Chapter 39: Past Tense“So you’re not going to say anything?” He said, one eye on the road and the other on a stubborn and quiet Alicia. “Alicia? Hello. I’m not talking to myself here. Hmm. Alright” he smirked, now fully focused on the road, and caring little to nothing about why Alicia was pissed.“Why didn’t Ryan come?”“Oh, so now you want to talk?”“Just answer the question.”“When you didn’t answer mine? That doesn’t seem fair.”“You know what’s not fair Marcus? Want to know what’s not fair? What’s not fair is…leaving…me to… make a fool of myself…at the fucking event” she said, smacking him in-between words while he was driving.“Hey. Hey. Calm down. Calm the fuck down” he tried dodging the smacks but just concluded that it was better he took the worst of it than to crash the car. “You’re acting like you couldn’t just walk into the wardrobe and do nothing.”“Oh yeah sure. Of course I could do that. Because that’s what you did with Deborah right?”“Is that what this is all about?”
Chapter 40: A Killer Story“Ayy. Man of the moment. How was the—” She watched as he walked up the stairs without saying anything to anybody. Not the best looks he had plastered on his face either. Guess the event didn’t exactly go according to plan. “You should go talk to him. He was just starting to feel and act a lot—” she looked at her other son balanced on the couch, stuffing his face with ice cream and focused only on the television. He probably didn’t even know that Marcus just walked in. “Hello? Ryan? Ryan!” she smacked the bowl of ice cream out of his hand and It plummeted straight to the ground. Luckily, it’d almost finished.“Hey. Mom, I had a couple of scoops left.”“Did you even hear anything I said?”“What? Umm. No?”“Uggghhh” she plopped down beside him on the couch, grabbing the remote from his hands and changing the station. “You should go talk to your brother. And I mean a real ass talk. Not some ‘hey’, ‘hi’, ‘bye’ type of stuff.”“What? But why?”“Did you see him w
CHAPTER 1: Made You Look“Fuck!” he exclaimed, jolted into consciousness by a cold bucket of water on a rather chilly spring morning. “What the hell mom? Why’d you—”“Did you just cuss in my house Marcus?”“What? You woke me up with a bucket of water. What was I supposed to scream? Hallelujah?” he said, trying to control his emotions. His soaked white tank-top revealed the meagre figure that laid under it. Nothing too outstanding, but nothing overtly disgusting either. The water on his dark, afro hair gradually trickled down his face that, by the way, was still recovering from a tormenting bout of acne. His pitch-black eyes and pouted mouth showcased an emotion that wreaked of nothing but contempt.“I wouldn’t have needed the bucket of water if you heard your alarm… that rung seven times. Forgotten why you set the alarm in the first place?” she gestured to the phone on the side table, and the brown folder beside it. Both which were just a couple feet to the right of the bed. “How does
Chapter 2: Eventually"How's the salad Vanessa?" She asked, with a mouth full of cabbage"It's actually really good Mrs. Boaz. The whole dinner is just… breathtaking."And she wasn’t lying, much to Marcus’s relief, he was the one that cooked it. The last time the two females were in a room together, things really, really didn’t g soo well. It was nice to see they’d probably buried the hatchet. For now…"Is that so?" She sounded a little different this time, like her attitude had switched up a little, and Vanessa would be on the receiving end of it. Marcus seated just between the two, noticed it and suddenly choked on the spaghetti he tried to quickly gobble down."You okay honey?""Marcus are you oka–" "Don't touch him" Mrs. Boaz replied, now in a mood that had fully taken a turn for the worst. "Tell me something Vanessa" she tried calming down, "why exactly did you come to Phoenix? Of all the city’s you could’ve moved to, why did you come to the one city where my family moved?""Mo
Chapter 3: Let It GoNot sure enough credit is given to the serene city of Phoenix. I mean sure, it wasn't the richest city, but it wasn’t the poorest. It wasn't the most beautiful, but it wasn't the ugliest either. It was just... there, I guess. But at the same time, it felt so peaceful. So loud yet so quiet. So, exhilarating yet calming at the same time. It was during afternoon drives like this, one really appreciated the little things this peaceful city joyously gave, but from the look on Marcus's face, the city could burn down to its very last atom for all he cared. "Now we've talked about this okay. I don't want any unnecessary fights between you two today. Your brother's finally getting out of therapy and–""That's what you said last time ma"She sent a heart-drilling look in his direction through the rearview mirror. Luckily for him, he was staring aloofly at the majestic trees, as they etched closer and closer to their final destination."Like I was saying, he's finally getti
