I took the envelope from him and when I saw the contents, I shouted.
It was an application form for the famous Elite Academy and a letter informing me of the date for the entrance examinations.
"What is it? " Fred asked as he took a look at the paper I was holding.
When he saw the contents, he went back to eating his food.
I stood up and ran to my parents and hugged them tightly.
"We can see you like the surprise." My mom said.
"The date of the exam is next week Friday. You have to put in more effort." My dad reminded me.
"I know. Thanks, mom, thanks, dad." I said as I still hugged them tightly while kneeling on the floor.
"Alright, that's enough. We still need to finish our food and retire for the night." My mom said as she pulled me up.
I went back to my chair and continued to look at the form.
I was so surprised that my parents finally purchased it for me.
I had earlier told them about it when the sale of the form started. They initially refused as the cost of schooling there was very high, and they couldn't afford it.
My parents weren't wealthy, but we were average. My mom worked as a nurse in the local hospital, whereas my dad owns a little supermarket.
Then I heard that the academy would be offering a scholarship for the best students in the examination. I decided to tell them about it again today, but they suddenly surprised me with the form.
My joy knew no bounds. It was now left for me to perform well in the exams so I could get the scholarship.
After having our dinner, we said our nightly prayers. Fred and I continued to read our books. My dad stayed up with us as he was calculating his sales for the day.
When it was 9 pm, Fred said good night and went to bed.
I continued reading until it was 10 pm, and my dad urged me to go to bed saying I needed to rest properly for the next day.
I reluctantly went to bed and as I slept, I started dreaming about me being in Elite Academy.
*******************
"Elsie, wake up. You are going to be late for school." My mom said as she tapped me lightly waking me up from my sleep.
I was angry that my beautiful dream was interrupted, so I rolled over to the side of the bed and murmured,
"Mom, please let me sleep a little bit more. I still feel sleepy."
My mom yanked the blanket off me and rolled me back to face her.
"You have exams today. You can't be late." My mom said as I opened my eyes.
"I'm going to wake up your brother now. You guys should be fast and come down for breakfast."
I heard the door close and I knew my mom had left my room. I stretched myself and quickly got out of bed.
"After six years in primary school. I was finally in my last term and writing my exams. It's daunting to think that high school was coming up so soon, but I'd already turned 11 and had been preparing for this moment."
I was remembering my dream about Elite Academy. I was excited about high school but I still felt it wasn't going to be easy and that I might no longer enjoy certain things.
I snapped out of my daydream when I looked at the time. I was going to be late for school if I don't hurry up.
********************
"Good morning dad." I greeted my dad as I made my way to the dining, Fred was walking behind me and he also greeted our dad.
"Hope you guys slept well?"My dad asked.
"Yes, we did." Fred and I chorused as we sat down and began having our breakfast.
"That's good." He said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up.
"Success in your exams. Give it your best." My dad said as he gave us a pat on our heads and left.
"Bye, dad."
"Alright, finish up your breakfast and head out for school." My mom said.
"Aren't you coming with us?" Fred asked her.
"No, mom has to work the night shift today. I'll be leaving later in the afternoon."
Hearing that, I slumped into my chair as it meant I had to take charge of things in the house for that weekend.
"Elsie, it's just for the weekend. It will be gone before you know it." My mom said as she laughed at my reaction.
After some minutes, Fred and I were already on our way to school. I had to caution him to stop running around from time to time until I got tired and let him be.
After a ten minutes walk, we got to school.
I always had this uneasy feeling and my heart beating rapidly whenever I approached the school gates.
"Pine Crest International School " I read out what was on the notice board.
That's the name of our school and one of the best schools in our town.
Fred and I got to school just in time for the morning assembly but we weren't having it because of the exams.
Fred said goodbye to me and walked to his class, he was in class one and was always excited to be in school. Maybe it was because of the extracurricular activities because my brother Fred was not so into school but he always performed excellently with minimal effort.