Chapter One

THE SCHOOL RESUMES

The blue Lexus car drove into the school compound.The

security guards were passing cars in and out of the school's
parking lot.The school photographer was taking pictures of
parents as they dropped off their children.The teachers in
the school stood on a straight line clapping for learners as
they briskly walk through the tarred walkway leading to the
main entrance of the school.The school logo shone brighter
with the name of the school written around it."Welcome
back to school,Mara"a cool welcoming voice of one of the
teachers in the school.

As a rule in the school and to complement the govemment

COVID-19 protocol, learners and staff of Emerald Schools
always sanitize their hands with a sanitizer or have them
washed with soap at the wash

1
bowl positioned in front of the school. Their temperature were
always checked before they were being permitted to enter the
school.There were instances learners were asked to go home for
having high temperature. The learners took turns to observe the
procedure before gaining access to their classes while the welcoming
continued.

The school hall was divided into classes and teachers ushered
learners into their respective classes. The learners were anxious to
know the new teachers assigned to their classes. Mara sat beside
Jane her friend. They have been friends because their parents were
also friends. "Good to see you again Mara",Jane greeted. They
hugged each other and kept their voices low as they continued
talking.A documentary on ancient Egypt was played on the
television for the learners class.Class one learners were
obviously small kids with just a few of them looking big.

The welcoming procedure continued outside and the same thing

was done for learners in the school bus. They were ushered to
where their bags were labelled to avoid mix-ups. Sometimes
the learners were disracted with the arrival of their
classmates. Some of them were showing off new things they
had during the holiday."See my new pair of shoes, my dad
bought them for me when

1
bowl positioned in front of the school. Their temperature were
always checked before they were being permitted to enter the
school.There were instances learners were asked to go home for
having high temperature. The learners took turns to observe the
procedure before gaining access to their classes while the
welcoming continued.

The school hall was divided into classes and teachers ushered
learners into their respective classes. The learners were anxious
to know the new teachers assigned to their classes. Mara sat
beside Jane her friend.They have been friends because their
parents were also friends. "Good to see you again Mara", Jane
greeted. They hugged each other and kept their voices low as
they continued talking.A documentary on ancient Egypt was
played on the television for the learners class.Class one learners
were obviously small kids with just a few of them looking big.

The welcoming procedure continued outside and the same thing

was done for learners in the school bus.They were ushered to
where their bags were labelled to avoid mix-ups. Sometimes
the learners were distracted with the arrival of their classmates.
Some of them were showing off new things they had during the
holiday."See my new pair of shoes, my dad bought them for me
when

1
we sing. They all
travelled forshouted "BabyTomy
vacation," shark"said
andtothehisremaining classesand one
friend Justus
joined
other immediately.
boy sitting beside him. "I also got a new water bottle," Justus
responded showing
The tune for him
the song a new
was plastic
played on thewater
schoolbottle.
piano while the
learners alongside the teachers demonstrated each line.Mrs
Mawal ensured that all the classes had their own activitysongs.
The teachers and other members of staff who attended to the
By the time she had finished with the children, the hall was
learners came into the ime to start the morning devotion. "Good
almost rowdy as everyone had moved to different points.
morning children" the teacher in charge of the devotion for that day
said into the microphone.All the learners stood up as they chorused
Immediately after singing the songs,she instructed them to go
"good morning Mrs. Mawal". I hope you enjoyed the holiday and
to their positions and remain calm before calling on one of the
you're super happy to be back in school" she continued. The
learners to take the opening prayer.Everyone put their hands
assembly became
together as a little
they took The noisy
Lord'sas the learners
Prayer.After the were talking
prayers, the to their
hymn was
friends taken
about theirbyholiday
the Music teacher,Mr Yekins.The teacher
experiences.
moderating the devotion called the school band to take their
"We willbefore
positions not continue with
the National the songs
Anthem and theif pledge
this noise
were continues"she
taken.
warned.Mrs
Boys and girlsMawal is a very
from different strictpicked
classes theirbut
teacher playful.Most
particular
children in
instrument andthe school
marched to like
their her because
positions. "I willshe
join plays with
them
the school
and this
band willterm,"
always make
Victor sure they
whispered hadstanding
to a boy enough fun him.
beside while singing
activity songs. The hall became silent because of her
instruction.They all knew that there would be no furif they weren't
quiet. "Very good my obedient children, a round of applause for
yourselves"she said, the learners obeyed her, clapping their
hands.The first activity song will come from class one. She
pointed to the class and asked them to agree on what to

S
in
fo

1
 th
a
hi
as

Th
by
th
as
to
inr
go
kn
m
an
m
the
sa

Mi
The voice from the speaker called everyone to attention. ho All the
learners stood still and placed their hands by their thir sides."We will be
taking the first and the second stanzas" do she instructed them and the
school band conductor the

signaled the boy on the keyboard and the other learners in the band. At
once, the band started and everyone followed.Victor had forgotten
himself and was dancing to the tune while he was supposed to be
standing at attention.After the National Anthem,Mrs.Mawal warned
him publicly and asked him not to do that again.Victor felt ashamed and
sat quietly with his head lowered down.

1
The learners were given orientation on the class routine by one of the
class teachers, Miss Leah. "What is the first thing to do in the morning
when you get to class?"she asked the learners.Many hands were up
and she walked to a learner. "We should eat our food" a boy said
innocently and everyone burst into laughter. "Oh....a and answered,"In
the morning when we get to school,we must submit our homework

before keeping our bags in the shelf." This is beautiful and

correct too" the teacher said.

Miss Leah encouraged the learners to always do their

homework at home and also submit them for marking first
thing after morning devotion. She instructed those who do not
like to submit their books to change.Miss Leah told them that
they need to always be time conscious and well

behaved in the class. She asked other questions and different

learners answered. The learners all stood up as the Supervisor,
Mrs. Johnson walked up to the stage.She wore her eye glasses
properly before speaking.Everyone in the assembly was silent.
Some learners said she had eyes all over her body and can
spot anybody that is not well dressed.

"Good morning boys and girls" she said loudly into the
microphone.They all responded taking proper courtesy of
greeting according to the school culture. The girls held the tips
of their pinafore and crossed the left leg with the right while
the boys took a bow with the right hand across their belly with
the other hand by their side. "Good morning boys and girls"

1
 she said again making the learners see the need to greet
properly. The learners got the message she was passing and
did the courtesy very well."Welcome to a new term, I hope
you all enjoyed the break" she asked and continued, I will like
to remind you of the school vision and mission statements. Can you
all rise as we say it together" she said. They all rose and recited" I
am a godly child, confidence is my backbone and
enterprising is my watchword."

She was impressed and thus clapped the children. She

stepped down from the stage and walked through the hall.
"Our school opened her gates to the first set of

learners on the 16th of September, 1995,since then,we have

grown steadily." She paused and continued; "This term,I will
like you to put in more effort than you have ever done and that
is why the goal for the term will be "SHOOTING FOR THE
STARS". The pupils all clapped on hearing the goal."I will shoot
for the stars" Ben said to Jane.Jane laughed and said jokingly, "I
will shoot for the moon."

"Ben and Jane stand up" Mrs. Johnson said pointing to the duo
and everyone turned to their direction. Mara almost frozed.
She hates situations like this where everyone was made to look
at her direction.One could have mistaken her for Jane with the
way she was afraid.The Supervisor repeated it when Jane
hesitated to stand Jane took a while before standing and
because of that Mrs Johnson asked them to step forward so
that everyone will see them.She warned them to always pay

1
attention and not play during official hours. "It is a bad habit
to be talking when there is someone addressing you.Learn
to always pay attention" she said. "I will forgive them
because it's a new term and I am sure they will not do it
again."

