THE SCIENCE OLYMPIAD

I'd thought about this moment, imagined it for days but I'd never expected what happened.

Lying on a couch with a Gold medal hung around my neck. I'm remembering what happened in my first year at Eastern High School.

My name is Dzuwa, which means ′sun′. My father told me that I was given this name because I was born in a sunny month of October. I turned 14 two months ago.I grew up in a poverty stricken family of two children and a widowed father who was working very hard as a cook at my school to make sure that he responded to the needs of my six years old brother, Kutha and I.He did whatever it took to take us to the best schools in our country.

I was the youngest and gifted student at Eastern High School who skipped two grades in middle school and I was admitted to High School when students of my age were still in middle school.Being a highly able science student, I was elected to represent my school in a Science Olympiad which was to be held on the first Monday of March at 2 pm.

"It is my time to Shine and show everyone that am a shooting star." I said as I reached over to slap the snooze button on my alarm clock. I always went back to sleep after hitting the snooze button but this day was different. I could hardly sleep any longer as I kept thinking about how the Science Oympiad would close the page of all my lonely high school days and open a new page full of happiness and friends.

With a broad smile on my face, I got out of bed and walked towards the balcony door. Lost in thoughts, I slipped and fell down on the floor. Trying to figure out why I slipped, I noticed a small amount of coffee on the floor.It was obvious that it was the coffee ice cube that my young brother removed from his iced coffee that melted overnight.

"It serves me right for giving Kutha iced coffee last night!" I said as I rose and opened the balcony door.

As I stood on the balcony, I saw my school mates walking to school in pairs and laughing to each other's jokes. I couldn't hear what they were saying but I knew it was funny because they laughed all their way to school.

"Why do you always walk to school alone?" A gentle voice came from behind.

It was my young brother. He always came to my bedroom first thing when he woke up to share his dreams with me and always left my bedroom crying so that my father would carry him in his muscular arms.

"Kutha how was your night? Share your dream with me" I replied after a pause. I avoided his question but he was right, I always walked to school alone.No one wanted me to be their friend because my father was a cook and I was the youngest in high school. They bullied me from the first day I went there but I couldn't tell my young brother about it. I never said anything to him that I knew would make him sad. The only time I was free from the bullies was during the Science class with Mrs. Mumba, I will never forget that woman. She believed in me and protected me like her own child, sometimes I thought it was my late mother's soul living in her body but those were just my childish thoughts. She was the one who elected me to represent the school in the Science Olympiad because she believed that I was the only one who would win first place and save her last chance of staying at Eastern High School. Ever

since Eastern High School started participating in Science Olympiads, it had never won first place. The principal put the blame on her and told her that she'll be transferred to another school if the school doesn't take first place in this

year's Olympiad. He thought Mrs. Mumba was not a good teacher but he was wrong. She was actually the best

science teacher any school could ever have.

"Your friend came with his young brother who had two glasses of iced coffee. He gave me one glass and your friend took us to a coffee shop and bought more iced coffee for us." My young brother narrated his dream.

"He had too much iced coffee before he went to bed" I said to myself.

I knelt down to my young brother's height and put my arm around him. "Very soon," I said "I will come home with a lot of friends and their young brothers and take you out for iced coffee".

My young brother with a radiant smile on his face left the balcony and ran to his room. His pussycat print pajamas made him look chubbier than he actually was and his smile was not only radiant but also infectious because for a moment, I smiled after I saw it. Surprisingly, he did not leave the room crying.To me, this was an indication that it was going to be a good day. Imagining what it would be like after winning the Oympiad, I walked to the mirror with my head held high and waving my hand like a ′Hollywood sweetheart'.

"Let's do this!" I said and started getting ready for school.

