Chapter 4: THE MEETING AND THE PREP
The contest of the brains came to a close with one simple conclusion.
I Am King Of The Arithmetic Domain.
Although that was practically obvious. Though I am not a nerd that shows his intellectual prowess on a podium with a tie to his neck, it doesn't mean I am one to be looked down upon.
After the class, we headed out to observe the sporting moment of the P.E. period. This is observed till the end of the school day and which is the time when the school goes into something like rampage mode.
Especially the footballers. These guys are always in a rave though but the P.E. is just the higher than the usual.
I sat in the stadium and watched my brother train.
I had to give it to him he is good at what he does. I watched him dribble through cones over and over before joining the rest of the guys in a passing session, probably the way they check and ensure accuracy.
My mind wandered off while I sat there and I began to imagine the plains of Africa in all of its splendour from a drone's height view.
The herds ran through the lush Savannah, the rivers that had the mightiest reptile known to man, the hippos basking, and the baboons moving in the trees.
"Oh father God, please do me the honour of witnessing a cheetah chase while we are there" I prayed with my eyes closed and my fingers clammed in prayer.
"Not entirely a good prayer, don't you think," Jay Jay said.
I opened my eyes to see her seating near me on the row directly behind me. I guess she moved there while I was having my eyes closed and pouring out my heart's content to God.
Though I wondered why she suggested that it wasn't a good prayer request.
"Why do you say that?" I asked and turned towards the back a bit
She moved to my row in one Swift movement and then she positioned herself in such a way that she was slightly facing me.
"So" she started
"Here's why I said so. So imagine that you eventually get to see the cheetah chase of your dreams" she said with her arms drawing an imaginary rainbow in front of me to give perspective.
"But it isn't like .... chasing an antelope or gazelle or wildebeest but instead it has something different in mind for lunch," she said as she faced forward to watch the ballers train.
However, I believe I got the point. What happens when the cheetah wants to eat me or if I am the chase?
She seemed to know when I got the joke and so she started to chuckle. I guess the best I could do was to laugh as well.
The laughter came to a stop later on and we just watched the ballers train. I was racking my mind to find what to say or what to ask to just get a conversation going but I couldn't find anything to say.
Then I thought of it. Was she aware of the trip to Botswana and more importantly was she coming with us?
"hey Jay Jay"
"yeah," she answered though still watching the football training.
"Are you aware of the trip to Botswana?" I asked
"oh yeah, yes I am aware of it" she answered with a glow on her face as she tightened her grip on the rails and smiled at the wind.
I have to say for a nerd, she was a special one. She seemed to have a kind of carefree spirit and was very open-minded and was an extrovert.
Which is the strangest part of it. I have never seen an extrovert nerd but I seemed to be enjoying that about her.
"you know…. I am a lover of wildlife" she said as she turned towards me.
"well at least we have something else in common," I said back with a smile.
"no way" she exclaimed
"you love animals too?" she asked
"yup"
"how much do you know about them?" she asked with her brows up.
I think she wanted to confirm if I was a fraud or not.
"a lot actually," I said as I turned my upper body in her direction to defend my pride.
"Alright, Mr Mufasa," she said in a foxy tone as she seemed to slowly but majestically sit back and back off the subject.
"we'll find out about that when we get there then," she said as she got back to watching the game.
"wow, so you are coming with us?" I asked
I always felt it was stupid of people to ask a question that they already had the answer to but today I found myself defaulting. I guess it was just to confirm what I was hearing.
She didn't bother to answer that question though, she just looked at me, smiled and looked back at the game.
There was a shout of celebration from the pitch.
My brother had just scored a goal. Jay Jay and I celebrated with him from the benches as he ran around the pitch doing his usual celebration.
That got Mason pissed off and for good reason too.
The entire drill was just to have the school football team split into two groups and have them play against each other. A test of wits if you may.
Coincidentally my brother and Mason were sent to separate teams to play against each other and so it became a battle to know who the better-left winger and captain were.
