CHANGE OF INTEREST

Divine having heard from Francis that he still emerged, as number one on the admission list after the interview, with a total score of 98% was very excited. He was very excited because St. Francis College is one of the best school, the talk of the town.

Divine went with his mother to the school to see the principal, who directed her to get his prospectus containing the details of what he needs to ensure he starts school immediately. She went to the cashier and pay his school fees, which was a sum of five thousand nairas, got all of his text and notebooks then, went to the market to buy his uniform of white shirt top and sky blue short, with an oversized leather sandal. It was an unusual experience for Divine, who is now feeling for his mother, because of the stress that she was going through to ensure all that is necessary to start school is in place for him. She was supposed to buy a locker from the school for Divine but realized that the locker has finished from the workshop. However, Divine and his mother had to trek a very long distance to the rice mill, from where she could get the locker for him. After she had trekked to the rice mill, she was able to get the locker and started walking back to the school. Divine who was walking with her, was trying to keep her pace, but could not, so got very tired of trekking. He started complaining, “Mummy, I cannot walk again”, so his mother had to back him and carry the locker on her head.

When they got down to the school, Divine’s mother took the locker to the introductory technology teacher for inspection. The introductory technology teacher inspected the locker and approved it. By now, Divine’s mother was already very exhausted, and Divine sleeping and did not even know when she arrived at the school. Wake up! Divine’s mother tapped him up. Divine, drunkenly staggered and opened his eyes, not believing that he was before other kids undergoing the registration process who were with their parents assisting them through. He was being sneered at by other students, and he could hear them saying, “Look at this old man, he is still being backed by his mother”.

Divine followed the Vice Principal Administration of the school to his class, which is Junior Secondary School (JSS) 1C as his class, and his mother took the locker into the class for him and placed it at the side of the door, number one from the first row.

Divine started school and was still stick to Francis who was his primary school mate besides a close friend, and still in the same class. This two inseparable friends love playing football and are always together as a twin.

Divine and all other admitted students now seated in the class, a teacher walked into his class. All the students in the class stood up to greet the teacher.

Good morning students, congratulations on your admission into St. Francis College. I am your mathematics teacher, and my name is Solomon, I would love it if all of you start by introducing yourself, one after the other, so I can get to know you since you are all from different primary school. After they have all introduced themselves, the teacher asks them to sit down.

Today, I will be introducing the topic “Number Base System” and to begin, I would want to lay the background. Number structure follows a pattern and that pattern is what defines the system, which operates on a standard known as base ten. Base ten has the followings elements of number 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. Any question? “Yes sir, I have a question” Divine responded. Why is that 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are called the elements of the Base Ten Number System and 10 is not inclusive, but you said, “10 is the standard”? This question, got the mathematics teacher to confuse, as he could not answer the question. Nevertheless, he continues teaching from what he had written in his notebook and copying from the textbook, as he peeps into his notebook and writes on the blackboard. Divine was not happy that the teacher could not answer his question, however, after the teacher was done with his class, he asks Divine to see him in the staffroom. Divine followed the teacher to the staffroom and the teacher, ask him to kneel, and Divine protested by asking the teacher, why? Sir, what have I done wrong? Divine asked the mathematics teacher to know, and the mathematics teacher answered him, “How can you ask me such kind of question in the class?” I am sorry sir, I only ask to know because I am curious and I love mathematics, so I thought you would be able to give me an answer, however, I have a lot of question in my mind and I need someone who can help me. The mathematics teacher was impressed hearing Divine talk and the confidence in his is unflinching, as his teacher now picked interest in Divine, knowing that his inquisitiveness points to his rare knowledge that great men will seek someday with the right mentor to guide him well.

It was now broken time, Divine and his friend Francis, went to the football pitch to play ball. While Divine was playing the ball in the pitch, the game’s master of the school named Mr Amu spotted and sent for him, because of his exceptional skill... When Divine got to the game master’s office to see him. Also, when he got down to the office, he was amazed at what he heard the game’s master saying about his skills.

“I saw you playing the ball effortlessly with an exceptional skill and I am therefore inviting you to join the school team because this will allow you to improve your skills”, said Mr Amu, nevertheless, this will expose you to greater opportunities. The school team will be training by 4:00 pm; I want you to join in the training. Meanwhile, I have arranged a football match, between your class and JSS 1A to test orders’ abilities and skills, I will see you after the match before the school training. This was how Divine joined the school team and became very popular because of his exceptional football skills and his scoring ability.

It was now time for the match between Divine’s class and JSS 1A and this was after the normal school period. Divine and Francis, having known each other and had played football together as a teammate while in primary school, understand each other pattern of play. Divine was top striking from as the ninth winger, while Francis attacking as the tenth winger. The match was fun with the two friends playing with each other on the same team. At the end of the match, Divine’s class won the match 4 goals to nothing, with Divine scoring three goals and Francis, one goal. There was jubilation all over after JSS 1C won the football match with JSS 1A. However,

After the match was now over, Divine was feeling very exhausted and thirsty. Therefore, he had to run to a nearby canteen to buy some food for himself to eat with the pocket money his mother gave him. However, before he started eating his food, he bought a very chilled bottle of water and poured it on his head, as it streams down from his crown cascading to his heels. There were jubilations by Divine’s class and all of his classmates were showering praises on him, and this made him so excited and was engrossed in pride. Divine finally joined the school team, and started his training, he was the youngest amongst the team, as he was still eleven years old, while the majority from the school team was seventeen years and above, mostly from the senior class. Divine was the only player from the junior class. Divine’s exposure to the school team, made him have friends who were older than he was and one of his friends was Inalegwu Raymond who was the captain of the team.

Divine kept growing in the school team with his exceptional skills and at thirteen years old Divine is now in JSS 3, but now known as the best player amongst the school team, as he participates in all secondary school games right till he graduated from secondary school.

The last of all the secondary school games Divine participated, was held in 2002, and he was able to emerge as the highest goal scorer, after which, he participated in numerous competition, that qualified him to also partake in under 17 screening of the Nairegin football team. However, after he graduated from secondary school, Divine started losing interest in football because of the questions in his heart. Nevertheless, started building his interest in search of answers to the questions in his heart that no one seems to have ever answered and this happens, when his mathematics teacher told him that the answer to the questions in his heart is in him. Divine became a lover of music, always writing poems and trying to share his inspiration with people around whom tend to see him as weird because they could not just imagine such kind of depth.