Chidi and Pastor Justice had to wait for more than 45 minutes before they could see the principal. Chidi studied as they waited. The principal met with them after the assembly time.
“I want to enrol my son, Chidi Ogbonna, in your school. He’s been out of school for a year and he has written his junior WAEC,” Pastor Justice said.
“Where is the result?” the principal asked.
“I don’t have it here,” Chidi said.
“Okay, try and bring it tomorrow,” the principal said.
“Please, can it be waived? I mean, he studied in the East. It is going to take long protocol to get the results and I don’t have the time now and I want him to resume school immediately,” Pastor Justice explained.
“Chidi, how old are you?” the principal asked.
“15,” he replied.
“You know your scores, don’t you?” the principal asked.
“Yes sir,” Chidi replied.
“Okay, how many distinctions, credits, passes, and fails?”
“Two distinctions, four credits, six passes and one fail,” Chidi replied.
“What did you get in English and Maths and which subject did you fail?” the principal asked.
“Credit in both. I failed French,” he replied.
The principal turned to Pastor Justice. “His results are average. And then with the academic gap he experienced, he must have forgotten some concepts and may have a hard time blending into senior secondary school.”
“I think you are comparing him with Bayo. Test him first. Let us be certain about his knowledge and aptitude,” Pastor Justice said.
The principal pressed a call bell and a middle-aged lady entered the office.
“Please, arrange for this boy to be given an admission test. Chidi, follow her,” the principal instructed.
An hour later, Chidi returned to the office with a male teacher who was identified as the Senior Mathematics teacher. The teacher had Chidi’s script in his hand, marked and scored. He handed it over to the principal.
“54 in Maths, 51 in General studies and 53 in English, an average of 52.67,” the principal read. “Well, even though his scores are quite low, he passed. So, um, my secretary will take you to the admissions office and take you through the processes for you to enrol him. And Chidi, you need to write out your WAEC result on a paper, showing the subjects and their scores. It will be kept in your file till you can bring your WAEC result and transcripts to replace it.”
The admission department gave Pastor Justice some forms to fill and a list of things that were needed for Chidi’s admission. He and Chidi left to pay the school fees in the required bank and procure things needed for his admission. During the drive to the different places, Pastor Justice talked at length with Chidi about God, Christianity and ministry. He also got new clothes for Chidi at a mall. He bought a spiritual book for Chidi, ‘The Real Faith’ by Kenneth Hagin and told him that he was to finish reading it within a week. After that, he took him back to school.
“Give this teller to those at the admission office. They will give you a receipt and two sets of uniform. Also, ask them if you could join the class today. In case of necessity, Bayo has money with him,” Pastor Justice instructed.
The evening of that day, everyone had their dinner together and discussed their day. Chidi realised that it was a family tradition.
“So, how was your first day at school?” Adebisi asked Chidi.
“Fine. My classmates are quite friendly,” he replied.
“So are you able to cope? I mean, do you understand the lessons that were taught?” Pastor Justice asked.
“Actually, apart from Mathematics, not really. I was totally lost in Chemistry class,” said Chidi.
“Huh, the chemical reactions occurring in his brain are antagonizing the bonding of basic chemistry concepts with his brain cells,” said Adebayo jokingly and everybody laughed.
“Really, Chidi, it is impossible for you not to know chemistry in this house. It’s what we are known for, my best subject,” said Adebisi.
“I thought biology is your best subject,” said Adebayo.
“Biology and chemistry. That is why I am studying biochemistry. Get it?” she replied. “In fact, Chidi, you are not sleeping today till you understand chemistry.”
With that, she held Chidi’s hands and led him to the parlour. Then, she left to bring some chemistry books to tutor him. As Adebisi taught Chidi, he felt like she was speaking in a foreign language and so did not understand anything. Adebayo cleared the dining table and washed the dishes and then joined them in the parlour.
“Chidi, you know you have the mind of Christ, right?” Adebisi asked.
Chidi kept a blank look. He had never read that part of the bible.
