May the Lord do what you want most and let all go well for you. Then you will win victories and we will celebrate while raising our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord answer all of your prayers.
Psalm 20 : 4 - 5

...

2 months later

"HI, THIS IS ABEENA. If I haven't picked up your call, it means that I'm either sleeping or I'm busy doing something that isn't your business or simply because I don't want to talk to you. No offence. But you're welcome to leave a message. Beep!"

"Bee, I have no clue why you're not picking up, but I desperately need to talk to you. If you don't call back in an hour I'm breaking down your door. This is not a joke! Call back soon. Love you. Bye!"

I put my phone back on the nightstand. Wonder what happened to Abeena. It is totally unlike her - who is inseparable with her phone - to not pick up my call. If anything, we did promise to call each other on the day of the results. And if she wasn't picking up, it could only mean her result wasn't what she was expecting.

...

Earlier that day

I roll onto my side and look at the digital clock on the nightstand. 6:00 am. I usually wouldn't be up this early in the morning, but sleep wasn't something that came to me easily since last week, what with the big bad 7 letter word called results looming over us for the past two months. The results of the state common examinations were being released at 10 in the morning today. Till then, I'd probably be a nervous jittery mess. But, as much as I wanted to skip today, it was inevitable. Just like the day of the medical entrance exam, which was a week ago. I had one week of pure freedom and then today came over, like an asteroid about to destroy the earth.

I sigh as I sit up, on my bed. There's no point in trying to sleep now. Might as well do something which calms me down. I walk over to my table and pull out the chair gently, so as to not wake Nia who's sleeping soundly on the other bed. Her results wouldn't be out for another three weeks or so. I promise myself that if she ever feels the way I do, I would be there to comfort her.

I pick up my Bible from the shelf and sit down on the chair.

Jesus, I'm really scared about how the results are gonna turn out. Like, really, really, really scared. And I know I shouldn't worry because You asked me not to, but I can't help but feel that I'm not gonna make it. Help me, please. Just give me a verse, one that would calm my restless heart, would You? I pray as I open my Bible to a random page. A smile finds its way to my face as my eyes scan the words on the page, that I had previously underlined.

Thanks be to God who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
- 1 Corinthians 15 : 57

"This isn't beginners luck, is it Father? Do You mind if I try it once more?" I ask, as I close my Bible to try it once again, "It's not like I don't trust You, but my stupid heart sometimes doesn't believe in what You say."

This time, I open my Bible to Psalm 20 and I smile once again. "What was I thinking, Lord? Of course, You'll help me succeed." I put the Bible aside and pull out the journal I share with Joy as a youth group assignment. Brian came up with the idea of keeping a journal where we could share all our prayers and the prayers that had been answered. At the end of the week, we had to hand over the journal to our assigned partner, who in my case, was Joy. I wrote down the verses God gave me today, while saying them out softly.

"What on earth are you doing, writing, and mumbling to yourself?" Nia sits up on her bed, yawning.

"I couldn't sleep, so I thought I could read the Bible," I tell her, walking over to her bed.

"Nervous about results?"

"Not anymore. He told me that I will win victories and celebrate and He will answer my prayers." I sit beside her.

"You pulled out Psalm 20, didn't you?" She asks and I nod in reply.

"Well then, why are you nervous? God Himself said you'd win. So, get back to sleep. And don't disturb me. Seriously, I thought you were a ghost or something," she orders, lying back down again.

I roll my eyes at her analogy (being the younger sister and ordering me to do things) and walk over to my bed, phone in hand. I knew sleep wouldn't come easily, so why not listen to a little music? After all, music was the love of my life, after Jesus, that is. I plug in my headphones, clicking the music app on my phone. Instead of searching for a song, I click on the shuffle icon and then play, lying back down on my bed. I feel calm and relaxed as 'See A Victory' by Elevation Worship starts playing. It seems that Jesus is communicating with me and felt that I should be comforted even through songs.

...

Two hours later

"Rissa Grace! Wake up!" Nathan's shout carries through the door, waking me up. Grace by Michael W Smith is playing on my phone. I don't know when or how I slept, but looking at the time on my phone, it seems like I would have slept for an hour and a half.

