There are days you just want to sleep and forget about everything. Unfortunately, one of those days happened to be the day I had a test in school and I had no idea.
It happened during my university days. That week was already stressful, with assignments, lectures, and one tough test we had just written on Friday. Everyone was grumbling as we left the lecture hall that day. The lecturer, who didn’t seem to care how tired we were, casually announced that we would have another test on Monday morning by 8 a.m.
I remember hearing him, but maybe I didn’t take it seriously. Maybe I thought, Abeg, we go see how Monday be. My head was already full, and I just wanted to go home and rest. I guess in my mind, Monday still felt far away.
Saturday came, and I relaxed. Sunday, I cooked, cleaned, watched movies, and even ironed one of my finest shirts and trousers. I was already planning to show up fresh for my 10 a.m. class on Monday. The test? It completely skipped my mind. Like, gone. Erased. Not even a flash of memory.
Now here’s the funny part, on Sunday night, I decided to turn off my phone. I didn’t want any WhatsApp messages disturbing my peaceful night. My plan was to sleep like a baby and wake up fresh for Monday’s class. And I did exactly that.
Monday morning came. I had my bath, dressed up in my freshly ironed shirt and trousers, sprayed perfume, and admired myself in the mirror. I left home feeling myself, walking into the school majestically like someone who had no worries in life.
As I walked into the department around 9:30 a.m. I noticed a strange vibe. Some students looked like angry lions, others were just sitting quietly with their books checking for the correct answers, some I took know were debating on which number is correct while a few were looking at me like I had two heads. One of my friends rushed to me and shouted, Where have you been? You missed the test
I was confused. Which test? He looked at me with pity and said, The one Dr John announced on Friday. It held from 8 to 9 this morning. We tried calling you, but your phone was off. I froze. I felt like the ground should open and swallow me. I couldn’t believe it. I missed a 20mark Continuous Assessment test just like that because I forgot and because I wanted peace of mind with my phone off.
At that point, there was nothing I could do. The lecturer was strict and had already warned that there would be no makeup test. I just sat down, regretting everything, my sweet sleep, my fine shirt, and even the beans and bread I ate on Sunday night.
But as God would have it, something happened that lifted my spirit a little. As the day went on, we started hearing gist from those who wrote the test. Apparently, the test was extremely hard. Out of everyone, the highest score was 5 out of 20. Most people scored 1, 2, or even zero. In fact, some people said they wished they had missed the test too
When I heard that, I smiled, a very wicked kind of smile. At least, if I was going to miss 20 marks, it wasn’t like others used theirs well. Somehow, I found peace in that. Don’t judge me I know it’s bad, but I was relieved.
After that incident, I made a serious change. I stopped turning off my phone at night, especially on Sundays. I also started writing important announcements down in a small notebook I carried around. Sometimes, I would even ask my friends to remind me of things, just to be safe.
That experience taught me that forgetting can be very costly not just in school but in life. Sometimes, all it takes is one forgotten moment to affect your grade or opportunity. It also reminded me how important it is to stay connected, even when you’re tired or want peace.
Till today, I laugh when I remember how I walked into school with so much pride, not knowing I had missed a whole test. But it was a lesson I won’t forget again.
This is my response to today's episode of hivelearners community prompt of #hl-w168e1 which the topic is tagged SKIPPED MY MIND
