Our Future

The Beginning of Fear

Chapter 1.

It was a rainy night. A message was sent to his phone, stating that he should go to the hospital; a patient had been admitted, and his name was assigned as the guardian.

Avram was a young and gentle guy, 25 years old. He rushed to the hospital, where he found a friend from his primary school days. Avram's eyes widened as he asked, "Stacy, what happened?" His face was etched with fear and anxiety.

Stacy's expression was grim. "I was attacked by armed robbers. They robbed us all and killed some people who refused to meet their demands." She paused, then dropped a bombshell: "Solopy was one of them."

Avram's eyes widened in shock. "Solopy?" he repeated, his voice laced with incredulity and questions.

"Yes, Solopy," Stacy confirmed.

Avram fell silent, his mind reeling with thoughts. How could this have happened? Was it a dream, or something more sinister?

Their story began back in primary school, when Solopy and Avram were inseparable friends. They always competed for the top spot in class, often sharing the first and second positions between themselves.

Then, one day, Stacy joined their class. She was a beautiful girl with a captivating smile. Both Avram and Solopy were smitten, but neither dared to confess their feelings to the other.

Stacy was not only beautiful but also brilliant. Her arrival sparked a friendly competition among the three, with each trying to outdo the others.

One day, while their classmates were out playing, Avram found Stacy sitting alone in the classroom. He mustered up the courage to approach her, as he went close to her, he gently managed to sat down near where she was sitting down. His heart was beaten very fast, he then finally opened his mouth saying "Hey you are the new comer they brought last week right? " But Stacy didn't say anything nor even look at him. Avram suddenly became nervous and bugled up, leaving her without saying another word.

The next day, Avram was sitting at home with his father, a civil servant, and his two brothers, Moses and Mark, watching a movie. His dad asked him, "Avram, how are your studies going? It's been a long time since you told me about your classmates and teachers."

Avram smiled and said, "Ba, everything is fine. We have a new classmate named Stacy."

His father smiled and said, "I can tell you're worried about her. She must be very intelligent, right?"

Avram giggled and said, "Actually, I don't really know."

The room fell silent, and they continued watching their movie.

As time passed, they reached Primary 5, the final stage of primary school. Avram and Solopy were still the top students in their class. They were given leadership roles: Avram became the head boy, Solopy became the health prefect, and Stacy became the head girl. All three excelled in both academics and social activities.

One day, Solopy decided to express his feelings to Stacy through a love letter. However, the news spread quickly through the school and eventually reached the headmaster's ears.

The headmaster called Solopy to his office and asked him to bring his parents to school. The next day, after meeting with Solopy's parents, the headmaster addressed the students during the Monday assembly.

As the students gathered, they sang the national anthem and school songs. The headmaster, Mr. Shatima, a calm and composed man, stepped up to the stage.

"Good morning, students," he began. "How are you all doing today? Hope everyone is doing great?"

He paused, then said, "Some students are trying to turn our school into a club. We're here to address that issue."

The headmaster pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and began by saying " if I call your name you should step up on to this stage! Who is Solopy Adams?" Everywhere was so quiet. Solopy, filled with fear, slowly moved towards the stage. His heart was racing fast. With a deep, trembling voice, he said, "Sir, I'm here."The headmaster nodded and said, "You are going to receive 30 strokes of the cane." Solopy, with tears in his eyes, begged, "Sir, I'm very sorry, please."

However, the headmaster ignored his plea and instructed, "Uncle Musa, give him his punishment."

After Solopy received his punishment, the headmaster asked the students, "Do you want me to tell you what he did?"

The students replied in unison, "Yes, sir."

Mr. Shatima nodded and continued, "You see, this young boy, who was sent to school to learn and become a good person in the future, is now sending love letters to girls." The students laughed and giggled.

The headmaster warned, "If such incidents happen again, the punishment will be doubled."

The students were filled with fear that day, and some even stopped interacting with their female friends and classmates.

Avram, after witnessing the incident, decided to distance himself from any interactions with his female classmates.

As time goes on, After completing primary school, Stacy's father was transferred to Osun State in the southwestern part of Nigeria. Meanwhile, Avram and Solopy remained in Yobe State, in the northern part of Nigeria. As a result, Stacy left with her family.

Avram and Solopy were admitted to JSS 1 at the same school in Yobe State, rekindling their close friendship. There, they met a new student named Eric. Eric was a friendly guy, but he had one major pet peeve: he hated it when someone mentioned loving his sister. Ironically, Eric couldn't resist flirting with girls and would often try to woo them when they walked by.

Solopy, being the troublemaker, would often tease Eric by saying, "Eric, I love your sister! Her eyes sparkle like stars, and her smile shines like an ocean. Whenever I see her, my heart skips a beat." Eric would become enraged, and a fight would ensue. They continues like that.

Each of the three students had their own dream career. Avram wanted to become a doctor, Solopy aspired to be an engineer, and Eric dreamed of becoming a pilot. The three students cherished their dreams and worked passionately towards achieving them.

One day, their English language teacher, Aunty Ola, asked them to write an essay on "Where do you see yourself in the next 15 years?" The class fell silent for a moment. Solopy whispered to Avram with a smile, "Guy, it's not easy." Avram whispered back, smiling, "Write about you and Jennifer, Eric's sister." Aunty Ola looked at them and gave them a stern glance, signaling that they should stop or face the consequences.

The next day, Aunty Ola brought the essays to class and said, "It seems like you people don't know how to write even a single correct sentence. Some students exaggerated their future by writing impossible things. For example, Solopy here was busy writing rubbish."

Aunty Ola took out Solopy's essay and read it aloud: "In the next 15 years, I want to see myself in a house built in the sky, where I'll get married to four wives, and all of us will live in the sky."

Aunty Ola closed the essay, looked at Solopy angrily, and said, "Come out and kneel down here."

Solopy stepped forward boldly, without showing any fear, and did as the teacher instructed. Aunty Ola said, "You're feeling big and giant, aren't you? That's why you're behaving like this, right?"

Solopy replied, "No, ma'am."

Aunty Ola asked, "Why did you write this?"

Solopy smiled and said, "It's just what came to my head, and I saw myself as the one in the story, not anyone else."

His words infuriated Aunty Ola, who ordered him to leave the class and kneel down in front of the principal's office.

After sharing Solopy's essay with the class, Aunty Ola met with the principal and reported everything that had happened between her and Solopy.

The principal summoned Solopy to his office and punished him.

When it was time for them to graduate from JSS 1 to JSS 2, Avram received a shocking result in his life, ranking 11th in his class out of 36 pupils. Avram was afraid to show his father the results because he knew he hadn't performed well. If he thought of hiding it, his father would ask him, and he would have to tell the truth about the results.

With many thoughts on his mind, Avram mustered the courage to face his father with the results. "Ba, they posted our results," said Avram. "Wow, that's great! How did you do?" asked his father.

Avram, fearful, opened up and said, "Ba, actually, the results weren't that good. I ranked 11th. I don't know what happened." "You don't know? Probably you wasted your time on things that aren't valuable, right? Anyway, the results are good; just add more effort next time," said his father.