"George, I won't be available this weekend so let's make our meeting next weekend. It escaped my mind and I should have told you earlier," Miss Ada, my biology school teacher told my after taking her class on Friday.

A few of my classmates were still in the laboratory and they misunderstood whatever Miss Ada said. I didn't just assume that they misunderstood her, I was sure they did because of how they all reacted.

"Sharp guy! Bad guy!" They started hyping me immediately Miss Ada left the class and I just ignored them.

It was my second term in the school so as Aunt Ada who got employed a few weeks after I joined the school. She took us biology back then and we all enjoyed her teaching compared to our previous teacher who only read from test books, dictated notes and gave assignment.

She picked up interest in me after the SS2 first term results was pasted and just like many other teachers, Miss Ada was surprised why I barely passed the first term examination. I was very active in class and they expected more from me but I failed to impress them.

Miss Ada was so concerned and invited to the staff room one afternoon. She and other teachers asked me series of questions just to figure out what my issue was, they asked if I was having issues at home with my parents and in the end, Miss Ada volunteered to coach me on weekends for free.

The truth is that I didn't even know what came over me during the exam and the results came as a shock to me as well. I couldn't say no the Miss Ada and when I told my mom about it, she gave her consent after meeting Miss Ada personally.

I have been to her place a few times before what she said that Friday morning and it was the beginning of the things I never expected. The unreasonable students thought I was crushing on Miss Ada while some thought I was trying to become her favourite student so that she would be fair to me when marking exam script.

I pretended not to hear the murmurs and rumours because they meant nothing to me initially, that weekend passed and I didn't stop visiting Miss Ada. She taught biology and geography to my understanding and I can't thank her enough every Saturday for the rice and chicken that comes regularly after receiving her teaching.

Second term exam came some weeks later and I gave my best. The results were pasted shortly after the examination and it didn't surprise me that I topped the class because I often did that in my previous school.

"You eventually benefitted from visiting Miss Ada every weekend," Enorbo, my classmate said to me immediately I returned from the staffroom.

"I don't understand what you mean," I replied it.

"You can't, or you think we don't know what's happening?" He replied and I just snubbed him.

My other classmates started acting funny and only a few of them still interacted with me like before. Enorbo made it a responsibility to spread rumours about me visiting Miss Ada so that she could help me with grades and I started feeling troubled.

I was pissed along the line but couldn't do anything about it which made me angrier. Reporting him to Miss Ada would only make things worse because she won't hesitate to punish him and it would only make Enorbo's followers think Miss Ada was truly supporting me.

Instead of reporting him to Miss Ada, I shared how I felt about the rumour to my best friend in school who was in SS1.

"Don't let whatever they are saying get to you. Just shake it off and focus," Temitope advised me after our conversation.

I told my mom the same thing and she asked me a question. She said, "If you go to the market, do you pay attention to the market noise or fulfill the purpose of your visit and leave,"

"I will do whatever I went for and leave," I replied her and after mom shared some of her experience with me, whatever they said didn't bother me as though it were water off the duck's back.

My final internal examination in secondary school known as Mock examination came and I did the usual. We wrote SSCE to obtain the government school after the Mock and our school leaving graduation ceremony happened before the SSCE result was released by the government.

I was announced as the best student of my set during graduation and it became clear to me that the rumour about visiting Miss Ada for favour had spread outside the walls of the school. I was shocked to hear some parents discussing it after they felt disappointed that their child failed to win the best student award.

Immediately after graduation, my classmates barely kept in touch with me because they held on to the hate they developed towards me in school.

Finally, SSCE result was released by the government and I didn't have the courage to check it. My mom did it on my behalf and she came to the school were I was already working as an assistant class teacher to show me my result. I cleared my nine papers and was really excited but I couldn't tell my classmates about it.

Days passed and my set was invited back to school for a brief meeting. It was in the meeting I learned that I was the only student who passed all the nine papers and that was enough to prove that Miss Ada never boosted my grades.

Miss Ada was happy as I broke the news to her and she invited me again for a bowl of fried rice and chicken to celebrate my success.