Jane was not remorseful as she returned to her seat.She sat

angrily and almost kicked the girl sitting beside her.The
Supervisor announced the teachers for each

subject. Mara was happy that Miss Susan will be her class
teacher.She had been silently hoping to be in her class when she was
leaving the previous class. She used to admire her from afar and
wished that someday she would be one of the learners on her roll.
As the marching song continued, learners were led into their
respective classrooms by their new teachers.

"I am happy we will be in the same class" Mara told Jane.Jane did
not bother to answer her but hissed at her.Mara knew why, she was
still angry because of the way the Supervisor had corrected her
during the school devotion a few minutes back. "Are you still angry?"
Mara asked calmly trying not to distract their new teacher who was
leading them upstairs to their classrooms. "Will you just leave me
Miss Susan smiled at her and told her not to worry that she
alone" she screamed calling theattention of the teacher. Miss Susan
will be fine in the class. Miss Susan's words seem to have performed
paused on the stairs and asked Mara to move forward and she asked
magic
Jane toonpick
her up
as her
she bag.
picked uprefused
Jane andtold
her bagand joined other
her she was learners
not ready
totomove intoclass.
go to any the"In
class."Welcome
fact, I even wantto
to Miss
gbackSusan's class" she
home.Idon't
said smiling M
le
0
in
lu
A

1
 n
di

broadly as the learners entered. All of them loved the class

immediately, the pictures on the wall and the displays attracted the
learners. "Kindly find your shelf and drop your bags"she instructed. It
was not long before everyone settled down.Miss Susan moved
smartly to her table to mark the register.

The tables in the class were tagged with names so it was easier for
everyone to locate their seats. Mara found her table quickly and
arranged her writing materials. Miss Susan observed the class routine
for that.morning and introduced them to the rules of her class.She
asked them to think of a few more rules that will make the class
better.Sam raised his finger and said "we must always use our magic
words- please, excuse me, thank you, sorry and pardon me" she
wrote them down as she took other rules."We must always close the
door quietly when leaving the class or coming in" Tiara added.
The lesson for the day commenced with Additional
Mathematics being the first to test the thinking of the
learners.The teacher did not announce the grade of any of
the pupils to avoid making those who didn't score high in
the class to feel bad. After the first two periods, it was
lunch time and the learners had their snacks. "Jane Alonge"
the teacher called. Jane pretended as if she did not hear
the teacher. The teacher walked up to her. She did not
submit her Mathematics note and when she was

1
 asked, she hissed at the teacher. "Jane you know l am being
serious, bring out your notebook now," she said firmly.

Jane did not answer her; she continued eating her fruit salad that
had been packed from home for her. The teacher asked the third
time but Jane did not answer her.The teacher smiled at her and told
her to remember she needed to be a good girl at all times. "I did not
do the classwork" she said trying to make the teacher pity her.The
teacher stepped backward and told her directly as she calls the
attention of others. "In my class, work comes before play and
learners who play when others work will work when others play."

She instructed her to do it immediately before the next lesson will

begin. Since it was the first day at school,lessons were few because
learners were just settling down after a long break. The learners
needed to pack their bags and homework. Miss Susan checked all
their bags to be sure they picked the correct books. The bell
went and all the learners from their different classes marched to
the dining hall. Teachers ensured their pupils were on a straight
line. The school used to prepare general lunch but the learners
were expected to come to school daily with a complete cutlery
set.

The stewards served the learners rice and meat that day.Mara and Ali were
nominated as the dinning Captains for the day. It is their duty to pass the
plates served to everyone. After the food were served, Miss Susan
instructed them to use their cutlery properly. "Your fork in your left hand
and your knife in your right hand." Some of the learners who were not using
their cutlery correctly immediately took corrections. The hall was silent as
learners were not expected to talk while eating. This was part of the school

1
culture and it was designed to help the learners cultivate correct eating
habits everywhere they were whether in school or out of school.The lunch
lasted

Miss Susan called out learners who used their cutlery correctly and did
not stain their uniform after the meal.She gave them a sticker on their
cheek. Mara was happy to have gotten one. Her mother will be
happy to see it.She kept her school uniform and socks neat
and had learnt to always be neat with her things.

Since it was after school,learners were allowed to play board

games like Chess, monopoly and ludo. Mara and Jane were
playing Chess when Mara was called. "Good bye Mara" Jane
said while Mara leaves the class."Good bye Jane,see you
tomorrow". Mara was still on the stairs

when Jane rushed up to her. "Am also going home,my name has just
been called" Jane said and the two walked down the stairs. Their
parents were waiting in the reception.Jane stood beside her mum
without greeting the adults there. "Good afternoon aunties"Mara
greeted other parents before going to her mother. "Good afternoon
mummy"Mara said and hugged her."How was your first day in your
new class?" Her mother asked and she told her it was fine. Jane told
her mother how she was disgraced by the Headmistress. Her mother
asked Mara if that was true.Mara did not want to lie and did not want
to offend her friend. She remained speechless for a while. It was the
arrival of Rose, her younger sister that saved her. Rose did not bring

1
her lunch bag from the classroom so Mara's mother told her to go and
get it.

Mrs Wlliams sensed her daughter did not know what to do and she
needed to give her a break.She told Jane's mother not to worry that
the children will be fine. By the time Jane returned with Rose to the
hall,Mrs.Manson and her daughter had gone. "Are they gone
mummy?"She asked to be sure.Her mother answered her like
an African woman, "no, they are sitting behind me."Everyone laughed
as they exited to their car. Mrs.Williams carried Rose's bag and she
held her hand."Mummy,Miss Benny told me to stand up in the class"

Rose made another report to her mother. "Really

daughter, did she say so?" What did you do? Rose was
silent and her mother encouraged her not to lie. "You
know you must not lie baby,"Mrs Williams reminded her.

Aliya tore my book and I tore hers in return." Rose said as she
was about to cry. Her mother smiled and told them they must
always give full details before complaining about whatever
their teachers did. "You need to always be a good girl and
report when.people do anything bad to you. Is that clear?"
She asked. The children responded that they have heard as
she drove out of the school compound.

While on the way, MArs Williams asked Mara about the issue
Jane's mother raised the other time. She knew something was
missing in Jane's narration but she did not want to

1
challenge.her.On a few occasion that she did Jane's
mother took it to the other side and was very angry.Since
then she made up her mind to avoid things that will make
them have issues most especially when it comes to their
children.She did not want Mara to look like a rival to Jane
in any way.
"Mum, Jane was talking in the assembly. As a result, the

Williams listened carefully to everything she said abou Jane.

"She even behaved rudely to Miss Susan" Mara added. She
told her mother how happy she was when she was listed
among pupils that will be in Miss Susan's class."I got a star for
behaving well at lunch and using my cutlery correctly" Mara
told the mother. "Rose, can you hear your sister?You need to
learn from her and always be a good girl" Mrs. Williams said.
Rose promised to be a good girl and asked if her mother was
going to tell her dad.

