I felt more comfortable on my first day in this school than in my other schools where it took me more time to make friends, which was mainly a result of the fact that guys hate me at first sight of me. But things are different at this school because I already had a friend before I even started. Cynthia made sure I was comfortable, Cynthia's friends were amazed at the colour of his eyes and hair, they argued about them being fake, and they all touched and played with my hair. Hmm... I kinda felt like a celebrity, with the way people look at me and the way Cynthia's boyfriend flirted with me.
"He's such a cutie! I'd like to go on a date with him.A friend of Cynthia said. "He won't ask you out, madam!"Cynthia swiftly intercepted the speech of her friend. She had just realized how handsome and precious I am, at least her friends' demeanour had opened her eyes to see me as I wanted her to see me. She can actually show him off to her friends as her boyfriend, or so she thought. On the other hand was a living and breathing problem, 'Bright and his clique'. Bright, who had no problem with playing 'Cynthia's boyfriend' grew restless at the sight of Cynthia and her friends playing around me. Bright had always been on Cynthia's tail, asking her out since JSS 3, but Cynthia kept turning him down, till he decided to stop asking and start assuming. He made sure everyone believed he was officially dating her, even though she claims otherwise. "Hey Demon! She is my girl, you better stay clear". Bright said as he stormed at me unannounced. Normally I will be shocked by the way he stormed at me unannounced, but I guess I'm already used to it, so I hardly get surprised by unexpected attacks. I was just sitting all alone during break periods at the serene Garden of Peace when the Bully Bright rudely pounced on me. "Hahaha, Demon." One of Bright's friends said mockingly. His name was Ojo.Ojo was one of Bright's loyal friends, in fact, he was his most loyal, many people called him "Echo" because of his habit of repeating almost everything Bright said. Ojo looks up to Bright as his role model, he believed that Bright was everything he wished he would be but can't."Now listen to me you this black albino, I saw how you throw yourself at those girls. Well, that's not my problem, all I care about is that you must mind your doings around Cynthia, I've invested a lot of time to have one new albino boy with one stupid blue eyes come and ruin everything for me. Just stay clear from her, are we clear?"Bright said. "Are we clear?"Ojo added."Haba bright, why will you say it's only Cynthia that you care about? Let him know about Charity too. You know I like her, haba, you don't have to be selfish always."Sani said with his funny Hausa accent. Sani was the second friend of Bright, he was a fair, tall, and skinny boy, he also had a crush on one of Cynthia's friends, Charity. Cynthia and her friends were also known as the "Triple Cee", the third friend among the Triple Cee was Chinwe. The triple Cee was the most popular group in the school, they were made up of three girls, Cynthia, Charity and Chinwe, they were called the triple Cee because their names all began with the letter "C"."Kai, Mr man, you better stay away from all those girls, Else we will kill you in this school, did you hear me?"Sani added in a more threatening tone. Well, I am already used to such confrontation, I actually saw this as nothing, Bright's clique was only but a clique of spoilt rich bullies who could probably make more threats than harm. I've come across truly harmful street kids, not to say a bunch of rich spoiled kids with nothing but their size as a strength."I did nothing, those girls are just my friends, I just came today, what harm could I possibly do? I tried my best to explain. "Just imagine the arrogance."Bright said, looking at Ojo. "Very arrogant!"Ojo said, looking furious."Hey hey hey! What is happening here? Bright and Co, you people have started already. This poor boy who just came today, come-on, what is wrong with you people? Can't you grow up? Old fools."Cynthia said as she and the other Triple Cee came to the Garden of Peace to meet me. "Cyndy dear, I was only telling him about us. You know he is new and he might not know, so I thought it was wise to educate him."Bright said, smiling."Hahaha, he said 'us' Cyndy you have heard it now."Chinwe said hilariously."Please, if it is a joke stop it, I don't like it." Cynthia said to Chinwe "And you, what do you mean by you are telling him about us? I've told you several times to stop going around lying about us ever having anything. Mr man, you are not even my type, stop this rubbish, I'm warning you now o."Cynthia said. "My God! This one is deep. You are not her kind Bright, so get the duck off."Charity said hilariously. "Hmm, boys, let's go"Bright said and his Zombie friends join him as he left with his head buried in shame.It was a hectic first day in school and his best. I arrived home from school with loads of stories to tell my mom who has always been his best friend, confidant and gossip mate. Yeah, my mom had been my best friend if not the only friend I have had for a very long time, we share lots of things, she tells me about her doings while I also tell her about mine, whenever I'm out, I kept running to get home fast so I could tell her things that happened in her absence."No no no! We are not doing this here again".My mom said, shouting