An hour and a half gone, I was on the school campus. I walked confidently with my hair tied up in a bun, my white short sleeved school shirt carefully tucked in my navy blue school skirt and with my favorite bracelet that I only wore on special days. The Science Oympiad made this day special. I was already feeling like I won the first place in the Oympiad and everybody was dying to have me as their friend,so I walked towards the bullies fearlessly. Lost in the dreamland, I lost my way and entered the wrong classroom. When I came to realize, I was already surrounded by

bullies that poured white powder on my hair and face. I could hardly open my eyes;all I could hear were laughing voices as I struggled to find my way to the bathroom.When I got there, I washed out all the powder from my hair and face but my hair did not look as good as it did before the powder was poured on me.As if that was not enough,the moment I walked out of the bathroom I found pictures of me with the white powder stuck all over the walls and surrounding each picture was a crowd of people that laughed at it. There was only one person who was capable of doing that and she was the one who did it. Her name was Sepo, my classmate. She found pleasure in doing things to humiliate me.

I walked to my Science teacher's office to start preparing for the Oympiad.

"Dzuwa, I have been waiting for you for hours! Where have you been?" She asked.

"I was…" I almost told her that I was bullied but I quickly realized that her mood would be spoiled if I told her and she would go out to punish the bullies.

"You went to the library like always. Didn't you?" She asked me as she rolled her eyes to me. I loved going to the library and she knew it.

After a few minutes, she took out a Science pamphlet and started asking me questions. She explained and made me understand the questions that I failed to answer. I was able to answer all the questions in the pamphlet after she explained and this made her very happy. At 1 PM, she allowed me to leave and get ready for the Olympiad.

When I left her office, I walked to the school kitchen to see my dad and have him wish me luck before I left for the competition.My father was proud of me because I loved science and I was very serious with school. He called me

"Little scientist′′ and he wanted me to study Electrical Engineering after high school.

When he was young he wanted to be an Engineer but after his mother died, his father married his step mother who never allowed his father to send him to the University because she wanted him to be helping her in the restaurant where he got his skill of cooking. He left the house and married my mother who gave birth to me and my young brother, Kutha. He did not want his dream of becoming an Engineer to die; he made sure that I developed interest in Science at a very young age because he wanted it to continue living in me so that I can make it come true by becoming an Engineer.I was also studying very hard to become an Engineer in the future, not only because my father wanted me to be one but because I had interest in it.

"My little Scientist!" he said when he saw me entering the kitchen. Nothing felt better than hearing my father calling me his little scientist because it reminded me that I needed to work harder so that my father would continue being

proud of me.

"Daddy, the Science Olympiad is starting after a few minutes and I want you to wish me luck!" I said with a cheerful smile on my face.

"You don't need it my child. All you need is self belief and you shall achieve anything you want in life" He responded.

"Yes, dear child! Your father is right. Self belief is the key to success."My father′s friend added. He really liked me because of my seriousness with school and he used to help my father pay my school fees sometimes. He held a higher position in the kitchen than my father, so his monthly income was handsome.He was not married and he did not have children. If he had children, one of them would have been my best friend If not all of them.

"Thank you Uncle, I will definitely have self believe.Allow me to leave now" I said to my father's friend.

"Go ahead my child. See you after the Science Olympiad"He replied.

"Bye Daddy!" I said waving my hand at my father as I walked out of the kitchen.

Walking towards my locker to get my identity card, I met Sepo. She was in the locker room and my locker was open.

"Did I leave it open?" I asked myself as I opened my purse to get my identity card.

I did not find it there and I was sure it was the only place I kept it.I suspected Sepo had a master key that opened my locker and she got it because she knew that I couldn't do the Oympiad without my student identity card.For the first time, I gathered

some courage to approach her because I did not want to miss the Science Oympiad.

"Why, Sepo? Why? I know you opened my locker and got my ID. You are the only one who is capable of doing it"

"Wow! So now the baby has the guts to accuse me of stealing her ID," She said, "You know what? I can never put my

hand in your stinking locker or even stand near it, so just shut your little mouth and leave before I kill you" I was running out of time,so I decided not to waste my time exchanging words with her. As I was turning to go back to my locker, she grabbed my arm where my bracelet was and pulled me back to shout at me for trying to walk out on her.

She also destroyed my bracelet! I couldn't believe it. The bracelet that I kept for 5 years was destroyed on a special

day and by someone I did not like because of what she used to do to me.I put it in the locker and left. I could not hold back my tears as I ran back home to look for my ID in case I left it there.There was only my young brother and Nandi, the nanny who used

to take care of my young brother when father and I were not around. I entered the house panting and the door banged shut behind me. My young brother came running towards me, with the face he gave each time he wanted me to lift him but I was not in the mood. The Science Olympiad had already begun because it was five minutes past 2pm,

so I felt restless and Sepo destroying my precious bracelet made me feel very angry.

