H. I. M

In the middle of the streets, a little boy stood. He was not more than seven but he oozed off a very confident aura. He had mud on his face, his shirt was torn, he looked haggard yet confident. " Robert" A harsh voice called . He turned only to see the monster chasing him, the monster he had once called ' Dad', the monster he had once respected, he stood in place. His Dad was standing across the road, with fury in his eyes. " Come back here" he could hear him say. In anger, his father stormed into the road without looking or paying attention to the incoming vehicles. As he raced towards him, a heavy truck from nowhere slammed him and he was flung into the air. It was the first time Robert saw a scene so disgusting, his father came crashing to the floor with a loud thud " Dad?" He whispered with teary eyes ****** Robert opened his eyes as he sat up on his bed. It was a dream, a dream that had once been his reality. He was an orphan, he lived with his aunt and her family. His aunt, Monique did accept him after his parents died but it was obvious she never really liked him. He got up, went to the bathroom to have his bath. " You sleep way too much for a man " Monique said when she saw him " Morning Auntie" " You going to work later today??, I'm gonna need some extra money . I got a lot on my plate, a lot of bills to pay and you're not helping??" " I gave you something last week" " That was last week. Who's gonna pay for the food this week?" She asked annoyed " After school, I need you to go to work, I can't feed if you don't support" she announced, took her bag and baby and left the house. Robert finished his breakfast quickly, he had so many jobs as a part timer. He was just seventeen but he had done a lot of things that most adults would not have. The streets were not too friendly, life was always unfair to him. As he walked to school, headphones in his ears, bag in hand, he looked sad than ever. His black skin shone under the sun, his curls cute and wavy. He kicked the stones as he walked. " Another day of torture" he sighed. " Another day of torture" he sighed. He wasn't really anyone's favourite in school, he had no friends and was bullied constantly . He had to go still, if there was one thing his mother would've wanted, it was for him to get an education, he clearly wasn't doing this for himself but her. Robert got to school, he sat in front as usual, wore his glasses so he could see properly . As he adjusted in his chair, he felt something hit his head with so much force that made him bang his head on the table. The whole class laughed. " Loser" they said as they continued laughing Robert raised his head angrily, he looked at where the hit came from, it was from Mason. " What? You wanna fight? What the hell are you staring at??" Mason asked and suddenly burst into laughter when he saw blood coming from Robert's nose. " He's bleeding" he laughed again " Such a pathetic loser" " I'm not a loser" Robert fumed as he wiped the blood of his nose but he kept bleeding " Go to the toilet, bro. Go get cleaned" Mason laughed. Robert had had enough, he sprinted towards Mason and hit him back with the metal. Mason's friends pushed Robert back as they beat him uncontrollably. " You jerk" Robert shouted as he punched and kicked. The whole class was recording and laughing, Robert was obviously overpowered. Just then the teacher walked in " Stopppppppp. To the principal's office . Now!!" She shouted Reluctantly, they all got up. ******* " I do not condone any act of indolence in my school" The principal said " He started it first sir" Mason said pointing at Robert. "He hit my head with the metal" " But that's but what the class says. The class reports you hit him first." The principal turned to face Robert" I am not in support of your actions, the next time something like that happens, you repeat to the right authority" " As if that has ever helped" Mason muttered under his breath " I will not take this lightly. Detention for the both of you. Mason resume after three weeks and Robert after a week" " But Principal Dalan, he hit me first" Mason tried to protest " That is my word, you're excused" Robert kept kicking his feet as he strutted home, he had gotten detention and his Aunt will probably not care. As a matter of fact, she might be happy that he had gotten weeks off so he could help her with the chores and also part time jobs. He really didn't feel like going home, he knew what would be waiting for him back there, a him that didn't even feel like his, he's probably just there because he had nowhere else to go. Would his life take a different turn? would he stay like this forever? He pondered as he sat on the ground in the tunnel. " What's a young boy like you doing here?" A voice asked making him look up , he saw the old haggard woman looking back at him, well this was the streets, there were a lot of mentally challenged people roaming here with no help for them. " Are you my grandson?" The woman asked with tears in her eyes " I've found you finally" the woman started crying as she sat down and hugged Robert. She was oozing off a very uncomfortable smell but Robert slowly found solace in her hug, he needed a hug at the moment. Instead of moving or declining her offer, he just stayed there calmly. He wasn't moving neither was he saying anything, he just calmly sat there and slept off in the old lady's arms. ****** ******* Grrrrrr Grrrrrr Grrrrrr Robert's phone rang uncontrollably, it woke him up instantly. It was his aunt, she had called him for six times now. He didn't know if she was worried sick or just calling because she needed his assistance in the house. He reluctantly picked up the phone only to hear her shouting from the other end " Where are you??" Came the voice from the other end " Do you know what the time is??" Robert looked at his time and saw it was a minute after 10. Damn, had he slept for that long?? He was really confused " Sorry Auntie, I'll be home soon" " You had better because I'm really angry right now" and she hung up Robert got up, dusted his body and went home. When he got to the house, his Aunt was there looking annoyed. " I called your boss, they said you didn't go to work today" " I had detention" " And how is that my business? You got yourself into trouble , didn't you?" " No, the kids at school bully me" " Because you show them you're weak. I'm really angry with you and I'm not gonna hide it. The next time you do that or don't go to work, you at least should be at home. I'm your guardian now. I'm not angry because you didn't go to work, I'm angry because you stayed out late doing nothing"