UNshackled

 At dawn, the bright sun displayed its radiance on vehicles and pedestrians scurrying on a highway, sparing neither from its scorching heat.

 Different brands and types of vehicles fleeted by to and fro on the highway, and soon a white-colored bus stained with a bit of mud in its lower body passed by.

 Within this bus, at a seat at the side edge of the bus, next to the window, a boy sat comfortably on it, staring at the sun directly through the window, as if exchanging gazes with it without caring about the rays invading his eyes.

 " Look, look, that's James " 

 " Who, James, you mean the one with self-esteem issues, always moving around with his head exchanging gazes with the ground as if they were in some form of contract? " 

 " Yes, of course, him "

 " Woah, him, seriously. Teachers and guardians have continuously warned us about being as dull as him ".

 " Of course, who would want such a dull student, aren't they scared of catching the virus? " 

 " Yeah, yeah. Keep quiet though before he hears you. " 

 " Hey bro, isn't that the nerd of a boy called James? " 

 " What, that weirdo, where is he? "

 " Look over there. I think he is the one walking like a person with neither a destination nor direction. " 

 " Hahahahaha, what a funny joke. Take down your voice so he doesn't hear you "

 " And if he does, what would he do?"

 " Come on, don't seek trouble, let's just leave. " 

 Memories upon memories of James' past replayed in his thoughts.

 " My name is James Gideon, a boy who, by virtue of luck, managed to get squeezed into the list of students who got admission into a college this year.

 Alas, for me, it wasn't that simple.

 Yes, I am a boy, and again, yes, I just got admission into a fairly good college. But for me, this event was more than just entry into college. It was far more than that. It was an escape.

 Truthfully, I had made a mess of my life back at Lagos.

 Messes that have led to severe consequences which, though never successfully brought me down, always left me at the brink of a fall.

 The consequences were the ire of the people around me, mostly at school. Now I have no choice but to avoid everyone like a plague, knowing I would only attract disdain from them.

 I had typically become the object of a scape goat, with numerous parents and guardians using my name as a warning example to other children.

 The shame and disgrace I had brought to my parents table were too great.

 But sincerely, I wasn't convinced. I had my resolve. I never for once believed that, out of all my peers, I was the one who had messed up the most.

 Common! Everyone makes mistakes, though I make them a little bit more than normal. But they are definitely those who have made far more than I have, with the only difference between us being that mine always seems to find its way to light for everyone to see while theirs stays in their bag.

 You know, once upon a time, I was actually a favored one, with a lot of fans taking me as their role model, a good example.

 If I were to view my past as a story, and decide to name it, I would likely name it: grace to grass to sand.

 I am like a guy with dual personalities, or should I say an alter ego.

 But that actually isn't true, it's only an illustration. I am just someone who sometimes starts acting foolish, as people call it.

 It's like a nut goes loose in my head and I start acting like someone who doesn't think before acting.

 This was the cause of my name being dragged into the mud for all these years. Now, no matter what I say, or what excuse I give, it wouldn't make a difference.

 Thankfully, my country, Nigeria, is a vast one, with the city I previously lived in being only a city in Lagos state out of its numerous cities, and Lagos state itself being only a single state out of the thirty-six states of Nigeria.

 This gave me a chance for a start over, and all I needed was an opportunity.

 Now that's the unique factor of today. Today is that day, that day that I get to leave, to elope. To elope to a different city, in a different state, faraway from Lagos state. 

 This means that I am currently on my way to a place with no knowledge of myself, meaning that I get to create a new knowledge and impression of me to them. How great.

 Now that I have gotten a second chance at life, a chance for a start over. A new beginning. I definitely don't plan on wast... "

 " Excuse me sir ", a feminine voice sounded, snapping James out of his train of thoughts.

 " Yes, what may I do for you " replied James, who looked up, meeting the girl's gaze with his.

 Taking a good look at the girl, he could tell she was somewhere around his age, and from her dressing, he understood she should be an attendant on the bus. The dress she was putting on was made of the fabrics other staffs on the bus had on them.

 " Do you care for a glass of water? " She asked. 

