw,but I'm not sure I want to start my SSS3 with punishment."I warned matter-of-factly." I don't know about the rest of you but I really am in the middle and I don't think Mr Lanre would listen to any blabbering!" For the very first time,I hated the conversation that came up during the anthems period. We were truly all standing at attention but I can see the principal looking in our direction. "We're in SSS3 now,we can't be punished." Ladi retorted arrogantly. " Maybe that's what you think,but if we're truly fished out,I have a feeling we won't be left unpunished." Wale,who obviously hadn't been interested in the conversations seconded me. " I won't be surprised if someone starts crying merely by reminiscing that movie,and Mr Lanre comes here, because he knows something is going on and all he need is a lead before he's all over us" Everyone kept quiet after that,but I didn't hear anyone recite the school pledge, although we all had our hands on our chest. "Good morning everyone." Mr Lanre,the principal addressed the assembly once he stepped on the assembly platform. He seemed that be exceptionally interested in us. "Good morning sir!" The whole school replied thunderously. " Welcome back to school everyone. I believe you all enjoyed your holiday because you all are looking healthier than you did last term." He smiled and we all did too. " This year,like every other year, I promise will be extremely interesting ,but the school management,your teachers and myself have plans to make it more interesting. What do you all think about that?" " We like it, we're looking forward." Everyone was saying a lot of things but those were the loudest. " And as for our seniors" He paid attention to us now." This is going to be a year you'll have to relive and retell to your generations especially those of you who manage to make it through to the final parts of the student of the year competition. " And here's a surprise for you. This year,the reward for the student of the year is not going to be just the usual cup,a million naira and a Nigerian scholarship,it's going to be an awesome trophy,a million pounds and a scholarship to study your desired course in the university of Oxford,as far as it's offered there." I suddenly looked up at him. We all were extra interested all of a sudden. The money and scholarship abroad is one more reason to make sure of that. That means whoever becomes student of the year automatically becomes a billionaire. A billionaire before eighteen was something I really find amazing and of course I want to be just that. Now more than ever,I was determined to claim this award. Nothing would stop me. I'll renew my preparations. "But you know,as it is often said,a tasty soup is a result of a fat pocket.'obe to dun,owo lo paa'! The competition vis going through be very tough,and I advise each and everyone of you start spending more time with your mothers or maids in the kitchen, because you're all going to cook,it's part of your competition." That was an absolutely novel idea." That's all I'm at liberty to divulge. I won't cross my precinct,but I want you all to put in your very best. Anyone could claim it. All you need is the determination." Today was all about us." At closing hour,I want to see each and everyone else of you in my office,is that taken?" At that moment,no one had any idea it was to speak about becoming prefects. I got the hint when five SSS2 students joined us. Then they told some of my classmates to excuse us. They told us we were shortlisted mainly because of our intelligence,but our tidiness, punctuality and code of conduct really helped us. After a very long speech from Mr Lanre and some of the teachers, encouraging us to be modest and at the same time disciplinary,and how we were expected that carry our what was required of us,they gave each of us a tiny sheet of paper. We were meant to keep it a secret from one another but the moment I saw mine was Assistant Head Boy, I needed no soothsayer to know Matthew was the Head Boy. And Georgina would no doubt be the Head Girl. Busola jumped for joy when she saw her prefectorial post,when we stepped out of the principal's office. It really meant so much to her. We were both going to be Assistant students,but unlike her I wasn't thrilled,in truth,I saw no big deal in it,I just couldn't reject it. This was like a setback to me already as my ambition this year was to be second to none. I tried to look happy anyways. The following morning when we were called our and introduced to the rest of the students as prefects,I just looked on,unlike Matthew and most if the others,who were all smiles. The greater population of the prefects were guys,which was no surprise to me as Georgina was the only female who had been amongst the top eight in the whole class. She was a Mary Slessor for beating us all and emerging first the previous year. Busola,the assistant head girl, Rachael,the female sports prefect,Bimbo and Tolani,the female punctuality prefects,Stella,the female social prefect,and the only girl from SSS2,Modupe, who was one of the assembly prefects were the only females on the list. In total,we were thirty. Twenty-five from our class,with nineteen of us boys and the remaining five from SSS2. I still couldn't decipher why forty-seven classmates of mine were left out and they chose five prefects from SSS2. Maybe they wanted them to learn from us,but becoming a prefect teaches you what you need to know without anyone teaching you or ringing it in your eardrums. I didn't learn much from the seniors when I was one of the labour prefects throughout the previous school year. But while the seniors were away, preparing and writing their exams ,the six of us from my class were actually the stand-in prefects. Maybe that's why we have them in our midst. Anyways,I got a prefectorial position that wasn't my choice,but I had to accept it because there was no alternative. For the first few weeks we acted and instilled fear interested the other students, to including the rest of our classmates, God knows how it was done,but the population of latecomers decreased tremendously. All that came to an abrupt end when we resumed after the mid-term-break. That was when the student of the year competition kicked off. Everyone of us lost total interest in acting as prefects,we had to prepare for the first part of the competition,which was the aptitude test. This test was going to shortlist thirty-two of us leaving only forty to move on to the next part of the competition. Almost half of the class was going down,but no one wants to leave the game so fast,not with a million pounds and Oxford at stake!!