I grew up in a family with already set educational standards. My dad was a strict academic and he wanted all his kids to follow suit. For so many years we did. We were always top three in our classes. If we had anything less than that–which we never dared have– we were seriously disciplined. However, whenever we came top three, we usually got whatever we wanted.
This incentive alone was enough to compel the scholar in me. I remember starting each school session with a prize in my head. "At the end of this term, I would request for a Barbie house or a toy laptop".
Things took a sharp twist during my third year in elementary school. I had friends who I walked around school with. We basically went everywhere together; we were that close. However, another friend of mine from home,John, was transferred to my school. At that point, I was at a crossroad. My female friends were studious people but they started sometimes, they were too serious. John on the other hand was fun to be with but wasn't so much of a bookworm. I made my decision not knows how it would end.
For the whole of that session, I kept hanging out with John. At home we were playing, in school, we were still playing. It was fun. For weeks, I neglected my studies. Why study when we could play all day?
Soon enough, the results for that session came out and my teacher summoned me.
"Wongi, is everything okay at home? Mrs Maryanne asked. It was evident that I had just come from the playground as I was all sweaty and tattered.
"Yes Mrs Maryanne" I answered.
"How about in school? Do you have any problems? With the teachers? Do you understand what they teach?" She asked once again.
"I have no problems in school Mrs Maryanne and I totally understand everything my teachers teach me" I said.
"Then can you tell me why your grades are so low?" Mrs. Maryanne asked as she picked up my result slip from her desk and pointed to my position.
"Tenth position!" I gasped. I was in deep soup. Nothing felt interesting at the moment. "Madam, there must have been a mistake," I stuttered.
"I thought there was a mistake too and so I checked all your grades and truly this is your position" she paused to look at me before saying " I believe you can do better but your father would be really disappointed in you".
I knew he would be disappointed in me. Fear, mixed with regrets enveloped me. Thoughts of what to do to salvage the situation at hand kept running through my mind.
"Do I tell my dad that Mrs. Maryanne misplaced my result? Or maybe she didn't give it to me?"
I walked out with my result slip in my hands and the first person I saw was John.
"Hey John, what position did you take?" I asked, seeking solace.
"I took third position" he responded happily.It was funny how John never sat down to read but came top in class.
"How about you? He asked.
I showed him my result slip "my dad is going to kill me" i said.
"Or not," he responded.
"What do you mean by 'or not' " I inquired.
"You could clean out the zero(0) with your saliva, leaving you with only one(1). This would automatically mean that you took first position.
That idea sounded genius and so I immediately did it. Few minutes later,my dad came to pick us (my sister and I) up from school.
In the car, he started giving my sister,who took second position, a speech on how she can do better next time. All this while, I was in a dilemma. My sister took second position and she got a lengthy speech. I took tenth position, what did I expect to get.
"How about you Wongi, what position did you take?" My dad asked.
"First position" I lied. My haunted expression immediately gave me away.
"Let me see your result slip."
I handed the result slip to my dad. He took one glance at it, noticed what I did but still decided to play along.
"That's my girl! You have broken a record. I'm so proud of you".
I feigned a smile because I knew that I wasn't deserving of those compliments. It was a silent ride home. On arrival at home, my dad asked me to wait for him in his room and I did as instructed.
Few minutes later, he came in and started another lecture on how lying was a very punishable offense and also, tampering with official information was also a grave crime. He went on and on for about an hour and after that, he asked me to go fetch the cane I would like to be flogged with. Thought he would leave out the flogging part? Nah, he didn't.
I learnt a big lesson on peer influence that period. The next session, I avoided John with all my might and lucky enough for me, my female friends welcomed me back with open arms.
Love, Wongi✨
