Agreement Is Agreement ~ Creative Nonfiction #30
Attention, all you ordinary civilians. You will all maintain a perfect, straight line and decorum.
All the enlisted young men shouted in response
Yes, sir.
This was my very first day at the Army Children's high school and my first day in high school. ACHS as we fondly called the school was typically known to be a place where discipline was instilled and every parent wants their wards to be enrolled there. Though it was tough to get admission here. A learner must pass the entrance examination on merit to be admitted.
As I approached primary four. My dad called my attention to the fact that I will be writing the entrance examination to ACHS. Every child in Ajeromi knew what that school stands for. The learners are always focused, and neat in appearance. And on Wednesday, they wear an all-white sports dress that must not be stained.
This information stocked in my head. My father had arranged for a special tutor for me from primary four, two years before the entrance examination. I have heard my mom speak to him about the secondary school to attend. She wanted me to attend Babington Grammar School as a boarding student but now, the rhetoric has changed.
Father and I had an agreement. I have always wanted to get a bicycle as a birthday gift but they would only get me other items like shoes, shirts or take me out to lunch in an expensive restaurant.
Andy, if you come out of the exam among the top ten best students, you will get your bicycle.
I agreed to give it my best shot. I was not an average student and I knew I would do well. But to be among the best ten, that is what I cannot guarantee my dad.
It was a very big task because I had to study hard to prepare for the examination. During my course of preparation for the entrance exam, I noticed at one point that I grasped everything I needed to know six months before the examination was written. So, I resorted to my playing ways again.
When it was exactly one more week before the examination, I decided to revise but a lot of things I knew had flown away. I just kept the books away and waited for the D-day.
On the examination day, my uncle accompanied me to the examination center. When we arrived at the gate of the school, there was a long queue of private vehicles bringing students for the same exam. It felt like I was not supposed to be here since I did not come in such a convoy. My uncle and I had come on a commercial bus.
My uncle read my thoughts that day and said to me
Most of them came in luxurious cars not better than those who trekked here.
I swallowed my worries and entered the examination hall with more confidence. That year, when the results were released, they weren't as good as the previous year. Thankfully, the invigilators at the centre did not condone any form of examination malpractice. Hence, whatever results you got were your handwork.
My father had received a message in his mail that I succeeded in the exam, scoring 78%. He was not quite happy with the outcome but I came sixth in the whole region, beating my father's expectations and thereby qualified for a bicycle.
He was not going to get me a bicycle as promised. It was a tough time at home as I refused to take my meals until I goty bicycle. Mom had to prevail over dad to get me the bicycle as promised. She said to my dad:
Agreement is agreement.
Father had to do as he promised. Seven days after all the brouhaha, I got my bicycle and the scores was settled.
Congratulations @mrenglish! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)
Your next target is to reach 800 posts.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPTo support your work, I also upvoted your post!
Check out our last posts:
Support the HiveBuzz project. Vote for our proposal!
Thank you, @hivebuzz
That's great @mrenglish! We're excited to see your accomplishments on Hive! We'll continue to support you to achieve your next goals!
BTW, please support our funding proposal and help us bring more fun and badges to Hive. Together we can make Hive a more exciting place!
All you need to do is to click on the "support" button on this page: https://peakd.com/proposals/248.
Thank you!
Congratulations
Your uncle is right, not all people in luxurious cars have brains better than those that trekked.
Glad your dad honoured the agreement though compelled despite it being inconveniencing
That assertion by my uncle was the booster that pushed me into the hall to give my best.
I am grateful that he went with me to the examination hall.
That's great to hear..
Thank you for sharing
Nothing teaches a child more than when I parent honors their words, it creates a sense of trust and I'm glad your dad honored his.
It does. My mum had to persuade my father to do as promised. At least, I passed the exams and was among the ten best.
Wow, what a happy ending 😊
Agreement is agreement indeed..glad Ur dad fulfilled his promise
Congratulations on your bicycle 🚲, is it available? Lol
It was.........
The bicycle is long gone. That's over twenty years now.
Of course I know it should be long gone
Just kidding
You had an agreement with Dad, and worked hard to keep to your own end of the bargain. Your hard work paid off, and you passed the examinations with excellence, then turning to Dad, you asked that he keep to his own end of the agreement. He did, but with a little persuasion from Mum.
No doubt, the agreement to get you a new brand cycle was a major motivator to you achieving success in the exams. And quite naturally Dad had to honor the agreement
Thanks for sharing your story.
That agreement was the morale booster for me. I think that for a child to do well in their academics, one of the things parents should do is to motivate them.
I was motivated by the promise of a bike and it did pay off.
The school sounded like quite the army experience, but more than likely there were some advantages to that, as shown in your dedication which make you successful.
It was great of your mum to insist that your dad fulfilled the agreement made.
Thanks for sharing your story, please do engage with other authors.
My mum was the hero for convincing my dad to act according to his promise. I am glad I got my bicycle. It was the motivator for me to take my studies seriously.
Your hard work paid off, it's good to keep to our part of the bargain.
Yeah.
When you make promises, ensure to play your part.