CHAPTER 1!

The continuous voice of his mother that was echoing loudly in his ear made him hissed loudly as he was still lying on the matrass laid in the middle of his small room. He slowly opened his eyes as he stared at the thatched roof above his face. He squeezed his legs a bit while he ignored the calls of the woman that wouldn’t stop calling him for morning devotion. “As if those prayers would change the fact that we are poor.” He whispered to himself as he slowly crawled to the wall and unplugged his phone from the charger; realizing the phone wasn’t fully charged; he hissed again as he ran curses on the electric power suppliers. “They are only good at wandering from house door to next while collecting monthly bills.” Alfred took a deep breath as he switched on the phone and stared at the notification icon on the screen. It is of course the final notification he has been expecting from Bright Field University; the only notification that will determine his future, the notification that will give him a secured future and a break through from poverty and the last hope he has to live the lavish lifestyle he has always desired. He closed his eyes half way and looked blurry into the screen as he clicked on the mail. Alfred couldn’t hold his breath as he read in between the lines of the email. His breath almost seized when he reached the congratulatory point of the email. He screamed and jumped in happiness that he almost broke his phone. The excitement in his face couldn’t contain the room so he rushed out to his mother’s and met her kneeling by the edge of the sofa. He was eager to spill the good news but the woman is already dedicated in prayers and he is frankly aware that nothing will make her interrupt her session with God. For the first time in his life, Alfred knelt slowly beside his mother as he started singing out praises to God with his melodious voice while his mother joined him in the praises.
After a while of praying, Alfred still knelt on his knees as he continued praising and thanking God. “Thank you Jesus, father you did this for me and I will forever be grateful.” He kept on repeating with his eyes closed and an unending smile on his face. His curious mother adjusted herself and faced him while she asked the reason he was suddenly praying and thanking God. “This isn’t typical you Alfred.” She inquired with a curious face. Alfred was shedding tears of joy as he hugged his mother and broke the good news to her. “I made it mother, I have been offered a scholarship to Bright Field University to study business.” He said with tears all over her face. The reaction on his mother’s face made him to withdraw himself slowly from the hug. She suddenly has a worried look on her face. Of course she is excited that her son is going places but knowing his motives to join that university, she wasn’t sure whether to be happy or not. She knows her son hates himself for being poor and the only reason he gave his all into applying for that scholarship was because he want to live among the rich, he just want to experience a life which isn’t his. She knew his dream of mingling with the rich and she has been filled with fear that his future will be endangered if he continues that way.
Alfred nodded his head as he stared at her while her face expressed how worried she is. Of course he knows she isn’t happy about his successful scholarship. He knew she would always believe that he wants to live a fake life. But what is wrong with him desiring good things for himself? What is wrong in him wanting to have a secured future for himself? Does he have to accept being poor and live a life of suffering like his mother’s? These questions are what rings in his head whenever he thinks of his mother’s opinion about his lifestyle. Alfred has already made up his mind to live up to standard at any cost, he wasn’t expecting his mother to be happy about the admission and he is quite sure that she would stop him from attending that school if at all she has the power to. But fate has it that she would only watch him do it without listening to her warnings. He nodded his head as he stood up and walked out of her room ignoring her calls as she offered him breakfast.
Alfred is a young and handsome black boy living with his single poor mother; they have been living together in their small house for as long as he could remember before his grandfather passed away without any relative. They live in the outskirt part of the town near a large river. The place is surrounded by rocks which attracts tourists. His grandfather used to be a fisherman before he passed away and Alfred has learned a lot from his grandfather’s business. After the demise of the old man, Alfred and his mother ventured into the business so as to find a means to survive, they would fish in the river and sell all kinds of fish, from raw to grilled ones to tourists who brought them back to their places. Their spot is known for the best grilled fish spot in the locality. The business really wasn’t enough but it is enough to cater for their minor needs including Alfred’s education. Alfred is currently at his teenage age, he graduated as the best commercial student from the public school in his home town and that paved his way into obtaining scholarships from various public universities in the state. But due to his little experience with public institutions, he wouldn’t want to be a liability to his mother rather; he opted to apply for a high class scholarship that will offer him every cent in his education process. He had to work hard for the application fees and studied day and night for the scholarship examination. Fortunately for him, he has obtained the scholarship to study business management and he couldn’t wait to change the suffering status of his mother…
