Chapter three - Fear of failing

The students of the English and literature department are currently in the middle of an examination and from the look of things, it is not going well.

The exam was scheduled for 04:00 pm - 06:00 pm. The ever spacious hall seems too tight and too hot and the fans are not helping a bit. The questions are difficult and unexpected and the presence of twelve lecturers supervising in a single hall makes it even more uncomfortable.

The days that preceded the exams were hectic. Lecturers and students who had been lagging tried to cover their lapses, those who were serious from the beginning did the finishing up.

Classes were fixed between classes and the students knew better than to complain. Classes that were canceled for weeks were received in hours. Apart from the fact that eating is a necessity, it was beginning to seem a little bit of a time-consuming task as it was taking the time meant for studying. It was their first semester in the university and of course, nobody wanted to begin with a carryover. Some were concerned about doing better than others, and some were concerned about just passing the exams, though a few students didn't care. Anne was on the verge of a breakdown due to excessive studying. She couldn't afford to not pass, just thinking about how her fees are paid is enough to quit taking a break.

She and her friends made the library their home as they were always seen in the library, studying critically.

It got to a point and Naomi suggested they take a break stating that all work without play makes Anne a dull girl, giving Anne a knowing look. They agreed on a five-minute break and continued immediately after.

They rounded up with a question/answer session to test how much they retained what they had studied.

A few days before the beginning of the exams, they stopped studying critically and started revising, lightly. They vowed to excel in the examination as their favorite quote soon became 'Winning is our right ".

"You there, stand up". One of the supervisors said aloud, prompting some of the students to look up fearfully.

It happened that the girl sitting behind Anne had a problem understanding a particular question and begged her for a little assistance. Although Anne was discreet in helping her out, she was caught by one of the many supervisors who immediately collected both of their answer booklets and sent them out of the hall.

It was just a few minutes past 05:00 pm and it was heartbreaking for Anne who hadn't finished yet. She was so scared of failing and even though she tried, she couldn't stop being angry with herself.

To make things worse, the girl openly blamed Anne for the mishap. Not wanting to be extremely rude, Anne shot her a dreadful look, which made her stop talking immediately. She didn't wait for her friends to finish before she left for home. She was that angry.

As much as she tried to hide it, it was very obvious that she was angry and sad.

She angrily did her chores and went straight to bed but sleep did not come. About thirty minutes later her phone vibrated, indicating an incoming message.

"Nifemi, I am on my way to his house to cause trouble. How dare he cheat on me with that ugly girl??"

It was from an unsaved number. Anne knew instantly that the sender had the wrong number. Despite her angry state, Anne found it funny and was tempted to play along for the fun of it.

"You should teach them a lesson they won't forget in a hurry". She typed and then deleted it last minute and instead, she sent,

"I'm not Nifemi, you got the wrong number".

She waited for a reply and when she got none, she focused on the content of the message. Would she face such problems now that she has given Collins a chance? Finally, she was able to take her mind off the exam she had earlier and was grateful to whoever sent the message.

A few days ago, she had said yes to Collins and so far, there had been no regrets...or is it too early to conclude?

She didn't give in to Collins easily but he was more than prepared for her tricks. She gave different excuses among which being too small and not ready for any relationship was included but Collins did not buy any of it. Seeing that excuses were not working, she opted for conditions, she gave him impossible conditions and he accepted readily. It got to a point and she asked him why he was so desperate and he said he didn't want to lose her to someone else.

In truth, Anne already made up her mind to accept him but she only wanted to prove hard to get but gave up when it dawned on her that Collins was losing his patience.

She reached out to Collins who had been patiently waiting to hear from her. After they exchanged pleasantries, she explained what happened in the examination hall to him and he reassured her that she wouldn't end up failing the paper, even though he too was scared. He advised her to read for the next paper and bid her good night. She assured him she would and then she went straight to bed and slept off.