"I will make it; I must make it," Diane said to herself, sobbing silently in her room. Her aunt (her father's elder sister) came earlier that afternoon to visit Diane's parents and was flaunting her children's academic success while Diane was still struggling to gain admission into the higher institution.
"What are you still doing at home when all your friends are in school? Are you still fighting to gain admission? Diane's aunt asked, looking at her scornfully. Diane was looking at her aunt's facial expression, which wasn't good. Diane's parents were not comfortable with the way she was speaking to their daughter, but nothing could be done at that time.
"I'm trying my best, ma, and I believe this time I will make it and gain admission," Diane replied. Her aunt looked at her in disdain. "My first son gained his admission at the age of sixteen; you are far more than sixteen, if I may ask?". Her aunt continued. Diane rose and went to her room, weeping profusely.
Diane's mother was already getting so pissed off with the way Aunt Lolly, as she is fondly called, was talking to her daughter. "How was your trip, Aunt Lolly? You haven't told me how it went; I hope it wasn't stressful." Diane's mother quickly chips in before Aunty Lolly asks Diane another question. But Aunt Lolly wasn't ready to discuss her trip with Diane's mother; she hissed as she continued to murmur. After a while, Aunty Lolly broke the silence by asking Diane's mother what time her husband would be back, who happens to be her younger brother. Diane's mother, who wasn't comfortable with her presence, had no choice but to put up with her attitude before her husband returned from work.
Diane was preparing for her jamb (joint admission matriculation board) examination; therefore, she attended coaching on the subjects she would be writing during the examination. After being indoors for two hours, Diane came out all dressed to go to her coaching class. She called out to her mother to inform her of her leaving when Aunty Lolly began to pressure her again. "Going for coaching class at this age, my last daughter, you know her right, gained admission into a higher institution at the age of thirteen, and she has graduated, serving her father's land at seventeen, and here you are still going for coaching class," she said to Diane. Diane, who was already feeling bad at what her aunt said, bid her goodbye and left the house, slamming the door behind her.
Diane's mother, who had been listening to Aunt Lolly's complaints, came out of the kitchen and said, "You have to understand that these children have different passions; we should allow them to make decisions themselves. I'm glad your daughter is a graduate now; I pray she found a good job with the linguistics she studied, Diane's mother said to Aunt Lolly.
Aunt Lolly, who seemed offended at what Diane's mother said to her, hissed and took the cup of water in front of her as she sipped some. Diane's mother giggled and went back to the kitchen to continue cooking. After an hour, Diane's father returned from work and was surprised to see his elder sister sitting in their living room with her leg stretched on the center table. In exclamation, Diane's father asked, "Sister, what are you doing here? "You didn't inform me that you would be coming." Aunt Lolly looks annoyed over what Diane's mother said; this made her snap at her brother over his question.
"Can't I visit my brother?" Aunt Lolly asks Diane's father. With a smile on his face, Diane's father hugged his sister and asked, "How was your journey, ma?".
Diane's mother came out of the kitchen with a glass of chilled water to greet her husband, who was still sitting with Aunt Lolly on the couch. "How was work today, darling?" Diane's mother asked as she handed the cup of water to her husband, who received it with a smile, saying, "Thanks, honey. Work was hectic, but I survived anyway." Diane's mother chuckled as she headed back to the kitchen.
"My girl must have gone to her coaching class, right?" Diane's father asked as his wife was about to enter the kitchen. "Yes, she left about an hour ago," Diane's mother replied as she entered the kitchen. Aunt Lolly, who had been silent for a while, sighed, which caught Diane's father's attention. "Big sis, why do you sigh that loud?" he asked. Aunt Lolly looked at him pitifully, and this got Diane's father worried. "What's wrong, sis?" he asked again.
"Is this the right way to train a child?" Aunt Lolly asked Diane's father. Because she is your only child, you want to ruin her life, right?" she continued. Diane's father wasn't surprised to hear this because Aunt Lolly always said it whenever she came to visit. Diane's father smiled and replied, "She is just eighteen years of age; why should we rush her?".
Aunt Lolly hissed and continued, "Was that the reason she was writing jamb every year for three years now?" "My children wrote their jamb once, and I am proud of them," she said. This got to Diane's father; he disliked the comparison, but in order not to be rude, he said to his sister, "I'm proud of my daughter too, and at the right time, she will also gain admission." He stood up and then went inside to take his shower.
Diane got back from her coaching class some minutes after her father stood up from the living room. "Mom, I'm back," Diane said as she entered the living room. Seeing Aunt Lolly watch television, she got pissed off because of all the things she said to her on her arrival. "Good evening, ma." Diane greeted Aunt Lolly and went straight to her room, not waiting for Aunt Lolly to reply to her greetings. Diane's mother, who had gone inside to meet her husband after cooking, told Diane's father all the things Aunt Lolly said to their daughter.
