It was 6:30 pm and his father had just arrived home from work. His mother was waiting patiently for him to come home, as she was still fuming over the CXC results. When she told his father that he had failed 3 of his 6 subjects, he could hear the roof lift off as if taken by a hurricane wind. His father yelled, "boy come here now". He timidly entered the kitchen area, his father's face was as red as he had ever seen it before. He was mad beyond words, he couldn't even talk, his mother had to give him a glass of water to cool the vapours rising from his face. He was tempted to beat his skin off his body, but ended up saying that "you wasted your time at school boy, and now this is the result". His other siblings were now home as well, and they helped to calm the situation. They all ate dinner, laughing and talking. His Dad said he would think about the situation and decide what would be next.

The next morning his father told him he would not be going back to high school. He would stay home and study and do the resit of the exams in January. He would also do an A level subject to enhance his chances to go to College. His sister who was a lecturer at one of the College's would help in his preparation for Mathematics and he would do evening classes for English. He couldn't say a word, he was just happy to have been given a chance to redeem himself. He would have to forget about the dream of going to sixth form with his friends. He knew they would look down on him now as a failure, but the good thing is that he was not going back to the school. His best friend who he had helped had gotten five subjects, and so he was going to sixth form. He never got a "thank you" from him, only a boastful grin, which said, I made it and you didn't. He was now determined to rise above his disappointment. This was the motivation he needed to succeed, he was no longer feeling down, but happy to be able to step back and review his life. He was now focused on making it to College, but the first step was to pass his resits....