“You should have more understanding than your teachers because you are a Christian – Christ-like and because you have an excellent Spirit just like Daniel did and Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit will teach you all things. You are meant to understand this more than I, your tutor, do,” she said.
“I want you to understand the basics so that you’ll not be lost in Chem class. Okay, let me start from atoms. This wall, what do you think it is made of?”
“Blocks.” Chidi replied.
Chidi remembered the time he had to carry blocks at a building site just to get little income.
“What are blocks made of?” Adebisi asked.
“Water, sand and cement.”
“And what are they made of? What is water made of?”
“I don’t know,” Chidi admitted.
“Well, water is a molecule made up of two kinds of atoms, oxygen and hydrogen. These atoms, all atoms, are made up of electrons, neutrons and protons. The number of these particles, the forces acting on them, how they combine with themselves and others, their resulting shape etc. all determine how they act – like why water is liquid and sand is solid and coarse, why metals transmit electricity and so on,” she explained.
She and Adebayo tutored Chidi till it was time for evening devotion. They continued to tutor Chidi after the devotion until way into the night when Chidi could not understand anything anymore.
That night Adebayo and Adebisi took Chidi to a room they called ‘playground’. The room looked more like a chemistry laboratory with several apparatus, reagents, chemicals, etc.
“This is why I said that you can’t live in our house and not know Chemistry. Mummy studied Pure and Industrial Chemistry in school. Even while she courted our father, she taught him chemistry. Our earliest memory was always wanting to be in Mother’s lab. That was before this house was built. We lived in a much smaller house. We would cry so much if she would not let us in even if she was trying to protect us from harm. She had no other choice than to let us in and teach us basic concepts and give us so many instructions to protect ourselves. If we were to break any, we would not be let into the lab for a while. It became an effective means of punishing us when we did wrong.
“When we got to this house, Mummy furnished this place for us and taught us fun experiments, at least so that she would have her privacy in her lab. As such, we could invite our close friends to the lab. Mummy had to quit her job for the sake of the ministry and the labs at home became her only chance to practise her profession. She still reads books online and writes articles and all, though. She added more things for us at our playground as we grew up and we became more careful. And she still used it as a means of reinforcement. We were banned from our ‘playground’ whenever we did wrong and we got the opportunity to do experiments at her own lab when we did something remarkable,” Adebisi explained.
“Does it still work on you, now that you’ve grown?” Chidi asked.
“Why not? Before we took our WAEC; Bayo, Junior WAEC and I, Senior; our parents wrote down the scores they expected from us. If we went beyond it, we would get one week of doing experiments with mummy at her lab. And if we went below it, we would not visit this lab or any, throughout the holiday. I exceeded their expectations and also got admission, merit list and that from SSS2. So, I got my time alone with mummy doing experiments together and talking about different things,” Adebisi said griming with joy.
“What about Bayo? He did excellently well,” Chidi asked.
“You know my scores?” Adebayo asked.
“No, but daddy told the principal that he was comparing both of us. That means that you must have done very well,” Chidi answered.
“Well, that would depend on the angle that you are looking at it from. I had all distinctions apart from fine art, which I got credit in. If I had all distinctions, I would have also gotten the reward,” Adebayo explained.
“I had the best result in my school. Everybody celebrated it. But right now, I’m feeling like a failure. I don’t think I can ever meet up with your standard,” Chidi said. “Sister Bisi, you make me feel like all these years, I’ve missed having a big sister.”
“Well, you are a member of our family now and I am now your sister. Aren’t I? Now, you have to get a new standard,” Adebisi said.
“Chidi, you know, you can ask me to help you in any difficult subject,” Adebayo assured and then hugged Chidi.
The children all went to their rooms to sleep so that they could wake early for the next day’s duties. Adebayo continued to tutor Chidi every day and Chidi learnt very fast and was soon up to speed in his academics.
On Friday, after morning devotion, the family discussed the day’s activities.
Pastor Justice said to Chidi, “Scripture Union Fellowship holds their meetings every Friday after school activities at your school.”
When Chidi and Adebayo came back from school and were having their dinner, the family discussed their day’s activities as usual.
“How was the fellowship today at my alma mater?” Adebisi asked Chidi.
