My friendship with James; The beginning.

I was waiting for a lecture when information filtered in that the result of MTH 201 (Mathematical Methods) had been pasted. The course was one of the most feared courses among the students offering it. The result is always marred by mass failure. I was contemplating whether to go and check it before the start of the lecture that I was waiting for when the lecturer walked in. Uneasiness took the better part of me during the lecture.

Immediately after the lectures, my classmates and I trooped out and headed to the department of mathematics, where the result was pasted. I met students in their numbers and crowded the notice board on which the results were pasted.

The course was offered by about six departments.

From afar, I sighted some of the result pages. They were dominated by F and E grades. It was rare to see grades C and above.

I found my way to the board and checked mine. My joy knew no bounds when I found out that I got an A.

As I stepped out of the corridor where I had checked the result, a colleague, who later introduced himself as James, walked up to me and tapped me from behind. He was someone from another department. According to him, he saw me when I checked my result. He checked his own earlier, and he failed the course. He presented his case to me in a manner that I least expected. The guy nearly got down on his knees to beg me to assist him in teaching him before another attempt at the course the following session. The course was a prerequisite for him. Failing it meant that he wasn't able to register for a course at the 300 level.

At first, I was skeptical about accepting to help him. The reason was that I preferred teaching my colleagues any course that we are currently offering together. Going back to teach a course that I have offered and passed somehow draws me back. However, I thought about how passionate he was about pleading with me to help him. I agreed to help him. We mapped out our meeting times for weekends.

James and I became good friends during the course of putting him through. The period coincided with when students were allocated accommodation space by the university. In order to have more time to read together, I suggested to James that we rent an apartment off campus and stay together.

It would be very difficult for both of us to get accommodations in the same room. Going outside to get accommodations off campus was the sure way to make us stay together.

James accepted the suggestion wholeheartedly with appreciation. We got the apartment and settled down.

I made sure that I was at his beck and call. At the end of the second semester, he wrote the examination, and he was filled with excitement when he returned from the examination hall. When the result was released, he got a grade of C. He couldn't hide his joy, and he registered his appreciation deeply.

We continued to stay together until James graduated. His course was four years long, while mine was five years. He graduated and left for the compulsory one-year national service.

My final session without him around was very lonely.

Since then, our relationship has grown to be more like a family than a friend. Anytime we reflect on our university journey, James can't cease to appreciate me for helping him when he was in need of assistance.

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