She asked Chinyere if they had seen her. No one replied. Then he began moving through the classrooms looking for her.
Helen frowned. “I don’t like this, Anwar, honestly…”
“Mtsew, don’t mind the idiot, please,” Chinyere said. Then she got up.
Anwar carried himself with pride and displayed an air of importance. He didn’t speak to anyone except his three friends. There were all sorts of chatter around him because he wasn’t popular in the class from the beginning — he had a proud and arrogant reputation.
From that day, he stopped noticing Bilkisu entirely. He searched for her until he was exhausted, but she wasn’t around. He didn’t even know who to ask for information or whether she lived on-campus or off-campus. This little game irritated him a bit.
The day they were supposed to start exams, it was already three o’clock, and he had been at the hall since two, wanting to see her. She had been in the library since 8 a.m. and only came out at 2:30 p.m. after prayers. He kept his head down, didn’t notice her entering, and she sat behind him.
“Really, Anwar, you’re generous; you spoiled me today, huh?” she said, staring at him.
He quickly raised his head to speak, but the invigilators came in, saying, “Everybody out!” She rushed to leave. Even when the exam started, she hurried to sit at the front.
Alhamdulillah, the exam was very pleasant for her because everything she studied appeared in the questions. She was the fifth to submit her paper. She didn’t wait for anyone; she went to the mosque to perform Asr prayers since it was almost 5:20 p.m.
Thus, the semester ended without them meeting Anwar. She didn’t want them to meet, knowing he might lie to cover himself. He was from Kano, and she was from Abuja (where her father works), but their origins are in Katsina.
The day after their exams, Anwar left Dutsinma at exactly five in the evening. The break wasn’t long — two weeks before they returned to the classrooms. When they returned, after one week, the results were released on the portal. Bilkisu was overjoyed because she passed everything without a carry-over and scored a 4.33 GPA. This greatly pleased her family.
Anwar also got his results at exactly 5:00 p.m. — he scored straight A’s in all ten or eleven courses. He pursed his lips. Everyone in class shared their results, from 4-point scorers to 3-point students. Anyone who asked Bilkisu, she simply said, “I’m fine. I didn’t get any carry-overs.” She refused to tell anyone her exact results.
After lectures ended, a strict lecturer caught her glancing at her notes, and she thought about how she would manage the exam with that paper. Suleiman greeted her. Suleiman, a calm young man in the class, also religious and disciplined, was kinder and easier than Anwar. He sat next to her after she returned the greeting.
“Please, Hajiya Bilkisu, I can’t open my portal. Can you show me how?”
She smiled. “Do you want me to show you on my phone?”
“No, I left it in the room. Can you show me?”
Anwar, on the other hand, felt a sudden dislike for Suleiman for the first time in his life. Bilkisu gave him her phone along with her password and matriculation number.
The portal opened. She handed the phone to him and said, “See, here’s where you click.”
He laughed. “Open it then, it’s nothing; you see. Do you understand if I have a carry-over?”
She replied softly, a bit surprised by his manner, feeling happy and respected.
“Wow!” she exclaimed, eyes wide. “I failed Accounting?”
He smiled. “I knew which ones you would pass. You failed GST English. What’s my GPA?”
She looked down and saw… “Okay, 2.65.”
She looked at him. “But Suleiman, why did you trust me like this?”
“Do you know my name?” he asked, surprised. She smiled, “Yes, I know your name, Suleiman.”
“Hope you’re well?” she asked, opening her portal to show him her results.
He widened his eyes in surprise. She smiled. “But please, don’t tell anyone my results.”
He nodded. “Insha’Allah, I’ll keep your secret. But Bilkisu, you’re really fiery!”
She laughed softly.
“May God bless you. Listen, if anything comes up, and if you don’t mind, I’ll come closer to help where you don’t understand.”
“No problem, here’s my number,” she said.
After that, Anwar left the class. That day, he didn’t even greet her, but Bilkisu noticed that Suleiman was humble, religious, and respectful toward people.
Even when Anwar saw Bilkisu putting in effort, he liked her. He stuck close to her during C.A. sessions, not allowing her to move away. She wasn’t malicious at all — every answer she completed he took fully.
There was a very difficult course — three credit units with complicated calculations. Everyone dreaded it. Anwar struggled with it, seeing that others were having a hard time, yet he refused to show he could do it. Bilkisu studied daily with prayers.
On exam day, they lined up, and the lecturer told her to sit there. She prayed quietly, knowing today, only God and the lecturers could help her. Seven questions appeared; she could answer five. The first question required ten parts. She almost screamed, as she only knew one theory question. Her eyes watered, seeing Anwar ahead, who didn’t look up. The hall was silent. She focused and began answering the questions she knew.
Most lecturers monitoring the hall focused on the students at the back. She wrote carefully, praying she would at least pass with an E.