"I missed you Dzuwa!" my young brother said and hugged me.

I looked at him and pushed him away because I was not in a good mood.He fell to the floor and started crying, I felt really bad but the only way I could stop him from crying was if I gave him iced coffee. I did not have enough time to

do that so I told the Nanny to give him the coffee and ran to my bedroom to look for my student identity card which I did not find after searching high and low. I ran back to school with a a big lump in my throat and holding back my tears.

When I arrived at school, I went to Mrs. Mumba's offce to tell her that I lost my ID and it was 2:30 pm. I only had an hour left before the Science Oympiad ended.

"What are you doing here? The Olympiad started a long time ago!"she said.

"I'll explain everything later but for now I need you to help me talk to the invigilator.I lost my identity card and I will not be allowed to enter." I said as I held her hand and walked quickly to the venue. She did not say anything.

When we got there, I knocked and when the invigilator opened the door, I stood behind Mrs. Mumba. I couldn't wait for the invigilator to allow me inside because time was ticking very fast.

"Madam, your school is hosting the Scence Olympiad and your student representative's desk is still empty.What has

happened?"

"I am sorry sir;she misplaced her student identity card so she has been looking for it a while and she has not found it. I came to ask you to let her in, please?"

"I am afraid that is not allowed. You very well know that the rules do not allow me to let any student in without their student identity card. Just tell her to quickly go and search for it before the time is up. You are even lucky that this year's Olympiad does not include the labs so she can quickly write the paper."

As Mrs. Mumba and the invigilator were talking, I saw Sepo. She showed me the ID and asked me to follow her. I quietly left followed and her.She took me to the bathroom and closed the door.

"Do you want to go for the Science Oympiad?"

"Yes, I really want to go"

"Nice, if you really want to go. I'll give you the ID but you have to promise me one thing. You know,I am also having your laptop and you can't do the Computer Science practical without it and you will also have to pay a huge amount of money to the school for losing the laptop..You don't want to stress your father,do you? I mean, he's just a cook"

"Hold it right there! I will not have you talk about my father like that. How did you even get my laptop?" I roared, blood pumping angrily in my throat.

"I don't think I owe you or anyone an explanation on how I got the laptop. if you want it back, you'll go for the Science Olympiad and write without putting your name, school or anything that would make them know that it was written by you!"

"Why?" I asked morosely.

"Deal?" she replied with a question.

I left my science teacher without telling her, so I figured she was looking for me.

"Deal" I replied. She gave me the identity card and I ran back to the venue.

The school gave laptops to all admitted students for use during the computer science practicals and everyone was expected to return them after graduating from high school or if one decides to get a transfer. No one was allowed to take the laptops to their home, so we left them in our lockers.

When I got there, I found the Science teacher outside and the invigilator was inside.

"Where did you go? You only have 30 minutes left". She said.

I showed her my ID and told her that I went looking for it. The invigilator came out and let me inside. I was not myself that moment. I had a lot of things on my mind, I was thinking about my destroyed bracelet, my young brother, the laptop and Mrs. Mumba, the woman who believed in me.

I opened the question paper and smiled.The questions were similar to the ones that were in Mrs. Mumba's Pamphlet. I managed to finish answering within 30 minutes and when other students saw me smiling while answering, they were surprised because they failed to complete the work in an hour and 30 minutes.

I looked at the black spaces on the cover page where I was supposed to write my details and my smile was slowly fading. Because of Sepo, I was going to disappoint my father and Mrs. Mumba was going to be transferred to another school which meant I would have no one to save me from the bullies. I used to think that my life would be better after the Science Oympiad but Sepo came in and destroyed everything.

"I will not forgive myself if Mrs. Mumba leaves this school!" I said as I picked my pen to write my details on the cover page.

"Put your pens down and stand up! It is time up." The invigilator said.

I put my pen down and stood up. It was too late for me to save Mrs. Mumba from being transferred to another school. Everything felt like a nightmare that I wished I could wake up from and start the day afresh, making sure everything goes as I had planned and not giving Sepo a chance to get in the way.

