‘This is bad,’ I thought as I paced back and forth in my room. I stopped and looked at the papers resting on my table. I shook my head and started pacing again. ‘This is really bad!’

The papers resting on my table had red ticks and cross marks that filled up the entire page. It wasn’t like my test marks alone were bad, but, according to them, my position in the class wasn’t too good either. I banged my head on the wall as I thought about a million excuses I was going to give my parents. I had worked really hard and seeing such terrible marks was like getting hit with a metal bat.

To say I was anxious would be an understatement, I was a nervous wreck. My parents had gone to the market to get some things, and they would be back any second. Just then I heard the clicking of the door and my parents calling my name. I ran to the table and picked up my tests papers and hid them under the bundle of clothes in the cupboard. Then I went downstairs to greet my parents.

My mother inquired the moment I stepped in the kitchen. “Laibah where were you?”

“In my room mum, doing my homework,” I lied.

“How was your day? Did you get your tests papers back?” my father asked while settling himself on the sofa.

“No, maybe we’ll get them on Friday.” Another lie

After having dinner, I went straight to bed. I did not feel like doing anything. I had got poor marks and I had lied to my parents, what could be worse than this? I closed my eyes and prayed for a miracle.

The next morning I went to school, forgetting completely about the papers I had hidden in the cupboard. When I returned home I put my school bag on my bed, washed my face and went downstairs to have lunch. My mother made my favourite dish, biryani. I ate to my heart’s content and then went upstairs to do my homework.

At night when my father got back from work, I heard hushed whispering between my mother and him and then my name. I became confused but then it hit me like lightning. With shaky hands I got up and opened the cupboard.

They had found it! They had found my tests papers! Oh dear God, I was going to die! I wasn’t going to live to see the sun rise again. Just then my door opened and I saw my parents standing.

“Laibah we need to talk,” my father spoke. A simple statement was all that was needed to make me cry. I cried and cried for what felt like ages, before I felt a warm hand on my face. I looked up to see my mother.

“Laibah, why are you crying sweetie?”

I let all my frustrations and anxieties loose. I told them how I thought that I had disappointed them and let them down and how I couldn’t do better any more.

They just listened and then my father told me “It doesn’t matter Laibah. We’re not angry with you for your poor performance in the tests. Now listen closely, what matters isn’t the mistakes you make or how many times you fail. What really matters is how you handle failure, how much you learn from them and keep moving forward.”

“Be strong, never give up hope and always think about moving ahead towards a brighter future. The fact that you hid it from us and lied about it is more alarming than your marks. You should always confide in us. No matter what you do, we will always love you,” my mother said with a smile.

After they had comforted me and tucked me in bed. I thought about what they had said. Three words kept ringing in my mind ‘Keep moving forward’. I smiled and closed my eyes, maybe this wasn’t the end after all.

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 21st, 2018