Chapter 4: You’re DeadThe night was unrelenting. And as much as he wanted to say he could care less about the little tussle with his older brother, he couldn’t prove it. His eyes just refused to slam shut as he laid on his bed that was uncomfortable all of a sudden. In his words exactly, “It sucked”. If his body and mind wouldn’t allow him to have some shut eye, then he’d force himself to sleep. That always worked. Just a couple strokes here and there, and the blanket of sleep would cover him as soon as the deed was done. But as soon as Dawn arrived, it was a whole new Melodrama."Mom? Mom?" He kept bellowing through the house, checking any and every door he came across. "Mo– you're still in bed?" He looked astonished at his mother who was in no hurry to get up from her bed this Monday morning. "You do know that I have school today, right? And I'm the one who wakes up late ayy?" he mutteredStill taking her time with every movement, she slowly sat up on her bed, not even glancing at
Chapter 5: Miss Johnson"So did you get the–""Nope. Rejected me for the seventh time man.""Damn. That's cold." "Yeah, but it's cool. Pretty sure the next one will–""That's what you said last time Marcus. And the time before that–" Devon settled into his seat just behind Marcus's. "Yeah well it's not like I can be for sure whether or not a platform is gonna accept it. They all have shitty standards." He brought out his books and laid them on his desk."Yeah, well after seven tries bro, don't you think the problem isn't the sites?""And what's that supposed to mea–""Hey guys!" A cheery voice echoed, just beside Devon. Her bob hairstyle drawn back behind her ears were complimented by her intriguing set of blue eyes. She worked those "cat-like" set of glasses, and though she didn't look or dress like a nerd, hanging around with Devon and Marcus was nerd gang territory. It was GIA certified. She was one of them."Oh, sup Alicia?""Hey Pretty lady" Marcus said, just glancing at her fo
Chapter 6: The Six Most Dangerous Words In Schooling History“Straight A Student and former school prefect, He dropped the post in grade ten because, according to him, sports was his calling. The football team to be exact.”“And how’d that work out?” Vanessa asked, tray in hand, as she moved through the cafeteria with her entourage behind her.“Come on Devon, do we really need to do this rig—”“No. Let him speak Marcus. Go on.”“Well, he’s currently the captain of the football team, and let’s just say—”“Oh, he plays soccer?” she innocently asked. Marcus, Devon and Alicia all sent a stern, almost demonic look in her direction as they all took their seats on a free table. “What? Did I say some—”“Don’t call it soccer. Ever. It’s football.”“But—”“Period” Marcus said, firm in his resolve.“Whatever. Go on Devon.”“The Phoenix’s have gone on five separate tournaments since Jeff became captain. They’ve won four out of those five. The only reason they didn’t go five straight trophies was
Chapter 40: A Killer Story“Ayy. Man of the moment. How was the—” She watched as he walked up the stairs without saying anything to anybody. Not the best looks he had plastered on his face either. Guess the event didn’t exactly go according to plan. “You should go talk to him. He was just starting to feel and act a lot—” she looked at her other son balanced on the couch, stuffing his face with ice cream and focused only on the television. He probably didn’t even know that Marcus just walked in. “Hello? Ryan? Ryan!” she smacked the bowl of ice cream out of his hand and It plummeted straight to the ground. Luckily, it’d almost finished.“Hey. Mom, I had a couple of scoops left.”“Did you even hear anything I said?”“What? Umm. No?”“Uggghhh” she plopped down beside him on the couch, grabbing the remote from his hands and changing the station. “You should go talk to your brother. And I mean a real ass talk. Not some ‘hey’, ‘hi’, ‘bye’ type of stuff.”“What? But why?”“Did you see him w
Chapter 39: Past Tense“So you’re not going to say anything?” He said, one eye on the road and the other on a stubborn and quiet Alicia. “Alicia? Hello. I’m not talking to myself here. Hmm. Alright” he smirked, now fully focused on the road, and caring little to nothing about why Alicia was pissed.“Why didn’t Ryan come?”“Oh, so now you want to talk?”“Just answer the question.”“When you didn’t answer mine? That doesn’t seem fair.”“You know what’s not fair Marcus? Want to know what’s not fair? What’s not fair is…leaving…me to… make a fool of myself…at the fucking event” she said, smacking him in-between words while he was driving.“Hey. Hey. Calm down. Calm the fuck down” he tried dodging the smacks but just concluded that it was better he took the worst of it than to crash the car. “You’re acting like you couldn’t just walk into the wardrobe and do nothing.”“Oh yeah sure. Of course I could do that. Because that’s what you did with Deborah right?”“Is that what this is all about?”