The teams each worked under the instructions of these two and so when one team was falling short it was considered the fault of the captain.
"Mason, you seem a bit "off" your game today, just like any other day" the coach shouted from where he was.
Mr Faraday is the school's coach and believes me when I say he is a very sour grape. This man can forget all the glory you have brought the school team from the moment that you falter even slightly.
He is also considered the best coach among all the coaches of high schools.
He has spent a lot of time with Riversdale and has been in this school ever since.....well, ever and so he knows every single one of the 24 players on the team like the back of his hand.
"I'm just a bit off my game" is a statement that Mason is fond of saying when he makes a mistake on the pitch just in case you're wondering where that came from. The coach is just trying to psychologically torture the guy and my brother is very much enjoying it.
It wasn't until later in the evening that the football drill finally came to an end. I know that it isn't normal to take pleasure in the suffering of others as a child of God, but damn I enjoyed the smug look on Mason's face after he had lost the match.
The coach called everyone together and started to talk to them or rather.....shout at them when it was all over.
I have zero ideas what he was saying and I wasn't intrigued to even know.
Jay Jay had dozed off at my side after a while and she had her gentle face well-rested on my laps with the rest of her body on the bench we sat on.
I have to say that she had a lovely smell, very similar to lavender. The smell of her hair was another thing entirely. It just seemed to make the atmosphere very magical.
The team split after the coach was done and those who were friends seemed to form smaller sects as they all left the presence of Mr Faraday.
As they came, I noticed the way they were all geared up with the jersey, knee pad, shin guard and well-laced spike boots for grip. It triggered the thought within me that I needed to get geared up for the trip as well.
"boy" Danny shouted from afar off to get my attention
"did you see my game?" he asked with the excitement of a toddler.
I guess he will always remain Danny, my kid brother.
"yeah I did, you were great" I shouted back to the small figure in the distance that seemed to represent Danny.
He jumped a bit in celebration and did a weird victory dance for a while before he got his composure.
"Anyway, I want to go take a shower at the locker room, then I'll dress up and we can be on our way," he said as he pointed his thumb in the direction of the locker room.
"aight" I responded while at the same time trying to be as still as possible so that I don't discomfort Jay Jay.
It was all a waste though because she woke up the moment my brother started to jog to the locker room.
She stretched a bit and let off a cute breath of relief before she sat in that moment of silence just before you get your sense back.
I call that silence the reboot.
"wow," I said to her.
"you seem to really put your mind into everything you do, don't you?" I asked in a teasing voice.
She laughed a bit and then seemed to come around a few seconds after the statement.
"what can I say?" she said with a shrug.
"I'm too used to doing things hard. You know, working hard, studying hard, playing hard and all that, maybe it leaked into my sleeping too," she said as she tilted her head towards my direction.
"you will need the sleep though since it might be the last time you sleep comfortably in a stadium for a while," I said as I got up and put my two hands in my pocket.
She gave off a low laugh as she continued to show signs of dizziness and I stood up to finally stretch my legs. It was really exhausting trying to stay still so she could be comfortable. My legs hurt.
I turned back to see her looking into the sky where the sun was slowly setting and just continued to stare into it. The orange light that it was giving off was so awe-inspiring.
The angle that I was standing at was just the best to observe the way that the sun seemed to reoccur on the lens of her glasses.
"hey," she said in a very calm voice while maintaining her focus on the view that was in front of her.
"yeah," I replied
'shouldn't we like go and purchase our "survival kit?" she asked before turning to me.
"Well, I guess we should but then I wonder if the school would provide all we would possibly need when we get there?" I asked in akimbo
She seemed to be thinking about what I had said for a while.
"they might," she said with what seemed like a nod of acknowledgement.
"but what's the harm in being extra prepped?" she asked as she turned to me slowly with a smile.
I liked the sound of that. I mean who knew if the school would get us all that we needed or if it was going to be equipment of authentic quality? She made a fair point by thinking in that direction.
"Alright then, let's go," I said with a smile.
