"RING!"
"Get up Julianne!" Constance shouted from the living room.
"I'm up!" She said, tossing the sheets off her.
She made her way to the bedside table and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She chuckled and picked up the framed picture of her mom on the bedside table.
"Good morning mom, rest in perfect peace," She said, kissing her mother's picture before she dropped it on the table. In her half-woken state, she walked back to the bed. She slumped on it and closed her eyes, trying to fall back asleep.
"What are you doing child?" Constance asked, barging into the room.
"I'm up!" She mumbled, tossing the sheets on herself.
Her grandmother walked to the bed and pulled the sheets out forcefully, revealing her pink pajama bottoms.
"Do you know what time it is?" She nagged.
"It's 5:30 grandma, school doesn't start till 7:45," She whined.
"When I was your age, I got up each day by 4 a.m. to begin my chores," She complained.
"Maybe that's why you're so cranky," She said jokingly.
However, her grandmother didn't find it funny. She dragged the fourteen-year-old girl out of bed and pushed her into the bathroom.
"If you aren't ready in an hour, I won't take things lightly with you!" Constance warned before leaving the room. She sighed and got into the shower and after thirty minutes, she was ready. She admired her reflection in the mirror. Although the plaid skirt and white shirt made her look like a plain Jane, it also made her feel confident about herself. One could describe her as a beautiful, self-centered bully. That was the reason why boys didn't approach her, she would beat them to a pulp. Her grandmother supported it, she didn't want her to make the same mistakes her mother did. She put on her mother's locket and smiled at her reflection. Nine long years had passed after her mother's death but she still couldn't stop thinking about her. She held her mother's picture close to her heart and softly cried.
"Time's up! Where are you, child?" Constance said, stepping into the room. She looked at Julianne's blotchy face and saw the picture in her hands. She pulled her in for a hug, comforting her. After a while, she calmed down. Picking up her bag, she went down the stairs with her grandmother.
"Good morning Grandpa!" She said, kissing the old man on the cheek.
"Good morning my dear, of to school I suppose?" He asked, flipping the pages of the newspaper.
"Yes, I'll be back soon!" She said excitedly, before dashing out of the house.
Royal Hills Institute of Learning was a 1km walk away from her house. She boldly walked into the building, not caring what anyone said. She walked into her class, sitting at the class.
"Good morning Julianne!" Her friend Doreen greeted.
She got up from her seat and they briefly hugged.
"You won't believe what happened, John and Kennedy beat a teacher up! I heard that they are getting expelled!" She said excitedly.
"Serves them right. Those two are always out for trouble. They don't use their brains," She commented.
"Also, there's this girl power initiative thing I saw…" She said.
"What's it about?" She asked.
"It's a scholarship program, the winner gets to further their education abroad! You should try it, I'm sure you'll win," She squealed.
"If you say so…Is there a form I can pick up or something?" She inquired.
"We can pick it up after school, look Mr. Matthew is coming, let's take our seats," She said, scurrying back to her seat.
Looking at the form in her hand, she stood in front of her house. She knew her grandparents wouldn't like the idea of her leaving the country because of what happened to her mother. Summoning courage, she pushed the door open and stepped into the house, seeing her grandparents seated on the sofa,
"Welcome back Julianne!" Her grandmother greeted. Her silence annoyed her. "Have you forgotten how to greet your elders? Say something!" She complained.
She shook her head and said, "I'm sorry Grandma, it's just that there's this scholarship exam I want to go for…"
"I told you we would pay for college. Your mother left more than enough money for it. You don't need the scholarship," She frowned.
"It's not just about the scholarship," She explained, "I get to go abroad to further my studies if I win!"
Constance's expression changed. "What is this nonsense about you leaving the country? Have you forgotten what happened to your mother?" She shouted.
"I'm not my mother, Grandma. I can take care of myself. You know I don't move around with boys anyway…" She said in her defense.
"Your mother started that way. As soon as she left the country, she felt she could do whatever she wanted. And where did that land her? The grave!" She said ferociously.
"Why are your ways so archaic? I'm not my mother for crying out loud!" She shouted.
