In The Perils Of Darkness – Episode 2
In The Perils Of Darkness Episode 2
© Lewis Dampson
Before he could finish the last statement in his mind, an announcement came from the church secretary that the presiding Bishop had arrived and he will be coming to address them momentarily.
This got young Gabriel very furious. All his plan to enjoy his TV game later on in the day were being thwarted. But there was nothing he could do, he had no option than to bear with the situation and wait.
The presiding Bishop of the St. Francis Church walked up to the pulpit. His old hands violently shaking as he walked up the pulpit in a very slow but cautious steps. Anyone could see he was trying to prevent himself from falling. He gave quite a lengthy speech with the microphone violently shaking in his hands.
He spoke slowly in a shrill voice advising the youth to serve God with all their mind, heart, will and spirit. Gabriel’s heart almost came out when he heard those words. “What the hell!!” He thought silently. “How can I live my life with such a boring God? I like to have fun and I don’t see God to be such a fun to be with. All the activities done in His name are boring.”
Finally, the church service was over and Gabriel thought they were heading straight to the house. He got irritated when he realized that his parents were nowhere near getting the car started. They were busily socializing and catching up with old friends. The space outside the church building was very big and could accommodate enough people who wanted to stay around to socialize.
Gabriel’s parents were chatting with their neighbor Mr. Johnson who also happened to be their church member. Mr. Johnson also had a boy who was at the same age as Gabriel. He attended the same Junior High as Gabriel.
“I heard the results of the children are in, said Mr. Johnson. From what am hearing, it seems most of the children didn’t perform,” he added.
“What results?” asked Mr. Smith. “The junior high school certificate examination results,” he answered. “The one Richard and Gabriel wrote about three months ago,” he added. “Oh I see!!” Exclaimed Mr. Smith. “Then I will check Gabriel’s results first thing in the morning tomorrow.”
After some few more conversations, the two families exchanged pleasantries and bade farewell to each other.
Now the question lingering on the mind of Mr. Smith was whether Gabriel was part of the students who failed or he did something better. Was Gabriel going to get admission into his choice school?
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After some few more conversations, the two families exchanged pleasantries and bade farewell to each other.
The ride to the house was a quiet and smooth one. Everyone was staring out of the windscreen thinking about their own stuffs. Gabriel was also very furious murmuring within of how his day had been ruined.
They finally got home after a brief moment of driving. Gabriel dashed into his room, switched on his play station 3 and started playing soccer. After three hours of playing the game, supper was done and Gabriel was called to the dining table.
He really didn’t have any other option since dining together at super was mandatory. When Gabriel heard his mommy’s call that supper was ready, he stretched his long hands a little from his bed. Without much effort, he was able to get his hands unto the power button of the play station 3. He then pressed the button to switch off the device.
He immediately got down from the bed and made his way to the dining table. Mrs. Smith dished the food and passed them around. Soon everybody was served.
In the course of dining, Mr. Smith decided to talk to Gabriel about the release of the results he heard from Mr. Johnson. “Gabe, have you heard about the release of your Junior High School Certificate Examination?” he asked. “No daddy,” he answered. “I see, I heard it from Mr. Johnson earlier in the day at church,” Mr. Smith continued. “I want you to go to the post office tomorrow and purchase the results checker card. Check the results and print it out. I will take a look at it when I come home from work tomorrow.”
“Okay daddy” he responded. When Gabriel woke up the next day, his daddy had left him the money he promised to purchase the result checker card. He went to the bathroom to clean up to get ready to go to town.
He quickly got ready with his heart pacing through uncertainty of not knowing what is coming. He slipped his legs through his denim jeans and wore a red polo t-shirt. He then wore his pair of white sneakers and combed his hair nicely. He quickly ate his breakfast and headed for the post office.
He went to the counter and purchased the results checker card. With his adrenaline level high causing his heart to race, he decided to satisfy his curiosity by checking the results first on his smartphone.
He opened the web browser on his smartphone, typed in the address of the examination council and typed in the card’s serial number and his index number. He clicked on submit and watched impatiently as the page was loading. He couldn’t look at the screen of his smartphone.
He was so anxious that he started having butterflies in his stomach. He was feeling uneasy as the page was bringing out his results. Gabriel decided to look away for a while. He then mustered courage and decided to look on the screen.
To be continued
