The unexpected
987 Words
I barely slept that night.
Not because I was scared, but because my mind refused to rest.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the school courtyard. I saw the way they laughed.
I heard their mocking voice and hateful talks.
I still remembered the way phones were raised in the air while I lay on the ground groaning in pains.
But then I would open my eyes and see the card on the table.
I felt reassured. I was fairly going to show them I was a nobody.
I got out of bed slowly.
The room I was given was bigger than the entire apartment my mother and I shared.
The bed alone could sleep five people. The curtains were thick and dark, blocking out the morning light.
When I pulled them aside, the morning light sprawled into the room.
For the first time in my life, I wasn’t rushing because of lack. I wasn’t late because I had to take a bus. I wasn’t worried about what I would eat or how I would pay my fees.
Today, I was going back to school.
A knock came at the door.
“Good morning, young master,” the voice said calmly.
It was the chauffeur.
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “I’m coming.”
They had prepared clothes for me. Not something flashy but neat, well-fitted, and expensive.
I looked at myself in the mirror and almost didn’t recognize the boy staring back.
The ride to school was quiet. The city moved past the tinted windows, but this time, I wasn’t watching in awe. I was thinking.
I wasn’t going back to fight.
I wasn’t going back to beg.
I was going back to stand.
When we arrived, the gates were already open. Students were walking in groups, laughing, talking, pretending yesterday never happened. As the car slowed, heads turned.
Whispers followed.
“That’s him.”
“The guy from the video.”
“Isn’t he the one that got beaten?”
I stepped out of the car.
The compound fell into deafening silence.
The same people who laughed yesterday suddenly didn’t know where to look. Some stared too long while others quickly turned away.
I said nothing but simply walked through the crowd as they parted ways.
In the hallway, I saw Noah.
My best friend.
Or the one I thought was.
He stood by the lockers, laughing with two guys I barely knew. The moment his eyes met mine, his smile froze.
I knew the news was going to have spread round the school ground.
In class, the seat beside me stayed empty.
Still no one wanted to seat right by my side even after my little clean up.
I could hear their gentle laughters.
" I am sure he must have borrowed the clothes."
" I bet he must have sold off one of his livers to get those."
" Nah, he is just trying to compete like us. Maybe being reborn would see him to a rich family."
I clenched my fist as the words reached my ears.
But then, my phone rang again.
I answered quietly. “Hello?”
“Good morning, Olamide,” Adeniyi’s voice said. “I hope you arrived safely.”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Good. I need you to step out after your last class. There are things to take care of.”
I looked up slowly. “What things?”
“Your life. It is time you level up." he said simply, then hung up.
When classes ended, students poured out in groups. I waited in anticipation of what was happening.
A girl ran past me screaming her lungs out.
" The date has been set. Prom night is going to be a blast!" she said slowly throwing her hands in the air.
I felt my stomach churned. I have no one to invite let alone a girlfriend.
I could see some of the guys talking and bonding with some ladies but me, no one was going to pay me any attention even though I was neatly dressed.
I knew things could change only if my father could just show up here right now.
But instead, I summoned up courage to do the impossible. If Lola won't date me because I was poor then I was going to show her I was not what she thought I was again.
My eyes caught Delilah.
The most expensive girl in the school. Many has wanted to date her because she was not knmy pretty but had exquisite taste.
That was my first revenge plan. Show them I was not the same broke boy that I was.
I looked at my self from head to toe and button up. Delilah was talking to some of her friends when I caught up with her.
Her friends looked at her and laughed.
" And why is the rat boy here?"
" Is he your dry cleaner now?"
But instead, I said the most impossible words. " Delilah Henderson, will you be my date to prom?"
The air froze or should I say time froze. No one believed what I had just said. It was almost like I had dropped a time bomb.
Delilah looked at me and laughed. " Are you joking, Olamide?" she said with her hands crossed. " Do you think the like of you could afford me?"
" How much? How much do I have to pay for you to be my fake girlfriend?"
Her friends looked at me and back at her face.
" One million naira. Pay that now and you have a deal."
" Can you just pen your account details here? You have a deal!" I said with a smile
Her friends looked a me lost as a black SUV parked right in front of yet again.
Everyone head turned, every face paled wondering who I really was.
- Writer