Mrs Williams couldn't stop laughing, "So you do not want

your dad to know you've done something wrong? Don't worry,I
won't tell daddy so that daddy won't beat you" she told Rose.
The drive from school to the house was about forty minutes
but the traffic on the expressway was quite hectic. A boy
hawking soft drinks stopped by their car and asked;"Madam
you no go buy drinks?" Mrs. Williams told the hawker they are
fine but he was not willing to give up."I go give you this one
na" he said. She asked if Mara will like to take the drinks, Mara
1
said yes. Rose was fast asleep so she bought only two. She
opened her wallet and brought out five hundred naira note for
the boy. He wanted to give her change but she told him to
keep it.She gave Mara one of the malt drinks while she dropped
the other one.

As soon as the boy left, she asked Mara if she knew why she
bought the drinks from the boy. She told her no. "l bought that
from him because I know he's supposed to be in school but he's
out there struggling to survive" she told her daughter. "But there's
nothing we can do about it mummy" Mara told her mother. Mrs.
Williams explained on the road don't do so willingly, they do i to
survive so they won't die of hunger.

Mara looked out of the window and saw some other boys and girls
who were also hawking. They had different wares in their trays and
they were looking tattered. Mara looked at her school uniform and
their clothing and told this,mummy?" Mrs. Williams told her that
this is one of the reasons why she must work hard in school because
there are children out there who wanted such opportunity but
could not get it.

Mara kept that in her mind. She was not going to let her
parents down. She promised herself to try harder to make
her parents proud of her. She wished she could help those
children but she did not have anything within her ability. She

1
also wished the government would do something about their
situation. She remained quiet as her mum drove them home.

1
 Chapter TWO
Mrs Williams has a fashion house where she sells fabrics and also
GOING TO THE MALL
sews clothes for her teeming customers. She employed workers who
were working for her. She was the head of the company but did more
of a supervising role.She had studied Accounting from the University of
Lagos. But due to lack of employment and the nature of helps
molesting their kids scared them from taking one for the children.

Since the next day was Saturday,Mara started watching a cartoon

series of Muana with her sister before she slept off.Her normal light
out was 9:00p.m but since it was a Friday night, her parents had
allowed herDr toWilliams
watch was a medical doctor.HHe
till 11:00p.m.She knew sheworked
was onatthe a State
chair
General the
while watching Hospital
movieasbut a when
MedicalsheConsultant.His
woke up,sheinterestcould notin
children
explain how she made
got tohim thespecialized
bed besideasher a Pediatrician.Mara
sister and the television
and her
was switched off. visitedhim
sister had She walked onlyout of the
a few times and itstill
room wasdressed in her
not a planned
pyjamas.visit.
HerTheir
pyjamasfatherwas
didpink with like
not really them of
pictures Cinderella
coming over toused as a
his work
design pattern
place. all
Roseoverit.
had cried all through the last time they visited
because of injection and syringes.One of the nurses had scared
She walked
her out
withofoneherand
room,heading
told herif sheindid
the
notdirection
behave wellof the door and
in school she
would
waited for be given
response. injection.
When Roseget
she didn't cried all through that day and
did not move from where she sat.Her father had told her not to
worry that injections were given to those who are sick and only
any,she on medical
went to the prescription
kitchen tobut she ifdidher
check notmother
believewas because she
there.She
noticed was
thatstill
thescared.
door was opened so she went out through it. Her
parents were exercising. It was the usual practice for Dr Williams
and his wife to exercise every Saturday morning especially when Dr
Williams had no calls to make or 16 emergency to attend to in the
hospital."Good morning dad and mum", she called out from the
stairs leading to the kitchen. "Morning my little angel" her dad
responded."Come over and skip" the mother told her. She ran
toward them, and as she was running, she slipped and fell on a
stone and started crying.

Her mother ran to pick her up, she checked her legs to be sure she
did not sustain injuries. "There is no injury dear she told her
husband as they both walked to him. He also checked her and asked
if she felt any pain as he ran his hand through the affected part. She
told her father she did not feel any pain. "Can I still use the
skipping rope to skip dad?" She asked trying to know if she would
be allowed to still skip.

picked her skipping rope to skip, her mother warned her to be very
careful while skipping. Mara told her she would and started
skipping round the garden. Later tha morning,Mrs.Williams
prepared moi-moi and custard fo

breakfast. Mara had her bath by herself wvhile their mother helped Rose
to bath. Their mother selected a sleeveless top and short jean for them to
wear since they would have to change later when they would be going
to .expected to have a bath before having breakfast.

Mara assisted her mother in arranging the plates on the dining table. The
house was a three bedroom flat. The parents used one, the second one was
for the children while the third was the guest room. They don't use the
guest room except they had a visitor or their grand was mostly not in use.
Mrs. Williams cleaned it when she was cleaning other rooms.
Everyone sat on the table while they waited for their father. He had delayed
in taking his bath so others needed to wait for him. "Sorry for keeping
everyone waiting" he apologized as he tickled Rose who was already
wearing an angry look. She laughed when he tickled her. Mara ran to the
kitchen to meet her mother to avoid the tickling. "You can't escape, you
know that,right Ma-Ma" he said as he fondly calls her. Her real name
was Mara but her father used Ma-Ma most times and people who were
close to the family often called her that too.

Mrs. Williams walked out of the kitchen with a small plastic tray.
She placed it on the table and sat beside her husband. Mara also
returned to her position and their mother said a short prayer
before the meal. She added the milk and sugar for the children in
their custard and instructed them to stir it. Rose was not stirring
hers properly and she ended up spilling it on the table.She passed it
to her father who helped her with it. "Not even a thank you Rosy?"
He queried her. "I am sorry daddy,thank you" she said.Rose could
not resist the feelings to talk while eating but her mother kept on
cautioning her.

After the meal,their mother cleaned the table and asked Mara to
help in clearing the table. Mara started doing some domestic
chores early of age so that she would be accustomed as she grew
up. "Be careful while washing those mugs" her mother said
cleaning the table. Rose had messed up the table with spills from
her custard.She warned her not to repeat it again and threatened
to make her sit on the floor the next time they would be taking
custard or anything related to that. Rose started crying and
pleaded with her mother that she wouldn't repeat that again.
When Mara was done with the washing of the plates, she sat
beside her father to watch kiddies TV show. "Yes Ijust
remembered yesterday, Mara, you slept off while

watching the TV leaving it on." Her father said. She remained speechless but
showed how sorry she was. It was this time her mother also came into the sitting
room to jointhem."I had to carry you to your room and you did not even wake up"
she added.

They told Mara her bedtime will remain at nine whether it's a weekday or
weekend. She did not like the idea but she has no choice. She pleaded with them
but they told her their decision won't change. Her reading time was always six to
seven p.m. daily and after that, they would have dinner and she would wash the
dishes after which she could watch the TV till nine before going to bed.There
were exceptions to this routine mostly on Fridays because they didn't need to
wake up early the next day.

Rose had a much flexible routine. She only did her homework which was
always supervised by her mother after which she had a thirty minutes
reading lime.On most occasions,she often fell asleep while
reading.After several occasions like this, her mother became more
lenient with her. Even though she may not be reading,she was not
expected to watch cartoon till eight."See this chocolate,I will tell
mum to buy it for me at the mall today"Rose said to Mara. Mara did
not look at it and Rose showed her again.Their mother knew she was
angry but ignored her.She had learnt to overlook some things even

when she felt like letting it go. They wanted the best for their
children and she was ready to pay the price.
"I wvill be taking the children with me to get some groceries from
the mall in preparation for the Badejoros"she told her husband.
"Ohh... That's true but have you asked them to confirm when they
will be coming around?" He asked her. She told him she called the
wife and she said they would be coming in the evening. "I should be
back from the salon before you return from the mall,I need to have
my haircut" he told her. "Why not use the salon in the mall very
close to the Kiddies Castle?"She suggested.He thought over it for a
while and agreed to that. "That means we will all go together and
we won't be needing separate cars" he concluded.

