I Hate Monday Mornings - The Dream Starters Series (1) by David Aiyeola

Early on Monday morning, Anita opened her eyes while it was still dark. She knew that day would break soon and she would have to get up and prepare for school. She wished the weekend could be longer so she could sleep some more. Anita wondered why parents were so strict and harsh. They make things difficult for young people, making them go through pain by insisting they get up early in the morning to go to school – even on a cold day – reading and studying when it’s not convenient, forcing them to do house chores, and generally not allowing them to have fun. She decided to catch a few more winks before her alarm went off. But just at that moment, the alarm went off. Oh God! She exclaimed and looked at the clock’s face. It was exactly 5am! For a moment, she thought of ignoring the alarm. But then she remembered that her mother would soon come into her room to drag her out of bed for morning prayers.
She jumped out of bed and made her way to the sitting room where her father, mother and brother Julius were already waiting. Mrs Isaac led the praise and worship session, while Mr Isaac led the prayers. After prayers, Anita picked up a broom to sweep the house. Every morning, Anita had to do her household chores before leaving home; it didn’t matter if she missed breakfast or had to run all the way to school in order not to get flogged. She rushed to finish up the cleaning. To make her work faster, she usually washed the plates and dishes the night before so that in the morning, she would only have to sweep the floors and clean the furniture while her mother gave Julius a bath and prepared their breakfast. While eating her breakfast, Anita remembered the one thousand-naira sports levy she was supposed to pay for the school inter-house sports competition. But when she asked her dad for the money, he replied angrily, “Young lady, where will I get that kind of money this early morning?  Do I have a bank in the house? All you know how to do is ask for money – money for this, money for that! I don’t have that kind of money. You will get it the day after tomorrow.” “The day after tomorrow?!” Anita protested. "Yes, the day after tomorrow," her dad replied. "Or you can ask your mum if she can give it to you." "Don’t even involve me in this matter!" returned Mrs Isaac. "I don’t have any money." Anita was sad, knowing that she would be punished at school for not having the levy money. She got up to leave, as she would first have to take Julius to a nursery school not far from the house before rushing to her friend Bose’s house so they could walk to school together. On getting to Bose’s house, Anita was surprised to find furniture scattered outside. She called out for Bose, expecting the usual response from her, but all was quiet. She called out a second time, and again received no response. Then she heard the faint sound of someone sobbing. It was Bose. Anita, wanting to be sure that it was Bose, decided to call out to her again, “Bose! I’m ready to go. Where are you?” Bose appeared, still in her house dress and with tears running down her face. Anita couldn’t believe her eyes. “Is this a joke?” she said.  “Why are you still dressed like this? Don’t you want to go to school?" But there was no response from Bose. Anita looked at her friend’s face more closely and noticed the sadness and fear in it. Anita exclaimed, “Ah! What’s the problem?” She moved closer to Bose and held her hands. But Bose continued to cry. Anita tried to console her. “Please, speak to me, what happened to you? Are your parents fighting again? Do you need transport fare? Please say something.” Bose finally responded, “My parents have broken up. They fought throughout the weekend. My dad threw my mum out and now, my mum has left with her belongings. I’m afraid, Anita!” “Oh Bose, please don’t be afraid. I’m sure things are not so bad and everything is going to be alright.” “I don’t think so Anita, I’m afraid we may have to leave our house too.” “What?” Anita exclaimed. “No! Why? To where?” Bose replied, “There is no way we can survive since my dad has lost his job. Our rent is long overdue and we don’t have money to pay. The landlord came with court eviction papers and threw out all our belongings; now we have no place to stay. My dad wants to send me and my brother to the village to stay with our granny – at least we will have food to eat there and when he gets another job, we can come back and start school again.” “Oh no!” cried Anita, now also sobbing. “This is just not fair.” It was now Bose’s turn to console her friend. “Anita, stop crying. I will be alright,” she said, wiping the tears off Anita’s face. “You have to be going now or you might be late and serve punishment.” Anita tried to gather herself. She asked her friend when she thought she would be leaving for the village. “I don’t know,” said Bose. “We might leave this morning so we can get to the village before dark.” Anita quickly scribbled down a phone number onto a piece of paper. “Please, promise me you’ll call,” she begged her friend. “If you need any help, call – it’s my mum’s mobile phone number.” Bose thanked her friend, and then quickly ran into the house. She reappeared with a wrapped item and some books. “I am going to miss you,” she said. “Please give this birthday present to Aminat, and as for these books, one is to be returned to the internet learning centre – please tell Professor why I couldn’t bring it myself – and the other one is for the community library. Please let Aunty Mariam know what had happened to me; her advice has been very helpful. And finally, send my regards to the clique. I will miss you all.” They hugged each other and said goodbye. A very wicked world,Anita concluded. It was a long walk to school without Bose. It’s going to be a very dull day, she muttered to herself. She had to run fast in order to escape being made the day’s scapegoat for coming late to school. She joined the line on the assembly ground and after the recitation of the national anthem and the pledge of allegiance; the school counsellor began the motivational talk for the day. Anita, Bose, Aminat, Kunle and Charles are five teenage friends who are concerned about the various social, political and economic problems facing Nigeria. They are not sure of what will happen to their futures and are seeking answers. Who can help them? Nobody, aside from the NYSC member posted to the Internet Learning Centre at their school and the librarian at their favourite hangout, the ZODML Community Library.  The Dream Starters Series is designed to enlighten youths about self-learning and educate them on how to earn, grow and preserve money. Image source