I Hope You Will Never Regret

At the Martins residence they were in the dining room eating breakfast. From that day, Aiden accused his sister of stealing his father from his mother. The atmosphere became awkward. Avery tried several times to talk sense to her brother to no avail. He told her that they were no longer related. His mother had told him to be tough towards his sister in order to protect his inheritance.

Avery used to be a chatterbox, but lately she had become quiet to avoid upsetting her brother. She wished that her uncle was back in South Africa. Maybe he would talk sense to her brother’s thick skull. Her father tried to intervene, but Aiden felt that his father was taking his sister’s side. He told his father that he would never forgive his sister as long as her nanny was still around.

At school, Aiden asked Mr Jacobs to move him far from his sister. Mr Jacobs looked at Avery and asked, “Is it alright if I move you to the front row or do you prefer to be moved to another class, Miss Martins?” Avery looked at her brother and replied, “Sir, please move me to the front row. I don’t want to be moved to another class.”

Mr Jacobs asked another learner to swop with Avery and he agreed. Avery looked at her brother for a long time, then she took her books and walked to the front row. Her heart became bitter, their mother was so evil. She managed to sow a discord between her children.

Avery was blaming her brother in her heart for being blind for trusting their mother. However, Avery didn’t want to give up yet. She was hoping that one day her brother would open his eyes and see their mother’s true colours. She didn’t want to lose him.

At the Trinity Learning Academy, Principal Glen was addressing his Mathematics teachers in the staff room. He had a smile on his face and said, “Tomorrow is the Mathematics Olympiad Competition, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your hard work. I believe that our learners will do well and bring glory to our school. Last but not least, I want to thank our HOD, Mr Gray, for uniting the Mathematics teachers. When you are speaking in one accord, nothing is impossible.”

The teachers clapped their hands and thanked their principal and their HOD. Mr Gray stood up and said, “Thank you Principal Glen for trusting us. Also, I would like to thank my fellow colleagues for trusting me and respecting me. I believe that no one will come between us when we are united. Principal Glen, I promise that we are going to bring glory to our school.”

The teachers were very happy to be praised by their principal. They had done everything to equip their learners. Principal Glen had asked Mr Gray to bring the learners to the Preparation class. He wanted to give them word of encouragement. The learners were already there waiting for their teachers.

Principal Glen walked with his teachers smiling brightly and said, “You look energetic, I don’t have a doubt in my mind that you will do well. Go there and do your best. May the Lord give you strength, focus and wisdom. When answering the exam paper, please take your time and don’t leave blank spaces. The markers tend to award marks when they see that the particular question was hard.”

The learners clapped their hands and thanked Principal Glen. They also thanked their teachers for taking their time to equip them for the competition. They promised that they would do their best. The Mathematics Olympiad competition was taking place on Thursday and Friday at KZN University.

Principal Glen had prepared two buses to bring his learners to the venue. He indicated that he had made a reservation at His Glory hotel for those learners who will go to the second round. The learners were over the moon.

He looked at Avery and asked, “Miss Martins, do you need your mom to join you in the hotel?” Avery shook her head and replied, “I will ask Aunt Bridgette to accompany me, Principal Glen.” He smiled and nodded his head.

The following morning at the Trinity Leadership Academy gate, two luxurious busses were waiting for the learners. To some learners, it was their first time to ride a bus. So, they were so excited. They had faith that they would be able to go to the second round. Therefore, they were carrying small suitcases and luggage bags.

The journey from Trinity Leadership Academy to KZN University took them an hour. When they arrived, there were lots of buses coming from different provinces around the country. The learners got off their buses, leaving their bags on the bus. They walked to the university smiling and full of confidence.

At 9 am, the Mathematics Olympiad competition organizer, Mr Carl Stein, asked everyone to go to the university Auditorium for registration. After registration, they were told to take their seats. Mr Stein greeted everyone and thanked the teachers and the learners for availing themselves. Then he indicated that the pass mark to go to the second round would be 60%.

Mr Stein smiled and said, “Our sponsor, the Taylor Group, indicated that everyone who qualifies for the second round would receive a laptop. Then the winner will receive a cheque for one hundred thousand rand, a trophy and a gold medal. The runner-up will receive a cheque for fifty thousand rand and a silver medal. Do your best.”

The senior invigilator, Miss Sihle Faku, thanked the organizer, Mr Stein, then she asked the invigilators to distribute the question papers, answer books and black pens. They were also given bottles of mineral water. The invigilators asked them to put the bottle of mineral water on the floor so that they wouldn’t wet the answer book.

Miss Faku read the instructions and said, “Learners, the exam paper consists of twenty-five multiple choice questions, and it is a two-hour paper. You are not allowed to leave the exam auditorium for the first hour. When you are finished, please raise your hand up, then the invigilator will come and fetch your paper. Good luck.”Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

The learners started writing their names in the answer book, then they looked at the questions. The question paper was very hard, especially Algebra. Avery looked at the question paper and she smiled. The paper was easier than the paper they wrote at school. She started with Geometry questions. After an hour, the invigilator indicated that they were free to leave the venue if they were finished.

The learners looked at each other; they felt that two hours was not enough. Avery raised her hand up and the invigilator walked to her and asked, “Do you need help?” Avery smiled and replied, “No, I am done.” She handed her paper to the invigilator. Then she walked out of the exam auditorium smiling.

Principal Glen was standing with other school principals chatting. They were laughing at him for bringing a child to the exam venue. At that moment, Avery walked towards him smiling. Principal Glen smiled back at her and asked, “Miss Martins, how was the exam paper?” Avery replied, “Sir, it was easier than the paper we wrote at school. I believe our school will do well.” Principal Glen was overjoyed to hear that.

After two hours, the senior invigilator, Miss Faku, asked the invigilators to collect the question papers and answer books. Then she told the learners that the marks would be available at 2 pm.

She also indicated that the second-round exam would take place in the same venue at 8 am. After that, the learners left the venue with heavy hearts. The exam paper was not easy, they were praying for 60% to qualify for the second round.