We were in our final year of junior secondary school trying to wrap-up everything about the final school term. It was the time to get ready for final examinations and projects and nothing else mattered except studying. There was no time to waste and no games to play because none of us could take that risk even though Liny and I were smitten.
The school atmosphere was frantic considering that this was the exam that was going to determine our next move, either to be placed into some private school and repeat the school year or actually move on to senior secondary school. Apart from that, we got more pressure from family and friends since they expected a lot from us and that’s nothing but passing the exams with distinctions. This was that moment we all had to take a necessary break from anything that was not academic to put our focus solely on the exams.
We both knew that our performance in these final exams was going to determine whether or not we would join senior high school together.I was not worried about exams because I knew what I’m capable of when it came to my academic performance. However, on the other hand, I was worried about Liny because I couldn’t imagine what would happen if she failed the exams. Now that I think about it, possibly the worst scenario would be her being transferred to another school and I couldn’t imagine how we were going to live without each other, so I made sure I tutored her on some subjects she had trouble with.
By the time the results for our final exams came out, we both were on the pass list and to us that’s what mattered because no one was being transferred to another school or expelled. We were excited but at the same time she was nervous, not because we were getting in the senior high school but because she knew that her parents had stood high on not approving our relationship. We hugged and I told her that she was with me by then so she has nothing to worry about.We were going to still be sneaking out of classes, but little did we know that our relationship had gotten the best of ourselves and forgot that we actually were skipping important lessons. By the end of the first term of the first year in senior high school she failed and of course I did not fail but my performance dropped and I wasn’t in the top ten either.
Surprisingly, we did not worry about it but I am sure her parents were disappointed by Liny’s performance because they had high expectations towards her. During the holiday of our second term we couldn’t have enough time to interact since her parents had registered her for part-time classes during her holidays. As for me, I was disappointed in myself that I lost my spot in top 5, thus getting back to my best performance was my goal for the second term.
During the second term we were both under pressure, she needed to improve her performance so she wouldn’t get transferred to another school by her parents, and I was under pressure to get back my spot in top five in class. We couldn’t sneak out during classes anymore, all we had to do was to take the risk of meeting during break time or after classes and no more calls during the night.
I can’t say that this was simple as it sounds because the restriction against me by her parents to the school committee was still valid, but we had to take the risk anyway I guess no pain, no gain because a week after we started meeting during break time I was suspended for the whole week as a warning. Well, don’t be surprised about that because her parents were powerful enough to influence the school committee to do what they want. Well, I couldn’t see much of their power and influence, all I could do was love their daughter from a distance because my presence not only did put me in danger but the school committee staff too. That didn’t stop me from meeting her. We could talk on the phone but that wasn’t enough and meeting was even harder, by now they’ve put us in separate classrooms and had spies all over us on every move. With that Liny and I were out of ideas and that’s when actually the ‘troublesome’ me came into play, thinking crazily how I can solve the puzzle for once and for all.
At this time I did the craziest thing I have ever done, going into the lions’ den personally. I decided to become best friends with his brother Steve, and whenever I had to see his brother I also had a chance to meet her secretly without her parents knowing. His brother was in the same club as me (the art club) so I would go to their house as if I am looking for Steve to rehearse for our performances.
And with unlimited freedom I paved the way until we finished our senior high school, and realized that being in the upper societal class wasn’t as powerful as I imagined as the parents were rarely at home.Or maybe it was just luck and logic on my side. hopefully this luck was not going to run out of my side anytime soon.
28 April, 2023