"What on earth?" Nia jumps awake with a start, "Who the heck is that?"

I open the door and Nathan comes barging into the room. "How are you girls still sleeping when I'm freaking the life out of me?"

"Well, for starters, my results aren't coming out today. So I can sleep all I want. Now, get out."That said, Nia falls back down on her bed. "Wake me up after half an hour."

Nathan turns to me with a bewildered look on his face, "Aren't you scared for even a bit?"

I usher him out of the room and close the door. Nia would probably kill him if she is woken up once again. Results or not, Nia isn't a morning person. Ruin her sleep, she'll ruin your life. It's a surprise she didn't say anything when I had accidentally woken her up earlier.

"Okay, now tell me," I prompt him.

"I'm nervous. I think I'm gonna fail," he says, sitting down on the floor outside my room.

I sit down next to him. "Where did that come from? You were babbling about getting into Hargrove up until last week. What reason do you have to be panicking now?"

"I have no freaking clue," he says, "I'm just scared."

"Oh Nate," I sigh, resting my head on his shoulder. Many of my friends have always asked me how Nathan and I aren't arch enemies or something, saying that they don't like their brothers. But Nathan and I grew up together. Aunt Lily and him have lived with us for as long as I can remember, ever since we were two, I think. My mum told me that the death of uncle Brandon was too much for aunt Lily, that mum got scared for her and brought her and Nathan along with us. I'm glad she did, because now, I can't think of how empty my house would seem without them.

"I couldn't sleep either. I woke up earlier than now because of that. Nia thought I was a ghost. But I'm not scared anymore."

"How?" He enquires.

"Because God promised me that I'm gonna see a victory," I turn to face him, "and He told me that you would see it too. Take it from your sister who believes that God wouldn't let us fail. You are going to succeed."

Nathan smiles at me. "Sometimes, I wonder why I can't trust God the way you do. But now I realise, I've stopped praying the way I did before. It's been ages since I wrote in Brian's journal assignment."

"Well, you better start praying bro. God is probably missing listening to your voice," I say.

...

10:00 am

"Stop pacing around Joy. It's annoying," Nia scolds Natasha who landed in our house around half hour ago and has been pacing around since then.

"I'm just nervous, okay? I didn't do any of the exams well," Joy looks like she's gonna cry.

"Hey, there's no point in being nervous now. The results will be out any minute. But it's going to be okay," I say, pulling her arm and making her sit down next to me. Nathan's sitting next to the computer, refreshing the result website again and again when my parents and aunt Lily walk into the room. "What happened?" My dad asks. Just then, the computer pings with an announcement.

"Oh my goodness, it's here," Joy says, covering her mouth and she starts to whisper silent prayers. Me, to say I'm not nervous would be a lie. I'm just not a freaking mess, because the faith that my God's got me is much greater than the fear that I might fail.

"Whose result should we check first?" Nathan asks, the Centre of Education's login page on the computer screen. All eyes in the room turn to me.

"What? You want to check mine first?" I ask. Six heads start nodding and I think mine starts to spin.

"Okay then," I say, getting up to type my state examination register number but Joy stops me. "Wait, I'll go first. I want to get this over with," she says. She recites her register number to Nathan who types it in the login page. The loading icon appears on the screen.

Jesus, please let her grades be good. She worked really hard for it. I pray, closing my eyes and then opening them to the sound of Joy's surprised gasp. Her percentage of 89.7 and about four 150+ scores rest comfortably on the screen. "Thank You God," Joy says, laughing, "this is way more than what I expected."

My mum wraps Joy in a hug. "Congratulations Joy! You worked so hard and you've reaped your harvest now."

"Thanks, Aunt Remi. It wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for the Lord," Joy gushes, "So, who's next?"

"I'll go next," Nathan volunteers. He types in his number and clicks the 'get results' icon. His scores show up on the screen right away and his mouth falls open in shock. Aunt Lily and mum start squealing excitedly while my dad watches on. Wonder what's going on in that mind of his.

"Nate, I think the Centre has messed up your score with someone else's," Nia jokes.

