How to write a Good Story: Sample Author Biography
TITLE: IT SHOULD HAVE ENDED BETTER
This is the story of a young girl who had a promising future and ambition, but along the way, the train changed its course of direction. Her name is Alexandra Michaels. I am that girl, and this is my story.
It was my first day in High school. I had just recently concluded my primary school education with the best performance in the whole set. Although I had dreams already from primary school, I knew it was here in High school I would begin my journey to achieve it. I had fantasized so much on how September 9th would be when I finally join the prestigious Baptist High School.
Daddy drove the Honda Accord today. I believe he did on purpose to please me because he knew I preferred it to the other smaller car we had. As he drove along the Highway, he shook his head to the rhythm of the Panam Percy Paul’s track and wore an approving smile on his face. With every turn he made at my direction, he would call me “my barrister” which always made me blush. I felt so much joy and pride in myself knowing how much fulfilment I was giving to my family especially my Dad whom I knew toiled so hard to see I attended the most expensive and top rated school in town even though we didn’t have much. I guess the thought of living away from home opened my eyes to the fact that I was starting a new phase but still, I found myself rather too happy and courageous rather than scared. I had never stayed a full day without seeing Mum.
When we finally arrived, I smiled heartedly and quickly jumped off the car in a haste to have a better view of my new home. I was so excited; I was going to be a boarder. As soon as I approached the gate, I saw a huge lady, pretty much elderly and I observed the respect accorded to her. I quickly concluded she was an important personnel in school. I smiled in return and extended my greetings to which she answered. She asked of my name which I told and then she asked a rather discouraging question after, if I were here to see my elder brother or sister for truly, I was very small in stature. I was only ten 10 years old then, February would make me eleven 11. My smile slowly vanished. I began to lose faith in my ambition.
The early morning bell rang like hot coals in my ears. I was exasperated. It was 4:45am. Tears almost streamed down my little eyes as I thought of the comfort at home and Mum and almost immediately, I saw another girl smiling at me. I frowned in amazement as to what seemed amusing to her but she smiled even harder extending her warm arm to me. “Good morning princess. I am Kemi Sofolabo. I am the Head girl and I have been assigned to watch over you”. I wore a disapproving smile now but deep within me, I felt privileged to personally know the Head girl of my dream school. The morning devotion seemed to take forever to conclude. I practically dozed off throughout and each time I turned my head to the extreme end of the multipurpose hall, I would notice a young boy smiling at my direction. I wasn’t sure what he was smiling at or who as the case may be but I didn’t care, my eyes were too heavy to be certain and I wasn’t curious either. Immediately we shared the grace, I dashed off to the dormitory for my bed. I was amazed to meet Kemi who apparently predicted my next step of action.” Coming back to bed yeah?” I couldn’t help but smile in agreement. She smiled back and explained certain rules to me which included my inability to go back to bed after the morning devotion. She always spoke so sweetly and yet firm. She was fair in complexion and had shiny long black hair. With each loving smile she wore, her dimples got exposed flaunting her natural beauty. She was someone who had begun to occupy a space in my heart.
Breakfast was at 7:00am but due to the fact I was unused to the daily routine, I came late but thanks to Kemi, I gained entry without undergoing any form of punishment. I refused to eat because I felt I wasn’t ready to defile my mother’s food which was still in my system. The end of breakfast paved way for the orientation organised for the new students. That was when I met David, the sports prefect.
As he walked towards my direction, he wore a smile I found familiar but I couldn’t seem to fix the broken pieces together. I was abit nervous because it was obvious he was approaching me and several thoughts ran in and out of my little head I literally had my heart in my mouth. Now standing just a meter away, he spoke nicely to me “sleeping beauty, not sleeping no more?” I immediately recalled where I knew the smile from. It was definitely the boy I saw smiling at me that morning as I dozed during the devotion. I smiled back sheepishly titling my head to the left and to the right showing a negative answer to the question then he walked by. A gave out a sigh of relief to ease myself of my current expression.
After the short address by the principal came the elderly lady I met on the day of resumption. I immediately discovered her identity. She was the vice principal. No wonder she was accorded much respect I thought to myself as I kept my eyes fixed to the podium not paying attention.
Classes were not as boring as I imagined. I even made a new friend, Theresa. She was a young spirited girl with a spectacular personality I found intriguing and I immediately took a liking for her. We immediately became best of friends. We sat together during our lunch and although I wasn’t a quiet person, she did most of the talking. My inability to keep the conversation alive was due to the stern look I kept receiving from David who had his eyes glued on me. It was becoming annoying because I was uncomfortable. Weeks past into months and it got frequent and funny enough, we said nothing to each other after the first day.
