REMOULDED

Chapter Sixteen

A fall and a rise,
The jostle of life,
Imagination of perfect things,
No difficulty and smooth living,
The greatest unreality.

Eyes waxing behind the spectacles,Kemi Williams could not hide her shock as she tore the envelope open to read the despicable letter.

Her son was being suspended from school for misconduct,her troubled mind could not contain the thought.

The brown envelope made way and the stark sheet of paper revealed itself; Earnest Williams was being ordered to have two weeks away from school for confronting a teacher and bullying a fellow student.

When had her Earnest turned this?,what had taken over him all of a sudden?. She wanted to ask these questions and turned sideways but it was the shuddering figure of Susane that came to her sight.

"Where is that silly boy?" She demanded, voice shaking with a mixture of anger and sadness.

"He ran out just now" Susane answered in her most frightened tone,her own voice cracking just as her body frame danced involuntarily.

This was one of the moments she hated in the house. She had been with the family for a while and with her clear memory,her madam had been in this type of mood only twice in the past.

Once,when her errant husband had come home suddenly with another lady in his arms and the second time was when Earnest had stood up against Mercy in a hot fight.

And the third now was on Earnest again. He seemed to be causing his beloved Susane,as he always proclaim, more trouble than she would ever like. Because right now,Kemi Williams' anger would certainly be turned up on her.

"Ran out?" She demanded again.

"Ye-e-es ma" Stammered Susane.

"Mercy. Mercy" She fell into shouting her daughter's name.

"Yes Mum" A voice cried back behind an adjacent door to the kitchen. A minute later,the owner appeared with a smile contrary to the scowl on her caller's face or the fear written all over the poor maid.

"Have you read this?" Kemi asked,flipping the paper.

"Earnest is suspended from school" Mercy said rather nonchalantly.

"You've read it"

"Of course"

"And--" The woman could not speak further but what she wanted to say was so evident in her expression.

The smile on Mercy's face is annoying and as well agonizing. Her brother was sent home for misconduct and all she could do was to shrug easily, fold arms and smile. Even if he was not the good brother to her,this was at least a matter that should raise a bit of concern.

"I'm not surprised,Mum" Mercy said after watching her expression well enough and then timed her movement to sit beside her on the couch before continuing,

"Earnest has changed ever since he moved to senior school. I always say it but you won't believe. There's this ego about his fame and senior school getting into his head lately" She explained in a tone now showing a little concern, maybe it was because of the teary state of the woman's eyes. Kemi was well on the verge of crying, indicated by her swollen grey eyes.

"No. Mercy. No" Kemi objected mildly, then gave in to the impatient tears to roll down her cheeks.

"Earnest has changed,Mum" For Mercy,it was not the same Earnest she knew three years back that was being suspended from school.

Three years ago, she had a nice brother that would come to her lecture room for a pack of cheese, visit her during her high school hostel days and play the chess with her whenever she returned home.

But presently,it was rather a man that would never say a good morning, start up a fight with her whenever he wished and generally never wanting anything to bring him close to her.

With these,Mercy was so sure her brother was plainly being carried away with maturity,ego and ascension into upper classes.

"Yes. Earnest has changed,but not what you are saying. Earnest didn't change because of senior school. He changed because of Gideon---- Gideon's absence caused everything" Kemi's tears was profuse,her voice with two or three skips as she spoke.

They were both driving at the same point. It was not the same Earnest. But from Kemi's perspective, her wayward husband had been the trigger behind the change in the boy's life. The poor boy could not live without a family companion. Gideon had always been one and ever since he left,Earnest had sorely been lonely and frustrated.

"No Mum,don't talk about that evil man here" Mercy tried to caution,her eyes steaming up their own tears.

"I'm scared Earnest would turn out like him" But Kemi sobbed further.

"He won't"

"I'm so unfortunate to marry him"

"I don't want to remember anything about him. He is out of our life,Mum. Out forever" Here,it was a matter of who consoles who. Mercy had launched into her sob too,she purely doesn't want to have a memory of Gideon again but something psychologically deep inside her brought back quick flashes of both the sweet and bitter memories with him.

Like Earnest,he had started as a good man,a loving husband and charming father but in a moment,he became a wolf in the house,beating up his poor wife,coming home with different ladies,abandoning his family for long weeks and the only time he showed his good side was those times he would take Earnest to bars and clubs. A little wonder Kemi was scared her son could turn a replica of his unworthy father.

"Alright. Let's forget him. Let's talk about Earnest. What are we doing now,go with him to do the school?" Kemi regrouped herself and wiped off her tears with the back of a palm.

"To do what?"

"Plead on his behalf of course"

"Didn't you read his offences?" Mercy questioned despairingly. She also spent years in the same school and knew how tough the school handles the two charges levelled against their Earnest: Confronting a teacher and a violent disposition to a fellow student. No way. Mercy trusts St. Avirns had not changed its standard over the span of three years.

"We can at least---"

"It's not possible,Mum. Earnest just have to face it and learn some lessons. He has to learn a little humility"

"Not this way" Kemi still objected.

"No better way" Mercy believed it was the best way,the best tough way to handle a tough soul like Earnest. He had been banished from the school choir with which he had been so famous and the loss of the CAAS leadership role for which he had also been favourite would all take him aback and trigger a remorse in him. So,that was the best way to Mercy. Absolutely.

"Where is he?" It was Mercy asking now.

"O-o-ut" Susane stuttered again,pointing to the door. And when her eyes doubled against that of Mercy and the scowl on the woman, she found herself running out of the house to look for the errant boy.