Chapter 38: I’m Getting Jealous"And then she dragged me by my collar and kissed me" he said, completely out of breath."Are you sure that's what happened or you just wanted to happ–""That's exactly what happened Alicia" he rubbed his short hair trying to calm himself and get rid of the adrenaline. "God her lips were so… so–""Please, spare me the details Devon. I don't need to hear that.""But you need to understand Alicia, I can’t just keep a moment like that to myself. It's just…it's just– Aah Marcus is out, I'll tell him instead."As always, Marcus looked in no hurry whatsoever to walk. One foot calmly in front of the other. You’d almost think he was stalling, waiting for someone to catch up. Alicia couldn't help but look back and stare. But she didn't have lust in her eyes. She had anger. Like she knew something she wasn't supposed to know. And Marcus would be on the receiving end of it. "Yo bro how was … wait. Are you good?" He looked at Marcus a little strangely, like somethi
Chapter 37: Marcus, More"Are you sure there's not something wrong with the–""Jesus Christ. Y’all just don’t quit, do you? Alright, let me see your cards…again" the coordinator wearily said. After seeing and judging the cards of both, she looked back up at them and said, "there's nothing wrong with the cards now come on, other people want to get in there, and I want to leave already. So let’s go" she held both of them by the wrists and led them up to the wardrobe. "Alright now. Five minutes" she watched as Marcus got in and Deborah brought up every single excuse she could think of. All to no avail. "Click"As soon as the door closed behind them, and they were engulfed in the wardrobe’s darkness, Deborah said in her usual annoying voice, "now don't think I'm going to do any of that nasty shit for or with you. We'll just wait until the five minutes are up and then we'll act like none of this ever happened. However, Marcus had other plans and the darkness, at this point in time was hi
Chapter 36: Not That Type of Girl?"Wait what?" Alicia said, completely dumfounded."Come on now, time is ticking Alicia. It is your turn.""Are you sure the cards are correct?""God, you guys are going to start with this again?”“Just please, check if they’re correct.”“Okay, fine. Let me see yours. Mitch, bring yours too." The coordinator saw both cards side by side and said, "there's nothing wrong with the cards Alicia. They're identical. Solid match. Now quit stalling and get in already.” She didn't know what to do, she looked at Marcus hoping he would say something, or do something, at least look jealous or uncomfortable. But his emotion didn't change in the slightest. He wasn't even looking at her, or how uncomfortable she felt when her dress ran up her laps a little as she tried to get up. So, she walked into the wardrobe, Mitch following close behind her, and the coordinator behind both. As soon as they got in, the coordinator closed it and stood just a couple feet behind.
Chapter 35: Take a 5“Thanks” she looked at him. His eyes seemed to look so caring, and though a pitch-black iris was intensely common around these parts, everything about him just felt so different. And they’d known each other almost all their lives. Hand in hand, they walked into the school premises like two reborn souls. Everybody was looking at them. This wasn’t the Marcus and Alicia they were used to seeing…at all. If this was prom, they’d probably won couple of the night just by showing up. Marcus in his well-fitted vest and t-shirt. How’d he get so buff overnight? And Alicia wasn’t wearing her glasses today. Damn, she was hot. The event had begun approximately two and a half hours ago but it was like everyone had been waiting for this single moment. Now everyone had to act like Marcus and Alicia weren’t stealing the show. They definitely we—“Marcus? Alicia? There y’all are. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you guys?”Alicia instantly removed her hand from Marcus’s,
Chapter 34: Simplicity is Underrated SATURDAY 4:20 PM. AN HOUR AND 20 MINUTES PAST D-DAYToday was a big day, and he was definitely dressed for the occasion. No tuxedo or anything serious, it was a ‘party’. He already had a bad reputation when it came to fashion, but today, the plan was to make a statement. He had on a pair of Customized Nike Air Max’s. Pretty good start… till somebody steps on your shoes while dancing. But oh well, you get as much as you give. The dark jean and partially over-sized t-shirt look, definitely wasn’t the best one to go with, but he was looking a little buff today. Kinda feeling it too, maybe it was worth a try. A new, formal-looking watch made it look a little more decent, and the face cap was an okay accessory. You know what? Forget that ‘dressed for the occasion’ thing I said earlier, it was mid. But hopefully, what he lacked in looks, he’d replace with sureness, because he felt like a million bucks today. “You sure you don’t want to go Ryan? Might h
Chapter 33: Such is LifePeace. Now this quote might have been said by some other important, renowned mind, but this is my way of putting it. Peace, Inner peace, is sometimes pretty hard to find. Not because chaos is most times inevitable, but really harnessing all possible emotions that could tip the scale, not being anxious, not being scared, not feeling guilty, not feeling alone, all at the same time is a very difficult task. Even for the strongest minds. Like his. He was right when he said he didn't know where he was going. He really didn't. Wasn't sure of what do with life at this point. Nothing made sense, nothing. And as he walked on the pavement while cars zoomed past, he fell deeper into the hands of his biggest predators. His mind. His thoughts, himself. "Everything was so supposed to be perfect you know?" He said, subject to his own soliloquy. "The perfect girl. Met her the perfect way. Had an almost perfect relationship. It should've ended better. Way better" he said. "
Chapter 32: The Birds Pt. 1He didn't look like himself anymore. Almost looked like was sad and sulking. His hypnotizing red eyes looked like they had lost their effect. He was drained. Physically, mentally and emotionally. The ladies were in truth, never ever his strong point. And the fact that he couldn’t anything about that was…was probably what made him sad. He had everything. Right? The eyes, the brains, the body, the voice, everything was there. So, it just didn't make sense why he found it hard actually talking, conversating and generally having a good time when it was just him and a girl, nobody else. Maybe he just wasn't ready for another phase of 'love' or some shit like that yet. After all, he did put a lot work into making him and Vanessa work out, and look at how that turned out. Yeah. Maybe that was it. He just… wasn't ready to take the next step forward. Maybe he just… wasn't over her yet. Can't blame him though "Yo Ryan you good?" Marcus asked, walking into the kitch