Chapter two

The Thompson's residence

Five years ago

'She got in! She made it! Our baby passed the entrance exams. She has been offered provisional admission into ASHVILLE COLLEGE! Can you believe it? She did it!'

Mrs Thompson breezed into the room in excitement with the grace of a ballerina, her toes tingling with the dancing sensation of a foreign step as she twirls around, waving a piece of paper, the letter of acceptance, in the air like a golden trophy.

A pair of spectacle claddened eyes, belonging to her husband in a black pajamas, raised up to behold what could be the source of disruption to the business proposal he was drafting up on his home computer with a slight frown.

'Keep down you voice woman! Or would you rather the neighbour call the cops at us for disturbing the peace of the night'

He chides, pulling off his glasses to fully face his erratic wife. They have been married for over a decade already but he still can't get used to her boisterous nature, sometimes he wondered how come he never noticed that annoying trait he hates so much while they were courting.

'...Ini got accepted into ASHVILLE! She passed the scholarship entrance exams!'

Mrs Thompson kept yelling, unbothered by his reprimending. She pushed the paper to his face so he could read the content all by himself and see the honour their little angel  has brought upon the family by achieving what is deemed to be "unachievable" for someone of their class and statute. Gaining admission into the nation best and most expensive school. What a fit!.

'She got into ASHVILLE?'

He questions in disbelieve as the information finally got past the noise and sank in, his earlier expression of irritation vanished in the twink of an eye as he got to his feet and snatched the paper out of her hand, his bulging eyes did a quick scan for confirmation after he hurriedly fixed back his glasses and he could scarely believe his eyes when he saw it for himself. it was real, not a fragment of his demented wife's imagination

'Yes love! She got into the nation's best high school by merit, she came first with a whopping GPA of over 5 points'

She explains with laughter and  pride in her voice, exaggerating a bit but off course what mother won't be happy to have a young scholar for a daughter? What mother won't be overjoyed to see her daughter attend the best institution in the nation? What mother won't run mad with joy by this achievement.

'Wow! Just wow!'

He was rendered speechless, unable to find the right word to express his surprise and joy. While he was still gasping at the paper evidence with profound surprise, the star of the evening, Iniobong Thompson, a beautiful twelve years old with the looks a smiling angel, chose the moment to grace her parents with her appearance, waddling into there room like a sleepy duck in her yellow night wear and fluffy bonny slippers.

'Mom! Dad! Are you two fighting again?'

She innocently ask in a chiding voice, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes with the back of her palm, their noise had woken her up and made her come all the way to investigate and mediate peace among the ever quarreling couple as always.

'Oh there she is! Our beautiful princess, the star that brightens up the night sky.

It's nothing like that my little angel, we're not fighting, really we're not...'

Mrs Thompson rushed to her and engulfs her in a sudden tight hug. The twelve years old is already used to her mother overwhelming display of emotions and affections all the time but the hug felt too extra this time around, what's more surprising is the fact that her father who always have his nose buried in his computer when he isn't castigating his wife's way of doing things was smiling sheepishly, looking at her with an expression that is sickenly sweet and unusual for a man like him... She knows that look too well, it's only reserved for high numbers and Index's of the stock market, what changed all of a sudden? Why is he looking at her as if the sun rose and set on her?

'Did something happen?'

She got suspicious, looking from one of them to the other for answer, both of them were acting out of character which is alarming

'Off course yes! Something very big and exciting happened, something you won't believe... Guess what?'

'You should tell her the news and stop beating around the bush, she's still too young for your famous guessing games so spare her'

Impatient as ever, Mr Thompson interrupts his wife who paid him no attention at all.

'Take a guess my star, take a guess'

She insist, prompting the child.

'Did you get the membership invitation for Mrs Da silver's private women's club?'

That was the only thing she knew could get her mother so pumped up and super excited like she is right now.

she had always wanted to get an invite to the private women's club, owned and hosted by the wife of the minister of information who attends their church and women prayer meetings but she has been turned down more times than she can remember to count on the excuse that she doesn't belong to the "upper echelon" of the society, she's just the stay in wife of a miserly banker who is obsessed with the figures of exchange and stock market

Immediately the guess came out of her mouth, she knew she shouldn't have said it. Ini watch as her mother face fell into a gloom one, she knew at once that couldn't be the cause of the excitement, especially since her father is participating in it.

'Oh that... I still haven't gotten an invitation for that but Mrs Agholor said she will help me speak to her about it '

She looked really hopeful that it will work out but both daughter and father knows it will amount to nothing, as always they will toss her around, make her run errands not befitting a housewife and mother of three, making promises they have no intention to keep and pretending to be sympathetic while laughing and mocking her behind her back and still it will amount to nothing... But they dare not say it out loud for the fear of hurting her feelings, Iyang Thompson is not the most emotional stable person alive.

'Iniobong dear! Congratulations. You passed your exams with distinction and you have been offered admission to attend ASHVILLE'

Mr Thompson, who has had enough of the guess game finally broke the happy news to his daughter. Ini went into a mini shock of disbelieve for a few minutes.