 " A glass of water ..., ummm, please, I kind of don't have money with me right now" James said, embarrassed.

 A snort rang out from the mouth of the passenger on the seat opposite the left side of James seat.

 James turned his head and took a look at the origin of the snort. It came from a young, extravagantly dressed boy whose eyes spilled a heavy sense of plain arrogance .

 Shaking his head, James returned his gaze to the girl, knowing at first sight that he will rather not want anything to do with the arrogant boy, whether positively or negatively.

 " What are you feeling bad for? The water is free. The company provided it as refreshments for passengers, not me " the female attendant said to James in a friendly tone.

 ' Free. Why didn't you say so earlier? ' thought James. He quickly stretched out his hands to grasp a cup without any shame. Like common!, he had actually been quite thirsty for a while now, but he had no choice but to endure as he was unwilling to waste money the previous time the bus parked. And now, he couldn't possibly raise an alarm for a quick parking just because he needed to buy a bottle of water, could he? It would attract the anger of other passengers.

 " Thanks " he said as he quickly took a glass cup filled with water from the tray of glass cups the girl held.

 Just as he was about to dose it down quickly so he could return the glass to the girl, the girl spoke out again.

 " Take your time, I will come back for the glass cups later " she said.

 " Thanks " James thanked her and took only a sip, trying to feign decorum.

 A gaze filled with disdain stared at him this entire time. One which he noticed but chose to ignore.

 Usually, gazes like that make him furious, but for some reason, coming from this boy, he felt nothing. He felt the arrogance of the boy seemed kind of fake.

 Surprisingly, the next in line for the female attendant to attend to was the boy, the arrogant boy.

 With an expressionless face, the female attendant stared at him and said, " Good afternoon sir, please do you care for a glass of water. " She asked emotionlessly. From her tone, it was pretty obvious that she didn't look at the boy in a good light.

 Alas, the boy in question didn't seem to notice her indifferent attitude and instead took her actions as trying to please him. 

 He threw James a taunting look while dipping his hand into his pocket and slowly pulling out something.

 While doing this, he seemed to have forgotten the female attendant standing before him, waiting for his reply. All that occupied his mind was to show off.

 " Sir, I am still here " The attendant spoke sarcastically. " Please do you care for a glass of water? " She asked again, already losing her patience.

 " Ohhh, sorry for the wait " he said awkwardly while throwing the girl a faint angry glare.

 He quickened the pace of drawing his hand out of his pocket while stretching out his other hand to pick up a glass. 

 On the hand he pulled out of his pocket laid a one thousand naira note which he stretched out to pass to the female attendant.

 " You could use this to get yourself a bottle of water " The boy spoke haughtily.

 While saying this, he also quickly threw James another taunting glance before returning his gaze to the girl, awaiting her thanks. 

 The girl's eyes flashed with disdain and she said " Sorry sir, I don't need your money. I don't accept things from strangers. Besides, supplying these glasses of water meant we have more than enough water on the bus. The water is even purer than most bottle of water sold out there. Thank you for your concern sir. I would be taking my leave now " She declined professionally, but with slight sarcasm, and, without waiting for approval, turned to leave, but then noticed she still hadn't attended to one passenger. It was a boy seated beside the arrogant boy.

 The person sitting beside the arrogant boy was also a boy of about James' age. His face looked expressionless and to some extent lifeless. 

 Without waiting for the girl's speech, he spoke " Pass it on ".

 With a smile, the girl stretched out her hand, moving the tray nearer to him, and he picked up a glass cup. That was the end of their interaction, very quick and swift.

 The arrogant boy who had been quiet for a while suddenly spoke " You, aren't you afraid I will report you for bad service? " He actually threatened her. 

 His words immediately raised a commotion on the bus, with various passengers starting gossips at different seats.

 " Who is this arrogant young man? "

 " Like seriously, where does he think he is? His father's mansion "

 " His father's mansion ... . Even if this was his father's mansion, that is if his father actually has one! Is that how to behave ? "

 " Chai!, I wonder how parents train their kids these days. " 

 " Who knows whether he is a fake portraying to be something he is not? "