The day ended with me still unsure about the whole Penfield scholarship thing.
Tired and weary from spending the last couple of hours scrubbing large pots and pans at a local *chop bar for some money, I trotted all the way back home to get some much-needed rest. The day hadn't turn out the way I wanted it to, and that alone had me swimming in a pool of disappointment.
When I finally got home, an empty dark room welcomed me. As I entered and flicked on the light, I grew a bit worried about my family's whereabouts, until I found a note attached to the T.V, saying they were attending one of the evening services at the Methodist church.
Discarding the note, I plummeted into the old armchair, forgetting that the folded prospectus was still sticking out from the back pocket of my shorts. Feeling the hard material pushing against my buttocks, I tilted myself to the side and yanked it out. The booklet had taken on a curved shape and I tried my best to straighten it out before opening it. "Let's see what we have here."
I leisurely flipped through the glossy pages observing pictures of the expansive and extravagant university. It felt as if I was looking through a travel magazine.
Mr. Dery wasn't lying when he said the university offered a wide variety of programmes. Page after page displayed over fifty programmes listed under six faculties and four schools, all making Penfield University what it was; the best private university in Ghana.
As I continued on, reading commentary from both past and continuing students about how Penfield was helping them achieve their dreams, my mind had already drawn the conclusion that this school was definitely out of my league. Even if ten rich women decided to groom me and give me the make-over of a lifetime, I still wouldn't fit in. That was how bad it was.
Reaching the final pages of the book, I skimmed past pictures of the numerous awards the university had acquired over the years. The older ones were beautifully displayed in award cases whilst the recent ones were being held by the students who had helped earn them. "Show-offs," I mumbled.
I was about turning over to the next page when a particular face caught my eye. Standing akimbo on a stage with two medals dangling from his neck, I highly doubted if it was him, my old childhood friend. But when my eyes moved downwards, reading the caption, all that doubt washed itself away.
Ethan Osei-Boateng. Captain of Penfield's official swim team, The Sharks, and currently holds the title of Penfield's Greatest Swimmer.
My mouth dropped open. Ethan...the scrawny little boy I grew up with.
"Akwasi." The door flew open and in came my mother and sister.
"H-hey." Shoving the book to the side of the armchair, I stood up to greet them. "Welcome home."
"Thank you," Ma was the only one who responded, since Kukua was now busily fidgeting with the TV remote. "Please get me some water to drink eh, my throat is so dry."
Turning on my heel, I darted into the kitchen to get my mother the cup of water she asked for. It didn't take long, but when I came back, she'd found the prospectus and was glowering at it out of curiosity.
Shit.
"What is this?"
"Nothing." I attempted to snatch it from her, but Ma was fast enough to pull it out of my reach.
"If it's nothing then why do you have it?" She threw me a suspicious gaze as she sat down in the armchair.
Not sure how to answer the question without raising more questions, I decided to keep my mouth shut and watched her flip through the pages of the book. I set her cup of water on the small side table and silently cursed myself for not doing a better job hiding it.
Ma continued to glance through. "I didn't know you were thinking about entering the university."
"I'm not," I huffed.
"Then why do you have this?" She paused to look at me, lifting up an eyebrow.
I sighed, knowing there was no point in hiding the truth. So I told her about everything, starting from yesterday when I fixed Mr. Dery's car till today, when he offered me the scholarship.
"Oh Akwasi, this is great news!" Ma was beyond happy. "You should've mentioned this the moment we got home."
"I didn't, because I'm not taking it."
The wide smile dropped from Ma's face. "Ah why?"
I gaped at her, surprised that she was even asking me that question. "I can't leave you and Kukua alone for God knows how long. You need me here."
"Yes, but you also need school!" Ma shot back. "This is a huge opportunity, Akwasi. And you cannot throw it away because you want to stay here and take care of us."
Kukua had stopped watching the TV and was now watching us instead.
"After dropping out of senior high school at the age of sixteen, I never got the chance to continue with my education. Now look how my life turned out." She paused, "I am a miserable fishmonger who's been divorced twice, and is living in one small room with two children. Is this the life you want?"
My lips remained sealed; gaze locked on the floor with the question ringing in my ears. Frankly, I hadn't thought of things that way. I was more focused on the present, the here and now, completely ignoring the fact that there was an imminent future ahead of me. What will I do when Ma passes away and Kukua gets old enough to take care of herself? What then will happen to me?
