When Frank, the new guy, told me he had received his admission letter from Prempeh College, I was certain mine would also come from the same school. Without wasting time, I grabbed our post office box key and dashed to the post office.
I was so nervous I missed a step, tripped, and landed hard on the ground. One of the women selling by the roadside screamed,
“You are the fourth boy to fall at that spot today! What is wrong with boys these days? Do you always have to stare at my sweet granddaughter? Can’t you just glance at her once and move on?”
I hadn’t even noticed the girl she was talking about until I got up and saw her laughing uncontrollably at me. For a moment, I thought about explaining that I wasn’t staring at her granddaughter, but I decided against it. Better to smile, keep quiet, and walk away quickly. I promised myself not to pass that route again. After all, our elders say, “It is only a fool whose testicles are stepped on twice.”
But wait a minute—who was this girl? She was genuinely beautiful, the kind of beauty that makes you wonder if heaven had a second banishment after the one that expelled Satan and his angels. Surely, a face like that didn’t just belong to our small town. Was she here on vacation with her grandmother?
I wished I could see her again, maybe even talk to her, but I had already sworn not to take that path back. All I could do was hope that one day, somehow, I’d get another chance.
At the post office, I reached into my pocket for the key—only to realize it was gone. Panic hit me. The only explanation was that it had fallen out when I tripped earlier. I didn’t like the idea of going back, but I had no choice.
When I returned, the woman was gone, but her granddaughter was still there. I explained about my missing key, and she kindly offered to help me search. After a few minutes, she found it. Just as she was about to hand it to me, her grandmother suddenly appeared.
“You again? What do you want from my granddaughter? By the time I count to three, you must be gone!” she barked.
Not wanting any trouble, I snatched the key, mumbled a quick thanks to the girl, and hurried off.
Back at the post office, I opened our box and found several letters. My heart raced as I grabbed them, hoping one would carry the name Prempeh College. Sadly, none did. Then I remembered: I hadn’t used our post office number. I had used the one for my church.
I rushed to the mission house, but before I could even enter, the pastor’s son met me at the gate. Without a word, he handed me a letter.
This had to be it. My friends EK and MA had already been accepted to OWASS, so I was sure mine would confirm my admission to Prempeh College.
But when I looked at the back of the envelope, my stomach dropped. The letter wasn’t from Prempeh—or even OWASS. It was from a school I had never heard of in my life.
How on earth could I be posted there?
Can you guess where I ended up?
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