Page 20 - Languages Week Special Edition

TALES FROM THE HALLS

THE PRIZE

Written By Temidesayo David Taiwo-Ayodele | Year 10 Senegal

T he prize, the prize, the prize. I had to win. I needed to win. I would win. For my
family. My mum.

The Sun blazed mercilessly over the cracked earth, baking the pitch into a battle-
field of gusty and dry grass. The ground, worn and scarred from years of desperate feet
chasing hope, burned beneath my soles. Sweat trickled down my spine, soaking into the
faded jersey that had become a part of me.
The whole village had gathered, their voices a rising crescendo of excitement, desperation,
and dreams.
My heart pounded like the rhythmic beat of the talking drums that once called warriors to
battle. I was one of them now—a warrior. But this was my war.
The net rippled.

A stunned silence. Then the village erupted. A roar so frightening, so raw, it felt as if the
very earth trembled. Hands were raised high as voices melted into a cheerful harmony.
I was still and breathless while my chest pounded. The weight of it all—my family’s strug-
gles, my mother’s silent sacrifice, my own hunger, I had done it.
Then I ran.
Not out of fear, not even celebration, but because my body could no longer contain the
storm within me. My teammates surged forward, gripping, patting, and pulling me into the

chaos of joy. In the frenzy, I glimpsed my mother. She stood motionless, fingers clutching
her wrapper as always, but her eyes-her eyes glistened with something fierce. Pride. Hope.
Relief.
Then, movement in the periphery. The scouts. One of them had stood up, sunglasses low-
ered slightly, revealing sharp, calculating eyes. He whispered to his colleague who nodded.
A single moment, barely noticeable, but enough. Enough to set my heart pounding again.
As the sun set, casting elongated shadows over the pitch, I felt the weight of my future
shift. The game had ended, but something greater had begun. A hand tapped my shoulder.
My coach, his expression unreadable, eyes gleaming with something unspoken.

“They want to talk to you.”
This was it. My moment.For my family. My mum.

THE REGENT SECONDARY SCHOOL 20
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