PERFECT FLAWS

Knight in distress

“You're late Tom. You should hurry.” Miss Shola lisped, her diastema in full display as she flashed me a kind smile.

Miss Shola was one of the very few teachers who treated me with less disdain than the others. She was my favourite of them all not just because of her civility or because I'm the best in her subject(and every other subject), our closeness was birthed from the fact that she understood me;

She had also been bullied within the staff community.
She was a petite lady, her frail frame hidden underneath stylish outfits. The difference between Miss Shola and I (other than the obvious) was her bravery to stand up to her bullies. She became more than just my Government teacher, she was also my friend. She told very good stories and she knew a lot about history.

Over time, a rumor even spread that Miss Shola and I were a thing. That put a dent in our friendship as she knew she could lose her job if such information got to the principal. That didn't stop her from being kind towards me and I respected her for that.

“Yes ma'am.” I nodded at her with a smile, quickening my footsteps towards the rows of students lined up in the vast hall.
The term was still very young. Although it'd just been two weeks into the term, it felt much longer. Being a senior didn't make it any easier like I thought.

The expectations both from the school, parents and peers were exhausting. For example, as the School's seniors, it was totally ‘uncool’ to attend the morning assembly-According to the Paramount Cool Code alias PCC(I still wonder who came up with that name). It was interesting how our set of SS3 students didn't regard that lame cool code except for truants like Oladimeji Badmus and his gang of troublemakers. We were more concerned with graduating without any unnecessary drama.

At least most of us were.

As for me, apart from the fact that I'm the living emblem of ‘uncool’, I just feel there might be some useful information or activity during the assembly which might be of benefit to me.

Students stood in single files according to their classes and gender, chattering away about different things, mostly unimportant stuff anyways. I strode towards the SS3(senior secondary school 3) lines, which was scanty with just Bolu- a quite reserved boy with a rather big uniform, Peter- a tall, lanky boy with a feminine voice, Osamu- a stout, fair-skinned (almost red) boy with a sharp mouth, Nancy- a chubby girl who ate all the time(she was munching on a sausage roll) and there was Sheilagh.

Sheilagh Yinka was your typical stargirl, one of the brightest students in Paramount High. She was the best in the class after me, though teachers and students would rather overlook my existence and pronounce her the best, not like I mind.

She was perfect- at least I thought she was. Her black curly hair was neatly matted in cornrows, making her round face appear even more angelic. Her fair skin glistened under the hall lights as she walked towards the SS3 line.

I swallowed as she approached us. Her pristine uniform hugged her thick figure at all the right places. She was quite plump, but with the way she swaggered, carrying herself with charisma, it was obvious she was confident, mesmerizing both teachers and students with her stunning, rare beauty for her body size.

Our eyes locked and she smiled.
I couldn't breathe for more than a second.

It all felt unreal, like the scene right out of a romance novel until Osamu's loud mouth interrupted my reverie.

“Ah, Tom. Close your mouth oh, before flies enter. Look at you, shamelessly ogling atSheilagh.” He snorted derisively. “All this and she still never notices you.”

Pain shot through my heart. Not just because I was offended, but because he was right. I was just another boy who she has study sessions with in the library or talk about history with once a while.
I didn't think there was anything spectacular about me. Come on, even my name was basic.
Thompson.