The children changed into gowns and fixed their hair neatly. They wore
white sneakers which complemented their dresses. Mrs. Williams wore a
short Ankara gown which was adorned with silver stones and beads.
She dropped a small basket in the boot of the car before sitting
beside her husband. The children sat at the back seat. Mara picked a
small book called Diary of a Whimpy Kid and started reading it all
through the car, stopping a few times when her sister distracted her
attention asking her to look at one thing or the other.

They parked at the allotted car park in the mall. Children were playing in the
small park in front of the mall. That caught Rose's attention but she knew it
was not a day for that.Mara dropped her book in the car as she knew there
wouldn't be time to read in the mall. Their father held Rose while she
walked closely behind. They separated when their father went to the salon
and they took the opposite direction to where they would pick
groceries.Their mother had cautioned them not to pick anything she did not
order them to pick.All they needed to do was tell her the item and she
would decide if they would be getting it or not.
Mrs. Williams headed for the section where she would get bulk of the things
she needed. Rose reminded her that she wanted M and M chocolate and
their mother went to that section when she was done getting the things she
needed. Mara told her she preferred biscuit to chocolate. After getting it,
she got four plates of ice cream. Mara wanted coconut flavour which was
her father's favorite too. Rose wanted strawberry flavour while their
mother preferred Vanilla.

After paying at the counter with her debit card, Mrs.Williams walked
out of the mall to see if her husband was ready to go. He was almost
through when they got there,so he gave them the car key to go ahead
and wait for him

in the car. Mara told their mother she would love to stay back and
come back with her father. "Can I stay with you dad?" She asked trying
to make him say yes. He told her she could,so she sat on a couch in the
salon.Another girl had followed her father and was also reading Diary
of a Whimpy Kid. "Hello, I am Mara" she said calling her attention. "I
am Joy" the girl replied dropping the story book on her laps. "I am also
reading this volume currently and am in page sixty" Mara said. "Really?
I'm in page sixty three" Joy said.

The two girls got talking and started to lové each other.Joy pointed to
her father who was at the other side of the salon.She had followed-her
brother alongside her father to the salon. Mara told her she had come
with her dad too. When Mara's father was done with his haircut, he
walked up to her daughter. He had noticed Mara was speaking to the
girl she was seating with. "Hello young girl, I am Mara's dad" he said.
"Good day Sir, my name is Joy" she said. Joy's father Mr Jimmy Colin
 noticed them and he walked up to join them. He needed to know
what was happening. He introduced himself to Doctor Williams and
they were glad to meet each other. "I work with the government as
an Engineer at the Ministry of Works" he told him. They exchanged
contacts and promised to reach out to each other.

Mara told her father that what attracted her to Joy was the book she
was reading. Dr. Williams had gotten her the recent series of the book
couple of weeks back so she was not done reading it. "Joy must have
been a lover of the book to also have the series". He said to her
daughter.The ice cream was almost melting before they got to the car.
Rose and her mother had taken theirs while waiting for them. "What
took you guys so long?" She asked having expected them to returned
earlier.

He narrated all that had happened that caused their delay to his wife
including how he had exchanged contacts with one man who was a
father of a young girl Mara met."You won't believe it that his work
place is a few blocks away from mine" he told her. That's fine but Mara
should be careful how she relates with strangers as there were
insecurity issues around the whole country she responded. Her
husband told her not to worry that he believes Mara wouldn't be
careless in relating with strangers.Mara promised her mother that
she would be careful just like she had advised her to.

The journey back home seemed to be faster than when they were
going to the mall. Her mother had planned preparing fried rice,
salad, chicken and smoothie drink they got back while everyone
assisted. Her husband
 shredded the cabbage and other leaves while Mara was
slicing theonions. She blended the spices she wanted to use
to boil the chicken. "Can I help you stir the chicken"Rose
volunteered genuinely and none of them could hold the
laughter back. Rose is not tall enough to reach the cabinet,
talk more of stirring something on the gas burner.She felt bad
and started crying. "Sorry Rosy, the thing is that you can't
handle things on the burner for now,even Ma Ma, can only
Mrs assist in other
Williams littleeverything
sorted things around
she the kitchen"their
needed for the mother
smoothie
explained
fast."Get me to her.Hollandia yoghourt from the fridge Rosy"she
the
said,making her feel useful in what they were doing. Rose had sat
alone on the stool after she was told she couldn't hëlp with anything
related to fire.Rose was happy as she rushed to the fridge. "Mummy
should I pick the vanilla or strawberry?"She asked.Their mother told
her to bring the strawberry. She picked it quickly and held it with her
clothes. "It's cold mummy" she said trying to explain why she held it
with her clothes.
After preparing everything,Mara and her sister needed to freshen
up before their visitors arrive. Her mother's phone rang and she
sent MAara to bring it for her from her bag.It was Mrs.Badejowho
called.They spoke briefly on the phone before she dropped it on the
kitchen table.

·She said they were on their way and should be here in about thirty
to forty minutes" she told her husband.'That's not a problem" he
replied. "Is thirty minutes not long" Mara said. Her mother turned to
her immediately and corrected her to avoid joining adult conversaion
she's not called into. Mara nodded to show that she has gotten the
correction.

The alarm at the gate rang and the gate man ran to the main house
to confirm if he could open the gate. "Oga person dey gate, make I
open am?" He said in Pidgin. Dr Williams asked him to check who
was at the gate.He told him it's a black Range Rover.He instructed
him to open the gate. As the gateman opened the gate, Mrs.
Williams and the children had joined their father on the balcony
waiting to receive their visitors.

The compound was beautified with flowers to make the

environment more pleasant and warm.The men shook hands while
the women hugged each other. "Sarah this place keeps looking
beautiful every day. You really have time to grow and water all
these flowers" Funmi Badejo commentedthey walked into the
house.Sarah Williams had paid much attention to both the interior
and the exterior decoration of her house. The blue curtains
complemented the white paint in the room. The children

were running around the sitting room and their mothers cautioned them.
"You need to be more careful Ken,Rose,Lillian and Mara" they said.

"Do you have any board game at home that they can play,I will prefer that
to this running around" Jerry Badejo said. Mrs Williams excused herself to
get the chess board and the pieces. She spread a fancy mat for the children
to play their games. The men were in the sitting room watching football
match while the women went to the kitchen.They have been friends since
they were in school.Sarah and Funmi were course mates while their
husbands were friends.The bond had grown when they all settled down in
the same city.

"I couldn't wait for the women's meeting last Sunday.Lillian needed to
make her hair and you know my house help had left again" Funmi said as
she took a cup of water. "My view remains unchanged about house
help.Many of them have bad influences on the children,those who are not
may be stealing your money or doing one thing or the other." Mrs. Williams
said to her friend.Funmi had built her career in the Accounting world and
she couldn't back off at the time. "My husband and I had thought of taking
the children to a boarding school" she added to shnow her concern for her
career and family."Funmi! Funmi!! What is boarding in this matter? Don't

you know that children are even introduced to cultism time you
must get your children closer and teach them the values you want to
see them grow up with" Sarah said."I have been hearing a lot but l
know my children will be different, they are good children with
goodparents We buy them almost everything they ask for" she said
jokingly to her friend.