*****
Mr. David was yelling on top of his voice as he barged into the house while Alex was sluggishly walking behind him with a headphone around his neck. Mr. David kept lamenting on how Alex failed the entrance exam into the university, he was blaming his mother for spoiling him and making him a brat. “All these wouldn’t happen if you didn’t fuel his weak dreams of being a musician. Who the hell would take on the family business if you didn’t get to study business management at Bright Field? That school is famous and the best in the field of business study.” He yelled as he flings away the headphone on Alex’s neck. The boy was shivering as he stood before his father who wouldn’t stop ranting. He took a deep breath before he walked further into the mansion and took a seat on one of the large couches spread within the enormous sitting room. A single look at the furniture spread around the place will tell you how rich and influential that family is. Everything in the house looks foreign and is screaming money.
Mr. David adjusted himself on the couch as he bought out his phone and made a few call. His wife was seated opposite him while Alex was still standing with dripping tears on his face. Mr. David ended his call with pleasantries and courtesies as he turned his gaze to Alex. “Thank your stars I have an old acquaintance that could help secure a place for you, I would have send you abroad to study business, I won’t even care about your mother’s reaction this time around.” He said as he walked out of the sitting room. Alex exhaled loudly as he slowly wiped up his tears; even though business isn’t what he wished to study, at least studying business in Nigeria is far better than doing it abroad. His worst nightmare has always been studying abroad, he hates leaving his comfort for a long period and that has always been his father’s plan to send him abroad to study. It took a lot of intervention before he finally allowed him to study here in Nigeria. He was still thinking when his mother walked up to him and poured out her disappointment. “I thought we talked about this Alex? I thought you promised to try and make him proud at least this time?” She asked staring at him with disappointed eyes. “You are really lucky it is resolved, you would have born the consequences of your stubbornness.” She added as she walked passed him.
Alex walked back to his room with tears rolling on his eyes. He slowly crawled on his bed and hugged his pillow as he cried his eyes out to it. He was still crying when he heard a knock on his door. “You should be ready for dinner at the Samson’s before 8pm.” His father yelled from outside. Alex hugged his pillow back as he continued crying his heart out. This kind of oppressive life has already fed him up. A life where he just have to live up to his family’s expectations, a life where a lot is expected from him even though he can’t deliver, a life where every step has been dictated right before his birth, a life where he has to abandon his wishes and adopt the wish of others on him and a life where he has no say on the decisions made in his life. All these have fed him up and he feels like giving up at some point. He cried for a while as he would every day before he walked into his dressing closet to pick an outfit for the dinner. He stared at the large postcards and portraits pasted on the walls of his room and he couldn’t believe he is giving up his dream on music. Tears dropped from his eyes and he slowly wiped them off as he walked into the closet and picked up a suit. “Let’s do this Alex; it’s just another day to pretend you are happy.” He said to himself as he looked at his reflection in the mirror…
Alexander David is a young, tall and handsome boy of about 19years. His father; Mr. David is one of the top 10 richest business tycoons in the electronic business in his state. Alex is an only child so of course, he is popular. His name is basically heard in every town and village in the state. Not only that Alex is rich and handsome, he is also popular for the TV show his mother always engaged him in. It’s almost as if she is forcing him into her modeling business because she owned a clothing brand so Alex always modeled for her. Of course, for someone like him, a lot is expected and a lot of people looked up to him but to Alex, his life is being suffocated as he is denied to live the life he wished for himself…
They were all seated at the large dining table filled with varieties of food. The table is blessed with the richest families in the state, everyone bragging about their businesses, success, families and connections. Mr. David raised a toast to Alex’s success in joining the best and most expensive private university in the country to study business. He further lied that Alex got his spot through merits to show how brilliant he is. Everyone was congratulating him and of course, there are few who wouldn’t express their jealousy. He felt a bit unease with such gatherings of noisy spoons clinkering and unending chatter so he excused himself to the pool side as he pulled his boots and deepen his legs in the water. He was sitting and sipping his drink when Angela walked towards him from behind. She took a seat beside him and they clicked glasses with smiles on their faces.
“We all know you got that admission through connections Alex.” She said looking at him and they all laughed. He further smiled as he continued talking. Of course everyone knows he got the admission through connections because of how influential his father is, but no one dares to caution his father’s words because no one wants to lose their friendship with the famous David’s. Alex and Angela continued drinking as they talked about the new school. “I know there would be a lot of competitions and oppressions in that school, we just have to buckle up Angela.” He said looking at her. Angela smiled as she raised a toast. “Cheers to new phase of hell to us.” She said as they clicked glasses.
Angela is a young and beautiful lady of about the same age with Alex, she is his only and best friend that everyone thinks they are together. Their family’s bond increases because of their relationship. Alex feels most comfortable with her because she understands his pains. She understands that behind all the glamour’s and glitters, behind all the popularity, behind all the wealth and lavish lifestyle, they all cry for losing their comfort. Alex and Angela became best friends because they understood that being rich comes with a price and that price is their personal happiness…
***Tales of Demonica By Lil Nas X playing…***

 

Written by Msquare…

 

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