SOURCE; Pixabay
The ticking sound of the wall clock distracts his sleep; some days he slept peacefully, while other days he had his father’s voice resounding in his head. Your clock is ticking; you can never be fed forever, nor would you remain young; walking hard now paves a way for you whether you believe it or not. As Mr. Ben would say, advising his eldest son Ben, whom he names after himself, your siblings follow your footsteps, and the least you can do is show them the path to follow.
The echoing of the words and the ticking sound of the clock made him develop insomnia most nights. He had let his family down, though his dad would say, Ben, you let yourself down. I have accomplished most things in life that are left for you.
Due to the complex system and the competition that accompanies the admissions process, Mr. Ben enrolled Ben in a direct entry program, which was more like Jamb but trains the student way better; the program lasts for less than a year.
Ben did poorly at the end of the program, which made his dad so displeased. His love surpasses his anger, giving him another opportunity for the program. Ben’s guilt ate him up mostly at nights, reminding him he needed to do his best, and his best must be good enough to reflect in his final results.
In his first attempt, he did set his goals and focused on them, though most of his peers he met later down the journey told him to live a little, found every means to pull Ben out of his good ways, he hardly showed up for classes, disconnected from his good friends, and with his new gang, they took turns hanging out at each other’s apartment and went to every party whether it required their presence or not.
Most times Ben experienced certain grief drifting from his morals, but pleasing his friends so he wouldn’t be seen as cranky made him keep going. His initial experience with smoking, he coughed to a point of nearly giving up due to the medical condition he suffered from, but still he barely learned and kept hanging out with them.
Two incidents after clubbing at night he nearly lost his life, one occurred during their return where they were mistook for thieves who raided a night street, while in the second event they got robbed by the most brutal thieves in that community.
At the end of the program, his grades were really bad, and he did also realize his group of friends are an old bunch of students from previous sets who live for the misery of other students; they swore to lead other students astray in every set being admitted; unfortunately for Ben, he falls a victim.
Ben was filled with regret but decides to fuel them into his second chance. He was most grateful to his dad for fighting his mom against all odds and believing in him once more.
He relocated to a new apartment, serving the cord with his gang, turning a new life.
He rewrites his story with his right hands. Confides in God to help him adjust his bad ways and surrounds himself with people who believe that their future is worth fighting for. His major priority was his education, no longer pleasing his friends; he extended his reading hours, attended classes regularly and did assignments immediately without procrastination, and set up classes for his colleagues who were behind in class; this helped him understand some courses better; he minimized his digital distractions and summarized key points for easier access; he had group revision after reading with a few students who were close to him; this made recalling easier; he sometimes spoke to himself on his way back from school about anything to get him hooked on his studies.
His efforts were already reflected in his grades; most of the internal examinations conducted, he performed excellently well. His could not express his profound gratitude for his father's encouraging words that made him feel at ease for his final exams.
The month of his exams arrives faster than he could imagine; he faces his fear in the best way, though traumatized from the previous one; he tries to do his revision during the nights so he can recall properly.
The exam hall was set up with hidden cameras, and students were cautioned not to communicate with their neighbors, not be involved in any form of examination malpractice, or their results would be withheld.
Ben had successfully answered his questions, leaving early to rest for his papers the next day. On arriving at home, he collapsed on his bed, sleeping till evening. Later that evening, he picked up his past question, flipping through the questions once more. Unknown to him, he forgot to submit his answer booklet and only discovered it that evening. He rushes to school, and fortunately for him, the supervisors were still around.
Ben fell on his knee, narrating his story to them. Initially, he was given a cold shoulder, but after several pleas, the cameras were reviewed, and he was found to have answered his questions in the hall. God always comes through for the innocent. One of the supervisors interceded on his behavior, and his mistake was forgiven.
At the end of the program, results were released, and he did perfectly well...