The women served the food and arranged the table before calling their
husbands and children. Ken had started crying because Mara won him
in the two rounds of the chess game."You must really be a good player
Ma Ma" Jerry complimented her. She did not talk but her father
responded that they had enrolled her in Board Games Club in the
school and he sometimes played with her at home. "Her chess skills
are growing and I hope to see her play better" Doctor Williams
said."Ken's school doesn't do that but they learn music and how to
play musical instruments" Funmi commented.
Dr Williams stated that same is done in his children's school,adding
that one of the things that attracted other parents to the school was
the extra-curricular activities that the school involved the children
in."The world has grown beyond book and pen. Children should
develop every skill in them from their tender age. That was what we
missed.You know that,right?" Jerry said and they all

laughed over it. "Our type of schooling was just about book and book,
all these board games, playing of musical instruments,swimming and
dancing were not options for us back then" Sarah added.

"Is it just that? With the use of electronic gadgets and devices,all these
children get to know everything around them just with a tap on the
phone. My son had showed me a new robot that was just launched the
other day andl was surprised. We were busy running up and down the
kitchen.Her friend assisted her in cleaning up.They sat to watch a short
video clip before the Badejos took their leave."You owe us a visit Sarah
and Williams and you people should plan it soon and give us the date
you will be coming. Dr Williams-told them they will give them a
feedback soon. He preferred to spend the little time he had away
from work with his family but they did not have any choice but to
plan the visit.

They waited outside until their car zoomed out of the compound
onto the road leading out of the estate. Mrs.Williams tried to clean
up and rearrange the pillows that have been scattered. After she did
the washing of the dishes and was assisted by Mara.
 Chapter Three
LAZINESS;A BAD THING

few weeks after resumption, school activities had Abegun in fuIl.

Learners were not expected to loiter around their classes when lessons
were going on.One of the excuses learners used to get out of the
classroom was"l wish to use the restroom".Miss Susan warned the
learners in her class to avoid using that as an excuse while lesson was
going on because it will affect their studies.

As usual,Miss Susan counted the home work she gave she discovered
that two learner's books were missing",books?" She asked. Richard told
her it was in his desk

and he forgot to take it home the previous day.""You forgot or you did not
want to take it home, Richard?" She asked not expecting an answer. "What
about you Jane?"She turned to her. "I forgot it at home but I did it" she replied
smartly. "Are you sure of that Jane? She asked her to be sure. Mara knew she
was not honest and the teacher thought of that as well.
mother that she was disturbing her daughter and made
lobe very careful when talking to Jane in any matter even
Miss Susan left her table to search Jane's desk.Immediately she sensed that
though they were family friends. It has become a habitual
something was fishy in her story.She opened the desk and saw the
practice for her not to do homework. She often gave
homework book.All the learners shouted and the teacher asked them to
questionable excuses and any time her mother was called,
continue their work as what was happening had nothing to do with them.
she always said "whatever she has said is the reason."
"Why did you lie to me Jane?" Miss Susan asked her as she looked as if
nothing had need to learn that whenever you're given something to do,it
is tohelp you grow. You are not helping anyone but yourself by becoming
a better person. You needto really stop this lazy attitude and be a good
girl." The teacher told her.

Mara felt disappointed in her friend. She had spoken to her on several
instances but it seemed Jane was not ready to learn.Jane's
mother,Ms.Ajani who is a divorcee was not helping the matter. She
often reports Mara to her
 Jane sometimes decided not to go to school. On such days,she often
told others when she returned to school the next day that she was at
home watching cartoons,eating and sleeping. She loved to play and
enjoy rather than work. Miss Susan had tried to make her see the
reason she needed to be serious with her studies.Sometimes, she
would promise to change and other times she would act rudely
towards her whenever she corrects her.

Lesson had started and within two hours Jane had used the restroom
for about five times. Most of these times she to the class. It was
timefor Basic Science lesson when repeated again, " want to go to the
toilet". All the pupils

time. "To do what please? If I may ask?" Miss Susan asked intentionally.
"To do what they do in the restroom like pooing or peeing" said Jane to
annoy her teacher "You can't go anywhere again, Jane sit down and
learn!Miss Susan thundered as she turned back to the board.

Jane turned to Mara who was seated behind her. "You will see what I will
do" she said. Mara knew she was up to something but what was that
thing, it wasn't exactly clear to her.A few minutes later, she picked her
water bottle and poured it on her chair. She sat on it for a while to make
her pinafore soaked. The water was dripping from her clothes when a boy
sitting beside her shouted "Miss Susan,Jane has urinated on herself".The
teacher was shocked, as a result, she went to Jane's seat to check her.

She bent over the chair; and noticed it was water because the cover
of her bottle was not well closed.Miss Susan called the minder who
was in charge of cleaning her classroom. She went to the intercom on
her table in order to called the Head of the school's office.The learners
did not hear what they discussed because she kept her voice low. A
few minutes later, Mr. Adams the school Secretary walked into the
class."Good morning Miss Susan,the Head of the school will like to
see Jane

he said. "No problem Sir, Jane, kindly follow him" she said as she
continued the lesson.

Mara could smell the trouble like every other learner in the class b
ane was confident she had her way around it. Truly, her mother would
definitely support her no matter how bad she had behaved.The
Secretary asked her to walk ahead while he walked behind her within
a short distance. It was part of the safe guarding rule of the school to
always give learners a little distance when walking with them. This was
to avoid contacting children due to the CVID-19 pandemic.

Jane waited at the door when she got to the Head of school's office.
The Secretary came and knocked at the door.They were asked to
come in. He opened the door and after Jane had entered, he closed it.
The Head of School expected Jane to greet her but she didn't. "What
do you say when you see your elders, Jane?" She asked trying to
remind her of what to do. "Always greet them" she mumbled. "So
did you greet me?" She asked."Good morning Mrs. Foluke" she said
calmly. "Greet properly again"she said standing up with her cane.
The office was neatiy arranged and the books on the shelves were
positioned orderly. Mrs. Foluke's table had
world. Her portrait frame hung above her seat and her smiling face
shone brightly in it. The picture of the President of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria and that of the State Governor could also be seen in the
office.

"Jane,this won't be the first time you will be coming to this office this
term. This will be a different case this time around.So tell me what you
did in the class when others were learning." Jane did not say a word
because she suspected that the Headmistress knew that she played
prank on her teacher. "Can't you talk again" she said expecting Jane to
say something. "So you poured water on your clothes pretending as if
you had urinated. "How many times have you used the restroom this
morning?About five timesor so"she added.

Mrs.Foluke tried calling her mother but her line was not going through.
She dropped the phone and told the Secretary to remind her to speak
with Ms. Ajani. "I will give you six strokes of cane and when you get
back to the class you must apologize to your teacher" she told
her.Jane started crying and was about running out before the
Secretary locked the door. "I will increase it if you do not co-operate
with me" she said strongly. Jane was shouting and crying while she was
given the strokes of the cane.

The Head of the School hardly beat but when she did,the back to her class.
Everyone stood up to greet her as soon as she enter She told them that the
attitude Jane had been show would not be accepted in the school.She
encouraged those who have been obeying the school rules to continue doing
that. Jane was asked to apologize to her teacher which she did still crying. She
cried all throughout the lesson and her face became swollen.