"I know you want to do your best to protect and provide for us, but you also need to do what's best for you and your future." Ma drew closer and cupped my face. "This is your chance to carve your own path to greatness. You can't make us your sole responsibility your entire life, you need to make your own way and it starts with this scholarship. So please don't throw it all away."
Slowly, I nodded, allowing her words to sink in. My mother soon wrapped me in a hug and it wasn't long, then my little sister joined in.
These people meant the world to me, and if I wanted things to get better, to end this life of poverty, I had to venture out into the world and achieve the things my mother didn't have the chance to.
¤¤¤¤¤
A week later
With all the strength I could muster, I lifted my suitcase and shoved it into the trunk of Mr. Dery's Highlander.
Thanks to my mother's advice, I'd accepted the scholarship and could now call myself a freshman of Penfield University.
"Ok, that's the last of my luggage." I turned to WÉfa Yaw, who had stopped by with his wife and sons to see me off. He was also coming with me to the university as my legal guardian, since Ma couldn't travel long distances without getting sick.
"Good." WÉfa Yaw glanced down at his watch. "It's now 10:30, if we set off at this time, we'll be in Accra latest by 12 ...that's if there's no traffic."
"Oh, I do hope there's no traffic." Auntie Naa joined us. "Especially at Kasoa, the traffic over there can last for hours."
"Then we better get moving." Mr. Dery hopped into the driver's seat, starting the engine with a loud rev. "Oh, yeah Akwasi." He stepped out of the vehicle again, holding out two rectangular boxes. "I almost forgot, I got you these. Here, take one."
Surprise hit me in the face. "You got me a phone?" I asked, spotting the Samsung Galaxy A12 print on the side of the box.
"Yes," Mr. Dery replied, handing the other box to my mother, who had just joined us with Kukua at her side. "I thought it would be good if you had one so you can keep in touch with your family and not have to worry about them when you're at school. The phone has all the latest apps and everything, so you can chat and call at any time."
"I..." Speechless, I shook my head in disbelief. "I... don't even know what to say."
"Then don't say anything son," Mr. Dery gave me a soft pat. "I see a lot of myself in you, Akwasi. It's part of why I decided to give you this scholarship. Growing up in similar conditions...was just a reminder that no situation lasts forever. Just take this as the start of bigger things coming your way."
I nodded, smiling so hard that my cheeks began to hurt. "I definitely will, sir."
Ma also decided to take the opportunity to shower Mr. Dery with an avalanche of thank yous, even though he had told her not to mention it.
"Akwasi!" WÉfa Yaw yelled from the car. "Come on get in! It's time to leave."
"Goodbye, Akwasi." Auntie Naa closed the gap between us with a hug. "May the good Lord bless and keep you safe as you embark on this journey."
"Thank you." Pulling away I turned to my mother, who was trying her very best to squint away her tears. "Oh Ma."
"Akwasi." In the next minute, her arms were around me, basking in each other's warmth one last time before we parted ways for the next months.
"Go make me proud, ok?" She managed to say past sniffles.
"Yes ma." I tightened my hold on her briefly then gently pushed myself out of our embrace to wipe away her tears.
"Akwasi." Kukua looked up at me, bottom lip wobbling. "I'll miss you."
Chuckling, I scooped her up with a twirl, which had her giggling for a few minutes. "I'll miss you too, Kuks." I put her down. "Be a good girl ok, and I'll bring you something when I'm coming back."
Beaming, my little sister nodded enthusiastically. "I'll be the goodest girl ever."
The comment elicited a swell of laughter from everyone, including me as I said my final goodbyes to WÉfa Yaw's sons, before hopping into the back seat of the car.
My heart felt like an anchor; an anchor of emotions threatening to sink into my stomach if so much as a tear escaped my eye. And as I watched my family wave from the otherside, there was nothing I could do to prevent that threat from happening. My arm shot out of the window, waving back as the car moved onto the road. For the first time in my life, I was leaving home, leaving my family behind. But it wouldn't be for long.
Pulling myself back into the car, I brushed out the wetness in my eyes, ready to face this new chapter of my life.
*****
*chop bar - a community food joint that usually serves an array of local alcoholic drinks and African meals in traditional earthenware bowls called Asanka.
And thus, begins our main story, folks. Thank you so much for coming this farðð½ I really appreciate the support. Next chapter comes up next week Friday, as always. PS: We will be meeting a very intriguing and important character so stay tunedâ¤