We all sat there in the class waiting for our lecturer, and it was quite hot. The sun was looking down on us. I could feel the tension in the room, and all I hoped for was to get a bottle of chilled water.
As I was about to step out of the class, I told John, "I want to get a bottle of water." John looked at me and said, "You can't find a bottle of water around here; you have to go to the supermarket across the school." Immediately it occurred to me that I have never seen anyone selling such around the school premises.
I have known John for about three years, and we have been good friends and classmates. We practically do everything together in school, and I was really happy for our friendship; it was one that helped us academically. John was the only friend I could trust that had me back, and some of our classmates would call us twins. We were that close, and even most of our lecturers would use our closeness to tease us. It was always fun and exciting to be around John; he was the clown of the class, but what I loved about him was that he was serious with his studies.
On this fateful day, as John and I were walking home from school, I informed him of my plans to start selling bottled water close to our classroom, as I noticed that most of the students around our department always had to go a long distance before getting water. I told him I would ask our Head of Department if I could sell bottled water by the vendrada leading to the classrooms. John smiled and agreed that it was a good idea. I smiled and was happy that he agreed with me.
The next day was a Friday. I walked up to our head of department. "Good morning, sir," I said. Mr. David looked at me and smiled. "Good morning. How can I help you?" "Sir, I am here to seek your permission to sell bottled water by the vendrada leading to our classrooms," I said. My heartbeat increased as I was scared of Mr. David's reaction. "That is a brilliant idea; you can start by Monday," he said. I was filled with joy as what I thought might be difficult was granted without much stress.
I put a call through to John. "John, I have good news for you; the head of department has granted my request to sell bottled water by the vendrada," I said with lots of joy. John screamed with joy and said, "This is great news." I was happy my friend was excited for me; at least I have someone supporting my business.
I got to school on Monday, and I was shocked to see someone displaying goods by the vendrada. I began to wonder who would have heard me sharing my business idea with John. I walked up to the young lady by the table. "Good morning, please. I would love to speak with your boss." I asked. She smiled and pointed at John. I was confused, and I asked, "John, is your boss?" She nodded to confirm that he was her boss. I walked up to John and asked him, "John, why have you done this to me? You could have at least informed me about your interest in selling bottled water." John replied, "I am so sorry it skipped my mind; I wanted to inform you about my interest in the business. You know I need this money to support myself in school."
"It's okay; I understand you. I will just add meat pie and doughnuts to it. At least it would help to boost the sales," I said, and John replied, "That's a lovely idea."
It was time for classes, and I noticed that John was not in class. I called John but got no response. Classes were over, and as I was heading home, I saw John displaying meat pie and doughnuts at his table. I could not believe what I just saw. I walked up to John and said, "You are not a good friend; how can you betray me this way? I didn't expect this from you. I trusted you, but you chose to destroy our friendship." I walked off, and John yelled at me, "Life is not fair, my friend."
The next day John walked up to me, and I thought he was coming to apologize for his actions. "Ani, see, in life you must hurt some people if you want to make it; while climbing the ladder of success, you must be ready to take decisions that won't go down well with some people. And that is what I did; I hope you understand." I stared at John and could not believe what I just heard. I was hurt by all the people in the world who betrayed me, not John.
I walked away, and I had learned a bitter lesson. Time truly reveals the true character of a man.
