It was the first day of my senior year at Christlead Model College, a school every young child wishes to attend because of the glory in its name. I could feel the familiar mix of excitement and fear bubbling within me. I was excited because I was a student at such a prestigious school, and I was scared because I was not sure I fit in. It's a school where the smartest kids attend and the rich kids too. At my first visit to the school, we were asked to pick a department we would belong to, and as a young boy who loves to draw, I chose the art department. As I strolled through the hallways, I saw vibrant student artwork, and I had the determination to put mine out there too. We had the art, commerce, and science departments.
There is no point in bragging, but ever since I was a child, I had the talent of using the pencil to draw amazing things. Due to this fact, I believe the art department was for me.
Without much thought, I went to the art room. In the same way the science department has a laboratory to themselves, the art department has the art room to themselves. As I entered the art room, the aroma of freshly sharpened pencils and crisp canvas filled the air. I scanned the room, thinking of where I would sit the day we would be having art practice. I sat on one of the desks, imagining myself drawing something amazing, but then I heard a crack at the door. It was Mr. Adebayo.
"What are you doing here?" He shouted at me with a frown on his face. "Nothing sir." I was scared to the core, thinking I had committed a great offense. "Go to your class now!" he shouted again, and this time I ran to the class without looking back.
As I got to the class, I found everyone trying to make friends since it was everyone's first day in senior secondary school (SSS1). Although some people already knew each other since they came from the same school, none of my friends from my previous school were around. It was then that I saw Ayomide drawing something at the back of his book.
Mustering my courage, I approached Ayomide and struck up a conversation about the details of his drawing. To my delight, he was not only incredibly skilled but also humble and eager to learn from others. A bond was formed that day, a bond forged by our shared love for the arts and our desire to push each other to new creative heights.
As the weeks went by, our art teacher assigned a project that would test our abilities to the fullest. We were asked to draw anything of our choice and submit it by the next art practice class. Ayomide, knowing I had good insight into picking a perfect drawing, asked me what I would be drawing for my assignment.
Without hesitation, I described a vivid scene that had been stamped into my mind: a woman holding her child as the child walks beside his mother along a narrow, bushy road. I chose this idea because I saw it happen a few days ago. I asked Ayomide about his, and he said he might just draw a mountain. We left after much talking and bidding ourselves good-bye.
On the day of the presentation, I was ready to unveil my priced drawing to everyone in the art room, but the Ayomide drawing caught my attention. I always knew Ayomide was a good artist, but I never imagined he would steal someone's thunder. Everyone's eyes were on his drawing, as it had more details and embodied more emotion than mine did. I did great too, but what made mine unique was taken away from it already.
After I presented my drawing to Mr. Adebayo, he saw the similarity in our assignment. He then said, "So, who stole whose idea?" I kept quiet because I wanted Ayomide to come out clean. We stood there for a few seconds before Ayo said he was the one. "Though your drawing looks better, it is wrong to steal someone's thunder because your drawing won't be giving the light it should."
Mr. Adebayo asked us to draw something else and submit it in the next art practical, and since that day, my bond with Ayomide hasn't been as strong because I can't trust him any longer.
This is me visiting my school to take a picture after 12 years. I took the first image same day I took this one. The school look so different now.
Thanks for reading.
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