"The test is by 7 tomorrow morning. If you arrive after 7:00 a.m., you won't be allowed to enter the hall. You can go and report me to the school authority, because that's what you guys know how to do" Mr. Akpos, our Hydrology lecturer, ended his class with such information that sounded more like a warning. He tucked his trousers to the top of his stomach, giving the accurate display of a no-nonsense lecturer, and he walked out of the class.
Everyone of us walked out of the class after him. I and my roommate, Kenneth, headed home as we discussed our preparation for the next day's test.
We got home, freshened up, had our dinner, and when it was night, we stayed awake reading for the test in order not to be handicapped. We went to bed around 1:00 am and scheduled the next day as follows: wake up by 5:00 am, have a final touch on our books, prepare, and leave the house, unfailingly on or before 6:30 am.
As programmed, the alarm rang at exactly 5:00 am. I woke up and tapped Kenneth, "Guy, wake up."
"Oh ooo! Is it 5 a.m. already?" He stretched his legs and hands out of dreamland, looking frustrated.
A few minutes into our revision, the heaven opened its windows and a heavy downpour began. The rain was so heavy that the roof was crying for mercy. We stayed put and continued our revision, hoping the rain would stop before 6:30 a.m., but that never happened.
"Bro, are you thinking what I'm thinking? This rain should continue till 1:00 a.m. because, although I've read, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for this test". Kenneth spoke in a loud voice, trying to beat the sound of the rain.
"You don't want the rain to stop? What if the Lecturer enters the rain to go to school?" I talked back, and before I knew it, Kenneth had already left his seat to bed. He's tired of reading and wants to feel the melancholic sound of the rain on top of his soft bed.
From the bed, he replied, "It's not possible; remember, Mr. Akpos does not have a car. He'll be stuck like us too."
Upon hearing those convincing words, I closed my book and landed on my bed. Thank God for the weather.
It got to 6:40 am, and it was still raining, and we had concluded that there was no way Mr. Akpos would enter the rain to school for his test. So we launched ourselves deep inside the blanket.
Suddenly, my phone rang and it was Jessica, a departmental mate.
"Cypher, where are you? Mr. Akpos just arrived, and he's about to conduct his test, although..." the call was abruptly interrupted.
"Kenneth, Jessica said Mr. Akpos is in class ooo!" I screamed at Kenneth, and all he could say was "how? It's not possible! Call her again, maybe she's pranking us."
I picked up my phone and dialled Jessica's number, and I got the devastating automated response: "the MTN number you're trying to call is switched off". Oh! Her phone went off while we were making call.
It was 6:50 a.m., and we were left with just 10 minutes for us to get to school. There's no way we will see a bike to take us to school because of the rain.
At that time, bathing would last for eternity. We hurriedly brushed our teeth, dressed up, and came out to the corridor to meet a large flood of water on our front yard while the heavy and aggressive drops of water were making the flooded scene dance in a scattered manner.
The rain was so intense that 1 sec inside would get us drenched.
Out of anxiety, I checked my phone for time and saw 7:03 a.m., and I almost fainted.
Kenneth went back to the room and came back within 2 minutes with a black nylon on his hand while putting on just a short pant, a top and a pair of slippers.
The surprisingly look I gave to him made him feel embarrassed.
"Are you just looking at me? Won't you go and change?" His face chimed as he said that. I rushed in, pulled off, and folded the clothes Inside a black nylon while I wore just a nicker, a top, and slippers.
Immediately I came out, Kenneth ran inside in the rain, and I followed him without hesitation.
We ran inside, jumping in the floods and splashing the water like horses going to war. We didn't bother passing through the main road to look for a bike because they wouldn't be available. We took the shortcuts, and within some minutes of running, we landed on the school premises. The security men gazed at us, but we didn't mind; the only thing we were aiming for was to meet the test, even if it was just 1 minute, just to get our names among those that wrote the test.
We ran further to the front of our class to meet some of our coursemates outside, looking and laughing at us.
We thought they had concluded the test, but to our surprise, Mr. Akpos postponed the test because he chose to be considerate and merciful to the people who couldn't make it.