The end of the first term was approaching as well as the inter house competition. I was excited because I would finally see Mum, Dad and home and tell them all about my escapade in school. I had already adopted the ideology of a footballer into my head and with each day I got to play, the passion seemed to evolve.
The second term introduced the Inter house sports competition and this meant constant practice as each house wanted to emerge top above the other three. David, Kemi and I were in Blue house and my Best friend was in Red. on several occasions during our house meetings, I caught sight of David staring at me and each time he realised he were busted, he immediately turned his head away like he was never staring. This pleased me much because I felt I was making him just as uncomfortable as he makes me. One day after one of the sports meetings, I got a message to report myself to the clinic. With lots of questions in my heart I walked into the clinic, I saw the health prefect; Celine who sat arms crossed looking sternly at me. I immediately developed bad vibes for this meeting. She wore her Red house sportswear which was clearly too small for her especially the skirt that always revealed a juicy part of her fair laps with every swing of her waist. She was a lot fairer in complexion than my school mother and although she was very pretty, her attitude was nothing to write home about. Summoning courage, I walked further into the clinic and announced my presence. With a look of disgust she asked ‘’so you are Alex?’’ I affirmed the question still trying to be brave and polite at the same time just then, she called out to another girl whom she whispered something I didn’t hear to and they immediately bust into an uncontrollable laughter. Now this got to me and my eyes become heavy with tears. In order to hide my upcoming emotion, I bowed my head still confused and for an unknown reason she took offence at my action and ordered me to get on my knees. I quietly obeyed still very uncertain of what I had done and then, she dropped the bomb ‘’what relationship do you have with David?”
Immediately I heard the question, the tears evaporated. I was speechless to such an absorbed question as I wondered to myself “some I barely even spoke to fa” I added a little bit of Hausa to my speech. She asked again, this time more aggressive. Looking up to defend myself, I heard a familiar voice which spoke on my behalf “there is no form of relationship between us…..yet”. The sentence rang in my head like a thousand times especially the “yet” signifying there would be a relationship, soon. I stared at him pleadingly and the first time since my entry into the school, I saw David frowning. He was most definitely angry, I concluded. He gently lifted me up and holding my arm firmly, faced Celine and asked her to leave me alone and walked out on them. He neither said a word nor looked at me as he led me into one of the classrooms. Sitting opposite each other now, I couldn’t help but notice his lovely blue eyes. David was known as Mr Flawless, an award given to the most handsome boy in school. He was quite tall and possessed a nice body stature probably due to his athletic qualities especially on the football pitch. Little wondered why he was given the sports prefect even though he was just in SS1. He was very influential and loved by everyone.
“I am sorry about Celine” he said, advancing his arm to my shoulder. His touch sent a cold stream down my veins. “I always kept a distance because I didn’t want you to feel uneasy here, guess it didn’t help”. I said nothing, arms crossed I wondered why and how I had gotten the attention of such a guy. I was truly no match for David. I was on low cut and though I still looked cute, I just felt I was not beautiful enough for someone like him to notice. A touch on my cheek brought me back to reality. I expressed my gratitude for his help but however asked to understand why I was harassed. We spent the rest of the sports period together, talking and getting to know each other better. It was after that meeting I could boldly say I knew David, the most wanted boy in school.
“Senior Celine is calling you”. That was the welcome message I received as soon as I stepped into the dormitory. Fear immediately griped my heart and although David promised that I would be fine, I was still in doubt. I quickly ran to my school mother’s room and narrated the whole story to her. She laughed and asked teasingly ‘’Ehen! so na you don steal flawless heart ko? I blushed yet denying any form of attraction although I knew there was more to it. Kemi however advised I just answer the call for refusal would imply disrespect and its best I avoid any form of trouble. Gaining more courage from her words, I arrived Celine’s room, keeping my fingers crossed.
Arriving her room, she seemed to be a totally different person from who I met earlier that day. She spoke in a more polite manner and even rendered an apology offering to lend a helping hand to me whenever I needed one. At that moment, I understood why David assured me of my safety. He was using his influence to keep me protected. As I laid on my bed that night, I thought precisely on my future and what I really wanted in life. I had a strong passion for football and with each passing day, I thought less of what I initially proposed to become. Although I admired Law as I profession, I felt I only did because that was what Dad wanted. I was however really enthusiastic about it but I felt playing football was a better ambition for me not taking a second to consider it more carefully. The truth was that my attraction for David had greatly influenced my decision even without my knowledge for I strongly admired watching him play. I reminisced our encounter earlier that day. Every close of my eyes, I saw that smiling face and it kept me awake for most of the night.
