The Struggle: A Story

Written by: Emelogu Godswill Chimaihe

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Part I

"Hello Chris, I just checked mine, I made 4 As, 2 Bs and 3 Cs, how about you"?

And there you are, all your bodily hairs raised and firm as though they could be breakable. The ball of eba inside your mouth has become too heavy to swallow and every trace of appetite you had has just disappeared like a flash.

There you are, wondering what could be held up in the internet concerning your WAEC result. You begin to wish there was a miracle that could make your result as nice as Kolas. Then, you wish you had the phone contact of Alec Hardison, that hacker in Leverage, he could have access to the servers at WAEC and change your result. You now have a flashback on all the time you played in school when others read. You wish you could get all those times back and use them better.

Then that nasty thought about the day the external supervisor picked that piece of paper from around you; how you have sworn to him on your mother’s name that it wasn’t yours. Would he make real his threat to make sure you failed that Physics paper?

Your thoughts were in overdrive, 360km/hr., fast approaching the speed of Jet Fighters, you are completely oblivion of your immediate surrounding and in that nick of time, your dads voice rings like a the Big Ben, piercing the innermost thoughts and like a car on ABS, you hit the brakes with a screeching sound, nearly skidding off track and in a twinkle of an eye, you are back to reality and all your dad had just asked was;

"Boy what was that".

Not knowing whether to lie about it or not and against the impulse of your will, your lips betrays you.

"Daddy, our WAEC result is out".

For the next few days until you check yours, you dread seeing your dad because in the reality of his silent bypass and laying in-between his smiles when he responds to your greetings, is a silent question of Chris, where is your result.

Finally, your sister agrees to help you check as she comes back from work today. The whole day, you are busy with anxiety. You continually pass those silent winds through your anus; a product of too much production of dopamine and adrenaline as you struggle to keep calm.

You won’t eat the whole time and your little sister won’t stop teasing you. You uncharacteristically obliges to all her requests and she finding this out, exploits the privilege. She asks you for everything you would have refused giving her; including that cookie she’s been asking for. 

She can’t believe her fortune and she wishes everyday would be like this. Only if she knew what you passed through! Permutation and Combination were difficult for you to learn and here today, you have permuted and combined your chances in ways you never thought possible.

Then your sister comes back. Today, as though she did it on purpose, she came back by 6pm, exactly two hours later than she normally did. You had wished she came back before 5pm when your parents must have been back home so that you could have your time to digest the result and put up a defense strategy in the event that the worst happened.

There in the sitting room sat mom and dad, watching Wolf Blitzer talk about the invasion of Iraq and how the Dictator is falling apart; as if that meant anything to you. Then like the News anchor on CNN Breaking News, she goes; hello everyone, I said it all these while that Chris has spent his time watching soccer games and playing games on his Play Station, that he was going to fail.

Wherever the earthquake is when it is needed the most? Your heart is beating like the drums played in Achebes Things Fall Apart. Your boxer is soaked as if you went swimming. Then the climax of the fart you’ve had all day comes, this time, it rents the air and you cared less. You look straight into the red rug on the floor and all seem blurred and in a suspended animation.

That well known baritone voice rings again into your sub consciousness and just like the thunderous sound of the 35mm anti-tank cannon renting the air in a war theatre, his voice calls you to reality as he asks;

"Chris, what is your sister talking about, you failed WAEC again for the third time"?

This question could have been better directed to Gina because only she knows what she is talking about and here they are asking you.

Then, you raised your head and looked him in the eyes, you could see disappointment and chagrin in his eyes as he stood up, nearly charging at you.

CONTINUE TO PART 2

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