After their discussion, Diane's parents went to Diane's room to encourage her to disregard all the insults Aunt Lolly had passed to her. "I know my daughter is intelligent, and when it's time, she will gain admission to the university of her choice to study the course of her choice," Diane's father said, giving Diane a broad smile. Diane, whose eyelids were full of water that was about to flood through her cheeks, hugged her parents and promised to make them proud.
When it was dinner time, Diane had her dinner in her bedroom, as she didn't want to face Aunt Lolly, who might bring another topic to the dinner table while eating. "I will be going back tomorrow morning," Aunt Lolly said to Diane's parents while eating. This made Diane's mother happy, as she didn't want Aunt Lolly to stay a day more. "I will drop you off on my way to work; is that okay with you?" Diane's father asked her sister. "That should be fine; she won't have to board a bus to the park," Diane's mother said with a smile.
After dinner, everyone went to bed, but Diane couldn't sleep; she was flashing back on everything Aunt Lolly said to her in the afternoon. She sobs slightly and says, "I will gain admission to my desired university and study pharmacology, which I've been wanting for a long time." "I will prove to Aunt Lolly that I am intelligent and that delay is not denial." She wiped her tears and picked up her coaching lesson notes to read before she went to sleep.
In the morning, Diane's father helped his sister with her bag into his car and beckoned to her that he was ready to leave. Aunt Lolly, who was still inside the room, opened her door slightly as she walked out majestically. Diane came out of her room to bid her aunt farewell. She was happy that Aunt Lolly was leaving. "Goodbye, ma'am, and my regards to the linguistic teacher," Diane said with a smile. Aunt Lolly wasn't listening to Diane beforehand and suddenly turned back on hearing the linguistic teacher. "Stay home till all your peers graduate and get married," Aunt Lolly said as she hissed and walked outside toward Diane's father's car.
She hopped into the car, as Diane's father was already waiting for her in the car. As soon as she entered, the car zoomed off. "I'm glad she left," Diane said to her mother, who was standing behind her. They both laughed and entered inside.
Diane's jamb examination is a week away, and she has been preparing. On the day of her examination, she woke up early, had her breakfast, took her bath, and rushed down to her examination center. She wrote her examination with the determination to gain admission to Ahmadu Bello University Zaria (A.B.U.), which has been her desired university to study pharmacology.
Her result was going to take 24 hours, and upon getting home, she explained to her parents, who had been waiting anxiously for her return, how she answered all the questions. After 24 hours, her result was sent as an SMS to the number she registered with, and behold, she scored above 300. This gave Diane and her parents immense joy. "I am proud of you," Diane's father said to her.
A few months after completing all the necessary processes, Diane anxiously awaits her admission to the institution. After a long wait, fate finally smiled on Diane; she got admission into Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, to study pharmacology. After resumption, Diane relocated to Zaria for her schooling. She told her parents not to inform Aunt Lolly about her admission. "I want her to come to visit and see that I am no longer home; I want her to come in my final year if possible," she told her parents with a smile.
After two years, Aunt Lolly had an event in the same state where Diane's parents resided and decided to stay at their place. On arrival, Diane's mother welcomed her with a broad smile. "Aunt Lolly, it's been two years; how have you been? We missed you so much, Diane's mother said to her. She sighed as she dropped her bag on the couch, where she was to sit. "My journey was fine; thank you. Where is that your spoilt daughter?" Aunt Lolly asked.
Diane's mother, who had been waiting patiently for Aunt Lolly to ask about Diane, said with pride and a smile, "My daughter is now at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria; she gained admission to study pharmacology, and she is in her second year now. Thanks for asking, ma." Aunt Lolly was dumbfounded as she looked surprised, for Diane's mother did not notice the surprised look on her face. She quickly said, "Get me a cup of water, please."
Diane's mother smiled and replied, "Oh yes, sorry, my bad, you need it." She smiled as she went to get the water. "You need to take water; I'm glad my baby did it after all," Diane's mother said to herself. She brought the water to Aunt Lolly, who had been humbled by Diane's mother's reply. After the event Aunt Lolly came for was over, she returned to her place, and since then she has not come to visit again.
There was a conference at Diane's school, and being the class rep, she was asked to give a speech on how she got to where she was today. This was a big day for her because her aunt put her on a flight to success, which took her to where she is today. "My aunt always taunts me about my delay in getting admission into the higher institution, and this gave me the focus and determination that I needed. To her, she might be insulting me, but to me, she put me on a flight to success.
Thank you for your time and your comments will be appreciated.