At the close of school that day, Ms. Ajani almost turned the whole school
upside down. She was very angry when she saw her daughter's face red
and swollen. Jane lied that she urinated on herself because she was not
allowed to use the restroom after begging the teacher repeatedly."Can you
imagine that,punishing an innocent girl over what she did not do
intentionally," Ms.Ajani said to a parent who was trying to calm her.

"Don't beg me, if she was your daughter what will you do?Do you
know what I'm passing through over this girl? You won't know, and
you won't understand my pain" she shouted. The school's Front
Desk Officer placed a call to the Head of School who gave an
instruction that she should be brought to the visitor's
room.Ms.Ajani held her daughter as they both left for the visitor's
oom.

Jane did not know her mother was going to meet with the Head
teacher.She thought her mother was just going to blame her class
teacher. Mrs. Foluke sat quietly in the visitor's room. She heard a
knock and then asked them to come in. "Good afternoon Ms.
Ajani" she greeted wearing her usual smiling face. Her look was
almost as if nothing had happened. "What is good about the
afternoon ma'am?" Ms.Ajani replied angrily.

She poured out her anger while the Head of the School watched
carefully. She could clearly understood why Jane behaves the
way she had always been.Her mother was a terrible influence on
her. "No matter what my child does in school please do not beat
 her henceforth. I only paid for her education, anything that had
to do with her behavior please leave it for me. Even if she doesn't
want to write a note nobody should force her" she said banging the
table.
The Head of the School explained to her that as part of their
values, the school was set up not to just teach children but to also
prepare them for the future. She encouraged Ms. Ajani to co-
operate with the school in training Jane. She counseled her that if
they kept overlooking everything Jane does, they would be sparing
the rod and the child would be spoilt. Ms. Ajani told her

that what she wanted for her child remains and nobody could
change her mind. Mrs. Foluke did not stress the matter any longer
when she perceived that the woman was not ready to listen to what
she was saying. Ms.Ajani left the room angrily cuddling her daughter.
"How can a mother see her child becoming lazy every day and still
cover up for her?" She thought out loud.

Mrs. Foluke had observed that recently, parents were beginning to

ask them to be lenient with their children even when they were
getting out of control. She shook her head and could not contain her
annoyance. She was becoming scared of what would become of the
children in years to come seeing the way they were now being
pampered by their parents.
 Chapter Four
THE SPELLING BEE

The school had a practice of organizing Spelling Bee contest for

learners from Class Four upward.Spelling Bee is a competition in
which contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words,
usually with different levels of difficulty."Spelling Bee helps to
promote literacy by providing school children with a positive goal
to work iowards, and by giving them a forum to display the fruits of
their hard work," the Supervisor said in the assembly as she
addressed the learners. She continued, "but it also does much
more: In addition to improving the word banks, the Spelling Bee
also aid school children in learning concepts, improving
comprehension and developing study skills."
will you like to know more about its benefits?" She asked and the learners all
responded that they wanted to Competition extend beyond language; Since
you are required to spell words while on stage, it also develops your self-
confidence, communication and public speaking skiills and the ability to thrive
under pressure."

The learners were super excited because whoever qualified from a class will
compete with other contestants words to learners to take home and learn.
Miss Susan taught her learners the different strategies to use in preparation
for the contest. Over the years,her learners had always performed better in
Spelling Bee because she took time to prepare them. "Boys and girls, you
need to take note of the following tips, write them down in your jotter," she
said and waited for them to get their writing materials. She started,
"you need to read a lot of good books to expand your
vocabulary.You'll learn new words and how to use them when you
do so. Write down the most interesting words, and the ones with
the trickiest spellings in a spelling notebook. Review it from time to
time."She continued,"Learn your weekly spelling words.Keep a list
of the words you missed on quizzes and tests in your spelling
notebook."

"She paused and addressed school children who were not concentrating.
Thereafter,she continued,"you need to learn your best Spelling Bee style. How
do you prepare to spell a word aloud? Are you most successful if you trace it
with your finger, say it to yourself or picture it in your mind? You need to
figure this out in advance.Then once a week, have afriend or family member
ask you to spell a few words aloud the Spelling Bee style.Get comfortable with
spelling tricky words in front of other people." "Do you mean like Akeelah and
the Bee?" Sam asked. Miss Susan smiled and nodded. Sam had actually
watched the movie because his father wanted him to learn from her. Mara
knew her mother would be very helpful so she listened carefully so that she
would tell her the strategy when she gets home that day.

Miss Susan called back their attention as she continued,"boys and girls
you will need to practice writing words on your own so that you don't
always have to involve another person, or type them into a text
document on the computer and also learn basic spelling strategies and
rules. After that, make a list of commonly-used words that are exceptions
to these rules."

Jane asked her teacher." Can one know all the words at once?" Miss
Susan told her they all need to start preparing now since the contest is
in about four weeks.

She encouraged them to start learning early as planning is for

those who are ready to work hard. If you're really serious about
advancing to the next stage, then at the State and National
competitions,you need to get a good dictionary and learn more
about words, their origin and meaning".

That day when Mara got home, she told her mum about the
Spelling Bee competition. "Mum the Spelling Bee will list of words?"
She asked and Mara ran to her room to bring it from her bag. "I will
need a dictionary and a book to practice the words" she requested
politely.Her mother told her to remind her when they would be
going to school the next day so that she would buy it early for her.
After dinner,she helped her stick the list on the wall.Mara was to
read those words daily before sleeping and go through them when
she woke up in the morning. "You know you can do better in this
competition" Sarah encouraged her."But mummy,Sam is a great
contestant in my class and often does well on most occasions.I will
try but I don't know if I can win him." Mara said looking worried."In
life,you will see things that will challenge you to test your ability"
her mother stated.

Her mother took the pain of helping her daughter through all of the
strategies in preparation for the Spelling Bee day.She got her a
dictionary that was appropriate for her age and helped her in calling the
words out while she spell them. Sarah marked the tricky words from the
list and placed emphasis on them during their trainings. On one of those
days, Sam had challenged Mara in class and won her with a difference
of two points.

"Mummy he won with just two points" Mara told her mother while
reading out the words. "It's not just two Ma Ma.You need to
understand that you must not overlook any point as little. In the end, it
all counts" she encouraged her daughter. Sarah did not want her to be
too relaxed and overlook anything. She promised to get her the
complete series of Dork Diary if she could win the contest.

On the day of the interclass contest which was the first stage, the
learners in Miss Susan's class sit up and picked numbers randomly.
The Supervisor for the class was also there to ensure it was free and
fair. It was a tie contest between Sam and Mara initially so the
teacher needed to give them words from the dictionary since they
exhausted spelling the hundred words from the list.She
called'stratosphere' and Sam missed it. Mara had heard
nat word while watching a documentary on space on the ejes to spell so as
to avoid missing it and she got it right.The winner was Mara," Miss Susan
declared. Sam started crying because he had tried hard and prepared for
the contest.

Jane was very angry because she did not even get any point out of all the
attempts she made.She did not bother studying the words as she was
mostiy tired after watching cartoons around eleven in the night.She cried
because she wished she could get the prize.She had never gotten a prize for
anything because of her lazy attitude toward's studies.Even during
examinations,she still wouldn't stop watching cartoons.Her mother did not
like correcting her because it would make her cry.

