It All Started With A Boy

 Dedication

Dedicated to all the kids and teens who are different. " You are different because you are special" -Riece blossom

      I hate alarm clocks. They're so irritating. But in my life, they're a necessity. I put off my alarm clock and got out of bed rather lazily. I brushed my teeth, walked to the kitchen put a cup of water in the kettle and set it to boil. I went back to my room, gathered up my Physics textbooks and walked back into the kitchen to check on the water. I turned off the stove and made myself a cup of tea, with a lot of Milo and milk to keep me awake cos I was frickin' sleepy. I sat at the dinner table, reading while sipping my tea to keep me awake. After four hours of reading and six cups of tea, I heard my older brother walk in.

"Up as usual Squirt."

"Morning Lee."

Lee sat beside me and glanced at the books on the table.

"You're gonna have a brain meltdown."

"That's not a thing."

"It is. The medical term is boring behavior."

I rolled my eyes and hissed. Lee pulled out his tablet and began scrolling through.

"Lil Dicky and Chris Brown just released a new song."

I shrugged.

"I don't care."

Lee rolled his eyes and kept scrolling.

" 'Man found dead in his wardrobe on Friday. Possible cause of death; strangulation' ."

I looked up.

"Let me see."

He passed me the tablet and I took a look at it.

                  CRYSTAL'S CORNER

             Shining above the rest.....



MAN FOUND DEAD IN WARDROBE:

35 year old resident Peter Falana was found dead in his wardrobe on Friday the 15th September. Experts say Mr Falana showed signs of struggle and the apparant cause of death is....

"Strangulation. Hand prints were discovered on Mr Falana's neck and he showed signs of struggle and tiny pieces of black clothing materials were discovered underneath his fingernails.

"They also found an arrow on his bed." Lee said.

"And a white rose." I replied giving him the tablet. Lee sighed.

"Richard's the  pathologist on the case."

I frowned and didn't reply.

"Jeff?"

I ignored him and closed my textbook. I looked up at the wall clock, i was almost seven. I stood.

"I've gotta get ready for school." I packed up and headed to my room, walked down and quietly closed the door. I would've slammed it for dramatic effect but that would just wake Mom up and I sure as hell didn't want that. I got ready for school and walked back to the dinner table for breakfast. Lee was still at the table, sipping a cup of creamy coffee and reading an article on his tablet with a half eaten donut on a plate beside his coffee cup.

"What's for breakfast?"

"Mom's making toast bread."

I nodded and joined Mom in the kitchen.

"Ekaró ma." I greeted, prostrating. She smiled.

"Oko mi, bawo ni? How was your night?"

"Good. Could've been better." I replied shrugging. She shook her head.

"Olorun o ni jeke para e. Better don't kill yourself with reading day and night."

"But Mom, aren't you the one that always goes; 'Burn the midnight candle.'?"

She hissed, eyeing me.

"So because you want to 'burn candle' you will not know sleep well. You better not give yourself a heart attack. You're still a small boy o."

I cringed.

"Mom, I'm 16."

She chuckled and handed me my toast and a glass of milk.

"Thanks Mom."

I went back to the dinner table and dug into my meal. Mom joined us a while later.

"Are you still reading that article, Leonardo?"

"Mom, this is a story to die for! This isn't the  first killing, it's the third. First was Miss Cynthia Reginald, the owner of Apple Leaf Computer Engineers and a share holder in Williams Group of companies. Then Mr Olalekan Bamise, CEO of Bamise oil and gas who also holds shares with Mr Williams. Now, Mr Peter Falana, heir to Mr Samuel Falana's mulit-million Dollar publishing company and is also a memeber in the board of directors of Mr Williams company."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Your point?"

"My point is, all the victims have high standings in Crystal Point. And they're all running for the position of General Director in Mr Williams' company."

"So in essence, they're all rich." I said.

"Yes. And they're all after Mr Williams' fortune. Which means that whoever the killer is, is probably a rival for the fortune."

"And he's trying to eliminate the competition." I smiled at my brother.

"Spoken like a true detective, Lee."

"Can we talk about something else? I've heard enough of this case from Richard and Desola."

I frowned at the mention of Richard's name. Lee noticed it and smirked.

"So Mom, how was your date with Richard last night?"

Mom smiled, blushing and the sight made me sick to my stomach.

"He took me to this fancy restaurant. It was Italian and they served the best meals! We had such a nice time and he had so many great ideas for the foundation. Then he asked me if I liked the place and I told him that I did. But to say the truth, I would be happy even if he took me to Iya Risika's bukaa to eat Amala and ewedu."

Mom sighed.

"I love having him as a business partner."

"And you're gonna love him more than that sef." Lee muttered under his breath. I glared at him and he smirked. 

