MOTIVATIONS

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 skin, it attracts marine spirits. The moment that person touches the water, seven evil marine spirits will come for them. They’ll drive the person mad for a few minutes before leaving, but by then, the damage would have already been done. That person would have disgraced himself completely."

Kunle’s lips curled into a wicked grin. "But for that albino fool, it’ll be worse. He won’t just run mad; that might be the end of him. A mad swimmer? He’s likely to drown."

Bright swallowed hard, his mind racing.

"Unless," Kunle continued, his voice dropping to a whisper, "you want him to use his black magic to win and rub it in your face again. Is that what you want? Because if it is, then walk away now."

Bright clenched his fists. "God forbid! I’ll do it. It’s a small task. Who even cares about that annoying demon?" he said with forced confidence.

"We will definitely do it!" Ojo echoed enthusiastically.

Kunle turned to him with an irritated look. "And who is 'we'? Did I call your name here, Mr. Echo?" he snapped.

Ojo looked away, mumbling under his breath.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the school, I was with my sweet Cynthia and Super Cee, who had just joined us.

Ever since I saw Kunle earlier, a strange feeling had settled in my chest. I couldn’t shake off the uneasiness, and to be honest, I was beginning to lose my self-confidence.

Super Cee noticed immediately and jumped in with words of encouragement. "Don’t worry, Damian," she said with a reassuring smile. "Victory is ours. You will definitely win this contest. Those other boys? Please. They’re not even close to your level. The only real competition you have is Kunle, and from what I can see, he’s already scared."

I sighed, shaking my head. "But that’s the thing," I admitted. "Kunle is my biggest fear. His name carries weight in this school. He’s got a story—an epic one—not just some random school tale. And me? What’s my story? I’ve never competed in anything before. Yeah, I know I can swim. That’s been proven already. But I’ve never actually competed to prove myself as a champion. Kunle, on the other hand, has proven himself over and over again. Three years in a row, he has taken the title of the best swimmer in this school. Three years! Who says he can’t take it again this time? I feel like he’s the true representation of the water people—the real mermen."

Fear and uncertainty gripped me, draining every bit of confidence I had left.

Chinwe scoffed. "Look at you, talking about stories and tales," she said, shaking her head. "Do you even know the kind of story you’ve built in this school in just the few weeks you’ve been here? You’re already this year’s merman in the minds of the students, Damian. Everyone is rooting for you. You don’t have to worry about anything; the title is already yours. We’re just waiting for the competition to come and go so you can officially be crowned."

She grinned playfully. "And when you win, you’ll be given that fancy award—a statue of a sexy merman!" she added with a laugh.

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

"I’m serious!" Chinwe insisted. "I don’t even think there’s anyone on this planet that can match your swimming skills."

"Yes!" Charity jumped in, nodding excitedly. "And don’t forget, the statue will be with you for a whole month before you hand it over to your house captain."

She leaned closer, lowering her voice to a dramatic whisper. "Sorry, I mean the award. The statue is yours for one month, then it goes back to the school," she said with a wink.

I sighed. Their words gave me a little boost of confidence, but the nervousness still lingered.

Cynthia reached for my hand, squeezing it gently. "Damie, listen to me," she said softly, her warm eyes locking onto mine. "You’ve got this. Stop doubting yourself."

I nodded slowly, taking a deep breath.

Maybe they were right. Maybe I was worrying too much. Maybe, just maybe, this title was already mine.

Still, deep down, I couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling that something wasn’t right.

On the other side of the field, Kunle and his crew continued their evil plan.

"So, how exactly are we going to do this?" Bright asked, looking at the small jar of powder in Kunle’s hand. "I mean, this thing is in powder form. If it touches the water, won’t it dissolve or get ruined?"

Kunle smirked. "Good question," he said.

"Hmm... he’s got a point," Ojo added, scratching his head.

Kunle leaned in. "Here’s how it will work," he explained. "You will walk up to Damian and act like you want to make peace. Before you go, you’ll rub some of this powder on your palm. While talking to him, you’ll casually pat him on the back—like a friendly gesture. That’s all. The powder will stick to his skin, and once he jumps into the water..."

Kunle snapped his fingers. "Boom. The spirits will take care of the rest."

Bright hesitated for a moment. "But why me? Why do I have to be the one to do it?"

Kunle narrowed his eyes. "Because you have a history with him. It’ll be more believable if you go to him. And besides," he smirked, "do you really want him to win again?"

Bright clenched his jaw. No, he didn’t. He was tired of losing.

"Fine," he said, exhaling sharply. "I’ll do it."

Kunle grinned. "Good. Now, let’s get ready. We don’t have much time before the competition starts."

As they prepared to put their plan into motion, completely unaware that fate had other plans, I was on the other side of the field, taking deep breaths and trying to push away my doubts.

Little did I know, I was walking straight into the biggest trap of my life.