OYINADE

~21~

~OYINADE~

I got there at exactly 9:00am. I walked towards the Jelili Adebisi Omotola Hall(Unilag Multipurpose Hall) situated around the school's main gate. There were cars parked right outside the hall indicating that some parents came with their children.
According to the details of the event sent to me by Ewatomi through my mum's phone, it was for both young and old. It wasn't limited to a particular age grade. That was probably why there were so many people there.

To my surprise, the hall was filled to the brim. I saw the banner of the program outside the hall and read the details.
Turns out that the rally wasn't going to hold until later that evening.

I stepped into the hall and found a seat at the back. I sat down and managed to focus on the person on the stage. A man, who was later introduced as Professor Oladunjoye, was speaking about dyslexia, its signs and symptoms and how it can affect a person. I brought out my jotter and wrote down important tips as he continued his lecture.

Other people came out to speak too. Some spoke about healthy living, some spoke about developing better eating habits and others spoke about keeping fit through exercising and maintaining a good eating diet.
After the last speaker rounded off his lecture, we all clapped, ushering him back to his seat.
A documentary was shown to us with the projector, explaining the life of someone who lived with dyslexia and was still able to strive and get to the peak of her career, despite her disability. It gave me so much hope.

The moderator of the event mounted the stage and informed us that the program was coming to an end. She invited a pastor to say the closing prayers and he did. She then informed us that anyone who was interested in undergoing the test should move to the back of the hall.
I noticed that most people picked up their bags and left. After about ten minutes, there were only a handful of us left in the hall.
I brought out my novel and started reading it, waiting for the lecturer to address us.

I heard a familiar voice, so I looked up and glanced around. My eyes landed on a boy, a young boy of my age grade. He was standing with his back facing me, so I couldn't see his face. I fixed my gaze on him waiting for him to turn around. I could tell that he was on a call as he placed one of his hands in one of the pockets of his trousers and the other hand was holding his mobile phone to his left ear.
After almost one minute, I was getting tired of waiting to see who it was, so I directed my attention back to my novel.

I had only read one sentence when someone tapped me.
I looked up and it was the same guy whose voice sounded familiar. The one that was on a call. It was Peace.
"Hey", he said.
I was dumbfounded. He was the last person I was expecting to see here.

"Hi", I said.
"Uhm...can I sit next to you?", he asked. I wanted to pinch myself to be sure that it wasn't a dream. Peace? Was Peace, the bully, really asking me for permission before sitting down?
I nodded, trying hard to hide my shock.
"Thanks", he said, smiling warmly.

We both kept quiet. I couldn't focus on reading my novel anymore. All I could think about while fondling with my fingers, was the fact that Peace came to a dyslexic program.
Now, he didn't have to be dyslexic before he could be allowed to come, he could have followed someone. However, he was waiting to take the test. So, he probably came with similar reasons as mine.
"You're welcome", I muttered.

I didn't know what to say. The last time we had an interaction, I slapped him hard. I had slapped him without thinking. Even if he was wrong, even if reporting him to the school authorities wouldn't achieve anything, still, I shouldn't have taken the law into my hands.
"I'm sor-",I said.
"Sorry about-", Peace said.
We had started speaking at the same time and stopped at the same time too.
"Go on", I said, urging him to speak first.

"I'm sorry for what I did on Monday", he said.
"I wanted to talk to you during the week in school but I was reluctant because I was quite scared"
Scared? Peace was scared? Wow! It felt like I was speaking to a different person entirely.
"Also, when I finally summoned courage, you were always nowhere to be found. I'd check for you during lunch or recess and wouldn't find you. I wonder why", he continued.
I sighed. I wondered about how many people tried to reach out to me during my deliberate absenteeism. I couldn't tell him the reason though.

"Well, now you've seen me", I said and he smiled.
"Your behavior was totally uncalled for. I didn't know when I stepped in to stop you.
Despite the fact that we both know that your actions were all shades of wrong, still, I'm sorry for slapping you, it was also uncalled for", I said.
"No, I won't have that", he said.
"You won't have what?"
"I won't have you apologize to me. I was wrong. In fact, I think the slap was necessary. It was my wake-up call", he said.
I chuckled.

The lecturer mounted the podium and informed us that the people who decided to wait for the assessment were just twenty six. She told us to pick numbers and I and Peace happened to be the twentieth and twenty first respectively.
She also announced that all we need to do is to walk into the cubicle at the front left-hand side of the hall, complete the assessment and drop our emails. The results were going to be sent to our e-mails.
She asked if we understood her and we all chorused a loud 'yes'.

"You seem like a totally different person", I said, after the lecturer retreated to her temporary office. I couldn't help but state what I had just observed.
"I can't help but think that you weren't always a bully. What happened?", I said.
"Well, it's a long story", he said.
"My parents were always absent. They were either on a business trip or a politician's meeting or away on a vacation trip. It was always from one event to another. It was endless", he said.
I nodded, urging him to continue.

"They were never around. So, I started playing pranks to get them to come home. I became a very troublesome toddler, just to get their attention. However, it didn't work for long because after a while, they became even more busy. Whenever I did something bad, they would send their personal assistants or their manager to handle it, to handle me", he said, his eyes were sad and distant, it was almost as if he could still picture his childhood and remember the bitter memories.

I shook my head in pity. I couldn't imagine how bad he must have felt during those times.
"As though I was just a business idea or a business plan that needed handling", he spat.
"I started losing myself each time I did something bad. Being troublesome and vile became my second nature. The fact that people stopped correcting me out of fear of my dad made me even more desperate. So, I did worse things. After doing those things, I'll then cry myself to sleep. This happened every night."
He took in a deep breath and sighed while I listened with rapt attention.

"I'm not saying all these so you can feel pity for me or to justify everything I did. I'm only sharing them with you because I feel comfortable around you and I just want you to know how much you've changed me. Everything I went through doesn't justify everything I've done. That was what I realized after you hit me and said those words", he said.

"I was indeed turning into a beast already"
"No! Please don't take my words to heart. I was just pissed, so I spoke without thinking. I'm sorry for saying those mean words to you", I said.
"It's all good", he said with a small smile.
"When you stood up to me, it reminded me of how much I missed doing the right things, helping people and standing up for my friends. It made me realize that I need to talk to my parents about how their absence has affected me", he said.
"Yeah, I think you need to speak to them", I said.

"Thank you so much, Oyinade. It might seem like you didn't use the right approach, but your gesture touched me. That night, I didn't cry to sleep, instead, I couldn't stop thinking that I shouldn't let my parents' flaws ruin my life completely, that I should be able to decide how I want to treat people no matter what I'm going through", he said.

I felt my eyes water. It felt strange that he was so different all of a sudden, that he could change in a few days.
"I've decided to apologize to all the people I've bullied or pranked, at least those I remember", he declared.
I smiled warmly at him, grateful that he wasn't going to be known as 'Peace, the bully" anymore.
He was a changed person.

*******
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

If you did, comment an emoji to describe how you felt about it.

Don't forget to vote!
See you in the next chapter🤗
Xoxo💞