About

Grace is the only daughter of her parents. With 5 elder brothers, she grew up being a tomboy and hyperactive. It’s unarguable, Grace is one of the most beautiful girl you’ll ever meet. Her beauty is duly matched by her intelligence and work ethic. Right from her childhood days, Grace has a knack for literally jumping for joy when excited about something. Before you can say “Jack Robinson” you’ll find her screaming and laughing as she bounces on the sofa or bed. While telling her parents what she scored in her Junior Secondary School leaving examination, she had jumped on a plastic chair, it shattered in pieces under her weight and she got some bruises. Her dad, realizing she could have been more hurt then instructed her to never jump on either the chair or bed irrespective of her delight. She was told to always calm down as much as possible and express herself through her words and smile or laugh. Years passed by without any more “bouncing” incidents. Three years later, Grace and her two best friends were in her room waiting for the release of their UTME results. After a very tense waiting and refreshing of JAMB’s website which had kept crashing repeatedly, Grace finally saw her scores. She had scored 380. Grace didn’t know when she did it, but by the time she could gather her wits, she was already screaming, laughing and jumping nonstop on the bed along with her besties. Then she heard a crack. One of the wood carrying the foam underneath had broken. She sobered up a bit, but was still delighted nonetheless. That evening, as her parents got into the house from work, she broke the news of her passing the UTME. Her parents were proud of her. Her mum hugged her, while her dad beaming with a big smile on his face promised to get her whatever she asked for. After supper that evening, as they were all settled in front of the television, Grace suddenly got in front of both her parents and knelt down. “What’s wrong” her dad asked. “I am sorry, I did it again” Grace replied. A knowing look dawned on her mother’s face as she asked “did what?” “I jumped on the bed in joy and I think I broke it.” There was a pregnant pause in the room as everyone expected Grace’s dad to go full ballistic on her. “It’s alright, I know” he said instead. Her mum then stretched out her hands and pulled her up from her knees, setting her down to sit between her parents. It all felt too surreal, too good to be true, she had been expecting a spanking or a strongly worded rebuke at the very least. She had been imagining a hundred and one reaction from her parents as well as her response to them all. She had even thought of how quickly she could summon up fake tears to escape punishment. A smile and a hug; that, she wasn’t ready for. “How did you know?” She sheepishly asked them. “I had gone to pick up the book you borrowed from me last week in your room, when I decided to sit on your bed. I straightaway went to tell your dad, he was upset at first. But when I pointed out that it most likely was a result of you jumping for joy about your exam scores, he was sated a bit. I pleaded on your behalf and reminded him of how you’ve been a good girl and haven’t jumped on any chair or bed in the last three years. He finally agreed forgave you, but on the condition that you come confessing by yourself. Without any prompting. You just showed that you are truly my daughter” her mother said with tears of joy welling up in her eyes. “I have forgiven you” her father said. “Thankfully you weren’t hurt. I will call the carpenter to fix the bed tomorrow morning” Grace couldn’t believe her ears. So her very Stern dad already knew, thank God for her advocating mother. As Grace went to sleep on her squeaking bed that night, she couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if she had tried to keep the whole incident a secret to herself. Read more at MARDLife.com