“Fine. Okay,” he replied.
“Just okay?” Adebisi asked melodramatically.
“It’s just…” Chidi looked at Pastor Justice. “I’ve heard daddy preach and I have experienced the anointing that saturates everywhere, even in our morning devotions. And a lot of people attend his programmes. The service in school was just there. A few people attended. I didn’t feel anything. It was church as I knew it to be before I met you people. It is not a problem, just that I expected more from a school that Pastor Justice’s children attend.”
“Well, it is good you noticed a problem. You should do something to change the situation. Fast, intercede, or whatever. You are now one of my children you know,” Pastor Justice said. “By the way, are you done reading the book that I asked you to read?”
“Almost. It’s remaining just a few pages,” Chidi replied.
“Okay. You have to finish it before morning devotion tomorrow. You’ll take the message tomorrow morning. And you’ll be talking on Faith from Kenneth Hagin’s perspective. Remember, you won’t be looking at the book. Don’t try to cram anything. Speak as the Spirit gives you understanding.”
Chidi looked at Pastor Justice. Chidi was not so sure how he would preach as that was his first time. He knew that he could not disobey so he just nodded with a fearful look. After the meal, he cleared the table together with Adebayo while Adebisi went to her room to do her final packing. She was leaving for school the next day. After Chidi finished his chores, he quickly finished reading the book, said a little prayer and then went to meet Adebisi.
“Can we go to the playground, sis?” he asked.
“Wow. Little brother now likes chemistry. That was fast!”
“Not really. It is just that this is your last night before you go to school. I don’t know the next time that I will see you. So, I want to spend as much time with you as I can. And since you love chemistry, why not? I just want to be with you,” Chidi explained.
When they got to the ‘playground’, Chidi began to ask Adebisi questions.
“Why do you want to study in a public school? I thought rich kids attend private schools.”
“I want to get the experience. I want to know what it’s like, living in a small room with about three or more roommates. I just want to get out of my comfort zone,” Adebisi replied.
“Then, why go so far, to the East? There are many good schools here and it would be easier to visit you amidst the tight schedule,” Chidi complained.
As Adebisi and Chidi spoke, Adebisi practised titration while Adebayo came inside and began to prepare some reagents.
“That is what I am avoiding actually. Don’t get me wrong, I love you all. Before I chose the university to attend, the youths of our church decided to go for a weekend village evangelism for three days and as Pastor’s daughter, I felt that I had to go. Bayo did not think of going because he had exams. We were to sleep over, so daddy warned me about going since the environment was harsh. Daddy was the guest minister. It was like what you explained. There were no beds. The mats were limited. And as someone in a ministry that puts others first, I had to make sure that everyone was well taken care of before my own comfort. So, I and some youth leaders had nowhere to sleep. What was worse, the mosquitoes were deadly. The cold was piercing. The food did not taste right as what I am used to and so, I could not eat anything. The youth leaders blended well but I could not. By Saturday morning, I was extremely restless and yet very weak. Daddy had to ask someone to take me home immediately. It took some time for me to recover. I realised that I needed to get out from the perfect little world that I was brought up in. At least, let me learn to survive in a public university first, before I think of going off to some village, to win souls for the Lord. I felt like I was not a good role model to those that looked up to me in church. I ran away from the battlefield and left those put under my care.
“And if I feel like I can’t take the heat anymore, my family will be miles away from me. So, I will have to think twice about coming back home. I told daddy that I want to build my own legacy and fight my own battles. So, I do not want anyone to know who I am. Neither daddy nor Uncle Lawrence is to drop me off in school. The person to take me is someone that is not so known. Even though I will attend one of our branches in school, no one will not know who I am in order to avoid preferential treatment,” she explained.
“Why biochemistry? You act like someone in health,” Chidi asked.
“Actually, I want to be a doctor. But I don’t want to study medicine in this country. I also want to explore other cultures. I am still very young. I’ll go for a medical degree after this,” Adebisi replied.
Adebayo and Adebisi did fun tests and experiments for hours and as Chidi watched them, his interest in chemistry began to grow.
