Tomorrow owes us today [Part 1]

This manifested in his primary and post primary education where he maintained first position in his class throughout both cadres. He was made the head boy during his secondary school days, a position most people called senior prefect.

It could inerrably be said that Frank was exceptionally brilliant. Those with strict reservations said he was smart while those with generous opinions saw Frank as a genius. But to say the obvious Frank was indeed a swot. He read virtually everything he could find so much that before leaving secondary school, he could boast of having read over a fifty novels in addition to his textbooks, even when he was a science student.

Frank’s parents were staunch Catholics. This wasn’t peculiar as it was the only church in their village then. He attended catechism classes and learned to say all Catholic prayers, including the Rosary without manuals.

It was not a surprise when it was heard that Frank got admission into the university to study Medicine and Surgery, after all, his teachers had always called him a doctor in line with the aphorism in those languorous days that every intelligent science student was supposed to be a doctor or in the least, an engineer.

On arrival on campus, he became a prey to the many religious scavengers in the name of fellowship. A sister had followed him as he dragged his bag to his hostel. They knew the new ones by the naive look on their faces or by any other means they had perfected. She had helped him sweep his room and arrange his few belongings.

What a wonderful lady! So, this type of good people still exists? Frank had wondered.

‘Thank you, Aunty.’ Frank humbly said after.

‘You are welcome, dear. Don’t call me, Aunty. I am Sister Rose, a student like you.’ She corrected. She told him she was a 400 level medical student. She finally handed him a card bearing the name of her fellowship, told him their meeting days and that she would be glad to see him. She added that medicine was difficult and that he needed couching by older students. She didn’t need to speak further.

Being a devout catholic, Frank only attended her fellowship once, just to please her. He soon got to know of the Nigerian Federation of Catholic Students (NFCS) to which he later belonged.

He completed his first year smoothly. Although he had come from a community school, he was among the few leading in his class. He taught his mates, even those studying other courses.

Every girl that came across him had a crush on him especially those who lived in same hostel with him.

Frank wasn’t in anyway disadvantaged. He wasn’t too tall. He was light skinned, with a stunningly attractive and sexy lie-gap. Each time he smiled his teeth sparkled.

In his second year, things took a different turn. A pretty damsel had moved into his hostel. She just got admission to study Biochemistry. Every boy wanted to be around her, to speak with her, to hold her, to do one thing or another for her, to date her... Chinenye knew and delighted in the fancy. Frank was too busy to notice her. And she hated Frank for it. She merely greeted him. Frank in his own manners only responded with a “hello” to all her greetings, and that drew the line.

The great wall fell down when Frank returned from school one day only to see almost everyone in the hostel clustering around Chinenye’s door. He didn’t care. She was sobbing. Others consoling. Their first semester result had been published. She had three F’s. People had left her for their rooms when Frank discovered she was still at her door weeping. Frank dragged his feet towards her. And as he did, she became apprehensive. Before Frank could speak to her, she suddenly stopped crying.

Her eyes were red. Hot tears cascaded her smooth chin, snaking around her well-curved nose and running down through her mouth edge, with a few collections in her dimples. Drops of sweat stool firm on the bare area of her upper chest and on her neck. Chinenye had a rare set of bulgy eyes. Her face was smooth and spotless. She had a lie-gap but not as wide as Frank’s.

She was in between tall and short in height but not as light-skinned as Frank. Of note were the sizeable mounds on her chest which Frank for the first time took note of as he traced with his eyes the mixture of tears and sweat that streamed in the valley in between.