It was September again, and the thought of starting a new semester was on my mind. "Now, I have to go to the cafe again to make school fee payments, Document signing, running all around, and all that stuff," I said to my sister; we both attend the same higher institution. I don't know why she wasn't too bothered about this, but I was not the type to visit the admin office to get documents signed.
While we were preparing to return back to school, my big brother (Bro Faith) visited home and was happy we were going back to school. I, for one, wasn't happy about it because it was a new semester. New semesters always come with troubles. "Don't forget to take your boxers," Bro Faith teased me, but he got no reaction from me because I wasn't in the mood. He repeated what he said and got no response again, so he walked towards me and asked what was wrong.
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"Is it because you are resuming back to school you don't want to smile?" I turned my face in Bro Faith's direction after he said those words and stared at him for some seconds, then continued what I was doing. I couldn't blame him because he did not understand what I was about to face in school since he studied outside the country. "Tell me what is wrong," Bro. Faith continues to ask until I finally open up to him. I told him everything that was wrong with my school and how the departmental admin stressed students before signing their document. After a long discussion, he promised to send me a huge amount of money. After I heard the amount of the money, I became energetic and was ready to go back to school.
In a few weeks, I was back to school, expecting the money that was promised. My dad had sent us our school fee, but what did I do? I spent the amount that was promised to me by Bro Faith out of my school fee, making my school fee not to be complete. My sister had paid her, and there was I calling Bro. Faith to check up on him every time. The threat of closing down the school portal so no one would pay their school fee came, and this time I was pressured into asking Bro Faith for the money he promised me.
"What do you mean you spent your school fee because I promised to send you some money? Are you dumb or what?" Those were the words he said to me when I told him, and it hurts so much. He threatened to tell my dad, but after much pleading, he promised not to.
"So how do you want to do it? When do you want to pay?" he asked.
"I will pay when you send the money; you know it's because you promise to send me the money; that's why I spend the school fee. I was calculating the day...."
"Shut up" He said. He did not even allow me to finish my explanation before cutting me short.
"Do you know what you did is stupid?" he started his speech. "The money you haven't seen, you are spending it. That's counting your chicks before they hatch; as a smart person, you don't count your chicks before they hatch." He took a deep breath and then said to me, "I will send you the money tomorrow; make sure you pay the school fee and send me a receipt."
All the hurtful things he said vanished immediately. I heard he would send me the money the following day before they kicked me out of school. I appreciated him, but I learned a very important lesson that year.