as I threw my bag on the sofa and left myself to fall to the cushion where my mum sat. When I got home, my mom was sitting watching Nollywood movies."Listen, Damie, this is Abuja, here, you must attain a little level of change, you won't throw your things anywhere or everywhere, everything must be in other in this house, this is Abuja, is that clear"?Mom cautioned me."Yes, mom! Your wish is my command"I said as I stood up making a salutation like military personnel."Now go keep your bag and shower, when you are done, come to mama, I know you got gist for me or isn't it so?"She said."A lot of gist mom"I said as he walked towards his room. I rushed into the room and quickly took off my clothes and rushed into the bathroom where I had a cold shower, it felt good because the weather was hot that day.A few minutes later I was already out and all cleaned up. I had changed into short jeans and a Calvin Klein designer's singlet. Oh, I love that singlet, we got it three days past at the boutique located on our street, the Name of the Boutique was "You and I". I also love that short jeans because it exposes my well-built legs which were coated with dark hairs which lay sleeping on my legs. When mom saw me coming out to the sitting room, she smiled at me and tapped at the little space on the place where she sat, a gesture that suggested that I should sit close to her which I did."so tell me, how did your first day in school go? How did you see the school today?"My mom asked looking very inquisitive but in her usual cute way."Mom, This school is awesome, I already made friends, loads of friends, you can't believe it."I told her excitingly"You don't mean it."My mom said. "I do mom, Cynthia introduced me to her friends, and guess what? They all like me, they believe I'm very cute. They all love my hair and eyes, you need to see your boy in school, I felt like a celebrity."So I said feeling all fly."Hmm, sound nice, so we don't have haters in this school, that's great, I love the school too then."Mom said also looking excited."Well... About that, there is this Bright of guy with his click, but Cynthia said that's a thing for him, I don't think his hating was personal, I think it's his nature."So did I say"A-ha mom, enough about me, you said something about an appointment the other time, you never told me anything about it before this morning, so tell me, what was it about? Where did you go? And how did it go?"I added with questions."Yeah baby, Paula sent me the message last night about a job opening, so that was where I went."she responded."Oh, really? how was it? How did it go?"I asked."Well, I will say that luck was on my side because I only went to drop my CV, but lucky for me I got there early and they were about to start an interview, so joined, you know you are my lucky charm, after the interview, they said they will get to me, so pray for your mother oo".My mom replied, and I told her that I'll pray for her.The next day in school, it was Cynthia and I that came school that, we came late that very day because we couldn't find a cab early to school, we waited for a while before we finally found a cab to school. By the time we got to school we were already late, so we rushed to the class only to notice that the Biology class was already in session, the teacher had on the board boldly written: "THE SKIN" And a well-labelled diagram was on the board which could be the diagram of a skin."excuse me sir"Cynthia said and raised her hand pointing her index finger to the ceiling as we both walked into the classroom."See how cute they look".A student in the class said in a low pitch."I told you, this guy they call Demon has a plan."Sani said in his funny Housa accent. Now everyone in the class just focused all their attention on Cynthia and me, including the teacher who said:"You are the new kid, right? ""I am Damian Sir"I quickly answered."He is a Demon. hahahah!"Bright said with laughter and all of his clique joined."Hey! Stop that, in fact, the three of you should stand up".The teacher said pointing at Bright, Ojo, and Sani."Now tell the class, what is the pigment that gives the skin its black colour? I believe that I have said it this morning."The teacher asked the three of the clique members, now cold breeze invaded the minds of the three friends as they stood looking at each other expecting that maybe a messiah will rise from among one of them."Answer me, I just said it before the people you just insulted came in. So you can't tell me you have forgotten so soon, unless you are trying to prove to me that you are brainless."The teacher said and this caused a burst of huge laughter from across the class. Bright and his click were the dumbest students in the SS3, everyone in the school know them as "Dull brains", all they know was to bully other students because they were older.Yeah, all they know how to do is bully, no wonder Cynthia had told me that their hatred was not personal, they are only bitter because that was all they can do to feed their empty brain."Please, if you know the answer, let me see your hands up. I know that even if we are to stay from now till tomorrow these boys will never find the answer in their empty skulls. So, if any of you know the answer, tell me."Then the teacher directed the question to the class, and almost all the students raised their hands, including me the new kid. Yes, I know the answer, I've done skin in my former school, and it was one of my best topics in Biology."Wow! , Damian, you see? The new kid who just resumed yesterday knows the answer, and you people that had been in this school for years do not even know anything. Please tell us."Said the teacher, and I stood up to say;"Melanin is the pigment that is secreted by Melanocytes. This pigment called melanin helps to darken the skin""Perfectly said!!"The te