"I know right?" Nathan is still wearing a shocked expression on his visage. "There's no way I would've been able to score more than Naughty"

"One percent," Joy fumes, "You scored one percent more than me. But hey, you do deserve it. So I applaud you for scoring a 90.7% in the exams."

"And I was joking," Nia joins in, "So nice of you to think I was actually right."

"He knows you were joking Nia," my dad tells her, "He was just playing along. Good job, Nathan. Your dad would be so proud."

Nathan tenses at the mention of his dad and after a minute relaxes. And then he turns to me. "So, are you ready?"

"Nope. But I gotta do it anyway." I watch as he types my number and my heart starts beating so fast as he goes into the result page. My hands are too sweaty and I close my eyes for a second before opening them to my score. 98.94. Wow. I scored a 98.94 percent with perfect scores in biology and physics. Everyone in the room goes into celebratory mode while I stare at the words below my score. First grade in Great Britain, it said and my eyes fill with tears.

"I need to go to church. I told God that I would light candles when I get my scores," I say, feeling elated and really, really grateful to God.

"Of course Grace," my dad says, pulling me into a hug. My mum joins in, saying, "We're proud of you sweetheart."

"Hey, you're leaving us out," Nia complains, joining in the hug, making me laugh. I'm really grateful I have such a supportive and loving family and I'm not sure where I would be without them. And Jesus, I'm sure that I wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for Him. Joy fills my heart as I think about all the blessings my God has given me as I relax in my parents' arms.

...

Presently

Abeena still hasn't returned my calls. I had called her right after I returned from church after lighting candles and thanking God many, many times. And two hours later, she still hasn't called me or Alan, who called me awhile earlier with news of his results. He'd scored 96.23 percent with a perfect score in math, which he absolutely loves. He congratulated me on my score and for attaining the first grade in the state and said he'd be applying to a college in Sydney. After talking for long, we hung up saying that we'd meet each other on his birthday, two weeks from now. Feeling worried about Abeena, I decide to go up to her house and check up on her.

"Mum, I'm going to Abeena's house. She hasn't returned any of the 100 calls I gave her," I say, poking my head into the kitchen where mum and aunt Lily are cooking.

"Okay dear," my mum tells me, "Just make sure you're home before lunch."

"Thanks, love you, bye!" I shout, grabbing my cycle keys and getting out of the house. I've been to Abeena's only a couple of times, but I knew the route to her place very well. My mind's racing through a thousands of reasons why Abeena wouldn't pick up the phone. Maybe she's outta town, she never uses her phone when she leaves town with her family. But that doubt leaves my mind as I see their car parked in their driveway. I park my cycle on the driveway and walk up the porch to ring the bell. The door opens and Abeena's mother stands in front of me.

"Oh Rissa," she says, worried. "Thank goodness you're here. It's Abeena. She's locked herself in her room."

...

Author's note:

Hey everyone! How are y'all?

What do you think about this chapter? Did you like it?

Please leave your views in the comment section. I'm really grateful for your votes, but I would like to know your thoughts on my story too.

Thanks for reading!

Stay blessed,
Grace.

...

See A Victory - Elevation Worship

The weapon may be formed, but it won't prosper,
When the darkness falls, it won't prevail,
'Cause the God I serve knows only how to triumph,
My God will never fail,
Oh, my God will never fail.

I'm gonna see a victory,
I'm gonna see a victory,
For the battle belongs to You, Lord.
I'm gonna see a victory,
I'm gonna see a victory,
For the battle belongs to You, Lord.

There's power in the mighty name of Jesus,
Every war He wages He will win,
I'm not backing down from any giant,
'Cause I know how this story ends,
Yes, I know how this story ends.

I'm gonna see a victory,
I'm gonna see a victory
For the battle belongs to You, Lord. (×2)

Gonna worship my way through this battle
Gonna worship my way through, hey

You take what the enemy meant for evil and You turn it for good,
You turn it for good.
You take what the enemy meant for evil and You turn it for good,
You turn it for good. (×3)

I'm gonna see a victory
I'm gonna see a victory
For the battle belongs to You, Lord (×2)

You take what the enemy meant for evil and You turn it for good,
You turn it for good. (×2)