Academic danger

It was getting close to exam period. I was in my second year in the university. We knew exams were getting close but we didn't know when exactly they would start because the exam timetable hadn't been released yet. As a result, we thought there was some time left. I wasn't under any pressure. I barely attended lectures but I believed that I would be able to cover up the lecture materials before the exam.

One Friday afternoon, we had just finished our last lecture for the day. I was excited that it was finally the weekend. I couldn't wait to have fun all weekend. I had already prepared all the movies I was going to watch that weekend. I also made plans with my friend on the video games we were going to play. Suddenly, my phone beeped. It was a new message in the class group chat.

The exam timetable was sent to the group chat. My heart skipped a beat, but I was eager to see how the timetable was organized, and more importantly, when exams were starting. I could see that most of my classmates were on their phones with serious looks on their faces. I opened the document, and I saw that the first exam was slated for Monday the next week.

"This has to be a mistake" I said to myself.

I turned to my classmate who was standing close to me.

"Bro, don't you think there's a mistake with the date for the first paper?" I asked

"No. That's no mistake. The class representative confirmed it from the department" he said.

After a brief period of thinking, I concluded that things weren't that bad afterall, despite the fact that I was in no way prepared for the exam.

"Saturday and Sunday should be enough for me to study for the exam" I thought to myself.

That Friday evening, I still decided to unwind. I saw some of the movies I planned to see.

"I will start studying from tomorrow" I kept telling myself.

The next day, Saturday, came. I woke up to an invitation from my friend to come play football with them that morning. Since it was still early in the day, I decided to join them, hoping to go back home by afternoon and study. When I back home from the field, I settled down to study. Just as I was about to open the study materials, I got a call from my friend, Williams.

"Hey Victor, where are you? Aren't you playing the video game again. The other guys are here. We can't wait to defeat you" Williams said

I quick thought about it, trying to decide if I should just postpone my studying a bit further.

"I'm still coming. I'm on my way" I replied.

I made my way to his place that afternoon. I spent the major part of my day there playing games. I lost track of time. At night, I got back home, so exhausted to study. I decided I was going to dedicate my entire Sunday to studying, so I slept off that night.

Source

Sunday morning came. I brought out my study materials. I sized them up, and they didn't seem much.

"This course is so small after all. There isn't even much to cover" I said.

I read the first five lines, and then I remembered the movie that I didn't finish. It was intriguing and filled with suspense. I decided to go back the the movie and resume my studying later. The things to study were small after all, or so I thought.

I went from one movie to another until night came. I took out my books to study again but I was feeling very sleepy. The urge to sleep was so much that I wasn't making any progress with studying. I decided to take a little nap so that the sleepiness would go and I would be able to study all night.

I woke up to the rays of the sun. I could hear people's voices. I looked at the time, it was 7am. I jumped up from my bed in panic. It was then I realized I was in danger— academic danger. I hadn't studied anything and the exam was to start by 8am.

I took out the study materials to try and read any little thing I could. That was when I realized that the course wasn't as small as I thought. There were so many topics to cover, I didn't know where to start from. The confusion that enveloped me was overwhelming. I looked at the time again, it was 7:30am. I had to prepare and go to the exam venue on time. There was no time to study anymore.

When I got to the venue, everyone looked ready. People kept reciting what they had studied. I felt intimidated and devastated. I did this to myself. After 30 minutes waiting for the exam to start.The lecturer in charge came around to make an announcement.

"Due to unforseen circumstances which are beyond our control, the exam has been postponed to Thursday" he said.

My face lit up. I was able to smile again. I had just been saved from failing that course. I ran home quickly and took my studying seriously. What happened the last time was a wake-up call, and I was never going to let it repeat itself.