I felt more comfortable on my first day in this school than in my other schools where it took me more time to make friends, which was mainly a result of the fact that guys hate me at first sight of me. But things are different at this school because I already had a friend before I even started. Cynthia made sure I was comfortable, Cynthia's friends were amazed at the colour of his eyes and hair, they argued about them being fake, and they all touched and played with my hair. Hmm... I kinda felt like a celebrity, with the way people look at me and the way Cynthia's boyfriend flirted with me."He's such a cutie! I'd like to go on a date with him. A friend of Cynthia said. "He won't ask you out, madam!" Cynthia swiftly intercepted the speech of her friend. She had just realized how handsome and precious I am, at least her friends' demeanour had opened her eyes to see me as I wanted her to see me. She can actually show him off to her friends as her boyfriend, or so she thought. On the
Yeah, all they know how to do is bully, no wonder Cynthia had told me that their hatred was not personal, they are only bitter because that was all they can do to feed their empty brain."Please, if you know the answer, let me see your hands up. I know that even if we are to stay from now till tomorrow these boys will never find the answer in their empty skulls. So, if any of you know the answer, tell me."Then the teacher directed the question to the class, and almost all the students raised their hands, including me the new kid. Yes, I know the answer, I've done skin in my former school, and it was one of my best topics in Biology."Wow! , Damian, you see? The new kid who just resumed yesterday knows the answer, and you people that had been in this school for years do not even know anything. Please tell us."Said the teacher, and I stood up to say;"Melanin is the pigment that is secreted by Melanocytes. This pigment called melanin helps to darken the skin""Perfectly said!!"The te
One week later, I already had my uniform, it was very smart on me. You need to see me in my uniform, and my black Italian shoe which mom hand-picked from me from that same boutique which I told you was at the junction of my street, the shoe complemented the uniform most, unlike other students who wore canvas with the uniform, you know the uniform was of two colours, an oxblood trouser, a milk inner shirt, an oxblood suit, and a check tie which comprises of the normal oxblood, Dark blue and milk. I was very happy to be in this school, I was like a celebrity, and my story had been the talk of the school since the day I started till date. After the assembly session, all the students were matched to their various classes, but I was with my new and only friends in Abuja, a clique of girls, I was the only male in the clique of four, actually, they were three, and I'm the fourth person, all the girls made it almost too obvious that they had a crush on me, though it was fun to know, still, it
The same day after school period, Cynthia could not hold the excitement of letting me in on the huge favour that she believed she had done for me, she had just given me the opportunity of being the most popular and loved kid in the school, an opportunity I would have missed if not for her care and love, so she ignorantly assumed. As she got home, she quickly dropped her bag on top of the wardrobe which had different bags strategically hung on it. Her room was quite a beautiful one, and also well arranged, it wasn't like the room of a regular teenage girl, only that the colour was quite too feminine and teenage. The colour of the paint and other furniture was quite too pinky, almost everything in the room had a pink colour, and only a few had different colours with which blue was the second majority colour.After she kept her bag, she quickly took off her uniform, both the skirt and the blouse which she threw on the beg which had a pink coloured bedspread, and she hurried into the bath
The next day, was a beautiful Wednesday, I remembered that day vividly, it was a day that I just can't forget, the day that exposed me to my true personality, the day I thought would be my last. Well, it happened that we got to school very early that day. As a matter of fact, Cynthia came to my house very early to wait for me so we could go to school together, I wondered how she actually woke up that day for her to have been done with her preparation and even came to my side to wait. Mom always loves it when she sees me and Cynthia together, little did she know that I love it more than she. Well, Cynthia could not wait for us to go to school so she could break to surprise me, she felt she had done me a very great favour. But think of it on the brighter side, she actually did me a favour, for if not for her act of kindness I won't have known who I truly am, Mom would have hidden it till I probably die, and dad won't have even known of my existence. Mom had lied to me that I have a rare
