“Bonsu, you will attend Kumasi High School,” my dad declared as he filled out my forms after my Common Entrance exam. It didn’t seem like a big issue to me, especially since the school was just a ten or fifteen-minute walk from our home. Unlike my two older brothers, who had gone to OpokuWare School, my dad had a specific plan for me. First, the land where Kumasi High School was situated had been donated by my grandmother, who had been the QueenMother of Gyinase. Secondly, my father served as the Chairman of the School Board, and he believed that at least one of his sons should attend the school. “Please register him in House 1 (Kusikyi),” my father instructed when we collected my prospectus. This house was named after my father’s mother and her stool. I had a wonderful time at Kumasi High School, where not many wealthy kids attended. This made me stand out, especially because my dad would visit often. Initially, people associated me with my mother’s popular boutique, ‘Mirror, Mirror,’ in Kumasi. It took some time before they realized who my father was and started treating me differently. However, my upbringing had taught me to remain humble, and I didn’t let the newfound attention go to my head. I developed a deep love for Math and Science during my school years, fueled by my aspiration to become a plastic surgeon, inspired by a movie I watched called ‘Return to Eden.’ The film featured a plastic surgeon who fell in love with a girl with a disfigured face and later performed a successful operation on her. During a vacation between Form Four and Form Five, I traveled to Germany with my dad and sister (Osem). I worked during our time there and returned somewhat wealthier. I came back a week late, and people quickly realized that I had traveled abroad, making me even more popular. My friends and I enjoyed spending the money on various forms of entertainment. In the first term of Form Five, my friends and I decided to attend a funfair at a popular girls’ school in Kumasi. With my parents away at a funeral, I had the brilliant idea of taking my dad’s old Ford Cobra. I convinced my older cousin to drive. Quickly dressing up, we left home, picking up about six of our friends on the way. Midway through our journey, which was on a very rough road, ‘ka-ka-ka-ka-ka,’ we heard a scraping sound, and then the car screeched to a stop. My happiness dwindled. What was happening? Getting down to check, we realized that the exhaust pipe was torn. Goosebumps rose all over my body, and my palms began to sweat, especially when fire began to come out of the engine area. By this time, I was thinking about the fire service. “Open the bonnet!” “Open the bonnet!” My friends cried out, and my older cousin quickly rushed back into the car and pulled the lever. Then we bravely opened the bonnet and managed to put the fire out. Now the problemwas how to get a tow vehicle to take the car home. “Don’t worry about that, I will organize it,” my cousin said, so we left him and set off for the funfair, only for him to come later to tell us that he had not been able to get a towing car. My heart flew into my mouth. Did it mean that the car would have to remain by the roadside until the next morning? When I got home, I sneaked quietly into the house, hoping that my dad would not bring up the topic. In the morning, my cousin informed his father, who was my dad’s brother. I remember my uncle asking us to hide behind the gate and not come out until he had spoken with my father. The way my heart was beating. Interestingly, my dad reacted lightly, calling someone to tow the car home, but my momwas mad. TEEN ADVENTURE S 10 The Birthday Journal
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