Penfield's Greatest Swimmer

🌊~5

My heart pumped hard in my chest. Excitement and anxiety all added up to the burning adrenaline that was pushing me to run faster.

It was around 10:30 am and Wɔfa Yaw had sent someone with a message that he needed to see me urgently. The boy didn't say what for, but the message alone had filled me with so much joy and that I sprinted all the way to Wɔfa Yaw's house.

When I reached the gate, I paused to catch my breath. This is it. Gulping in some air, I pushed the gate open. The familiar Black Toyota Highlander sitting in the yard had me quirking up an eyebrow. I was pretty sure I had fixed Mr. Dery's car yesterday, so why was is it still here?

"Ah, Akwasi." Mr. Dery emerged from the garage, dressed in a well pressed suit that definitely put him out of place in the dusty old garage. "It's about time you got here."

"Yeah umm... good morning." I walked up to him, the same time Wɔfa Yaw appeared behind him, wiping his oil stained fingers in a rug.

"Oh good, Akwasi, you're here," he said and dumped the rug in a nearby tool box. "I guess we can start the meeting then."

Not long after, I found myself in Wɔfa Yaw's porch, sitting on a chair with the two men facing me. Auntie Naa, Wɔfa Yaw's wife, dutifully laid a table of drinks and snacks in front of us. I doubted if I could eat any of it because my stomach felt queasy with anticipation.

"So..." I rubbed my hands over my shorts. "Can you please tell me what the job is about?"

Wɔfa Yaw sat up straight. "What job?"

Half of my anticipation turned into disappointment. Had he forgotten what he said yesterday? "You... you said you would check around for some job vacancies yesterday... and I thought you had found something."

The two men shared an unreadable expression.

"Isn't that why you called me here?" I quizzed. "For a job?"

"No, Akwasi." Wɔfa Yaw turned back to me. "This meeting isn't about a job."

The last half of my anticipation combined with the other to form this huge ball of disappointment that swallowed up my heart. "T-then why am I here?"

Mr. Dery cleared his throat. "You're here because we... well, I in particular, wanted to find out if you're interested in furthering your education... at the university."

I blinked. "Huh?"

Mr. Dery took the opportunity to elaborate. "Yesterday, after you fixed my car within a span of thirty to forty minutes without any help from Yaw, I was impressed. So after you left, I had a talk with Yaw and he told me a lot about you, your family and how you graduated with seven A's in your WASSCE, but couldn't continue with your education because you didn't have the money. So, I thought..." he shrugged, "why not give you that opportunity by offering you a scholarship to enroll in Penfield University."

"Penfield?" My eyes widened. "Isn't that a..."

"Private university? Yes, yes, it is," Mr. Dery smiled. "I'm the current pro vice-chancellor, so your admission, accommodation, tuition, none of that will be a problem. It'll all be covered by the scholarship, that is, if you choose to accept it."

I sat up, still struggling to comprehend the magnitude of the situation right now. "Wh-what...programme will I be reading?"

"Any programme of your choice," answered Mr. Dery. "The university offers a wide variety of programmes, though...Yaw recommended you take mechanical engineering, since you have lots of experience working with cars and other electrical stuff. "

"Plus, it'll give you an advantage over your classmates," Wɔfa Yaw added.

A brief moment of silence passed by. "Umm...uhh..." Still swimming in a pool of surprise, I rubbed both hands over my face. After all the ups and downs I'd been through this past year, I wasn't expecting to return to school anytime soon. I'd already accepted that it was never going to happen, but this...this offer, it had plunged me into a sea of confusion about my life and my future. "I... if...it's just..."

"I understand if you need extra time to make a decision," Mr. Dery assured me, noticing my indecisiveness.

"No, it's not that..." I brought my hands down. "It's...I can't take this scholarship."

"What, why?" Wɔfa Yaw gaped at me in utmost shock. Mr. Dery just sat still, waiting for me to elaborate.

I shook my head. "The two of you won't understand. I have responsibilities here. My family needs me. I can't just...abandon my mother and my sister and leave for school."

"You're not abandoning them, Akwasi," Wɔfa Yaw objected. "I'm here, my wife is here, and we will do our very best to look out for your mother and your sister."

"What if Mensah shows up again to harass them?"

"I can handle Mensah, I'm not afraid of him," Wɔfa Yaw countered with a determined look. "Seriously Akwasi, when have I ever let you or your family down?"

That was the thing, he hadn't. Wɔfa Yaw had always been around, even in the toughest times.

"Look, I understand that you're worried about what's going to happen to your family after you've left," Mr. Dery continued. "But that shouldn't be a reason for you to turn this opportunity down."

With a weary sigh, I slouched forward.

A beeping sound soon infiltrated the silence, and Mr. Dery dug his hand into his pants pocket, pulling out a sleek mobile phone. He mumbled a few words to the person on the otherside, nodded then took the phone off his ear to end the call. "Uh, sorry, but I need to leave. There's a management meeting I need to attend in the next hour." The tall man got on his feet. "Oh, I almost forgot." Grabbing his briefcase, Mr Dery sat back down to take something out.

"This is a copy of our prospectus." He handed over the glossy covered book, boldly displaying the university's emblem and name. Slowly, I stretched my hand out to receive it.

"You'll find everything you need to know about us in there," Mr. Dery said before getting up again, this time clutching his briefcase. "I'll be coming back to Cape Coast in the next two or three days. By then, I'm hoping you would've reconsidered, since this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"I agree," Wɔfa Yaw nodded. "You won't get a chance like this anywhere, that's why you should-"

"Don't force him, Yaw." Mr. Dery turned to his friend. "Akwasi is a grown man. He has the right to make this decision by himself." The tall man extended a hand towards me, smiling. "It was a pleasure meeting you, son."

Getting up, I slipped my free hand in his for a strong handshake. "Same here sir, and thank you for this."

"You're welcome," came his response before he let go and headed for his car. Wɔfa Yaw followed to see him off.

I just stood rooted in my spot, wondering what I was going to do with the book in my hand.

*****
Thanks for reading 🙏🏽