After swimming that day I will say that the level of my popularity increased to a higher significant level, throughout that day, my tale was in the mouth of almost all students and teachers. But I won't say that the population had brought about more love for me because both Bright and the rest of his clique saw me now as an even higher threat. First, they believed that I am thanking their girls from them, something I got no plans of doing, but I must confess that I will really like to take Cynthia from them, Just Cynthia, no one else.Talking about Cynthia, she and the rest of the super Cee were so happy for me, they kept holding and grabbing me, asking me numerous questions that I have no answer for. "Why did you delay before going into the water? Why must you wait till that clown come to push you?"Cynthia asked looking a bit disappointed."Didn't you get the concept? That's how professionals do, he wants to make everyone think he doesn't know how to swim, he is just catching cruis
After mom and I had our breakfast, I quickly rushed to Cynthia's house so we could go to school together. I really enjoy going to school and coming home with her, especially when we are coming home and she is often tired and tends to rest on my shoulders. Hmm, what a sweet feeling! Aha! I remember that I've told Cynthia not to tell Herm that I'm participating in the competition; in fact, she must not let Herm know anything about the swimming competition, as I told her, though I did not truly give her the reason why. I just told her that my mom does not like me indulging in anything that is not study-related in school."But mom already knows that our school always hosts a swimming competition called the Merman." But she does not know that we are about to start the competition.Cynthia said"But she is not aware of its commencement, right?""Yeah" "Well, let it be that way."So we discussed the day before in the cab on our way home.When we got to school, it was like moving into anothe
MY HOUSEMASTER"That black magician of a boy, Kunle, always swims with magic," Bright ranted, his voice rising above the murmurs of the crowd. "He only wins because he cheats! There’s this leaf he always chews before a competition—it makes him faster than any normal swimmer. Hahaha! But today, he met his match. He thought he was racing against an ordinary swimmer, but he was up against a true Aqua-being! What an honor it is to be in the same class as you, my prince."His words sounded like the ramblings of someone who had secretly taken too much marijuana. No one paid him any serious attention—except the security personnel. Before he could say anything else, they rushed toward him, grabbed him, and forcefully escorted him out. Where they took him, we didn’t know. Later, we heard he had been taken to a hospital, and rumor had it that he went completely mad on the way there.Well, the celebration continued without him, though his outburst had slightly dulled the excitement. The crowd, w
MY HOUSEMASTER"That black magician of a boy, Kunle, always swims with magic," Bright ranted, his voice rising above the murmurs of the crowd. "He only wins because he cheats! There’s this leaf he always chews before a competition—it makes him faster than any normal swimmer. Hahaha! But today, he met his match. He thought he was racing against an ordinary swimmer, but he was up against a true Aqua-being! What an honor it is to be in the same class as you, my prince."His words sounded like the ramblings of someone who had secretly taken too much marijuana. No one paid him any serious attention—except the security personnel. Before he could say anything else, they rushed toward him, grabbed him, and forcefully escorted him out. Where they took him, we didn’t know. Later, we heard he had been taken to a hospital, and rumor had it that he went completely mad on the way there.Well, the celebration continued without him, though his outburst had slightly dulled the excitement. The crowd, w
MY HOUSEMASTER"That black magician of a boy, Kunle, always swims with magic," Bright ranted, his voice rising above the murmurs of the crowd. "He only wins because he cheats! There’s this leaf he always chews before a competition—it makes him faster than any normal swimmer. Hahaha! But today, he met his match. He thought he was racing against an ordinary swimmer, but he was up against a true Aqua-being! What an honor it is to be in the same class as you, my prince."His words sounded like the ramblings of someone who had secretly taken too much marijuana. No one paid him any serious attention—except the security personnel. Before he could say anything else, they rushed toward him, grabbed him, and forcefully escorted him out. Where they took him, we didn’t know. Later, we heard he had been taken to a hospital, and rumor had it that he went completely mad on the way there.Well, the celebration continued without him, though his outburst had slightly dulled the excitement. The crowd, w
The Siren SpellThe moment I moved, an incredible force propelled me forward. It was so fast that I almost slammed into the pool wall. Before I even understood what was happening, I had already reached the far end. As I surfaced, the crowd erupted into cheers, their voices echoing through the arena.“What just happened?” someone gasped. “He was right here a second ago! How did he move that fast?”Journalists, who had come to cover the competition, stared in shock. They had expected an ordinary school event, not something that defied logic.By the time I reached the last side of the pool, Kunle was still in the middle, racing toward the finish line with the other swimmers struggling behind him. He turned his head, probably wondering what had caused the sudden commotion, and when he saw me at the end, his expression froze.His face twisted with shock, fear, and something else—pure disbelief. It was as if he had just swallowed something unbearably bitter. He couldn’t believe it—I had esc
