“Sofia, Sofia, I’ve got news”

Roused from her slumber by her mothers voice, she opened one eye and promptly shut it closed when she saw how bright the whole place was.

“Sofia, wake up”

When she refused to wake up and give her mother the attention that she wanted, her mother put her hand on her shoulder and started pushing on it to disturb her once peaceful slumber.

“Mum, please, I need to sleep”

Sofia tried as much as she could to shake her mother off but to no avail. When she saw that her mother wasn’t going to let her be until she was up, she force both eyes open and sat up in her rickety bed.

“What’s it, Mama?”

A yawn followed her words. She had gotten home quite late because she promised her father that she was going to go with him to the farm. Though she had a late night shift at the hotel, she hadn’t wanted to go back on her promise. It also helped that she knew she had to be there to stop her father from overworking himself. Sometimes, she wondered whether the man even cared about his health because she worried far more than he did about himself.

“I’ve got good news!”

A bit more awake after taking a sip of water from the glass cup at her bedside, she saw that her mother was practically bursting at the seams with excitement. She couldn’t think of anything at all that could make her mother so happy her face was alight with joy like a child given a toy that he wanted so much.

“Okay?”

Dragging the word to show how suspicious she was of her mothers demeanor, she sat up in her bed even more, equally eager to hear whatever it was that her mother couldn’t wait to tell her.

“You’re going to nursing school!”

At first, the words didn’t register in her head as she blinked numerous times sure that her ears were playing the greatest tricks in the history of tricks on her but when her mother kept nodding, she jumped up and squealed.

“I’m going to nursing school?”

Her mother nodded and pulled her into a hug. Tears already gathering in Sofia’s eyes over what she was hearing, she hugged her mother even tighter. After a while, they disengaged and Sofia looked at her mother whose eyes were already on her. The euphoria from earlier dissipated slightly leaving in its wake, worries.

“But mama, how would we pay for the registration, the fees and everything else that’s required?”

Her mother took a seat on her bed and patted the spot beside her for her to sit as well. She did as she was told. Taking Sofias hands in hers, her mother lowered her voice.

“You’re not going to pay a dime. No, we’re not going to pay anything”

Immediately, Sofias mind started running in different directions a mile a minute.

“How is that even possible? Do you plan on lying to the school or something?”

To say that she was confused at what her mother was saying to her was an understatement. How was it possible that she was going to go to nursing school but she wasn’t going to end up spending even a dime? That was practically impossible because the last time she checked, she could tell for a fact that the school wasn’t a charity organization where they allowed students in for free.

“No, we’re not lying to the school or anything illegal or immoral”

She waited for more information but for some reason, she just wasn’t getting to the point.

“So how are we going to pay for everything, ma? I don’t have any money. I’ve spent the little I saved on the roof, to restock the farm for the next planting season and the drugs for the remaining livestock. All I have left is what we’ll use to feed till I get my next paycheck”

“I know that, my treasure”

Her mother let out a breath, suddenly looking nervous.

“The way you can get to go to nursing school without paying a dime is if you’re sponsored by the private school in town”

Sofia blinked at her mother to see whether she was joking or not. She burst into laughter. When her mother didn’t join her or show any signs of jest, she stopped.

“Is that why you woke me up, mama? You know that I slept really late last night”

Stifling yet another yawn, she pulled her hands above her head and stretched, her limbs sore and joints stiff.

“I know how it sounds but i know you can get the scholarship because you’re smart and driven”

Holding her mothers cheek in her hand gently, Sofia reduced her voice as well.

“Mama, none of those matter because I’m not even a student of the school. How can they sponsor me to nursing school when they don’t even know that I actually exist?”

Holding her hand by the wrist, her mother didn’t back down.

“There’s an exam that’s going to be written soon. Some parents came together and decided that every year, a student was going to be selected to attend the private school for one year and on maintaining their grades, they were going to be sponsored to any level of higher learning they wanted”

In all honesty, Sofia’s heart leaped for joy when she heard those words but she was soon brought back to reality.

“No, Mama, I’m not going to do it”

Her mothers eyebrows wrinkled as she frowned.

“But why? You’ll end up going to nursing school like you always wanted”

“They’re spoilt brats”

She knew how mean they could be and didn’t want to give them any ammunition against her.

“Would you really let this opportunity pass you by because of some spoilt brats?”

Sofia was torn on what decision to make. Eventually, she closed her eyes and sighed.

“Fine, I’ll write the exam”

The way her mother squealed, one would think that she was given a million dollars. It made Sofia laugh as well but her mood was short lived when she saw her father standing in the doorway, his hands folded behind his back and a scowl on his face as he looked at her.