My High School Life

Chapter Sixty one

Jumoke

WAEC was going great. The questions were tricky. They weren't so much malpractices as we feared the invigilators and our principal. Those with two heads still brought phones and other and the answers. The teachers didn't assist us at all, they only came in to ask how the questions were.

We were already in the third week of the exam. We had Physics practical exam last week. We were having Chemistry Practical exam today and Biology practical exam next week.

I put my Practical Chemistry booklet, lab coat and stationeries inside my bag and went downstairs.

Dad dropped me off at school. It was quite cold cos it rained in the early hours of the morning. I brought out my pullover and draped it over my body.

"Go straight to the lab." Mr Jones instructed as soon as I got to the hallways.

There were students in the lab already. The lab was very neat. The apparatuses; retort stands, pipettes, burettes, acids, bases, beakers, tubes, conical flasks, salts, litmus papers, indicators and white tiles were already arranged on the slab.

I greeted the students I saw and took a stool and sat down. I brought out the piece of paper where I wrote the calculations we did yesterday and studied them. It was the questions that will be asked.

The lab was becoming full. Mr Jones told us to go stay in a class so we wouldn't break the apparatus. I saw Chioma on the way and we exchanged the pleasantries.

The bell was rung for assembly.

"Should we go for assembly?" Chioma asked.

I thought for a while. "Yeah." I shrugged. "I haven't been in the assembly for a while now."

We asked Mr Jones if we could go for assembly and he said it was okay.

The remaining science students decided to go for assembly too. We walked in group to the assembly ground and the juniors kept looking at us.

I didn't know about the rest but I felt like a celebrity. It's not easy to be in Ss3

Soon, the assembly was over and everyone marched into their classes. We, science students went back upstairs to the chemistry lab.

The time was 8:06am, the exam was to start by nine am.
About forty minutes later, the invigilator arrived. It was a short man with bald head and glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He was so black I wondered how his family saw him at night night.
If someone shot this man at night, the bullet would come back and ask for torchlight.

"Settle down o." His voice was deep and scary.

Why would WAEC officials assign this man to our school? Do they want us to fail?

Everybody got settled in front of their apparatus. We were grouped into twos, meaning two students were assigned to a set of apparatuses, according to our exam numbers.

The man shared the booklets and he told us to start.
As expected, it was the same questions we solved yesterday.
My partner, Kunle and I set to work.

"Submit!" The man instructed when the time was up.
Everybody submitted immediately cos we were all through before the time was up.

"Hope you guys did well? Did you put all the units?" Mr Jones asked when we got out of the lab.

"Yes sir!" We chorused.

"Good. I wish you guys bests of luck. You can go home if you wish."

"Thank you sir."

My next paper, Geography, was on Monday and on Tuesday we had Biology practical exam.
Mr Alfred told us to come to school on Saturday so he could review the questions with us.