AFTER THE SHADOWS: A Thin Escape

Chapter 7

A few weeks later, it was time for the previous year’s candidates to harvest what they had planted. It was time for the O level examination results to be announced. James, being one of them could not get hold of his emotions.

Finally, the day came and the results were announced. Lucky enough, these results came out as James had expected. He had excelled in the examination with excellence.

James was in a position to join the public university to continue his studies. The good results also got his job as a teacher justified and guaranteed until he joined the university.

James’ girlfriend Maxine was not as lucky as he was. She had done well but not well enough to join the public university. This was not good news to either of them because they hoped to have qualified for the public university so that they can join the same university.

Unlucky for them, this was not to happen. That meant that, for them to continue enjoying the joy of being in love, they had to walk that extra mile to maintain this long-distance relationship.

This being the case though, they still had some time together before they could go their separate ways. At this point, they discussed and found that their parents needed to know about this relationship that they had.

After this discussion, the only problem was who should tell whose parents first. Maxine was the best candidate for that because they were close with her mother and that the mother was easier to approach.

As discussed, that evening she went ahead and told her mother about the relationship of theirs with James. The mother did not react negatively to this but told her daughter to be cautious not to ruin her life by rushing into things before she completed her education.

Maxine called James to notify him of the good news about her parents’ reaction. Besides the fact, one problem remained. A question about who was to tell James’ parents about it and which of them to tell. James was not willing to be the one that told them. They were not the understanding type or the listening type according to his judgment at the time.

For these two lovebirds, it was not hard for them to take caution not to rush into things before the completion of schooling. They were fine with this. As usual, Maxine’s mother upon meeting with James’ mother was eager to share this news about their children’s relationship.

As thought, Maxine’s mother was expecting James’ mother to be glamorous about it but she was all wrong. According to James’ mother, her son was not to be associated with failures. Maxine having not done so well in the examination was a sign of being a failure as James’ mother referred to it.

To her, Maxine was not the best for her son. No matter how much parents think they wish the best for their children, sometimes this best is not good enough for them. She could not hold it back to her chest though. That evening, she called James to ask him about this relationship. James was sincere enough to let her know that it was true they were in a relationship with Maxine.

This did not end well as James expected. The people they thought could be by his side were again against him. According to James’ thoughts, these results were to bridge this gap between him and his parents but as it seemed, they only made things worse. They were the most unpredictable people James had ever known but they still were his parents.

One thing these parents did not understand was that James was not willing to let go of Maxine. No matter how much they discouraged him against this relationship, he was not to be obedient on this one.

Upon seeing that it was not working to separate the two through her son, James’ mother had another idea. She knew that if she talked ill of this relationship to Maxine’s mother, she could tell her daughter. This way, Maxine’s mother would have no other choice but to warn her daughter against the relationship.

Indeed, James’ mother went ahead with her idea. Any time that they met with Maxine’s mother, she would go forth to campaign for the separation of the two. Maxine’s mother being the understanding one could not bother to tell Maxine about this.

 This hate speech about James and Maxine’s relationship went on for quite some time and it finally bore fruits. Sometimes, people do not like to be pushed far beyond their limits. It is also true that if you are persistent on something, it surely pays off.

Though Maxine’s mother understood and did not want to be pushed to separate the two, she had no more options left other than separate these two. Since she did not want to advise against this love, the only option was to take Maxine away from James.

It was time for Maxine to join the college. By so doing, James’ mother would relax and stop nagging about this relationship. On hearing of this news that Maxine was joining the college, James knew that the task of maintaining this relationship had just become harder.

Back in his mind, he thought that his mother might have pushed Maxine’s mother so hard that she decided to get her daughter to safety. To prove this, James’ mother called him to let him know about this and telling him that it was time, he forgot about Maxine and focus on his life.

After Maxine left for college, they still stayed in touch with James. This did not deter them from being in love. One day, the worst happened. James’s mother could not cope with the fact that their son was still in contact with Maxine. The only way she could do this was to call Maxine herself and warn her against his son.

Maxine still was not bothered by this first call from James’ mother. Instead, she notified James of this and they continued. On the other end, James went to see his mother and requested her to stop what she was doing.

Without having to listen, she started with the “I want the best for you son” speech to James. He did not like it and warned Maxine of picking his mother’s calls. Maxine could not listen to James for she thought that maybe she could talk James’ mother into supporting this relationship.

It was not long after and Maxine was fed up with this nonsense from James’ mother. She had done all she could just to keep the relationship going but it was time to let go. She could not hold on anymore. James’ mother had become so harsh to her about leaving her son alone and not ruining his life.

Once again, James’ life was filled with doom. He had nothing else to do rather than accept his fate and move on. The good news was that it had come time for him to join the university too. He did not have to be around any longer to cope with the pressure from his mother.

James was very anxious to go to university. He was so much eager to learn engineering and become an engineer. He had always dreamt of being an engineer since his childhood. Finally, his dream had come true and there he was in the university being an engineer.