Addicted Nymph

High School

I attended a private high school. It was located three miles outside town. It was the only decent one around. And papa, no matter how stressful it was, always wanted the best for me. My school had everything a modern school would have. We had music clubs, an art and drama club, a debate club, a chess club, a library, and a science club. Our school also participates in different sports. We had a football team, a basketball team, a volleyball team, a tennis team, and a soccer team.

My class was located on the southwest corner of the school. It was not too big and, at the same time, not too small. Inside the classroom was a mixture of paints. Some parts were colored pink while other parts of the wall were colored blue. Looking outside my class’s window, you could see Mr Bagshaw’s office. He was the principal. I always sat in the first row. Our tables were single, so I did not have to share them with anyone. It was all mine and I loved it that way.

I was the youngest in the class. I was four foot five and I had a very tiny body. One that could pass for a sickle cell child. This made the whole class make fun of me. I was the laughing stock of the class. This was another reason I pushed myself. I wanted to have the last laugh.

I had a best friend named Elizabeth. She was 2 years older than I was. She was friendly and fun to be with. She wasn’t as brilliant as I was, but she was not a dullard. If I carried first in class, she would carry 5th. She was encouraging. She always pushed me to give my very best. In school we were always together. It was impossible to see one without the other except when she was in cheerleading practice. Most times she was also my lab partner. We did homework together.

Another favorite person of mine was my class teacher, Miss Matilda. She was light-skinned. Her hair was long and blonde. Her smile was so calming. She was what you would describe as an angel in human form. She was kind-hearted and caring. She always made sure we were physically and emotionally sound. During the holidays she takes time to call parents to check up on the kids.

I was part of the stem team. To me it was the best, as we got to build amazing things. I have always been a fan of science right from a tender age. When I was small I would always watch my daddy fix things that had stopped working. It felt like watching a magician performing tricks. This made me start to break open my toys that Papa got me to find out what makes them function. Dad had quickly noticed the passion I had for science early enough and enrolled me in science classes from age five. It all started from connecting two wires to a battery to produce light to fixing the capacitor of the fan if it stops rotating. This helped me a lot in school and it was reflected in my results. Once, I came second in a science fair. I built a mini volcano. I felt bad because it took me four good weeks to make the volcano.

And I felt I did more than the boy who came first. All he did was a simple circuit.

I was on track to becoming an honor student. My grades were perfect. My attendance records were top notch. I was what you would call a model student. I was in my final year of high school . I was full of excitement as I was about to enter college. It was all I could think about. I could not hide my excitement as I told everyone that cared to listen. School was about to end. I knew there was nothing that could hinder me from achieving my goals.

Excited about college, I took time out to visit prospective schools. I chose to check out schools far from home. I felt like I had spent all my life in that neighborhood and wanted to be free. This idea didn't sit well with mum and dad. They were used to having me around and the thought of not seeing me for three months scared them a lot.

All their talk and pleas did nothing but fall on deaf ears. Nothing in the heavens and earth could keep me in this God-forsaken neighborhood anymore and getting into one of those universities was my ticket out of here, I thought to myself. During the holidays, I decided to check out five universities. These included Ambrose Ali University, Rivers state university, Bells university, Redeemer's university and finally Covenant university. All the universities looked great and picking one of them was one of the hardest decisions I had ever made at that time. So I dug a little deeper and found out that only Bells university and Covenant university had good science programs.

It was after that I wrote application letters to both universities in the hope that I would get a reply from at least one of them.

Weeks had passed and I had not gotten a reply from either university. It looked like my application was being denied. For the first time in my life, I felt like a dullard. I kept asking myself questions like was I not good enough, did I make a mistake in the application? My mind was getting restless, but thank goodness for Elizabeth. She was my pillar. She kept encouraging me, telling me everything was going to be good.

It took five weeks for me to get a reply from covenant university. They looked at my application and decided to grant me admission. I was ecstatic and could not hide my excitement. My dreams were finally beginning to actualize. Two weeks later, the postman brought home a letter. On opening it I found out it was an admission letter from Bells university. Now I felt like a princess. I now had the privilege to pick whichever one I wanted. It was like I was in Disneyland.

Making a decision took a while. This was the hardest decision of my life. Both universities looked like the ideal choice. And whichever I picked, I knew it would be great. After much contemplation, I decided to accept covenant university’s admission. All i had to do now was wait for graduation day.