She finished, trembling with anxiety.
Anwar slightly shifted, noticing the lecturers weren’t nearby, and whispered, “I see you can handle question one; it looks tough.”
She whispered back, “Honestly, I only know question four out of seven — I saw it was 30 marks.”
He adjusted his seat and nudged his booklet toward her. “Hurry and copy.”
She quickly wrote two lines, then flipped the page. He was surprised. “Look carefully, don’t cheat. I’ve already finished; just copy.”
He helped her with the four other questions she couldn’t answer. Once he confirmed she finished, he continued with question four himself. She noticed Suleiman at the back staring intently. Everyone seemed nervous, sweating or wide-eyed.
“Go submit,” he whispered. “Okay,” she said. Everyone watched, amazed at how quickly she submitted. Some thought she was just tired. It took thirty minutes before a few stragglers finished. Almost everyone else risked failing due to inability to answer.
She waited for Suleiman, who finally came. “Bilkisu… today I’m stressed. I only feel confident about two questions.”
“Really…? Allah helped me. Anwar helped me with everything I didn’t know… including question one.”
“Really?”
“Yes, truly.”
“So, I heard you were the only one answering it? Even Chinyere said they didn’t understand… May God help,” she said.
She left and saw Anwar heading to the gate, rushing.
“Anwar!” she called. He knew she might slow him down, so he stopped, smiling. He submitted his exam while checking his phone.
“Hmmm… today’s exam, may God keep it secret. I almost failed the third one. Thanks, thanks. You’re really skilled, huh? I saw how everyone struggled, yet you managed — even Jamilu copied from you.”
He just smiled.
She followed him with her eyes. “Anwar…” she called again. He turned, “Thanks, did you hear me?”
He chuckled and walked away. She felt immense relief because everyone else had struggled with the course that semester.
The break was long — at least two months at home before returning for two more classes. Bilkisu started her maturity; this time, results came out with her GPA at 4.22 due to her hard work. Suleiman got 2.72 but had one carry-over.
After returning to school for two weeks, a convocation was held, and awards were given for first-class and overall achievements. Bilkisu didn’t attend, as no one focused on the ceremony. Anwar went and received the five-pointer award and overall top student in the class.
Seeing no classmates or anyone familiar, he quickly left the hall. Suleiman was present. Anwar was the sought-after “Hamza Yusuf” in class, but he only told Bilkisu.
She asked Chinyere if they had seen her. No one replied. Then he began moving through the classrooms looking for her.
Helen frowned. “I don’t like this, Anwar, honestly…”
“Mtsew, don’t mind the idiot, please,” Chinyere said. Then she got up.
Anwar carried himself with pride and displayed an air of importance. He didn’t speak to anyone except his three friends. There were all sorts of chatter around him because he wasn’t popular in the class from the beginning — he had a proud and arrogant reputation.
From that day, he stopped noticing Bilkisu entirely. He searched for her until he was exhausted, but she wasn’t around. He didn’t even know who to ask for information or whether she lived on-campus or off-campus. This little game irritated him a bit.
The day they were supposed to start exams, it was already three o’clock, and he had been at the hall since two, wanting to see her. She had been in the library since 8 a.m. and only came out at 2:30 p.m. after prayers. He kept his head down, didn’t notice her entering, and she sat behind him.
“Really, Anwar, you’re generous; you spoiled me today, huh?” she said, staring at him.
He quickly raised his head to speak, but the invigilators came in, saying, “Everybody out!” She rushed to leave. Even when the exam started, she hurried to sit at the front.
Alhamdulillah, the exam was very pleasant for her because everything she studied appeared in the questions. She was the fifth to submit her paper. She didn’t wait for anyone; she went to the mosque to perform Asr prayers since it was almost 5:20 p.m.
Thus, the semester ended without them meeting Anwar. She didn’t want them to meet, knowing he might lie to cover himself. He was from Kano, and she was from Abuja (where her father works), but their origins are in Katsina.
The day after their exams, Anwar left Dutsinma at exactly five in the evening. The break wasn’t long — two weeks before they returned to the classrooms. When they returned, after one week, the results were released on the portal. Bilkisu was overjoyed because she passed everything without a carry-over and scored a 4.33 GPA. This greatly pleased her family.
Anwar also got his results at exactly 5:00 p.m. — he scored straight A’s in all ten or eleven courses. He pursed his lips. Everyone in class shared their results, from 4-point scorers to 3-point students. Anyone who asked Bilkisu, she simply said, “I’m fine. I didn’t get any carry-overs.” She refused to tell anyone her exact results.
After lectures ended, a strict lecturer caught her glancing at her notes, and she thought about how she would manage the exam with that paper. Suleiman greeted her. Suleiman, a calm young man in the class, also religious and disciplined, was kinder and easier than Anwar. He sat next to her after she returned the greeting.