Dr.Williams was happy when he returned home the next day.He had been
on call so he did not sleep al home that night. "Why are you
showing off? Don't worry I will do better when I get to Class Four,"
Rose said to her sister 'No problem, I will be happy for you" she
replied.Their mother encouraged the two of them not to compete
but be happy for each other. "I am proud of yougirls,always
Preparation for the school stage.If you can be the Bee for

the school,that means you will be competing at the State level" he

said. "Yes daddy, I can't wait to get to the National level so that I
will have a handshake with the President" Mara told her father.
"Before you have a handshake with the President,you will need to
have it with the Governor first" Sarah teased her from kitchen.
Mara had stopped washing dishes since the announcement for the
contest was out.Sarah took up that as her responsibility to ensure
Mara had enough time to read. Rose was now getting serious as she
looked up to becoming a girl her parents would be proud of just like
her sister.

One day in school after lunch, Sam walked up to Mara and asked her
about how she was preparing for the next level of the Spelling Bee
since he had stopped talking to her when he lost in the Spelling Bee
contest to her at the class level. "Am sorry I have not been talking to
you again"Sam said.He,told her that Miss Susan had spoken to him
that he did not have to react that way,adding tha he just needed to
see that it was not every time one person would be winning as there
would be days such as that one. "You're still my friend Sam" Mara
responded Sam told her he would like to be helping her while
studying those words in the class as she prepares for the school
stage. "Thanks so much Sam; I would be so

pleased with that. My mum was also trying her best to Bella Susan"she
told him.

Their teacher was trying to look at them from her table.She haobse ed
that the two have not been talking and she wanted them to. She
called the two of them later and told them to keep treating each other
as friends as they used to be. Mara got to know those she would be
competing with when the Head of the School called them to her office
three days before the competition. She warned them to avoid fighting
whoever would become the winner in the end as they would ensure
the judges were fair. "You must know that if you fail, you are not a
 failure in life,it only meant you needed to try harder" said Mrs. Foluke.
She requested the learners to ask any question and a boy representing
class six asked for the number that would be declared winners."It
would be only one learner that the school needed as
representative for the State level which would be coming up next
month"the Headmistress responded.

Mara told her mother about everything when she got home. "Do
you know mummy that it's only one person that would be chosen
out of the five of us?" She told her mother.Rose had slept off on
the couch when they were reading the new set of words. Mara
had about five

hundred words and some of the words were about fifteen letters. She
seemed to be having difficulty in spelling those tricky words so her
mother asked her to write it on sticky notes. She often carried those
sticky notes around to read any time she was free both at home and in
the class.

One Saturday morning, while her parents were doing their usual
exercise, Mara was skipping while memorizing some of those words.
She was doing that to overcome the fear of missing those words. After
a while,she would pause and went through the list on the paper.She
had learnt to use syllables to spell some words while she used sound
pattern for others. "Mara seemed not to be getting some words" her
father said to her mother. "I have been trying to help'her out but I
think she needs to find out what really works best for her" she told him.
Her parents were worried because she had been putting herself
under pressure.They called her over and told her she needed to
 be moe relaxed so that her brain wouldn't be too stressed before the
day of the competition.
en
g Chapter Five

g le to
e,er.ile to "|
to

he school Spelling Bee competition began after the

Tcontestants had taken their seats. Mara was the fourth contestant. She
was"These
feelingare
a the
slightrules
headache
for thengday"
before
one the event.
of the Hersaid
judges mother had
as contestant
paid attention
counseled her to benot
er to the
flaunt thelearners
other rules. The
in the hall made her nervous.
She felt n't as though all eyes were on her. She could spot her class
teacher who was smiling at her.Her smiles brought her a little
Spelling Bee competition was in two sessions.Two out of the five
relieved.
contestants will be dropped after the first session.It seemed luck was
not on Mara's side as most of the words she picked were the tricky
words she was having issues with. She felt like crying because she felt
she would not make it to the next stage. She spotted her teacher who
remained calm despite that she was losing.

She narrowly escaped as she came third in the first session leading the
next person with only one point.They had a recess before the second
session.She ran to Miss Susan and started crying. "I don't think I will be
able to do this," she said childishly. Miss Susan encouraged her and
told her to be relaxed when spelling. "You know those words and you
only missed out a letter in some cases while you missed arrangements
at some points too,but you can do it."

It was just three contestants left after the last two lost out.Mara
became more confident as most of the words in the second session
were those she could spell correctly. A voice sounded, "Spell the word
psychopathic". She paused for a while to remember the trickshe used
in learning that particular word. She had circled it while learning the
tricky words. She spelt it correctly while the next contestants also
picked their questions. The

contestants were all good that they were not missing the decided to
usewords from their word bank having exhausted the list of words.

At this point, Mara was the only one who did not missany word.The
two other contestants had tied so they needed to go on extra round
and it was a rule of first to lose. B the time they got to the third
round, class five contestant lost to the boy representing class six.The
girl could not spell "rheumatism" correctly. She could not hold her
tears when she lost.

Miss Susan was super happy for Mara.She had made her proud by
coming first. They were decorated while they shook hands with the
Panel of Judges and the Head of the School.The Head of the School
announced that Mara's picture will be used for the cover of the
school's magazine that year. Everyone wanted to be her friend.Mara
hugged her teacher when they left the hall. She could not thank her
enough. "Thank you Sam" she said appreciating Sam for his support.

When Rose heard the news,she was happy for her sister and kept on
telling her friends that Mara was her sister.Mrs. Williams sometimes
refers to as Sarah hadn't entered the school before she knew her
daughter was

the winner.Her friends in the school who had picked their children
earlier got to know and started calling her.When she got into the hall
other,parents were greeting her.

Ms Ajani was about leaving the hall after picking her daughter when
Sarah walked in. They exchanged pleasantries as usual. She knew
Jane's mother had heard about the news but just decided to keep
mute over it. Jane reminded her,~"Mummy you said you would
congratulate Mara's mum for Mara's success today" she said
innocently. She acted as if she had forgotten and greeted sharply
before leaving. She was ashamed of her daughter's failure and was
not ready to give room for motivational speech from Sarah.

Mrs Williams sensed what she was thinking but decided to

overlook it. Her children gave her the best evidence to show that it
pays to teach children to be hard working.It was not long before
Mara came down from her class.She greeted other parents before
going to her mother.Some envied her while some were truly happy
for her and wished she was their daughter. "Mummy, see my
badge"she showed her as she hugged her. Her mother could see
 that her daughter was the center of attraction. She said
congratulations" and picked Rose as they headed for the car.
"Mummy aren't you happy for me?" She asked looking
eir disappointed from the way her mother reacted in the hall
on Sarah apologized to her and made her see reasons why she
acted that way. She explained to her that not everyone
wantedyou to succeed but even when you did.you must
御ю
celebrate with caution to avoid making more enemies than
friends. Mara nodded as she listened to her. Mara asked her
mother, "Do you mean that my friends were not happy?" Not
at all,I only wanted you to know that as you begin to
succeed,you must learn to celebrate in a way others wouldn't
envy you because they would be looking for ways to pull you
down"Saran explained.

Rose listened attentively as her mother and sister discussed. She said that
she was thirsty so Sarah stopped by at a kiosk by the road to get her
water.Rose did not sip up to half of it before she said she was full.Sarah
warned her to stop disturbing her with her childish attitude.Rose wanted
to cry because of it but she knew that she must not try it.

