Chapter 5: The Test and The Terms
428 Words
The red pen was gone. But the whispers were not.
“The girl with no father.”
“Aunty’s money will finish one day.”
I heard it in class. I heard it in the bathroom line.
I kept my head down and wrote.
On Wednesday, Mrs. Ade called me to her office.
“Ada,” she said. “Because your fees are now settled, we’ll give you a chance. Pass the SS2 first term test with 70% and above, and I will recommend you for the school’s scholarship board next term.”
My throat was dry.
“Ma, I... I don’t have all the textbooks. And no extra lesson money.”
She nodded. “Do your best. We’ll see.”
That evening, Tolu dropped her Biology and Maths textbooks on my bed.
“Share with me,” she said. “And come to night prep early. We’ll read together.”
The Biology teacher also called me after class. “Take these past questions. Don’t lose them.”
For the first time, the hostel felt less empty.
Saturday was visiting day.
Aunty Ngozi came with a small bag. Garri. Milk. Soap.
I thought she would only smile. She didn’t.
She sat me down under the mango tree outside the gate.
“Ada,” she said. “I’m proud of you for staying in school. But listen to me well.”
My chest tightened.
“The shelter can help you now. But we cannot pay for you forever,” she said, gentle but firm. “When you come home for the holidays, you will help at the shelter. You will learn a skill. Beading. Sewing. Soap making. Something small. So you can hustle for yourself.”
I looked down at my hands. No mother. No father. Now... work too?
She touched my shoulder. “Safe does not mean soft, Ada. It means you’re alive to fight. Do you understand?”
I swallowed. “Yes, ma.”
“Good,” she said. “And this test? Pass it. For your mother. For you.”
Monday came fast.
I wrote with Tolu’s borrowed pen. I prayed it wouldn’t finish mid-sentence.
Math was hard. Biology was okay. English felt like me talking to myself.
When I submitted my last paper, my hands were shaking.
That night I wrote in my book:
_Day 1 of the test. Day 1 of the terms. I have no home to run to. So I will run toward something._
I don’t know if I passed yet.
But for the first time, I have a reason to try.
- Writer
