#club5050 || Wednesday #jupiter / miercoles || VALUES || LITERATURE : STORY WRITING || Topic : I RUINED MYSELF || 15% to @hive-151446

Mike was a wonderful boy, he was exceptionally brilliant, after going for several state competitions and winning most of them, it was safe to say he was one of the best in the country.

He had just graduated from high school and as expected, he made the best results in his class. He had previously applied to study in one of the most prestigious colleges in the country, one of those colleges students dreaded and avoided because of her stringent rules and regulations.

Mike was really smart, he liked taking up challenges and he always came out a victor, his core values were hardwork, and diligence.
Although he was exceptionally brilliant and was celebrated openly, he still wasn't liked by many, his brilliance and wins had gotten into his head, he was proud and arrogant, he was not a team player, he didn't even have friends, he lacked respect especially for people with low academic profile.

Even before he resumed at college, his name had preceded him, he had gained fame and respect amongst students of his class, they looked forward to seeing the boy with the best entrance examination result.

His first day in class was as expected, he wowed his class, his vast knowledge, his tremendous calculation speed and accuracy fascinated everyone, he answered almost all the questions the teacher had asked the class, so well that even before he introduced himself to the class, they all had guessed that he was the legendary Mike Benson.

Mike was really serious with his academics, his long life dream was to graduate the school with a first class honours and like everyone did, he knew he was up to the task. He studied day and night because he couldn't afford not to fulfill his dreams of having a first-class honours (distinction), it meant everything to him.
Although he was doing well academically, most students and lecturers disliked him, he once refused partaking in a group project that he was asked to, he said he was smarter than all the students combined and shouldn't be grouped with anyone, he wouldn't share ideas with other students, he barely even talked to anyone, he saw them as inferior, he once called one of his classmates dumb because she failed a test.

His lecturers disliked him because he never listens and he ceased every opportunity to ridicle them especially whenever he spotted any mistake they made. he would laugh and say they're incompetent.
A lecturer had once called him and advised him. He told Mike that he needed to be a team player, he needed to imbibe some essential and core values like respect, humility and empathy. He told Mike that hardwork and brilliance was good but isn't enough to take him far like he envisages, the last words of the lecturer was " Mike be humble and respect your classmates, you can't walk alone".

He didn't take the advice from the lecturer seriously because he felt he was already doing good for himself and didn't see the need for other people.

the time for exams came, Mike was already so prepared and he was doing great until something unfortunate happened, Mike lost his phone and his computer also developed a fault and stopped working, at first he wasn't so bothered because he knew his parents would definitely get new gadgets for him once he was done with his exams and showed them his results, he was certain his results would be fantastic but things didn't turn out that way.

one of his exams was rescheduled, it was supposed to be at 11am but was later rescheduled to hold at 8am in the morning. As was the norm, a memo was sent to all students through their emails and the students were also asked to relate the information to their friends verbally. Mike didn't get this information because he no longer had his phone or computer and so couldn't access his mail and since he was a loner , nobody told him of the new development.

On the day of that particular exam, everyone had turned up early for the exam except bMike, Mike was home still home sleeping, he had set his alarm to ring by 10 ,he didn't have friends and so no one felt his absence and even if they did, no one would bother trying to reach him, no one cared if he missed the exams, they had all already disliked him. Mike finally came to school at 10:30am, he had high spirits and confidence that he would do exceptionally well in the exams . On his way to the exam Hall, he saw a few classmates coming out from the exam hall, he felt something was not right but didn't bother talking to anyone, as he got into the exam hall, one of the lecturers not knowing that Mike didn't partake in the exam said to him, " Mike how was the exam ?, I know it was really easy for you, smart boy ".

At that moment tears trickled down his cheek, he then asked the lecturer " what exam ?, Isn't it supposed to hold by 11am ?"
The lecturer looked at him in surprise and asked " do you mean you didn't get the information that the exam was rescheduled to hold by 8am this morning ?", Mike explained that his gadgets were spoilt and he couldn't access his mail. The lecturer wasn't moved by Mike's explanation, he said the news of the reschedule had been the topic of every student's discussion and there was no way he wouldn't have heard it from one of his friends since he didn't get the memo.

Mike couldn't tell him that he had no friend in school, he was weakened by the fact that he had missed an exam and would have to write it next year as was the policy of the institution.

He immediately started crying, he remembered one of the school's policies was " no student who misses an exam without first informing the school authority and giving them a cogent reason for his/her absence would be given a first class honours". He was heart broken, he had ruined himself, his dreams of graduating with a first-class honours was now shattered.

He now wished he was humble and respected his classmates, maybe someone would have told him about this reschedule and saved him this pain.
From that day he learnt his lesson , his values were not just hard work and diligence anymore, it was now hardwork, diligence, respect, togetherness, humility and love.
From that day he knew that truly "he couldn't work alone".

Cc : @hive-151446 ,