Sarah had texted her husband to get pizza with onion flavor while
coming because Mara and Rose liked it.Doctor Williams had added
parfait to it to appreciate Mara for her effort. Mara could not wait
for her dad to return home that day. She wanted to tell him the
good

news herself.She was in her room when her father came in and she heard
Rose telling him something.She rushed out and Rose was quiet
immediately. "Welcome daddy,hope she did not tell you anything about
what happened in school today?" Mara asked.Her father needed to use
elderly wisdom as he raised his eyebrows as if Rose did not say anything.
"Ma Ma wants to tell daddy something.Go on Mara and tell me" he said
to her.

"Daddyyou need to guess before I will tell you" Mara said taking a seat
beside her father. "What if I get it at once?"He told her. Mara said she
believed he would not get it at once. She felt disappointed when her
father got it.She was angry as she shouted at Rose for spoiling her
surprise. Their mother who was hearing all their conversation ran out of
kitchen to them. "Mara I told your dad before you asked me not to. It
was because I wanted him to get you pizza. So sorry for not telling you
earlier"she said.On hearing this,Mara apologized tu her sister.

Her father gave them the pizza and the parfaits."Youalso bought
parfaits?" She asked her father. He explained to her that he wanted to
buy it as an additional thing to appreciate Mara."So gist daddy about
how it went," her father said to Mara. Mara told him how she had cried
when she almost missed everything in the first round. "That shows you
need to learn to be more relaxed.The

stale's own won't be easier and you will be meeting

Bee competition.Miss Susan had taken it upon herself to keep

practising those words with her.Sarah was doing bulk of the
work.Mara was almost becoming familiar with allthe words in the
dictionary. She needed to learn both the meaning of those words
and their spellings. She had tried reading about how the State
Spelling Bee programme looks like.
The State Spelling Bee's Supervisor, Mrs. Miky had invited her to her
office the day before the contest."Your parents will be given a ticket
to follow you alongside with a teacher from your school" she told
her. Mara's parents were sent their tickets.Mara left from school to
the venue of the competition. She registered before going to the
room where contestants were kept. She felt like a girl looking at her
was familiar. She tried to recall if she was sure it's the same person.
"It's Joy" the girl said tying to make her remember.They had met at
the mall the last time she followed her father to the salon. "Is your
dad also here?" Mara asked.She told her that her parents were in
the hall. "My parents are around too" Mara said. They didn't finish
talking when they were ushered on to the stage.

The qualifiers would have two distinct rounds of competition that day.
The first round was the written Spelling Bee as contestants were
required to write down the correct spellings of words in a card
provided for them.The main rules of the written round included
instructions not to cancel, change, shine or re-write any letter. This
implies that the contestants shouldnot attempt to correct any error on
their papers or shine any letter to make it bold as that would be
considered an alteration of the letter. Miss Susan had emphasized this
to make this clear to Mara.

There were about twenty contestants and after the written stage
only ten were announced to proceed to the second stage. This is
the elimination round using English words ony. For the English
words, a letter had been sent to the various schools that the
 contestants representing their schools were advised to download and
go through the Study Guide for the season after a successful
registration online.

Before the oral stage began, the rules and guidelines were read out.
"I wil be going through the guidelines even though our contestants
must have known them"one of the four judges said.

Contestants were required to be very audible and clear on their

spelling.

Contestants were also required to pronounce the word after they

have spelt it to indicate that they were through with the spelling.A
contestant may be disqualified for not pronouncing the words after
spelling within the time frame allotted to the word.

Acontestant has 60 seconds after saying the first letter of the

word,to spell his/her word and pronounce the word.

It was the duty ofthe contestant to request the following:re-

pronunciation, definition, the origin of the word,sentence
example,part of speech and tense.
He paused and continued, for alternative pronunciation (if
alternative pronunciations are available,and within the allowed
parameters of the rules,) he also states the following:

"Homonyms: if a word has one or more meaning, the contestant

indicates which word is to be spelt by defining the word first.
 Contestants are advised to make use of the rights to ask for a re-
pronounciation.

A contestant CANNOT change the order of the letters in a word after

pronouncing the letters during spelling.

Officials may disqualify any contestant who ignores a request to

spell his/her word after a reasonable length of time."

Mara's father had spotted Joy's father where he sat. He tried to look
for her on sighting Joy at the first round."That's the girl Mara met at
the mall the other day I went to the salon to have a haircut" he told
Sarah as they were both surprised and happy. "She must have been a
girl with great personality for Mara to have been attracted to her"
her mother said. It was becoming more difficult as Mara narrowly
escaped the second round before the final stage.Only five of them
were to contest for the final stage but three would be representing
the State for the National level.

Sarah was always tapping her legs on the floor each time Mara
misses a word. Her husband cautioned her to avoid distracting their
daughter. "She can read your feelings from there" he said to her.
Sarah kept herself cool when the other contestants also missed that.
Joy seemed to be an excellent contestant as she didn't miss any of
her words.

Mara was announced as the second position while Joy came first.
The boy who came third was from another school within the State.
After the announcement,their parents rushed to them. Joy and
Mara hugged each other as they were both happy.Life had brought
them together again in a way they couldn't have imagined.

"Congratulations! Sorry I did not reach out as promised.I got busy

with work," Doctor Williams apologized first.Joy's father was not
angry and told him he had his fault too.They introduced their
wives to each other and they were happy for their children.They
promised to hang out together later that week to celebrate their
children and get to know each other well.

MORAL LESSONS

(1)It is good to always work hard as a child as it helps one in becoming a

better person in life.

(2)The reward for laziness is failure, and this can cause shame before one's
friends, family and peer.

(3)It is good for children to always help their parents in doing house chores
once they come of age.

(4)When you spare the rod,you will spoil the child.

(5)Correcting children will make them become better not worse

(6)Learners must learn to always obey school rules as they are made to
mmake them better learners.

(7)Children must learn to strive to participate in things that will help them
in their school work.
(8)Children must learn to speak to their parents and adults around them
when they are worried and needed counseling.

GLOSSARY
Cartoon:An animated piece of film which is often but not exclusively
humorous.

Confidence:Self-assurance. Expression or feeling of certainty.

Competition:Acontest for a prize or award

Dictionary:A reference work with a list of words from one or more

languages,normally ordered alphabetically and explaining each word's
meaning and sometimes containing information on its origin, usage,
translations,and other data.

Dinner:An evening meal.

Divorcee:Aperson divorced.

Garden: An outdoor area containing one or more types of plants usually

grown for food (vegetable garden) or ornamental purposes (flower
garden).

Governor:The leader of a region or state

Hawk:To sell;to offer for sale by outcry in the street

(9)Itis good to always read.Readers are Leaders!

(10)Children must understand that there is time for everything.

There is time to watch movies and time to read.

(11)It is good to celebrate other people when they succeed.

(12) Children must learn to help their friends whenever they can.

(13) Learn not to give up even when it's not working well.

(14) Don't forget to appreciate those who helped you when you
have made it.

Nervous:Apprehensive,anxious,hesitant,and worried.

Parfait: Short for French parfait (parfait glacé), an iced dessert

made with egg yolks,sugar,cream,and flavoring (usually fruit),
sometimes with the addition of a liqueur.

Photographer:One who takes photographs, typically as an

occupation.

Pizza:A baked Italian dish of a thinly rolled bread dough crust

typically topped before baking with tomato sauce,cheese, and
other ingredients such as meat, vegetables or fruit.

Pyjamas: Clothes for wearing to bed and sleeping in,usually

consisting of a-loose-fitting shirt and pants/trousers.
Temperature: A measure of cold or heat, often measured with
a thermometer.