“Please, Hajiya Bilkisu, I can’t open my portal. Can you show me how?”
She smiled. “Do you want me to show you on my phone?”
“No, I left it in the room. Can you show me?”
Anwar, on the other hand, felt a sudden dislike for Suleiman for the first time in his life. Bilkisu gave him her phone along with her password and matriculation number.
The portal opened. She handed the phone to him and said, “See, here’s where you click.”
He laughed. “Open it then, it’s nothing; you see. Do you understand if I have a carry-over?”
She replied softly, a bit surprised by his manner, feeling happy and respected.
“Wow!” she exclaimed, eyes wide. “I failed Accounting?”
He smiled. “I knew which ones you would pass. You failed GST English. What’s my GPA?”
She looked down and saw… “Okay, 2.65.”
She looked at him. “But Suleiman, why did you trust me like this?”
“Do you know my name?” he asked, surprised. She smiled, “Yes, I know your name, Suleiman.”
“Hope you’re well?” she asked, opening her portal to show him her results.
He widened his eyes in surprise. She smiled. “But please, don’t tell anyone my results.”
He nodded. “Insha’Allah, I’ll keep your secret. But Bilkisu, you’re really fiery!”
She laughed softly.
“May God bless you. Listen, if anything comes up, and if you don’t mind, I’ll come closer to help where you don’t understand.”
“No problem, here’s my number,” she said.
After that, Anwar left the class. That day, he didn’t even greet her, but Bilkisu noticed that Suleiman was humble, religious, and respectful toward people.
Even when Anwar saw Bilkisu putting in effort, he liked her. He stuck close to her during C.A. sessions, not allowing her to move away. She wasn’t malicious at all — every answer she completed he took fully.
There was a very difficult course — three credit units with complicated calculations. Everyone dreaded it. Anwar struggled with it, seeing that others were having a hard time, yet he refused to show he could do it. Bilkisu studied daily with prayers.
On exam day, they lined up, and the lecturer told her to sit there. She prayed quietly, knowing today, only God and the lecturers could help her. Seven questions appeared; she could answer five. The first question required ten parts. She almost screamed, as she only knew one theory question. Her eyes watered, seeing Anwar ahead, who didn’t look up. The hall was silent. She focused and began answering the questions she knew.
Most lecturers monitoring the hall focused on the students at the back. She wrote carefully, praying she would at least pass with an E.
She finished, trembling with anxiety.
Anwar slightly shifted, noticing the lecturers weren’t nearby, and whispered, “I see you can handle question one; it looks tough.”
She whispered back, “Honestly, I only know question four out of seven — I saw it was 30 marks.”
He adjusted his seat and nudged his booklet toward her. “Hurry and copy.”
She quickly wrote two lines, then flipped the page. He was surprised. “Look carefully, don’t cheat. I’ve already finished; just copy.”
He helped her with the four other questions she couldn’t answer. Once he confirmed she finished, he continued with question four himself. She noticed Suleiman at the back staring intently. Everyone seemed nervous, sweating or wide-eyed.
“Go submit,” he whispered. “Okay,” she said. Everyone watched, amazed at how quickly she submitted. Some thought she was just tired. It took thirty minutes before a few stragglers finished. Almost everyone else risked failing due to inability to answer.
She waited for Suleiman, who finally came. “Bilkisu… today I’m stressed. I only feel confident about two questions.”
“Really…? Allah helped me. Anwar helped me with everything I didn’t know… including question one.”
“Really?”
“Yes, truly.”
“So, I heard you were the only one answering it? Even Chinyere said they didn’t understand… May God help,” she said.
She left and saw Anwar heading to the gate, rushing.
“Anwar!” she called. He knew she might slow him down, so he stopped, smiling. He submitted his exam while checking his phone.
“Hmmm… today’s exam, may God keep it secret. I almost failed the third one. Thanks, thanks. You’re really skilled, huh? I saw how everyone struggled, yet you managed — even Jamilu copied from you.”
He just smiled.
She followed him with her eyes. “Anwar…” she called again. He turned, “Thanks, did you hear me?”
He chuckled and walked away. She felt immense relief because everyone else had struggled with the course that semester.
The break was long — at least two months at home before returning for two more classes. Bilkisu started her maturity; this time, results came out with her GPA at 4.22 due to her hard work. Suleiman got 2.72 but had one carry-over.
After returning to school for two weeks, a convocation was held, and awards were given for first-class and overall achievements. Bilkisu didn’t attend, as no one focused on the ceremony. Anwar went and received the five-pointer award and overall top student in the class.
Seeing no classmates or anyone familiar, he quickly left the hall. Suleiman was present. Anwar was the sought-after “Hamza Yusuf” in class, but he only told Bilkisu.