'What?! I passed? You mean to say I passed the exam'

She looked to her mother for confirmation even as she knew her father won't dare lie about something that important, her mother nods  to her eagerly, in agreement  with a bright smile filled with joy and hope, eyes brimming with unshed tears.

'Yes you did! And though I didn't expect it, I'm super proud of you... Most importantly, I'm happy you have helped in your own little way to save cost and expenses for this family. Very good of you'

Mr Thompson adds.

When his wife came to him with the grand idea of making Ini take the entrance scholarship exam to ASHVILLE, he was totally against it, majorly because the idea came from one of the rich minions of the rich ministry's wife, who insisted that Ini's admission into the school will increase Mrs Thompson's social standing and chances of getting into the private women club. He didn't want his daughter dragged into the dirty politics of the rich "unfeeling" woman, he didn't want her to her scorned and embarrassed daily for begging favors like his wife who hasn't still learnt to stay away from them, they might not be super rich but they were doing well for themselves as a family, able to feed and afford of basic needs effortlessly, they own a bungalow of four rooms he built from the very scratch with his own money  so what is their to run about for but unfortunately, Mrs Thompson refused to see his point and stood her ground, insisting she will pursue the idea at all cost.

She single handed hired a private teacher from the meagre allowance he gives her weekly to tutor Ini for the exams, he didn't have a problem with that one as long as he wasn't paying for it directly and she will be learning a lot, also, since the odds of passing the exam was very low due to the number of participants, he believed she wouldn't have made it to the top and so he allowed his wife invest all her emotions and resources into it, hoping the failure to achieve her "greed induced" aim will teach her a bitter lesson.

Fortunately, Luck smiled down on them, she passed and most surprisingly, he felt even more proud than angry as expected, he is undoubtedly happy for her success.

Mr Thompson passed her the admission letter, so she could see for herself while muttering more congratulations to her

'God! I passed! I really did pass! I'm going to ASHVILLE... I'm going to the best school in the nation!'

She screams out loud in excitement and her father, the "noise police" for the first time in forever didn't reprimand or scold her for it, he was busy smiling at her as if Christmas came early with free goodies... And everyone knows how much he loves freebies

Iniobong first heard of ASHVILLE, two years ago from the "rich, spoilt, bratty kids" her mother always force her to hang out with in church, they were all kids of the high and mighty who turns down their nose at her every single time, they always have snide remarks about her behaviour and appearance even when she dressed in her most expensive best and try to act posh like them, as authorized by her mother.

All they do is talk endlessly about the school with so much admiration that one would mistake it for paradise, and how they already have automatic admission since there parents could afford the exorbitant school fees that is in millions of naira, it got her curious enough to search about it but she never really paid attention because she knew her banker father will never be able to afford it, even if he somehow managed too, the economist in him will consider it " a waste of resources" especially when they are cheaper school that operates the same curriculum, but then her mother came up one day and started planting the idea of actually achieving the impossible into her head, she was initially reluctant but her mother kept on diligently until it became not only her's but there dream. She used to be just an average student who was content with have fair enough grades but for the scholarship exam, she was forced put in her very best just to make a point, burnt the night candle, walked around, ate, and also slept surrounded by unending piles of book for kids in grades way ahead of her's.

At a point she would have given up and not cared whether or not she did well in the exam but her determination was fuelled by the mock and taunts she received from the rich spoilt brats when they found out she was talking the exam.

"Just look at that ugly poor thing, I heard she is taking the scholarship exam to ASHVILLE..."

"I heard her mother signed her up, her parents can't afford the tuition but they want her to go to ASHVILLE at all cost, as if the school is meant for pollutant like her..."

"She is not even that intelligent, my cousin, Otonye goes to the same elementary school as her, she said she has never been a top grader.

ASHVILLE scholarship exams are very competitive and hard to get, there is no way she will make it through..."

"I really can't wait for the results, I will have a field day when her failure comes out in the open"

Then they all cracked up in there childish evil laughter, not caring for the fact that she was within earshot and all the things said is sure to hurt her feeling.

Now to the present moment, finding out that she finally made it, passed the exam with distinction and got admitted gave her the most joyful feeling she ever experienced since her birth, it is her biggest achievement and one she will keep telling for years. All those who mocked her will be shamed, she will make them realize that not everything is all about money, she will rub it in their faces until they pass out cold and flat. They won't dare wag their tongues about her and her mother again.

Tears of joy sprang into her eyes as those thought ran through her mind. Her enthaustic screaming finally woke her siblings up, Theila and Thames soon found themselves walking sleepily into their parents room as well, to enquire about the cause of the noise

'I passed! I passed the exams'

She repeats to her twin younger siblings of two years on sighting them, shaking them fully awake and they immediately found that their sleep deserted.

'You passed the ASHVILLE exam?!'

The asked in synch, thinking they must have heard wrong, just like there father, they didn't expect her to pass the exam.

'Yes I did'

She nods as they rushed to her into her arm in excitement for celebration, chanting there congratulations with sincere happiness. Ini knew no one will be able to go back to bed after the news, now they would all want details on how she did it, especially her troublesome siblings.

In a society of prejudiced setting, a middle class nobody made that day the landmark of her future success, she brought honour to her family and vowed it will only be the beginning... But fate would later be found conceiving other plans.