I walked out of the room and found Mrs. Mumba waiting for me. She smiled and gave me a hug.

"How was it?" She asked.

The corners of my lips moved up a bit, forming a smile. But my eyes were filled with tears that I held back quickly. It was one big forced smile that I used to hide my pain. I was dying inside.

"Attention! Attention! The results will be announced tomorrow at the same time the competition begun. So it's same time, same place!" The invigilator announced.

"I have to go now! I am going somewhere with my father at 4:30 pm," I said and took a quick glance at my wrist watch, "It's even 4:30 already. Bye!" I started running towards the kitchen.

When I got there, I found my father and his friend locking the kitchen door. It was hard for me to hide my pain from my father because he knew me better than I knew myself and he always found out whenever I tried to hide. So when I saw him, I broke into tears and hugged him. " I messed up, father. Things did not go the way I planned." I cried.

"Please, calm down and explain what happened." He said. I explained everything that happened and I cried even louder.

"Don't worry, Dzuwa. All that happened was not your fault at all. You see, things don't always go the way we planned. Sometimes it happens to build us and make us strong." He said wiping out my tears.

He held my hand and we walked home quietly. Each one lost in their own thoughts.

"Daddy, I want to go to the school where Mrs. Mumba will be transferred to. I don't want to continue being a student at Eastern High School." I said, breaking the silence. My father did not respond and I took the length of his silence as a no. We remained silent until we got home.

Whenever my Father and I entered the house, my young brother would first run towards my father and hug him. He would then come to me, hug me and escort me to my bedroom, telling me everything that happened at home when I was at school. But this day was different. He only hugged my father and ran back to his bedroom without even looking at me, his best friend. He was still upset with me because of the way I pushed him in the afternoon.

I walked to my bedroom thinking about what to do or give my brother to make him forget about what happened. When I entered my bedroom, I looked at the box where I used to keep my bracelet and then at my wrist. I felt really bad because after 5 years, the bracelet that my mother bought for me before she died was destroyed on this day by Sepo.

"I'm sorry mum. It was all my fault, I should have not gone with it to that school that's full of bullies!" I cried, looking at my late mother's portrait. Next to my late mother's portrait was a portrait of my young brother. I quickly wiped out my tears.I realized that I had some important work to do. I had to go to my brother and apologize for what I did even though I knew that it wasn't going to be easy for him to forgive me because it was the first time I pushed him when he tried to hug me and welcome me, so I figured he was very hurt.

I walked to his room rehearsing the first sentence I was going to say to him. It was all Sepo′s fault that I even had to do that to my young brother. When I entered his bedroom, I found him lying on his bed with his teddy bear."You are the only friend I have left now, teddy" I heard him talk to the teddy bear. The sentence I rehearsed all the way to his bedroom escaped my mind at that moment.

"You have me too, your best friend!" I said."Leave me alone!" he replied. His words sounded cold and final. I moved closer to him and asked, "Do you really want me to leave you alone?" The wind blew the door open as though in reply. I did not get a response from my brother. But as I was trying to leave his bedroom, he stopped me.

"Wait, before you leave. Tell me why you came here." I smiled and ran back to sit on his bed. I was finally given a chance to explain why I did what I did.

"I came to apologize for the way I pushed you in the afternoon. I didn't mean to. I lost my student identity card when I had only a few minutes left before the Science Olympiad, so I had to rush back home to check if I left it here. Trust me, I only pushed you because I was in a hurry and I am sorry Jerry." Jerry was his favorite character in our favorite cartoon, TOM & JERRY. We watched it every Saturdays and Sundays together. He called me, Tom and I called him, Jerry.

"I will only forgive you on one condition." He replied without looking at me.

"You mean, only one? C'mon, I will do anything for you!"

"I want you to make iced coffee for me tonight before bed"

"Consider it done."He looked at me with an innocent smiled and gave me a tight embrace.

"Excellent!" our father shouted as we embraced.

"Dad! What are you doing here?" I asked.

He held his arms out to us, waiting for us to hug him. "Can we all have a great group hug"

We ran to hug him and we remained locked up in the warm group hug for some minutes.