THE CONTESTThe principal gave his opening speech, and soon after, the event officially began. The MC took the stage, flipping through his agenda booklet as he organized and coordinated the activities lined up for the day. He was a funny man, always cracking jokes that kept the crowd entertained. His humor added an extra spark to the event, making the whole show even more enjoyable.It was a massive gathering. Every student in the school was present, and many parents had also come to watch. But my mom—and Cynthia’s parents—were among the few who didn’t attend.My housemaster, always speaking in that overly polished way of his, asked why my mom wasn’t there to see me swim. I simply told him she had an urgent situation to handle. He didn’t seem fully convinced, but he let it go. To be honest, I barely understood half the words he used, but I nodded along anyway, pretending I did.Back at the poolside, we were all dressed in our swimming gear, waiting for the contest to start. That was w
The Mad Powder"Like seriously, your swimming skills are something else. I’ve never seen or heard of a swimmer like you, not even in the Olympics. Honey, you are the best! Can’t you see them gathering over there? They’re scared of you, yet you’re here, feeling scared of them? That’s hilarious.""Listen, love, we’ve watched Kunle swim, and we all know he’s not on your level. After seeing you in the water, it’s obvious. And mind you, this isn’t just my opinion—I overheard some students saying that even the principal called you our new Merman. If the principal, who is supposed to be neutral, could say that, then what do you think your odds are against Kunle?" Cynthia said.I won’t lie, I heard the principal say it too. He said that a new Merman had emerged. His words sent a wave of confidence rushing through me.We were still talking when Bright strolled toward us, his face twisted like someone carrying the weight of guilt. His shoulders slumped, head tilted downward, as if he wanted to
MOTIVATIONS"You don’t understand, do you? If he loses, he’ll be disgraced and humiliated just like you were the other day. Or are you pretending not to know?" Kunle said, narrowing his eyes at Bright.Bright shifted uncomfortably but said nothing.Kunle smirked. "And besides, you’re the perfect person for this job. You can easily walk up to him and pretend you’re sorry. Act a little dramatic while apologizing. Make it look real—beg for his forgiveness, act like you regret the way you’ve treated him. Just follow my instructions exactly, and boom! Once you tap him on the back with the powdered hand, leave the rest to the demons."Bright flinched immediately. "Ah! Demons?" His face twisted in fear.Kunle rolled his eyes. "Listen to me carefully," he said in a low, serious tone. "My grandfather was the chief priest of Oshun, the water goddess. Swimming runs in our blood—we move through water like fish. But this powder… this is something different. This is bait. Once it's on someone’s ski
The Evil PlanThe school was nearly deserted when we arrived, with only a few students loitering around and a handful of technicians working by the poolside, preparing for the upcoming swimming competition. The silence in the air made the place feel almost eerie, like something was brewing beneath the surface.But that peace didn’t last long.As we made our way across the school grounds, we ran into Bright and his crew. They were gathered in a tight circle, talking in hushed voices, clearly deep in conversation. Their backs were slightly hunched, their heads close together, like they were plotting something. Whatever it was, we had no idea. At least, not yet.A little further down, Kunle and his gang were standing in another corner, but something about the way they were positioned struck me as odd. It wasn’t just a casual meetup. No laughter, no playful shoving—just serious faces and suspicious glances.That’s when I realized both groups had gathered in the same spot. And judging from
Breakfast with MomI woke Mom up earlier than usual, and she looked at me with surprise. I could tell she wasn’t expecting me to be up so early, and to be honest, I wasn’t either. It wasn’t like me to wake up at this time, especially not with this kind of energy. But the strangest part? I didn’t feel that familiar wave of fear—the one that had haunted me every morning since I learned about the swimming competition.Mom and I made breakfast together before heading to bathe. We decided on scrambled eggs, paired with slices of bread and a steaming cup of tea. After getting ready, I still had plenty of time left before breakfast. I didn’t want to wait for Mom, though. She was still in front of the mirror, applying her makeup, so I went ahead and took my seat at the dining table.She noticed how fast I was moving and gave me a curious look."Damian, what's going on at school today?" she asked. "I don’t understand this sudden change in behavior."I knew she was wondering why I was in such a