This prompt reminds me of when I was little. I learned about the saying “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch." I was in JSS1 in my all-girls boarding school back then. I had just turned 11, and I wasn’t very smart.
We were to go on an excursion to a museum in Calabar, and the fee was a sum of 4500 naira for each person. My sister and I pressed our parents that we wanted to go on that trip badly, and they sent us the money a week before the date.
The excursion was scheduled for the following Monday, and my sister and I went to our guardian on Wednesday to get the money so we could pay before the payment window closed, which was late on Friday evening.
“What are you people even going there to see?" our guardian said, seated on the plastic chair behind her desk, searching in her purse while my sister and I stood in front of the desk, waiting for her.
“Take," she said as she finally brought out the money and handed it to both of us. “Make sure you go and pay it now ooo," she said, holding her ear.
“Yes, Aunty," we chorused.
Just as we were about to leave, she stopped us. “Your uncle sent 10,000 naira for you guys, five thousand each," she added.
“Okay, can we call him and say thank you?" my sister asked.
Our guardian nodded. “I forgot to branch the bank, but I will bring the money when I come on Friday," she said as she took her phone and dialed his number.
We called him and took turns to thank him for the money, then left after. I escorted my sister to the art gallery where the excursion payments were made to our art teacher. When we reached the entrance of the art gallery, I stopped and waited for my sister to go and make her payment. She stopped when she noticed I wasn’t following her inside.
“Are you not paying your own now?" she asked.
“Em, no. I want to use it for something," I answered.
“What?" my sister asked, giving me a piercing stare.
“Don’t worry, I will pay it with the money Uncle sent on Friday morning," I replied.
“Hmmm," my sister said like she was about to scold me before going in to make her payment.
I didn’t have any important reason to delay my payment. I just kept on spending the money in the grocery throughout that day and the next. On Friday morning, I checked my guardian’s office for her, but she wasn’t there the entire day. I didn’t know what to do—the payment window had closed.
On Sunday night, my sister came to my hostel to ask how I was going to go about it.
“Maybe I will tell her that they stole the money," I said, racking my brain for an escape.
“When she gave us the money at the same time and told us to pay immediately. What will you now tell her was your excuse for not paying at that time like I did?" my sister said, rolling her eyes at me. “I just knew this would happen and wanted to warn you, but I left you because you don’t like listening to anybody."
“I will tell her the matron called me on the way," I said as I suddenly brightened up with a plan.
My sister looked at me for a few seconds like she was irritated and gave out a sigh of frustration. “You know you can’t tell that kind of lie. Even if I pose as your alibi, she will surely ask the matron, then what will you say next?” she said, sighing again.
"Maybe I will say that…"
“Just avoid her for a week and pray she forgets," my sister cut me short.
The next day, I hid throughout and made sure to avoid the place where they gathered for the excursion because I knew Aunty Uche would be there. I planned to avoid her the entire week as my sister had advised.
Halfway through the week, I was in class, learning, when my seatmate tapped me. “Your guardian is here.”
I looked in horror, and truly, she was walking by the window. I prayed silently that she was just passing by, but I was disappointed when she entered my class.
She started talking with our teacher. My heart pounded so fast I thought it would burst. I started sweating. My hands were shaking as I pretended to be fully concentrated, copying my notes and avoiding eye contact with her.
“Nora."
My heart sank when I heard my name. I was still sitting until she called me again.
“Nora," she dragged my name as she usually did.
“Yes, Aunty," I stood up with my legs already shaking.
“Come," she said, signaling me to follow her outside.
My eyes were already welled up as I imagined what my punishment was going to be. One time I missed assembly and she found out; she added my name to my matron’s list of people who would scrub the gutter. I wiped the small tears that had formed in my eyes before going out to meet her. She examined me from head to toe before removing something from my hair.
“Why didn’t you iron your uniform?" she asked.
On hearing ‘why didn’t you,’ my heart skipped a beat. When I heard ‘iron your uniform,’ I felt more relief and peace than I ever had.
“The laundry queue was too long," I said, trying to keep calm.
“Here is the money your uncle sent. I have given your sister her own already," she said as she handed me the money. After that, she left, and I went back to class.
That night, I told my sister, and she said our guardian had asked her that Monday morning. She had lied that I was pressed and in a hurry back to the hostel, so I didn’t remember to give her the money to pay for me, and that was when the money got stolen.
I was so thankful for my sister that day and also learned not to count my chickens before they hatched.
