Hearing the footsteps of my dad that very day was troubling considering the fact that it reminded me of what I had gotten myself into. I tried to act normal but I could feel my heart pumping and thumping loudly, threatening to burst out from its cage…my handkerchief was already soaked with sweats and more kept bursting out as I waited for my dad to call me out…I could hear my mum’s voice in the sitting room as she recounted to him the details of what happened and what I had done…I waited in fear as I thought of how it all began…I had been one of the brightest student at Christ heritage school at the time, very smart and intelligent, leading my school in quizzes and competitions and emerging the winner making my school best in the whole community.
There was a trend following kids of the same age as mine where they tended to show superiority by their possessions and what they could afford…my best friend at that time rejoice was someone who also was known for bringing a lot of money to schools and buying stuff for herself and friends. I envied her and wanted to be like her, I thought of various ways I could persuade my parents to increae the #20 food money given to me, deep down in my heart I knew it was impossible, my parents were strict disciplinarian who believed that children given extra money at a tender age tend to get spoilt and eventually will resort to stealing that would bring shame to his/her family, Going over these things, I decided that persuading my parents would be a waste of time. I resorted to stealing from my dad’s drawer where I had seen him a few time keeping his money..
My various trips to my dads drawer had been successful ones,for the past few weeks he had come back late and drunk and had hardly noticed the disappearance of his money…But it happened that on the last day of school, I forgot to have picked the money last night, so I decided to pick it up that morning but was unable to due to the fact that my dad had not left the living room, I waited and waited until finally he left to pick his cellphone that was ringing in the bedroom. I used that opportunity to sneak into the living room and proceeded to collect the money, and as I kept the money in my socks with my heart bouncing for what would be done to me if I was caught, then I heard my dad step in, he then demanded for what I was doing with his drawer…I stuttered for words looking for a suitable explanation to give for what I was doing in the room and why his cabinet was open, he asked againthen came around to check what I was doing, he saw the bundle of notes I was about to keep back in its position.I couldn’t stop the sweats from pouring down my face when I saw him take the money and began to count.
My heart was in a race, goosebumps filled my whole flesh as he finished counting the money, then he looked at me with that suspicious look in his eyes and asked for the money I took, I couldn’t decide what to do, should I tell him the truth and face the consequences or should I lie to save myself the embarrassment, I decided to go with the latter but little did I know that lies could only bring more punishment than was intended, from my stuttering to the sweats pouring out of my forehead, it was clearly apparent that I had something to do with the money, he asked me to pull off my bag and dump its content on the floor. He searched through the contents but the money was not there then he asked me to pull off my clothes, that was when I started shaking, I could not help it so I bent down and brought out the money from my socks…I waited fir his voice that will proclaim my judgement but instead he told me to pack my things and go to school.
That day could be described as the worst day for me, I couldn’t stop thinking about what I did, why I had done it and what punishment that was waiting in store for me at home. I could not focus on anything at all in school, I was already having chest pains because of the way my heart keeps bouncing in its rib cage, I thought about a whole lot of things, I thought about what my dad would say, I thought about what my classmates would say if it should get to them or what the school would say about an intelligent pupil as me stealing to gain recognition, I just hoped my dad wouldn’t go too extreme this time and just pardon me at home without letting my school know about it. The ringing of the bell signaling closure for the day hit me like the trumpet that would sound on judgement day, I tried to stall a bit by waiting a little longer in school, then I left for home with my siblings askingthe reason for my silence that entire day, I kept quiet, couldn’t speak.
As I neared the two bedroom flat that was my home, I couldn’t stop the crazy thoughts about running away but it was one thing to think about something and another thing to act on it..I neared my home with fear and was relieved to see that my dad was not home, I was not completely at ease but that kept me relaxed for a while..that was why I was in this bed with my whole body vibrating as I heard my dad call out to me…I stood up and went to him where to my surprise was not only the one there but my principal..
I stood with my head bowed in shame as he reprimanded me and brought out the belt he would be using to deal with my foolishness…
I was caught red handed, as I look back to it today I can only say it was the most embarrassing moment of my life..
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