"The answer is no Julianne! Forget about it!" Constance shouted.
She angrily went to her room, slamming the door behind her. Constance continued to complain about her attitude and her bringing up the scholarship.
"Maybe we should give her a chance," Harold suggested.
"Can you listen to yourself? That is a terrible idea! Have you forgotten what happened to Hannah?" She shouted.
"I haven't, but Julianne isn't Hannah. She doesn't yield to pee pressure that easily. Her mother was very gullible. Besides, keeping her here won't make much of a difference. Her generation is much more different than ours," He said in a monotonous tone.
"Then what do we do?" She suggested.
He cleared his throat and said, "Let her take the exam. If she fails, she won't bring up the topic again. However, if she passes, we have to believe in our training and trust that she'll take the right path,"
"But what if she ends up like Hannah? I won't be able to bear losing another child!" She cried.
He patted her back and said, "She'll be fine,"
In her room, she slumped on the bed, crying on her pillow. She heard a knock on the door. She tried to arrange the dishevelled room which she turned upside down in anger. The door opened and behind the door was a moody Constance.
"Can I help you with anything Grandma?" She said, wiping the tears off her face.
"Were you crying?" She asked, seeing the tears on her face.
"I wasn't crying, something flew into my eyes," She lied.
Constance scanned the disorganized room. She picked the books on the bed and placed them on the table. She sat on the bed and beckoned her to sit next to her. She slowly walked towards the bed and sat next to her grandma.
"Your grandfather and I had a chat and we decided that you take the exam…" She began.
Her face beamed with joy. She hugged Constance and said, "Thank you, Grandma! I promise I won't let you down!"
Constance pulled away and said, "On one condition…"
Her face fell and she asked, "What is it?"
"If you fail the exam, you will never bring up the topic of leaving the country. If you pass, however, you can go,"
She nodded and said, "I'll do my best,"
Constance patted her shoulder and walked towards the door. She turned and said, "Lest I forget, clean this room up, it looks like a pigsty,"
Finally, she left the room. Julianne looked at the messy room and finally got up to clean it. When she was done, she read like never before. She became more serious in her studies and when the day of the exam came, she wrote it confidently. However as the days passed, she became nervous concerning the results. She became moody and depressed, not wanting to talk to anyone.
On one faithful day as she was reading, she heard a knock on her room door, it was none other than her friend Doreen.
"Julianne, you'll never guess what happened," She said in her usual bubbly tone.
"What happened?" She asked, hating that Doreen was making her guess.
"The results of the exam are out! They said that in one week, the winner will get a mail describing the terms and conditions of the scholarship!" She squealed.
"What about the others? If they don't qualify, will they be informed?" She asked.
"Nope, it would be as though they never took the exam," She replied.
She nodded slowly, thanking her. They talked for a while before she left. The information she had shared with her only made her more nervous. A week passed, but she didn't get any mail. It seemed obvious that she didn't meet the requirements. She stayed indoors, becoming more depressed, and refused to go back to school. On one faithful evening when she was out, her grandparents received a mail that was delivered to her.
"Should we open it?" Constance said to Harold.
"Shame on you Constance! It's Julianne's mail, she should read it first. If she wants to tell us its contents, she will. If she doesn't, then so be it,"
"What if it's from a boy?" She replied.
"For crying out loud Constance, she's…"
Julianne suddenly entered the room. "Did something happen?" She asked.
"You have a mail. The mailman said you were supposed to receive it a week ago but due to some difficulties, it came late," Constance explained.
She quickly opened the envelope, bringing out a sheet of paper. Once she read it, she screamed and jumped in excitement. Seeing her sudden change of mood made her grandparents confused.
"What does it say?" They asked.
"Dear Julianne Heathrow," She said, "You are among the selected twenty candidates for the Girl Power initiative," She paused and said, "I got the scholarship!"
Her grandparents hugged and congratulated her. Doreen stopped by and congratulated her. Her classmates, teachers, and friends also came around to congratulate her. It seemed like everyone she knew was aware that she passed the exam.
That night, Constance made her favorite dish. She was to leave the country in a month. That night, she finally slept peacefully, feeling satisfied.