"So, Jeff's in his final year now."

I groaned. 

"I just have to get past this year and I'm off to the university."

"Thank God." Mom said.

"Can't wait to see you in Oxford next year, buddy."

I sniled broadly.

"Well, Oxford will have to show a little more prestige cos I think I'm gonna give Yale a chance."

Lee laughed.

"Yale is nothing compared to us."

"I still wish you would go to Harvard or even stay in Nigeria and go to UniLag or UniIlorin. There are so many opportunities there."

"I think I prefer Yale Mom. And if I eventually don't get accepted, I'll think about UniIlorin. Okay?"

"I just hope you won't be such a wallflower/nerd when you enter school."

I glared at him.

"You don't have any friends, Jeff. It's high school and this is your final year. You need to socialize."

"I'm doing fine on my own."

"You need people."

"I don't need anyone!" I yelled. Mom put her hand on mine.

"Jefferson, Leonardo is right. You can't keep shutting people out."

"I didn't shut you two out. I believe that's enough for me."

"Jefferson, you'll need at least one friend. When I was in secondary school, I had a very good friend named Esther. We were best friends and she was a huge help to me even when we both went to the university. We were friends till she and her husband left for Britain. You were even friends with her daughter, Gazelle."

I stood and picked up my bag.

"I'm late already. Bye Mom, later Lee."

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     King Fredricks College was one of  the most prestigious private  school in Nigeria. With its state of the art technology, highly trained teachers, passion for the arts and history and everything other thing you can think of.

     The final year students settled perfectly into their classrooms. They laughed, joked and had so much fun running about and catching up on things until he walked in. 

       Everywhere went quiet as he made his way to his seat. Everyone he passed by glared, snickered or hissed. 

        He sighed as he took his seat.

And the girls were saying......

"What a weirdo."

"Freak."

"I hope he gets expelled."

"Or hit by a bus."

"He thinks he's SO smart."

"Such a stuck up little prick."

And the boys were saying.......

"What a prude."

"Nerd."

"Does he think he's better than us?"

"I'm pretty sure he'll die a virgin."

"Who's the daft person who made him head boy gan?"

"You mean big head boy."

They snickered.

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           I tried to ignore the gossip and insults going on around me. I wanted to be strong, act like I didn't care. But I knew that was a lie, I cared a lot. The insults hurt, the gossip stung and the constant harassment was unbearable. But I'd rather die than let them know how much it hurt. How much I wanted to actually belong. But I didn't want to belong to a group where they judged me constantly. Where I couldn't be myself.

         I pulled out my English textbook and began reading today's topic when Diana, our class captain and Gbolahan, her assistant stood beside me arguing loudly.

"I said NO !" Diana huffed.

"Diana, please. I'm begging you na."

"I said no, GB. I can't allow that."

"Why?"

"Cos it's unreasonable."

"How is it unreasonable?"

"We can't have a fuss ball table in the classroom."

"Oh c'mon Diana!"

"Would you two pipe down!" I growled. Their idiotic banter was distracting me. They both shot me death glares and continued arguing. I sighed and tried to tune out their arguing but failed.

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          My day just kept getting worse and worse. After our English teacher walked in, the class settled down. But just as the class was about to start, Ayomikun King, the dumb Sports perfect decided to interrupt the class but asking several stupid questions. Why can't they just pay attention for once in their miserable lives! I was so pissed off, I was tapping the table with my pen repeatedly and loudly, which caused my teacher to glare at me. I sighed and chewed on the end of my pen.

"Mr King, I don't appreciate your disrupting my class with your useless questions." She said, folding her arms across her chest. Ayo put a hand over his chest in mock shock and disappointment.

"Ma! I'm disappointed that you would say my question is useless. I only asked if the sentence elements abbreviation order should be S,V,C,O,A or S,C,V,O,A?"

Giggles went through the class and our teacher sighed.

"Sit down, Mr King."

"But-"

"Mr King!"

Ayo sat and the class settled down once again. As she taught, I caught Tishe, one of Diana's friends drawing instead of listening in class. I frowned in disapproval. Tishe was intelligent but seemed to value her dumb art more than her education. She was also a swooner. She had had more boyfriends than anyone could count. And she dated just anybody. Senior, junior, young, old, university students.....at least that's what the rumors say. I know, I know, most rumors aren't always true. But for Diana and her so called best friends to say that, it's gotta be true. I glanced at her again as she subtly flirted with some new kid named Tife Bamgbose. I hated her lack of attention and it surprised me that she actually got good grades. She was above average at an 89.5 percentage. Probably through cheating. Diana and her Posey are skilled at that. I tried to ignore her, and everyone else and focused on the lesson.