My birthday was on a Monday, very awkward day if you ask me. Theresa was the first to wish me a happy birthday before Kemi did and some other friends. I was happy especially after I spoke to my parents and they promised to send me a cake that evening. I had neither seen nor heard from David practically throughout the day and I was already getting worried. I however fought to ignore the impact of his absence, it was a day I had to be happy no matter what. Collecting my cake from the gate, I met a fellow junior student who gave a note indicating a need for me to go to a class. As I walked into the classroom, I was wondering what was wrong for the class was dark and immediately, I heard screams of birthday wishes as they switched on the light. David had organized a surprise birthday celebration for me in collaboration with Kemi and Theresa. My joy was immeasurable. As David handed me the schoolbag stuffed with my present, he drew me to a tight embrace and kissed my forehead. And for the first time in my life, I heard an opposite sex tell me ‘’I love you’’. Uncertain of my exact expression, I stood motionless in his arms.
I was now also in SS1. It’s been two years since my school mother had graduated and though I missed her presence, we didn’t seize to be in communication. David had also just graduated from school three months ago. I felt very void and sad though and in order not to miss him much, I buried myself playing ball ignoring my studies with each passing day. I remember vividly when a scholarship form was sent to our school one Friday and all that was required was just for you to pass the examination. I didn’t take it serious and purposely didn’t apply without even informing my parents about it. When Theresa found out I had not applied, she collected the form on my behalf and filled it thinking I had not heard about it as to why I had not applied. All my mates took the test except me and everyone was questioning me why I hadn’t taken the test but I lied to have had serious menstrual cramps so I couldn’t take the test. I sounded convincing but David was not convinced when I told him. He knew something somewhere was wrong especially when he found out I made no personal effort to apply in the first place. During one of the visiting days he came, we had a long talk were he asked about my desired institution and course of study. It was the first time he was asking such type of questions and I felt very uneasy about it especially since I didn’t want to lie to him but he seemed determined to get to the roots of my plans. Realising he wasn’t going to give up, I opened up to him. After much deliberation on it, we came to an agreement that after I had secured a degree, he would personally sponsor me in any football academy of my choice. It seemed appealing and so I took the deal. This he did hoping by the time I was to be in the university, I would eventually realise how wrong and immature my thinking was.
After our WAEC examinations, I decided to enlighten my best friend about my plans and the deal I had with David. She also found my desire to a footballer funny. Although she made it clear that football was not a bad profession either, she was with the opinion I just forget football as a profession and stick to law instead. I had however come a long way to forget about football I thought and so, I decided to not have a further discussion on the issue with any one. While I reluctantly awaited admission into the university, I kept sneaking out of home on the pretence of going to the library to play ball. I didn’t think dad would ever buy the idea that his only daughter wanted to become footballer. During one of my course of trainings, I was watched by a young man who claimed to work in a Spanish female football academy. He expressed his interest in the way I played and promised to make me a star if I would follow him to Spain, I immediately agreed to it not even having a second thought of things. I was scared to tell anyone, especially David whom I had made an agreement with so instead, I eloped the country with this unknown man I had just met to Spain. I was sixteen years old when I left Nigeria.
Today makes it exactly seven years since I abandoned my home and now, I have returned with shame, disgrace and lots of regret. When we got to Spain, Mr Johnson, the young man who had lured me into the devils nest was a trafficker. It was on my arrival I realised I had been trafficked and was going to become a sex worker. I cried for days uncontrollable and refused to it but eventually, I got weaker and weaker and I had to conform to his desires. He would usually violet me every time he wanted claiming I owed him the money he used to bring me over to Spain. He however claimed he would set me free as soon as the debt was paid so I had to work for him. Months passed into years and it became clear I was stacked. It was already six years gone and my life had become more worthless and shameful. I hated myself for having not been smarter in my decisions. Every time he had me, he would always express the pleasure I gave him. I would always remember David and this made me even more hurtful and bitter. An invasion by the police to our hide out was the saving grace that rescued me from that life of horror and I was immediately deported back to Nigeria and Mr Johnson arrested. Looked like he was a fugitive on related crimes already.
I am now currently in Abuja. Close to everybody I had abandoned out of my ignorance and refusal to listen to advice. I heard David was a graduate in Engineering and had secured a good job in one of the top rated companies. Theresa had become the accountant she worked had to become having passed the scholarship examination she took and my parents, I am yet to hear from them. How do I face my parents again? Would they ever forgive me for the heartache? Would they accept my shameful past? Can dad ever look at me with those approving eyes of pride? Over and over again I asked myself all these questions and I knew I used my own hands to destroy my life. I know that everything should have ended better if I had listened to the people who I confounded in. I took a great risk and I am paying for it dearly with my life
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