Chapter Two

 

8yrs Later

September 29, 2016

Lagos, Nigeria

01:45pm

 

Arafat Amin Musa had his eyes fixed on his wristwatch as he prayed for the hands of time to lead his existence to 2pm which was the closing hour as his boring physics teacher kept trying to explain one of the most important and complicated theory in the history of scientific discovery and human existence.

Mr. Edward their physics teacher kept trying to impact the knowledge of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity (GR) into the minds of his bored students but everyone in the classroom was exhausted and had only one thing on their minds ‘Home.’

Arafat still had a busy schedule ahead of him but Mr. Edward was not yet about to let everyone in the class have the final minutes of school to themselves. He kept trying to force their minds into the world of his dear mentor ‘Grandpa Albert Einstein.’

During weekdays Arafat had to get home before 2:30pm in order to get a shower and have his lunch before his Islamic pedagogue arrived at 3pm. At 4pm he usually had an evening lesson with another home visiting teacher and at 5-6pm he did his assignments. From 6pm above he had the rest of the day to himself.

Currently his only problem in life was the man standing in front of the classroom blabbering words that no one was interested in hearing. If there was something the late Albert Einstein forgot to take along with him when he permanently departed this world, it was Mr. Edward because the man belonged to the mid-20th century. Whenever Mr. Edward aver words about creators and inventors he said those words with the pride and respect of someone wishing he had existed at a time when inventors and philosophers were the darlings of the world and not the celebrities of today.

It had taken Arafat the courage of a Japanese air force officer bound for kamikaze to write the letter in his hand. He could see her from the corners of his eyes. She was no doubt the prettiest girl in the class and one of the most beautiful girls in the school.

Claudine Douglas was an only child to a Canadian mother married to a Nigerian. She was tall, slim with brunette hair, long nose, grey eyes and a complexion that reminded him of his favorite celebrity, Beyoncé Knowles. She always looked outstanding in her uniform comprising of a maroon suit, white shirt and a Burberry necktie.

Arafat had been nursing a crush on her since the first day he laid his eyes on her at senior high school. He had a feeling she also had a thing for him because he could feel the chemistry they shared whenever they both made eye contact. Whenever she flashed one of her trade mark smiles his way, his heart froze. He wasn’t sure Claudine felt the same way he felt about her but he was ready to risk his reputation of being one of the most celebrated students at Sterling International Secondary School (SISS) to reveal his innermost emotions to her.

There was a possibility he possessed some of the characteristics and qualities a girl of Claudine status could desire in a guy. He was tall, athletic built, dark in complexion with a snub nose and big round eyes. Some of his friends often teased him that he was the pirated copy of famous Afro-American actor Idris Elba. Arafat was just 16yrs old but he knew Beyoncé was a fantasy but Claudine was a reality that could be achieved with hope, prayers and good luck.

The time was now 1:55pm but Mr. Edward wasn’t showing signs of slowing down and concluding his boring escapade in the world of GR. God, how he wished gravity could just swallow his teacher into the innermost core of the earth and keep him there for good. The physics teacher was obviously one of the best in Lagos because apart from the boring class sessions he had received from Mr. Edward, he had also learnt an infinite lot from the man. For a teacher to qualify to teach at SISS he had to be one of the best in the country. The school fees was no child’s play compared to other private schools in the country that was why most of the students in the school were either from families with rich backgrounds or prominent figures in the country.

The teacher standing in front of the classroom had thought him that “Like-charges attract while unlike-charges repel.” The law seems to prove that Claudine and he were both likely to attract because where she was calm, he was agile and where she was free, he was reserved. Claudine loved the company and attention her natural magnetism attracted to her but he thrived better in solitude. She was his ‘Yin’ and he was her ‘Yang’ and together they were the Chinese symbol of creation.

The time was now 1:58pm and there was just two minutes left before the closing alarm rang. He desperately needed to find a way to get the letter to her but he had to make sure no one saw him do it because rumors at SISS spread like wildfire especially on social network which was the immediate destination of most students when the closing alarm rang.

The closing alarm rang and Mr. Edward shut his mouth like someone had just hit the stop button on his loquacious existence. Everyone sat eagerly with their books and bags packed as they waited for Einstein’s modern day disciple to pack his belongings and exit the classroom. There was a strict rule at SISS that no one was permitted to leave a classroom when a teacher was still inside except that person had the full permission of the teacher. The rule was also in effect during closing hours.

There were a total of three rows in the class and each row consisted of ten desks with ten students. Claudine was occupying the first desk on the middle row. Arafat was the 10th student occupying the last desk on the last row.

Mr. Edward gathered his belongings and was about to leave but Arafat stood up and said, “Sir, I have a question regarding one of the equations on the board.” There was mass grumblings inside the classroom as students started expressing their dissatisfactions towards Arafat for delaying their departure. Some of his classmates were murmuring insults at him. “What equation?” Mr. Edward asked pointing at the board. “That one,” Arafat replied. Arafat knew that there was no way his teacher was going to know which of the equation he was pointing at because he was not pointing to a specific one but just pointing directly at the board which had more than twenty equations written on it. “What equation?” His teacher kept asking but he kept pointing directly at the board and saying, “That one Sir.” When Mr. Edward got tired of trying to figure out which of the equation he was pointing at, he asked him to come out to the front of the classroom and identify the equation he was referring to. There were more murmurs and grumblings but the teacher ignored the angry students as he waited for Arafat who already had his bag on his back to arrive in front of the classroom.

Arafat was close to the front of the classroom and inches away from Claudine who was on his right. He could smell the sweet scent of her lavender fragrance. Mr. Edward was looking at the board and most of the students had their heads bowed down towards their lockers where their mobile devices were switched on with the volumes reduced while they roam the internet. Claudine hands were also under her locker, he could see the light coming from the screen of her mobile device. Arafat saw the opportunity he had been waiting for and he took it. The moment he got beside her, he dropped the squeezed letter on her laps before quickly pointing at one of the equation on the board before asking his teacher what it represented. “This is the mass-energy equation. It is one of the world’s most famous equations. Please do some extensive reading on it Arafat because you will find it very useful when you advance into the never ending world of scientific breakthroughs,” Mr. Edward replied. After saying those words the teacher walked out of the classroom with Arafat close behind him with the other students following.

Arafat didn’t turn around to look at Claudine as he walked out of the classroom but if he had, he would have seen the look of bewilderment on her face after opening the letter and reading its contents.

Arafat didn’t sleep well as the thought of what Claudine’s reaction might be left him battling anxiety all through the night.