She stretched her hand towards me and just stared into my eyes. I took the hint and I knew she wanted me to lend her a hand. So I did
She took my hand and with my help, she got on her feet and dusted herself before saying a nice and polite thank you.
"aww that's so sweet," Danny said from behind us as he put his hand into the second hand of his jacket.
"so…..if we are done playing Gnomeo and Juliet, can we be on our way please," he asked with a kitten cute look on his face.
We all giggled at the statement and we headed out of the school on foot. We trekked quite a distance and so we spent the time chatting and talking to each other as we walked the roads of LA.
The lights of LA seemed to take joy in illuminating our way in grand style as casinos, bars, clubs, pharmacies and even restaurants all contributed their fair share to the colourful display.
We walked our way to a shop that specialized in the sales of items that pertained to things needed for stuff like hiking and camping and survival.
We walked in and made a few purchases from the store. The items we got ranged from a lot of strong rope, three flints and three hunting knives, each of these was bought according to personal preference. I got myself a USMC raider type 1 hunting knife because, why not?
We were about to check out when we decided to get bigger backpacks, hunting jackets and one SAT phone, however the phone wasn't bought intentionally in fact it was just given to us by Mr Stan the store owner.
After buying all of that and having the feeling that we were ready for the journey...….. we had ice cream.
The night was still young but Jay Jay realized that she just had to part from our company.
Out of the kindness of our hearts, more of Danny's heart. We decided that it was best if we go to the house of whoever was closer and we all slept there to avoid any dangerous encounters now that the night had fallen.
However, the main villa itself was the closest building at the moment. I guess the best we could do was to go there and rest for the night.
We arrived at the main villa after Jay Jay had called her mum and told her she was staying over at a friend's.
Even though I wasn't there with her, I could tell from the voice and tone of the mother from the phone that she was sounded very happy. I am willing to take a guess that Jay Jay isn't much on friends.
Well, I get the feeling.
We got to the villa and we were greeted by the maid that mum had taking care of the house, Mrs Penelope. She was more like a friend to us than an actual maid and she was watching over the main house while we were living at the other house for schooling.
Let me describe the main villa to you do you could have a clearer picture. It's actually a massive building with a pool in front of it and the garage under it. The house itself is majorly luxury save for our rooms which are kinda classic if you asked me.
You know what? Just think massive mansion, that's the main villa
"Welcome back home sirs," she said with a small bow, right before we ran to meet her for a hug.
"what do you know, I did miss your voice," Danny said while he was still in her arms.
She just chuckled at the statement and pushed us just a bit to have us release her from these clutches of kindness.
"and you may be?" she asked as she noticed Jay Jay's presence
"oh, aunt, this is Jay Jay," Danny said as he walked over to her and held her two shoulders.
"She is my brother's...….ahem.....guest," he said with a sly smile and a raise of his right eyebrow.
"oh I see," Penelope said as she placed her hand on her mouth in pretend shock.
"Well, welcome to the Alabi villa miss and I do hope that you enjoy your stay," Penelope said with a smile and a bow.
"thanks a lot, ma'am," Jay Jay said with an imitated smile and bow too.
"I like this one," Penelope said
"hey, aunt do you know that we are going to Botswana" my brother started.
"oh really, tell me all about it and how the school has been since you guys left," she said as she and my brother entered the house.
I and Jay Jay followed shortly after exchanging chortles.
The pace of the night was all so calm and slow.
Danny was talking and joking with an aunt while Jay Jay and I just laughed where it was necessary or possible. At some point we headed indoors and we watched a movie with popcorn before we retired to bed.
We walked down the passage that led to the rooms that we would sleep in. We were pretty fagged, Danny was literally sleep walking from tiredness and we had to watch to be sure he didn't stumble and fall.
By the time we were to head in, I and Jasmine exchanged pleasantries before heading inside to sleep.
When I got to my room, I knelt by the bed and prayed to God that he would take control of me the following day.
I was aching to reach black soil, it was the one trip that I knew I wasn't going to forget.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone