I remember my two friends in my fresh year
I met the first one at the faculty, she was wearing a brown and black combat patterned blouse and a brown skirt
She had a million braids and her face looked like the sun just as it was about to rise
I was attracted to her beauty
I said

Hi
She said hello
I could have spoken more to her but I was in a relationship and I am not the cheating type
So I let it be...
Later that day, we had our first lecture
The lecturer wrote “class test” on the board and yes he wrote questions and we found ourselves writing our first

test
We submitted the rest and the lecturer made some remarks
His unusual teaching skill scared all of us
Two days later, this beautiful lady that I met at the faculty came looking for me
The rest had been marked and I scored 71/2 marks out of a possible 10
She went to see the

Lecturer and he gave her the script to share in class
She brought mine to me directly
She said she wanted to match the score to the face
That was how we became friends
The second highest score went to another lady in class
She was one of those don’t perm your hair types but she

Was extremely brilliant
She saw the beautiful one and I talking and joined us
She asked me if I knew there would be a test
I said No
She looked at me and said “are you two together or can I be your friend too”
I just smiled
I really didn’t want to be her friend
Those kind of born

again Christians are products of indoctrination
They usually lack the heart of the gospel while wearing a Pharisee uniform of religion
But I had to consider my own motive
It is easy to say you are not the cheating type but if you find yourself in company of an amorous lady day in

Day out for several months, you will likely fall in love or catch other feelings
I wasn’t a born again Christian at the time but I was pretending to be one
One of the ways religious people judge fake Christians is through their relationships
If they discover I was playing friend

With the beautiful one while I had a relationship at home they will conclude that my born again was a facade
I needed them to have the impression that I am the real deal
It would help me if the chaplaincy deemed me to be an asset
I decided the presence of the brilliant one will

Help kill rumors of unfaithfulness while also giving me the opportunity to be close to the beautiful one.
So we became a trio
We sat together in the front row, read together in the library, studied together and bonded like old friends!
After the first semester examinations we led

the entire class and broke the record of mass communications department!
The brilliant one sat pretty on a GPA of 4.85, I had a CGPA of 4.65 and the beautiful one had a CGPA of 4.5
The other students in our class realized something unique was happening and they were missing out

The closest GPA to us was 3.65
The previous sets before us never had a student who broke the 4.5 mark
We became celebrities
When the second semester resumed, a lady decided she was going to be our friend
She approached the two ladies first to seek their permission
They said okay

She joined
We became a dyad
The beautiful one and the brilliant one in one set
Myself and the new lady in another set
This was the problem I didn’t want initially
Perception is everything
I don’t want people to assume I was dating the lady and at the same time
I don’t want to

catch feelings
The two other ladies were also uncomfortable with the idea
They wanted things to remain the way they were in the first year and decided this new lady had to go
So they called a meeting without her and asked me what I felt
I agreed with them
The next day, we all

turned cold
This lady didn’t know what hit her
Within a week, she had been frozen out
We got back together but this time we became vigilant
Anyone that comes near us was shut down
When we study in the library, the two ladies would flank me on both sides and we would ignore the

World
Lecturers began to refer to us as advocates
As we wrote test after test, the gap between the three of us and the entire class widened
A young man in my class came to me and asked for help with some subjects
He even offered to pay me
I told my friends, they said No!
For our

General Studies courses, many people approached me asking for an hour or two to teach them tutorials
The ladies said No.
We had found a formulae that worked and we didn’t want to change it
In class, I was a show off
I love engaging lecturers and answering questions especially if

The lecturer offered marks for the right answer
(There was a term I went into the examination with 15 marks made in class outside of official tests)
I was proud and insensitive
When we resumed for 200 level, I had become the most hated student in my class
I talked down on those

who were not making good grades
I remember a class project we did, my team won!
When the winner was announced, my team screamed to the high heavens
Someone walked into my class and said “Show, your team won?”
I replied by saying “Who else would have won it”
The response didn’t

sit well with many of my classmates
but I didn’t care
There was nothing anybody could do for me or to me
I was so sure of it
I was wrong
I didn’t know if the ladies planned it in their hostel but they began doing something crazy in class
Every time I answer a question correctly

they began to jeer or boo
Mehn, that thing was demoralizing
I thought it would fade after a day or two but it persisted
It got to me badly
It got to my confidence
I stopped raising up my hands to answer questions and when the lecturer calls me I would shake my head.
Even the.

they would still boo me
When I walk behind the female hostel, some of them would call my name and begin to curse me
I had thought I was indomitable
I wasn’t
I hated being reviled
I told my mummy what was happening, she told me my friendship with the two ladies was witchcraft!

She said “You are a blessing to the whole world. You were born to be a blessing to all and not to two girls. Help those who needed help, assist those with challenges, open your heart to their humanity and love them! Leadership is more than besting others, it is also elevating

Others and bringing the best out of them
Those two ladies are only using you and monopolizing you
If you are wise you will walk away from them now”
My mum doesn’t say much but when she speaks I listen!
I broke off my friendship with the two ladies
They showed me hell for daring

to do so
But I did.
I withstood their tears and emotional blackmail and all the other “friends” they sent to me
My mother’s counsel was golden
I started teaching tutorials in my hostel and later to my classmates
The general CGPA of my set rose na f the jeering and booing stopped!

Today, as a teacher of the gospel I look back at those days and thank my mother for her wisdom
Life is more than CGPA
People are the greatest asset the Holy Spirit has brought my way from all over the world!
His “glories” share His gospel with me and we all grow together in Him!