THE A Story By Nana Yaa Larbi
THE Story By Nana Yaa Larbi Cover Design By Korantemaa Larbi
Published By
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2014 Nana Yaa Larbi
All rights reserved. No portion of this book can be reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.
hat award had his name written all over it.
There was no way Agya was taking it
home this year; he had won it in the third year because of a tiny historical detail he had included in his portfolio but Kwasi had covered all bases this year. He had started planning this coup since that bitter loss and he was winning it by all means possible. So far he had only used fair means by working very hard and soliciting the advice and help of engineers out there on the field. He knew some of his classmates thought the rivalry between the two of them was absurd but how were they to know that it was more than what met the eye with the two of them? He had visualized the award ceremony so many times that he had started dreaming about it. He could just see and hear it, “ And the Dean’s award goes to Kwasi …. for his innovative design of a house for our modern times.” He could hear the Dean talk about all the features he had incorporated into the house and the details he had put in his design. A smile crossed his face as he pictured the whole ceremony with the adulation and resounding applause from the audience. He could see himself glance at Agya with a smug smile on his face and punch his fist in the air. He walked with purpose towards the library, in a great hurry to crosscheck all his facts and put his sheets in order for the binder. He turned the curve to his favorite spot with his usual speed and was brought to an abrupt halt by what he saw. He couldn’t believe his eyes. There in his spot, his sacrosanct spot was another being with files spread out everywhere. As he got closer, he realized that it was not someone he knew; it seemed to be a first year student he hadn’t seen before. What had possessed her to visit the library today of all days and take his spot too??? He could 1
feel a red mist rising and had to keep it in check; he wasn’t going to be accused of any sort of abuse. Things were getting very hairy on campus these days with all sorts of allegations flying about and he wanted to get out of here with nothing to his name but a few broken hearts. And of course, the Dean’s award! She looked up and saw him behind her and smiled and then went back to her files. He stood there foolishly, a bit lost for words and lost in a sort of temporary trance. He wanted her to turn again so that he could say hello properly so he cleared his throat and she turned around again and smiled at him again; and then went back to her files. “ Hello, “ he said tentatively and she kind of sighed and turned round. “Hi; I am a bit busy over here. I have to finish some research on this case and I really do not have the time to chat now. Sorry, maybe another time?” she said. For someone who was used to being in the driving seat with girls, Kwasi was momentarily taken aback by what he heard. He heard himself asking, “ When are you supposed to hand your work in then?” “ Like yesterday?” she said. He could hear the exasperation in her voice but he pretended not to. ‘ Well, is there anything I can help you with?” he asked. What was he thinking? His mind seemed 2
to have slowed down a bit since meeting this creature and he couldn’t believe himself. Focus, focus, he kept saying under his breath. “ It depends. I need to extract some information from all these files.” “I can help you,” he heard himself saying. He heard a voice in his head say, “ Fool, you are going to lose the award to Agya! Find somewhere else to sit and do your work. She giggled and looked at him as if he had horns sprouting on his head. “ Yeah, right. At what price? “ she said scornfully. “ I mean it, no strings attached, promise,” he answered. She looked at him intently for a minute and narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. “ Nothing to lose; if you do want to help me for whatever reason listen carefully then,” she said. She proceeded to give him a quick summary of what she was working on and Kwasi dumped his bags onto the floor unceremoniously and grabbed one of her files with the eagerness of a child. She carried on talking to him and he could hear her all right but all he could see was this girl on 3
his arms and suddenly the Dean’s award faded into the background. The bitterness in him about Maame just melted away and he could see his redemption in this creature. “ Helloooo, “ he could hear her saying from far away. So lost was he in his reverie that he had not been paying attention to anything she had said. “ Did you hear anything at all?” she asked. “ Just what I need now. Someone to waste ten minutes of my time for nothing. She snatched the file away from him and the papers spilt out onto the floor all around them. She knelt down to snatch them up and he knelt with her to pick them up apologizing the whole time. “ Just leave me alone, please!” she said in a short voice. “ Look, I said I’m sorry, “ he said, “ Shall we start again?” She didn’t even bother to look at him and sat down in his chair and just mumbled something under her breath. It was now or never. He took out one of his sheets and wrote a note and dropped it front of her...
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10 years later... “And what did that note say, Dad?” Kwasi looked at her and asked, “ Shall we tell him about the note and then the awards ceremony too? She pealed with laughter and hugged her son and said to him,‘ One day when you are older I shall show it to you, son.” They looked at each other over their son’s head and once again his insides melted as she winked at him and smiled that special smile.
The End
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Nana Yaa Larbi is an independent writer and editor based in London.
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