CHAPTER NINE
You're designed for achievement, you're engineered for success, you're endowed with the seeds of greatness. You're unique in the entire universe and wonderful to the core--- Richard Carswell
After dinner, she laid on the bed, took the book and opened to lesson 5. It was a lesson on Imagination. The first sentence that caught her mind as she looked through the page was the words in italics.
You can do it if you believe you can.
She read it aloud and immediately her mind travelled back to her Principal's words. "If you think you will spoil the name of my husband's school, you must be joking"
She tried to concentrate on the book before her and as she read, she saw statements that inspired her.
"...self confidence and initiative and leadership must be created in your imagination before they can become a reality"
She pondered on that statement. It simply meant that she must develop self confidence in her imagination first before she can be confident in reality.
She read on with excitement because she was anxious to see how that will be possible but she couldn't finish the topic, she slept off with the book in her hands.
******
She felt someone tapping her from her dreams. In her dream it was Mr Ben tapping her for a job well done. She woke up to see the amused look on her Aunt's face. She was neatly dressed.
"It's time for service." Aunty Eva said to her.
"Jesus! I haven't finished my book" She replied fully awake.
"Which book is that?"
"Mr Ben gave it to me yesterday, I needed to finish the chapter!"
"You can do that when you return from service" Her aunt replied as she left the room.
"Helen, why did you sleep off?" She asked herself as she took her towel and moved to the bathroom.
*****
"Did you finish the chapter?" Mr Ben asked her as they sat in his study after service.
"No Sir" She replied with a shamed face.
"I doubt you would" He replied as he took it from her, opened to a page and asked her to read the words he underlined loud.
"If your imagination is the mirror of your soul, then you have a perfect right to stand before that mirror and see yourself as you wish to be. You have the right to see reflected in the magic mirror the mansion you intend to own, the factory you intend to manage, the bank you intend to be president, the station in life you intend to occupy. Your imagination belongs to you! Use it! The more you use it the more efficiently it will serve you"
"What did you learn?" He asked.
"I learnt that I can imagine what I want" She responded.
"What's your name?"
"My name?"
"Yes, what's your name?"
"My name is Helen Adams"
"What did you win?"
"What did I win?" She questioned confused.
"Helen! You need to learn the power of imagination." Mr Ben shouted and stood up.
"I am sorry Sir"
"Don't be sorry, because if you don't accept the fact that you will win the Star Prize at that Grand Finale, no matter how much you prepare, you won't win!"
"I am sorry Sir!"
"Don't be sorry Helen, if I ask you what's your name, you reply with your name and if I ask you, what did you win, you reply with I won the Star Prize of the Day of Words. Do you hear me?"
"Yes Sir" She replied afraid of the looks on his face.
"Stand over there and look at me straight in the face."
She obeyed and walked over to the direction he pointed and then faced him.
"What's your name?"
"My name is Helen Adams"
"What did you win?"
"I won the Star Prize of the Day of Words"
"What did you win? Shout it out loud!"
"I won the Star Prize of the Day of Words"
"What did you win?"
"I won the Star Prize of the Day of Words!!!" She replied him this time louder than before.
"We will perform that ritual everyday, sit down"
"This competition has been going on for the past few years. The winner of last year was from Brazil. Helen you will go there and win. The competition will be made up of different segments; written, poetry, impromptu and speech delivery" Mr Ben explained moving around.
"You will first send your written story, if you qualify you will be called up for the rest of the competition in the Writers and Speakers College, USA."
She listened with rapt attention and with awe.
"We will practice all the segments and start working on your story immediately the holidays begin" He said and brought out two long empty sheets.
"Write till the end of the pages on a topic, The failure of a Nation. I am timing you, you have just 40 minutes."
"40 minutes?" She asked looking shocked.
"Your time starts now" Mr Ben replied and left.
She stared at the sheets for ten minutes before she could start writing.
"What will I write?" She asked no one in particular and fiddled with the biro. She only managed to write half of the first page when he came back to check on her.
"How many pages now?" He asked staring at her write up. He burst into laughter when he saw the little she had written.
Helen felt stupid.
"You can do more than this, I will be back in an hour's time, continue writing" He said as he noticed the sad look on her face. He knew she felt discouraged. He walked to the other side and sat at his table.
"I won't make it" She said to herself as the tears threatened to fall. She looked up at Mr Ben who turned his back and had started marking scripts.
********
As she laid on her bed that night, she pondered on the words Mr Ben told her.
"To be an effective writer, you must actively use your imagination. It must be alive. If you are to write about the failure of a Nation, put yourself in the shoes of a journalist or someone who has observed the downfall of a Nation. It doesn't have to be true. Writing is making your thoughts alive through words."
"The power of imagination" She said to herself and stood up. She brought out a sheet of paper from her locker and settled down to write. As she took her biro, she recalled his words.
"As a writer, you must have a topic that will catch people's attention, why should people read your write up? You must be appealing to the senses"
She thought for a moment on the topic she would work on and she decided to write on what he gave her earlier.
As she wrote, his words guided her.
"Think of yourself as a god, whenever you want to write, imagine yourself to be the god of pen and paper. If you are truly the god of pen and paper, then your writing materials must comply. Utilize your six senses, use your power of imagination, then start writing, write anything that comes to your head, just write, write and write. You can correct yourself later. Don't try to impress by using words you're not familiar with. Use simple English with accurate use of punctuation. The world belongs to you Helen. You are the Best"
She smiled in the darkness as she stopped writing. She was able to complete two pages. She slept a contented sleep that night.
******
"Can you imagine, Helen is representing our school for Day of Words. If we are selected, it means she will represent the country."Mrs Haniel began.
Chris has been away for a week due to a business conference in another part of the city. He looked up from his food.
"Woah" He commented and continued eating.
"This food is delicious" He said further.
"Did you just say woah? Are you serious?"
"What else should I say?" He asked suprised
"Remove her" She made her intention known in two clear words.
"Why? It's an opportunity for her to grow"
"She is not fit for it, Mina and Martha can go"
"We can't go through such stress or are you ready for that Martha?" Mina asked her sister.
"Never!" Her sister replied emphasizing her answer with a shake of the head.
Chris was amused. Their mother was disappointed but she continued.
"Someone else will represent us"
"Do you have speakers in your school?"
"So the school is now mine right?"
"Woman, aren't you the Principal? You like to create issues out of nothing"
"I am the Principal and if you don't do anything about it. I will effect the change I am looking for!"
"You won't try that, I placed you in that position!"
"It's true we have no speakers, but if Ben is training her, why can't he train someone else?"
"Ben is training her because he noticed something about her that even your daughters don't have"
The girls were stunned.
"Dad!" They chorused.
"You dare compare our daughters with that fool!" Mrs Haniel countered back with anger.
"Case closed" Chris said and stood up from the table.